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Gray coached Flowers. Flowers hangs out with Elams Dad on the regular andnhas been spotted with him watching Kaiirs games this year. If Kirby thought he made a chess move, Mullen flipped the board over and shot him in the face

 

USCG '92-present.

Can't believe I'm at 24 years and counting. It's an honor to serve. My wife and 3 daughters deserve a lot of credit for putting up with the sea time and PCS moves (last summer was #10).

Lastly, I've been very fortunate in my CG career. I cannot fathom the difficulties experienced by my DOD counterparts with boots on the ground in hostile territory. IMHO, you guys deserve highest honors!

'Merica! [emoji631]

 

USN 73-99 Great time flying those beautiful P-3Cs

 

US Army 76-79 2nd Btn 33rd Armored Div Kirch Goens (The Rock) Germany.

 

Well we finally made it home from the Big Easy this morning and I had a chance to watch the replay of the game on DVR after taking a nap. What a fun trip, though. Tiger Stadium at night lived up to the hype, that's as much fun as I've had going to any road game, even with the loss. LSU fans treated us as well as we could have asked for, and the tailgate scene was insane, almost as good as the WLOCP. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

My initial reaction after the game was over Saturday was that the entire game hinged on two plays: the holding call on Perine's long reception and the interception in the end zone. After watching the replay, that opinion hasn't changed. It's amazing to me that so many times throughout the last two decades, LSU almost always has the pivotal plays of a game swing in their favor. Whether it's a bouncing ball on a fake FG, the defense having 14 men on the field, a TE dropping a wide open TD in the back of the end zone, the Bluegrass Miracle, or completing a pass in the end zone with 1 second left when all they need is a TD, it almost always bounces their way. It's infuriating. The lone difference this time is the two plays were our own damn fault. The holding call was definitely holding, and the interception was an absolutely baffling decision by Trask (that should have been negated by defensive holding, but without the bad throw, it doesn't matter).

Other than that one bad throw, Trask once again played a hell of a game. He remained poised in what was a ridiculously electric atmosphere in the stadium, made tons of clutch throws, even a few clutch runs, and never got rattled. Up until the back shoulder fade that Pitts caught against Auburn, I was struggling to remember the last time we even successfully completed one. Trask threw a couple more dimes to Jefferson on the back shoulder, which is going to open our offense even more moving forward if we can keep hitting them. He continues to do a great job putting touch on the passes that need it, and it looks like he was making sure to keep both hands on the football right up until he had to throw it to prevent more sack fumbles. Showing that type of improvement in a week just shows how coachable he is. As far as the pick goes, it looked like Swain was running an option route where he could have either run a seam or corner. Trask must have thought he was hitting the seam, because that's where he threw it, and Swain had already started to break towards the corner. It's also entirely possible it was just a bad throw because of the pressure, which we can't know for certain because we don't have the playbook.

I didn't have a problem with most of the playcalling until the late 3rd quarter and the final goal line push. The TD drive to start the 3rd quarter was probably Mullen's finest drive on a playcalling front that he's had at Florida. He mixed up a few back shoulder fades with some runs and quick hitters over the middle, and it was a beautiful drive. Then we had the holding penalty and he turtled up until we were already down 7 again in the 4th quarter. He just needs to stick with what's working instead of always trying to outsmart the defense. As a play caller, I've always felt that was his greatest weakness: trying too hard to make the perfect call for every situation instead of just going with what you know will work for the given situation. The throwback pass to Trask on 3rd & 1 against Auburn is a perfect example. Sure, it worked, but how dumb do you look if you waste a 3rd & 1 with the lead on a gadget play that turns into 4th down, or worse yet, a turnover?

The final 4th down call is another example. Sure, that delayed option usually works for us, but when the defense is pushing forward to protect the goal line and you have no space to run the play, it's not going to work with Trask. At all. I'm not a fan of running the option on the goal line in general for that very reason. All of the defenders are going to be within a few yards of the line of scrimmage, and it's a play that requires spacing to work. Ask UNC about running the option on the goal line and getting stuffed (against Clemson).

I haven't minded Mullen's use of Emory Jones as much as some of you have. However, I did think that giving him the entire "drive" late in the 3rd quarter was a mistake in that situation. At the very least, bring Trask back in on 3rd down to try to pick up the 1st down through the air. But it is painfully obvious that EJ absolutely has to be out there at some points in the game. The way our running game struggles to gain yards in traditional sets with traditional plays, we have to have him in there for misdirection. Because our line isn't going to open up holes with any kind of consistency. One could argue that we should just keep throwing the ball, but that's just silly. You have to be able to run the ball if you want to keep winning games, especially close ones. And I don't think anyone can say with a straight face that our offense moves the ball better on the ground with Trask out there.

One other thing I'd like to see Mullen change is the number of times he leaves Trask out there in an empty set. The defense knows there's a minuscule chance he's going to take off on a designed run, so they're automatically pinning their ears back and coming after him when they see empty sets. I mean we can't even run the rocker step playaction with Trask because the defense just isn't going to respect it. So leave an extra blocker in there more often for him. Our receivers and Pitts are good enough to get open with a 4 man route tree.

