Previewing the Florida Gators vs. LSU game: Podcast

GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we preview the Florida Gators vs. LSU game on Saturday afternoon in the Swamp.

Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre break down the key match-ups in this game, plus how they think Florida can jump out early against LSU.

Andrew and Nick also predict several games around the country, plus pick three players to watch for this week’s game against the Tigers.

TRANSCRIPT:

Andrew:                 What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, almost LSU week, and it wouldn’t be LSU week if there wasn’t another freaking hurricane. Joe Alleva, what are you doing?

Nick:                         Kind of came out of nowhere, dude. Not really, that area, Nate, is that what it’s called?

Andrew:                 Yeah.

Nick:                         That area doesn’t really hit us normally.

Andrew:                 Yeah. It’s usually one of those things where that one pops up, one of those little things pop up, and it runs through Costa Rica or runs through Mexico. It very rarely you see one pop up and then travel up to affect the inlands and the States and stuff like that. That’s that. Good news is Joe Alleva has nothing to back out, because Baton Rouge may be hit harder than Gainesville. Joe, don’t even start.

Nick:                         LSU’s already played all their non-conference games. There’s no easy solution if you were to cancel a game, which I don’t think they’re going to cancel it. We talked to Jim McElwain Wednesday after practice, and he didn’t even know there was a storm.

Andrew:                 There’s zero percent chance the game gets cancelled. Gainesville’s not going to be affected. I was just making more of a joke on that. Nick, what in the world happened on Ed Orgeron’s call in show? Holy crap.

Nick:                         Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Muschamp have live call ins for a minute?

Andrew:                 Yeah. So does McElwain.

Nick:                         Those are heavily screened. I feel like there’s no way they were screening Ed Orgeron’s calls. Some guy calls in and says that Joe Alleva is too feminine.

Andrew:                 That is so awesome, because, I mean, first of all, I wouldn’t use feminine. I would use a very derogatory term when I mention Joe Alleva. The funny thing is is my text messages start flooding with, “People are really seeing Joe Alleva now.” Then the next caller calls in and says Orgeron doesn’t deserve the job, and Orgeron has to say, “I deserve the job.” First of all, any time you have to be your own guy to prop up your own self, you know the drill, Nick.

Nick:                         Do you feel bad for Coach O at all?

Andrew:                 Do I feel bad for O?

Nick:                         For O.

Andrew:                 Hell, no, I don’t feel bad for O. Man weaseled his way into the job.

Nick:                         That’s not his fault.

Andrew:                 Isn’t his fault, but the guy sucks. The guy’s an awful coach. How in the world he got the job in the first place is beyond me. I mean, is he a good recruiter? Sure, as a defensive line coach. I mean, no, I don’t feel bad for O. The guy’s a bozo. That’s how you talk. The joke running on the TV show was did they have a translator to intercept what he was saying to make it go back out clearly.

Nick:                         I think people down there understand him.

Andrew:                 Some do. Some don’t.

Nick:                         I think that’s scary that they understand him. I have no idea what he’s saying.

Andrew:                 Here’s the thing I will say, Nick, and that is we can laugh it about it all you want to, but all this talk is doing nothing but fueling LSU.

Nick:                         Which talk?

Andrew:                 The talk of Orgeron being gone. The talk of the team having team meetings, all this stuff.

Nick:                         It gives you that us against them, us against the world, back against the wall mentality.

Andrew:                 Yes. This team is going to come in with some energy. I am going to say it now. Florida needs to get out early and quick, but I’m going to think it’s the opposite. I think LSU’s going to come out early, get out quick, because they’re going to come out with so much momentum. I eventually think that that momentum wears them out more in the game, but I think they come out fiery.

It’s kind of like Mac said. Let’s also remember, they were without their best running back in Derrius Guice, their All-American Rashard Lawrence. It’s like we said before. They weren’t as bad as they showed against Troy. It was probably a trap game. They’re going to come in fired up.

Nick:                         Kind of like what I said maybe against Vanderbilt last week. It’s like you’d almost rather Vanderbilt lost close to Alabama, rather than getting blown out, because you get that bad taste in your mouth, that I want to go back out there. It just lights a fire. Losing to Troy, having the fanbase turn on their coach, I’m sure the guys love Coach O. He seems to be a player’s coach. To see everyone turning on you, I think that, like you said, bands you together. You almost wish they would have beat Troy 75-0 last week, and kind of just slept walked through it and just showed up feeling good about themselves on Saturday.

