College Football
Sunshine Saturday
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Here’s a Florida College football fan’s guide to this week’s games as the 2020 college football season is on its way into Week 12.
Last Saturday, Florida showed no signs of hangover from the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, by trouncing Arkansas 63-35.
Senior Quarterback Kyle Trask keeps breaking SEC records with his sixth game with four or more touchdowns.
The Gators travel to Nashville to take on the Commodores of Vanderbilt. Florida opens as a 31.5 point favorite.
Can Kyle Trask continue to play at an All-American level? Can the Gators put the game away early and rest some starters? My predictions: Trask throws for 5 touchdowns and they roll Vandy 45-13.
Last Saturday, FSU fans got a glimpse of their future. Chubba Purdy started the contest versus the North Carolina Wolfpack. Purdy played well, going 15 for 23 for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it still wasn’t enough as the Wolfpack dominated the Noles 38-22.
FSU hosts number four Clemson at noon in Doak Campbell Stadium and the Noles are a historic underdog in the contest.
The Tigers open as a 32.5-point favorite over the 2-6 Seminoles. FSU was a 26-point underdog to Clemson last season, which was believed to be the largest point spread in school history.
Clemson suffered their lone loss two weeks ago to Notre Dame without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Their signal caller is expected back and that means bad news for the Noles. Clemson is a national powerhouse and Florida State is a national landfill.
In my opinion, this is the worst Florida State team in program history! Clemson 52 FSU 20.
Last Saturday night in Orlando, UCF manhandled Temple 38-13.
The Knights opened the game with a strip sack and never looked back. The Knights offense did not look like it was clicking until the start of the 3rd quarter, when Dillon Gabriel found Marlon Williams for an air mail touchdown.
For UCF, standards this season have been disappointing. The Knights are 5-2 after being picked by many to win the AAC conference.
The Knights and Bearcats renew their revere on Saturday in the Bounce House. With very limited capacity, the Bounce House during the 2020 season has not provided their normal home field advantage.
The Bearcats come into this game looking to remain unbeaten and take another step towards a potential playoff spot. Cincy opens as a 4-point favorite.
This is a battle between UCF’s offense and Cincinnati’s nationally ranked defense. The Bearcats are outscoring their opponents 212-57, with an average margin of victory of 31 points per game.
Those numbers are against quality offenses like Memphis, Houston and SMU.
UCF will score points, but Cincinnati is too legit this year. Give me the Bearcats 48 Knight 38.
The Miami Hurricanes game against Georgia Tech has been postponed due to COVID.
The Canes are coming off an impressive come from behind victory over Virginia Tech last Saturday.
D’Eriq King led a second half comeback to keep the Canes in the mix for the ACC title game. King makes Miami the U again.
So, sit back, buckle up and enjoy some college football this weekend.
If you are a Knight expecting a battle in the Bounce House, a Seminole praying for a miracle, a Gator witnessing a massacre or a Hurricane just waiting to troll the other fan bases, live college football offers us an escape during these stressful times.
The Heisman Race
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Normally this time of year means the college football regular season is almost over.
Due to the pandemic, the season was delayed for several conferences like the Big Ten and Pac 12. I’m going to take a look at the top five Heisman Trophy candidates.
Kyle Trask/ Florida: I feel like he should be the hands down favorite at this point. It’s hard to believe this guy was sitting on the bench behind Feleipe Franks.
Earlier in the season I said he’s this year’s Joe Burrow. I don’t think anybody can match Burrow’s video game like stats from 2019 but I’m talking about the drastic improvement he made. Also, both of them were not expected to play at that level going into their final season.
They have had the LSU game postponed due to several players on the team having COVID. I hope that game can get played in December so Trask can play the maximum amount of games.
He led the Gators to a win over No. 5 Georgia that they desperately needed. The defense is not very good, so they basically have to outscore their opponents. Trask is basically good for at least four passing TD’s every game.
Trevor Lawrence/ Clemson: He’s the clear consensus as the best quarterback and number one pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, he had COVID and had to miss two games.
One of them was at No. 4 Notre Dame and that could have been his Heisman moment.
The Tigers like to run the ball with All-American running back Travis Etienne so that takes away from Lawrence’s stats.
If he plays well against Notre Dame in the ACC Championship that could catapult him to the top of the Heisman list.
Travis Etienne/ Clemson: I know this has become a quarterback award but he really deserves consideration.
He’s a true dual threat running back and his number are very good.