I don't know what to say about the defense that probably hasn't already been said since Saturday night. They had a pretty horrible night to say the least. But give LSU credit, that offense lived up to the hype. They had an answer for everything we did, whether it was rushing 3-4, bringing pressure, spying Burrow, man coverage, zone coverage, whatever. It's going to take an extraordinary effort from any defense this year to stop them, or an off day from Burrow. Other than that, the best thing for them to do is leave it in the past and move on. That's the best offense we'll face all year by a long shot unless we somehow end up in Atlanta against Bama.

Moving forward, we have to circle the wagons quickly. We're going into a building where we've only won once in the last four trips against a team that's flying high after their upset win over UGA. It sounds like Hilinski will be playing this week, so just get back on track on defense and we'll be fine. I think the offense is just going to keep getting better. Trask is really starting to form a lot of chemistry with the entire receiving corps, and I'm loving the way he's spreading it around.

We've still got all of our season's goals in our grasp, just need to keep grinding and pulling that rope. Step 1 is beating some Cock and going into the off week on a high note. Until next week, go Gators!

 

@InsideTheGators: Former Florida Gators great Keiwan @KeiwanRatliff Ratliff has joined the Gators staff as an Assistant Director for Player Personnel.

 

No joy in Mudville for the second consecutive week. Sadly, I'm beginning this piece with the game still running, 3rd quarter and us down 35-10. I'd hoped not to have to do that after the last three seasons. I'm going to try and keep my emotions in check, but my first failure is to call it like it is...a complete sh!t show to this point. Can't hang it on one position group, one unit, one phase, or the coaching. It has all been bad. If this was high school I'd blame it on the festivities and not focusing on the most important part...the game against an opponent with a good QB. But this is college so I'll just blame it on not focusing enough on the game against an opponent with a good QB...and getting our sh!t pushed in for the first three quarters!

***As I write this we have inserted Trask who led us on a TD drive!***

Let's take some looks into why we've gotten our @sses kicked so thoroughly to this point:

*You've got to start with a huge factor...QB play. No kind way to put it, but Franks was just awful. Again. For as good as some of his outings have been, he has been a big flat tire on the carriage that @Captain Sasquatch described last week that has turned into a pumpkin. Other than a short TD plunge, his highlight was probably the back shoulder throw to Toney. Other than that it has been a cavalcade of inaccurate throws. Yet again, he has shown the inability to give the receivers a chance on the stretch throws down the field. Conversely, Lock demonstrated remarkable touch on the great majority of his passes from long to intermediate to short, along with the ability to change arm angles to avoid batted passes and turn them into completions. I know he is an NFL prospect and Franks is a third year Sophmore with inconsistencies (to put it lightly), but the contrast is both clear and striking. It has been in the back of my mind, concealed mostly by hope inspired by earlier improvements and successes, but fears of him having reached his ceiling and being unable to push higher look to be real. The fact that Mullen yanked him in favor of Trask may be that realization or it could just be resignation that it wasn't Feleipe's day. I guess we'll know which next week, but it hasn't been Feleipe's week for two in a row during the stretch run and a winner would find a way to perform better if he had it in him.

*The D was pretty abysmal today, so it wasn't all Franks if that was interpreted. Somewhere in the third quarter, we had given up 180+ on the ground to Mizzou. There's a big part of the outcome right there. Their OL pushed us around all game. The edge rush was negated and when we brought pressure, it was effectively picked up save a safety blitz that blew up a sweep. The LBs were just bad. Their day can be summed up with three plays: 1) Joseph fails to read and react swiftly on his scrape, gets blocked, and the Tigers run for the game's first TD; 2) Reese moves laterally three strides into the middle of the line on a play fake as the QB throws to the flank where he should have been in coverage for a nice gain; 3) Joseph blows the coverage on the TE allowing him to split the two high safeties for an easy score. Not SEC level play when we needed SEC level play. The secondary, outside of Henderson's two early breakups, got pretty well toasted. A lot of missed tackles reminiscent of the last three seasons and early on this year made a reappearance. I couldn't see some of the leadership from this unit that had been building.

*The OL was pretty much dominated where the run game was concerned. Giant step backward in this area at this point in the season. Their positive was that they gave Franks some time to throw, but we know how that turned out. One play that kind of pointed out how bad our run blocking was occurred on Scarlett's 16 yard run where RT Taylor completely failed to engage his block off tackle, but the back had a gain IN SPITE of the poor effort. A highlight among lowlights. When we can't run the ball and our passing attack is iffy at best, our chance to win falls squarely on the shoulders of the defense to pitch a shut out. Unfortunately, the D's ERA was through the roof. Against the run, the OL left me feeling that they just rolled over and took it. We can't beat mediocre teams much less good ones with this kind of effort. But should we be shocked?

*Mullen and staff have to wear this one. So much for the intense practice and the anticipated refocus. Ironically, I don't know that I can fault the play calling or defensive scheme as much as perhaps the mental preparation that was sought. Clearly there was a miscalculation by the staff from my view. I also think the leadership that Mullen has been trying to cultivate took a step backward. As previously noted, I just couldn't see it or at least enough of it to be inspiring. Still, players have to execute, but maybe there wasn't enough boot in the @ss? So Mullen's progress this year, which really shouldn't be overlooked, will be. He's under the microscope, again, with a tight focus and how he and the staff responds next week will be very important, ramped up even more with Muschamp coming in.

