This time it’s personal. You folks know me. You know that I border on being an obsessed Gator fan. If you can call that thing I passed years ago a border. I am one of those Gator fans that gets nervous about the Northern Colorado game being a trap game. I just cannot help it. I, of course, want Florida to win every competition in every sport every season. And then there is the Michigan game. A loss here is more than just a loss. It is a failure to take advantage of the opportunity to haul one of the biggest spoiled children on the planet out to midfield when the game ends and spank his arrogant butt in front of an entire nation.
There are coaches throughout sports that I do not really care for. There are coaches I dislike. And then there is Jim Harbaugh. I did not like him when he was the coach of the 49ers. Apparently, neither did San Francisco. You must be a special kind of jerk to get run out of town just two years after taking the team to the Super Bowl and the truth is they were ready to send him packing a year earlier.
Harbaugh wants to be another Steve Spurrier but lacks the quick wit and language skills to pull off the endeavor. Instead, he mumbles out drivel like, “if worms had machine guns then birds wouldn’t be scared of them”. WHAT? Did he spend too much time in Timothy Leary’s neighborhood? I know he was trying to be clever. A piece of advice Jimmy. Do not try heavy lifting when you lack the necessary apparatus. I know Steve Spurrier and sir are no Steve Spurrier.
Harbaugh goes to great lengths to push the envelope from taking his team to Italy to traveling football camps. He makes it a habit to hang a bird at everyone he sees. He wants you to dislike him and he makes very easy to do. Now, he has opted to release a fake roster in advance of the Florida game listing former players instead of his current roster. I guess there is no real rule against this move but it seems to me to be the epitome of childishness as so much of his behavior does. Harbaugh is a little like a mosquito bite, probably not a big deal but brutally irritating. AND, Michigan is going to unveil what promises to be some of the most hideous uniforms of all time as the go full yellow for this game. Have you seen the uniforms? They look like they are wearing the towel that was used to clean up after the last drug testing.
Add all of the above to the 41-7 thumping the Gators received at the hands of Michigan in the 2016 Citrus Bowl and it is not difficult to get fired up for the 2017 season opener. The Gators were humiliated in coach Jim McElwain’s first bowl game with Florida. His team looked uninspired and uninterested and Michigan rubbed their nose in it. I want this win. But more than that, I want to see the Gators steamroll the Wolverines. I would love to see anguish on Harbaugh’s face the entire fourth quarter.
Can the Gators accomplish this feat? I think they can. Both teams have recruited well, especially on defense. Both teams lost a lot of last year’s defense to the NFL but Michigan was hit even harder than Florida. Both teams will be breaking in a new quarterback. The teams are similar in many ways. But Florida has one HUGE advantage. Speed. The Gators have upgraded the speed at the skill positions immensely and I believe it will be the difference in this Saturday’s football game.
I expect the game to start out like a heavy-weight boxing match with both teams lining up and trying to punch their opponent into submission. As long as Florida can keep the score close at halftime I believe the Gators’ speed will take advantage of a tired Michigan defense in the second half. Even without Antonio Callaway for this game there are lots of fast targets for the Gators to utilize to pull away from the Wolverines in the second half. Look for Tyrie Cleveland, Dre Massey, Kadarius Toney, Brandon Powell and perhaps even Malik Davis to break away for explosive plays on offense.
On defense, the defensive line must have a big game if the Gators are going to shut down the Michigan offense. The linebackers and secondary will be learning on the job and this is a big game to have to cut their teeth on, but pressure up front can make that transition much less painful. CeCe Jefferson, Jabari Zuniga and Taven Bryan need to have big games Saturday for Florida to keep their offense on the field. If that happens, this could be a double-digit win for the good guys. I picture something along the lines of a 31-21 Gator win. If I could have my way, I would love to see an even larger margin of victory with Florida calling a time out to let Eddie Pineiro kick a meaningless 65-yard field goal as time expires. I just do not like the guy. Go Gators.
Is this Michigan’s mystery quarterback?