As I left the UF-Georgia game last season, two thoughts ran through my head.
First, I couldn't have been any more wrong about saying the rivalry was dying because of the neutral site location. The "Gator Stomp" made sure of that, as the game will be as heated as ever Saturday.
Second, I thought, "Wow, there's going to be some great trash talk for this next year."
After all, last season Percy Harvin said he didn't understand why the Gators and Bulldogs annual matchup was still a rivalry game "if we kill them every year," and last year's No. 2 receiver Andre Caldwell dished his usual smack about how he would lay waste to the Bulldogs' secondary.
Since Georgia showed up the Gators in 2007, I figured this year would be filled with revenge statements and the like, but we've been robbed of that, as Urban Meyer issued a gag order on his players to keep them from discussing the celebration and anything else that might be remotely interesting.
On Tuesday, linebacker Brandon Spikes even no-commented on stopping Georgia's Knowshon Moreno and on the presidential election, a subject he had been pretty outspoken on after sporting Barack Obama T-shirts on several occasions.
Now, while Meyer's move certainly took some of the fun out of this rivalry week, it was probably a smart move. By keeping all the excitement and frustration bottled behind closed doors, it could ratchet up the team's intensity.
While it might have been a good coaching move for Meyer to keep his players quiet, it still sucks. There's no question this is one of the biggest games of the college football season, and it deserves some trash talk.
So here's what I wish some players would have said instead of pleading the fifth.
When Spikes was asked about Georgia's offense, he should've said, "Matt Stafford telegraphs his passes. I'm going to pick-six him, spike the ball and drop kick Uga VII into the stands."
When asked about his feelings about the 42-30 loss to Georgia, Tim Tebow should have said, "Whenever I start to get down about that game, I just look at my Heisman Trophy and think, 'How many Heismans does Knowshon have? That's right, zero.' You want a piece of He15man? Bring it, 'cuz this is my house. We're in Duval now."
And we can only imagine what Meyer would say if the gloves were off. He was quoted in his biography as saying Georgia's celebration will forever be in his mind and that, "We'll handle it, and it's going to be a big deal."
He clearly has a bone to pick with Georgia coach Mark Richt, so maybe he'd say, "Richt can't coach. I did a little study, and on average, his players only give three to five seconds of relentless effort on each play. What a joke! And they usually meet just six of 10 goals in the kicking game. I saw better than that at Utah."
Would any of that make a difference in the game? Other than Georgia bringing extra protection for Uga, probably not.
Both teams already have all the motivation they should need.
UF wants revenge, Georgia still has that recent series history to erase, and they both want the Southeastern Conference title.
So why should they trash talk?
Well, it's just fun.
Imagine what this game would be like if Georgia didn't rush the field last year.
