Week #7 Predictions -- Florida at Auburn

[TraderGator]

I thought I'd start a new thread and maybe a new weekly thing if anyone is interested.

What about the game Saturday night?

I think we upset Auburn who goes in a 2-point favorite. With the exception of Stephen Garcia making them look all-SEC, the Auburn defense has pretty much sucked all year. Coach Weis had an entire week to work with Brissett and I think we'll score on that weak Auburn D. We've definitely got the better field-goal kicker.

Gators 23
Auburn 20

For Coach Spurrier I think it'll be

USC 31
Mississippi State 16

 

[mjfan23]

UF needs to win desperately imo.

 

[DRU2012]

Right now, we just need a win, it's true. No final score predictions from me--I don't think we'll blow them off the field, but I KNOW we have the talent and coaching to beat 'em...the idea here is to remember how it felt, re-prove to ourselves that we CAN do it.
For the sake of our offense and freshman QB, it's a good thing we're facing a weak defense, but it is OUR "D" that must reassert itself. If they raise their game and show the skills they were recruited for (and had begun to show in the first month of the season) we should be OK. Otherwise, a continuation of the confused free-lancing and lack of execution on display the last 2 weeks, and instead of "turning things around" this could become an accelerating downward slide that requires the most dire of "house-cleanings".
Some might argue we need that anyway, that we're already INTO that process. I believe that the way we respond this week will pretty well determine whether, along with our won-loss record, the rest of this year is a beginning of our building it back up with a core of good young players who have proved themselves through toughness and adversity, or the completion of tearing down what WAS here the rest of the way. The former gets us "there" faster, obviously, so here's hoping...

 

[Kyle Todd]

I believe that the run game will be back on track. The Defenses we face the rest of the year are not as physical and fast as Bama and LSU. As long as whatever freshman QB is taking care of the ball the Gators don't drop 3 in a row....

Gators-27
Auburn- 14

 

[Leakfan12]

I think the Gators got this. Utah State scored 30 against them.

 

[Escambia94]

The War Eagle Tigers have a better special teams and the number 3 SEC rushing offense. I say the Gators will show that they can hang with the SEC second tier teams. The orange and blue will prevail over the blue and orange, 21-10.

 

[DRU2012]

I didn't predict a score in this one, but rather a "likely outcome": a much-needed Gator win.
Either way, I want to stress here that what I AM in fact predicting is a RESULT of some kind:
Win, as we should, and we can possibly win out, find and establish ourselves, and begin to put it together for NEXT year's run at the BCS.
Lose, and the dominoes likely fall the other way, it turns out we just don't have enough of the right kind of people to rebuild that quickly, the rest of this season becomes as much a weed-out process as anything--and we end up having to start over again next season almost as far behind as we are now.
Makes this a pretty important game, don't you think?
(If you don't agree, consider: How do things look if we lose? 'Cocks, 'Dogs and 'Noles still to go: do a 'bye and a near-scrimmage constitute our best chances to "turn it around" the rest of the way? Pretty sad, if so...)

 

[Escambia94]

This has to be the game that says, "Yeah, the Gators lost to two NFL teams in a row, but Auburn, SC, and UGA are not NFL-caliber teams like LSU and Alabama." If we lose to Auburn, there really is little hope against SC. We may have to see how they play against Auburn before we can make a good guess on where they stand against UGA and FSU.

Right now, even though we are down a bit, we need to strike at fellow teams that are a little down now, Auburn and FSU.

 

[CaliZona_Gator]

28-24 Gators.

I really think we are the better team. If JB was at QB I wouldn't be worried at all, but we have Brissett, and he needs to make a few strides to get he Gators in the endzone.

Auburn can run the ball though, and we can't stop the run. But I think the Gators will not let this season turn in to last. We man up and get the win, though it might not be pretty.

 

[DRU2012]

This has to be the game that says, "Yeah, the Gators lost to two NFL teams in a row, but Auburn, SC, and UGA are not NFL-caliber teams like LSU and Alabama." If we lose to Auburn, there really is little hope against SC. We may have to see how they play against Auburn before we can make a good guess on where they stand against UGA and FSU.

Right now, even though we are down a bit, we need to strike at fellow teams that are a little down now, Auburn and FSU.

Exactly. This is where we find out how bad, or "not so bad", things really are.

 

[DRU2012]

28-24 Gators.

I really think we are the better team. If JB was at QB I wouldn't be worried at all, but we have Brissett, and he needs to make a few strides to get he Gators in the endzone.

Auburn can run the ball though, and we can't stop the run. But I think the Gators will not let this season turn in to last. We man up and get the win, though it might not be pretty.

Agree all around--except I'M thinking that one area where we MUST "man up" is IN stopping the run--this is neither an NFL-caliber O-line nor a "next-year's-NFL running back" we'll be facing, so a week of back-to-basics Tackling 101, a plan on defense to take away what they do well, AND a redoubled, fired-up effort from the players to show themselves and each other pride, passion and the talent they once knew they had, should be expected--and if it shows, that'll be more than enough.
The two other areas that are dragging us down, turnover deficit and penalties, are more problematic. They may have a chance to get some strips and INTs if the run-"D" comes through, but our ridiculously relentless return to 9-to-12 penalties for 100-plus yards EVERY GAME is symptomatic of a slew of problems that cannot be sustained the rest of the way. Not if we hope to pull it together and still achieve certain goals this season.

 

[Escambia94]

Tackling 101. Matt Elam is friggin' fast, but he wants to be "the dopest hitter". Right now he is the dopiest hitter, bouncing off big backs like Trent Richardson. WRAP THE MAN UP AFTER HITTING! Someone give Robison a GPS, because he is LOST. RoPo needs to make the Buck position scary. Easley needs to eat some quarterbacks and running backs.

 

[DRU2012]

Tackling 101. Matt Elam is friggin' fast, but he wants to be "the dopest hitter". Right now he is the dopiest hitter, bouncing off big backs like Trent Richardson. WRAP THE MAN UP AFTER HITTING! Someone give Robison a GPS, because he is LOST. RoPo needs to make the Buck position scary. Easley needs to eat some quarterbacks and running backs.

(Groan...) You just neatly covered our hopes and our fears on defense--and they pretty much are embodied in the same few individuals! (except for Robison, of course, who I can only imagine is out there 'cause we have NOONE behind him?)
(BTW, some interesting results shaping up in the SEC today already: we are NOT alone here in the "not Alabama or LSU"-category, are we?...we can play with ANY of these others, I believe)

 

[TraderGator]

This has to be the game that says, "Yeah, the Gators lost to two NFL teams in a row, but Auburn, SC, and UGA are not NFL-caliber teams like LSU and Alabama." If we lose to Auburn, there really is little hope against SC. We may have to see how they play against Auburn before we can make a good guess on where they stand against UGA and FSU.

Right now, even though we are down a bit, we need to strike at fellow teams that are a little down now, Auburn and FSU.

I agree. Completely different level of teams from here on out. Even the pretenders: F$U are beatable. But especially for the Leg Humpers -- who have the easiest SEC schedule ever -- it has to be head-to-head for the East and for that to happen, the boys need to take care of business at Auburn in a little while.