Another Game, More Chunk Plays Allowed

Thoughts of the Day

By FRANZ BEARD

A few thoughts to jump start your Halloween morning:

“We made too many wrong mistakes” – Yogi Berra

-Yogi was talking about baseball, but he could have very well been talking about the Florida football team, particularly the defense. For 61 plays, the Gators were as close to flawless as they have been all season. They forced and recovered a fumble and picked off two Stetson Bennett passes while limiting the No. 1 Georgia to 172 yards. That’s 2.81 yards per play for the nation’s No. 2 offense.

It's the other 17 plays Georgia ran that were the problem. There were eight pass plays that produced 237 yards including a fluke of a 73-yards touchdown pass from Bennett to Brock Bowers. On that play Amari Burney got a hand on the ball to knock it away, but it caromed off his helmet and into Bowers’ hands. Bennett and Bowers also connected on passes of 29 and 24 yards. There was a 30-yarder to Ladd McConkey and a 25-yarder to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

Bennett was 11-30, good for 79 yards on his other throws. That’s 2.63 yards per ATTEMPT.

Additionally, there were nine running plays that gashed the Gators for 146 yards. On Georgia’s other 31 running plays, the Bulldogs were stopped for 93 yards, or 3.0 per attempt.

In losing to LSU a couple of weeks ago, the Gators gave up 13 chunk plays – 220 passing yards on eight completions and five running plays that netted 95 yards. On LSU’s other 57 plays, the Tigers managed 213 yards or 3.73 per play.

This is a recurring theme. Yogi would say it’s déjà vu all over again because with the exception of the Kentucky game, a 26-16 loss for which the UF offense shoulders most of the blame, the Gators have given up at least 10 chunk plays in every game. You don’t have to be a dreamer to see that Florida could own wins over No. 2 Tennessee and No. 15 LSU if the chunk plays had been eliminated. Instead of 4-4 (1-4 SEC) the Gators could be 6-2 – or better – but they have been giving games away.

Nobody has to remind Billy Napier that it’s the same thing over and over again. He gets the tough questions every week and his answers sound pretty much the same, but it’s not like he can bring in new people once the season is under way like they do in the NFL. For the most part, he’s got the same players who went 6-7 last year under the previous coach. If there are changes to be made, they’ll be made after the regular season ends.

Until then, it’s pretty much like Napier said Saturday night after the loss to Georgia: “Got to coach better, got to lead better, players need to play better. Simple enough.” There are four games remaining in the regular season. How well his players react to getting more coaching and more leadership will determine how many will be on next year’s roster.

UF volleyball The 14th-ranked Gators (18-4, 10-2 SEC) are in sole possession of first place in the SEC after taking out Arkansas twice over the weekend. The Gators earned a straight set win Saturday, then came back to stop the Hogs in five sets Sunday.

UF swimming The Gators split with Georgia in Athens over the weekend. The 11th-ranked Florida women downed Georgia, 173.5-126.5, while the 7th-ranked Georgia men topped the 3rd-ranked Florida men, 156-144.

The AP and Coaches polls

Associated Press top 25 (SEC teams bold face): 1. Georgia 8-0; 2. (Tie) Tennessee 8-0 and Ohio State 8-0; 4. Michigan 8-0; 5. Clemson 8-0; 6. Alabama 7-1; 7. TCU 8-0; 8. Oregon 7-1; 9. Southern California 7-1; 10. UCLA 7-1; 11. Ole Miss 8-1; 12. Utah 6-2; 13. Kansas State 6-2; 14. Illinois 7-1; 15. LSU 6-2; 16. Penn State 6-2; 17. North Carolina 7-1; 18. Oklahoma State 6-2; 19. Tulane 7-1; 20. Wake Forest 6-2; 21. North Carolina State 6-2; 22. Syracuse 6-2; 23. Liberty 7-1; 24. Oregon State 6-2; 25. UCF 6-2

AFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Georgia 8-0; 2. Ohio State 8-0; 3. Tennessee 8-0; 4. Michigan 8-0; 5. Clemson 8-0; 6. Alabama 7-1; 7. TCU 8-0; 8. Oregon 7-1; 9. Southern California 7-1; 10. Ole Miss 8-1; 11. UCLA 7-1; 12. Utah 6-2; 13. Illinois 7-1; 14. Kansas State 6-2; 15. North Carolina 7-1; 16. Penn State 6-2; 17. LSU 6-2; 18. Oklahoma State 6-2; 19. Wake Forest 6-2; 20. North Carolina State 6-2; 21. Tulane 7-1; 22. Syracuse 6-2; 23. Liberty 7-1; 24. Kentucky 5-3; 25. UCF 6-2

SEC football

No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Even though Alabama will be on the road to fabled Death Valley, the Crimson Tide is a two touchdown favorite over LSU Saturday night in Baton Rouge. While most of the betting sites list Alabama as a 12-13 point favorite, BetMGM’s opening line is 17. Next week: at No. 15 LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC)

Arkansas (5-3, 2-3 SEC): A couple of weeks ago, the Hogs lit up BYU, 53-25. Saturday they’ll go toe-to-toe with Hugh Freeze and Liberty, which bushwhacked BYU, 41-14, and whose only loss was to Wake Forest Gump in Winston-Salem. Arkansas is a 14-point favorite but this one has an upset feel to it. Next week: vs. No. 23 Liberty (7-1)

Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC): Joseph Goodman of Al.com called Bryan Harsin “dead man walking” after getting rung up by Arkansas. Next week: at Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3)

