Dr. Saturday - NCAAF

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Florida 49, Georgia 10. Talk about margins: as of early in the fourth quarter, Georgia had outgained Florida overall and on a per-snap basis, and trailed 35-3. The little things do make that kind of difference: Georgia settles for field goals at the ends of three solid drives (62, 55 and 51 yards) in the first half, and doinks two of them. Mark Richt goes for the genius onside kick, and winds up looking fatally impatient instead when Florida recovers and scores on the short field. Officials look the other way on iffy but plausible pass interference calls against the Gators on the two crucial plays of the third quarter, Joe Haden's pick and return to the UGA goal line and Louis Murphy's slant-and-go touchdown, that helped Florida pull away. Knowshon Moreno drops a pitch just because his hands suddenly stopped working, setting up the short, icing run by Tim Tebow.

Add up just those six possessions for Georgia, and you get 256 yards for three points, not including two other interceptions in UF territory. After an 80-yard drive in the first quarter, on the other hand, Gators' touchdown "drives" covered 32, 1, 56, 10 and 25 yards, respectively. Add up Florida's first six scoring possessions, and you get 204 yards for 42 points. After that, it's just total demoralization.

Just watching the game without dissecting the box score, Florida easily passes the eyeball test -- the Gators look like potential champions. The defense may be bend-don't-break at times, but an opportunistic, big play-oriented D is a spectacular improvement over last year's edition; it's a major improvement over the version that gave up one big play too many against Ole Miss in September. The offense, in the same generous position it found itself in over and over again against Tennessee and LSU, isn't racking up awesome yardage totals because it just doesn't have that far to go. Certainly you get the sense the last four weeks they'd get there from wherever you asked them to start -- UF is averaging 50 points in its wins over Arkansas, LSU, Kentucky and now Georgia since the loss to the Rebels, and outscored that quartet by 40 per game -- which makes the potential showdown with Alabama in the SEC Championship that much more tantalizing. Please, please make this happen.

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21 Comments

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  1. Gbdup
    1. Posted by Gbdup Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:40 pm EDT

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    the gators shouldve done a really shizzy celebration georgias face today
  2. Gbdup
    2. Posted by Gbdup Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:40 pm EDT

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    tulsa got beat by a bad sec team today. that just shows how shizzy the mid major conferences are.
  3. Michael
    3. Posted by Michael Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

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    Here's a thought: Perhaps Georgia is not really that good.
  4. LVAFAN
    4. Posted by LVAFAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:06 pm EDT

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    the Dawgs aren't that good. You don't lose 3 of your top 6 players to season ending surgery and flourish in the SEC.
  5. zobaib s
    5. Posted by zobaib s Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:42 pm EDT

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    What's sad is that Georgia would still beat Penn State, Tex Tech, OK State, Mizzou, and probably USC too. Being undefeated doesn't matter. It's about who you beat and who you play. The Big 10, Pac 10, are not impressive at all. If I went undefeated against 7th grade teams would I deserve a shot at the national championship? And sorry, the "I don't play defense 12" doesn't impress me either.
    If Florida beats Alabama and doesn't get to the title game, it would be a huge travesty.
  6. Arnold S
    6. Posted by Arnold S Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:05 pm EDT

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    That's what you get, Georgia for celebrating too much!!!!!!!!!
  7. gator fan
    7. Posted by gator fan Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:17 pm EDT

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    No other conf. can stand up to the SEC
  8. SpartanDan
    8. Posted by SpartanDan Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:11 pm EDT

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    Gator fan: Any conference that claims Vandy (losers to Duke) or LSU (defense burnt extra-crispy Cajun style on a repeated basis) as its fourth-best team is not better than the Big XII this year. Not even close.
    Zobaib: On what are you basing this wild assumption that Georgia would beat everyone else? The two real teams they've played to this point, Bama and Florida, have not only beaten them but completely obliterated them.
  9. The Nicker
    9. Posted by The Nicker Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:11 pm EDT

