K.I.S.S. (Kyle Trask for Heisman)

[DRU2012]

I know this thread was meandered about in topics, but for me this thread is about two things: Kyle Trask, and overall QB development at Florida.

Barring anything crazy he will finish with the #1 passer rating in Gator history (2020) and the #9 rating (2019)--counting starters or QBs who took more than half the snaps. Jesse Palmer actually outgunned Doug Johnson, but Johnson took more snaps and is considered the starter. Reminder that Trask was rated as a 2-star by some services and a 3-star by others for a composite rating of 3 stars. No evaluation system by Rivals or 247 or Yahoo would ever look at Trask and rank him higher than that, even knowing what they know today. Trask has the size, but he lacks athleticism and strength to be ranked higher. Dan Mullen even evaluated him slightly lower than Feleipe Franks. This is not a knock against either one of them. Look at their overall rankings below and see that they are very close in performance. Although Franks' performance was cut short by injury in 2019 and is not statistically significant, his performance showed that he was on track to improve significantly over his previous year with Mullen. Both Franks and Jones spent a lot of time in QB camps in the 2018-2019 offseason, and it seemed to help Franks. Trask spent a lot of time in the 2019-2020 offseason in QB camps (alongside Dariq King), and both of them have improved significantly.

Also look at the QBs recruited by Will Muschamp and Jim McDeathThreats: Jeff Driskel (4/5 star), Will Grier (4/5 star), and Jacoby Brissett (4 star). Driskel and Grier performed better after leaving Florida, because they better coaching to help them achieve their performance ceiling and possibly raise that ceiling (Skip Holtz for Driskel, Dana Holgerson for Grier, Matt Canada for Brissett). What this shows us is that the evaluation system used by Rivals and 247 is different from the ones used by coaches, because the recruiting services have to rank raw skills agnostic of a particular system. Urban Meyer is just as good a talent evaluator as Nick Saban, but he is a horrible evaluator of personality and fit for his team. Dan Mullen is an excellent evaluator of personality and fit for his team. Mullen also has a penchant for evaluating upside, which he had to do as the head coach at Mississippi State. Let us focus on Dak Prescott. He was rated a 2 star by some services, and 3 stars by others, for a composite ranking of 3 stars. Dak was recruited by LSU and Louisiana Tech for the class of 2011. Why did LSU pass on Dak? In 2011 LSU took 4-star QB Zach Mettenberger, 4-star QB Jerrard Randall (recruited originally by Billy Gonzalez before he rejoined Dan Mullen's staff; Randall later transferred to Arizona under Rich Rodriguez), and 3-star QB Stephen Rivers (later transferred to Vanderbilt). Reminder that Urban Meyer basically recruited by matching his evaluations against the recruiting services, because he could. Where Meyer failed compared to Saban was in evaluating personality and fit. Saban's recruits know their place as soon as they set foot on campus. Meyer's recruits have historically run rampant on campus since 2006. Mullen's recruits for some reason seem to join a family. There is no talent evaluation service on the planet that measures personality and fit, and that his one of Mullen's strengths that sets him apart from Meyer and maybe Saban.

