A couple of takeaways from Thursday’s Gasparilla Bowl: In the whole scope of things, UCF’s win doesn’t prove a lot, other than to say the Knights had a pretty good team that could possibly have been exceptional if they had not been hit with an incredible amount of injuries. It also strongly points out that a team loaded with a ton of talent (Florida) is not necessarily going to be successful if things like coaching, team chemistry, and yes a little intestinal fortitude (and that criticism comes directly from some former Gator players I know) is lacking. That said, no excuses from Gator fans about transfer portals, not wanting to be there or our guys didn’t take it seriously. Bottom line, y’all cared enough to sell out a 65,000 seat stadium, y’all knew a loss would be embarrassing and y’all took a butt whipping. Congrats to the Gasparilla Bowl for understanding a way to make a third-tier bowl game meaningful, Congrats to the Knights for an impressive win, and Good Luck Gators and Coach Napier in rebuilding a once-proud program…
The Ouija board box says for “Ages 8 and up”. Soooo….you have to be 21 to drink a beer but only 8 to summon the devil?….
Speaking of college football, I went back to my Aug. 16 predictions for Florida’s Top Five Programs and now have to say it was a little bit of a mixed bag in how those predictions played out. I felt USF, despite being an underdog in all but one game, would pull a couple of upsets and finish 3-9. They came in 2-9 and had they made one more play against either Tulsa (32-31 loss) or UCF (17-13 loss), I would have nailed that one. I did hit UCF on the head, saying with some good teams in the AAC and some hard non-conference games, they would finish regular season 8-4 and 8-4 they were. Said the Noles, who were predicted by others to go 6-6 would get one more and be 7-5, they finished 5-7 – with the Noles losing three games by three points, we’ll label that a reasonable miss; as will my Canes, who I predicted to go 9-3 and they finished 7-5. Had they turned two of three 3-point losses, that prediction would have been dead on. Now for the ugly prediction, where I said the Gators – despite losing Trask and Pitts – where still loaded with talent and would go 10-2. When the Lizards narrowly lost to Alabama but hammered Tennessee a week later to go 3-1, I felt great about the prediction. Did not see five losses coming in the next seven – including unexplainable losses to South Carolina, Missouri, and LSU…
Funny, how being “On You Phone All Day” has gone from being sociable to unsociable in less than a decade…
It’s going to be extremely interesting to see what Cleveland does or doesn’t do regarding Baker Mayfield. The Browns could control him under his rookie contract for one more season and I am sure there will be some pressure from his agent to get a “long-term” deal done this off-season. Working in Baker’s favor, he is a tremendously popular player in Cleveland but on the other side is the fact that he certainly has done nothing on the field to justify a franchise quarterback-type contract. In my eyes, the Mayfield situation is very similar to what Tampa Bay found itself in back in 2018. A fourth year quarterback – Jameis Winston – who was talented but made too many mistakes had one more year on his rookie deal. Having no idea that Tom Brady would fall in their lap two years later, Tampa Bay still elected to do nothing and use that fifth year to evaluate Winston, eventually deciding to part ways with him. It’s a path Cleveland may be wise to consider. About the only real difference I see is whether Cleveland — despite having a talented roster – could attract a decent free agent QB…
It’s a trendy pick right now for just about every media person to say the Indianapolis Colts are the one team no one will want to face in the post-season. Now I’m not a Cowboys fan in any way, shape, or form (in fact they are my least favorite team) but my eyes are telling me they are the one team I would not want to run into in the playoffs and may very well be the be the best team in the NFL right now…
Does it bother anyone besides me that 70-80-year-olds are generally seen as unemployable due to mental decline and skill mismatch yet are almost exclusively running the country as members of the three branches of government?….
Y’all have a great new year!
