But now, we've got a big time road game, against a fan base that has got to hate us, though they'll still sing their 'we don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan' song .  After all, it's all they'd cheer at their pre-BCS pep rally last year.  Which is sort of counterintuitive, if you give a damn, quit singing about them....

And something tells me by now they give a damn about the state of Florida. (Breaking news: Troy Smith just got sacked AGAIN)

These young Gators are going to be going into a very hostile environment. Sure, there's no Oden, Conley, Lewis, etc.- but they're nowhere near as young as we are- it's not a stretch to think no one in the country is, though I haven't confirmed that.

Donovan says the Gators are &naively confident&.  The one thing I take from that is, at least, maybe they aren't nervous.  But as the FSU game showed, they sort of panicked once FSU came out of the gate strong.  If Ohio State does the same thing (and you have to fully expect them to), it'll be interesting to see how they respond this time.  It will be loud, they will be on national TV, and it should be overwhelming.  Does the comeback against Georgia Southern last weekend give them some inner strength, some mental fortitude maybe they lacked before?  Did the FSU game accurately show them what big time college basketball was going to be like?  North Carolina Central sure didn't.  UNF didn't.  I want to say we're ready for this test, but it's a big one, and no one can say we are.  Not definitively.

The more important issue is how we rebound from this game, to play Temple at a neutral site, and begin our SEC slate with a big road game at Bama.  Playing there,  at Arkansas, Ole Miss, and everyone in the East will ultimately decide our NCAA fate much more than this Ohio State game, so this game's importance may lie more in how Donovan uses it to get his team playing his way.  That is probably the most anyone can ask for in expectations for this game.  And if we play well in this sort of environment, it will be our first real indication that this year's team can do great things.  But then we have to worry about how the team handles hype (they got thumped pretty good after being ranked 25th a month ago).

Can't wait for Saturday, a lot of questions should be answered.