Andrew:                 Why didn’t they do that for Will Muschamp?

Nick:                         He’s just not a good coach.

Andrew:                 Okay. I’m just asking. You and I kind of thought that in the FSU game they’d come out and play for him.

Nick:                         Oh. The level of talent on those FSU teams versus the level of talent that Will Muschamp was able to recruit was so far, so far and away. Florida was so in fear talent wise there was no way they were winning those games.

Andrew:                 Yeah.

Nick:                         I don’t care what kind of motivation you had, you were not beating those teams.

Andrew:                 Right. Again, I think that they’re going to come out, and I think they’re going to come out playing hard. I think they’re going to come out playing with some us against the world mentality in the game, and I think that eventually does wear off, and Florida wins the ballgame. It’s interesting. My question is this. Have they practiced this week? All I see is this person had a meeting with this person. This person had a meeting with this person. Any times the AD has to call your OC and your head coach in the room and say, “You guys are going to get along, whether you like it or not,” isn’t very good.

Nick:                         No. No. I say it all the time. The buck stops here when you’re the head coach. I get like Coach O being like, “This isn’t working, so we’re going to change it. I’m the head coach. It’s my call.” Listen, man, you’re a D line coach. You’re a D line coach. Your broke university, and your broke city are paying somebody a million and a half dollars to call plays, maybe you shouldn’t be calling offensive plays.

Andrew:                 Yeah. Here’s my thing, Nick, and am I looking at this wrong? I’m basically looking at this as this is Joe Alleva as the head coach, and he’s telling Orgeron, “You coach defense. You let Canada call offense.” It’s kind of like that’s what he’s saying a little bit. I don’t want to say that he’s undermining O, but in a way he is.

Nick:                         I see that a little bit. It’s like, I just think Joe Alleva’s thinking to himself right now, “What did I do? Who did I hire? Why did I do this?” I think that’s where he’s at right now. It’s more of like, you could say it. I guess you could say it that way. He’s being the head coach. I just think it’s kind of like, “Oh, man. What did I do? What is this guy doing? Why is he calling offense? We went out and found this guy, and everyone thought it was the greatest hire.”

Remember, before the year, LSU was that trendy pick of they could beat Alabama, they could beat this. They can do that. You and I are looking at it like, did they find a quarterback somewhere? Matt Canada’s not playing the game for these guys. He might be a good play caller, but he’s not playing. We’re seeing right now that. They recruit new kids over the off season that can play every position.

Andrew:                 It’s just one of those things, Nick. It’s kind of like, and I say this jokingly. I mean, I say this jokingly and serious. My distain for Joe Alleva is there, right? It’s no doubt there. At the same point, does he have to look himself in the mirror and say, “Did I make the easy choice?” I mean, he’s going to fall for this. If Ed Orgeron doesn’t work out, Alleva doesn’t survive. Let’s just put it how it is.

Nick:                         Here’s the thing. If Alleva doesn’t survive, does the next AD keep Ed O as the coach? I think it’s $8 million buyout in the second year.

Andrew:                 What I’m saying is I say this in that I think O gets fired, or whatever, and then Alleva gets the boot as well. It’s like someone told me. Okay, yes, LSU’s in dire need of money and everything else, but at the end of the day, they’ll call up some boosters, and they’ll get O out if O needs to be out. The $12 million buyout won’t be an issue if it needs to be done. What I’m saying is Alleva has to think about it.

It’s kind of like some people have said, and I don’t agree with this, by any mean, shape, or form, because I was a big Muschamp supporter at first. Some people said, “Did Foley make the easy pick in hiring Muschamp?” I think you can say yes in a lot of ways, because it was the easy one. You didn’t have to really go out and fight for him or anything else. He was willing to take the job. Bada bing, bada boom. Was that the easy choice? I think some people can make the argument yes. I thought Will Muschamp was going to be a very good football coach. I turned out to be wrong, but still.

