As part of The Alligator Awards recognizing the best in UF athletics during the 2011-12 season, columnists Joe Morgan and Corey McCall will debate two of the five nominees in each week’s category. Vote for the winner online at alligatorSports.org.
Joe: Ben Sheets reminded me why I love sports Sunday afternoon. Sure, every Braves fan enjoyed completing a three-game sweep against the Mets over the weekend, but Sheets’s six shutout innings meant more than laying the groundwork for Atlanta’s seventh straight win (Go Bravos!). Sheets made a triumphant return to the mound after undergoing surgeries for a torn flexor tendon (twice), a UCL tear (ahem, Tommy John) and damage to a pronator tendon since 2009. Whether the obstacle is a debilitating injury or a seemingly insurmountable deficit on the scoreboard, sports fans love comebacks — and rallies! Cue rimshot. That being said, who can forget Florida’s heartwarming, never-say-die comeback in a 54-32 win against Furman. Wait, you didn’t see it? Awkward.
Corey: Stick to the John Carter references, more people can relate — heartwarming and never-say-die seem to fit the John who lived up to the hype better anyways. Let’s rewind a week from that embarrassment you say is a comeback to the real contender for this week’s debate: the volleyball team rallying from two sets down to defeat SEC West leader Arkansas. After dropping the first two (18-25, 30-32), Arkansas was well on its way to securing a solid lead in the West, and Florida was about to drop three games behind Tennessee with only three conference games left. Instead, sophomore Chloe Mann solidified herself as a threat at the middle-blocker position, and behind a record performance, led the Gators to a five-set victory on the road.
Joe: Granted, the UF volleyball team dug in their heels for an impressive comeback, but the Gators football team’s rally against the Paladins was not simply a walk through the empty bleachers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It would have been easy to roll over and die of embarrassment. Hell, Nick Saban lost to unranked Louisiana-Monroe 21-14 at home in his first year rebuilding at Alabama in 2007, and he turned out just fine. Clinging to a 37-32 lead with bowl eligibility on the line, the Florida defense stepped up with two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. After banging the turnover-margin drum to no avail all season long, Muschamp could look at the box score and smile. The Gator Nation wiped its collective brow after the near-upset. The ghost of Ingle Martin’s wrongful ouster from the starting quarterback spot by former coach Ron Zook had been defeated.
Corey: Sure Florida came from behind in dramatic fashion, but the fact of the matter remains, that game should have never been in question. As a 31.5-point favorite, the Gators embarrassed themselves by trailing in the second quarter. By halftime though, they had made their push and were sitting with a 27-22 lead. The true culprit of fans wiping their brows was the humidity, and if you’ve seen “Ghost Hunters,” then you should know ghosts are made up. Now let’s rewind again, this time to 2008 — that marks the last time the volleyball team has overcome a 2-0 deficit and won. So, this feat is not done very often, and facing an opponent such as Arkansas makes it that much more impressive. With how much Will Muschamp smiles normally, I doubt he found anything gratifying in the Furman game. Mary Wise, however, had a lot to smile about after their performance. Mann had a career-high 19 kills and a match-high five blocks putting her at 21.5 points for the match, the most for a Gator middle-blocker since moving to 25-point sets in 1999. Senior Kristy Jaeckel added 19 kills and 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season, and senior Kelly Murphy also had a double-double with 15 kills, 32 assists, seven digs and three blocks. Hell, even I’m smiling.
Joe: Ghosts are real! I know for a fact that Ghostbusters was a real-life documentary and not simply a popcorn flick. Bill Murray would back me up on this. The famed comedian would also support my claim that Florida’s comeback against Furman avoided catastrophe in Gainesville. With all due respect to the Elite-Eight volleyball squad, the Gator Nation would not have fallen into an anarchic panic had the Gators failed to rally against the Razorbacks. However, a defeat at the hands of the Paladins — and the ghost of Ingle Martin — would have put the writing on the wall for Muschamp. A 5-7 inaugural campaign would have been much worse than the 7-6 record that disappointed many UF fans. When Saban lost to Lousiana-Monroe in 2007, he at least had a track record to stand on. Without the comeback against Furman, the Muschamp Era at Florida would be in a significantly different place. Let’s say, Barsoom.
Corey: Sure Florida fans were fearing an upset after Furman put up 15 straight, but that was short lived. By halftime the Gators were up and never looked back, one could only look at the Paladin’s success in the first quarter as a fluke. Unlike the football team — still having three quarters of play left — the volleyball squad was in a do-or-die situation. Either win three straight sets or go home knowing you don’t have a chance of winning the SEC East. Granted they did not get it anyway, but a lot of hope was riding on beating Arkansas. In the end, that game put Florida in a tie for second with Kentucky in the East, a better position heading into the NCAA Tournament. Maybe that game influenced the seeding enough to put Florida in the situation to make it to the Elite Eight. Then again maybe the seeding would have been the same regardless, and the outcome as well.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org and Corey McCall at cmccall@alligator.org.
Former Florida quarterback John Brantley lines up under center in a 54-32 win against Furman on Nov. 19, 2011.