FLORIDA 2020 Kyle Trask GRSR 148/211 70.10% 2171 YDS 28 TD 3 INT 197.50 RAT
FLORIDA 1995 Danny Wuerffel JR 210/325 64.60% 3266 YDS 35 TD 10 INT 178.40 RAT
WEST VIRGINIA 2018 Will Grier RSR 266/397 67.00% 3864 YDS 37 TD 8 INT 175.50 RAT
FLORIDA 1998 Jesse Palmer SO 73/123 59.30% 1246 YDS 14 TD 5 INT 173.90 RAT
FLORIDA 2001 Brock Berlin SO 36/60 59.90% 483 YDS 9 TD 1 INT 173.80 RAT
FLORIDA 2019 Feleipe Franks RJR 54/71 76.10% 698 YDS 5 TD 3 INT 173.40 RAT
FLORIDA 2007 Tim Tebow SO 234/350 66.90% 3286 YDS 32 TD 6 INT 172.50 RAT
FLORIDA 2008 Tim Tebow JR 192/298 64.40% 2746 YDS 30 TD 4 INT 172.40 RAT
FLORIDA 2001 Rex Grossman SO 259/395 65.60% 3896 YDS 34 TD 12 INT 170.80 RAT
FLORIDA 1996 Danny Wuerffel SR 207/360 57.50% 3625 YDS 39 TD 13 INT 170.60 RAT
FLORIDA 2009 Tim Tebow SR 213/314 67.80% 2895 YDS 21 TD 5 INT 164.20 RAT
WEST VIRGINIA 2017 Will Grier RJR 250/388 64.40% 3490 YDS 34 TD 12 INT 162.70 RAT
FLORIDA 2000 Rex Grossman FR 131/212 61.80% 1866 YDS 21 TD 7 INT 161.80 RAT
ARKANSAS 2020 Feleipe Franks GRSR 138/202 68.30% 1678 YDS 16 TD 3 INT 161.30 RAT
FLORIDA 2019 Kyle Trask RJR 237/354 66.90% 2941 YDS 25 TD 7 INT 156.20 RAT
FLORIDA 1994 Danny Wuerffel SO 132/212 62.30% 1754 YDS 18 TD 9 INT 151.30 RAT
FLORIDA 2014 Treon Harris FR 55/111 49.50% 1019 YDS 9 TD 4 INT 146.20 RAT
FLORIDA 1993 Danny Wuerffel FR 159/273 58.20% 2230 YDS 22 TD 10 INT 146.10 RAT
FLORIDA 2015 Will Grier FR 105/160 65.60% 1202 YDS 10 TD 3 INT 145.60 RAT
FLORIDA 1998 Doug Johnson JR 154/274 56.20% 2346 YDS 19 TD 8 INT 145.20 RAT
FLORIDA 2004 Chris Leak SO 238/399 59.60% 3197 YDS 29 TD 12 INT 144.90 RAT
FLORIDA 2006 Chris Leak SR 232/365 63.60% 2942 YDS 23 TD 13 INT 144.90 RAT
FLORIDA 2018 Feleipe Franks RSO 175/299 58.50% 2284 YDS 23 TD 6 INT 144.10 RAT
FLORIDA 2011 John Brantley SR 144/240 60.00% 2044 YDS 11 TD 7 INT 140.80 RAT
MIAMI (FL) 2004 Brock Berlin SR 195/348 56.00% 2680 YDS 22 TD 6 INT 138.10 RAT
NC STATE 2013 Jacoby Brissett JR 221/370 59.70% 2606 YDS 23 TD 5 INT 136.70 RAT
FLORIDA 2005 Chris Leak JR 235/374 62.80% 2639 YDS 20 TD 6 INT 136.50 RAT
FLORIDA 2013 Jeff Driskel JR 42/61 68.90% 477 YDS 2 TD 3 INT 135.50 RAT
FLORIDA 1997 Doug Johnson SO 148/269 55.00% 2023 YDS 21 TD 12 INT 135.00 RAT
FLORIDA 2012 Jacoby Brissett SO 23/35 65.70% 249 YDS 1 TD 0 INT 134.90 RAT
FLORIDA 2003 Chris Leak FR 190/320 59.40% 2435 YDS 16 TD 11 INT 132.90 RAT
FLORIDA 1999 Doug Johnson SR 190/337 56.40% 2574 YDS 20 TD 13 INT 132.40 RAT
FLORIDA 2012 Jeff Driskel SO 156/245 63.70% 1646 YDS 12 TD 5 INT 132.20 RAT
NC STATE 2014 Jacoby Brissett SR 237/395 60.00% 2662 YDS 20 TD 6 INT 130.30 RAT
FLORIDA 2016 Austin Appleby TR-SR 127/209 60.80% 1447 YDS 10 TD 7 INT 128.00 RAT
FLORIDA 2000 Jesse Palmer SR 116/223 52.00% 1653 YDS 11 TD 4 INT 127.00 RAT
FLORIDA 2002 Rex Grossman JR 287/503 57.10% 3402 YDS 22 TD 17 INT 121.50 RAT
MIAMI (FL) 2003 Brock Berlin JR 211/352 59.90% 2419 YDS 12 TD 17 INT 119.30 RAT
FLORIDA 2016 Luke Del Rio TR-SO 114/201 56.70% 1358 YDS 8 TD 8 INT 118.60 RAT
FLORIDA 2015 Treon Harris SO 119/235 50.60% 1676 YDS 9 TD 6 INT 118.10 RAT
FLORIDA 2010 John Brantley JR 200/329 60.80% 2061 YDS 9 TD 10 INT 116.40 RAT
FLORIDA 2017 Luke Del Rio TR-JR 16/25 64.00% 138 YDS 1 TD 1 INT 115.60 RAT
FLORIDA 2017 Feleipe Franks RFR 125/229 54.60% 1438 YDS 9 TD 8 INT 113.30 RAT
FLORIDA 2014 Jeff Driskel JR 114/212 53.80% 1140 YDS 9 TD 10 INT 103.50 RAT