Nick:                         Will Muschamp. We forget, man, he was the coach in waiting at Texas with Mack Brown. It wasn’t even like Jeremy Foley is taking a risk. It was kind of like Jeremy Foley stole someone from Texas. That was the perception. I don’t think that was the perception with O. You know what I mean? I think with O it’s he’s one of us. Look at what the team did up until that Florida game. They started playing with passion. They started playing better. They kind of looked listless with Les Miles towards the end. I just think you kind of got caught up in all of that. I don’t see it with Coach O. He’s had so many chances at so many different stops, and it hasn’t worked out. I don’t see it.

Andrew:                 Exactly. To move along a little bit to this game. Tyrie Cleveland’s out. We kind of had said that.

Nick:                         I wanted to address something there quick. I think some people missed Mac’s humor and frustration. We touched on that a little bit Wednesday. With the high ankle sprain, he’s not out for the year. I think it was encouraging on Wednesday at Mac’s press conference that he was talking about how Tyrie was trying to play this week. I think the frustration with Mac is that with the high ankle sprain he sees guys not doing anything, and he’s wondering why does it take six weeks to come back from this? Why does it take some guys two weeks and some guys six?

I think that’s where he was frustrated, and that was where he gets that frustrated joke on Monday. “Maybe he’ll be ready for the spring,” because it’s an injury that is so unpredictable, I guess, in the return time. I thought that that was encouraging that he said Tyrie was trying to play and doing everything. I thought that impressed Mac.

Andrew:                 Here’s the thing, and I think this is what people took out of context with Mac, he wasn’t questioning Tyrie Cleveland being hurt or being able to come back at all. A high ankle sprain is one of the most frustrating injuries in sports. I would say it’s right up there with a hamstring injury, in that there’s nothing you can do. You can’t. A high ankle sprain, they say is worse than a broken ankle at times.

There’s nothing you can do. You have to rest it. You have to go to treatment. You have to get rehab. You have to do that stuff. Some people come back in two days. Some people come back in two weeks. It’s like a hamstring injury. Some people are able to rest it for three days and come back. Some people have to take 15 days to come back from it. It just is one of those injuries that it’s not a bruised toe.

Nick:                         Similar to a hamstring, it’s one where, “Coach, I feel like I’m 75-80%. I can go.” Very easy to reinjure, and now hit the reset button. You’re starting everything over again.

Andrew:                 That’s a good point as well. You have to make sure you’re ready. Here’s the thing too. Having Tyrie back this week is great. Don’t get me wrong. You need him for that Georgia game coming up. You need him for that Georgia game coming up.

Nick:                         Here’s my question. Do you sit him out the next two?

Andrew:                 Yes. If he is not showing in practice this week and next week that he’s close to full speed, yes. Then I’m not sure I would still play him a full game. I think you should limit his reps for that, just because. That’s not me taking A&M or LSU lightly. That’s simply saying, when you look at things, you need him ready.

Nick:                         Yeah. I guess the counterargument would be it doesn’t matter if you have him for Georgia, if you lose to LSU and A&M. Listen, it’s almost like, when it comes to this, we can always go back to Percy Harvin. Everyone remembers, he didn’t go home for the month before the SEC Championship game with his high ankle sprain. Didn’t play in the SEC Championship, and literally just did rehab every day. That was a month. He still wasn’t 100%. Not saying that Tyrie Cleveland’s ankle is that severe. It could be worse. It could be better. That’s like the timeframe really.

Andrew:                 Right. It’s one of those things that you have to play it person by person. There is no injury book that says this timeframe he’s ready to go. A sprain ankle, a regular sprained ankle, you tape it up, and it’s a pain tolerance thing. A regular sprained ankle isn’t going to get much worse. High ankle sprain can get worse, and that’s the thing. You could give him a cortisone shot and all that good stuff, but, at the end of the day, it could get worse. For Tyrie, being a guy that is known for being able to beat the teams deep, jump balls, that kind of stuff, is he going to be able to have any push off of that ankle? I don’t think so.

Kyree Campbell too is out with the scope on his knee, and that’s just a situation where, if you’re afraid something’s wrong with the knee, you better go get it fixed now and not allow it to lead into further things. If it’s just some scar tissue or that kind of stuff, you need to fix that now before you’re looking at an MCL, ACL, that kind of stuff.

Nick:                         Mac, he hasn’t been super clear on that, but it was just a scope. That’s when you have to wonder. I think when Mac says he’s going to get scoped. He doesn’t know anything.” On Wednesday he says, “Hope to have him back next week.” I think, to me, that’s they went in not really knowing what the damage was, and then when they went in it wasn’t as bad.

