It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
-FDR
SNL, catering to the lowest common intellectual denominator, will go ahead and tell you that the image above is an obtuse metaphor for the David v. Goliath matchup that, according to local news outlets and radio shows, is taking place at The Swamp on Saturday. For the remaining 1% of you, who know nothing of David, Goliath, tanks, or children, SNL offers a sincere look of pity. Moving on…
The Gator lovefest continues in the wake of Florida’s 55-21 victory over then 3rd-ranked LSU. Edified by LSU’s victory of South Carolina last Saturday and further imbued with confidence thanks to the incessant cries of Gator supremacy on the local airwaves, Gator fans are fat and happy about now. Reservations in Atlanta and for the most wistful, Miami, are being made daily as the Gator resurgence grows in stature.
Sure, there’s a rankled minority who are incensed that the BCS and its new fangled computers have placed Florida on the fringe of the top-10 (looking up at the Buckeyes), but the silent majority remain corpulent, complacent, and for the time being, are recommending no changes to the Gators coaching staff, play-calling, game-planning, uniforms, facilities, schedule, or logo. A great relief for Pope Meyer to be sure.
Coming to Gainesville this Sautrday to bask in this contemporary utopia is purported lamb, Kentucky. Yep, woeful, incompetent, bumbling, undersized and undermanned Kentucky, with its cute little 5-2 record and adorable last second win against Arkansas last week. The same club that held #2 ‘Bama to 17 points and minus 2 huge plays, around 150 yards rushing.
Predicted final scores from the flock are somewhere between 52-10 Florida and 41-14 (also Florida) and take SNL back to days of old, when the Gator faithful arrived, like Romans at the Coliseum, for a slaughter of innocents. Problem is, the “days of old” were only a couple of weeks ago-you remember, when Ole Miss came to The Swamp a 23-point underdog and walked away the victor.
Admittedly, Kentucky lacks any real firepower in its dilapidated state and does not seem to be the “Buster Douglas” that Ole Miss was (and is). It is the simplicity of this statement that makes the Wildcats dangerous. Put another way, Kentucky’s apparent lack of playmakers coupled with Florida’s 2-week bath in the post-LSU love bubbles gives rise to a scenario that is difficult for the Gators-the overdog.
To date, the Gators have shown that they are equally capable of dominating great teams and losing to average teams, but have provided their doubters with no real reason to believe that they are capable of a prolonged campaign of greatness. Like it or not, in the weeks that follow the inaugural BCS poll, which paradoxically means nothing and everything at this point, there exists an added an element of urgency that wasn’t present when Ole Miss came to Gainesville only a few weeks ago.
The Gators now know where they stand, which is below Ohio State and USC. This truth further amplifies the need for the Gators to be sharp, dominant, and overwhelming this weekend against a team that, like Arkansas and Ole Miss, is better than the fans, pundits, and pollsters think.
The reason for this is simple, MOV does not factor into the BCS algorithm, but rankings do. Florida can expect to move as high as #5 in the Coaches poll if it wins Saturday, but could go as high as #3 if it wins impressively and others lose or win in underwhelming fashion against lesser opponents.
The distilled sum of the BCS whole rests with Florida’s rise in the polls over the next month, which in turn depends largely on a chorus of high profile pundits extolling Florida’s greatness from their Bristol perch. The pollsters, like trained seals, will eat from the trough of the E-SPIN highlight buffet and vote the party-line. If the talking heads parrot Florida as the best 1-loss team at the close of the season, the Gators get to go to Miami. Simple, tidy, and true.
Feel the pressure Gators? SNL sure hopes so because we’re all counting on you.
-So Sayeth the Shepherd
