I don't say that to be inflammatory or to try to spark a Kirby v. Richt debate. I'm not interested in that.
I remember in 2005, and again in 2010, and probably other times (I just remember those specifically) sitting in that stadium in Jacksonville and saying "I am so sick of coming down here and doing things that we don't do all year long..." I don't know why that was. But it was absolutely the case.
It just kept happening. I think 2002 was what really set all that off. We were overmatched in 2001, and the final score was closer than the game was, but I thought that we handled ourselves well. Then 2002 happened. We were the better the team that night. But we got hosed on that long defensive TD and then couldn't stop what looked like the same play over and over. It spoiled our undefeated year. And for then on, I think Jacksonville was in Richt's head. We had some bad luck (like Shockley being hurt in 2005). But we also shot ourselves in the foot plenty of times. Dropped passes, missed FGs, bizarre decisions (remember that onside kick in 2008?)... It was stuff down there seemingly always that was atypical.
I thought it ended in 2011... we did some atypical things in that game too (going for those 4th downs), but it worked out. We didn't play all that well, and we won. I thought those demons were gone. One of my favorite wins of the Richt era was 2012 down there... but then we let them back in during the 2013 game and really had to hold on. Then 2014 happened and that's the game that really started the ball moving on Richt's ouster. The 2014 game, to me, really showed that the game was always in his head and always would be. Remember that early lead on the Chubb TD run? But then Florida faked that FG and it was like all the air went out of the balloon. We were back on our heels and got our brains beaten in.
Unlike Florida in 2001, we were better than Alabama in 2017. We got jobbed (to put it lightly) by the refs all night long, and we lost. But, no cause for alarm. Then 2018 happened. We got the lead and it didn't hold it. First time all year that we failed to hold onto a second half lead. Then the Justin Fields fake punt debacle...
Then 2020 with the turnovers (which, to that point, had not been an issue). Then the 2021 SECCG with the bizzaro defensive performance. Recall that we were up 10-0 at one point in that game too... They hit Williamson, I think, on the long TD on a 3rd and 10, and then air went right out of the balloon. They beat our brains in after that, outscoring us 34-14 after that TD.
I thought that Indianapolis ridded those demons. But then last Saturday happened. When was the last time that we had a false start on a FG? How many times this year have we had a kickoff go out of bounds? Why do we line up in the shotgun from the 1 foot line? Why don't we call a timeout after the 4th down "conversion" near the end of the 2nd quarter? That's just atypical stuff, stuff that doesn't show up any other time. But it does against Saban.
I would trade an Orange Bowl win for the assurance right now that Nick Saban doesn't retire this year. I'd rather have another crack at him next year than win the Orange Bowl (I'd rather have both, but in a world where only one can happen, that's what I'd pick). I hate, HATE, that this is hanging over our heads. It's the only negative thing that you can say about Kirby right now... but it's clearly in his head and it affects how we play against them... And unfortunately, just as 2011 didn't really change Jacksonville for Richt, Indianapolis didn't really change it for Kirby.
I remember in 2005, and again in 2010, and probably other times (I just remember those specifically) sitting in that stadium in Jacksonville and saying "I am so sick of coming down here and doing things that we don't do all year long..." I don't know why that was. But it was absolutely the case.
It just kept happening. I think 2002 was what really set all that off. We were overmatched in 2001, and the final score was closer than the game was, but I thought that we handled ourselves well. Then 2002 happened. We were the better the team that night. But we got hosed on that long defensive TD and then couldn't stop what looked like the same play over and over. It spoiled our undefeated year. And for then on, I think Jacksonville was in Richt's head. We had some bad luck (like Shockley being hurt in 2005). But we also shot ourselves in the foot plenty of times. Dropped passes, missed FGs, bizarre decisions (remember that onside kick in 2008?)... It was stuff down there seemingly always that was atypical.
I thought it ended in 2011... we did some atypical things in that game too (going for those 4th downs), but it worked out. We didn't play all that well, and we won. I thought those demons were gone. One of my favorite wins of the Richt era was 2012 down there... but then we let them back in during the 2013 game and really had to hold on. Then 2014 happened and that's the game that really started the ball moving on Richt's ouster. The 2014 game, to me, really showed that the game was always in his head and always would be. Remember that early lead on the Chubb TD run? But then Florida faked that FG and it was like all the air went out of the balloon. We were back on our heels and got our brains beaten in.
Unlike Florida in 2001, we were better than Alabama in 2017. We got jobbed (to put it lightly) by the refs all night long, and we lost. But, no cause for alarm. Then 2018 happened. We got the lead and it didn't hold it. First time all year that we failed to hold onto a second half lead. Then the Justin Fields fake punt debacle...
Then 2020 with the turnovers (which, to that point, had not been an issue). Then the 2021 SECCG with the bizzaro defensive performance. Recall that we were up 10-0 at one point in that game too... They hit Williamson, I think, on the long TD on a 3rd and 10, and then air went right out of the balloon. They beat our brains in after that, outscoring us 34-14 after that TD.
I thought that Indianapolis ridded those demons. But then last Saturday happened. When was the last time that we had a false start on a FG? How many times this year have we had a kickoff go out of bounds? Why do we line up in the shotgun from the 1 foot line? Why don't we call a timeout after the 4th down "conversion" near the end of the 2nd quarter? That's just atypical stuff, stuff that doesn't show up any other time. But it does against Saban.
I would trade an Orange Bowl win for the assurance right now that Nick Saban doesn't retire this year. I'd rather have another crack at him next year than win the Orange Bowl (I'd rather have both, but in a world where only one can happen, that's what I'd pick). I hate, HATE, that this is hanging over our heads. It's the only negative thing that you can say about Kirby right now... but it's clearly in his head and it affects how we play against them... And unfortunately, just as 2011 didn't really change Jacksonville for Richt, Indianapolis didn't really change it for Kirby.