Andrew:                 Yeah. From my knowledge of this, and I don’t know Kyree Campbell’s situation, besides more than he had a scope, but from knowledge of past things, when they go in for a scope, that means they’re going in to look. They usually clean up scar tissue, get the fluid off, that kind of stuff, and say, “It was just scar tissue.” That’s usually my understanding. If you disagree, maybe so. I don’t know.

Nick:                         I’m knocking on wood. Luckily, I’ve never had knee issues. Never had to have a surgery. Don’t want to start now.

Andrew:                 Let’s not start it now.

Nick:                         Kyree was big last week, because Khairi Clark is dealing with his calf injury. Khairi only played 19 snaps last week, so that’s, as Mac calls him, the Bam-Bam. He calls them the twins. I think there’s three of them, Conliffe …

Andrew:                 Slaton.

Nick:                         Conliffe, Slaton. Goodness, gracious, he’s a monster. Conliffe, Slaton, and Kyree. With Kyree out, I think Khairi’s progressing to the point where he can play more, maybe get up to 30 snaps this week, but you’re really going to need TJ Slaton to play more, and you’re going to need Elijah Conliffe. You’re going to need those two guys, those two freshmen, to not play like freshmen. I think they’ve shown that they can handle that this year. Especially when you’re coming up against a team like LSU, that you know is going to run the ball, you’d like to have all hands on deck at that interior defensive line position.

Andrew:                 You’re going to need Taven Bryan to continue to play well.

Nick:                         Taven Bryan’s playing with his hair on fire. One of the younger writers, one of the Alligator writers, was asking me about him. He’s running a story on the defensive line. He didn’t know how to quantify how well Taven’s playing. I said, “Really, other than looking at it and seeing it, there’s no way to quantify it, because he’s taking on double teams. He’s getting in, but he’s not necessarily getting the stat of quarterback hurry or sack.” He’s creating so much for other people. Taven Bryan is, at this current moment, it takes to people to stop him. Kind of like when we talked about Caleb Brantley, Dominick Easley. It took two people to stop them, which means now Jabari Zuniga, Jordan Sherit, Cece Jefferson, only have one guy in front of them, and you like that one on one matchup.

Andrew:                 Here’s the thing. It’s kind of what you and I talk about sometimes with DBs, and that is if you’re not calling out a defensive tackle, chances are they’re doing their job. If you are calling their name for doing stuff well, that means they’re really showing out. Taven Bryan’s showing out, doing really well.

My question to you, Nick, is this. I think you have slide Cece in some and get him some playing time inside as well.

Nick:                         He’s done that in passing situations, and I think he’s done it well.

Andrew:                 Yeah. I think he can. He’s a bigger guy. He can slide in. Jachai Polite, if you’re listening to this, I’m sorry, buddy, but you can also slide in. I know he’s going to probably crucify us on Twitter, because he hates being called a defensive tackle. He’s not. He’s a defensive end, but he can slide in and play some if needed. They have the bodies there. I’m not worried about that. Good news is Kylan is good and is going to be able to play. That’s good. You need all hands on deck. Nick, it all goes back to one thing.

Nick:                         Tackling.

Andrew:                 Tackling. Didn’t even have to say it. It all goes back to tackling. If you don’t tackle well, you’re not going to win this football game.

Nick:                         This LSU team will make you pay for not tackling the ball carrier well. I think I said it Wednesday. You can’t turn a 2-yard run into an 8-yard run. You can’t turn the 8-yard run into a 28-yard run by missing tackles. You just can’t have it.

Andrew:                 You’ve got to. If you got a 2-yard loss, you need to make it a 2-yard loss. If you got a 5-yard gain, take it for a 5-yard gain. Do that as well. Don’t fall asleep in the secondary as well, because LSU has that ability to just simply run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, then pop a play action. We saw that two years ago in Death Valley where several times against, was it Vernon? Was it Vernon that was beat, Nick? Two years ago by Malachi Dupre. I believe it was.

Nick:                         It might have been. I think it was Vernon.

Andrew:                 It was either Vernon or Teez. But was beat twice by just play action. That’s something you have to remember. Then offensively, run the ball.