No. 1 Georgia (8-0, 5-0 SEC): Just how big is Saturday’s matchup with No. 2 Tennessee? HBC Kirby Smart tweeted, “Saturday we need Dawg Nation to affect the game!! If you can talk when you leave, you didn’t yell enough!! Next week: vs. No. 2 Tennessee (8-0, 4-0 SEC)

Kentucky (5-3, 2-3 SEC): The beatdown loss to Tennessee and a 2023 recruiting class that ranks 11th in the SEC and 44th nationally has some folks thinking Mark Stoops may be willing to listen if Nebraska or Wisconsin come calling. Next week: at Missouri (4-4, 2-3 SEC)

No. 15 LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC): For the Tigers to have any chance against Alabama, Jayden Daniels is going to have to play as well or better than he has in the last two games. For the year, Daniels has thrown for 1,812 yards and 12 TDs (only one pick) while running for 524 and nine more TDs. In the last two games, he has passed for five TDs without a pick and run for six more. Next week: vs. No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC)

Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3 SEC): The Bulldogs have been outscored 57-23 in their last two games (both losses). In both games, the offense failed to generate 300 yards. Next week: vs. Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC)

Missouri (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The Mizzou defense, which ranks third in the SEC, held South Carolina to 203 yards and only 32 on the ground. The Tigers forced two turnovers and got to Spencer Rattler four times for -28 yards. Next week: vs. Kentucky (5-3, 2-3 SEC)

No. 11 Ole Miss (8-1, 4-1 SEC): The Rebels are the No. 3 rushing offense in the country at 267.22 yards per game. Freshman Quinshon Judkins is second in the SEC with 1,034 yards and 13 touchdowns. Next week: Open

South Carolina (5-3, 2-3 SEC): After the Gamecocks loss to Missouri, quarterback Spencer Rattler gave what seemed to be a backhand slap at offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield when he said, “I don’t feel like we had a good idea of knowing what to do.” Next week: at Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-4)

Tennessee (8-0, 4-0 SEC): For all the talk about the Tennessee offense, which leads the nation both in scoring (49.4) and total yards (553 per game), it was the UT defense that was so impressive against Kentucky. The Vols held the Wildcats to 107 rushing yards and just 98 passing while intercepting Will Levis three times and sacking him four for -23 yards. Next week: at Georgia (8-0, 5-0 SEC)

Texas A&M (3-5, 1-4 SEC): The Aggies apparently have found their quarterback even in defeat. Freshman Connor Weigman was 28-44 for 338 yards and four TDs in the loss to Ole Miss. Next week: vs. FLORIDA (4-4, 1-4 SEC)

Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-4 SEC): The Commodores are 7.5-point home underdogs for their game against South Carolina. Next week: vs. South Carolina (5-3, 2-3)

Our SEC orphans in the Big 12

Oklahoma (5-3, 2-3 Big 12): The Sooners defense came through against Iowa State, picking off three passes and holding the Cyclones to just 66 rushing yards and 5.4 yards per pass attempt.

Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12): The Longhorns face Kansas State on the road Saturday. K-State comes into the game on the heels of a 48-0 beatdown of Oklahoma State, a team that whacked Texas by a touchdown two weeks ago.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: That Auburn would hire John Cohen as its new athletic director is rather curious considering his first order of business will be to (a) give Bryan Harsin the pink slip and (b) hire a new coach. Firing? Well, he’s fired a coach before, but that’s the problem. The coach he fired was Joe Moorhead, the coach he hired to replace Dan Mullen when he left for Florida. Moorhead went 8-5 in season one at MSU, then 6-7, after which Cohen fired him, saying he wasn’t a good fit in Starkville. What? A coach whose previous experience included such football powerhouses as Georgetown, Akron, UConn and Fordham – plus two years as the OC at Penn State – wasn’t a good fit for Mississippi State, whose stadium can be from 30 miles out as you’re driving in from anywhere in the state?

Cohen replaced Moorhead with Mike Leach, who has been a good football coach, but whose record is 16-16. Leach at least wins the press conference.

So why Cohen? If he is the best fit at Auburn, the question is why? He’s a baseball guy, a former Florida assistant who became the head coach at Kentucky and Mississippi State before ascending to the boss chair as AD in Starkville. He’s not particularly well known as a fund-raiser, as if that really matters at Auburn where billionaire donors tend to inject their two cents into every decision. Is Cohen the right fit because these same billionaire donors think they have a guy they can control?

If Cohen’s hire is because the boosters believe they have a guy they can control then Auburn is headed down a familiar path. Lest we forget, they paid Gene Chizik $8.78 million to go away, then forked out $21.4 million to Gus Malzahn. It’s going to cost a tidy $18 million to send Harsin on his way. That’s darn near $50 million for the last three coaches.

No matter why Cohen has been hired, he better hire the right football coach or else he will be sent packing as well. Paul Finebaum says Hugh Freeze is the guy Auburn should go after but Hugh just signed an 8-year deal to remain at Liberty that will pay him $5 million a year, which will make him the highest paid Group of Five coach. They love him at Liberty, built him a beautiful home on a mountain overlooking the campus and he apparently loves them back. Deion Sanders might be a home run hire, but does Deion’s ego want to be parked in the shadow of Nick Saban, who may wish to coach until the turn of the next century? Lane Kiffin? He's got too good a gig at Ole Miss to deal with the Auburn boosters as well as be judged by what Nick is doing in Tuscaloosa.

We’re running out of good candidates and Cohen hasn’t even gotten the old desk cleaned out in Starkville and new carpet in his new office just down the street from Toomer’s Corner.