It’s time to talk some more football. I want to begin with Dallas Cowboy and alleged wife beater Greg Hardy. This week we got to watch this idiot get in a fight with a teammate and slap the clipboard out of a coach’s hand during their game with the New York Giants. My question is this. Why is this fool still in the NFL? He clearly has no comprehension of acceptable behavior. Dallas Cowboys owner, and evidence that idiots can get rich too, Jerry Jones responded by calling Hardy a leader on his team. Jones says he wants to keep this violent thug in a Cowboys uniform for years to come. This is why you are 2-4.
The final play of the Georgia Tech-Florida State game will go down as one of the great plays and moments in college football history. Here is why I think that play was even more important than some understand. From the moment the Yellow Jackets tied the game with a late field goal, I was thinking that Georgia Tech had very little chance to win an overtime game against FSU. The Seminoles offense is designed perfectly for short drives starting at the 25. Meanwhile, if the Jackets lose yardage or draw a penalty in overtime it would be very hard to overcome. Breaking long runs from the triple-option become harder in a short field and Tech’s passing game is based on drawing everyone up to stop the run and then throwing deep. All of that is more difficult with a mere 25 yards to work with. Plus at that range, the FSU kicker is nearly a sure thing every time in the event that all they need is a field goal to win. The improbable return of that blocked field goal for a touchdown may well have been Tech’s only real chance to win that game.
This is game week for the Florida-Georgia game also known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I keep hearing Bulldogs fans pining that they are going to get blown out in this game. I hope they don’t actually believe that. Fans only need to look back to last year for evidence of how this game can go. Georgia was a prohibitive favorite in the game and Florida came away with 38-20 win in a game where the Gators only threw six passes. Season records mean nothing in this game. Vegas betting lines mean nothing in this game. This is the epitome of the Rival Game. The strange and unexpected can and usually does happen. With the schedules remaining, the winner of this game will almost certainly win the SEC East. Both teams will leave everything they have on that field Saturday. May the best team win.
I had options to buy tickets and go to the game, but I have friends and family invited to a game viewing party at the lake. I will fire the smoker up a dawn and load it up with pork butt, venison tenderloin wrapped in bacon and brats. I have chosen to ignore the new warnings by the global health police at WHO. Pork is what separates us from the radicals. Friends will gather for the game. Both Gator and Bulldog fans. The TV will be on the porch. The crowd will be having fun and nobody has to drive to get back to their lake place. It should be a miniature version of the Outdoor Cocktail Party itself.
This is a huge game for both teams and the coaches involved. There are grumblings around the state of Georgia that maybe Mark Richt isn’t the guy to get them to a national championship which proves that dogs can learn given enough time. With a five star quarterback committed to UGA, I find it highly unlikely that they would let Richt go at this point but there is certainly some warmth in his current seat and a loss in this game would only make it hotter. On the other side, most of the preseason predictions had the Gators struggling through a brutal rebuilding year and struggling to get bowl eligible. With a win on Saturday, new head coach Jim McElwain and his staff would be sitting at 7-1 and likely the SEC East champions. That would be incredible considering where former coach Will Muschamp had left the program. Coaching really does matter.
The Gators have some weaknesses. The patchwork offensive line has done a decent job of pass protection but the running game has been mostly atrocious. Florida averaged a pathetic 1.8 yards per carry against LSU. The offense will have to do better against a stout UGA defense. But, the Gator defense is excellent in its own right. They will come after the Georgia quarterback early and often. Georgia will need a great game from Sony Michel to win this game. Florida will need a great game from Treon Harris to win. I will not even pretend to be objective here. Go Gators. Chomp Chomp.