Nick:                         We’ve talked so much about that unit, about the offensive line. They’re really playing well, especially that left side of the line with Heggie and Ivey. I think they play well again this week. I have no reason to think that they won’t. It would almost be sad to see them have a bad game now, because they’ve come so far from that Michigan game, from getting embarrassed and then called out by their head coach. They’ve come so far since then. This is a game where, like Dabo says, bring your own guts. You don’t have to get up. When the team across from you is LSU, there’s no extra motivation needed.

Andrew:                 Exactly. It’s Homecoming. Mac jokingly said he doesn’t think the guys know it’s Homecoming. They know about it, but I think fans don’t understand this, but Homecoming is more about the fans. It’s more about the alumni and the boosters.

Nick:                         Absolutely.

Andrew:                 Than it is the guys. I mean, at the end of the day, when the whistle blows, it’s not Homecoming. It’s Florida-LSU. I seen a couple people on Twitter writing, “Well, Mac should know it’s Homecoming.” I mean, yeah, he knows it’s Homecoming. I’m sure the guys are going to stop by the whole deal, like they do every year. Seniors will speak and all that. At the end of the day, Homecoming is about the fans and about the alumni and about the supporters of the program. It’s generally not about the team at all. In high school, you knew it was Homecoming, because you were doing extracurricular activities during then. In college, I’d say probably not.

Nick:                         Yeah. The players know about it, because they’re hearing about it when they’re in class.

Andrew:                 You’re talking to them about it.

Nick:                         Yeah. They’ll go to a pep rally. They’ll be in the parade. That’s why they know about it. It’s, like you said, Homecoming is for the current students, and it’s for the alumni, and it’s a great party for them. For the football team, it’s not that same party. At least, I hope it’s not. That’s how you come out Saturday flat.

Andrew:                 Like you said, the parade, that’s the stuff they’ll know about. I mean, let’s just go real quick through this. We’re expecting Florida to come out and run the ball, get Feleipe in it. I think you will see him be able to do some play action this week and take some shots. LSU’s secondary isn’t as good as usual. That’s why they’re not DBU. Yeah, I said it. Then we expect Florida to come out and load the box, and make Etling beat you. He couldn’t do it last year. I don’t think he can do it this year.

I think the key is to weather the storm that they’re going to come out with. They’re going to come out in the first half fighting. If they don’t, it could be a long day for the Tigers.

Nick:                         I think what we saw against LSU, and I think we’ve talked about this with Florida in the past, and tell me if you agree. I think this is an LSU team, kind of like you just said, if Florida comes out early, I think this is an LSU team that if they get punched hard, and get punched hard first, you start to see some quit in them.

Andrew:                 I agree with that.

Nick:                         You never want to say that about a football team. You don’t say that about a football team lightly.

Andrew:                 Especially a damaged team right now like they are. Here’s the thing too, because Florida’s been through that. They’ve been punched in the mouth. They’ve felt like they were about to lose the game. They are in a little bit more of that.

Here’s the thing too, and that is if you allow LSU to come out and get hot, then they all of a sudden have that confidence that they lack coming into this game. They don’t have confidence coming into this game. Let’s just call it what it is. They don’t have confidence coming into this game. Take away their confidence early, and I think that’s why starting so quick is so huge for Florida, just to not allow LSU to think, “We can play with these guys.” I think they can, no doubt, but you don’t want them coming in thinking that.

Nick:                         It’s almost like the thing we say before Florida plays like UAB later in the year, or Northern Colorado. Don’t let this team hang around and get confident, because they’re not coming in with it.

Andrew:                 Right. I say this, and this is by no means what I think is going to happen, but if Florida was to come out and take a 17-0 lead into halftime, or 21-0 lead into halftime, this could get ugly.

Nick:                         Yeah. I think you’ll see LSU roll over and play dead if that’s the case.

Andrew:                 Exactly. All right, Nick, let’s go on. Got something that I want to do with you real quick. Some people had asked that we bring back the buy and sell. We didn’t talk about this in the pre-show meetings.

Nick:                         Last year we had a little issue with you understanding how buy and sell worked. With you springing this on me, I’m wondering how it’s going to go.

Andrew:                 It’s going to go great.

Nick:                         I’m confident in you, Spivey. I’m confident in you.

Andrew:                 It’s great, as usual, my good friend. Nick, here we go. Buy or sell Feleipe Franks 200+ passing yards, multiple passing touchdowns.

