crystal ball part II
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:00 pm
After last week's half-serious, half-humorous look at the first half of the season, Guerry Smith tackles the last six games of the regular season.
Will Florida beat Georgia and Florida State again? Will Urban Meyer take the lead in his series with Steve Spurrier? Will the Gators get back to the SEC Championship Game after losing so many stars from their national championship team?
Those questions and many more you never thought of are answered here as the Gators enter the second half of the season at 5-1 with a loss to LSU.
7)Florida 38, Kentucky 21
Florida coach Urban Meyer, who boasts an incredible record when he has two weeks to prepare, says he is thankful the Gators have an open date after the excruciating loss to LSU. Unfortunately, instead of playing Georgia in the new SEC schedule setup, they get Kentucky, which requires prep time of two days, max.
Kentucky finds an ingenious way to keep its leaky defense fresh by giving up an 85-yard touchdown return to Chris Rainey on the opening kickoff, then, after Andre Woodson leads a 70-yard drive to tie the score, an 88-yard touchdown return to Jarred Fayson. Kestahn Moore smiles as the Gators break an eight-year scoring drought on kickoffs and get one third of the way to his preseason prediction of six touchdowns on kick returns.
The UF offense takes its first snap at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter after Kentucky misses a field goal. Tebow immediately runs an option and gains 35 yards before pitching to Percy Harvin as he is being tackled.
Harvin, whose crackback block opened the hole, streaks 35 yards to the end zone as the Gators go up 21-7. The young UF defense struggles again away from Florida Field, but the Gators never lose control as the Plan to Win becomes the Plan to Bore the rest of the way, with an abnormally conservative offense holding on to the ball for 30 of the last 45 minutes. No style points, but another comfortable W.
[img]{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif[/img]Florida 24, Georgia 20
Meyer has a pretty darn good record with one week to prepare, too. Georgia fans are ecstatic in the pre-game build-up because of the huge schedule reversal, with the 'Dawgs getting the open date before the Jacksonville clash instead of the Gators.
At The Landing the night before the game, a random Tennessee fan joins a rowdy group of barking Bulldogs and claims Steve Spurrier would have won zero SEC titles if Florida had played Tennessee in November and the league had not given the Gators that open date before Georgia and if Ray Goff had not been born. One Georgia fan punches the Tennessee fan for that final part; the rest agree with him and buy him a drink as an apology, but a brawl breaks out anyway between lubricated UF and Georgia supporters.
Jacksonville policemen overreact and are hostile to every fan in the city the next two days. UF president Dr. Bernie Machen blames underage drinking and calls for all Gainesville bars to close at 9 p.m. The game?
Tebow converts two fourth downs on a go-ahead touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter. One yard away from tying the game with 4:45 left, Mark Richt calls for an 18-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 24-20 and then kicks deep. The Gators pick up two first downs and run out the clock.
9)Florida 34, Vanderbilt 15
Buoyed by preseason speculation about realistic bowl hopes for the fourth consecutive year, Vandy enters with a 4-4 record and victories over powerhouse programs Richmond, Ole Miss, Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio).
The Commodores exit with a 4-5 mark after Chris Nickson throws four interceptions, one each to Brandon Spikes, Wondy Pierre-Louis, Jamar Hornsby and Rainey in fourth-quarter spot duty as a dime back. Another errant toss goes right to former UF cornerback Dee Webb, attending the game on a sideline pass, but he drops it.
Moore rushes for 100 yards for the first time since the opener against Western Kentucky. Harvin gains 115 yards on five carries. Tebow gets exactly 100 yards as UF has three backs reach the century mark for the first time since the mid-80s with Neal Anderson, Lorenzo Hampton and James Massey. UF's defense, in its best performance of the year, sacks Nickson five times –two by Derrick Harvey, two by Jermaine Cunningham and one by Dustin Doe on a blitz.
The next day, Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of Detroit.
10)South Carolina 23, Florida 21
The Gamecocks come in off a devastating loss at Arkansas, which ends their four-game SEC winning streak following an 0-2 start at Georgia and LSU. With UF 6-1 (losing to LSU) Tennessee 3-2 (losing to UF and at home to South Carolina) and Georgia 4-2 (losing to UF and Tennessee), the Spurrier vs. Meyer matchup in Columbia would have been for the SEC East title (due to tiebreakers) if the Cocks had handled the Hogs.
Unlike in 2005, South Carolina can't even stop UF from going to the SEC Championship Game because the Gators already have clinched the East. Blake Mitchell, benched after his lousy performances against Georgia and LSU but reinstated after leading a three-touchdown, fourth-quarter rally against Kentucky, throws for 320 yards as UF's front seven can't get to him.
The Gator defense stiffens in the Red Zone, forcing South Carolina to three short field goals in the first half, but Mitchell connects with Kenny McKinley for two third-quarter scores. Trailing 23-14, Florida goes for fourth-and-1 at its own 20 with 10 minutes left in the game and scores four minutes later on a pass from Tebow to Andre Caldwell.
