A lot of people have said a lot of things about the LSU game so far, so I am not going to try to do a comprehensive game review. You’ve already read plenty, most likely, so there are the things that stuck out to me.
Physicality
This was a heavyweight bout, and not just because or the teams’ rankings. This was one of the fiercest, most physical games I’ve seen in a while. LSU’s defense was intent on delivering punishment, and Florida was set on giving right back. LSU safety Craig Steltz, who participated in 16 tackles for the game, said that his equipment was damaged after the game. That’s impressive.
Urban Meyer said when he got here that he wanted to create a tough, physical team, and he has accomplished that goal.
Captain Hook
After Kestahn Moore fumbled, he never got another carry. In fact, Florida abandoned the run completely after that. I understand pulling someone who fumbles when it’s Chris Rainey, an unproven true freshman. I don’t understand pulling a guy who fumbles when it’s your junior starter who has been gashing the other team up the middle all game long.
This is not the first time that’s happened either. Urban Meyer and his coaches have been doing this ever since they arrived in Gainesville – if you fumble, you get pulled. I can understand the philosophy behind it, but it’s impractical in practice. You tell your guy to put two hands on the ball in traffic, then send him out there again to keep getting 4 to 8 yards a carry up the middle.
Regression to the Mean
I called last Saturday “Regression to the Mean Saturday” partly to make fun of ESPN for trying to give days ridiculous names like “Gut Check Saturday” and partly because I thought it’d be a day where a lot of corrections in the standings would occur. It ended up being a bad way of making picks, but it did hold true for a few teams. Wisconsin and USC have looked shaky, and they finally fell.
It also held true for Florida in this way: Florida got nearly every break last year. In every game but the Auburn game, if something could go right for the Gators, it did. This year, things have been going against UF with its back-to-back last-minute losses. Wes Byrum made his game-winning kick by about 2 feet. Joey Ijjas’ field goal attempt was blocked, and the margin of victory for Auburn was 3 points. Charlie Strong knew LSU’s fake punt was coming, but no one on the field could hear him hollering at them to shift over to cover it. Jacob Hester was awarded a highly favorable spot on the final 4th down conversion for LSU. Tim Tebow’s first interception that was not because of Riley Cooper running the wrong route came on a deflection off of Cornelius Ingram’s helmet.
Some would say that you have to make your own luck, and that’s true to a great extent. Florida had a lot of depth and experience last year, and it has almost none this year. Some of these things are just a side effect of having a young team. If a team gets all the breaks one year, they usually don’t the next. Look at Wake Forest – everything went right for the Deacs last year, but this year they already have two losses.
We all knew this year would have some growing pains. We knew there’d be a lot of growing up to do. There could be another game or two like the last two where everything goes against Florida in the end. It could cost Florida a shot at the SEC East title, which I know would be a huge disappointment for Gator fans. We just have to remember that when all the breaks go against a team, they always get a few the next year.