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    "What's sad is that Georgia would still beat Penn State, Tex Tech, OK State, Mizzou, and probably USC too"
    Ahahahahaha, hahahha, haha. No.
    I'm tempted to answer your argument rationally, but needless to say that while they could beat any of those teams on any given day, it's unlikely that they'd beat any of them other than Mizzou and maybe PSU more than 50% of the time.
  10. zobaib s
    10. Posted by zobaib s Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:42 pm EDT

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    Spartan Dan: I base it off of Moreno and Stafford.
    And also about the conference: No other conference can have 3 or 4 teams legitimately compete for the national championship. Alabama and Florida still have a shot this year.
    Auburn was undefeated and should have been in it a few years ago. LSU has won a couple of titles the last few years. Florida won it a couple of years ago. That doesn't even include Georgia being the preseason number 1.
    What other conference can say that they have multiple national champions last 5 or 6 years? What other conference can say that multiple (3 or 4) teams legitimately compete for the NC? Certainly not the Big 12.
  11. _
    11. Posted by _ Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

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    Florida beats another weak sissy SEC team and now the media slobbers all over them and Tim Tebow. Don't mess with Texas you girls.
  12. Big Mike
    12. Posted by Big Mike Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:29 pm EDT

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    The gators are goin all the way this year!! Nobody can stop the best team in the World
  13. The Heffalump
    13. Posted by The Heffalump Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:05 pm EDT

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    Except Ole Miss
  14. gator fan
    14. Posted by gator fan Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:17 pm EDT

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    irapter--texas did not look that good to me. texas tech looked more like the college team and texas a middle school team.
  15. alan b
    15. Posted by alan b Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

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    The polls are done using past performance. Which is wrong. You should take two teams, decide which would win on a neutral field, and rank them higher. Use how they are playing now. It doesn't matter how they played in September. With this in mind, Florida is 1, Oklahoma is 2, TT is 3, Bama is 4, PSU is 7 or 8.
  16. The Heffalump
    16. Posted by The Heffalump Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:05 pm EDT

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    We should not have a playoff, we should not have a playoff... we should not.
    I thought last years NFL season would end the playoff debate after the league had to look at it's fanbase and proclaim a team with at least five losses (I don't know the Giants final record but it was something like that) champions over an 18-1 team that had beaten the five loss team in the regular season. NFL fans when tell you that the Giants won when it mattered. It always matters in college football precisely because there is no redemptive playoff.
    I also like the arguements that spring from the vaugeries of the polls like when the fine and honest boys from Alabama were clearly robbed of the ring in 1966. Notre Dame can bite me.
  17. Ken
    17. Posted by Ken Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:00 pm EDT

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    For those of you who think Florida should be no 1 (alan b) you are sadly mistaken. Florida got beat by OL MISS, did anyone forget that. ALABAMA beat OL MISS. Nuff said. Alabma is going to be No 1 after this week and Florida can bring their argument to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. The winner of that game will play for the National Title. Did I mention we need a Playoff system and demolish the whole ranking system.
  18. alan b
    18. Posted by alan b Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

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    Florida will beat Bama in the SEC championship by at least two touchdowns. They will then deserve to play in the National Championship
  19. SpartanDan
    19. Posted by SpartanDan Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:11 pm EDT

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    "And also about the conference: No other conference can have 3 or 4 teams legitimately compete for the national championship."
    Oklahoma/Texas/Texas Tech? It's entirely possible that they will end the season with their only losses to each other, a feat that the Alabama/Georgia/Florida trio can't match. (For that matter, Oklahoma State might belong in that group too.)
    And the SEC's past dominance doesn't mean that it's the best conference this year. It's not.
  20. SpartanDan
    20. Posted by SpartanDan Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:11 pm EDT

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    Alan: The main argument of anti-playoff advocates is that the regular season is a playoff. Your idea would *completely* undermine that argument. Florida blew their shot by losing to Ole Miss; they have to hope Penn State blows its shot as well (if PSU is the only unbeaten, a one-loss Big XII champion would have a far stronger resume than Florida with at least equal wins and a better loss) in order to get back in it.
  21. Who Dat?
    21. Posted by Who Dat? Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:53 pm EDT

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    Ha Ha Ha! Georgia is nothing but empty hype. Ohio State could beat Georgia!

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