38-17 kick in the groin. Huge disappointment. I expected us to respond from the loss to UGA with a much better game and a much better effort. It didn't happen and there are once more questions that eclipse discernible answers. QB will be a big piece. Trask wasn't awful, but is he the answer? Is it Emery Jones time? One more shot for Franks? We'll have an anxious week to see what Mullen dials up and if he can bail enough water out our listing ship. Go Gators!



P/S - The Nole$ got beat, so at least we get to go home with the drunk ugly fat chick tonight instead of rubbing one out to the Farrah Fawcett poster.

 

Today is a day when all Americans should stop and realize that the freedom we have was fought for and paid for with blood and sacrifice. To all my GCMB brothers and sisters that have worn the uniform, and for the families who sacrificed while their loved ones were away defending our freedom, thank you for your service to our great nation! Please, stand and be recognized on this virtual sounding board with your branch of service and the years you served so your fellow posters can see who you are! Thanks again!

USMC 89-03

 

Well, Week 0 is something. This is being written as I re-watch the on the SEC Now broadcast featuring Dari, the SEC's all-time leading TD receiver without Bowl stats included (seriously, how hard would it be to add these back, but he's tied anyways), arguably the greatest UF QB ever (I'd say yes, others would take the kid he inspired), and a former Gator player who coached a National Title team wearing orange and blue, of course I'm talking about Gene Chizik.

There are plenty of highlights and lowlights to take from this game. There's some controversy and some undisputed matters. However, there is one thing beyond everything else...WE BEAT MIAMI. For all I'm about to say, this is the main point. And with it being close, Gators got to walk by all the disappointed Miami fans, a majority of whom talked A LOT of trash on the walk to the game. My normally doesn't say anything controversial wife even asked me as we reached our section about if it seems like most Miami fans are trashy. Before I continue, DaytonaCane, you dropped a congratulations, I know you do not fit that bill. One of my Miami buddies who I have rarely seen or spoken to since 2013 (more because of moves, law school, new jobs, etc.) even sent me a congrats text. Although you know what wasn't classy, the majority of Miami's team leaving the field without shaking hands. A member of my group said "maybe they were directed to do that." My response is the same as it was 9 or so hours ago as of the time I type this, if Manny Diaz directed his players to just leave the field without shaking hands he has no business near a football field again. I don't think he did.

Let's start with playcalling. I said in my preview that we should follow our #failstate and Michigan gameplans and spread out the defense with receiver screens to open up the run. Well, first receiver screen went for 66 yards and a TD. Then we called exactly 2 wide receiver screens after. That already blows my mind. Also, the run game could have been much better with smart playcalling. Not just working outside in, but with formation. We ran a ton with very tight, bunched up formations bringing all eleven defenders within just a few yards of the tackle box causing massive congestion.

I heard lots of whining about Franks throwing a lot of short throws. That's what we should do, give him plenty of short throws to get him in a rhythm and giving our receivers room to work. These short slants, crosses, receiver screens, etc. back linebackers of the line and help the running game as well. If Franks puts a total of 10 yards through the air in a game and a whole lot of YAC I don't care if he's giving guys a chance to make plays. Our scheme was not conducive to much of that last night. Also, lots of the short/intermediate routes brings the safeties up to help and opens up a deep ball. I am being more brief on this subject than I could be.

Don't get me wrong, Miami's front seven did a lot better than I thought they would, but we also helped them a bunch. If we had spread them out, I think we see a different game. I could probably do my entire preview based on the poor play-calling. Possibly, worst called game since Mullen got here, definitely in the top 2. But in the end, we won. No way we win a game with 4 turnovers and this officiating under the previous two staffs.

Franks:

1. Shot down the field that was in stride, but about 2 yards out of bounds.
2. Toney 66-yd TD immediately after the fake punt call.
3. Swing pass to Perine for 2 yards. Grimes didn't do too well with his assignment to get his corner out of the play whether running or blocking as his player was able to get momentum and stop Perine to cause a 4th down.
4. Deep outside to Swain...PI call. Possibly could have been a big play for Swain without the PI. ***Not included in stats
5. 5 yard slant to Pitts for a 4th and 1. Watching it on the replay, I'm thinking it may have been a bad spot, maybe not.
6. Out route by Perine for a first down and 7 yards.
7. Under pressure hits Perine in the flat for 5 yards.
8. Incomplete high pass wheel route to Perine.
9. Completion to Hammond on a stop route and run for 11 yards.
10. Poor throw to the outside by Franks...holding penalty. ***Not included in stats
11. Underneath throw to Hammond for 8 yards and a first down. HALF 7 of 9.
12. Good throw 15 yards down the field and got hit to Jefferson.
13. Good throw for Grimes down the field, Pass Interference. Doering did argue that this one may have been an incomplete if corner didn't get handsy due to Grimes' poor release. ***Not included in stats
14. Poor pass to Franks on a stop route to Jefferson. Looks like Franks may have thought out route based on reaction. Either way well covered by Miami and poor play call on 3rd and long. Doering says it was a throwaway.
15. Good throw on a slant on 3rd and 5 with an even better diving deflection by Miami's defense.
16. 4th and 5, 10 yard completion to Grimes as Franks directs traffic to get Grimes open.
17. Dart from Franks to Pitts for 18 and getting us into the red zone.
18. Throwaway, guy in Franks' face.
19. Another swing to Perine for a loss of a yard.
20. Great strike to Cleve for 12 yards on first down.
21. Throwing on the run (to his left which is hard for a right hander) with pressure and the ball sails out of bounds.
22. High ball to Perine incomplete. Danny argues that Perine should have kept running, but stopped. Doering argues bad pass. I'll go with bad pass.
23. FINALLY, on 3rd and 10 we see another WR screen and it goes 9 yards. We are averaging 37.5 yards per screen at this point. Chizik says that the screen game needs to happen more.
24. Throwaway, Franks eyes downfield, no one open rolling right with guys in his face. Live, Perine was open behind the play, but tough task to look away from the direction your running and main receivers with guys in your face.
25. Angle route to Perine for a TD. Defenders were expecting the flat/swing route and Perine hits the middle and Franks finds him.
26. PICK. The great debate is whether it was to Swain or Cleve streaking down the seam. I'm guessing it was for Cleve. Why?
27. Here's Why! FIRST PLAY OF THE NEXT DRIVE THE STREAKING SEAM FOR 65 YARDS TO HAMMOND. They went back to the same exact route. If it hasn't been said, I would be shocked if Franks and Mullen didn't say that they had it and wanted to go right back to it without another receiver in the area. Shouldn't be drawn up that way anyways.
28. A screen to Pitts for 10 yards. We are at over 20 yards per screen and no less than 9 yards on each. Why wasn't this run more, it would open up so much else in the game.
29. PICK. WTF was that call. AWFUL pass by Franks. Why aren't you trying to bleed the clock at that point? So much wrong here. 17-27 254 yards with 2 TD's and 2 INT's.

Decent night for Franks. Not as bad as many are whining about (the benching debate). If the call is swings to Perine, that's the call. Playcalling didn't help him. The fumbles were mostly on him (Davis should have been able to reel in the last one and definitely looked like he recovered it). He made some great throws, obviously a VERY, VERY bad one at the end. Again though with the playcalling, why aren't you running the ball there? I think with better playcalling it gets the running game going, which opens more of the passing game.

Defense:

10 sacks is impressive. Should have been more. Tackling was not, but I expect that to get better. Can't believe we blew a 3rd and 15 and we only rushed 3. Isn't 3rd and Grantham supposed to be when we gamble on a blitz and lose? Miami scored a TD drive that time. Also, 2nd and 19 on the same drive, Campbell, Hendo, and Houston blow tackles giving Miami a big play to set up the TD. Burney was held on the play. Seriously though, If we don't blow tackles and the safeties play average, I'm not sure they find the endzone.

The names Ventrell Miller, Jeremiah and Greenard will be names we learn this season. You already know Zuniga. Tackles and fumble recovery will be a big point of emphasis this week.
Special Teams:

Brilliant call to fake the first punt. No one was expecting that and let's be honest, barely worked, but it worked. Also, smart run by Townsend to not give it a chance of a bad spot and running right to, and passed the down marker. McPherson was solid except for not knocking the last kickoff out of the endzone and allowing a return to the 35.

Punt return game is still bad. The amount of times, and you can see it on replay as well, we allowed gunners to run undeterred down the middle of the field is ridiculous. I would rather leave the outside guys unblocked. The coverage distance is a lot further from the outside rather than a guy who can beeline straight at the returner from the interior of the line. A few times if these guys were deterred, Swain had oom up the middle.

Quick Hits

• No less than 5 15 yard penalties in the 4th quarter.
• Have you ever seen so many balls on the ground and one team never recover one? (Muffed Punt aside, regular offense/defense)
• If we go up 14-3, and this is speculation, but I think it never gets within 2 scores again.
• Who the hell was doing the radio call? Wasn't Mick, that guy sucks.
• Stewart and Slaton may have been a big help in not allowing some of Miami's big plays, how about not doing dumb stuff to get suspended?
• Speaking of suspensions, just saw the Malik Davis fumble...HOW IS THAT A MIAMI RECOVERY? Davis is getting up and it appears Buchanan is on it after that. That crew should be suspended.
• If you can find the SEC Now replay of the game. Very informative, pretty fun with all sorts of Gator greats. It's like the old Breakfast with the Gators with the homer nature, but better, so much better.
• Though almost interview they do from the sideline with a Gator great (or Marcus Spears) keys something big for Miami lol.
• Crowd was 60/40 UF by my guess, hard to tell with all the Gators fans dressed as Miami fans in Orange.
• People talk about how bad 2nd half was, and it wasn't great, but we outscored Miami 17-7
• To the 20-something I yelled at and said put the 4 fingers down because we aren't UGA (or FSU, Tennessee, or any other school), you deserve it. The four fingers at the end of the third is for other schools, we don't do that, you're old enough to know better.
• My cousin drafted one fantasy QB...Andrew Luck.
• oh, and MOVE BACK YOU SUCK IS BACK!

