At least that’s what Vern Lundquist, CBS analyst, said with just over six and a half minutes remaining in this year’s Florida-Georgia game.  Georgia had so quickly fallen apart, sputtered so hard in the second half and so thoroughly self-destructed that not even the CBS announcers tried to prop up any hope of this being a competitive game after that point.

Coach Richt had removed his starting quarterback and replaced him with backup Logan Gray.  With a commanding 17 point lead Florida smelled blood and teed off for the quarterback every play with devestating results.  In Tim Tebow’s final game he combined for 250 total yards with 85 of them coming on the ground.  Two of his four touchdowns came on the ground breaking his tie with Georgia running back Herschel Walker for career touchdowns in the SEC.  On a day where everything seemed to go Florida’s way, Georgia continued their season long knack of committing penalties and turnovers to allow the Gators to turn a 3 point game (14 to 10) into a 24 point rout.

While the Gators looked more like their 2008 selves than their recent 2009 version, this IS Georgia we are talking about.  A team who has come into the season seemingly determined to make every offense they face seem like the 2007 Patriots.  The offense came out spreading the ball around but seemed to revert to the more conservative performance as the game went along.  The reshuffling of the offensive line seemed to pay early dividends but the running game seemed to sputter in the second half.  There is more work to be done but Florida’s staff has definitely taken a step in the right direction in addressing some of the lingering problems that have hampered the offense thus far.

Despite the win, here are some philosophical suggestions for the future.

1) Use Emmanuel Moody more early in the game to wear down the defense.  This should allow Demps and Rainey to have an even greater advantage as a change of pace back with their quickness.  I don’t mean that Demps, Rainey and perhaps Gilisslee shouldn’t rotate in but let Moody who is the most physical Florida back pound on the defense before trying to hit them with the little guys.

2) Limit the use of Rainey and Demps inside, especially Rainey.  Both are small backs who can only take so much punishment.  Of the two Demps is the better inside runner with better straight ahead burst.  Rainey is a guy who likes to use his shiftiness and cut backs to create big plays.  His tendency to dance in the hole combined with his diminuitive size leaves him vulnerable to injuries.  Basically he spends too much time in one plays standing straight up.  In comparison Demps tends to always be moving foward and dives forward for positive yards making him the better inside runner of the two.  Brandon James is absolutely inequipped to run inside as the blast of air from a falling defensive lineman could knock him down.

3) Once we have a big lead we need to specifically move away from calling plays that involve Tebow running the ball.  There will always be the scramble and the play where Tebow will just try to make something happen with his legs but there is absolutely no reason to risk losing him here in the stretch run.  Think of it as something similar to a pitch count limiting how many hits Tebow takes in a game.  If necessary tell Tebow to GET RID OF THE BALL rather than absorb the extra pounding.

4) Similar to the way we started the game we need to make a concerted effort to spread the ball around and throw the ball in the second half as well as the first.  Granted with a lead like we had against Georgia the smart move is to run the ball and run the clock to shorten the game.  But in the process Tebow too way to many hits against a team that would love nothing more than to end his career.  Tim needs to be protected (even from himself) as much as we need to spread the ball around to best attack opposing defenses.  In an effort to promulgate this effect Tim needs to be encourages to get the ball to the short receivers who are open and look downfield when scrambling.  Currently Tim is reluctant to throw it short believing he can do better with his legs and thus is not looking down the field where we might hit a big play.

5) End the Brandon James experiment.  I’m not saying he shouldn’t play but he shouldn’t be part of the game plan.  You would think that BJ and Rainey would be terrifying weapons in space but we rarely put Rainey in space to take advantage of his ability (running him inside as much as we try and get him on the perimeter) and James has not proven he deserves such opportunities.  Not only has his special teams play declined with his additional offensive responsibilities but he tends to dance too much on sweeps instead of bursting upfield, his hands are not good in games (catching passes and holding onto the ball) and his diminuative size makes it hard for Tebow to get him the ball and means a high throw could easily turn into an interception.