Mac Jones/ Alabama: He has the Crimson Tide undefeated (6-0) and he’s playing very well. Jones has thrown for 2,196 yards (8th), 16 TD’s (tied-13th), 2 interceptions with a 95.6 QBR (2nd).
He’s on the best team and I think Bama will finish undefeated. His stats are impressive because Alabama is another team that likes to run the ball. Najee Harris has over 700 yards rushing.
The LSU game has been postponed due to a Coronavirus outbreak in the program. We don’t know if that game will actually get played but that would be an easy win for Bama.
The only challenge should be against Florida in the SEC Championship.
Justin Fields/ Ohio State: The Buckeyes have only played three games because the Big Ten started the season late and the Maryland game was canceled.
Fields only has 7 games to make a case as the best player.
I Have The Power
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Thanksgiving is almost upon us in the pandemic-stricken football season of 2020.
Just this weekend alone you have four games in the SEC that have been postponed and scheduled for a later date due to the Coronavirus. Will we make it through the regular season?
Who knows that answer, but here are my SEC Power Rankings at this point of the season:
Alabama: The Crimson Tide hung 52 points on Texas A&M. Alabama hung 41 on Georgia before Georgia’s defense was officially exposed as a fraud.
Mac Jones and Najee Harris are Heisman candidates.
This defense is starting to come around, and there is no team in the conference that will stand in their way on a cruise to the SEC Championship.
Florida could pose some problems, but that defense can’t stop a faucet drip.
Nick Saban is still the best in the business. Alabama’s offense might be better than a couple of NFL teams that are in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. SEC Champion and College Football playoff team.
Texas A&M: By virtue of beating Florida the Aggies land here.
The Aggies played awful against Alabama, but doesn’t everyone not named Auburn and LSU once every 8 years?
Jimbo Fisher is in position to get a College Football playoff bid without winning a conference championship if his team can run the table and finish 9-1 in this pandemic season. This team is improving weekly.
Florida: The Gators got over the UGA hurdle last week, but UGA left three TD’s on the field with awful QB play.
Kyle Trask may be the Heisman front-runner at the moment.
Dan Mullen needs to get something out of this season because Trask will not be back next year.
This defense can’t stop an elite team like Alabama. I see Florida finishing the season with a 10-2 record with a nice NY6 Bowl win over someone to be determined.
This offense is really good, and they just completed another 40-yard wheel route to a running back on Georgia.
Mullen still has a month to fix this defense before the Alabama SEC title game.
Georgia: UGA lands here by default.
The QB room is a mess and the defense can’t stop a good college passing offense.
UGA may finish 8-2 who knows, but last weekend in Jacksonville left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Bulldog Nation.
Carson Beck needs to get his shot Kirby.
Auburn: With the win over a bad LSU team Gus may have survived once again.
Perception is reality you know.
This is a team that did not score a TD against UGA.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks are the most improved team in the SEC.
“The Pit Boss” Sam Pittman is the SEC coach of the year. Arkansas is the SEC feel good story of the year. The Hogs are 3-3 currently and are a pretty decent football team.
Ole Miss: The Rebels have the third best offense in the SEC.
Once Lane Kiffin can shore up that defense with a couple of recruiting cycles look out SEC.
This is an exciting team to watch.
LSU: Yeah, we know the Tigers lost 14 players to the NFL draft, but damn this is LSU.
Covid-19 delayed a monumental beating from Alabama this weekend, but don’t worry LSU its coming in December.
Tennessee: You can shake 9-14 up in a bag.
Tennessee should be better than this.
Missouri: The Tigers are rebuilding and show signs of life.
South Carolina: Hugh Freeze is sitting by the phone Carolina fans.
Kentucky: Watching this offense is like staring at paint drying.
Mississippi State: The Air Raid is a dud in the SEC. The LSU game was fool’s gold against an awful defense.
Vanderbilt: Baseball season will start soon Vandy fans.
Power Rankings in Coastal Georgia seem to be a hot topic these days.
The Quarterback Room
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The eighth ranked Florida Gators topped the #5 ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, taking control of the SEC East at the midway point in the 2020 season.
Florida was led by Senior quarterback Kyle Trask. Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. Trask became the first quarterback in SEC history to throw for 4 plus touchdowns in 5 consecutive games.
Trask was a low three-star quarterback coming out of Manvel, Texas, where he played behind D’Eriq King. Trask’s composite score was 0.7984 and ranked the 2123rd player in the country.
Georgia’s starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was a high three star with a composite score of 0.8304. Bennett was replaced by four-star quarterback D’Wan Mathis, whose composite score was 0.8992.