Guys, this wasn't a pretty game. Poor playcalling, over 5 15-yard penalties in the final quarter, 4 turnovers (all of which were arguably unforced), more missed tackles than I care to count and we still won. I could be wrong, but this is the worst we will see Florida this season and if we go up 14-3 we see a big win. I think this team will get it together. I know this week's practice will be brutal for all of the missed tackles. Much too early to count this team out. It's ok to enjoy winning and even more ok to celebrate beating a Miami team many, many people have said has a good shot of going 11-1 if they lose to us. I doubt they do, but that's the hype. I picked 31-17, it was 24-20. I'll blame one of the four turnovers for the difference. It was a great atmosphere, gave the game a C in the vote on the right hand side of the page. I can't wait for UT-Martin in two weeks.

Go Gators!

 

USN 82-88

 

Spoiler Alert: I hate FSU. If you have never read this before, In my fandom FSU is the ONLY annual rivalry we have a losing record against. My mom had crap poured onto her at a game in Joke Shambles from the top party decks or whatever they call them. I remember the "it's great to be a 4 and 8'r" chants. I vividly remember being 6 years old and seeing Ward to Dunn, I remember the Choke at Doak, I remember the "echo of the whistle" (more on that later), I remember sending scrubs to fight Tony George, I remember the Swindle, I remember a lot of other bs, and that is why last night was about no prisoners and enjoying every second of it.

To start the game we move the ball down the field at will. Then FSU used almost every trick play in their book (and our safety quality) to move down the field and score. Then, the game was over. We could find frustrating things at times, but seriously, did anyone think FSU would have a shot once we marched the ball back down the field a second straight time. Heck, I might have mocked plenty of FSU things last night, but seriously, the one that pissed off a Seminole in my general direction...saying at 5:00 to go in the 4th quarter we still had more people in the stands than they did at any home game this season. The funny thing is, it's true. Heck, UCF would have a higher season average than FSU, but their stadium's capacity wouldn't allow it. I will be discussing the game, but this is also my hit piece on a program that if they had a freshman QB with allegations like Jalon Jones had they would start a Heisman campaign, see 2013.

I regret that we slowed it down in the second half I wanted 50-70 points and know we could have hit it if we weren't getting cute because we could. The goal being to show any new coach the true scope of the dumpster fire that they would have to inherit, while losing talented players like Akers from the program. That, along with what has to be low ball in pay after the struggle to buyout Taggart would be enough to dissuade any coach worthy of football recognition from taking it on. Seriously, who after watching that train wreck wants that challenge knowing there are financial issues within the athletic department with annual games against programs like Clemson and Florida?



Anways...

Offense
What can you say? This offensive line has been below even some of the lowest of expectations in the run game this year. The passing game has been off the charts. 4 TD passes on the night, Trask throws for 343 and Emory throws for 47. I only hate we didn't get to 400 passing. But we did get 467 yards, without really trying to do anything in the 4th quarter.

Trask had some amazing throws into some tight windows. The TD to Jefferson was a good example of that. Good pocket presence, movement, keeping eyes downfield and delivering the TD. I also think the throwaway on the previous play was much better than the forcing the issue we've seen over the years from QB's. I know I've said this plenty, but imagine this guy if there was a running game around him or an average offensive line. You know, like last year when Franks barely contributed to the running game for most of the season, but we still ran the ball pretty well. Trask will need to work on his long ball accuracy. Had a few last night he let get away from him.

Dante Lang owes Toney and apology. Toney showed why he's one of the most electrifying players you've ever seen on the rare occasion he gets the ball.

I was very happy to see the senior receivers go out the way that they did. On the drive we couldn't punch it in from the one (O-line not getting a push) it seemed like throughout the drive we were trying to force the ball to get him a TD on senior night. I think that partially, if not totally, accounts for that third down call. Swain did great with the catch and runs...Have I mentioned this season that the quick passes into space and letting our guys make plays could work? Both TD's Swain had an impressive run. It is unfortunate he got injured, but at least we got to see what a punt return looks like again.

Van Jefferson has improved since transferring over and I think could be the poster child for us potentially picking up a grad transfer receiver this off-season. Pitts had some big catches. Cleveland was impressive.

I like to talk about schemes and everything, but last night, we knew we could go out there and do what we wanted and for the most part we did. We even tried to have some fun just because and force plays to players because we knew we were winning. If the offensive line can get it together before next season, this may be a force to reckon with.

Defense
I want to start by offering the only real negative thing I can say. Our safeties are bad. I know, I've said it a lot on plenty of threads, but they were well beat on several plays, but luckily FSU could not make the throws. Oh, and the big play on the first drive. Partially on Hendo, but I'm pretty sure he was expecting a safety for inside help.

With that said, Defense overall did their thing and played well. 8 sacks, that is amazing. My favorite part, when we sacked Blackman and I might have yelled that he was some type of feline...then 30 seconds later he's crying on TV. Can't make it up. I'm sure he was crying to beg not to be put back in the game. He was and then got beat the F up and took 3 sacks on the next drive.

We did let Akers get to 102 yards. If we didn't let the 50 yard TD happen, it's 16 carries for 52 yards, under 4 ypc. That is a good stat. Oh and we had former 2 star extraordinaire Brunson in on that play.

This unit wasn't perfect last night, but it didn't need to be. Would have liked a 4th shut out at home this season, but it's fine. Heck we allowed 33 points in 6 games, that's 5.5 points a game at home. Granted 5 of 6 were cupcakes, but that is still an insane average.