Whew!
A lot of deep analysis there, even for YOU, E-.
I think you are on to something, though, particularly in your concluding points regarding what may well set Mullens APART from the rest—even Saban, whom (as I have tried to stress in my OWN somewhat “scrambled” way) is not so much “BETTER” at what he is trying to achieve as completely DIFFERENT in attitude, approach, and ultimate “general aims”: In this way, my perhaps somewhat clumsy, to some perhaps dubious parallels to Jedi mythology I think DO present some tangible advantages in approaching and understanding the wholesale differences between them—in method, aims and ultimate results.
But I’ve beat the HELL out of THAT one, I grant you, and will henceforth cease and disgust!
No, it is sufficient to simply say that they are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT men and METHODS—and now, as Mullens’ Gators come into their own, begin to approach the level of talent, competence and success that Saban’s Alabama programs have enjoyed for a decade, only THIS season finally seeming on the verge of confronting each other on something approaching “equal terms” on the gridiron, we can begin to fairly judge and compare them there.
I THINK (and HOPE) that we will be able to extend that process for an extended period of time!

 

[Leakfan12]

The only real competition for Trask is Mac Jones (though Harris and Smith will probably take away votes from Jones). Lawrence missed some games and Fields is only going to play six or seven games (if that).

 

[DRU2012]

The only real competition for Trask is Mac Jones (though Harris and Smith will probably take away votes from Jones). Lawrence missed some games and Fields is only going to play six or seven games (if that).

Still not so sure what some of the OTHER folks on “the committee” are thinking, though...
I mean, I hate to say it, but in SOME of these cases the men doing the “considering” aren’t showing much in the way of insight, logic OR intelligence!
I mean, even Gator alumnus and FORMER PLAYER Jesse Palmer has more and more shown himself to be something of an IDIOT AFTER ALL!
I mean, how hard-headed do you have to be to KEEP clinging to some mythical “head-to-head evidence” that was borderline even at the TIME of your “FIRST BLUSH” evaluation, let alone all these weeks later and your CONTINUED stubborn CLINGING to that just plain WRONG CHOICE??!
Now, I know that to SOME extent SOME folks (some A&M fans!) are sticking to this position based on (1) the “head-to-HEAD Rationale”, and
(2) the additional “out” that is offered by their hope that “it’ll probably all be settled on-the-FIELD in the SEC Championship Game in a few weeks ANYWAY”! This way they never will have to actually FACE THIS REALITY ANYWAY, they figure: The Gators will (quietly) slip from the rankings when they lose to the Tide in a coupla weeks ANYWAY.
By THIS set of circumstances, with a few OTHER wrinkles the Aggies get a chance to move into the FFF as a second SEC participant ANYWAY as a result!
Not very likely (ESPECIALLY if the Gators continue to come on as they have of late, as I say)—but it’s “the forlorn hope” they are desperately holding onto now, nonetheless.

 

[Escambia94]

The Heisman odds have not been updated since this weekend, but here is where the rankings are as of last week:

1. Kyle Trask FLA +125. More than likely this will come down to a head-to-head showdown against Mac Jones.
   
2. Justin Fields OHIOST +175. His 3-INT performance last week and the COVID bye week will probably cause his stock to drop. He also lacks any ranked opponents on his schedule, and he might not have a conference championship game for body of evidence.
   
3. Mac Jones BAMA +250. More than likely his odds will go up with his performance against Auburn.
   
4. Trevor Lawrence CLEM +900. More than likely he is out of this race unless he lights up the scoreboards against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.

My guess is that Jones and Trask will be #1 and #2 on different watch lists, but the odds will be rather close. Trask is in the top 10 in multiple categories for the season, which supports his case for the Heisman over Mac Jones.

