Ah, I see you forgot the Gators are back on your schedule this year. Okay, playing at Auburn will most likely be the toughest game for us this year and possibly the only time we’ll be underdogs. But I’m pretty sure we’ll give you War Eagles a better game than either WSU or UGA. Going to Auburn was my favorite road trip in college, Jordan-Hare is a great place to take in a game. But I sure wish you guys hadn’t gotten so much better since the last time we played.
The Gators will have a fantastic team this year, but our schedule is brutal. The aforementioned Auburn game comes right after LSU and right before Georgia. We play 9 teams that were bowl-eligible last year, plus Tennessee. I’m seeing a 10-2 regular season if the o-line can stay healthy and improve from last year. We might have the best defensive line in the nation, and Brandon Siler, Reggie Nelson, and Chris Leak have All-American potential. Also, we have what should be our finest crop of receivers since 2001. Winning the SEC will be difficult with our schedule (way harder than UGA or UT have) but if we can at least make it to Atlanta I’ll be happy.
No, I didn’t forget. I usually just let the coaches worry about that part of the schedule that includes teams like Florida, Arkansas State and Tulane.
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D & R
Actually, Auburn’s road game at South Carolina is another big concern. Steve Superior isn’t likely to forget the 48-7 drubbing he suffered last year in Auburn.
Howie: Do you think Urban Myers’ offense is going to work better in his second SEC year, or has he ditched that style for something more conventional?
Oh yeah, has Arkansas State beaten you guys 8 of the last 9 times too?
Midway through last season, after embarrassing losses to Bama and LSU, there was a noticeable change in the offense. Less use of the five-wide set, more tight ends and running backs to provide some blocking. And less reliance on Chris Leak running the ball. The changes worked out pretty well, we went from not being able to sustain a drive against a good team to lighting it up against Florida State and Iowa in our last two games. So Meyer definitely isn’t going to ditch his style, but I think he’ll be much more aware of what will work with the personnel we have than he was in the first half of 2005. We mostly have the same players on offense we had last year (minus the o-line, but these new guys couldn’t be much worse than the crew last year) so I think you’re much more likely to see the offense that torched FSU than the one that looked completely inept against Alabama. In 2007, with Tim Tebow at QB, you’ll see a Gator offense that looks more like Utah and Bowling Green did under Meyer.
