Wednesday, October 31, 2007

From the Gator's Mouth: Saurian Sagacity's UF Preview


Our good friends over at Saurian Sagacity, one of the best University of Florida sports blogs out there, have been kind enough to give us their take on the Commies/Gators game coming upon Saturday. These guys do a great job, and VSL nation should be checking this site often as we get ready for Saturday.

So it comes to this. In the 20 years I’ve been a Gator I never thought I’d see the day that I would have trepidation about our football team taking on Vandy. Especially coming off of a BCS championship. Vandy was always one of those teams next to whose name you always penciled in a W when analyzing the schedule. In fact, the Gators are 29-9-2 against the Commodores and haven’t lost to Vandy since 1988. That’s 16 in a row. I often wondered why Vandy was even in the SEC competing against big state schools with many more resources and less stringent academic standards. The Commodores were that kid that wants to sit with the adults at thanksgiving dinner. I kind of felt sorry for them, but not anymore.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Vandy should have beaten the Gators in 2005. If not for a bogus excessive celebration penalty against, Jay Cutler and Commodores probably would have come away with the win. That’s not the secret; I think most Vandy fans know this. The secret is that serious Gator fans know it as well.

And that only adds to the sense of foreboding I have about this game. Both teams come into the game with 5-3 records. Vandy is looking to become bowl eligible and win 6 games for the first time in a quarter century at the expense of the Gators and honestly right now I am nervous. The ‘Dores have already beaten a ranked team this year when they upset the Old Ball Coach and his South Carolina Gamecocks. They also played Georgia to within a field goal,

By now it’s well documented that the Gator defense is a sieve. They can’t stop the run and they can’t stop the pass. Other than that, they are great. To put an exclamation point on this I’ll just remind the reader that Florida gave up 42 points to Georgia while Vandy only gave up 20. Vandy has given up just 139 points compared to the 205 Florida has allowed through eight games. Florida has allowed 25 touchdowns vs. 15 that Vandy has allowed.

Vandy is a team the Gators should beat. But one thing is for sure, if Vandy wins on Saturday they will have proven that they do indeed belong in the league and that the South Carolina game wasn’t a fluke. I hate to see it, but we are starting to see some parity in the SEC, with teams like Mississippi State and Vandy that can no longer be taken for granted. Vandy, is trying to prove that it belongs with the adults and I for one am hoping the Gators can send the Commodores back to kids table.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

1) "Don't trust anyone over 30"
-60's counterculture movement axiom

2) "I don't trust anyone who lives in New York and has a tan in February"
-QB Jim McMahon, re: Pete Rozelle

3) Don't trust anyone who has the word "sagacity" in their blog title.

Nothing that occurs this Saturday can do anything to influence Vanderbilt's domination of South Carolina. The "if they lose to FL, then the SC game was a fluke" logic is flawed. Vanderbilt dominated SC in every phase of the game.

All the talk about last year, two years ago, questioning whether VU should be in the SEC, blah blah et al...it's meaningless.

What matters is when the chinstraps are buckled at 12:30 on Saturday.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

I never said the game against SC would be a fluke. But you have to beat more than one team to be say you "have arrived". Kentucky was facing the same situation and lost the Gators and then reverted to their old losing ways. You dominated SC. That's fact. What's uncertain is whether you can do that week to week in this league.

And Bobby, one quick correction to my post: I mean to say the word "say" instead of "see" in the last paragraph. "I hate to say it..."

Anonymous said...

If Vandy is fielding an offense on Saturday, I'll be scared. Very scared, in fact.
This game could be a shootout, and I like Vandy's D in that kind of situation to get a couple of important stops.
Still, I'm going to hope that the Gators still hold some sort of power over our friends from Nashville.
Gators 38, Vandy 35

Go Gators!

August West said...

"Let me let you in on a little secret. Vandy should have beaten the Gators in 2005. If not for a bogus excessive celebration penalty against, Jay Cutler and Commodores probably would have come away with the win."

Dear god somebody kiss this guy (then promptly and metaphorically punch him in the throat for for saying he 'felt sorry for us'.... nothing is more insulting than pity.)

That was still the most brutal loss I've seen as a Vandy fan. I'm getting the feeling that Saturday's game may be our revenge.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

Ben,

I didn't say I felt sorry for Vandy in that game. I said that at one time I felt sorry for the futility of Vandy's program. Sorry to offend your sensibilities but the whole "haven't won 6 games in quarter century" bit is pitiful.

I hope Vandy gets its 6th win. Just not against us.

August West said...

gomez,

Yeah, I could have expressed that more clearly; I was referring to pity towards the general futility of VU football... That line of thinking gets real old being a VU fan in Nashville.

Anonymous said...

He wrote:
"if Vandy wins on Saturday they will have proven that they do indeed belong in the league and that the South Carolina game wasn’t a fluke."

Then he wrote:
"I never said the game against SC would be a fluke."

This must be an example of "sagacity."

All of you predicting a shootout? Not sure about that one.

Aaron said...

i think this game represents the biggest test for the Bobby Johnson Era at Vandy. This would be hands down his biggest victory. We are certainly capable of winning on saturday. I think this game comes down to game plan, playing calling, and turnovers.

Special teams is also a huge factor. Lets hope that the coaching staff has the boys ready for this one!!

Go DORES!!!