I ended last year’s prediction with the following two
paragraphs. I really should have trusted my instincts about Taggert’s ability
to handle the big stage!
New Noles coach, Willie Taggert, is the x-factor in this
game. The FSU squad should be more talented than this current crop of Gators.
The game is in the tinker box stadium. But this will be the first time Taggert
has been in a true big time rivalry game as the head coach. Gator fans need to
hope that he blows it big time if they want to pay back their Nole friends for
the last few years of crow. The Gators will need help to win this one and I
don’t think they get enough.
So there you have it. My thoughts on how the season will
unfold for Gator football. 8-3 and a quality bowl will be a major improvement
for Gator Nation. For that matter, any bowl would be an improvement over the
dumpster fire that was the 2017 season. It’s an often-used cliché in sports,
but I think the 2019 season for the Gators is the one that will determine if
Mullen has the Gators back in the national contention spotlight. Gator fans
should just enjoy any success we have this year and if you get mad or
frustrated, just pull up the films for the 2017 games. That should help you
remember to stay positive as we wait for a new system to be fully in place for
2019!
I’m not sure how I miscalculated the total games but if you
give me one of those wins I predicted and the regular season would have been
just right at 9-3 instead of 8-3. Good thing I wasn’t a math major! A huge bowl
win over Michigan has the Gator faithful thinking very positive thoughts about
the coming season. Although some I have talked with are more cautious than one
might expect.
So let’s see if we can get close again this year! The
kickoff game against Miami is scary for me. I would think Dan would give this game
the focus it deserves, and the Gators come out prepared and hungry. But you never
know how some of the new guys are going to react when the lights come on and
the game means something. And this game is full of meaning. Miami has become
like the other teams in the state of Florida that the Gators play for recent
Gator fans. Old-timers know that’s not the case and still consider The U a
rival that must be beaten in everything. Although I’m far from convinced it
will be easy, I’ll take the Gators to escape and get on the Turnpike North with
a win!
Two weeks later, the Gators host Tennessee in the swamp for
a …. Oh wait, it’s Tennessee-Martin. This one should be a easy win for the
Gators and a chance for a lot of new players to get their first taste of big
time football in front a real crowd. Look for Franks to put up some huge
numbers in this game early before giving way to the backup!
The loss to Kentucky at home last year still stings. The
streak ended. Franks and the offense was offensive in the bad way. I would expect
this game to be circled on their calendars and highlighted in the weight room
all off-season. Kentucky lost some key players, but Stoops has done a good job
of making the Cats more than just a hoops haven. Still, I think the Gators win
this one in a back and forth affair.
The fighting dreamsicles come to town for the annual biggest
game in September in the SEC East match up. The Gators will have to work hard
not to have a let down game after two quality opponents in the first three
weeks. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a need for a fourth quarter comeback for
the Gators to win this one. Nah, I just can’t pick the Vols to be that good
until they show it on the field. Gator’s run smokey out of the swamp
on a hot, sticky, Saturday afternoon like usual!
The paycheck game that has been held in November has been
moved up to the end of September. This year Towson comes to town. It’s another
chance for the eventual red-shirts to get some playing time in the second half.
The Gators take care of business and end the month at 5-0 and probably in the
top ten if not the top five!
The turning of the calendar brings a chill to the air in
most parts of the country, but October in Gainesville can still be hot. The heat
definitely rises for the team during the month of October. These four weeks
will define the season for the Gators and likely decide whether they are a true
national contender again. It starts with a visit from the team from the plains
that has many aliases. The Tigers or War Eagles or Plainsmen, whichever you
prefer, arrive in town for the first time in almost a decade. This one could go
either way depending on the QB play. Whichever signal callers has the better
day will lead his team in victory off the field. As a former Auburn fan growing
up in Alabama, oh I’m just kidding, I will want the Gators to win and I think
they will.
The Gators finally hit the road again on the visit to LSU
and Death Valley West. I don’t think the SEC will do the Gators a favor and
schedule a 3:30 game, so it’s going to be tough to beat them at night in their
place. I don’t think the young Gators
will have enough moxie to handle the crowd and the hype in the Red Stick. The
Gators must fly home with their first loss at the hands of the Bayou Bengals.
With a short turn around time and another tough road game,
the Gators travel to SC and face the fighting Chickens. This game will be a
test of the true nature of Mullen’s ability to motivate the team. They won’t be
good enough to be looking ahead to Georgia and be able to stroll into the chicken
coop and leave with a basket of eggs. They must be focused, or they’ll leave
Columbia with enough egg on their faces to make a humble pie omelet. I’ll always
choose Mullen over Muschump, so I think the Gator’s get it done and have fried
chicken on the plane home!
At 7-1 the Gators and the Dogs meet again in Jacksonville. I
think all the talk about moving the game from the Georgia coaches plays right
into the mystic that helps Florida teams with less talent win often in the last
30 years. And I think it happens again this year. Cue the Kirby post-game
presser about how it’s unfair to play the game in Florida every year. Georgia
didn’t seem to mind coming into the Gators backyard before the Old Ball Coach
showed up! The Gators leave with a chance to win the East right in front of
them.
Vandy will come to town and put up a good fight, but the run
at Vandy is beginning to wane. Look for them to regress as a program and for
their coach to move on sooner than later. The Gators will win a tough game because
it’s hard to be on the emotional high for 5 games in a row!
Can Missouri find a replacement at QB? Just like the Gators
last year, that’s the question that will determine the outcome of this game. This
has been the slot for the paycheck game and let’s hope the Gators don’t treat
this one the same way. I think with the Eastern Conference title on the line,
there will be plenty to motivate the team as they travel as far as they go
during the regular season from home.
The Gators end the regular season with the annual game
against the team from out west. I think the upperclassmen will remember their
previous times of hosting the clowns in the swamp. Those didn’t go so well! I
would expect the Gators to put up an excellent ending to a stellar season with
a thorough demolishing of the Noles. If that happens, please don’t leave Gator
fans! Stay to the end and celebrate the end of one of the best seasons in Gator
football in the last decade!
So there you go, 11-1 or maybe 10-2 and the return of the
Gators to Atlanta for the SEC championship game. I don’t think we can beat
Alabama, but only one team is going to have a chance to do that in the SEC
title game, so it might as well be us, right? If you get there, you never know
how the ball might bounce on a given night!
Another quality bowl looks to be on the horizon and 2020
looks to be the year for Mullen to really lead the Gators in the quest for our
next National Championship! Maybe it will come a year earlier! I know I wouldn’t
complain, would you?
