Nightmare in Atlanta

Photo: GatorBait Media

Halloween was a nightmare for the Gators in Atlanta. Like the characters in the ad on TV, they chose to hide behind the chain saws in the barn rather than get in the running car. They just made dumb decisions all day long. That makes a good horror movie, but a terrible outcome for fans and players alike.

It started with a dumb decision to try to throw a ball out of bounds beyond the line of scrimmage by a falling Aaron Philo. He’s the starter because he was less likely to make those kinds of decisions. Take the sack, punt the football. He knew it was stupid right after he did it. He probably wouldn’t do it again in a million years. But the defense, which played pretty well despite the outcome, stood up and held the Georgia offense.

Then came the punt. Georgia lined up to punt and Florida went for the block. That was another dumb decision. Just let them punt the football to you. Instead, two Florida players hit the punter with enough force to be called for roughing the punter. Georgia turned that mistake into a touchdown, and the game was changed for Gator fans.

Philo would make another mistake with a pass that was just a little too high for Eric Singleton Jr. Singleton could have caught it, but it went right through his hands into the waiting arms of a Georgia defender. That’s been the nightmare for Gator fans during the six-year losing streak. Every possible bounce has gone the way of the Bulldogs. Three more points for the Bulldogs and more horror for the Gators.

Philo was replaced by Tramell Jones Jr., but the nightmares continued for Gator fans. Down 17-0 again late in a first half, the Gators tried to push to get a score before the half and hoping to score when they got the ball first in the second half like they did in Texas. Jones was hit as he was starting to throw and the ball came out and was ruled a fumble. Georgia scooped it up and rambled down the sideline all the way to the dooming touchdown. That’s another aspect of the games over the last six years that keep Gator fans up at night. Points right before the half on turnovers by the Gators! 24-0 at the half and the only question was whether the Gators would score at all in Atlanta.

With all the horrors of the first half behind them, the Gators had a chance to make it a game, but Jones found a red shirt in the end zone to kill a promising drive. Jones would later score to prevent Kirby Smart from having the ultimate prize, ending Florida’s 480 game streak of not being shut out. When the Bulldogs committed a penalty on fourth and goal to give the Gators a chance to score, Smart was seen face down on the turf in the dome. He wanted to be able to say that his team ended the streak the way Spurrier has said they scored 50 on the Dogs in Athens.

In the end, the Gators scored 8 positive points, and Georgia scored 10 positive points. However, the Gators gave the Dogs 17 points from turnovers. The Gators have no one to blame but themselves. The wounds were self-inflicted. The Bulldogs were the better team but only because the Gators gave them too much help. Another year of what could have been only leads to another year of Bulldog fans having the right to talk trash. It’s just the third loss of the season, but this one will lead to a bit more nightmares for Gator fans.