• # 3 yards per game
  1. Dillon Gabriel UCF 372.6 YD
  2. Myles Brennan LSU 370.7 YD
  3. Kyle Trask FLA 351.3 YD
  4. Matt Corral MISS 343.0
  5. Mac Jones BAMA 341.0
• #5 passer rating
  1. Kaleb Eleby WMICH 4 G 212.6
  2. Mac Jones BAMA 8 G 208.0
  3. Zach Wilson BYU 9 G 203.5
  4. Justin Fields OHIOST 4 G 202.1
  5. Kyle Trask FLA 8 G 196.8
• #1 TD
  1. Kyle Trask FLA 34 TD
  2. Dillon Gabriel UCF 30 TD
  3. Zach Wilson BYU 25 TD
  4. Matt Corral MISS 24 TD
  5. Sam Howell UNC 24 TD
  6. Brady White MEM 24 TD

 

[DRU2012]

The Heisman odds have not been updated since this weekend, but here is where the rankings are as of last week:

1. Kyle Trask FLA +125. More than likely this will come down to a head-to-head showdown against Mac Jones.
   
2. Justin Fields OHIOST +175. His 3-INT performance last week and the COVID bye week will probably cause his stock to drop. He also lacks any ranked opponents on his schedule, and he might not have a conference championship game for body of evidence.
   
3. Mac Jones BAMA +250. More than likely his odds will go up with his performance against Auburn.
   
4. Trevor Lawrence CLEM +900. More than likely he is out of this race unless he lights up the scoreboards against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.

My guess is that Jones and Trask will be #1 and #2 on different watch lists, but the odds will be rather close. Trask is in the top 10 in multiple categories for the season, which supports his case for the Heisman over Mac Jones.

• # 3 yards per game
  1. Dillon Gabriel UCF 372.6 YD
  2. Myles Brennan LSU 370.7 YD
  3. Kyle Trask FLA 351.3 YD
  4. Matt Corral MISS 343.0
  5. Mac Jones BAMA 341.0
• #5 passer rating
  1. Kaleb Eleby WMICH 4 G 212.6
  2. Mac Jones BAMA 8 G 208.0
  3. Zach Wilson BYU 9 G 203.5
  4. Justin Fields OHIOST 4 G 202.1
  5. Kyle Trask FLA 8 G 196.8
• #1 TD
  1. Kyle Trask FLA 34 TD
  2. Dillon Gabriel UCF 30 TD
  3. Zach Wilson BYU 25 TD
  4. Matt Corral MISS 24 TD
  5. Sam Howell UNC 24 TD
  6. Brady White MEM 24 TD

Yes: Fair or not, the HEISMAN and the SEC Championship have by now likely been pared down to pretty well the scoreboard outcome of the GAME.
I truly believe that Trask’s “Body of Evidence” for the whole SEASON should have already pretty well garnered him the inside track: Keep playing at this level and in most years he would win it even if Bama were to crush our inconsistent defense...But as things stand here in the real world, I think (barring some very odd things occurring between here and the final gun in the SEC Championship Game) the odds say that “the QB of the winning TEAM” IN that game will be the Heisman winner!
Now, I still haven’t seen enough to feel particularly CONFIDENT in that game’s outcome, BUT:
After seeing Mullens’ charges put it all together, this Gator TEAM’S (all 3 squads: Offense, Defense and Special Teams) play from Coach’s late-2nd-qrtr tirade ON (not coincidentally) through most of the 2nd half, well, if THAT really IS what we are headed towards, should that indeed be the TEAM we ARE and can count on BEING by the time we meet the Tide in Atlanta, then WE’VE GOT A GAME ON, boys! And we’ll just have to see who comes out on top...

 

[Escambia94]

The Heisman predictions currently sit as follows:

1. Kyle Trask 56 (14 6 2)
2. Mac Jones 50 (8 12 2)
3. Trevor Lawrence 14 (0 4 6)
4. Zach Wilson 3 (0 0 3)
5. Jaret Patterson 3 (0 0 3)

 

[DRU2012]

The Heisman predictions currently sit as follows:

1. Kyle Trask 56 (14 6 2)
2. Mac Jones 50 (8 12 2)
3. Trevor Lawrence 14 (0 4 6)
4. Zach Wilson 3 (0 0 3)
5. Jaret Patterson 3 (0 0 3)

While the FACT probably still remains that the QB for the team that wins the SEC Championship will likely be the Heisman winner (although I could envision a scenario where Kyle Trask had a wildly great game where he threw for over 400 yards and did EVERYTHING BUT WIN the game in a shoot out with Bama and their RUNNING game, and was given the Heisman almost like a “consolation trophy”), at the moment it is still a “multi-headed monster”—with the media’s “talking heads” just having a FIELD DAY following it week-to-week, game-to-game, playing up the players’ performances and picking apart their relative challenges and competition.
Failing the above “scenario” though, our original analysis-cum-prediction is likely to hold: “Win the SEC Game, win the Heisman”, right?