Despite the big win I think we will see continued improvement offensively.  I hope Chris Rainey can recover from his shoulder injury because I believe he could be a big factor in the open field despite being ignored in that regard for much of the year.  Nelson proved he can be an integral part of the offense.  Deonte Thompson is not getting the ball enough.  He should be getting the same attention from Tebow that Cooper gets.  Cooper is Timmy’s main guy (which is fine) but Thompson has the same big play ability and can’t become the forgotten man.  Timmy significantly improved his play from the previous three games and if he can return to the level he played at the end of last year the sky is the limit for this team.

As always, Go Gators!

Why so happy? Oh, yeah, because they finally beat us.

First, some perspective. Saturday’s 88-86 loss to Georgia has to rank among the worst in the Donovan era, if not the worst. It’s difficult to put into words just how horrific a team the Bulldogs field under interim coach Pete Hermann. Winless in conference play and riding an 11-game losing streak, some predicted the ‘Dawgs might pull a Detroit and complete their season without winning a single SEC game. It cost Dennis Felton his job.

Georgia is a team without a coach, a program without a direction and a fanbase who gave up caring long ago. And yet they defeated the mighty Gators, a program which has every tool, every resource. A national championship coach. Great facilities. The opportunity to recruit at the top.

Of course, weird losses happen sometimes in college athletics. And in many cases, they’re excusable. Basketball, in particular, is a game which is hard to predict because at any given moment, a formerly quiet player can explode and change the game. That’s what happened with Georgia’s Terrance Woodbury, who went off for 32 points, seeming to make every shot he took.

But these Gators don’t get that pass. Not after losing so many other opportunities to still be in the lead for the SEC East. Not after being blown out by a mediocre Tennessee team, and losing in the final moments to South Carolina and Kentucky, neither of whom are any great shakes either. Down the stretch, this squad crumbles. And as a result, the loss to Georgia wasn’t improbable at all, and in fact, wasn’t even a complete surprise.

In terms of price, this loss will cost the Gators dearly. Most likely, it will force this team back into a postseason which includes the dreaded label, “N.I.T.” The SEC is so bad in 2009 that the selection committee will have little alternative. Florida lost to the SEC’s worst team. It will be the most heavily scrutinized loss in the Gators repertoire, and frankly, the boys deserve the doubt.

So how did we get here? Rather than focusing on individual moments that could have changed one game — i.e. why did Erving Walker decide to try to take over the game in the final seconds? Why did Dan Werner keep fruitlessly shooting the ball down the stretch rather than give it to Nick Calathes? Why didn’t Calathes even touch the ball in Florida’s final possession? Why don’t the Gators play with defensive intensity, which cures so many ailments for a team which suffers from lack of offensive production in the final stages of the game? Why didn’t Billy Donovan call a timeout to set up a play to get the ball the Calathes with the clock running down? — let’s look at this team from the top looking down.
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Preseason #1. Expectations of a conference title. WINNING TWO IN A ROW over the hated Gators. A BCS title berth, or at the very least, a BCS bowl game. The second coming of Herschel Walker. The OMG-best-ever signal caller in Athens ready to make Tim Tebow’s ‘07 Heisman run ancient history.

Remember all that talk?

I do. I think it’s worth taking a stroll down memory lane and remembering the taunts and jabs of Georgia fans who were so certain that after a rare WLOCP victory and a destructive tour-de-force over hapless Hawai’i in the Sugar Bowl, that the balance of power would finally shift in their favor in 2008. According to Georgia fans, this was THE YEAR. Florida was going to take the back seat to a new era of ‘Dawg dominance.

Heh.

Final result for UGA: 9-3 with blowout losses to their two biggest SEC rivals and a season-ending home loss to hated cross-conference rival Georgia Tech, who under first-year head coach Paul Johnson were playing with a newly-installed option attack. Against the Yellow Jackets the Bulldogs’ undisciplined and poorly-coached defense gave up 409 yards on the ground — the Jackets only needed to pass for a total of 19 yards.
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Thoughts of the weekend.

- Tebow’s NFL future is certainly a question mark.  Like Danny Wuerffel I don’t believe Tebow can play quarterback in the league.  If he does I think his future lies more as a halfback/tight end position.  That assumes Tim can become a good receiver similar to Matt Jones did with Jacksonville.  Tim doesn’t have the arm or mechanics to be a viable NFL quarterback.  Not to mention as soon as he got to the league he would have to hold back on running the ball (his biggest threat) and have to learn how to play under center.

