As the game ended, the announcers on ABC were already lobbying AGAINST the Gators and their shot at an all-SEC Nat'l Championship already...I'd argue the point here except I KNOW I'd be "preaching to the choir"--IT just is FRUSTRATING hearing them raise that "won't play in their Conference Championship so don't deserve to play for a NATIONAL one" argument when there are SO many reasons why that doesn't apply here...and BTW: with 37 points against "The #1 Defense In The Country" that pretty well KILLS the "not-enough offense" argument--and I'll say THIS about the "eye-test": With our OFFENSE operating at THAT level to go with the TRUE "Best Defense in the Nation" AND our special teams doing THEIR job when we needed SOMETHING from SOMEWHERE, (that run back by Robisson on the return is what began our "come back"), with ALL those elements I think we are AS GOOD AS ANYONE--possibly THE BEST TEAM IN THE LAND. No sh*t.
That play plus the hit on Manuel that got us the ball back after our first FG coming back to get US back the lead with GILLY'S FINE TD run (gotta hope the next 5 weeks-or-so is enough for that rib to heal--frigin' Criminoles...) settled us back down and let us re-establish the superiority we'd established and proven to OURSELVES in the 1st half...Oh, and one more "kudo"--to our very own Jeff Drislel, who was still more sore on that ankle than he let on at the start and was limited, maybe operating at 75% really, but he sucked it up, managed to get JUST enough done with his gimpy legs to help us there AND keep the FSU defense guessing and worried--and most of all, we started to see what this kid can do with the ball in a cleverly-designed PASSING game: Can you imagine what he'll do with a healthy and deeper O-line, and 2 or 3 more playmaker-WRs?
Finally, we pulled off this on-the-road and against an officiating-crew who called just an ATROCIOUS "homers" game there in the 2nd half--they did EVERYTHING during that "avalanche" in the 3rd quarter...They must have been disgusted with the Criminoles' failure to hold the lead they'd helped to hand them, but knew they'd "done THEIR job", and that the NCAA-powers-that-be could have NO COMPLAINTS with THEIR "performance".
This sort of thing will cost us big time in seasons ahead unless we can somehow make our peace with them all somehow: Given our "anti-hero"-status inside AND outside the SEC, and our Head Coach's fiery demeanor AND "Gator-first"-attitude, I figure the ONLY way they "call off the dogs" on us is MAYBE once we win a couple of SEC championships in-a-row and being the SEC-"rep" (getting the SEC-officials more behind us, albeit probably "grudgingly"), then going out and winning the Nat'l Championship (I'd love to see us being a part of history, and it IS within our reach, I think) by getting into and taking the LAST "BCS 'PLUS ONE' Champioship", and the FIRST "4-Team 'PLAY -OFF'-Produced National Championship", perhaps they'll at LEAST not all work so OBVIOUSLY and PUBLICLY against us anymore...or am I just DREAMING here?
OK--now all of us pretty well HAVE to root for KIFFY-KIN'S team, I guess..Never thought it would come to THAT--but I am SUCH a LONG-TIME "Notre Dame Despiser" that this won't be that hard at ALL...Kiffy OWES us some "love" (or at least some help) a by now--anyway, it was The Liar, now a committed-"F*ckeye", who he REALLY rubbed the wrong way, and I could look at that now as a virtue, not a vice!
