Last week, after watching the docket of games for opening
week, we examined what teams on the Gator schedule were worth fearing after
seeing their first real performance. 
Okay, some of the teams played week one were a bit junior varsity, but
now we’ve had a second week and have had a chance to get a better idea of some of
our opponents (I’m looking at you Tennessee). 

So, for lack of creativity today, let’s do that again and
present the biggest fears left on the Florida Gator schedule (we’ll try and
make this one short and sweet).

3. Tennessee: “Somehow we got out of whack today…letting the
emotions of a big game get to us.”  If
Kiffin said this after playing UCLA, how bad will things get in this week’s
bigger game? I had them as our #1 fear last week, but UCLA has pulled the lion’s
mane off the kitten and we’ve seen some real holes in the Vols, especially at
quarterback.  Crompton simply unraveled against
the Bruins, throwing 3 interceptions and leading the team to a failed fourth
and two to lose the game late (which showed a decided lack of confidence in the
passing game, which was a nonfactor in four attempts to punch it in).  Yeah, they didn’t lose by much, but they were
at home in front of 100,000+, had a much better performance their first week,
and shouldn’t have been owned like they were this week.  Four turnovers. No O-line protection, which
led to a lot of hurries and three sacks. 
UT caused several fumbles, but recovered only one.

So, we face this team Saturday and all I heard from Kiffin
last week was comments about their lack of execution in a big game.  “I think, in general, on offense, it was a
lack of execution…”and “(The UCLA defense) just out executed us.” aren’t the
quotes one usually hears in the week leading up to a program shaping game.  Is this the same coach who plans to sing
“Rocky Top” all night this Saturday? 
Yeah, they still have a run game (one they used 44 times for 115 yards
overall) and Crompton almost won the game for them with that last drive, but
Lane was right there trying to force that ball in at the end, all to no avail
as Modesty was stopped and UCLA won.  The
Vols, by the way, went from 380 yards rushing to 115, so that vaunted running
attack seems less of a factor this week. 
The Tennessee defense spent way too much time on the field and Monte’s D
was just plain outplayed by their UCLA counterpart.  Look for them to try and focus on Florida
this week, but keep an eye on the headlines in Knoxville on Sunday, as I don’t
see them reporting about a night of singing.

2. Georgia/South Carolina: 
After watching these two go at it this week, I got concerned.  From past experiences, many expected this to
be a defensive tussle, but Georgia won 41-37, Carolina out gained the Dogs in
yardage 426-310, there was a kickoff returned for a TD and a blocked extra
point by Georgia, and Carolina’s Garcia converted three third downs on the last
drive to almost take the game.  Who would
you be more cautious of if you were Coach Meyer: a team that uglied its way to
a 7-3 win, or a team coming off a disastrous Oklahoma State loss?  Georgia was outplayed in almost every aspect
of the game by Spurrier’s ‘cocks, but Georgia seemed to want the win more, with
a defense that came up late by batting down a fourth down throw and ensuring
the win after nearly four hours of game. 

Yeah, this one was kind of a wash this week.  I mean, Georgia has been the real powerhouse
of the two the last few years, but their defense, always an SEC point of pride,
gave up 426 total yards, including 311 through the air.  Meanwhile, the Gamecocks, who looked great on
offense, tied a school record with 5 field goals for kicker Spencer Lanning,
and watched Georgia give them two points with a snap that went high through the
end zone, couldn’t stop Georgia on special teams or handle QB Cox, who
complained of a sore shoulder while scoring 2 TDs with 201 yards passing.  Both teams had yellow caution lights flashing
for the Gator’s to see, but neither could really give that real sense of
“uh-oh” we’ve come to expect, especially from Georgia.  We’ll be able to understand Georgia a little
better this week, as they go to Arkansas Saturday night, but we’ll have to wait
on South Carolina. Come on, what can you learn from a team when they play
Florida Atlantic?  Both looked better
than they did in week one, but it remains to be seen if they really look good
this year.

1. LSU: Who’s travelling to Tiger country this year?  Slugging through the same rain that we faced
this week, LSU managed the game to a 23-11 win over Vandy this week, without a
standout performance from anyone really.  
RB Keiland Williams averaged 7.2 yds per carry for 2 TDs, but he only
carried ten times (which is 72 total yards for all you math majors).  Again, due to the rain, we didn’t really see
much from the passing game, but Jefferson came off a 3 TD performance to give
an efficient, yet unspectacular 20-29, 143 yd performance. Even the LSU
defense, one of Miles’ pride points in the past few seasons, looked plain, with
an interception, but did manage to shut out and shut down the Commodores in the
second half.

So, why are they number one this week?

Mostly because I don’t think we’ve seen LSU really put it
high gear yet.  Yeah, they should have
roundly beaten Washington, and could have looked more dominant against
Vanderbilt, but they have walked from both contests with a win.  The defense has been sporadic, but has come
through when it counts.  The offense is
doing enough to win.  The coaching isn’t
in question either, as the drive to win is there late.  This team is looking for its breakout game,
something that will declare them as the power of the SEC West, but with UL
Lafayette next week and a floundering Miss St the following, that may not be
the ones they’re marking on their calendar. 
October 10.  At home. Hosting
Florida.  Why should we fear the
Tigers?  Because they play us hard and
this may be the make or break game of their season.  They’ve got a couple games before, but their
sights are set on 10/10 as their whole season success can be measured by
it.  They’ll work out the kinks between
now and then, mark my words, so if you’ve got the means and money to go, go
with gatortailgating.com to Baton Rouge next month for one hell of a game.

What with the way Tennessee is looking, you’ve got to hope
that one of these other games will be worth something.

Josh Bauer is a Columnist for GatorTailgating.com