Special Teams
McPherson missed his first XP ever and Swain muffed one (though a penalty negated), but overall not a bad night. We got to see some semblance of a punt return unit. We got to see a big kick return that almost broke for a TD. And we even got to see a fake punt. I liked the call. I know some people have been grumbling, but look, it was senior day, we were up big, FSU wasn't coming back and we tried getting Townsend one more moment. Also this:



Quick Hits

• There was a different feeling in the air last night and the Swamp was rocking. Any recruits should have been impressed. Although rocking, the intensity didn't feel there because of how inept FSU is.
• Kyle Pitts got a flag for blocking to the echo of the whistle.
• To replace Taggart with a white coach would expose FSU's racism...Odell must be hired today.
• Odell was part of the program under Jimbo when it slid and under Taggert as it continued to slide...Odell must be hired today.
• Ventrell Miller needs to practice the scoop and score. But first, he needs to take a lap.
• I can't take a Gators dad seriously if he leaves before the end of the third quarter because he has his FSU daughter/son with them.
• Why were there people deciding to leave after a second down? Happened quite a bit...I don't understand why you don't finish the drive or at least after the 3rd won.
• VERY disappointed no receiver did the senior thing and chuck the ball into the stands after scoring.
• New facilities video looks nice, can't wait to see donations given and then funneled to other sports again

Around the Nation

• My brother was at K-State/Iowa State, left a good game early because his father-in-law was too cold. Also, potential FSU hire Matt Campbell lost.
• Clemson beat down Muschamp, shouldn't have done it so bad because Muschamp might be forced out.
• Miami, remember Gameday discussing a possible 12-0/11-1 season? LOL.
• Jennings at UT is Kash Daniels level garbage as a human being
• Bama may still make the playoff. I mean no quality wins, but Finebaum will campaign.
• Auburn helping our strength of schedule.
• Seriously, SEC won three against the ACC by at least 23 points.
• Geaux Tigers
• Is Ohio State-Michigan a rivalry? Many people are saying our match up with UT no longer is and both series have the same records over the last 15 games.

Say what we want about changes that do need to be made, that we need to stop thinking beating UGA would be an upset, etc., but we have back to back 10 win seasons and that isn't nothing. We averaged 300 yards passing a game. How many of you would have taken the odds on that at the beginning of the season? How many would take it if you were told Trask would be playing most of the year (not Donkey lol)? There are frustrations, but there also is a lot of hope and progress. We just creamed FSU for the second year in a row. It's looking grim on their coaching search currently and I'm not sure the financials are getting better. They have a good shot at becoming Tennessee without the fan base. It's a good time to be a Gator.

Go Gators!

 

Trask came in as a borderline 2 star recruit that nobody wanted and Mullen turned him into an ALL SEC caliber type star at UF. He finishes the regular season with 2293 yards passing in 9 starts to go along with 21 TDs and only 6 INTs. Trask completed over 66 % of his passes with a passer rating of 158 and a QBR of 78.8. He also ran for 3 TDs. He had 3 games of over 300 yards passing and had at least 2 TD passes in all 9 games that he started. Not bad for a supposed 2* QB that Mullen helped turn into a 5* QB at UF. Bravo Kyle, Bravo! Go Gators and can't wait to see Kyle Trask add to his folk hero status at UF next year!

 

This. Is. Fantastic.

 

Have you ever watched Will Muschamp go apoplectic with uncontrollable rage on the sideline, and secretly wished an aneurysm would explode in his head? Me too. That's not to say I hate Will Muschamp, but like many of you, I do have a macabre fascination with his eventual stress-related death. Will it happen on the football field, in a mental institution, or when some structure falls on him after he punches it?

He was right to be angry to some extent. The officiating was terrible. I speak of that not as a Gator fan, but as a fan of quality work ethic. With the possible exception of the registered democrats on this board, most of us take pride in our work and our work ethic. So regardless of to whom the outcome of the bad call/non-call effects, we're genuinely appalled by it. And this officiating wasn't just bad, it was ACC bad. I kept thinking they'd brought in Jack Childress and his crew of incompetents from the 2003 FSU game. Both teams were hurt by these stooges, we were brutalized by their ineptitude in the first half. I hope we don't see that crew again for the rest of the season.

In any case, with regard to Muschamp, their last scoring drive, which ended with a TD pass with 1:53 left on the board, illustrates why he'll always be a bad coach. I mentioned last week that good coaches would see how poorly we reacted to the hurry-up offense and deploy it in their next game plan. Ever obsessed with time-of-possession victories, Muschamp failed to run a hurry-up until his last scoring drive. Just like in the LSU game, our guys couldn't get lined up and weren't ready for the snap. The Gamecocks moved the ball downfield on us easily then. South Carolina could've put at least two more touchdowns up, maybe had 500 yards of offense on us if they'd come to the line after every play.

South Carolina was able to move the ball against us quite a bit during the game, which is concerning. I'd say the play of Henderson, who in my opinion is one of the better DBs I've seen in a Gator uniform, and Wilson, who made some great tackles, was the highlight of the defense. But man, we missed a lot of tackles, which was frustrating to watch. The energy level may have been a little low after two emotional games and playing in a sloggy stadium. The impact of not having Zuniga and Greenard is really being felt right now. I hope those guys can come back for Georgia. We will need them.

