Bits & Pieces: Florida vs Ole Miss

[cover2]

In a much better effort than the previous week, the Gators almost…Almost…pulled off a win against playoff bound (potentially) Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin, the crowd favorite to take the helm in Gainesville and right the ship that’s been listing if not run aground for sometime now. Beleaguered star quarterback DJ Lagway looked more like who he was supposed to be, guiding the team to a 24-20 lead at the half while rushing for one score and hitting J Michael Sturdivant in stride for a 57 yard strike. I happened to be driving home from the lake, listening to the pre-game on the radio and it was great to hear DJ speak with confidence about correcting his recent throwing issues, many of which he attributed to poor footwork. He sounded more like the confident high school All-American with an unlimited ceiling as opposed to the kid who was connecting more with the defenders than his own receivers in a disaster of a season thus far. And for a half last evening that’s who he was. Unfortunately, the scoring spigot was abruptly shut off, DJ throwing a terrible pick while off-balance and on the move to his left, a soft-touch floater that was tip-drilled by the defense, and a potential season-changing win was emphatically erased. So much for correcting past mistakes. And the questions about Lagway, and the Gators, and their future remained unanswered.

Stat Line

The two biggest stats besides Lagway’s pick, arguably, were the Gators inability to put any points on the board in the second half while Ole Miss scored twice in the 4th quarter to come from behind and secure the victory and thus keep their playoff hopes alive. Also, having a back like Kewan Lacey rushing for 224 yds and 3 scores was also a big difference maker. Ole Miss breathes a sigh of relief while the Gators’ misery continues.

As will happen in rural areas of the Panhandle, we unexplicably lost power this morning. 60 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze. Go figure, but as such I haven’t read or heard anything beyond the speculation about whether or not we have a new HBC in waiting. Truthfully, if it’s to be Kiffin I’d rather he finish his current team’s season to the end. I guess it somehow makes for a more noble gesture in what has become a quite ignoble line of work. Feeling like he’s transformed from the talented but loud and intolerable brat who burst on the scene in Tennessee years back and immediately challenged Urban Meyer and the Gators both on the field and in the media has some value to this old guy, who once remarked that he was “glad he’s not OUR coach!” Just goes to show that time and some seasoning can change a lot of things for the better. If Lane Kiffin is indeed the next guy in Hawgtown, I’ll feel as good about a coaching change as I have in quite a while. The big tell for me and no doubt many others was Kiffin’s supposed question about $$$ committed to NIL and to assembling a coaching staff. That’s business that’s not only big league but indicates not just a plan to resurrect but a plan to WIN and compete for CHAMPIONSHIPS! Quite frankly, that’s music to the ears for those of us who’ve simply hoped that we might find a way to just keep up! There’s still a ways to go before all of this is settled but it feels better, at least up here in rural NoFL than it has in some time.

Go Gators!

 

[stephenPE]

Thank you. Now I will read it. I really like the stats part. TIme of possession really jumps out at me. Our def. came to play in my opinion. Twice at the goal line really pissed Lane off. But its still a learning process for him. He looks miserable to me. I think he has made up his mind. Lane is an offensive guy. Funny he was more offensive when he was younger but in that different way. Being able to come to UF and have SOS as a sounding board and also a source has to be really attractive to him. I want him to come here. I think being able to talk offense with SOS on the same side would be like a dream come true for LK.
as for the game I was (and I think many others were too) thrilled our boys came to play after last week. I didnt realize VB3 was out till this morning. Damn. The effort was there and maybe our fellas were auditioning for their next boss.....whatever. I did not see quit in Oxford last night and I feel better.

 

[Gatormac2112]

2nd

OK, now that I've read it, good write up. DJ is going to be like this until he gets real coaching. I don't blame him, it is what it is. I don't know why people are speculating an announcement could come so soon, it wouldn't make sense to me. I don't think anything happens until December.

 

[Ironhead]

Good take Cover, as always.
Look forward to your post game takes every Sunday.
I hope you're feeling well!

Tough game for both sides. Our guys played hard, didn't give up and I thought, played with the desire to win. It mattered, and I could tell.
That wasn't the case in Lexington. I guess credit to the interim?

No way to put in a new offense so, we're stuck with this abomination until next season. So, once we exhausted our best plays, we were never going to score again. Even trying to run some of the plays that were successful earlier. Like this entire putrid season, last season, season before that.....

