Charting the Course: Week 6 Florida Gators

Where Have They Been?

No, Florida is not and never will be afraid of LSU.

And no Florida did not avoid the game because of injuries.

This and many of the cancelled game conspiracy theories made an uncertain time more disappointing because so many forgot about the real victims during these times. For three days I heard stories about power outages and floods from friends and even felt the concern from my own brother not knowing what he would return to when he got home.

Football has and will always pale in comparison to the safety and life of breathing and living people. Now let’s move past the silly conspiracy theories and nonsense that was the Florida and LSU postponed… football game

Now, on to football. Whenever the Gators and Tigers choose to line up and play they will most likely be completely different teams than what would have matched up this past weekend. Florida AND LSU were suffering from injuries going into the game and BOTH teams needed time to heal.

By the time they play who knows what LSU may bring to the table. Maybe the excitement and luster will have worn off a little bit on Ed Orgeron, maybe the win one for Les Miles intensity will have subsided and they will come back to earth a little bit. Maybe they have found a groove and dance against Missouri that will carry them through a tough stretch and actually play to the potential of their roster.

For obvious reasons, this game needs to be played. LSU AD Joe Alleva continues to be rock solid on playing a home game on November 19th so that’s something SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will have to deal with behind closed doors. If the SEC, specifically Sankey, does not show some backbone here it will be a horrible look from him as the new commissioner.

Had the game been played I am not sure the Gators would have walked away with a victory, but I am sure when they get together the Gators will have a nice little extra ounce of motivation.

What’s Next?

Now that the SEC East race has tighten up and is pretty much a two team race, the Gators are now in ‘Show Me’ time against the team from the ‘Show Me’ state. The Tigers had a weak to recover from the beat down by LSU. With an extra week to prepare they will probably have a few more wrinkles to throw at the Florida defense.

Missouri last year was abysmal on offense, but before the showing down on the Bayou they had made some positive strides to creating a complimentary unit that can help out their defense. First year head coach Barry Odom is looking to build on a program that reached unexpected heights under the leadership of Gary Pinkel.

As we can all remember the last time Florida visited the Swamp it was an embarrassment among embarrassments and many thought at that time Muschamp would be fired. I remember Jeremy Foley kneeling down in the back of the end zone in displeasure. It was a very low moment, almost the lowest in the Muschamp era, save Georgia Southern. Hopefully this Saturday, the Gators can come out and pick up the pace a little bit and put forth a solid showing.

What’s Down the Road?

Even though the Gators didn’t play they still managed to make up some ground due to the Vols inability to hold onto the ball. Either Tennessee is so good that they almost overcame 7 million turnovers to almost win in overtime. Or, Texas A&M is not as good as we thought to not blow away a team at home that had 7 million turnovers. I think it falls somewhere in between but Tennessee better work the fumble drills hard this week, I don’t see Alabama letting them back in the game should the Vols go down by multiple scores again.

Tennessee still holds the tie breaker over the Gators but should they lose to the Crimson Tide this week, delete your twitter and turn off your TV because Vol nation will be screaming about Florida and LSU until the game is played.

The team I was worried about and still slightly am, is Arkansas. They got handled pretty well this weekend by Alabama 49-30 but will still present a very stiff challenge to Florida on the road in November.

Saturday night it looked like Florida State was heading for an 0-3 start in conference play. Thankfully for the Seminoles Mark Richt is still Mark Richt and finds ways to consistently lose big games to rivals. Florida State bounced back, but if I were a fan, I’d be concerned about the health of Deondre Francois as teams continue to treat him like a ping pong ball. Will he be able to hold up for the second half of the season that still has games against Clemson, N.C. State and Florida.

Two teams ahead on the Florida schedule faced off Sunday afternoon, which I enjoyed and wouldn’t mind a Sunday game every now and then. Georgia finally overcame the bloody and fiery Will Muschamp led Gamecocks 28-14. South Carolina played the Bulldogs tight but did not have the firepower to pull off the upset. Florida should be able to handle both of these teams in the coming weeks.

Now that the Presbyterian game is in doubt, I will really be disappointed if the Blue Hose cannot make a trip down to the Swamp. Presbyterian once again suffered a loss to Gardner-Webb 24-3. This will be the 4th time in 5 games that the Blue Hose have failed to score above 10 points in a game and the 4th time they have failed to score a touchdown in a game.

As for the Gators, the seas may be starting to part a little bit. If Alabama can take care of business this week, Florida will be in control of its own destiny in the SEC East. Many fans will be doing scoreboard watching on Saturday in the Swamp while the Vols and Tide square off. Florida has to remain focused and take care of business versus Missouri. This would be a great time to put a hammer on Missouri, especially after the way the game went the last time they visited Gainesville.

Kevin Camps
Kevin, a lifelong Gator fan has followed and studied Florida football since 1990. He is a Gainesville native that has experienced many great triumphs of Florida football. Born and raised as a Gator, Kevin loves to talk and promote the Gator Nation. When not talking Gators, Kevin is spending time with his wife and five kids, serving in his church or grilling great bbq.