Man, what a Defeat

The Gators got pummelled by the Crimson Tide today. Perhaps one of the more thorough beatings administered to them over the last 15 years. The margin of victory wasn't worse than the 45-3 beating they took against Tennessee in 1990, but in that particular game, the halftime score was 7-3 and we had just missed getting a touchdown on the last play of the half. The floodgates opened (both literally and figuratively) in the second half of that one.

Perhaps a better comparison was the 1995 Fiesta Bowl where Nebraska beat us 62-24 and dominated from start to finish. It was fairly clear from the outset that this was going to be a long day. The gators failed to take advantage of an early muffed punt and quickly found themselves down 14-0.

Not that it affected the outcome of the game, I have to question UF's decision to go for it on 4th down at the Tide 1 yard line. At the time, UF trailed 17-0 and we were early in the second quarter. No matter how you assume points are needed to catch up, the gators trailed by at least 3 scores. Basic strategy tells you that it doesn't matter what order you get points in as long as you continue to get points. Furthermore, since our running game was non-existent prior to that play, one cannot assume that the one yard is an easy conversion. Missing the 4th down attempt will result in leaving your team 3 scores down and having less time on the clock. Making a field goal is a necessary first step toward tying the game.

Since a football game is an endurance test more than anything, you have to make decisions thinking that you will get more chances later in the game. I think that many coaches see that one last yard and get fooled into thinking that they should take the opportunity while they are so close. In reality, the true opportunity was to be close enough for an easy three points and start some momentum going in your own direction.

Either way, the game ended up being a blowout 31-3 loss that the team will have to recover from. The nice thing about a season is there are plenty of opportunities to erase the bad memories of a single game.

Peace.