The Gators hopes of salvaging the lost season go through Jacksonville and their showdown with the Bulldogs, but that is only the beginning of the start.The Florida Gators have seen it all:
Tennessee coming back in the final half a minute to pull a stunning victory out of the teeth of the Gators.
Louisiana State driving down the field with excellence to end a two game losing streak and keep slim hopes of a conference title alive.
A Hurricane canceling the game against Middle Tennessee State.
All those challenges and NOW they get into the hard part of the season.
Florida might only be 1/2 game back in the SEC East, but Tennessee would have to lose twice for Florida to have a chance. That was guaranteed when South Carolina lost to Ole Miss and Tennessee beat Georgia and Florida lost to LSU. Florida is locked in the corner of the closet and it looks like, if everything goes right, the Outback Bowl may come calling again.
But Florida still has a chance to redeem itself. But Florida still has a chance to right the ship and go to the Citrus Bowl or maybe backdoor into a BCS game. But Florida still has to turn it around if they are going to have a shot.
On October 23rd, they travel to Mississippi State, a winnable game. But Mississippi State has been improving recently, and Florida has played down to their opponents numerous times recently. That is the first test.
The next test comes October 30th when they head to Jacksonville to renew their one-sided rivalry with Georgia. Florida has won 12 of the last 13 meetings, but this year could be different.
Hopefully not.
Georgia is the one team for which Zook has their number. I think he got it from one of the players by accident, but he has it.
Assuming they run the table to that point, then I would feel safe in saying Nader will be elected president.
But for the time being, let’s make an ass out of you and me and assume that Florida does win those 3 games and is suddenly 6-2, 4-2. Then they get to head to Vanderbilt, where just two years ago when Vanderbilt was searching the web for “new lows”, they played a great game, losing to Florida by only 4 points. Now they actually have talent and will be going against a team that has just played a tough game seven days earlier against a top-10 team. Oh, did I say Vanderbilt has their best team in nearly twenty years this year?
Let’s go by the assumption Vanderbilt misses the field goal to win the game and Florida is 7-2, 5-2 in the conference so that I can keep cracking wise-@ss jokes about them.
Now they host South Carolina, a team that is much improved and has been in every game, losing a couple of heart-breakers at home to Georgia and Ole Miss, but winning two road games in conference play against average opponents. I guess you could say that Florida is ”average” by basis that a “good team” is averaged out by a “poor” coach. But let’s assume South Carolina misreads their schedule and travels to UF as in Fordham instead of UF as in Florida.
Suddenly they are 8-2, 6-2 in the conference. I’m not ready to say Tennessee lost 2 remaining games, but it could happen. As I said, with Nader as president-elect, anything could happen.
Now, after all that strenuous strain, after they miraculously managed to win 5 consecutive games during 5 consecutive weeks, after Pete Coors defeated Ken Salazar for senator from Colorado, Florida has to travel to Florida State to beat the winning head coach in major college football according to such a reliable source as USA Today.
And to make matters worse, Florida has not won at Florida State since Fidel Castro last shaved his beard.
But let’s assume that a meteor strikes down on the Florida State locker room and there is no entrance to the stadium for the general student population to get in to replace those lost, and Bobby Bowden has used up his eligibility so he cannot play, and thus Florida wins.
Amazingly they are 9-2, 6-2 in the conference and the apocalypse has still not arrived. Now, assuming Nader is president and Tennessee loses to Alabama and Vanderbilt, Florida can still WIN the conference with a win against Auburn, and I could still pass 9th grade Biology.
Let’s assume they pull a miracle and win the Auburn games. I know that is too much to beg for and you are all now suffering cerebral hemorrhages, but let us assume.
Now they go to the Sugar Bowl against Miami (FL), who failed to win the ACC. Oh jolly joy!
Ron Zook, unprepared for a bowl game against a team that is always prepared and fourteen hundred times better. Need I say more? Need I tell you what should happen? Need I tell you what will happen?
But let’s assume that Miami (FL)……. (and with that, the general populace of the United States blows up for assuming too much).