After the game on Saturday, whining Bulldog fans were making excuses for the loss.
Some were saying ‘we would have won but we have five players out with injuries and a walk on quarterback’.
Another said I really miss Jake Fromm. I also heard Bennett could not start for Valdosta State University. Injuries are part of the game, but the quarterback position at Georgia is another issue.
Georgia’s quarterback issues started when Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State. The Georgia coaching staff selected Fromm over Fields and the rest is history. Fields is currently the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.
In January, Jamie Newman, the Wake Forest graduate transfer, announced he was transferring to Georgia. On September 2, Georgia’s projected starting quarterback opted out of the 2020 season.
Many speculated that five-star transfer from USC J.T. Daniels would assume the starting job. Daniels has yet to see the field due to medical clearance on his knee. Daniels was the 18th overall in the 2018 class and threw for 2,672 yards as a true freshman in 2018.
D’Wan Mathis started the opening game against Arkansas but was benched in the second half for former walk-on, Stetson Bennett. Bennett has done a very serviceable job for the Bulldogs leading them to victories over Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky. Bennett gives UGA the best chance to win.
Georgia’s quarterback problems can be traced to a couple factors: coaching, development and offensive systems.
Georgia’s offensive coordinators/quarterback coach under Kirby Smart have been Jim Chaney 2016-18, James Coley 2019 and Todd Monken 2020. Three coordinators in three years, how can a player be developed?
The product on the field in big games prove that UGA quarterbacks are not being developed or coached up to their true strengths.
Kirby Smart has brought in three different coordinators to run a spread offense in Athens, but Smart’s football DNA is to run the ball and play stout defense. The strength of this team is its defense and running the football.
However, it appears offenses have finally caught up to Georgia’s defense. LSU sliced and diced the Dawgs in last season’s SEC Championship Game and Alabama did the same three weeks ago.
Florida handed Georgia their second loss of the season by a score of 44-28.
The defeat also makes it very unlikely for the Bulldogs to claim its fourth straight SEC East title.
It also created questions at the quarterback position moving forward. Who should start at quarterback: Bennett, Daniels, Mathis or Carson Beck (true freshman for Jacksonville)?
Wait until next year when another five star comes to Athens in Brock Vandagriff.
Bulldog fans, accept your loss to the better team last week and stop making excuses! It is embarrassing!
Bark and Bite
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Kirby Smart took the UGA job in December of 2015 the two main things he had to do was change the mental aspect of the Florida series, and make UGA a more physical football team.
Here are a few things you hear from Florida fans these days:
“We gave the game away”
“We had too many turnovers”
“Georgia is killing us on the recruiting trail”
“Mullen is a better game day coach than Kirby”.
And a new one for 2020: “Covid-19 put us at a competitive disadvantage”
You hear Florida players and coaches say this is just another game, and every sports cliché you can come up with and it will start up right after Florida takes care of Missouri on Saturday.
The fact of the matter is this UGA is one win away from a complete brainwashing of the Florida fan base and that will carry over to the football program.
Let me go on record and say Georgia is going to win the Florida game on November 7th, and with that win you will have an entire senior football class at UF go through the program without a win in the Georgia series.
Sunday, November 8, 2020 will be a glorious morning for Georgia football because The Dawgs will control the series, once again both physically and more importantly mentally, which is something UGA hasn’t done since Vince Dooley decided he didn’t want to control Florida any longer when he retired.
Dan Mullen is already hearing it when he travels around to all the Gator Booster events around the State of Florida now. “Coach, when are we going to beat Georgia?” “Coach, we are letting Kirby come into our backyard and take too many kids out of the State of Florida”. The list goes on and on.
Name me a signature Dan Mullen win in his head coaching career? I’m listening Florida fans.
Going into this game Florida fans have got themselves wound up so tight that they are asking “How are we going to screw this one up?” Prior to 1990 this was the life of a Gator fan.
UGA would roll into Jacksonville, take the game, take all the pretty women, and drink the most cocktails, and roll out of town and leave the Florida fans bitter and resentful because they were mentally brainwashed.
Then something magical happened for UF, they hired Steve Spurrier, who became bigger than life for the program. He became their Sigmund Freud.
Spurrier ushered in the Golden Age of Gator football, but that glimmer is gone, and Steve won’t be roaming the sidelines in Jacksonville anymore.
Urban Meyer rode the Spurrier mystique and left that program in shambles.