Nick:                         Sell. If you would have said 201, I probably would have bought that, but when you say multiple. I could maybe see two, but I’m going to sell it.

Andrew:                 I’m going to sell it as well, because here’s the thing. I don’t know if he throws touchdown passes. I think he throws some yards, and then like last week, Florida gets down there and punches them in. I’m going to sell it as well, just for the fact of the touchdowns. I just couldn’t say 200 and one touchdown. In my opinion, that’s …

Nick:                         You got to make it hard.

Andrew:                 That’s an average day. Two running backs with touchdowns in the game, for Florida.

Nick:                         Two running with a touchdown, or are you saying two running backs with multiple touchdowns?

Andrew:                 With a touchdown for Florida.

Nick:                         I will buy.

Andrew:                 You will buy? I will buy as well.

Nick:                         I will buy. Here’s one for you. It’s a weird prediction. I think Mark Thompson finds the end zone this week.

Andrew:                 Oh, God. Oh, Lord. Please, Jesus. Stop. Stop this. Stop.

Nick:                         Mark Thompson finds the painted area for the first time this season this week against LSU.

Andrew:                 Nick, if you want to do that, if he doesn’t, you have to paint your chest with 24 and post it on Twitter.

Nick:                         I will not.

Andrew:                 There has to be some kind of punishment for that absurd comment that you just made. What’s it going to be? Give me your punishment that you’re going to have if that absurd comment comes true, like it will not.

Nick:                         I accept no punishment.

Andrew:                 Twitter, roast his ass when it doesn’t happen. Twitter, @NickdelaTorreGC. Roast his ass when it doesn’t happen.

Nick:                         What happens when it does?

Andrew:                 Pigs will fly.

Nick:                         Your prediction is pigs are flying Saturday.

Andrew:                 Pigs are flying on Saturday. Pigs are flying on Saturday if that happens. 20 and 22 score on Saturday. Last buy or sell for you, Nick. Danny Etling, multiple interceptions in the game.

Nick:                         If this was a while ago I’d say yeah, but Florida hasn’t had one in two games. They didn’t get one against Kentucky. They didn’t get one against Vanderbilt. I don’t know why. I say all that, and then I say yeah. I buy it. I buy Florida gets two picks.

Andrew:                 You buy it. I buy it … no. I’m selling it. I’m selling it. I was going to say I buy it, because I think they’ll get behind, but I’m not sure the safeties can catch it thrown to them. I’m selling it. I’m selling this. I’m selling it. That’s where I’m going.

Nick:                         I’ve got one for you.

Andrew:                 Okay.

Nick:                         Buy or sell …

Andrew:                 Ed Orgeron gets fired today.

Nick:                         No. Buy or sell that Florida and Georgia meet each other in Jacksonville still undefeated in the SEC.

Andrew:                 Buy.

Nick:                         Georgia this week is at Vanderbilt, and then they have Missouri. Then they both get the bye week before the cocktail party.

Andrew:                 I buy that.

Nick:                         Okay. I think I buy that as well.

Andrew:                 Let’s take it a step further. If so, does SEC Game Day show up?

Nick:                         Well, if Florida and Georgia both get to Jacksonville undefeated, I think …

Andrew:                 It should be a top 15 matchup. Should.

Nick:                         It should be a top 15 matchup, but it’s also, when you look at the rest of the schedule, after that Georgia would get South Carolina, and then they have a huge, huge game with Auburn, at Auburn. Auburn’s playing well. That would be the reason why I’d say maybe not, because if they’re looking at it, Georgia’s already a top five team right now. If they’re looking at it, if they beat Florida, if they beat South Carolina, we might have a top five matchup on the plains. I think Game Day would go there. I don’t know if Game Day would go back to back.

I think the winner of that game in Jacksonville will represent the team … Damn, that’s so tough to say now too. I almost forgot about that Auburn game, because Florida after that you get Missouri. They’re a dumpster fire. You get Boom. Boom doesn’t win big games. You’re kind of walking on cake with what you have after.

Andrew:                 Yeah. I’m saying they buy. I’m buying that they are, and I’m saying, as well as you are, that whoever wins that game represents the East in Atlanta. No, I’m not predicting that game. Jacksonville is unpredictable.

Nick:                         Will Muschamp and Treon Harris.