- Florida will play for BCS title if it wins the remainder of it’s games.  There is no way Texas Tech wins out against Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and, probably, Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game.  That means there would only be two undefeated teams and if Alabama was one of them they would be knocked out by Florida.  It’s probably a good idea to root for FSU to stay relevant for our season ending matchup and for Alabama to win the rest of their games to make the SEC Championship Game one of the biggest in recent memory.

- Major Wright will move to Strong Safety next year.  I know Ahmad Black has had a great year but Major is ill suited for the Free Safety spot with his “hit first” mentality.  Out of a strong safety though that attribute is more preferable.  Expect Will Hill to win the free safety spot from Major with Major then edging out Black for Strong Safety.

- Graham Harrell is one of the most accurate passers I have seen.  And can throw a perfect pass both moving and off balance.  While his offensive line gave him very good protection against Texas, it was his ability to move around in the pocket and buy extra time that impressed me.  Similar to what Tebow did when he threw TD passes to Aaron Hernandez and Percy Harvin this year, Harrell is expert at giving ground to gain a few extra seconds and then putting the ball where it needs to be.

- Penn State is going to be in a dogfight with both Iowa and Michigan State and inclement weather will hamper the Nittany Lions offense more than the rushing attacks of those two teams.  You know that a cold, wet and windy night could create a defensive struggle that favors the underdog.  And the rest of the way PSU is under the national spotlight.  They have been told they are a shoo in for the BCS title game and will crush everyone left on their schedule.  How tight will they be if they find themselves in a close game from here on out?  Don’t forget WVU lost to a Pittsburgh team with 7 losses to give LSU a shot at the Title. (more…)

One of the best Georgia blogs out there — nay, one of the best in all of college football blogdom — is Senator Blutarsky’s Get the Picture. I’ve come to respect the Senator for his reasonable and objective view of college football, especially when it comes to his own team.

But he’s made comments about Florida’s secondary I don’t agree with, and I wish to challenge them. In post filled with doubts, speculation, and introspection after the Dawgs’ loss to the Gators, Blutarsky wrote:

I’ll probably be chastised by KG and some of the other Gator bloggers for saying this, but I didn’t leave the game feeling that the Gators’ secondary was significantly better than what I had thought before the game. (And, yes, I remember that Stafford threw three picks.) Bobo (with some assistance from Stafford, probably) for some inexplicable reason elected not to challenge it as much as he should have. And could have.

It’s important to start by saying that Matthew Stafford did indeed make some throws which made jaws drop. When he’s on, he’s got an arm and accuracy that are both NFL-worthy. However, you can usually count on being able to pressure Mr. Stafford into some ill-advised throws. TD-to-INT ratios:

2006: 7 TD / 13 INT
2007: 19 TD / 10 INT
2008: 12 TD / 8 INT

Stafford’s career totals are 38 touchdowns to 31 picks. He’s not too far from a 1:1 ratio. Granted, his 2006 numbers were as a freshman and he was markedly better in ‘07. And prior to facing the gators, he was 12-5, a better stat.

By contrast, our own Tim Tebow has thrown a total of 9 interceptions — I think half of those were from Riley Cooper running the wrong route… I digress — and has thrown 51 strikes in that time despite rarely getting a chance to toss the ball as a frosh.
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What do you think was the turning point? The critical play of this game? There are some fun options, and powerful arguments to be made here. Some possibilities:

1) Haden’s interception of Stafford in the 3rd quarter. The Dawgs were driving effortlessly down the field at the time, and a TD would have made the score a manageable 14-10 for Georgia. Instead, Haden returned the ball the UGA’s 1-yard line, followed by a Tebow pounder to increase the margin to 21-3. According to Meyer, this was The Play.

2) Tebow’s touchdown on 4th-and-inches after a horrendous spot from the officials. Had UGA’s defense held, it could have been a game-changing event.

3) Of the numerous Stafford sacks, the one which drove the Dawgs backward from 1st-and-goal to 4th down. Blair Walsh’s field goal thrummed off the left upright.

4) Tebow’s bomb to Murphy to put the game to bed (28-3).

All good candidates. But I’m going to go with the second play of the game, a hit by one Mssr. Spikes on one K. Moreno:

Another (smaller) view from a different angle:

In my view, this is the play that stands out the most. It immediately put Georgia on notice that they were not going to enjoy a repeat of 2007. It truly set the tone in a way that only physical play can, and it was a precursor of things to come. Both Moreno and Stafford took a physical beating from Florida’s front seven.

