At this time a week ago, I was really feeling some positive vibes about Florida’s chances of winning in Tallahassee. But they have subsided. After watching the Gator offense struggle to score 23 points against a bad Jacksonville State defense, I just don’t see where the points are going to come from to beat the Seminoles.
The Gators are going to have major problems getting first downs Saturday, much less sustaining drives against the nation’s No. 1 total defense. Maybe if the Gators can hit a few big plays it could change the game. I just don’t see that happening. The big plays have been missing all season, so there’s no reason to think that will change against a great defense that can pressure with a four-man rush and cover in the back end.
Do I think Florida can win this game? Yes. Kind of. Sort of. But I see only one scenario where that happens: the Gators are going to have to win two of the three phases — defense and special teams — in a huge way. If they can do that, yes, absolutely they can win this game. The defense is going to have to come up with turnovers, the special teams will need a big game out of Kyle Christy and maybe a return for a touchdown or a blocked punt for a score. And the offense has to do its part if the Gators hope to win playing field-position football. The Gators have to take care of the ball. They’ve lost only once this season, and it was the one game where UF turned the ball over. And if the defense or special teams put the offense in or near the red zone, the offense has to convert it into points, preferably six.
So, it can happen. Florida can win this game. If the Gators can beat LSU, certainly they can beat the Seminoles.
But, I’m just not feeling it.
Prediction: Florida State 28, Florida 6
Robbie,
You need a Prozac. Take two while you’re at it.
The funny thing about this Gator team is that just when we “feel” they are going to win – they lose (see GA), and when we feel they will lose they win (see A&M, UT). I better not go with any gut feeling on this one, and let the guys playing decide what is going to happen. After all, it is a rivalry game and who knows how fired up the Gators are going to be…
GO GATORS, BEAT THE NOLES!!!!
this team plays to the level of their compititon.. they will be ready and will generate some offense…. FSU has the the #1 ranked defense for a reason… THEY PLAY IN THE ACC! The Gators D is much better and this game will come down to the kicker/punter.. and we have the best in the nation in that category. Robbie I remember early in the season you went off on how this team hasn’t changed, blah blah and yet as the season went on, the more you kept talking how you liked this team…. you are high on the gators when they are good but when they don’t play well, you are so quickly to bash them.
competition***
This is a Very Good Gator team!!!!! You all know who we beat…..I think the defense and O are going to play their best…..And keep them backed up with Punts……Georgia and USC and LSU all average 40 points a game and we held them to 17-11-6 respectively In fact A&M got 17 on us and we shut them out in the second hallf….A&M got 29 on Bama at home!!!!!! Gators 24 -Fsu 17
And Yes Robbie…..I think you are a FSU homer as you sure dont seem too excited about a 10-1 gator team that beat 3 top 13 teams and and lost by 8 to Number 3 team with 6 turnovers…..Think about it…..Ga Scores 40 at game and we give them 6 turnovers and even then the game is 10-9 with 5 minutes to go!!!! This is a tough gator team
There you go again Robbie!
Robbie is right. As bad as the offense was earlier in the season, it has actually regressed. If the Gators struggle to score points against a bad Jacksonville St defense, they are going to struggle even more agains the the FSU defense. Yes, FSU played in the weak ACC but the Gators struggled with a bad Missouri defense, a bad Sunbelt Conference defense, and Jax St.
Robbie…has any team scored more than 20 points on the Gator defense…even on the road??? fsu could not score more than 16 on NCST for pete sakes….
SEC title #24 still on the way still.
Undefeated seasons: Alabama 13 – Florida 1 (in 1911 LOL)
Ten win seasons: Alabama 32 – Florida 12
Head to Head: Alabama 23- Florida 14
SEC Championships: Alabama 23 – Florida 8
“I don’t always drink tears, but when I do, I prefer Tim Tebow tears”
Bob, you are nuts if you think this is a very good gator team. The offense is pathetic. The de will keep them in most. You played T A&M in the first 2 weeks. Manziel has come a long way since that time. 23-10 FSU.
I love how Patsy picks UGA over GT because the GT plays in the lowly ACC but doesn’t pick UF over FSU for the same damn reason. Now lil Robbie’s ‘just not feeling it’ for the Gators either. Looks like our hometown writers would rather eat leftover crow than turkey this weekend. I BELIEVE IN JEFF DRISKEL AND OUR DEFENSE! Too bad our homers don’t. Gators 24 – FSU 6
Gators score 24? lol against a live defense? They couldn’t score on a chinese prostitute
13-9 good guys
As Always, your an idiot ….
