Sunday, November 12, 2006

The Gators are not National Champions... Yet

Being a Florida Gator fan is always tough. Even when they win it is a painful process as they have never really dominated the stronger opponents and always make the Florida faithful sweat it out game after game. Even the year the Gators won the National Championship, they had to rely on a series of events and they backed into the Championship. Regardless, we can say they won but there have always been skeptics; especially from any FSU fan you talk to.

After last nights close game against South Carolina, the local paper was filled with talk of going to the BCS title game. One columnist even said that all they have to do is win their last three games and they are in. Come on Florida Fans, let’s have a reality check. Two of the last three games are an away game at FSU and the SEC Championship vs. Arkansas (most likely). If we only look at FSU, you should know this is no gimmie. Their season is over, done, finished, and kaput. The only thing they are playing for at this point is one more win to become bowl eligible and to spoil any hopes Florida has at making it to the title game. I can promise you they are going to be out for a little Gator tail and just because they stink this year, does not mean they will not be up and ready to make the Gators come crashing down to Earth.

Then there is Arkansas. Have any of you seen them this year? They are unbelievable and every week they just get better. Their tailback McFadden is a yard chomping, defense leveling machine. This guy runs for more than 100 yards in a half and he simply cannot be stopped. They are going to wear down the Gator defense and end the game by running all over the Gators. Let’s not forget, they beat Auburn pretty easily and the Gators only loss was at the hands of Auburn.

Okay, so on any given day any SEC team can beat another, but I think the Gators have been fortunate this year. Granted, they have had the toughest schedule in the SEC, but that will probably play against them this year as they are going to be beaten and bruised by the end of the year. That’s what happened at Auburn. The Gators had just come off a string of tough SEC games, with the LSU game leading into Auburn; additionally Auburn had just lost at home the previous week to Arkansas and there was no way they were going to lose at home two weeks in a row.

Don’t misunderstand me; I hope the Gators win, and I hope they make it to the BSC Championship Game and win, but I am concerned that while they have shown toughness and some resourcefulness, there is no way they can compete with OSU or Michigan. As fans we should enjoy the year they have had and hope for the best in the SEC title game, but let’s face facts; they are playing on borrowed time and it is only a matter of time before the season comes crashing down around them. The South Carolina game may be the last game we can really celebrate this year. If that’s the case, it will still have been a great year and something to build on.

Go Gators.

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