Trask was having trouble throwing in the rain, and he made a few mistakes, but in all, his play has been a miracle sent straight from heaven. I can't believe how lucky we are to have this guy, he's a legitimate pro prospect. His pocket awareness has improved a lot. He just seems like a guy who can learn from his mistakes. He did get bailed out a few times by luck and flags, though. I don't know what happened on the interception he threw to start the second half. Maybe the ball slipped in his hands. But he did throw into a bunch of defenders, the pass was ill-advised, regardless. I will say that it made me cringe watching the lack of tackling effort by Pitts on the interception return. He was acting like the ball carrier was a homeless dude with a tuberculosis cough.

The way the offense responded to it on the next drive was great though with that 75-yarder by Pierce. I loved watching Cleveland sustaining a 60-yard block on his defender. That was awesome. Pierce is a wrecking ball. It seemed like it would be the kind of game where he'd get a lot of carries, I was disappointed that he saw so few. I will say that our offensive line seemed to improve a bit, but then again, everyone looks good against Muschamp's overrated defenses. I'd still rate LSUs defense better, and they are giving up a lot of points this season.

When do we generally start getting annoyed with the ego-driven calls of our head coach? I'm not there yet. He's made some brilliant calls, and he's generally called good games, but his penchant for trying to be cute has the potential for getting costly. He made some unnecessarily risky pass play calls when we were up by 11 and needed to milk the clock. It turned out ok, but it seemed like we lucked out with penalties, missed calls and a missed INT.

Swain's catch was beautiful - an absolutely gorgeous route with a fully extended lay-out on the catch.

Speaking of gorgeous, how awesome is it that this chick managed to look so good and keep her makeup and youthful glow intact in the face having just watched Pierce's punch-to-the gut run in a rain-soaked stadium? All those years of taking 'Presentation and Etiquette' classes in Mrs. Windhaven's School for Proper Girls turned her into the coquettish little Southern Belle that has made her mom and her uncle proud. Well done.

 

Through week 8, The University of Florida leads the SEC in both fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards.

I fully expect the rapture to occur at any second.

 

I know some of you seemed to not be impressed with yesterday’s haul, so I decided to dive a little deeper into the overall roster talent and the 180 flip since Mullen arrived in Gainesville. This is original content, and I typed this on my lagging iPhone so bare with me if there’s grammatical errors (it’s all Siri’s fault)

Let’s first take a look at Bamas 2019 recruiting class

Alabama:

12 top 100 recruits
12 recruits in the top 100-300 range
3 outside the top 300, only one unranked and that’s a kicker (their kickers always suck so I’m going to say this kid also sucks so suck it Saban)

This is the gold standard in recruiting. We all know this. Nobody has truly been able to 1. Recruit at this level while also 2. Evaluate and take kids that fit your brand/scheme/culture the way they do. Hardly ever do they have a high end bust which means they aren’t just star gazing. In reality, this isn’t a level we will be able to hit or at least consistently hit.

Let’s take a look at Clemson’s class:

Clemson signed 29 players, and still ended up two spots behind Florida’s class of 25 players.

3 top 100 recruits
9 players in the 100-300 range
17 kids in the 300-1000 range. Quite a lot actually are below the top 500.

This is kind of an outlier class for Clemon. Clearly not their best. Let’s look at the class that’s going to lead them to another title, the ‘18 class:

5 5 stars
7 top 100 recruits (this includes the 5 stars)
5 in the 100-300 range
5 in the 300-900 range

This is the group that success for Clemson will be based on over the next 2-3 years. This class already won a national title led by Ross and Lawrence. Sandwiching an amazing class like this with classes like 2019 will be what Florida needs to do to contend for national titles on a yearly basis.

I’m not even going to get into Georgias recruiting because it’s evident to me Kirby star gazes with little evaluation, hoping to override his mediocre coaching with an abundance of high level talent. He’s recruited quite a few guys that don’t fit their style offensively, a mish mash of players that realize this once they get to campus hence the high level of transfers. And on top of that they haven’t won anything.

Butters destroyed Florida’s talent and depth by at one point having 20 more 3 stars than we did 4 and 5 stars combined. With Mullen having 1 1/2 classes, we are officially over the 50% blue chip ratio for our roster at a healthy 54%.

Now, let’s take a look at Florida’s 2019 class

9th overall (8th on rivals)
5 top 100 recruits (I count Diwun Black because he’s still 45th overall on 247, was a borderline 5 star who would be a consensus five star if he didn’t quit for a year. Not going to punish us for something that doesn’t include suspension or injury.)
8 players in the 100-300 range
12 players from 300-800

blue chip ratio is the key here and a solid mix of top 100 and guys in the 100-300 range.

Florida’s 2019 class finished with a blue chip ratio of 68% on the composite. Pushing the programs blue chip percentage above .500 for the first time since at least 2015 (probably even earlier than that. The team composite doesn’t go further back).

