Saturday night
We'll get to the Gators' win in a minute, but the bus has been gripped all week by the two unbeatens in trouble. One, we sort of expected. Had a feeling that UCLA might struggle at the Farm. The Bruins were sleepwalking all night, down 21-3 with about eight minutes remaining. It just looked like one of those nights when Mo Drew bumped into the back of his O-lineman and fumbled it, setting up a Cardinal score.
But that's how the powder blue do it, awaken in the final 15. Drew Olson's stats in the fourth quarter are unreal. He did it again tonight, a fourth comeback from double digits down in the last quarter.
I admit, I quit on them tonight. They just looked so flat, so frustrated, so dead. Thought their dream was dashed, along with the dreams of the GameDay gang to visit a collision in the Coliseum of unbeatens Dec. 3.
But Olson told me this week that the season's first rally, after a similar dismal start against lowly Washington, was the key to building enormous belief in the huddle. Since then, Olson says, the Bruins think that nothing is insurmountable. More proof tonight.
Every game is an adventure for this crew. Even next week's trip to Tucson, against a team that until tonight had no idea how to win a close game. Meanwhile, it'll probably be ugly for Stanford next week. After this gut twister, it's off to the Coliseum, where SC will be paying attention after the Bruins' close call.
Texas' unforeseen, un-freakin-believable grab-astic display at lowly Okie State is amazing. Maybe we shouldn't be shocked at anything in this sport any more. After all, Texas was carried away all week with the BCS flip-flop. But the Pokes were about as inept a team as there was in a BCS conference coming in. Teams were knifing through their defense like lemon meringue each game. Mike Gundy was living through serious rookie year growing pains.
Did anyone -- anyone! -- out there see this coming? Be honest. Vegas did not. This shaped up like one of the biggest point-spread upsets in history. Until the Horns finally got going. This was no repeat of last year's rally -- seven straight TD drives to climb out of a 35-7 hole. It took a lot longer to turn the tide, and even then Texas did not zoom away from the guys in the orange Halloween-costumed jerseys.
Vince Young's passing was sub-par. He reverted to old-school Vince, ripping off huge gains on the ground. Defenses will continue to think they can force him into poor throws and take advantage, and games like this one will give them hope.
Corso has another spin on Young's game tonight. Lee will move Young to the top of his Heisman list after his athleticism steered the Horns to a comeback win. "He is a magnificent player," Lee keeps saying. Hard to argue, LC.
Back to the Cocktail Party
Urban Meyer has coached in one Cocktail Party and he's the toast of the Gator Nation tonight. What an amazing contrast from the last Florida game, when frustration flowed in the form of postgame tears in Baton Rouge two weeks ago. Meyer told us how low emotions had sunk following that humbling failure. Maybe the tears were cathartic,
because Florida bounced from the locker room brimming with confidence today and unveiled a couple of wrinkles.
Meyer used the only tight end on his roster, Casey Tate, a lean guy with good hands, as a crucial receiver and even snuck an H-back in the game occasionally. Georgia's taut defense was caught off guard and gashed in the Gators' first two TD drives.
Florida had all the points it needed in the first nine minutes of the game, but it was fitting that the defense had to be on the field at the end to win it. Florida didn't allow a Georgia play to go for more than 21 yards. Even with Shockley sidelined, that's impressive.
Fill-in Joe Tereshinski played better than the stats will show. He was victimized by at least three drops. For his first start, Joe T. did a decent job with game management, I thought. He made only a couple of poor throws, but just wasn't going to beat anybody with his legs.
The new story will be D.J. Shockley's drive to get healthy before Auburn visits in two weeks. The Gators still need help in the divisional race, despite getting to 2-0 vs. their two biggest conference rivals this year.
Meyer wore a real satisfied smile as he left our set tonight and headed for the happy bus ride home. But Urban was still shaking his head about the weekly wars in this league.
The bus is in a good mood. Researcher Chris Fallica, who loves pigskin but lives for the ponies, had a big day with the Breeders' Cup. Cashed a couple of trifectas, and a couple more exactas. He has dragged Kirk into the world of parimutuel betting and Herbie is now, shall we say, an enthusiastic player. He had a big day, too. Fallica wants the most love for saying that the day's biggest favorite, Lost in the Fog, would run off the board. He takes great pleasure in beating an odds-on choice.