By any standard, that is a MASSIVE hit. Surely Spikes earned Hit City honors from the coaching staff after grading out this game.

By the way, wonder what Spikes was saying to Moreno after he planted him into the turf?

“I just told him I was going to be there all night,” Spikes said.

He got the message. Brandon, we love you for all thatchoo do.

Thanks to GatorCountry:

“A lot of good will come out of this. You’ve never seen any player in the entire country who will play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. And you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. And you’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless.” -Tebow minutes after loss to Ole Miss

You know, I’ve been sold on Tim Tebow from day one. First and most important, he’s a model student-athlete, the kind of player that makes you proud to support college athletics. Second, he’s a superb player, a once-in-a-generation talent that we’re fortunate to have at the University of Florida. And third, he’s a man of his word.

I can’t think of a time that Tim Tebow hasn’t said something, meant it, then worked hard so he could go out and back it up.

Since the Abomination in the Swamp, this team is playing at a level so high, so sharp, that they’re best described as ’scary good.’ And it’s not just the offense’s pinball scores; we have to give the defense props, a defense which we now know is far and away superior to last year’s edition. Make no mistake about it: that was a good team our boys just whipped. A damn good team! Their first team offense, captained by a future NFL first-round quarterback/running back combo, was held to three points. Three points! That’s incredible.

In fact, Florida has won their last four games by a combined score of 201-43. This is unbelievable: Florida has put up an average of 50.25 points and held opponents to just 10.75 per game.

My God, men!

And if you exclude The Abomination, Florida outscored the rest of their opponents by 112-19, another incredible total. Florida’s stop squad has played in 8 games, and in six of them the opponent was held to 10 or fewer points. Against Miami, Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky, it was seven or fewer! Incredible!

I’m not sure even Steve Spurrier in his heyday could have dreamed an offensive and defensive terror like this one would someday run out of the tunnel in the Swamp. And, oh yeah — Florida’s special teams are gamebreakers as well.

Could this be the best overall team ever fielded at Florida? Think about it: Brandon James and the kickoff/punt return team routinely put Florida in position to score quickly and often with great field position. Florida’s defense is holding opponents to a single TD and field goal.

It’s hard not to look ahead to the likely Bama-UF matchup in the SEC Championship Game. That will be a special matchup, if it happens. And both teams could be playing for more than an SEC title. The Tide would almost certainly get a BCS title bid if they win; Florida might need some help with one-loss but with Texas Tech’s amazing victory over Texas, it’s far more possible now than it was yesterday.

The question is this. Can anyone stop the Gators? The answer: not when they play like the have been in their last four games. I’m going to start calling this team The Unstoppables.

This was a statement game and the statement was quite clear for everyone to see . . . “it’s back to business as usual in the Florida-Georgia game”.  It really shouldn’t have been this way; these teams were much more evenly matched than was shown today.  So who is really to blame for this loss and losing in this fashion?  The pure and simple truth is that it’s the fault of Georgia’s head coach.  Let’s be frank, the Florida - Georgia game had lost it’s luster.  Florida’s coaches, its players and even its fans had become spoiled and complacent.  Until one man decided to make a change . . . and that man was Coach Mark Richt.

The endzone celebration that has been brought up ad nauseam was a tactical success but a strategic blunder; a short-term gain but a long term loss.  Georgia’s celebration, while perhaps useful in bring together a team, is going to reverberate life into this almost dead series for years to come.  Georgia didn’t beat Florida last year because of the momentum of their celebration, they won because they were FAR AND AWAY the better overall TEAM for crying out loud!

Last year Florida brought a running quarterback made immobile due to injuries who had to gut out the game because Florida had NO viable second team quarterback.  It had a decimated offensive line that turned into a virtual triage unit during the game and a secondary that was young, tentative and ineffective at stopping a productive passing attack.  Georgia brought a surefire future NFL quarterback, one of the best running backs in the nation and a fast, aggressive defense that was able to tee off on Florida’s quarterback all day long.  I’m sorry, but Georgia wins that game 4 out of 5 times with the celebration or without.  In fact, the only way Georgia doesn’t win is if they shoot themselves in the foot.