When Mullen first arrived, Florida had 51 3 star recruits and only 28 blue chippers. I can’t stress how impressive this recruiting turn around has been, because I know some see the lack of 5 stars and immediately rage quit on caring about the depth of the overall turn around

Mullens two year haul has produced 9 top 100 players, 15 players in the 100-300 range, and only 15 3 stars. Compared to Clemson’s 10 top 100 recruits, 14 in the 100-300 range, and 20 3 stars.

A two year average and we have signed the exact same amount of top 300 players as Clemson, and 1 less top 100 player. They’ve signed 6 5 stars though. And that’ll be key to pay attention to down the line.

I think in 2020 we have a real shot to sign 3-4 five stars and even a high blue chip percentage than we did in 2019. Overall, recruiting has transformed the talent level of Florida ten fold since Mullens arrival and its only going to get better from here.

Add on: developing and coaching is obviously incredibly important as well, and I believe we have one of the best coaches in college football. The continued roster flip and a coach who develops his offensive talent with the best of them, constantly challenging the brightest defensive minds in football, will yield us multiple titles in the short future.

 

36-17. To quote Ralphie..."Oh Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-dge (only he didn't say "Fudge")! I didn't say "Fudge" either, but used the alternative quite often this afternoon. The things we needed to control in order to win, the LOS, their run game, their QB and pass game, we were inconsistent at best and poor at critical junctures. Turnovers didn't help matters, though we somewhat overcame them I thought. Still, Franks' two would be indicative of his inconsistent if not erratic play. Missing a wide open Jefferson was an indicator, perhaps, of how his day would go. Take away a TD throw to Swain and the bad outweighed the good. We had opportunities to seize momentum and possibly alter the outcome, but failed to do so. Scoring easily on the first possession of the second half and then allowing them to match on their first possession was one of those moments. What a difference a stop might have made. Georgia isn't as good as they were last year, but they're still pretty decent. We won't beat them or similar teams with the play we brought today. East is now out of the question, but corrections and a more consistent and efficient effort next game is to be expected. The rebuild continues.

*Franks was behind the receivers on several throws that were part of his inconsistency. On his pick, how in hell could he not see the DB squatting in front of the receiver, in his line of sight no less? For as good as a lot of his play has been this year, he can find ways to step backwards, often when the pressure is high. Makes me think that Jones' package may be a little more than just that going forward?

*I mentioned that we didn't control the LOS well enough to better contain their run game when it counted or to put more pressure on Fromm, but we had some good moments. The goal line stand (may as well have been two of them) that held the Dawgs to a FG and the three and outs in the first half were notable, but we couldn't sustain any momentum that might have come from them. We wound up giving up more than a hundred to Swift (his first time ever eclipsing that mark) and Holyfield punished us on most of his runs getting a lot of YAC. That said, UGA was not dynamic in this area, but again, good when it counted. Both OLs were ok in pass pro.

*Zuniga played a helluva game. The stuff he ran down and stopped from the backside was pretty special. Joseph and Moon had some good reps as well. Secondary, however, got abused for much of the game and I think Reese blew a couple of coverage assignments.

*Losing Henderson early on was pretty big. Young McWilliams was obviously identified by their O staff and got toasted. Our safety, Stiner I think, on their last TD toss was slow to recognize the route and gave up about five yards of separation on the break.

*Did we ever cover the TE today? Allowing Nauta to make four receptions in a row on their drive before the half was inexcusable.

*Special Teams was not a big factor though we seemed to give up some return yards greater than usual. First time I think I've ever seen a ball hit the camera cable!

Again, the rebuild continues. The process so far is working and it is clear we are better, but today pointed out that we aren't yet elite. Stinks losing to the Dawgs and especially with the number of inconsistent moments and also giving them a cheap one at the end, but only time, hard work, and recruiting will be the cure. I'm bummed, but still very optimistic about our direction. Most thought this would be one to drop at the first of the season even though our hopes and expectations have been elevated. On to the next game. Go Gators!



***Adding a few more thoughts (was in a rush to go to the Mexican joint to drown my sorrows and break bread)...

*I mentioned momentum several times and it was disappointing that we didn't seem to take advantage of moments that should have led to us gaining the juice. Maybe we were a little overconfident; maybe we were playing a better team that was an invested rival? Whichever, it was obvious that they weren't Vandy.

*McPherson's FG was great and he is certainly a good young kicker, but this was a game that we needed a TD. I guess the thinking was that we were close enough that points however they came were important and the D had made some good stops. Alas, the D got too much of the load thrown on them to answer the bell when we had to have it in the second half. The O, particularly the QB play, has to be able to rise against all quality opponents. Part of learning curve we currently find ourselves in I suppose.

*Scarlett had some good carries, but your first line back simply can't cough it up like he did, Perrine had some good carries, but the Dawgs and the scoreboard put the clamps on the running game as the game progressed. It is tough to win when you've got to have that component when the throw game isn't producing and it gets cut off.

*Our little option package wasn't as productive as it has been (shocker). We had to know that UGA would be prepared. Jones was late getting into the pitch on one that resulted in a fumble and loss of yards. Probably not the best call for the freshman at that time.

*Seems like a lot of our sideline horizontal stuff and a couple of throws to the flats were into a numbers disadvantage. Stands to reason as we have relied on this stuff to bolster our passing. They had us scouted pretty well, but that is Kirby's forte.