 

[Leakfan12]

While the FACT probably still remains that the QB for the team that wins the SEC Championship will likely be the Heisman winner (although I could envision a scenario where Kyle Trask had a wildly great game where he threw for over 400 yards and did EVERYTHING BUT WIN the game in a shoot out with Bama and their RUNNING game, and was given the Heisman almost like a “consolation trophy”), at the moment it is still a “multi-headed monster”—with the media’s “talking heads” just having a FIELD DAY following it week-to-week, game-to-game, playing up the players’ performances and picking apart their relative challenges and competition.
Failing the above “scenario” though, our original analysis-cum-prediction is likely to hold: “Win the SEC Game, win the Heisman”, right?

Trask's advantage over Jones is Jones will probably split votes with Smith and Harris. Trask not so much.

 

[DRU2012]

Trask's advantage over Jones is Jones will probably split votes with Smith and Harris. Trask not so much.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s Tennessee game—mainly BECAUSE I can see Trask GOING OFF, and essentially ALL BUT WINNING the Heisman with his performance:
I’m poor at prophesy, but all the “forces and factors” set up for his stepping up with a break out performance.

 

[Leakfan12]

Adding to his already amazing resume with over 400 yards and four touchdowns.

 

[DRU2012]

Adding to his already amazing resume with over 400 yards and four touchdowns.

AND you got the DEFINITE feeling he could have added a WHOLE LOT MORE, had he wanted or NEEDED to...
AND, he and his “former 2nd team twin”, the “Kyle-to-Kyle tandem” are eminently capable of scoring at anytime, from any point on the field. There are times when the THREE of them, Mullens/Trask/Pitts are “on the same page”, planning/thinking/PLAYING together and in sync—and they can do whatever needs doing, getting it FROM wherever they are to wherever they want or NEED to be, on the field or in the endzone. However far or difficult the play required in one simple, sharp JUMP, they dial it up and GET IT DONE.
Neither more nor less.
At times it looks “SCRIPTED”.

 

[Leakfan12]

I wonder if Pitts would have gotten Heisman votes if not for the concussion he suffered against Georgia and missing two games.

 

[Escambia94]

I wonder if Pitts would have gotten Heisman votes if not for the concussion he suffered against Georgia and missing two games.

I doubt it. If the Gators had a full season and Kyle Pitts did not have a concussion I would put him in the Heisman race. Everyone acknowledges that Pitts is a game-changer, but Trask showed he could win games convincingly without him. If there were a full season to work with, Pitts could have been the first non-QB Heisman winner in a very long time. There are not enough games in a COVID-shortened season for Pitts to establish any records for TDs or catches by a TE.

 

[Escambia94]

Just in case you are among those who believe Kyle Trask must beat Mac Jones in a head-to-head match-up, it turns out this is not true. What Trask needs to do is perform well in that game, even if he loses.

• 1985 - Bo Jackson's #7 Auburn lost to unranked Alabama 23-25 in the last week before Heisman voting, and he won. He rushed for 142 yards and 2 TDs.
• 1987 - Tim Brown's #7 Notre Dame lost to unranked Penn State and #2 Miami (in a 0-24 shutout) and still won the Heisman.
• 1990 - Ty Detmer's #4 BYU loses to unranked Hawaii 23-31 and he won the Heisman. He was 22/45 (not super great) for 319 yards (good), 3 TDs (awesome), and ... 4 whole interceptions.
• 1995 - Eddie George's #2 Ohio State loses to #18 Michigan 23-31 and he won the Heisman. He had 105 yards and a TD.
• 2001 - Eric Crouch's #2 Nebraska lost to #14 Colorado 36-62 and he won the Heisman. He was 13/26 (not great) for 198 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 interceptions (ouch).
  
• 2003 - Jason White's #1 Oklahoma loses to #12 Kansas State 7-35 in the Big XII Championship Game. He was 27/50 (not good) for 298 yards (okay), 0 TDs (ouch), and 2 interceptions (ouch).
• 2016 - Lamar Jackson's #3 Louisville loses to unranked Houston and unranked Kentucky, and he won the Heisman. In those two games he was 36/68 (meh) for 492 yards (okay), 3 TDs (meh..in 2 games), and 3 interceptions.

Let us look at Mac Jones versus Kyle Trask and look at some scenarios.

