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The Back Nine comes at you after a fun weekend in Gainesville that hopefully you enjoyed:
10. Don’t allow my saying to be true today, that nobody suffers winning like Gator fans. Yes, I am aware the Gators were shut out in the second half. True, the game should not have been that close in the second half. Absolutely, Florida is still a work in progress. But the Gators won on a day/night where a lot of teams were stunned. Do I think Florida practicing hard during an off week helped? Well, yes, for a half it did. Did I see anything that will give me a new level of optimism heading into the meaty part of the schedule? Not really. But they won and, while UCF isn’t anything special, Florida kept quarterback KJ Jefferson from winning two years in a row in The Swamp.
11. That’s the thing — I still don’t know what to think about this team. Perhaps Miami and Texas A&M are just that good. The problem is Florida is going to face a lot of good teams. Remember, too, Florida has been doing this without one of its best players in Trey Wilson. I’d like to think Florida’s defense is finding itself, but I will know tons more after Saturday.
12. The weirdest part of it all is just that. Everywhere I went Friday and Saturday I was asked what I thought about the game and my answer was that I just had no idea. Five games into this season and I still don’t know. We will see as this season progresses, but maybe the confidence those guys can take from winning two in a row against Power Four teams will be a catalyst.
13. It was a crazy day of football Saturday and nothing wilder than Vanderbilt beating Alabama. And then playing the comment from Nick Saban from three weeks ago when he said it was hard to win in the SEC “everywhere but Vanderbilt.” And then taking the goalposts on a march to the Cumberland River. And then finding out Lane Kiffin stopped his news conference to watch the end of it. I watched the whole game and can tell you it was no fluke.
14. There was that and then there was Arkansas beating Tennessee. And Michigan losing and USC losing and Missouri getting whacked by Texas A&M (although the Aggies were favored). We’re only a week into October and already there have been some real stunners. Even on a Saturday when there didn’t appear to be a lot of good games, we ended up with results that shook up the landscape.
15. Unfortunately, Dr. Football did not have a good week with The Picks even with a rare pick of the Gators working out. The 2-3 record left the overall mark at 15-13-1. Pretty pedestrian. Let’s have a good week:
- Florida opened as a 16.5-point underdog at Tennessee. Sheesh, what would the spread have been if Tennessee had won? I’ll take Florida and the points.
- Ohio State is favored by 4.5 at Oregon and they say Autzen Stadium is a great environment. OK, then, I’ll take the Duckies and the points.
- Texas is back at No. 1 just in time for the big one in Dallas where the ‘Horns are 14.5-point favorites. I’ll take Texas and give the points.
- Penn State is a 3.5-point favorite at USC, which gave up exactly 200 all-purpose yards to Minnesota running back Darius Taylor. Which is why I’m exactly taking the Nittany Lions.
- Ole Miss is favored by 2.5 at LSU. Hmm. I’ll take the fighting Lane Kiffins.
16. As crazy as it was in college football, it was even wilder in the NFL. It felt like every time they showed a highlight, someone was running for a long touchdown on a pick or a fumble recovery or blocked kick. And then the whole DeShaun Watson fiasco and the Bengals losing because the holder on the game-winning field goal dropped the ball. I enjoyed it.
17. I have to admit I watched none of the baseball playoffs Saturday. You know what I was watching. But it did make it to the second TV on Sunday and that was another wild scene, especially in Los Angeles where the fans stopped the game for nine minutes throwing garbage on the field. So, you wine and cheesers are no better than Tennessee football fans, huh?
18. I need to settle down after spending two days getting excited for football. This playlist should do it:
- “Peaceful Place” by Leon Bridges.
- “Midwest” by Vacations.
- And for an old one, “Incense and Peppermint” by the Strawberry Alarm Clock.
WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.