Speaking of mistakes: Richt, you made a big one this year.  I actually expected that onside kick.  The game seemed to be slipping away and Georgia was playing tight and nervous.  The pressure of living up to the celebration seemed to have lit a fire under Florida while crushing Georgia like a 10-ton weight.  The onside kick told everyone that Georgia felt momentum was slipping away and needed to gamble to win the game.  Call the game right there, the Bulldogs were on the defensive the rest of the way.  Florida dictated tempo and the Bulldogs were stuck in reactionary mode from then on.

Georgia, when you come to the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, you have to bring your “A” game.  The athletes on both sides are too fast, the stakes are now too high and the talent is too good to come into the game mentally unprepared.  Had Georgia NOT had the celebration then last year’s win would have been disappointing but less so than LSU where Florida had the lead late, Auburn where we were humbled at home or Michigan where every Florida fan was trying to guess HOW MANY points the Gators would win by.  But instead you had to do something to bring the players’ manhood into question.  You had to BURN this game into the psyche of the Florida players.  You had to make this a game to be circled on the calendar again.  Are you happy now Mr. Richt?

I would not have been surprised if the series had evened up for a while until this game became important again.  Georgia could have stolen some more games from a Florida team that forgot the hate and fervor that Spurrier had injected into the series.  The Gators thought it was their God given right to win in Jacksonville and I suspect there would have been several more games where we simply went through the motions and then wondered how we lost to a Georgia team we used to own.  But NO MORE, Mr. Richt.  What shall forever be known as Richt’s Folly or the Rivalry Revival at the River has now energized the Florida side of this rivalry to new heights.

The Gators will now have renewed focus against the Dawgs.  The players who witnessed last year’s endzone stomp will have extra motivation to stomp the Bulldogs on the playing field.  The coaches will no longer look at the Georgia game just another tough SEC game.  From now on this game is as personal with Meyer as it was for Spurrier.  Georgia fans, you have touted for a year how you were now in the heads of the Florida coaches and players.  Congratulations, it’s official.  You ARE in the heads of the Florida Gators.  This game is in the heads of BOTH teams.  Unfortunately for you it means the Gators are focused the week prior and play with intensity on the field while the Bulldog players react by playing tight and making a number of mental mistakes.  But at least you guys got what you wanted.  So how’s that celebration tasting this year Bulldog fans?

Break out the champagne. Florida is now within a stone’s throw of a return visit to Atlanta, needing only a single additional conference victory to secure a berth in the SEC Championship game.

We won’t be hearing too much more about Georgia’s endzone celebration of ‘07. “The Incident” has been relegated to ancient history. The Gators prevented a repeat celebration by simply prohibiting the Dawgs’ access to the endzone. The game was moderately close in the first half but the Gators pulled away easily in the second half, scoring 35 unanswered points.

Fellas and ladies, Florida absolutely punked the scroungy Dawgs in this game. Even backup QB Johnny Brantley threw a touchdown strike. It’s hard to believe our backups were warming up to go into the game early in the fourth quarter, but that’s the spectacular gift which Urban Meyer and this coaching staff have given Gator Nation.

Georgia’s not a bad team. Privately, I held thoughts that they were probably overrated with a preseason #1 ranking. Even coming into this game with one loss I felt they were too highly considered. Turns out I was right. By no means is this anything less than a Top 25 team… but they’re not a Top 5 team, and the difference is significant. Beating a good team 49-10 at a neutral site, especially a bitter rival? That’s special.

And, rivals take note: when Urban Meyer says “It’s a big deal” and “We’re going to handle it,” be afraid. Be very afraid.

I’m pretty sure that Tebow’s TD toss to Harvin on his last full possession, followed by Brantley’s pass-heavy drive to the endzone to push the score to 49-3, was Meyer’s way of saying “thank you” to Richt for his team’s celebration the previous year.

Georgia’s slim BCS title hopes are dead. Their SEC Championship hopes are almost definitely dead. Their hope of gaining the upper hand in this rivalry is dead. Dropping one shy of half-a-hundred on the Dawgs is an emphatic statement. Florida owns this rivalry, having won 16 of the last 19. Order has been restored to the Universe. Great job, Gators.