Dan Mullen has now been hired to reclaim the glory, but one thing stands in his way and that is the Georgia Bulldogs led by Kirby Smart.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the entire Florida fan base and program are one more loss away in the series from being conditioned from one recruiting to the next that we just can’t beat Georgia.
Physically Georgia is better that Florida currently. Mentally Georgia is light years ahead of Florida currently.
Mark Richt was fired because he was 5-10 against Florida. Will Dan Mullen be the first Florida coach in three decades to eventually get fired because he couldn’t beat UGA enough?
I love the UGA/UF game. I love the game in Jacksonville and hope it stays there forever.
As a UGA fan Kirby Smart has me expecting to beat Florida every year.
Gator fans don’t lose too much sleep worrying about what’s going to go wrong this time.
Dawgs win again 35-20.
The Matchup
By: Teddy Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Even though the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is being severely curtailed due to Covid-19, the game that accompanies The Party still has significant meaning.
The winner of the Georgia-Florida shootout will likely win the Southeastern Conference East title and take on Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
The winner of the match-up against Alabama will win the SEC title and secure a spot in the College Playoffs for an opportunity to win a National Championship.
Florida had two games postponed because of a Covid outbreak, including head coach Dan Mullen testing positive, and couldn’t even take the practice field for twenty-one days. But all of that seems to be in the rearview mirror, at least for now.
Mullen has returned Florida to national prominence, going 21-5 in his first two seasons, but has not found to way to beat Georgia. Mullen’s Gators lost to the Bulldogs 37-26 in 2018, and 24-17 last year.
In Athens, Kirby Smart took over as Head Dawg in 2016 and had compiled a 44-12 record going into this Covid-plagued year, including three feasts on Gator tail with only one loss.
Florida opened the season with convincing wins over Mississippi 51-35 and South Carolina 38-24, before falling to Texas A&M 38-41.
Georgia rolled to three consecutive wins to start the 2020 season, beating Arkansas 37-10, Auburn 27-6, and Tennessee 44-21, before running into an Alabama buzzsaw 24-41.
The debacle in Tuscaloosa notwithstanding, Georgia’s defense has looked good for the most part. On the other hand, the Gator D has been porous at times.
The high-powered Gator offense is forcing maintenance crews to change a lot of light bulbs on scoreboards, averaging over 42 points per game, but the Bulldogs offense hasn’t done too shabbily either, putting up 33 points per contest.
A huge key to any game, of course, is the play of the quarterback, and it says here that Kyle Trask gives Florida the advantage over Stetson Bennett and the Dogs in the QB Dept.
Through three games, Trask has thrown 14 touchdown passes with only one interception, averaging well over 300 yards passing per game.
In four outings, Bennett has 7 TD passes and 3 interceptions, while averaging about 240 yards passing per game.
Having quoted all those stats, I don’t believe Florida has faced a defense as good as Georgia’s. If you take away the Alabama game, which you can’t, of course, the Dawgs are surrendering fewer than 13 points per game.
Trask’s task is to avoid pressure from the Georgia defense, and I just don’t see that happening.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two local players now wearing the Red and Black for Georgia: former Brunswick High offensive lineman Warren McClendon and former Glynn Academy kicker Jack Podlesny.
Podlesny is having a sterling season for the Dawgs, converting 14 of 14 extra points and eight of 10 field goals, including a 51-yarder.
McClendon (Willie’s nephew), a redshirt freshman, is arguably the best offensive lineman ever to come out of Glynn County, certainly the best I’ve seen in my 18 years of broadcasting Brunswick High football.
Final score for the 2020 Georgia-Florida game: Bulldogs 33; Gators 30.
Podlesny kicks a last second field goal to win the game. McClendon, of course, makes the key block.
The Smart Choice
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After Georgia’s 41-24 loss to Alabama, Georgia fans took to social media complaining about head coach Kirby Smart. Some fans went as far as saying it was time for change.
If you want to start www.FireKirby.com or #FireKirby, let me, a longtime UGA adversary, drive that bandwagon.
All Kirby has done is build an Elite program in Athens, and I will happily let you idiots ruin that to benefit my Gators.
Getting back on topic, Georgia fans are a bunch of arrogant, spoiled, crybabies. Georgia has not won a National Championship since 1980 and up until 2015 Georgia has only been relevant a couple years at a time during the 1990s onward.
Fans have been comparing Smart to Mark Richt after Georgia’s loss to Alabama (again) last weekend.
