Tale of Two Halves

Actually, not much more is required beyond that headline--except maybe a little further detail...
What seems to have clearly "settled out" of our numb disappointment by Sunday morning is this:
Much as it sticks in my craw to have to admit this, let alone say it out loud, is that what the media fools have and no doubt are now crowing far and wide is somewhat true, after all...From the moment the two teams took the field at Neyland for the 2nd Half, Tennessee showed that it was BETTER than what they'd shown the first 3 and a half games--and UF showed that it was WORSE.
As for OUR squad, indeed the whole football program and its future, the rest of this season becomes now a straight on, pass/fail evaluation of its present state, its potential and likely level and rate of success not just "soon", but EVER. Either this Head Coach and staff are on a clear path to CHAMPIONSHIP play at the highest level, or NOT. No "encouraging maybe"s are acceptable. Get it together, kick some serious ass and pull in a Top 3-or-better recruiting class (followed by more-of-same in subsequent years, if you're GIVEN that time--pending what we see rest of THIS season). Or else.
Sorry--That was so woeful a collapse on so many levels, top to bottom/on field AND from the sidelines, so much a harkening back to all the hand-wringing rationales that has kept us at "competent mediocrity" for 7-plus years now, that patience isn't warranted any longer. It just hasn't worked so far.

(Sidenote: Along with all the coach-responsible foul-ups--clock and procedure-related breakdowns, penalties, questionable gameplanning, failures to make adjustments, etc etc etc--something else stared us in the face that I didn't really focus on, what with all the OTHER things grinding my teeth and ass, until a 10 yr old budding young Gator fan watching with us pointed it out:
"Hey Uncle D--y'all called this really high temperature on the field 'Gator Weather'--so why is it all OUR guys who are cramping up? I mean, we should be MORE ready for it, right? They ALL drink GATORADE for it now--we got more than anyone!"
It was early in the 4th, we were in the middle of that stretch where we were blowing the game, during one more pause for another of OUR guys down for stretches and fluids on the field...Now, a lot of ot was simply no offense meaning D was on the field ALL THE TIME, getting further exhausted and dehydrated, but kid had a point. Why was it almost ALWAYS our guys, offense AND defense, down with "cramps" after plays, the whole 2nd half? On top of everything else we saw out there, are we somehow now behimd in overall conditioning TOO??? That was a definite "strength" under the strength regimen during the years that THE TRAITER was
Head Coach--not counting that last season, when he collected a check but left Addazio to run us into the SEC basement...But point is, WHAT'S GOIN' ON THERE?)

This is what happens when you let up on the gas pedal. Offensive went conservative even though they were clicking with the new guy and the defense got tired because the three and outs from the offense. I know even the best Offensive minds have their bad moments like Dan Mullen's play calling in that last drive in that 2007 Auburn game (another bad loss). Luckily the Gators still have a shot in the SEC (though UT needs to lose two games).

Leakfan12 said:

This is what happens when you let up on the gas pedal. Offensive went conservative even though they were clicking with the new guy and the defense got tired because the three and outs from the offense. I know even the best Offensive minds have their bad moments like Dan Mullen's play calling in that last drive in that 2007 Auburn game (another bad loss). Luckily the Gators still have a shot in the SEC (though UT needs to lose two games).

Click to expand...

Agree with everything you say a Lf, point by point--but am afraid it may all be essentially marginalized by a larger perspective: Deeper problems and fundamental weaknesses were revealed by the fact AND manner of that woeful collapse: we knew we were lacking in depth and talent across the board as of yet, but thought coaching and poise as a team had us "on the come". That is now to some extent at least open to question. "Everyone capable of a bad game", coaches too, is definitely the case, just as you say--and we gotta hope that's all we saw, a teamwide hiccup on the field AND from the sidelines, with the cause-and-effect dominoes falling just as you describe. We'll just have to see what comes next in order to tell for sure.
It was just all so avoidable, though, if only that simple. But there's more there: penalties, points left on the field, missed opportunities and stalled drives even in the first half when THEIR floundering gave us numerous chances to step on their necks, put that one away early. Make it so they COULDN'T "stick to the game plan", the 2nd half becoming much more a chance for our D to just t-off, get sacks'n'take-aways, get off the field to make way for our offense to grind the clock, running downhill on THEIR side of the field, and so on.
We STILL "shoulda" been able to make a 3-score lead hold up better than it did, tho, regardless. That we sunk back into the bad ol' Muschamp-style "hold-'em offense" was just so depressingly frustrating. One day we will again, when faced with a hot offense coming back on our tired defense having an off half, at least have an offense that can match them score-for-score from all over the field. When we DO have that, an offense that more than holds its own like the defense does most of the time already, we will once again be a natty-champ team. But not before, and we're not there yet--not even close, I'm afraid.