- September 4, 1999:
- First day of the season. Aren't we playing some directional
school from Michigan? Yet another sacfricial lamb. It's always great to
see the Gators run up the score, but sometimes you miss those close ones.
After this game, however, I think I'll appreciate the blowouts a little
more. Western Michigan had no business being within 4 points after the
first quarter. Ernest Graham looks good, but Doug seemed to be his old
self. Never could check off, and he locked onto receivers again. Where's
the defense? A nervous 55-27 win.
- September 11, 1999:
- Tennessee is one week away and where's our defense?? It has
to be a ploy. Hoke is hiding something. And it looks like Spurrier is
hiding Doug Johnson. He's taken away the decision making from him, and
having Doug make a predetermined throw. We can't win big games if we're
hiding Doug, but then we can't win if we let him make decisions on his
own. I would say the answer is Jesse Palmer, but he looks worse than I've
ever see him. A VERY nervous 58-27 win. Those UCF fans though really get
into it.
- September 18, 1999:
- I'd love to see the expression on Tee Martin's face when someone mentions
the name "Alex Brown." Where did he come from?? I screamed every single down the
Vols had the ball (except for a few punts, but they don't really count, right?).
Many people disagreed with Spurrier on the 4th down calls, but I agree.
You should be able to get one yard. But it seems like both teams wanted to give
the game away. At least now we have the inside track to Atlanta. And the best
part is we shut the trash-talking Vols up! A 23-21 win that shouldn't have been
this close.
- September 25, 1999:
- I was really nervous this week. We've been vulnerable against the
pass and now we're going up against Kentucky. With thier quick passing
and screens, they wear down the defensive line, and we don't have depth
there at all. So what happens? We hold Kentucky to it's lowest point
total under Hal Mumme! Wow, we look good, even after losing Graham.
A surprisingly easy (to me, at least) 38-10 win.
- October 2, 1999:
- Where was our defense? Alex Brown, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Don't touch that punt!! Didn't
Alabama lose to Louisiana Tech? Sooner or later, we're not going to be
able to overcome our own mistakes. Thought we would have had it on overtime,
though. But it's better to have a loss early on instead of late, and if we do
ok until FSU we can still make Atlanta. One thing I noticed: Alabama fans
are a lot nicer than FSU, Tennessee, and Georgia fans. Maybe because the
rivalry's not as big, but still. After the game, a 'Bama fan was yelling
"Roll Tide!" and I replied, "We'll see you in Atlanta." Hopefully. A 40-39
overtime loss.
- October 9, 1999:
- So here I am worried everytime Doug Johnson throws when it's nice outside, and now he's doing good in the rain. LSU's defense must be worse than I thought. And where did all this rain come from? Should I be worried that I saw a bunch of animals walking into a boat outside the stadium? By the way, the stadium was not nearly as intimidating as it was in 1997. Ok, so we blame some of the fumbles on the rain, but still we've lost way too many this year. We can't keep this up. A muddy, sloppy, but fun 31-10 win.
- October 16, 1999:
- It's game right before our stretch run to end the season and we get two field goals out of three first-and-goals. And on another first and goal we run the same play three times in a row: two misfires and a drop. If Auburns's offense didn't look like a high school team out there we would've been in trouble. How did they score 41 points on LSU? Two fumbles, but we didn't lose them; it was 2 interceptions that hurt us. Doug: if you're going to run, run forward or throw it out of bounds - you're not Brett Favre. Oh, and Auburn: pick a mascot. Is it the Tigers, War Eagle, or Plainsmen? And get a new pregame, that was the dumbest pregame I've ever seen. A should-have-been-much-worse 32-14 win.
- October 23, 1999:
- Need Gator football. Where's that tape of the 1997 UF-FSU game? Need to get ready for November 20th. This bye week stuff needs to stop.
- October 30, 1999:
- How many more monsoons are we going to play in? Actually, our better games have come in the rain. I was a little worried about this game, and got a little scared after Georgia scored again. I like the fact though that we pulled away from them at the end. It would be nice to see a complete game, however. The talent is there, but not all the time. This game actually gives me a little more confidence about playing FSU. "To hell, to hell, to hell with Georgia...." another wet 30-14 win.
- November 6, 1999:
- Who was that McGrath guy? And is Doug Johnson the best we have? It didn't matter whether Vanderbilt knew our audibles or not, when Doug audibles to only one receiver, the defense is going to know where the ball's headed. And staring down a receiver tells the defense where you're going also. No, I've made up my mind. Doug Johnson is not a quarterback. He doesn't have any reasonable decision making ability, poise or leadership. I'm so sick of people thinking that because someone has a cannon for an arm, they can be quarterback. Give me some guy who can only throw 40 yards, but will not make dumb mistakes. Before this game, I thought we had a shot against FSU, but not with Johnson. The scary thing is, Spurrier thinks he the best of the lot. An awuful 13-6 win.
- November 13, 1999:
- Long ago are the days when the Gators crushed weak teams. Good teams don't play down to the level of their opponents. Granted, Palmer was starting for the first time in a while, and the Gamecocks do have a decent defense, but still.. how can this offense not score more than 20 points in consecutive games... to South Carolina and Vandy? Maybe the days of Wuerffel to Anthony are too fresh. But, to be honest, after this past game, I don't think we have a shot against FSU. Maybe the smart thing to do is to practice for Alabama for the next two weeks. Maybe even play the backups so they don't get killed. But then that's conceding to our hated rivals, and we can't do that on our own turf. Break out the Dillard's bags. A disappointing 20-7 win.
URL: http://grove.ufl.edu/~bdclary/gators/diary.html
Brian Clary
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