Chompin' at the Bit - Vol. 11

Week 8 Recap

RB Jordan Scarlett finished with 93 yards and a TD - Photo Cred: gatorcountry.com

For Gator fans, Saturday would be what you call a "Perfect Saturday", when all of your rivals take Ls. The Gators emerged out of Jax with the win over the Pups 24-10 behind a suffocating defensive performance. The D held UGA to 164 total yards (21 rushing)... That's ridiculous lol.. UGA's best, and really only, productive plays came off of broken coverages after the pocket had collapsed and their QB scrambled around and made a play. You would think that DB Duke Dawson and LB Jarrad Davis should get the game ball for their performances. Dawson played unbelievable considering how much he was targeted and made some huge plays that ended up sealing the game. Nothing can be said about how gutsy of a game JD played. That man is a BEAST. You can't help but to root for a guy like him. He is truly the heart and soul of that team too.

To say our offense isn't the prettiest is an understatement, but they are doing enough to get by for now, so I really can't complain too much when we are sitting at 6-1 and #11 in the Playoff rankings. My boy Scarlett proved that he can tote the load for us at running back, carrying it for a career-high 26 times. He and Perine are going to be a problem as that O-line continues to develop and improve. I will say that they did play a lot better than they had in past games, so my fingers are crossed that each week they continue trending upward. TE C'yontai Lewis played a heck of a game for us in the passing game, coming down with a huge catch on the sideline that was the play of the game in my opinion. After that play, it seemed as if the momentum was in the Gators favor the rest of the game. He also converted a huge 3rd down for a 19 yard TD, which helped put our first points on the board. After that, it was murder she wrote. 3 straight at The World's Largest Cocktail Party for the Gators! 21-6 vs UGA since I have been alive, I might add :)

Sidenote: For everyone I ran into in Jax, it was good to see you all! Glad to see and hear about everyone doing big things post-grad. Go Gators!

Week 9 Preview

And so the gauntlet begins... starting with the Arkansas Razorbacks this week on the road in Fayetteville. This will definitely be a challenge for our boys and they better come ready to play. Arkansas always plays super physical and has the size to match up with us, but IF we play how we are supposed to, our speed and talent should prevail. I really do not see how Arkansas QB Austin Allen will have time to throw considering how much pressure he has been under (who is also coming back off of a knee injury). Auburn and Alabama's defenses had a field day with Arkansas, so with Jarrad Davis back at linebacker along with a somewhat healthy D-line, I can't see how they are going to run on us either. As Kirby Smart said last week, "it's hard to win a game when they make you zero dimensional". I expect the defense to show up like they always do and if we can manage to put a few points on the board, we should be fine. I just want to see UF come out and make a statement early. Stone them on defense and put some points up, then put your foot on their throat and blow them out like Auburn did. The Gator Nation is waiting for that type of dominant outburst.

Prediction: UF 27, Arkansas 10 (7-1, 5-1 SEC)