Monday Musings: That's No Guarantee ... THAT's A Guarantee!
Fernando Juncadella/Inside the Gators
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Florida head coach Jim McElwain made headlines in supposedly guaranteeing a win over Michigan in the Sept. 2 opener. The Wolverines are a 3.5- to 4.5-point favorite, but McElwain expressed confidence at a student pep rally.
“I love the energy ... can’t wait to see you!” McElwain said after thanking students for buying all of the available season tickets. “And you know what? We’re heading to Dallas here in a couple weeks to go beat the heck out of Michigan and then come back to you guys.”
Yep. That's it. No Jim 'The Senator' Tressel guarantees, no bravado ... just standard pep rally fare, and really innocuous stuff.
In other words ... fake news.
McElwain and his Gators do have some motivation, having been pounded by the Wolverines in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, 41-7. Florida is also down seven players in the game, including standout receiver Antonio Callaway.
Someone, purportedly a Florida State fan, put together clips of the Florida fall practice passing game in his absence.
Someone made a Florida fall camp QB "highlight" reel pic.twitter.com/6TosZ5WJn9
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) August 19, 2017
Those clips are reminiscent of the last time a coach made a real guarantee against the Wolverines, the night before the 2006 game.
"We have not said one word about Michigan," Weis said at the Friday pep rally. "We have not talked about their players. We have not talked about their coaches. We'll talk ... tomorrow."
The talk was more like a 60-minute whimper. The Wolverines, of course, trounced the Fighting Irish 47-21, getting three first half touchdowns from Mario Manningham, two defensive touchdowns and throttling Weis and Co. from the outset.
As Tommy Boy Callahan once said, "Why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Because he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside."
And at the end of the day, all they really sold you was a guaranteed piece of [crap].
We'll find out soon enough what kind of product McElwain's selling in The Swamp, but at guarantees go, this one doesn't even register.
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