Andrew:                 And Kelvin Taylor. Nick, let’s go. Rapid fire here with some predictions this week. Just an okay schedule. Let’s start with the Thursday night game. We’re taping on Thursday night, so we’re not cheating. Louisville at North Carolina State.

Nick:                         I’m going to go with Louisville.

Andrew:                 I am too. NC State’s not good. Florida State’s just bad.

Nick:                         Yeah. It’s weird. NC State’s that team that like, kind of like Vanderbilt almost for Florida, that just plays them tough.

Andrew:                 Exactly. What was the next game we had? Roll it.

Nick:                         Next game is West Virginia, the fighting Will Griers, at TCU.

Andrew:                 TC wins. Wins big.

Nick:                         I’m going to go with Will Grier.

Andrew:                 No. Gary Patterson shuts them down.

Nick:                         I’m going with Grier.

Andrew:                 No. TCU wins. Wins big. Next.

Nick:                         Second to last game. Part of the in-state rivalries, Miami at Florida State. Miami has not beaten Florida State in seven years, or nine years.

Andrew:                 Can we call forfeit?

Nick:                         No. You got to pick. Richt or Jimbo?

Andrew:                 Jimbo. You never ever pick Richt.

Nick:                         You pick your buddy, Richt?

Andrew:                 No, I do not pick Richt.

Nick:                         How many games have they won in a row?

Andrew:                 I don’t know, but who cares? I mean, Miami’s going to win the game, but I don’t pick Richt. Jimbo. I don’t want credit if Miami wins either, because Jimbo wins. I don’t pick Richt.

Nick:                         You just said Florida State’s looked bad.

Andrew:                 Florida State’s atrocious. Miami wins this game by double digits, but I don’t pick Mark Richt. It’s against my religion.

Nick:                         What religion is that?

Andrew:                 I mean, I don’t want to make up religions. It’s not nice to Jesus. But yes.

Nick:                         Florida State’s won seven in a row. They’ve won eight out of the last ten. I’m going to go with the streak ending in Tallahassee. I think somebody on Miami’s team takes a little chunk of FSU’s turf home with them.

Andrew:                 Yeah. Okay. I’m with that. Florida-LSU, Nick. Who you got?

Nick:                         I’ve got Florida. I think Florida covers that spread too. The spread’s kind of weird. It’s kind of hopped up and down all week. I think it’s down right now as we’re taping at 2.5. I think Florida wins this game by 10.

Andrew:                 Florida wins by double digits in the game, behind a strong rushing performance. Wouldn’t surprise me if you had two 100-yard rushers in this game. Florida’s strong game, and wins this game. Continues to improve the offense. We can talk about the teams they’re playing every week, but at the end of the day, Nick, it’s all about getting better every week, no matter the opponent. That’s that.

Prediction time. Nick, I haven’t messed with you in a while.

Nick:                         Okay. Let’s not start then today.

Andrew:                 Can I?

Nick:                         If you want.

Andrew:                 I talked myself into making a change.

Nick:                         You’re picking Mark Thompson.

Andrew:                 God, no! The pigs ain’t flying. I had told Nick before I was going to Malik Davis. I am now changing it to Lamical Perine with my first pick.

Nick:                         I’m taking Malik Davis then. Crazy.

Andrew:                 My first pick is Lamical Perine.

Nick:                         Malik Davis.

Andrew:                 All right. This just threw things into hot water.

Nick:                         Everyone listening, we go through, and I pick first one week. He picks first the next week. He picks first, and he took Malik Davis. So then I took Kadarius Toney. He took Josh Hammond. I took Zuniga. He took David Reese, and then I took Lamical Perine. So what he just did was change his first pick, and stole my third pick. Now you’re trying to steal Kadarius Toney.

Andrew:                 No. Hot Sauce.

Nick:                         You’re sticking with Hammond.

Andrew:                 I haven’t picked him in a while, but Hot Sauce. Josh Hammond steps up for Tyrie Cleveland, and has a big game. Has a really big game. Hot Sauce for six.

Nick:                         Foolish. I have Kadarius Toney. I have Malik David and Kadarius Toney now. You’re not winning this week, buddy.

Andrew:                 Third pick I’m going to stay with mine. David Reese. Running team. Going to run right at the man inside. David Reese, 33 puts up big numbers.