Anyone who is honestly considering the idea that Georgia’s program is in the same place now as it was then should simply go look up the 2015 Georgia vs Alabama game.
All Georgia fans wanted was a program just like Alabama. Kirby achieved that goal in year two of his legacy in Athens. But, losing to Nick Saban three times (National Championship Game, SEC Championship game and October 17th) has Bulldog Nation on edge.
Kirby has constructed a program through recruiting. Georgia’s current class is ranked number third in the nation, and they have finished with the number one class in the country 3 out of the last 4 years. In my opinion, Kirby and staff are the top recruiters in the country.
The state of Georgia is a hotbed for high school football and Kirby gets who he wants in his home state. He also goes into Florida and recruits the top talent to their neighbor in the north.
The quickest take you’ll get on the last Alabama vs Georgia game: Matt Jones is better than Stetson Bennett!
Don’t get me wrong Kirby has his issues with hiring and firing offensive coordinators and five-star players transferring to other programs, he’s good but certainly not perfect.
I heard some Georgia fans saying he can recruit but he can’t coach. That is the biggest pile of bull. Kirby simply runs the defense and Georgia’s defense is simply the best in the country.
Kirby has outcoached Florida’s Dan Mullen the last two seasons. Completely controlling both games with his style of play.
Being 3-1 versus the Gators, Kirby knows the importance of this game as a player, and now, he coaches just like the Ole’ Ball Coach.
Mark Richt was 5-10 against the Gators in his 15 years in Athens.
So, the smug Bulldog fans who are whining about the Alabama loss, who are you hiring to replace Kirby?
There are only three other coaches in the country at the same level as Kirby Smart: Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney and Ryan Day.
The Bulldogs are the favorite in the SEC East to travel to Atlanta to face Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
If Kirby gets a chance in Atlanta to face Nick Saban again during this COVID environment shows his coaching prowess.
To Georgia fans, please just shut up and enjoy the greatness in front of you.
In my opinion, Kirby Smart is one of the top 5 coaches in college football.
Keys To The Game
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Dan Mullen was reprimanded and fined $25,000 for his actions in Saturday night’s fight between Florida and Missouri. The brawl was sparked after Gator quarterback Kyle Trask was hit up high and late by Missouri’s defensive lineman Trajan Jeffcoat and no penalty was called on the play.
In my opinion, there is no place for this kind of conduct in college football. I do not condone Mullen’s actions and I think the fine was insufficient.
Mullen down played his actions by stating, “from my understanding, I think our guys thought they took a late hit at our quarterback and they’re going to protect him.”
Reaction on social media started flooding in about potential fine and suspension. I heard from a few Bulldog fans on how Mullen is an embarrassment. Mullen’s reputation has taken a hit on social media with his recent comment about “Filling the Swamp.”
Former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush on FOX Saturday Football stated, “That was a dirty hit and I loved the way Dan Mullen and the Gators responded.”
Mullen’s actions had a positive reaction on his team’s play in the second half. Now can that carry over to the “World’s Largest Cocktail Party”?
Here are a few thoughts about the Florida vs Georgia game.
Georgia is a five point favorite.
Georgia has a huge advantage in talent if you believe stars matter.
The Saturday night injury suffered by All-American safety Richard LeCounte in a motorcycle accident had fans everywhere startled. My prayers for a full recovery go out to him and his family.
LeCounte is the heart of the Georgia defense, he was the SEC Player of the Week for his 13 tackles, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery against Kentucky.
Georgia is suddenly hit by the injury bug with Jordan Davis, Quay Walker, Julian Rochester, Monte Rice, Lewis Cline, Tyrique Stevenson, George Pickens, Kenny McIntosh and Ben Cleveland all battling injuries.
Florida has two players suspended for the first half, starting defensive end Zach Carter and Antwuan Powell. Add those to the players that missed last week’s game due to COVID and the Gators could be short handed in the battle for the SEC East Division.
My questions going into this game:
Which Florida Defense shows up, the one that got shredded against Texas A&M or the one that controlled Missouri?
Which Georgia Offense shows up, the one that dominated Auburn or the one that struggled against Kentucky?
Who will be under center for the Bulldogs? Stetson Bennett, JT Daniel or Carson Beck
Can Dan Mullen out coach Kirby Smart?
Which team wins the turnover battle?
If you have the answers to these questions then you know who will win this game. The winner of this game is in the driver’s seat to represent the SEC East in Atlanta.
Out Of Sorts
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators might be the team that embodies this strange 2020 season the best.
