Dogs Dominate Gators—Tatses just like Chicken

Darrell Huckaby is a syndicated columnist and author of six books including two about Georgia football. Read Huck’s Wit and Wisdom every Wednesday and Sunday. Subscribe at https://dhuck.substack.com/.

Dogs Dominate Gators—Tatses just like Chicken

Here I am, Dawgbone fans. I realize I have been AWOL but I am happy that I’m able to be back for the rest of the season. And I have one thing to say. How ‘bout them Dawgs.

Yeah. Auburn. I know. Jeff Dantzler told me all about it as I listened from 1500 miles away. But that is in the past. It was bound to happen. When my buddy Bill King asked me about my biggest fear for his AJC pre-season article, I said it was “the law of averages,” and they caught up with us against Auburn. Once a decade, things will go the other guy’s way.

But we are here to talk about Florida, today. We have dominated them so long—six straight now and 8 of 9, that I had almost forgotten about the Spurrier and the Urban Meyer days. And then I watched Timmy Tebow on SEC Nation before Saturday’s game, and it all came back to me. I found myself agreeing, once again, with Erk Russell’s philosophy concerning Florida. The one that ends with “and the mule they rode in on.”

By gametime I was incensed and wanted to curb stomp the Gators make sure that they and their mullet-sporting-jeans-shorts-wearing fans were as miserable on their way back to Gainesville as I was on most of those long drives back from St. Simons and Jekyll Island and St. Augustine from 1990 to 2010. We were 3 and 18, y’all. We lost 18 out of 21 years. And people last night were complaining about only beating them by 19 points in Atlanta.

I get it. We are spoiled. We wanted to see Gunner flinging it downfield all night, racking up 300 yards through the air and throwing maybe 4 TD passes. Yeah. That would have been fun, and it might have been possible. But that wasn’t Kirby’s game plan. That’s not what he wanted to do.

Kirby wanted to beat Florida’s collective asses in the trenches. He wanted to send a message to Florida and the SEC and the world that they aren’t man enough to line up and beat Georgia. He wanted to hurt them and control them and that is exactly what happened.

Before the game the aforementioned Tebow blatantly predicted that Florida’s All-America candidate Jaden Baugh, who came into the game near the top of the SEC and NCAA stat boards in every rushing category—13 TDs and averaging 6 yards per carry—would dominate the Dawgs. Dominate. That was the word he used.

Jaden Baugh gained 38 yards on 17 carries. He averaged 2.2 yards per tote. (Gunner Stockton gained 45 on 12 carries.). That’s domination, OK. By the Georgia defense.

Florida would have been shut out for the first time in 480 games if not for a bogus pass interference call in the endzone. A pity call by the officials because Florida had no chance to score on their own. None.

The mighty Gators gained 54 yards rushing and 252 yards offense—almost half of that coming once the game had been decided in the fourth quarter. Before that—and this one is for you coach Barnett—Florida didn’t piss a drop against our defense.

And once we gained control, Kirby was content to run out the clock.

OK. Our offense. I’m like you. I wanted to hang fifty on ‘em. But Kirby Smart and Mike Bobo don’t give one hoot about statistics or point spreads or style points. They want to win football games, and since Kirby was hired ten years ago, he has done that at a better rate than anyone who has ever coached in the Southeastern Conference.

So, he dominated the line, ran the quarterback, controlled the clock and played defense. And embarrassed Florida, in everybody’s eyes except Kirk Herbstreit’s. I don’t know what game he was watching, but he acted for four quarters like he was Jon Summrall’s secret lover. He couldn’t praise the Gator’s enough and pointed out every mistake Georgia made, even to the point of criticizing the officials for “uncalled holding” against Georgia and actually saying “Thank goodness” when Florida made a first down late in the game.

Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye. I feel the same way about him that Erk Russell felt about Florida.

Back to the offense. I know they will have to open it up and produce more against Ole Miss next week. Like everyone else, I wonder if Gunner is still a little off after that first play against Auburn. Time will tell. But I know this—I’m glad Kirby is in charge of our game plan instead of all the keyboard warriors who know everything and are undefeated on the internet.

Woulda-coulda-shoulda, but we were really close to scoring 40 or more points Saturday.

I do have concerns. Special teams are shaky. We still haven’t downed a punt inside the ten. (We would have except for the roughing call that led to a touchdown.) We don’t kick the ball through the endzone on kickoffs. Peyton Woodring is no longer automatic, and four times this year we have muffed punts deep in our own territory. Gotta clean all that up.

And I want to give a shoutout to my boys from North Oconee. Kahlil Barnes and freshman Khamari Brooks are just flat showing out on defense. They are both factors. As is Landon Roldan at receiver. Go Titans.

So, now. Here we are in November, ranked second in the nation, favored by Vegas to win our third natty in six years and headed into Oxford, Mississippi to try and solve the Trinidad Chambliss riddle. I’m never confident. I have spent too many years listening to Larry Munson and Vince Dooley, both world class worriers.

Nonetheless, I wouldn’t trade our chances with anybody else’s chances, and I wouldn’t trade our roster or our coaching staff with anyone else’s. This is the Goden Age of Georgia football and the North Avenue Trade School may be the worst team in the country. Let’s all remember to enjoy it.

Look for me next week. I’ll be around. I’m the good-looking guy in the red shirt—or what’s left of him.

Darrell Huckaby