Sun, fumbles and expectations

Oct 22, 2023, 8:32 AM

I know some of you didn't think so but the sun came up this morning. If you have been a Tiger since about 1960 when I was 8 and went to my first game, you have seen unbelievably great teams, good teams, middle of the pack teams and lousy teams. The one constant through all those years is our love for the Tiger team regardless of whether they win a Championship or fall short of going to bowl. The first bowl I remember was the first one we went to and that was against Pitt in 1977 in the Gator Bowl. So being 26 and seeing my first Tiger Bowl was the end of a long, long dry spell of just average teams.

Fumbles have just killed this team and if you look at things honestly, we are not good enough to overcome mistakes. Not many teams can win when the ball bounces the wrong way and losing a fumble in the endzone is just a mistake you cannot make. On the very next play, Miami got the huge run and the ball bounced their way when they recovered their own fumble for a touchdown. Things just happen.

Another honest look will take you back to last year when Notre Dame just dominated us. Last night reminded if that game because our defense could not stop the run. A further look moves on to the South Carolina and Tennessee games and shows us we started this year losing 2 of the last 3 with many of the same players. Fumbles killed our chances at Duke and then we played really well but lost to Florida State, who is really good.

So where are we are now after losing to Miami? We need desperate help on the offensive line, punter, kicker, running back and wide receiver. The expectation that we would just roll into this year and be the great team we have had, was just a fantasy. Will we win 6, 7 or 8 games and continue our winning record and bowl streak? At this point, we need to be realistic and realize that every team we play wants to win as much as we do and our past will not win games for us. We can win, but last night should show everyone it is not easy to win a game and in 2023, like all years, reputation means nothing unless you have the players to live up to that reputation. Saturday is another chance to win again and the world will look even brighter.

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Sun, fumbles and expectations

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