The Gators get the ball back but stall when true freshman guard Maurkice Pouncey is flagged for holding. Meyer chokes up after the game and says the "human element" of clinching the title a week earlier hurt UF's preparation and that some key youngsters weren't invested enough.
UF athletic director Jeremy Foley points to the national championship, the two consecutive East titles and says the program is still in good shape. Ecstatic South Carolina fans talk about the possibility of a trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
11)Florida 55, Florida Atlantic 10
Damn, isn't that 12th game a grand idea? It's not even Senior Day to get fans mildly excited at The Swamp. Florida scores six touchdowns in seven possessions during the first half and plays the backups and walk-ons the rest of the way. FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger says he has taken another step in bringing a national championship to Boca Raton after the Owls kick a meaningless 56-yard field goal on the game's final play.
12)Florida 31, FSU 16
Getting coached on offense for the first time in seven years, the Seminoles still enter with a mediocre 7-4 record because they have forgotten how to win. After a third consecutive loss to Clemson in the season-opening Bowden Bowl, FSU also falls to Alabama, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, but the Seminoles are at an emotional peak when they arrive at Florida Field.
The seniors don't want to become the first class to go winless against the Gators since the 1986 group. Florida's nine scholarship seniors have to walk the full 100 yards of the field to shake Meyer's hand before the game, lengthening what otherwise would have been a 60-second ceremony.
UF starts slowly even though the Seminoles kicks off from their 15 at the beginning of the game after players storm the field to stomp on the Gator F following the coin toss. FSU goes ahead 10-0, but UF ties the score when Andre Caldwell ends a streak of three three-and-outs with a 66-yard touchdown off the same bubble screen he scored on last year. Rainey, in motion on the play, makes a key block 20 yards down the field but is done for the day after Major Wright runs on the field to congratulate him and accidentally knocks him out.
FSU ends the half with a 45-yard Hail Mary touchdown when Wright accidentally knocks out Tony Joiner while going for the ball. The extra point sails wide right. Wright knocks out FSU wideout Greg Carr with a legal hit on FSU's first play of the second half. The charged up UF defense limits Antone Smith to 15 yards on 10 carries after the break. Tebow throws touchdown passes to Caldwell, Harvin and Fayson on consecutive drives to seal the victory.
In his post-game press conference, Bowden says the key was "when No. 89, what's his name, couldn't come back in the game because of that big hit by the Florida boy."
Will Florida beat Georgia and Florida State again? Will Urban Meyer take the lead in his series with Steve Spurrier? Will the Gators get back to the SEC Championship Game after losing so many stars from their national championship team?
Those questions and many more you never thought of are answered here as the Gators enter the second half of the season at 5-1 with a loss to LSU.
7)Florida 38, Kentucky 21
Florida coach Urban Meyer, who boasts an incredible record when he has two weeks to prepare, says he is thankful the Gators have an open date after the excruciating loss to LSU. Unfortunately, instead of playing Georgia in the new SEC schedule setup, they get Kentucky, which requires prep time of two days, max.
Kentucky finds an ingenious way to keep its leaky defense fresh by giving up an 85-yard touchdown return to Chris Rainey on the opening kickoff, then, after Andre Woodson leads a 70-yard drive to tie the score, an 88-yard touchdown return to Jarred Fayson. Kestahn Moore smiles as the Gators break an eight-year scoring drought on kickoffs and get one third of the way to his preseason prediction of six touchdowns on kick returns.
The UF offense takes its first snap at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter after Kentucky misses a field goal. Tebow immediately runs an option and gains 35 yards before pitching to Percy Harvin as he is being tackled.
Harvin, whose crackback block opened the hole, streaks 35 yards to the end zone as the Gators go up 21-7. The young UF defense struggles again away from Florida Field, but the Gators never lose control as the Plan to Win becomes the Plan to Bore the rest of the way, with an abnormally conservative offense holding on to the ball for 30 of the last 45 minutes. No style points, but another comfortable W.
[img]{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif[/img]Florida 24, Georgia 20
Meyer has a pretty darn good record with one week to prepare, too. Georgia fans are ecstatic in the pre-game build-up because of the huge schedule reversal, with the 'Dawgs getting the open date before the Jacksonville clash instead of the Gators.
At The Landing the night before the game, a random Tennessee fan joins a rowdy group of barking Bulldogs and claims Steve Spurrier would have won zero SEC titles if Florida had played Tennessee in November and the league had not given the Gators that open date before Georgia and if Ray Goff had not been born. One Georgia fan punches the Tennessee fan for that final part; the rest agree with him and buy him a drink as an apology, but a brawl breaks out anyway between lubricated UF and Georgia supporters.