Roll Tide hates it when people do not respond to him. Go Gators play up to the level of talent as you do and win as long as you don’t turn it over 6 times1
YAYA!!! The Gators did it!!! How about that Robbie and Pat?
I am proud of these guys.
I didn’t think I would ever say this, but, Let’s got Trojans and Lame Kittin, I am rooting for you tonight!
GO GATORS, NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES ARE STILL ALIVE!!!
I must say, I thought FSU would win in a close hard-fought game in which our offense underperformed. It was looking like that at the end of the 3rd quarter, but then the team just ground it out. I am glad to be wrong, and kudos to those who point out that we play to the level of our opposition. We are bad in every department when it comes to the passing game (blocking, receivers, quarterback), but with the heavy lineup, we do seem to be able to run. Hello BCS (and maybe more? c’mon Kiffin!) – if we can keep the damn penalties down we could perhaps sustain drives against a decent team, and the defense is playing really well. I would like our chances against anyone except Oregon.
Robbie when you don’t have confidence in this team and they play up to the level of play that they need to and you don’t see this in your analysis I continue to lose confidence in your ability to analysis this team. How many times did you pick against the Gators this year? You owe the Gator team an apology for proven you wrong again! Maybe you can show confidence in UM or UCF or UGA. I under stand why You and Pat get bashed on a weekly bases.
This team went 11-1 (last year 6-6), albeit no rings this year but neither did the 1984 Gator Squad… and yet just as good as them!!! So, now that F.S.U. is GATOR BAIT again, (RIGHTFULLY SO!)…ALL IS GOOD IN HOGTOWNE AGAIN!!!
The SENIORS need to be applauded for this amazing turn-around for FLORIDA Football which was begining to look average. Their GATOR HEARTS say now, that they are NOT average!
FLORIDA 36 – F.S.who 26!
CHOMP-CHOMP!!! 3 in row against FLORIDA? NOT!!! GO GATORS!!!
And, before someone tells me FLORIDA WENT 10-1-1, and WON THE S.E.C., but was put on PROBATION…I KNOW! I WAS THERE, TOO! Point is this Gator Squad -in my opinion- is JUST AS GOOD AS THE 1984 FLORIDA TEAM! And, 2012 Florida Football deserves PROPS for finding ways to WIN EVERY WEEK -1 (U.G.A.)
”…So, come on Gators, get up and go!”
Wow. That game really proved me wrong. FSU is way worse than I thought.
How bout TEXAS A & M ”roll tidey bowl”?
How about The Dawgs beating you Roll Tide? That’s a possibility too!
Don’t be so confident.
You played A&M in Manziel’s 2nd game…he (and they) are playing at another level now.
Meanwhile, I agree with both of these statements from CFN (yes, I am giving Gators a little love)…
Florida just completed one of the strangest regular seasons in recent memory. Beat Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina and Florida State. Yet, labored to put away Bowling Green, Missouri, Louisiana-Lafayette and Jacksonville State. Go figure.
Games are won in the fourth quarter. No one in college football exemplifies that thought better than Florida this season.
Computer models are mocking and wagging their fingers at Jimbo Fisher right now.
Games are won in the fourth quarter. No one in college football exemplifies that thought better than Florida this season. Florida is a shining example of a well-coached, well-conditioned team, particularly on defense.
y Matt Zemek
E-mail Matt Zemek
There’s a team that has worked its way to the top tier of college football in 2012. It’s a team whose defense has been relentless, whose offense often looks like it can’t tie its shoelaces at times, whose scares against third- or fourth-tier foes make you wonder how it has avoided so many landmines over the course of three months. This team has wobbled, staggered, and looked like a 6-6 or 7-5 outfit on many occasions. Yet, at the end of the day, it has as much of a claim to playing for the national championship as anyone else, if not more so. That team is the Notre Dame Fighting…Gators.
Shame, Shame, Robbie and Pat. Use your journalistic research to know how FSU’s gaudy numbers defensively against a Patsy ACC schedule backed up. WM was right they have played better defenses. That is why UF won!
And Roll Tide, try some ketchup on that crow. It’ll go down better.
What ALL of the so called ESPN experts missed, and yes Pat and Robbie too, in their so called journalistic research is that Florida hasn’t had a healthy Offensive Line since the LSU game; until yesterday! And it showed!
What else that sadly Pat and Robbie evidently refuse to see is the heart of this team, even though they practically live among the players and coaches. And another thing, the ACC lived down to its expectations: SEC – 4, ACC -0: Florida’s win, along with Georgia big over Ga Tech, Vandy crushing Wake, and South Carolina beating the ACC’s only other ranked team for the fourth time in a row, proves the SEC is far above the ACC and other conferences still and you should never pick against the SEC, unless it’s UK or Auburn, of course.
