Image: Georgiadogs.com
Since '90...
Mississippi State has beaten UF more times than we have.
Vandy has beaten UGA more times.
UK has beaten us the same number of times.
It's mind boggling to put your head around. We had our shots in...
-- '93 - Timeout Florida
-- '00 - McMichael's drop and Lito Sheppard's pre-half INT return
-- '02 - Terrence's drop
-- '03 - 200+ yards rushing for UGA, but Leak brings 'em back
-- '05 - We lose our QB and lose by 4
-- '06 - 5 turnovers and we lose by 7
It's crazy that the streak is what it is. But it is.
Anyone that thinks it's because of the bye week or the location or any other reason beyond our own bed wetting ineptitude once we hit the Florida state line, is just making excuses for what we've done each and every year since we narrowed the talent gap around '99.
Congrats to the Gators. They are clearly the better team. My beef isn't with the game. It's with the streak in general.
More thoughts on the game later.
PWD
9 comments:
I think statistical data like that proves the talent gap between Vandy and Georgia is actually smaller than the gap between UGA and Florida.
I really believe the week off vs. no week off provides a significant advantage at this point in the season. Obviously, a week off (or a year off) won't make Milner able to catch, but I believe it has played a significant role in the more recent games because the extra time allows Florida to get healthy and ready for the Dawgs. Maybe if our coaching staff had an extra week, they would come up with a game plan that might work. Having said all that, the players have still got to make plays and stop choking. No excuses.
Got some early post-game thoughts here, ifin you're interested.
Overall, we still lead the series by nine games. Imo, the extra week to rest/prepare is critical, but we have some control over that, and just don't take it. Fwiw, we won sooo often once upon a time that I think we just decided we didn't need it, or wanted to use it more against AU. Schedules are slow to change once they are in motion, and we get the week off next year. Of course, MS will be better next year, and the line won't be any worse, if only because we'll have bodies and can sit people who just wave at the D as they go by, so we'll see.
It's all about leadership. PERIOD. That begins with the head coach and the seniors.
What was the FIRST THING Jim Tressel made clear when he took the helm at OSU? Next time they played Michigan they were going to win. AND THEY DID. Question to Pat Dye when he took over at Auburn: "how long will it take you to beat Alabama?" Dye's answer: "60 minutes."
I haven't heard Mark Richt commit the cardinal sin of calling this "just another game," but I wouldn't be surprised if he did.
Lose every game, but beat Florida. Lose to our next D-IAA opponent, but beat Florida.
If you don't see the the reasoning behind this, you don't understand competitive sports. No great team has been owned by their arch "rival" like this. Rival is in quotes because we aren't a rival to Florida any longer. The word Rival implies competition, equal teams fighting for supremacy. They own us.
While reiterating my opposition to booing college players, everyone who wants to start a fan club for MoMass and Martrez, please stand up. It's not a matter of being mean or spiteful toward a college kid (something I'm against), it's a matter of performing at the level the program has a right to expect you to perform at. If the "go to" guys at Temple consistently drop passes, well, that's what you can expect AT TEMPLE. If the go to guys at UGa consistently drop balls, then you bench them for someone else...or you adjust your expectations.
There were some bright spots. We didn't get blown out. We have the talent to win. But without coaching and senior leadership, we will continue to be a ten win team that cannot finish the drill, and has no business talking about national championships.
Personally, I'll love the Dawgs either way. If Mark Richt averages ten wins a year, that's fine by me. But a team that is owned by it's "rival" has a mental problem that will prevent greatness.
GO DAWGS!!!
CMR has made it clear he would like to move the game based on the preceived advantages that UF has in this game. If I were a player that would bother me that my coach feels this way. He doesn't instill in our players any kind of confidence when they take the field against UF. It is as if the game is lost before it is even played. For some reason Dooley didn't have a problem with the game in J'ville. Either change the attitude or move the game.
a few thoughts...
We will rarely out personnel Florida(once in a while,yes)
We will rarely out scheme them(both staffs have been around the block a few times).
We might out hustle them now and then.
We seem to have a lock on bad things happening to us.
Richt said it best about this game a few years back.We won't get control of this series until we take it back from them.
Florida probably wishes they could play us twice a year to pick up two wins.I have come to dread late October trips to Jacksonville.
Is that a trick quesiton dawbyte? We have a bye week on the schedule next year and Evans has gone so far as to say scheduling a game that week to replace the Oregon St dropped game is not an option.
Dawg fans...in case we all forgot...Florida has had an open date for us for a long time.Spurrier,wanting to beat us worse than eating when he was hungry,was looking for any and all edges.I'm sure he and his boss,Jeremy Foley,insisted on it.
In 2004,one of those bad storms swept through Florida and forced a cancellation of an early season game...I forget which.The Gators had to fit that game back in on their pre UGA open week.David Greene and company beat them the next Saturday.It may not mean much but they lost at least a little edge for that UGA victory.
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