And now, for a quick scouting report on New Mexico State:
Baa-aa.
New Mexico State is Eastern Michigan, which was Toledo, which was Charleston Southern which was UAB which was Louisiana Lafayette which was any number of sacrificial lambs that the Gators – and to be fair, a great many of the major football teams of America – line up as opening day patsies so the program can make a muscle.
Hey, it is college tradition. If heaven did not want them to lose 56-10, he wouldn’t have made them Hawaii.
And so the beatings continue, glorified preseason games, games where the Florida Gators are always home and are always dominant, games that are pretty much a preview of the good times ahead.
It has been 25 openers in a row since the Gators lost to Ole Miss, 24-19, to open the 1989 football season under Galen Hall. Of those, the Gators have scored at least 30 points in 22 of their games. They’ve scored at least 40 in 18 games. Heck, they’ve scored 60 four times. Once, they even scored 70…against New Mexico State.
Poor New Mexico State. It was 2-10 at at the bottom of the Sun Belt standings last year. Old Pistol Pete doesn’t ring the Victory Bell very often.
Get used to the idea, then. On opening day, Jim McElwain will look like a conquering hero. Don’t all coaches? On opening day, Ron Zook was a general and Will Muschamp was a guru. Opening day is for the bands and the students and the highlights. Heck, Terry Dean once threw seven touchdown passes in an opening day game.
So the truth is that you won’t be able to tell a great deal even after Florida opens its regular season. Quarterbacks Will Grier and Treon Harris will both probably look good. Running back Kelvin Taylor will run wild. The defense will be dominant.
It always is.
In the future, the emphasis on TV will change things. The Gators open the 2017 season against Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan team. FSU will play Alabama in 2017, one year after opening against Ole Miss. Miami opens with LSU in 2018.
For now, you have rollovers.
Why do teams play games like this? That’s easy. Because they can. The stadiums are still packed, because fans want to see touchdowns more than they want to see close games. It doesn’t hurt a team in the polls, because after all, everyone does it.
FSU is playing Texas State. Miami is playing Bethune-Cookman. Georgia is playing Louisiana-Monroe. Tennessee is playing Bowling Green, Ole Miss is playing Tennessee-Martin. LSU is playing McNeese State. Oh, there are a few real games – Alabama vs. Wisconsin, Notre Dame vs. Texas, Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech – but not as many as you might think.
There is nothing wrong with any of it, of course. If some college teams want to ease into the football season, that’s their choice. The real games will come soon enough.
For now, a dress rehearsal will do just fine.