Our brand is tarnished, dis-respected, mocked and diminished to a point lower than Kentucky and barely above USCe.
I don't even watch anymore expecting to win, or hell, even expecting to compete.

We need resuscitation.

 

[Zambo]

The offense was anemic, much more so than the stats show. And the stats aren't good. We had a paltry 218 yards passing but the bulk of that came on a couple of plays. We scored 3 touchdowns, one of which was a 5 yard drive after an INT and the other two fueled mostly by a couple of nice bomb throws. Outside of that our offense did bumpkis.

We got the ball 5 times in the 2nd half:
4 plays...punt
3 plays....punt
11 plays.....INT
4 plays.....t/o on downs
4 plays.....t/o on downs

Friggin terrible. The INT on the ONE decent drive was a dagger of course, since we were in FG range trailing by 3, but even after subsequently stopping them again at the goal line we had plenty of time to score. The next series of plays, despite the bogus no-call on the PI, was nothing short of atrocious. 2nd down with 2:25 on the clock....run up the middle from your own 3 yard line, then let the clock tick down to 2:01 before snapping the ball and giving up a sack on 3rd and 7 to one of our former players. Then on 4th and 7 after the 2 minute t/o, we throw a bomb into double coverage that had precisely zero chance of being completed, giving the ball back to OM at the 6 yard line.

Vomitous disaster of a possession and a perfect exclamation point on the typical Gator offense that we have all witnessed for years now. The equivalent of a frightened dog rolling over on its back and peeing all over itself. Makes me want to aim a firehose full of aids infected pus right at the faces of the idiots running our program and pull the handle.

 

[deuce]

I don't put any faith in moral victories!

This team doesn't have a "Winner" mentality.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

We got the ball 5 times in the 2nd half:
4 plays...punt
3 plays....punt
11 plays.....INT
4 plays.....t/o on downs
4 plays.....t/o on downs

 

[cover2]

The offense was anemic, much more so than the stats show. And the stats aren't good. We had a paltry 218 yards passing but the bulk of that came on a couple of plays. We scored 3 touchdowns, one of which was a 5 yard drive after an INT and the other two fueled mostly by a couple of nice bomb throws. Outside of that our offense did bumpkis.

We got the ball 5 times in the 2nd half:
4 plays...punt
3 plays....punt
11 plays.....INT
4 plays.....t/o on downs
4 plays.....t/o on downs

Friggin terrible. The INT on the ONE decent drive was a dagger of course, since we were in FG range trailing by 3, but even after subsequently stopping them again at the goal line we had plenty of time to score. The next series of plays, despite the bogus no-call on the PI, was nothing short of atrocious. 2nd down with 2:25 on the clock....run up the middle from your own 3 yard line, then let the clock tick down to 2:01 before snapping the ball and giving up a sack on 3rd and 7 to one of our former players. Then on 4th and 7 after the 2 minute t/o, we throw a bomb into double coverage that had precisely zero chance of being completed, giving the ball back to OM at the 6 yard line.

Vomitous disaster of a possession and a perfect exclamation point on the typical Gator offense that we have all witnessed for years now. The equivalent of a frightened dog rolling over on its back and peeing all over itself. Makes me want to aim a firehose full of aids infected pus right at the faces of the idiots running our program and pull the handle.

Nothing to disagree with. The dog analogy pretty much summed up the latter stages of the game, which was pretty much a bucket of cold water thrown on those horny for victory. The conclusion should pretty much end any hopes that might have been held about a positive conclusion to the Napier Disaster left in the hands of the interims.

I don't put any faith in moral victories!

This team doesn't have a "Winner" mentality.

That term came to mind…for about a nanosecond. There’s no solace to be had from simply sucking less than we did last week.

 

[FireFoley]

The offense was anemic, much more so than the stats show. And the stats aren't good. We had a paltry 218 yards passing but the bulk of that came on a couple of plays. We scored 3 touchdowns, one of which was a 5 yard drive after an INT and the other two fueled mostly by a couple of nice bomb throws. Outside of that our offense did bumpkis.

We got the ball 5 times in the 2nd half:
4 plays...punt
3 plays....punt
11 plays.....INT
4 plays.....t/o on downs
4 plays.....t/o on downs

Friggin terrible. The INT on the ONE decent drive was a dagger of course, since we were in FG range trailing by 3, but even after subsequently stopping them again at the goal line we had plenty of time to score. The next series of plays, despite the bogus no-call on the PI, was nothing short of atrocious. 2nd down with 2:25 on the clock....run up the middle from your own 3 yard line, then let the clock tick down to 2:01 before snapping the ball and giving up a sack on 3rd and 7 to one of our former players. Then on 4th and 7 after the 2 minute t/o, we throw a bomb into double coverage that had precisely zero chance of being completed, giving the ball back to OM at the 6 yard line.

