Dooley’s Back Nine: That Is Way To Open Florida Football Season
The Back Nine comes at you on Labor Day and one would think that a guy who is semi-retired would take this day off, but it’s football season, baby!
10. Yes, it is and it was glorious on Saturday night in The Swamp. The defense scored a touchdown, pitched a shutout and allowed only 86 yards of offense. The offense started slow and then got going. The fans seem to be deliriously happy to be back in the stadium and at their tailgate stops. This is the way to open a season. Everybody is allowed to enjoy the night unless they were looking at other scores of games. We’ll get to that in a minute. But for once, let us celebrate a 55-0 win with no turnovers and no penalties. I didn’t think both things were possible.
11. Clearly, Florida could win the Northeast Conference, so the Gators have that going for them. Long Island was just happy to be here and collect the Sharks’ laundry and mileage money. We saw a lot of talent on that field Saturday night, almost all of it wearing blue jerseys. Florida played 13 true freshmen in the game and it did look like a team that had a seriously good camp. Now, it starts to get interesting.
12. Because the Florida schedule went from DEFCON 2 to DEFCON 1 over the weekend. South Florida was supposed to be another warm-up game and instead has everyone’s attention after its upset against Boise State. Credit goes to Alex Golesh, but Boise State looked like a team that got stuck in a bowl game in Alligator Alcatraz. Alabama was supposed to shut Tommy Castellano up with a smackdown and instead FSU looks like a brutal finish for the Gators at the end of the season. LSU finally won a season-opener and put Clemson’s natty hopes on hold. Miami held off Notre Dame and should be unbeaten when the two teams play at the end of the month. Hey, spot the ball and buckle up. This could be a blast.
13. Why anybody hears Steve Spurrier say something and thinks he might be wrong is just dummy. He may have been spot-on when it comes to Arch Manning, who looked like a mediocre quarterback against Ohio State in the Horseshoe. I was especially surprised at how many passes he side-armed into incompletions. Maybe there was a reason he was not on the Manning Award Watch List. I’ll tell you one thing — Ohio State has a real shot to repeat.
14. Circling back to that FSU-Alabama game, how loud will it be this week in Tuscaloosa? Kalen DeBoer was DeBoering offensively after that first TD drive. “I think that we got a little complacent and thought that we won it in the first drive,” Bama quarterback Ty Simpson said. “We kind of took it for granted.” The Bear must be spinning in his grave like a rotisserie chicken.
15. It was another bad week and I am starting to think I have lost my touch. Miami allowed me to finish 2-3, which gives Dr. Football an overall mark of 3-5 and puts me squarely on the hot seat. On to this week’s games (and they aren’t great):
- Maybe the South Florida win against an overrated Boise State team was not as impressive as I thought. Florida is an 18-point favorite over the Bulls in a game I think will be interesting in the second half. I’ll take the generous points.
- Michigan was a 3.5-point underdog at Oklahoma and it has already jumped to five points on MyBookie.ag (use the promo code DOOLEY for special treatment). I’ll reluctantly take Okie to cover.
- Ole Miss is favored by 9.5 at Kentucky even though the Wildcats beat Toledo to open the season. I wasn’t impressed either and will take the Black Bears to cover.
- Arizona State is a 7-point favorite at Mississippi State and a note to all of my friends planning to be in the press box for this one — bring headphones or earbuds. The sound gravitates to the place that wants it the least. Oh, and ASU covers.
- Kansas is a 6.5-point underdog at Missouri and the Tigers were not overly impressive Saturday. I think the Mockingjays cover.
16. I usually do my NFL picks this week with division winners and everything, but I am just going to leave it at this — it will be the Bills and the Packers in the Super Bowl. Bet accordingly.
17. Nice wins for both UF soccer and volleyball over the weekend and they are both back in action this week. Volleyball is at USF on Tuesday and soccer at Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday.
18. I did get eight holes in Sunday before settling in for some more football. I have resorted to taping any games that start after 9 p.m. and watching them the next day. Just sad. Here is your playlist and get off my lawn:
- “The Passenger”, a remake by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
- “Born To Fly” by The Shelters.
- And for a real old one, “Run To Me” by The Bee Gees.
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.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, Pat Dooley, SEC
