(EDITOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to Scot Brantley, who will be inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame this weekend.)
I have some great memories of Florida-Georgia, which has always been my favorite Gator game.
If you were a kid who grew up in the state of Florida or Georgia, you knew about this game. I thought about it my whole life, even before I committed to Florida. Many of us were recruited by both schools.
The memory of my first trip to Jacksonville as a player to what was then called the Gator Bowl might surprise you.
The first time I ever walked in that stadium and was waiting in the tunnel to run on the field and be introduced, all I could smell was bourbon. This was in 1976 when they were allowed to bring bottles of booze in the stadium.
You can understand now why they used to call it “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
This Georgia team is on the rise and so the Gators better be, too. And let me add this to the equation: These young kids better understand that this is Georgia, our No. 1 rival from the SEC East, and this game means everything to these two programs this year despite the records. A rivalry game is 10 times bigger and better than any other game you play.
Forget Tennessee, Alabama, LSU or Mississippi State – this is Georgia! And it’s the biggest game of the year.
* * *
I was asked the other day what I’d like to see more of from the Florida Gator defense. Well, I can think of these three things right off the bat:
1. It has to prove it can stop the power running game of Georgia, shutting down Washaun Ealey and/or Caleb King – as well as a very good running quarterback, Aaron Murray.
2. Somehow the Gators have got to get heat on Murray, because if he’s given time to connect with a set of long, tell Bulldog receivers Florida’s undersized secondary can be exploited.
3. And I want to see them mix it up more – maybe cut Ronald Powell loose at linebacker. Powell is young and can run to the football, maybe create some problems for Georgia on the edge. The only way you can get a guy like that ready is to play him more.
And then I was asked if the Gator defense needed tweaking.
Tweak the defense? No, tweak the training room and let’s see if they can perform some healing miracles. The Gators need all the healthy bodies they can muster for this 88th Florida-Georgia game.
No, I don’t mean they need to bulk up at the training table and add 25 pounds each to counteract size differential. The defense needs to get healthier, and from all reports that has happened this week – but mostly it has been offensive players. It would certainly be good news would be if Emmanuel Moody, Jeff Demps and Mike Gillislee could all be available at tailback – three players who were out in the second half of the Mississippi State game. And I think that they will.
But what do I know? Until Thursday, even Urban said he wasn’t sure, but said he felt like the positive news “based on what I’m hearing.” Turns out there was good news and bad news: Kick Caleb Sturgis won’t play and may be out for the season. But Chris Rainey is officially back and will play.
Jaye Howard, Terron Sanders – they’ve got to get well and play big. There was also a mention this week that corneback Moses Jenkins may be coming back – and that would be good news for Chuck Heater. At 6-2, Jenkins is the tallest defensive back on the roster. And Georgia has that basketball-team-sized group of receivers, including the gifted 6-foot-2 A. J. Green, who is getting back in the groove.
The status of running back Ealey is in question, so Georgia has its dings, too. We’ll start finding out about that about an hour or so before kickoff when the real adrenalin starts flowing.
So I will be watching closely in pregame, because I think I can tell a lot about how a game is going to go by doing that. Energy levels have got to be up and emotion has to be generated. There’s a certain level of commotion needed by a team, almost like the players were stepping in ant beds. Teammates and coaches have got to rally it up.
If you don’t have chill bumps for a game like this, then you’d better get out of it.