Over the past three years we have posted big upsets over traditional powers in the SEC. This one felt different and LOOKED different, I think we can all agree. Why though should we expect it to “mean more”, and why is it not just another nice win in the hurricane of a crappy year? They hit on this during my lunch break on 107.5, but I just wanted to interject my opinion and get some fan takes-
1. we DOMINATED UF. On both sides of the line, we controlled the LOS. Our DL was harassing their QB and the DL and LBs made some bug stuffs on run plays at important times. We have seen that for most of the year though.. We expected the DL to be one of the few strengths for this team and they have been. What we saw on offense was new. We opened holes for RBs, kept the QB clean and if we keep that up, offensive success can be sustainable. JB showed the value of mobility but he did not do anything throwing the ball that made you say “man, we will never see a QB do THAT again”. He was good, made some nice passes and avoided turnovers… He can throw on the run.. He looked very solid! I am not discounting his performance but the success started up front and that is something we can build on.. overall though we simply never let UF have any hope, we dominated them and this was not some normal last second FG/miraculous ending type of upset..
2- turnovers played a part but we would have won without them. Against UGA in 18 it was clear, we lose that game without a slew of turnovers that swung the tide in our favor. Same with AU last year- Horn earned his 1st round draft status in that game and without his Explosion, AU wins that game! Not the case this weekend- Ellis got the scoop and score in the second quarter which really took any glimmer of hope from UF but we were already up 13 and it was clear UF was just not going to score another 2 TDs against our D that night…
3. Attitude- this team has struggled at times but they never lost their heart and their fire. The 18 and 19 teams just hung their heads and gave up after the other team made a good play and I have really not seen that from this bunch. Came back to win against Vandy despite a terrible game.. Same against ECU… Even when we got blown out by TAMU and Tenn and UGA, we kept PLAYING. Put up more points on UGA than most have this year. Got smacked by Tenn in the first half, kept playing and “won the second half” (sounds lame? Sure but it is true- they kept playing). Even vs TAMU with a record breaking BAD offensive night, we switched QBs, Brown sparked the O for two scores late and set up some excitement for the next game.. This team wants to win and play for their coaches and for each other so bad and you see it every week!
In summation I see only the upset itself as being the similarity between these three games. The way we got there, the way we won and the team itself (from their attitude to the win total we have now) is clearly a different situation from what we endured the past two years. We have already exceeded expectations this year for wins and I am excited for the future of SC Football for the first time in a long time!
1. we DOMINATED UF. On both sides of the line, we controlled the LOS. Our DL was harassing their QB and the DL and LBs made some bug stuffs on run plays at important times. We have seen that for most of the year though.. We expected the DL to be one of the few strengths for this team and they have been. What we saw on offense was new. We opened holes for RBs, kept the QB clean and if we keep that up, offensive success can be sustainable. JB showed the value of mobility but he did not do anything throwing the ball that made you say “man, we will never see a QB do THAT again”. He was good, made some nice passes and avoided turnovers… He can throw on the run.. He looked very solid! I am not discounting his performance but the success started up front and that is something we can build on.. overall though we simply never let UF have any hope, we dominated them and this was not some normal last second FG/miraculous ending type of upset..
2- turnovers played a part but we would have won without them. Against UGA in 18 it was clear, we lose that game without a slew of turnovers that swung the tide in our favor. Same with AU last year- Horn earned his 1st round draft status in that game and without his Explosion, AU wins that game! Not the case this weekend- Ellis got the scoop and score in the second quarter which really took any glimmer of hope from UF but we were already up 13 and it was clear UF was just not going to score another 2 TDs against our D that night…
3. Attitude- this team has struggled at times but they never lost their heart and their fire. The 18 and 19 teams just hung their heads and gave up after the other team made a good play and I have really not seen that from this bunch. Came back to win against Vandy despite a terrible game.. Same against ECU… Even when we got blown out by TAMU and Tenn and UGA, we kept PLAYING. Put up more points on UGA than most have this year. Got smacked by Tenn in the first half, kept playing and “won the second half” (sounds lame? Sure but it is true- they kept playing). Even vs TAMU with a record breaking BAD offensive night, we switched QBs, Brown sparked the O for two scores late and set up some excitement for the next game.. This team wants to win and play for their coaches and for each other so bad and you see it every week!
In summation I see only the upset itself as being the similarity between these three games. The way we got there, the way we won and the team itself (from their attitude to the win total we have now) is clearly a different situation from what we endured the past two years. We have already exceeded expectations this year for wins and I am excited for the future of SC Football for the first time in a long time!