Nick:                         I like that pick. This is a game where you need strong linebacker play. I’m going to go not with a linebacker. I’m going to stick with my pick, my original pick, and go with Jabari Zuniga.

Andrew:                 There you go.

Nick:                         How many times have I picked him? I went Sherit last week.

Andrew:                 I think you’re on the Jabari …

Nick:                         No.

Andrew:                 You should have picked 24. Jesus, the man’s going to score a touchdown for the first time since the Outback Bowl.

Nick:                         If I call a Mark Thompson touchdown, man, I need to pick some lotto numbers.

Andrew:                 It doesn’t even matter. If you call a Mark Thompson touchdown, you need mental help, and that’s all I can tell you. Sorry.

Nick:                         When it comes true, you’re going to call me The Goat on the podcast.

Andrew:                 Jesus, I will not. Sorry.

Nick:                         If it comes true, you’re going to me The Goat on the podcast.

Andrew:                 When it doesn’t come true, you’re going to post a photo of yourself with #24 painted on your chest, and tell everybody you’re an idiot.

Nick:                         I will not.

Andrew:                 Then I won’t do that. There you go. Nick, last thing we’re going to make predictions here. You and I both love post-season baseball. It’s set. Who do you have going to the World Series? Don’t hesitate.

Nick:                         I’m going to go with the Diamondbacks, I think. I almost want to go with the Yankees, just because what really wins in the post-season is bullpen, and watching what their bullpen was able to do to bail out Sevy in that first game, in that wildcard game, makes me think. Man, that’s tough. I’m going to go with Cleveland and Arizona.

Andrew:                 Arizona is the team that I would love to freaking see in this, but their bullpen’s atrocious, Nick. Atrocious. I think they get knocked out by the Dodgers. This is strictly just what I want to see. First of all, anybody but the Yankees, the Nationals, or the Dodgers I would be okay with. I despise those three teams. Anybody but those teams, especially the Nationals. God, please don’t let the Nationals get there.

Nick:                         I’m going to switch it up. I’m going to go Nationals-Indians.

Andrew:                 Whatever.

Nick:                         That’s my final answer. Nationals-Indians.

Andrew:                 Nationals aren’t getting there. I’m going to go Red Sox-Cubbies, because I want to see it so freaking bad. I want to see the Cubbies and the Red Sox, and I’m going to say Red Sox win the Series.

Nick:                         I’m going to say the Indians get the Series over the Nationals.

Andrew:                 Red Sox. I mean, the Indians win it over the Nationals. Okay.

Nick:                         Indians over Nats.

Andrew:                 Okay. That’s fine. Sox over Cubbies. That’s strictly because that’s who I want to see. I personally like your pick in the Indians. I think this could very well be their time. Anyway, Nick, tell everybody where they can find us. We’ll get out. We’ll see everyone on Monday recapping a Gators win over LSU.

Nick:                         www.GatorCountry.com for all your Florida Gator news. The podcast is there in audio and transcript form. If you don’t have iTunes, which you should be subscribed, @GatorCountry on iTunes, you can listen to the podcast there. If you prefer reading it, got you covered. On social media, it is @GatorCountry on Twitter and Facebook, @TheGatorCountry on Instagram. Do your share, like, retweet, double tap on Instagram. Do all that good stuff. You can follow me, @NickdelaTorreGC, and him, @AndrewSpiveyGC.

Should be a fun game Saturday. Great recruiting environment. I know I gave people crap about they’re not going to be able to make it work, but if you’re going to the game, find out what section you’re in. Find out what you’re supposed to be wearing, because I splitting that stadium diagonally in half would look pretty cool.

Andrew:                 That would look so badass. Why don’t Florida just stop being cheap?

Nick:                         Just hand shirts out.

Andrew:                 Yeah.

Nick:                         Put this on.

Andrew:                 Yeah. That would be so cool. I mean, that’s what Miami did in the playoffs with the white shirts back a few years ago. Golden State did. Let’s just do that. Make it look cool. As you say, it’s going to be a monster recruiting weekend for Florida. We’ll have some of that info up on Friday, the visitors list. We’ll have that arrival, all that good shenaz on Saturday of recapping this win. Hopefully some good recruiting news for Florida. If you haven’t checked us out, let us know. We’ll get you a good coupon code. We appreciate everyone. As always, go Braves. Chomp, chomp.

Nick:                         You stay classy, Gator Country.