It was good to see tennis player Mardy Fish drop by the Cocktail Party bus. He's a former top 10 player trying to rebuild his ranking after a few injuries.
There, we've covered football, horse racing, and tennis. Time to go tape SportsCenter and then get out to the Landing. Thanks for finding us here.
Saturday afternoon
The bus is parked outside Alltel Stadium for the big cocktail party.
The weather is perfect, a nice departure from the downpour we have
previously encountered on visits to this rivalry.
Wow, a lot has changed about the festivities here. Everything is so
sanitized, cleaned-up and corporate, compared to the pregame scene
of years past. The gritty ol' Gator Bowl added something to the nasty
flavor this game used to have. The spruced up pro stadium it's
played in now symbolizes the change in this rivalry.
It's not at all the hatefest you might expect. Nothing like OU-Texas
or Auburn-Alabama. Dawgs and Gators actually get along pretty well
these days, even though Florida has won 13 of 15. That's a good thing,
because otherwise the Landing would be a bloodbath Friday nights
before the game each year.
I love the storyline this year: Georgia an unbeaten underdog ... Florida a
spoiler that's favored. It's all because D.J. Shockley is out and Joe Tereshinski's in, of course. Can the kid who grew up bleeding red and black, dreaming
of this day, seize what is probably a once in a lifetime chance?
I think Shockley will be back for the Auburn game in a couple weeks,
but today is the day Tereshinski will be remembered for. I'd like to
see him come through. Or at least not lose the game with mistakes.
Guys like him deserve to enjoy an afternoon in the sun, after paying dues
for four years, doing jobs like personal protector on the punt team.
My first instinct was that Florida would capitalize on Shockley's absence
and win. As the week has worn on, I get the creeping feeling that Georgia
will answer the latest of countless challenges.
Kirk had the same feeling, I think. He had to sleep on his pick (although
he probably didn't get a full night's sleep at our loud hotel next to the
Landing!)
Other Games
Nebraska looked done early against OU. What a weird feel this battle
of Big Reds has. The Sooners were rolling behind a healthy-looking but
mostly inspired Adrian Peterson, up 24-3. Nebraska could not have
looked worse on offense. Suddenly, they've found life.
This would have been a real embarrassment for Bill Callahan, on the
day the 1995 championship team is honored ... with Tom Osborne there ... and more importantly, with a bunch of recruiting prospects on hand.
The Huskers have shown some pride. Can they finish strong and
complete a stirring comeback?
Miami finally awakened. The green jersey, gold pants throwback unis
perhaps confused the Canes. They resembled Baylor, or UAB in the
first half in both appearance and level of play. Now they look inspired and
should roll into Blacksburg with some confidence.
Kyle Wright is looking OK. His stats may look better than his performance
actually was. He will have to get some more help up front next week
or Hokies DE Darryl Tapp will tap dance on his forehead.
I am becoming more of a believer in the Hokies. BC was no contest,
which surprised me. When Marcus Vick plays sharp, Tech is very, very
hard to beat. Next week, of course, is his supreme challenge.
A member of The Herbstreit posse (Mr. Schmidt) came away awed by
the night atmosphere in Lane Stadium. The Hokies' long walk down
the tunnel into the stadium, with Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blasting
at 110 decibels from the speakers with the whole crowd jumping around,
one Hokie carrying the American flag, another with the Tech flag ...
and it'll be twice as crazy when the Canes come calling.
Update: just when Nebraska was making its move, the Huskers had
their heart stepped on by a Stoops Special. OU pulled off a fake
field goal, then scored almost immediately on a Kejuan Jones' run.
Nebraska's back in trouble.
Not shocked that Baylor is giving Texas Tech trouble. I am disappointed
that Missouri is once again stumbling around against Kansas. Brad
Smith had a chance to build on his huge day against Nebraska. Not
so far.
Time to get inside the cocktail party. I'll be back with you after the
game, during the Michigan-Minnesota game.
Talk to you again after the dust settles.