The Gators stopped all football activities Oct. 13 after a coronavirus outbreak spread through the team.
Head coach Dan Mullen and two assistants also tested positive, with at least 26 players positive since that time.
“Everybody’s really excited to get back to football and get back playing,” Mullen said. “I think that’s something that is big within the team right now is that ability to get back out on the field.
This year’s been a unique year like no other, with stops and starts and different schedules. Our guys have handled everything extremely well throughout the year. I think they’re going to be really excited to get back out there on the practice field.
“I don’t expect us to come out there and have our sharpest, most crisp practice of the year, but I expect us to have great energy, excitement and enthusiasm to be back out there to get going as we build up to Saturday.”
During the two-week quarantine period Florida had to postpone games against LSU and Mizzou. That was much needed time to gain experience and try to get better against outside competition. They also were not able to work out during this time.
Through the first three games quarterback Kyle Trask looked like a Heisman Trophy frontrunner. He’s thrown for 996 yards, 14 touchdowns, 1 interception while completing 72% of his passes.
His favorite target is another Kyle, tight end Kyle Pitts. Pitts has 17 receptions, 274 yards and 7 TD’s. UF looked like one of the best offenses in the nation.
The Gators were ranked No. 4 in the last game they played at Texas A&M. They were upset by the Aggies and lost 41 – 38. I think the team’s confidence was shaken after that loss then they have not had the opportunity to build it back since the last two games were postponed.
The defense has been atrocious. They’ve given up an average of 495 yards per game and 33 PPG. I don’t think that’s something they can flip a switch and fix quickly.
Before the teams COVID outbreak they had one advantage going into the Georgia game, which was a bye week. That week was used to reschedule the Mizzou game.
No matter how hard they try, game shape can only be worked on by playing games. I think the team will struggle in this game. Also, if there are any injuries, they will be in jeopardy of missing the following game against UGA.
Florida will be at a disadvantage going into the November 7th showdown. Their defense can’t stop anybody without any of the things we talked about factored in.
At this point we do not know what we are going to get out of them. The offense might be out of sync now with the layoff.
Worth The Hype
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Some rivalries are formed due to their close proximity to each other. Some rivalries are forged on the field or court due to memorable games, indelibly ingrained in your mind for years. Other rivalries come about because both programs have sustained a level of excellence unmatched by most programs.
What makes a rivalry special is when you can combine all three of these aspects; something Georgia and Florida have come close to achieving in the past, it has just never quite gotten there.
Location has never really been the issue, not because the schools are all that close to each other, but because the game is played in Jacksonville every year.
Normally, I’m not a fan of playing an entire series at a neutral location, but in this case it works.
Whether it’s allowing an equal number of Georgia and Florida fans to attend on a yearly basis, or making it easier to attach a moniker like “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”, the central location in Jacksonville has really enhanced the game and rivalry.
As for the games themselves, there have been some really great ones, the problem is most of them took place years ago.
Recently, the games haven’t been all that competitive or memorable. There also hasn’t been a ton of parity between the two teams.
By that I mean in most cases the rivalry has been dominated by one team or the other. It’s been a little better in recent years, but even looking at the past twelve seasons the programs have just alternated three-year winning streaks.
Part of the reason the dominance has see-sawed back and forth is even though both teams have seen some level of sustained excellence, rarely have they both experienced it at the same time.
Over the last twenty years, only three of games were played with both teams being in the Top 10. (Two of those games have taken place in the last two years, so that’s at least a sign things might be changing.)
That’s not to say the games can’t be great unless they’re both ranked in the Top 10, but if you’re trying to attract a national audience, which is needed if you want it to be considered a top tier rivalry, having something on the line certainly helps.
Miami and Florida State is a perfect example. Their games from the mid-80’s through the early 00’s were some of the most memorable in college football and almost always had national title implications.
Regardless of where you lived, or what teams you rooted for, that was the game you tuned in to watch.
Now that neither team has been relevant for years, outside of Jameis Winston’s tenure in Tallahassee, the game is merely a blip on the college football radar.
As I alluded to briefly, if you desire the rivalry to be perceived as one of the best in the nation, the future looks promising.
Both teams have excellent coaches, who don’t seem to have ambitions of leaving their respective schools to go along with top of the line sports facilities and strong recruiting pipelines- all important attributes to not only reach the pinnacle, but to stay there.
The Georgia/Florida game has all the makings of becoming a great, nationally recognized rivalry.
The last two years have been a good start; could this year’s game be the one to put them over the edge?