• Passer rating - Trask 193.1 - Jones 210.8
• Total QBR - Trask 92.7 - Jones 96.3
• Total offense - Trask 3321 - Jones 3110
  
• Passing TDs - Trask 38 - Jones 27
  
• Interceptions - Trask 3 - Jones 3
  
• Passing yards - Trask 3243 - Jones 3113
  
• Passing YPA - Trask 10.1 - Jones 12.2
  
• Passing YPG - Trask 360.3 - Jones 345.9

Some stats that do not fit neatly onto a chart: Trask distributes the ball to more players than Jones by far, he comprises more of the total offense than Jones by far, and he has been able to win with multiple players around him. Jones may win the Davey O'Brien or Maxwell, but the Heisman is still within Trask's grasp with two solid performances. He would also be in the running for a Maxwell Award depending on how the season ends.

TLDR: Trask only has to beat Trask in order to win the Heisman.

 

[DRU2012]

I wonder if Pitts would have gotten Heisman votes if not for the concussion he suffered against Georgia and missing two games.

Hmmmm. Interesting thought. Would only be human if these media people were to let that creep into it (however inadvertently)...”Out of sight, out of mind” and all that. But I think they’d DENY it—and believe that they WERE “being fair”.
Not sure how much difference it would have made though: MIGHT have gotten him an INVITATION to New York at least though...But let’s face it, for the most part the Heisman has become MAINLY a “Star Winning Quarterback”-award...Only a “PERFECT STORM OF COALESCING FACTORS” will in future conspire to put a receiver or a defender at or even NEAR the top of contention for that honor.

 

[Leakfan12]

Trask is still going to be a finalist for the Heisman (though his chance of winning took a hit with the loss). Tebow won with a 9-4 team. Also would be third all-time for Heisman winner if Trask won with four. USCalifornia has 6 and Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma has 7.

 

[DRU2012]

Trask is still going to be a finalist for the Heisman (though his chance of winning took a hit with the loss). Tebow won with a 9-4 team. Also would be third all-time for Heisman winner if Trask won with four. USCalifornia has 6 and Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma has 7.

Oh yes—he should (and WILL) be in NYC with his mom, I’m pretty sure of THAT anyway...and you’re right in other aspects of your analysis too.
Kyle is still in this from a statistical point-of-view as well—and stats do matter historically in this award...But: So do emotional factors. I think THOSE have somewhat failed him down the stretch here, I fear. Anyway—I doubt it greatly affects Kyle OR his own attitude or personal outlook. The kid really WOULD prefer TEAM-success over his own—he really DOES WORK AT LEADING HIS TEAM, mainly—and it is here, ironically enough, where he will be (harshly and I think unfairly) judged here. Anyway, I don’t think even an unlikely dazzling climactic performance against the Tide will change anything now.

 

[Leakfan12]

I disagree, if he beats Bama he'll win. Beating the number one in the country would help.

 

[DRU2012]

I disagree, if he beats Bama he'll win. Beating the number one in the country would help.

OK. You could be right.
I guess I’ve admittedly LONG given up on THAT particular occurrence.
I don’t know if I’ll even be watching that one by the half, sad to say. Though “the pressure’s off now, so who knows?
This team’s sensitîvity to emotional forces COULD work strangely in its favor in this next game I suppose, after all:
With attention and expectations likewise having peaked and passed on, so little now “on the line” and/or sitting on their shoulders, out from under “the glare of the spotlight” perhaps they can finally put a “COMPLETE GAME” together after ALL : There is so much apparent discrepancy between the overall competence and tightly-drilled cold talent and depth levels between theirs and OUR programs right now that I’m not so sure we could beat them on our BEST day, even if they had a day like WE just had—but then again, if they DID, and we really DID “come to play”, well, that WOULD be “Something to SEE”!
Evidently YOU think it’s possible, LF, or you would not have made the above remark. I’d love for you to be right—even more would sure like to see it!
So I suppose I’ll BE here/“THERE“ for the start and early going of that game at the very least.
However: Emotional “self-protection” demands I keep my hopes in-check—that I am ready to accept an eventual “cave in” and likely beat-down reflected in later game play and final score. I am just not able to allow my hopes to run wild:
We are NOT “THAT Gator team” yet!

 

[Escambia94]

Trask can still win the Heisman with a loss to Alabama as long as his SEC CG statistics support the season-long narrative of overcoming odds, distributing the ball, making good reads, and taking care of the ball. If the Gators lose because of bad defense he can still win the Heisman. If the Gators lose because of bad offense, then the trophy will go to Mac Jones.