Welcome back. We have plenty of questions about this weekend’s game against No. 3 Alabama, so let’s get right to them.
@zachmoller: Who’s your favorite master-padawan combo in college football coaching?
We appreciate the chance to relive this week’s now-infamous exchange between Will Muschamp and a random television reporter that even made the rounds on ESPN, so thanks for that, Zach.
As for your question, we’ll go with Steve Spurrier and Bob Stoops. The defensive-minded Big Game Bob trained for three years under the Ol’ Ball Coach, an offensive genius. Together, the master and padawan truly brought balance to the Force.
@CRainey4Heisman: Why is Chris Rainey still not getting any respect from Heisman voters? #RaineyforHeisman
While Rainey has been all-world for Florida this season, you have to look at the bigger picture. There are plenty of other top-tier Heisman candidates out there right now. There’s Stanford’s Andrew Luck, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, Boise State’s Kellen Moore — and those are just some of the quarterbacks.
Rainey has been great, but he’s still not even the best back in the Southeastern Conference. That honor belongs to Marcus Lattimore, who has more rushing yards, more total yards and more touchdowns than Rainey right now.
@Jonsilman1: Should I or should I not get my hopes up. Give it to me straight.
You want it straight? We got you covered. No, you should not get your hopes up — at least not this weekend.
Sure, Florida has looked a lot more convincing en route to a 4-0 start this season than it did a year ago, but this is the same Alabama defense that held the Gators to six (six!) points last season.
John Brantley has looked more comfortable in Charlie Weis’ offense than he did in Steve Addazio’s, but he and his receivers are largely untested.
As a group, the Gators haven’t faced much adversity, so no one knows how they will respond with their backs against the wall or when they get punched in the mouth, so to speak. The Gators say they are closer this season than they were last, and that it should help them bounce back when they get knocked down, but until we see it, we won’t know for sure how they respond.
@PhilipGaryTalks: With two speedsters, two big backs, two FBs plus TEs to block... think 200 yards on the ground is possible?
That will certainly be the idea, Philip, but I wouldn’t get too optimistic if I were you. Alabama has allowed just one 100-yard rusher in its last 50 games.
The chance of Florida running up the yardage against the Tide defense, which features at least six or seven NFL prospects, is slim to none.
Sure, Rainey is balling out of control and Demps has the reputation of being the fastest player in the history of the game, but the ‘Bama D is something else. Florida needs to run the ball effectively to win the game, and it’s possible they do so, but 200-plus is asking a lot.
@AlligatorArmy: Who would win in a fight, an elephant or an alligator?
Like all great debates of our generation, we turned to YouTube for an answer on this epic animal kingdom showdown. The best we could find was a crocodile going toe to toe with an elephant, and to be honest, it was a split decision. The results were inconclusive, at best.
We’ll say this much: If an alligator does try an elephant, the reptile better come out on top, because an elephant never forgets.
If it helps, we did find a video of a tiger killing an alligator for next week.
@bourbonmeyer: Think Jordan Reed or Trey Burton throws a pass against ‘Bama?
Weis did say Tuesday that he would throw the kitchen sink at Alabama this weekend and empty out his playbook. The real question is what is in Weis’ kitchen sink?
We know Burton does have passing plays in this offense (he did so against Kentucky last weekend).
As for Reed, we wouldn’t expect to see him attempt a pass against Alabama. He is coming off a “lower-body” injury that has sidelined him the last couple of weeks, and we wouldn’t expect Weis to add that wrinkle to the offense.
Submit questions on Twitter: @alligatorsports.