Jacksonville policemen overreact and are hostile to every fan in the city the next two days. UF president Dr. Bernie Machen blames underage drinking and calls for all Gainesville bars to close at 9 p.m. The game?
Tebow converts two fourth downs on a go-ahead touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter. One yard away from tying the game with 4:45 left, Mark Richt calls for an 18-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 24-20 and then kicks deep. The Gators pick up two first downs and run out the clock.
9)Florida 34, Vanderbilt 15
Buoyed by preseason speculation about realistic bowl hopes for the fourth consecutive year, Vandy enters with a 4-4 record and victories over powerhouse programs Richmond, Ole Miss, Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio).
The Commodores exit with a 4-5 mark after Chris Nickson throws four interceptions, one each to Brandon Spikes, Wondy Pierre-Louis, Jamar Hornsby and Rainey in fourth-quarter spot duty as a dime back. Another errant toss goes right to former UF cornerback Dee Webb, attending the game on a sideline pass, but he drops it.
Moore rushes for 100 yards for the first time since the opener against Western Kentucky. Harvin gains 115 yards on five carries. Tebow gets exactly 100 yards as UF has three backs reach the century mark for the first time since the mid-80s with Neal Anderson, Lorenzo Hampton and James Massey. UF's defense, in its best performance of the year, sacks Nickson five times –two by Derrick Harvey, two by Jermaine Cunningham and one by Dustin Doe on a blitz.
The next day, Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of Detroit.
10)South Carolina 23, Florida 21
The Gamecocks come in off a devastating loss at Arkansas, which ends their four-game SEC winning streak following an 0-2 start at Georgia and LSU. With UF 6-1 (losing to LSU) Tennessee 3-2 (losing to UF and at home to South Carolina) and Georgia 4-2 (losing to UF and Tennessee), the Spurrier vs. Meyer matchup in Columbia would have been for the SEC East title (due to tiebreakers) if the Cocks had handled the Hogs.
Unlike in 2005, South Carolina can't even stop UF from going to the SEC Championship Game because the Gators already have clinched the East. Blake Mitchell, benched after his lousy performances against Georgia and LSU but reinstated after leading a three-touchdown, fourth-quarter rally against Kentucky, throws for 320 yards as UF's front seven can't get to him.
The Gator defense stiffens in the Red Zone, forcing South Carolina to three short field goals in the first half, but Mitchell connects with Kenny McKinley for two third-quarter scores. Trailing 23-14, Florida goes for fourth-and-1 at its own 20 with 10 minutes left in the game and scores four minutes later on a pass from Tebow to Andre Caldwell.
The Gators get the ball back but stall when true freshman guard Maurkice Pouncey is flagged for holding. Meyer chokes up after the game and says the "human element" of clinching the title a week earlier hurt UF's preparation and that some key youngsters weren't invested enough.
UF athletic director Jeremy Foley points to the national championship, the two consecutive East titles and says the program is still in good shape. Ecstatic South Carolina fans talk about the possibility of a trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
11)Florida 55, Florida Atlantic 10
Damn, isn't that 12th game a grand idea? It's not even Senior Day to get fans mildly excited at The Swamp. Florida scores six touchdowns in seven possessions during the first half and plays the backups and walk-ons the rest of the way. FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger says he has taken another step in bringing a national championship to Boca Raton after the Owls kick a meaningless 56-yard field goal on the game's final play.
12)Florida 31, FSU 16
Getting coached on offense for the first time in seven years, the Seminoles still enter with a mediocre 7-4 record because they have forgotten how to win. After a third consecutive loss to Clemson in the season-opening Bowden Bowl, FSU also falls to Alabama, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, but the Seminoles are at an emotional peak when they arrive at Florida Field.
The seniors don't want to become the first class to go winless against the Gators since the 1986 group. Florida's nine scholarship seniors have to walk the full 100 yards of the field to shake Meyer's hand before the game, lengthening what otherwise would have been a 60-second ceremony.
UF starts slowly even though the Seminoles kicks off from their 15 at the beginning of the game after players storm the field to stomp on the Gator F following the coin toss. FSU goes ahead 10-0, but UF ties the score when Andre Caldwell ends a streak of three three-and-outs with a 66-yard touchdown off the same bubble screen he scored on last year. Rainey, in motion on the play, makes a key block 20 yards down the field but is done for the day after Major Wright runs on the field to congratulate him and accidentally knocks him out.
FSU ends the half with a 45-yard Hail Mary touchdown when Wright accidentally knocks out Tony Joiner while going for the ball. The extra point sails wide right. Wright knocks out FSU wideout Greg Carr with a legal hit on FSU's first play of the second half. The charged up UF defense limits Antone Smith to 15 yards on 10 carries after the break. Tebow throws touchdown passes to Caldwell, Harvin and Fayson on consecutive drives to seal the victory.
In his post-game press conference, Bowden says the key was "when No. 89, what's his name, couldn't come back in the game because of that big hit by the Florida boy."