Props from Roll Tide?? That’s a good change up for once, but I know it will be short lived. However it amazes me how the Gators can be so underrated at times…yeah we do have a inconsistent offense at times but if you look back to all of our big games (minus GA) We’ve shown up for the occasion!
Robbie, that was a foolish pick. I will say no more.
Brr-bon Phil
Fatman and Robin
I mean Pat Doolittle and Robbie do not “refuse” to recognize that this Gator team has a lot of heart. They jsut don’t know what it means to have a lot of heart so they simply (as in simpletons) don’t recognize when a team has a lot of heart.
No real analysis. They just do like they usually do for big games.
Imagine these two buffoons sitting arouns the ofice of the Gainesville SUN.
Robbie (AKA boy wonder Robin): Golly Fatman waht should I do about picking the winner of this week’s Gator game against the SOW?
Fatman: Robin we should paly ti safe again.
Robin err Robbie: Holy cow Fatman you are so smart but how do we do that?
Fatman: we pcik the Gators to lose so if they lose people might think we actually did analysis and we can get them to think we are smart.
Robin: Gee Fatman you are so smart (man crush?). But waht if the Gators win Fatman?
Fatman: oh Robbie that would be bad for us (we want our rivals to win so we look smart)
Robin: But waht if the Gators pull together and actually win?
Fatman: Don’t worry my little buddy. People will be so happy the Gators won they will forget that we are lazy, Gator bashinf, chicken sh_t a–holes
HOw bout Muschamp’s response to Saban’s whining. Coach Chomp recognized Sata’s wealy attempt to back into the Sugar Bowl if he losses to the leg humpers.
Champ called him on it and said we would take bammers place in Atlanta. This is in keeping with coach Boom’s statements that we will go anywhere and play anyone that’s put in front of us.
He told Satan we would go to Atlanta to paly the dogs if bammer is afraid to. And he told little Nicky to be careful waht he asks for.
See Satan is a sneak and deep inside a chicken s_it so he tries to paly both sides of the fence. A lot like Fatman and Robin in that respect. Muschamp called him on it AND Muschamp has too much class to point out that our resume this year is much stronger than little Nicky’s and in fact, we should be ranked ahead of them.
Don’t y’all get tired of hearing these pnasy ass coaches whining and pleading their sorry cases i.e Dumbo fisher from the SOW whining how his team should be rated much higher. Dimbo – smashed.
And little Nicky trying to manipulate the system with his crap about the division winners being the best teams. Muschamp should have challenged the punk to either a) a game between the Gators and little Satan’s squad anytime anywhere OR b) a mano on mano steel cage match. The we could have watched little Nicky poop hjis shorts.
No worries Applespie.
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Whoever loses the SECCG will fall behind Florida in the BCS. The computers will knock them sown so low even if they remained at #3 in the human polls we would still finish ahead of them. No matter what the humans do, the computers are going to drop the loser a bunch because of that second loss.
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But don’t worry about the human polls too much. People are very aware of the gauntlet we ran this year, and there is no way they leave an 11-2 team at #3.
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Florida, being in the top 3 of the BCS will get an automatic bid. There’s nothing the Gumps or the Leg humpers can do about it.
I have to say, between the Gumps acting like they are God’s gift to college football, and the leg humpers being, well, the leg humpers, I am seriously considering rooting for Notre Dame, which under normal circumstances would be absolutely unthinkable.
Well it seems like the author knew little especially about the weak ACC and the reason for FSU D being ranked so highly. Proven a fool.
OK Vulcan Alex.
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They have been proven to be fools and not lazy, Gator bashing, chicken sh_t a–holes.
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Boy wonder (aka Robin aka Robbie) you have a defender and he only thinks you are a proven fool.
Robbie,
I owe you an apology. I dind’t realize Fat Pat Doolittle is your boss. That explains a lot.
I also have to apolgize because you actually write good, informative stories about the Gators.
I’m sorry.
You can’t compare Saban’s comments to last year. Alabama did “jump” the East winner last year, but the East winner had FOUR losses (only one in conference). Florida jumping GA sets bad precedence. Imagine if UF was in that situation three years from now. They get jumped despite winning the East with only 1 loss? Ya’ll would be pissed. And rightfully so. Luckily, it isn’t for the whole ball of wax this year.
PS – and what do you expect Saban to do? He is paid handsomely to represent the best interest of The University of Alabama. Boom would say the same if he was in the same boat.
Roll Tide by the way.