Official UF prediction thread

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Im still hurt. It's not like we made a comeback run on LSU and barely fell short. We got sttdb'd.

Make me feel better.

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When it comes to this week’s Top 10 matchup with Florida, losing to LSU might have been the best thing that could’ve happened to Georgia.

That’s according to Paul Schempff, a UGA research professor who studies elite coaches and sports performance. In addition to teaching in Georgia’s Department of Kinesiology, Schempff has worked as a consultant for several professional and Olympic sports teams as a performance coach.

And, yes, his answer was not what I expected.

I called Dr. Schempff to get his opinion on the role of confidence in sports. I was thinking that Florida might have a psychological advantage on the Bulldogs on Saturday. The No. 9 Gators (6-1, 4-1 SEC) are coming off a 27-19 win over No. 5 LSU two weeks ago, followed by a 37-27 win over Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, No. 7 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) just lost to that same LSU team 36-16 in Baton Rouge in its last game.

Surely, I thought, that would give Florida a decided advantage from a confidence standpoint in Saturday’s matchup. But then I began to wonder, exactly how important is confidence to sports performance?

That led me to Dr. Schempff, who has probably done as much research as anybody in the world on this subject. He is often referred to as “The Coaches’ Coach” and teaches a course on coaching at UGA in which Vince Dooley is a regular lecturer.

So who better to weigh in on the value of confidence in sports?

“It’s overrated, absolutely overrated,” Schempff said, to my surprise. “And here’s the reason: The number one reason successful players or expert people fail is overconfidence. That’s the number one reason they fail. I can give you research on it and I can also give you some personal experience with that.”

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