Pat Dooley’s Back Nine: Florida Football To Face Better Teams

The Back Nine comes at you after a wonderful Homecoming night in Gainesville that included a Florida win, its first as an underdog this season.

10. It’s one thing to say Florida won Saturday night because Kentucky just isn’t that good. But that would be seeing the glass as half empty. I prefer to have it filled with Kentucky bourbon. The Wildcats came into this game with a mission to get this win and take a major step toward bowl eligibility. They were playing a team that was wounded both physically and spiritually. By game time, the line had shifted to Florida getting two points. Florida lost its best secondary player early in the third quarter. And that the Gators got it done with their third-string running back and a quarterback who averaged 34.9 yards on seven completions.

11. That was the biggest difference in the offense. The deep throws. And the early runs by DJ Lagway that made the Wildcats have to respect that. Lagway’s pick was bad, but he showed what he can do. And Jadan Baugh is a guy who I thought in the spring might be a factor. I did not see him tying a record he now shares with Trey Burton and Tim Tebow — five touchdowns in a game. That (and his 106 rushing yards) was against a defense that came in ranked 10^thin the nation in rushing defense.

12. It was also interesting to watch how Kentucky tried to take Eugene Wilson III out of the game. His one catch came on a scramble play early, but the transfers Elijah Badger and Chimere Dike caught 215 yards worth of perfectly thrown deep passes. That’s why Florida was able to come close to 500 yards despite Lagway only completing seven passes and only one to a tight end.

13. So, what are we to take from all of this seven games into the season? Maybe the offense won’t be as efficient moving the ball down the field, but it will be way more explosive. Perhaps the defense is figuring things out. Or you can understand this stat:

• Florida’s opponents in its three losses are now 19-2. Maybe they were all better than we thought they were when the season started. Texas A&M is unbeaten in the SEC. Miami is just plain unbeaten. Tennessee just beat Alabama.
• Florida’s opponents in its four wins are now 10-16. Take those four Florida wins out of it and they are still under .500. The Gators are winning against mediocre teams, but that beats the alternative.

14. It was another wild day of college football and I did not see Texas laying such a stinky egg at home. I wonder how that team will respond. Now they have to go to Vanderbilt. That used to be a joke. One thing about Kirby Smart — the guy gets his players ready to play. He may use the disrespect card when it isn’t really there, but he gets them ready. Hey, I picked Georgia in the Gainesville Quarterback Club picks.

15. It was not a good day for The Picks. Dr. Football went 1-4 against the spread and the record has dropped to 20-18-1. Just treading water so I need a good week:

• Florida State — and I wish I had the energy to look it up —  probably has never been a 19.5-point underdog at Miami. As bad as it is going for the Semis (only two other Power Four teams have a lonely win), they play everyone close and Miami could have easily lost any of its last three games. So, I will take FSU and the points.
• LSU is getting three points at Texas A&M in the game of the week in the SEC. When in doubt — and I am really in doubt about this one — go with the home team. Gig ’em.
• Illinois has made a lot of noise this year and is coming off a huge home win against Michigan. The reward in the New Big Ten is a trip to Eugene where the Fighting Bielemas will go to work as a 22-point underdog. Hmm. A ranked team is a 22-point underdog. Vegas is trying to suck me in. I’ll take Oregon and give way too many points.
• Missouri keeps winning games that look lost, but the KoMo Krowd has to go to a hurting Tuscaloosa as a 13.5-point underdog. I’ll take the M-I-Z and the points.
• Finally, Cincinnati is at Colorado in a loser-leaves-town game. The Buffs are favored by 3.5 and I will take them.

16. Just wanted to say what a great time I had hanging out with the 1984 Gator football team Friday. There were some great stories and I gave John L. Williams some advice about being Mr. Two Bits. “Don’t trip,” I said. Those guys deserved something that should have happened long ago.

17. Congrats to the Dodgers, the Yankees, the Liberty, Florida volleyball (two sweeps) and everyone else who had a great weekend. I would not have been able to stomach a Subway Series and rooting for the Dodgers will be hard again, but it’s something I have to do.

18. Oh, did I mention that my team won the golf tournament they had for the ’84 team? That’s two tournaments in a row. We won by five shots. It’s all about picking the right team and then riding those guys to the finish. I did make an eagle putt and since Scott Trimble had the tunes taken care of, I saved these for you:

• “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Dive.

• “Future Me Hates Me” by The Beths. Interesting concept.
• And for an old one, “Lovely To See You” by The Moody Blues.

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.