Are The Gators Being Seduced? No. 9? Don’t Go Sweet-Talking Us Again!
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“Florida only drops to No. 9 because of its win against Ole Miss last week,” Vannini wrote.
By Buddy Martin
Oh, no! Not again!
You’re not going to trap us with the seduction of rankings. Not this week. Not while Missouri’s tire tracks are still visible across Florida’s reputation.
The Athletic has the Gators at No. 9 in its latest national re-ranking. Top 10. Nice neighborhood. Apparently, you can get your windows knocked out Saturday and still qualify for the homeowners association Monday.
Somebody put the champagne back in the refrigerator.
They have a homecoming game to win.
Then we hear the bad news that Vernell Brown is out again!
Chris Vannini’s explanation in The Athletic is reasonable, which makes it particularly dangerous. Unreasonable optimism is easy to spot. It usually wears orange pants and starts discussing playoff hotels before anybody has blocked a linebacker.
Reasonable optimism arrives carrying evidence.
“Florida only drops to No. 9 because of its win against Ole Miss last week,” Vannini wrote. “You can argue the Gators should be behind Missouri after Saturday, and I can’t say you’re wrong.”
Well, there’s a refreshing development: a rankings man admitting the customer might have a point.
He continued: “I just see the Gators’ position to be as strong as Ole Miss at the moment. A blowout win balances out a blowout loss.”
Then came the disclaimer worth hanging above every college football discussion:
“These are the musical chairs I was talking about, with no answer that is 100 percent defensible. Do you drag everyone up or down? A lot of season still to go.”
Exactly.
Musical chairs. Except in the SEC, somebody occasionally hits you with the chair.
Florida beat Ole Miss 52-28, then lost at Missouri 45-17. Those are not two slightly different readings on the same thermometer. That is a fever followed by a trip through the meat locker.
The rankings can balance those results.
The coaches have to explain them.
And the players have to decide which performance represents their football team.
That question will not be answered by a handsome numeral beside the school’s name.
It will be answered today against South Carolina, which arrives as an 11.5-point underdog. The number suggests Florida should win comfortably. It does not require South Carolina to cooperate.[yahoo]
Underdogs are inconsiderate that way.
They show up with their own helmets, their own ambitions and absolutely no appreciation for the host institution’s carefully arranged afternoon.
Homecoming? How lovely.
Now where do you keep the football?
The Gamecocks are talented, stubborn and pesky enough to make a favorite spend the fourth quarter negotiating with its nervous system.
Florida’s assignment is to keep them from leaving The Swamp with anything worth celebrating.
It’s not nice to come into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and mess up homecoming.
It’s even less nice to let somebody do it.
Tim Tebow’s warning earlier this week, as relayed, gets to the heart of the matter: Florida cannot simply roll the ball onto Steve Spurrier-Florida Field and expect the Gator helmet logo to restore the old winning charm.
That is a paraphrase, not a quotation. But the distinction between wearing the tradition and performing it ought to be clear enough.
The helmet is identification.
It is not a blocking scheme.
The logo cannot tackle. The stadium’s name cannot convert third down. Nobody awards seven points because the alumni remember a better afternoon.
There is work to do.
Unglamorous work. Finish blocks. Wrap up. Communicate. Protect the football. Stop handing opponents opportunities and then acting surprised when they accept them.
A reporter’s skepticism is not the same thing as rooting against somebody. It means asking for the receipt before accepting the sales pitch.
Florida has shown what it can be.
Missouri showed what happens when “can be” gets mistaken for “is.”
Now comes the next examination.
The Gators remain in The Athletic’s top 10; they did not climb back into it this week. That distinction matters. No. 9 is a judgment about their accumulated résumé, not a certificate declaring last Saturday harmless.[nytimes +1]
Nobody needs another speech about restoring greatness before lunch.
They need a football team that handles its business after kickoff.
So welcome home, everybody. Enjoy the reunions. Tell the old stories. Remember when the offense made opposing defensive coordinators look like men trying to assemble patio furniture during a hurricane.
Then leave the nostalgia outside the huddle.
No. 9?
Fine.
Show us.
Because rankings can arrange the chairs.
Only Florida can keep South Carolina from walking out with one.
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