I read this analysis of LSU’s 2013 schedule out of interest to see what the beat writer had to say about the Georgia game, but here’s the part that really caught my eye:
5. FLORIDA, Oct. 12 – I’m not saying TCU is better than Florida, but the Tigers get the Gators at home and not in the season opener. The Gators were one of the few teams in the Miles era to out-physical LSU in last year’s victory against the Tigers. But this year they limped out of spring practice and didn’t have enough bodies to close out with a game, opting for a practice instead. The roster is still in transition from the Urban Meyer days. QB Jeff Driskel is mismatched for the offense and the Gators don’t appear to have the passing game up to speed. Leading rusher Mike Gillislee is gone and the defense replaces seven starters, but Florida is still Florida and will show up with excellent athletes, and Coach Will Muschamp’s mentality.
Color me floored. Not because it’s inaccurate. Quite the contrary; he hits on every flaw and still gives credit where Florida deserves it. It’s just that I haven’t seen anyone else in the media look at the Gators as dispassionately.
Florida will be a tough out this year. But to me the Gators look like a team in transition that used every drop of what they had last year to get to 11 wins (again, Muschamp turned in a good coaching job). A lot of holes remain and to this point they don’t all seem to have been filled. So it’s weird for even a short description like that to read so differently from what the media consensus has been.