Vomitous disaster of a possession and a perfect exclamation point on the typical Gator offense that we have all witnessed for years now. The equivalent of a frightened dog rolling over on its back and peeing all over itself. Makes me want to aim a firehose full of aids infected pus right at the faces of the idiots running our program and pull the handle.

This sums up what I mentioned somewhere else on the board. Well before the first half ends, the D has seen any possible play (outside of a fake kick, etc) that exists in Retards Coloring Book. There is a reason why Karl's teams do not score enough points to win against equal opponents. And exactly why his use of the word "precision" all the time was a clue that unless he is able to have a supreme talent advantage on the opponent, everyone has to execute 100% perfectly on every play for the offense to have any successful consistency.

 

[Spurdog98]

bottomline.

 

[MarylandGator]

View attachment 88217

bottomline.

Which one were we, hard to tell.

 

[gatormandan]

Last year slingblade beat kiffy and the donk said it was because he had a couple receivers out. This year the gators go to miss with basically all their receivers out and a dozen other players out with a receivers coach at the helm and the score is within 3 points with 2 minutes left in the 4th qtr. Just a small amount of offense in the second half would have won that game. Kiffys offense was scary and just what we need right?

 

[deuce]

I don't put any faith in moral victories!

This team doesn't have a "Winner" mentality.

So Gatordiddy thinks I'm "Stoned" for saying this. I'm just curious does that mean he thinks having a moral victory deserves an award? Or does he think this team has a winners mentality? Or both? I think he's drunk again or still.

 

[Spurdog98]

Last year slingblade beat kiffy and the donk said it was because he had a couple receivers out. This year the gators go to miss with basically all their receivers out and a dozen other players out with a receivers coach at the helm and the score is within 3 points with 2 minutes left in the 4th qtr. Just a small amount of offense in the second half would have won that game. Kiffys offense was scary and just what we need right?

It is. We got damn lucky on the PF call that was after the play. That would have given them a TD and the other TD that Chambliss just missed on was wide open. Our offense scored 17 pts not 24.

 

[gatormandan]

It is. We got damn lucky on the PF call that was after the play. That would have given them a TD and the other TD that Chambliss just missed on was wide open. Our offense scored 17 pts not 24.

Ky hung 38 on us.

 

[Spurdog98]

If you are arguing against having Kiff then just come out an say it. Then give us better and viable option

 

[gatormandan]

If you are arguing against having Kiff then just come out an say it. Then give us better and viable option

I dont really see a better option but I am simply being honest with what I see. I think that is something the majority refuses to do. I dont want drinksvit or anyone like him but I really wish there were some options out there. Like Ox said in his podcast, he doesnt believe Kiffin wins any championships here. Thats being honest with himself. I just wish we could all do so without immediately being attacked and accused. I am sorry if I dont believe Kiffin is the next SOS like many here do. I just dont see it. I have said it before that if he comes here I will get behind him 100% and pray to god I am wrong.

 

[Spurdog98]

I dont really see a better option but I am simply being honest with what I see. I think that is something the majority refuses to do. I dont want drinksvit or anyone like him but I really wish there were some options out there. Like Ox said in his podcast, he doesnt believe Kiffin wins any championships here. Thats being honest with himself. I just wish we could all do so without immediately being attacked and accused. I am sorry if I dont believe Kiffin is the next SOS like many here do. I just dont see it. I have said it before that if he comes here I will get behind him 100% and pray to god I am wrong.

The next SOS? No! But I think he could win championships here. He saw our weakness and ran the ball down our throat, just like UK did. And we lost both. Our O actually showed up for a 1/2 at Ole Miss. They were MIA at Kentucky.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Last year slingblade beat kiffy and the donk said it was because he had a couple receivers out.

Actually it was top three receivers and top 4 running backs.

 

[gatormandan]

The next SOS? No! But I think he could win championships here. He saw our weakness and ran the ball down our throat, just like UK did. And we lost both. Our O actually showed up for a 1/2 at Ole Miss. They were MIA at Kentucky.

If he comes here maybe I will be impressed.