I think we all feel the same about the game, and I can say, honestly, I wasn't at all surprised about the results. I told you I was drinking the Kool-Aid last weekend and gave you at least 4 good reasons why you guys should have been drinking also. I really don't want to dwell on the game because it hurts, but here's just a few points that stayed with me after the game.
1. Whether it's Vanderbilt or Florida, you can't leave points on the field in the SEC. By my conservative calculations, we left 18 points on the field. I feel unbelievably bad for Alex Tejada, and knowing some of his family, I can't imagine how hard it is for him to wake up in the morning after a game like that. I'm still behind the kid and know he just needs to get his head right and could be a great kicker (this probably isn't the predominant opinion of all the contributors to DSD). Just as much blame for this loss should be left on the shoulders of Ryan Mallett. He missed at least two open guys in the end zone, and could have made Tejada's job much easier. Don't forget the play at the end of the first half where our receivers knocked each other over in what could have been a TD and what could have been a great catch made by Greg Childs in the end zone. Sure, Florida left some points on the field too, but it was probably only 14 points at best. That still gives us the win.
2. The Hogs D is SO much better than they were in the first three games. Granted, the whole defense is better, but having Elton Ford back from injury has totally changed the swagger of the Hat Tappers. Jake Bequette has been playing like a man since the TAMU game much to my surprise. I get to talk to his high school coaches often, and they seriously don't believe how far he's come. Stadther, Sheppard, Franklin, Nelson, and Burton all deserve a few slegehammers on the helmet. The pressure our D-line and blitzing linebackers are getting on QB's is giving our fairly weak secondary a nice cushion.
3. Going into this game, I really did expect a close game. I truly believed we had a chance of winning the game, but it was for all different reasons than those which kept us close. I would have said that Mallett and the receivers would be the stars of the show, not our defense. Shows what I know.
4. It's hard to beat Florida in the Swamp, but it's even harder to beat them when the officiating crew is clearly protecting their #1 rank. The personal foul on Sheppard should be reviewed by the league and the man who called it should lose his job. This is coming from a man who VERY rarely complains about the officiating because I can usually see it going both ways. Not so this weekend. That wasn't the only bad call, but I just can't bring myself to keep dwelling on what should have been.
Let's look forward. This weekend we face, what I consider, our biggest game of the year, and while that loss was heartbreaking, I think we'll come out incredibly confident. I'll leave the Jevan Snead predictions to Crown Pub, and let you know that we'll be ready. Look for this to be a big week on DSD considering the this coaching match-up.
Now that we've got this travesty of a game out of the way, we can move on to the coach that was fired. Springdale Holiday Inn, this is your cue.
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