Chompin' at the Bit - Vol. 6

Week 4 Recap

Crying Albert
(Me last weekend.. I'm sure some of you can relate)

I understand that all things must come to an end at some point, but not like that. Words taken from a great philosopher, Markus Jiggetts of DeFuniak Springs, FL, had I been buried on Saturday, it would have been life coming full circle for me because the Florida Gators would have "let me down" one last time. That was one of the most mind blowing and frustrating games I can recall watching. UT beat UF 38-28... As Florida fans, we know frustration from essentially the entire Muschamp era, but this loss was different.

I have never seen Florida play the 'Tale of Two Halves' role and come out on the bad end of things like THAT. How do you blow a 21-0 lead (21-3 at half) with that defense on the field??? Poor, conservative play-calling by our coaches and a lack of execution and intensity by our players. We played with a "not lose" mindset, instead of playing to win. Maybe I'm harsh and you can call me a poor sport... But in a rivalry game on the road, you're up TWENTY-ONE points and you let up!? You don't put your foot on their throats while you have the chance!? I'm lost... WHY?? Why not keep your foot on the gas!? Instead of walking out of Neyland with 12 straight Ws, now you have opened the door for the rivalry to really return. Now they know they can beat us. That win was huge for their program psychologically going forward. Hats off to Tennessee for sticking in there and coming back, but I am beyond disappointed in how we literally gave that game away. The biggest takeaway from that loss is now UF has to win out in SEC play to have a shot at going to ATL, plus they need Tennessee to lose 2 SEC games (which I think they will vs. Texas A&M and Bama, but you can't count on that).

Week 5 Preview 

WR Brandon Powell vs Vandy in last years matchup

This week the Gators travel up to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. UF leads the all-time series 37-10-2. I'm going to take the optimistic approach and say Vandy should be worried this weekend because UF will come in looking to kill. They know they messed up last week and what's at stake going forward. I think they were humbled on Saturday and I am hoping that leads to a run reminiscent of that '08 team after the Ole Miss loss. Coach Mac said he saw a locker room that was truly hurt from that loss. GOOD! Get mad, go out and win... big.

After last week, it's not even worth breaking down both sides of the ball after they each collapsed in the second half. Both sides better come out with a renewed energy and focus. I thought QB Austin Appleby played pretty good last week when given the chance to throw, especially with the deep ball. I would say Del Rio is better with the short/intermediate game and overall, but Appleby definitely stretched the field in that first half against Tennessee and showed he can be a serviceable backup. Keep an eye out for WR Tyrie Cleveland this weekend, as he should be involved in the offense more now that he is healthy; He caught his first pass off of a 36 yard dot from Appleby. I would look for more deep shots this week with Cleveland and Callaway, plus a heavy dose of the run game. Our defense shouldn't struggle against Vandy's offense, so they should be able to get off the field and give us more opportunities to score.

Prediction: Florida 41, Vandy 10 

Enjoy the weekend. Go Gators!