The Alligator Army Weekly Open Thread, Vol. CXLI

The Florida Gators will end this week with a 4-4 record — or a win over the No. 1 and consensus best team in college football.

There is, barring the surprising reintroduction of ties into the sport or something unfathomable that cancels Saturday’s game, no third outcome other than those two. One of those two things is going to happen.

Kind of makes the stakes striking, doesn’t it?

While I’m more optimistic than most about Florida’s chances of coming out fired up and ready to shock the world this weekend, I also realize that the Gators are not likely to win this game, and that owning a .500 record while one of their ancient rivals continues steaming toward a long-awaited national championship would surely discomfit Gator Nation.

To which I say: Fine, I guess? The losses hurt if you let them, sure, and Florida ending up in that state in its home state before 40,000 barking adults would be frustrating.

But there is another outcome that is possible. And until the one we fear will come to pass actually does, I think it will be more fun to have hope that the one we want could happen against even daunting odds.

So, yeah, I’ll have some of the cold water of reality on tap here this week. But you’re going to get some hope from this here blog, too.