Exhale! The NCAA Case Will Not Harm The Florida Gators!

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:

If you were holding your breath over the NCAA investigation regarding Florida’s involvement in the Jaden Rashada NIL fiasco, then a federal judge has granted you permission to exhale. Nothing is going to happen to the Gators or for anyone else who has run afoul of the NCAA for all that matters. A federal judge in Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, preventing the organization from pursuing its investigation against Tennessee.

Did the Vols cheat? In all probability, yes. Does it matter now? No, and the reason it doesn’t is if the NCAA elects to appeal this ruling, they’ll get skunked again in court. They always do, so why would anything change now?

Since the NCAA is now barred from enforcing its own rules, however ridiculous those rules may be, the wild west show that has taken over college sports can and will continue. What we have now is free agency without restrictions which means schools with big boosters or collectives that have raised record amounts of money can go out and buy any player they choose.

In the immortal words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy. They is us.”

Common sense tells us it is time for a new organization that kicks the NCAA to the curb and it can’t happen soon enough. This won’t be easy because a new organization has to be run on a strict business model with rules that are easy to follow yet strictly enforced. Standing in the way of that will be presidents of NCAA member institutions and their long-held I’m okay, you’re okay socialistic model of doing things. They have to realize once and for all that their idea of how things should be run gave us the NCAA and the NCAA doesn’t work. Period. End of story.  

UF HOOPS: The goal now is a top four finish in the SEC

Although the Gators (19-8, 9-5 SEC) are still within striking distance of a regular season SEC championship, the more realistic and important goal is to win enough of the last four games to finish in the top four. A top four finish assures a double bye at the SEC Tournament, which begins March 13 in Nashville. The Gators have won enough games that playing on Wednesday is out of the question, but fifth or thereafter means they’ll play on Thursday.

Winning the SEC Tournament is a grind no matter where you start, but there is a huge difference in playing three consecutive days, which is what you have to do with the double bye, compared to four straight for teams that finish fifth through 10th.

The Gators are hot, having won eight or their last 10 games, and they’re nine deep, but even teams with four capable bigs and offensive threats on the perimeter like Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard have been known to stumble in game-a-day situations.

There are six teams – Tennessee and Alabama both 11-3, Auburn and South Carolina both 10-4, and Kentucky and Florida both 9-5 – in a two-week fight for the top four teams and the double bye.

SEC BASKETBALL

No. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC): How will the Crimson Tide react to the blowout loss to Kentucky? They’ll be favored to beat Ole Miss this week even though it’s a roadie, but then they get Tennessee and a roadie with the Gators, both losable games. The NCAA is guaranteed. A top four seed hangs in the balance.

Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC): The Razorbacks were on everybody’s preseason top 10. Now it will take a strong finish to get to the NIT.

No. 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC): Auburn plays at Tennessee and home against Mississippi State this week. Win those two and the Tigers will have a real shot at winning the SEC outright since the last two games are at Missouri and home against Georgia.  

No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC): The Gators are all but assured of making the NCAA Tournament. Probably the biggest question moving forward is the status of Riley Kugel, Florida’s most talented and explosive player. For reasons Todd Golden hasn’t addressed, Kugel has played only four minutes combined in the last two games. A Riley Kugel with his head screwed on right is a necessity for the Gators to finish strong in the regular season and then do well at tournament time.

Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC): The Bulldogs have lost seven of their last eight. Getting in the NIT would be an accomplishment.

No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC): When the Wildcats play the way they did in blowing out Alabama, they’re scary good. Can John Calipari get UK playing that well the rest of the way with roadies at Mississippi State and Tennessee sandwiching home games with Arkansas and Vanderbilt?

LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC): The last four games are very winnable, but even if the Tigers finish on a roll, they’ll still need to win one or two games in the SEC Tournament, otherwise it’s the NIT.

Mississippi State (18-9, 8-6 SEC): The Bulldogs are a hot team with five straight wins. Three of the last four are against ranked teams: Kentucky, at Auburn and South Carolina. One win should get the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament, but two would eliminate the anxiety.

Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC): The only question remaining in Mizzou’s season is will the. Tigers avoid an oh-fer in the SEC. The home game with Ole Miss on Saturday seems to be their best shot at an SEC win.

Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC): Ole Miss is playing itself out of NCAA Tournament contention. Ole Miss can regain some of its lost mojo if it can spring the upset on Alabama in Oxford Tuesday.

No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC): The Gamecocks are as good as in the NCAA Tournament, but they’ll need to pick up a win or two for anything higher than a No. 8. This week, they’re at Texas A&M and host Florida. The last two are Tennessee and at Mississippi State.

Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC): The Aggies are playing themselves into the NIT. They’ve lost four in a row and need to win three of the next four plus maybe a game in the SEC Tournament to get in the big dance.

No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC): The Vols have won their last five. The last four are all against ranked teams: Auburn, at Alabama, at South Carolina and home against Kentucky. A 4-0 finish could assure Tennessee of no worse than a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12 SEC): Word around Nashville is Jerry Stackhouse is dead man walking no matter what happens the rest of the season.

SEC in NCAA Net Rankings: 5. Tennessee; 6. Alabama; 7. Auburn; 19. Kentucky; 28. Mississippi State; 31. FLORIDA; 47. South Carolina; 58. Texas A&M; 76. Ole Miss; 90. LSU; 98. Georgia; 119. Arkansas; 148. Missouri; 229. Vanderbilt

SEC in KenPom analytics: 5. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 7. Alabama; 17. Kentucky; 27. FLORIDA; 28. Mississippi State; 48. South Carolina; 57. Texas A&M; 74. Ole Miss; 83. Georgia; 89. LSU; 116. Arkansas; 146. Missouri; 202. Vanderbilt

SEC in Bart Torvik analytics: 4. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 8. Alabama; 18. Kentucky; 20. FLORIDA; 27. Mississippi State; 41. South Carolina; 64. Ole Miss; 66. Texas A&M; 71. Georgia; 78. LSU; 115. Arkansas; 135. Missouri; 210. Vanderbilt

Tuesday’s games: No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (19-8, 8-6 SEC); Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC) at LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC); Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12, SEC) at Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC); No, 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) at No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC); NO. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC); No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC)

UF BASEBALL: Gators 5-1 after sweeping Columbia

The 4th-ranked Gators stretched their winning streak to five games with their sweep of Ivy League Columbia over the weekend, a series in which UF outscored the visiting Lions, 34-14 (15-6, 7-3 and 12-5). Florida unloaded for seven home runs against Columbia pitching: Tyler Shelnut (2), Luke Heyman (1), Brody Donay (1), Dale Thomas (1), Ty Evans (1) and Colby Shelton (1). Jac Caglianone, who pitched the first three innings and struck out seven in Sunday’s 12-5 win over Columbia, had a 7-12 weekend at the plate that included 4-4 Saturday night. Cade Fisher (1-1) got the Friday night win, going five innings while striking out 10. Freshmen Luke McNellie and Alex Philpott got the Saturday and Sunday wins.

The Gators tune up for next weekend’s series in Coral Gables with Miami (5-2) with midweek games at Stetson Tuesday night and Bethune-Cookman at home Wednesday.

UF SOFTBALL: Now the schedule toughens up

It was carnage at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium over the weekend as the 14th-ranked Gators (15-2) went 5-0, outscoring Colgate, Lafayette and Illinois-Chicago by a combined 66-1. The Gators got the second perfect game of the season from freshman Olivia Miller (3-0, 0.76 ERA) and a no-hitter from freshman Kegan Rothrock (6-2, 0.83 ERA). Freshman Ava Brown (6-0, 0.22 ERA) pitched a 2-hitter and went 3-7 at the plate with two RBI. Skylar Wallace went 7-12 with a home run and eight RBI to lead the Gators. Other standouts at the plate were Kendra Falby (8-16) Reagan Walsh (5-11, 3 HR, 10 RBI), Katie Kistler (4-10, 9 RBI), Jocelyn Erickson (8-16, 1 HR, 6 RBI), Ariel Kowalewski (7-11, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Korbe Otis (4-11, 1 HR, 5 RBI).

The schedule toughens up considerably for the Gators this weekend in Palm Springs, California where they will face Cal State-Fullerton (9-6), Long Beach State (1-13), UCLA (7-5), DePaul (3-11) and Michigan (10-4) in the Judy Garmin Classic.  The Gators will open the SEC portion of their schedule March 9-11 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Next home game will be against Stetson March 13.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Multiple outlets are reporting that Florida tight ends coach Russ Callaway is a signed contract away from being named co-offensive coordinator. That is a move that has been speculated ever since Billy Napier went cryptic about the offense in his National Signing Day press conference three weeks ago. The only questions that seem to be unresolved are how much input Callaway will have in the UF offense and whether or not he will be involved in the play calling.

Callaway has an impressive background with links to the Air Raid philosophy. A two-time team captain and quarterback at Valdosta State, Callaway worked the defensive side of the ball as a grad assistant for Nick Saban and Kirby Smart at Alabama on national championship teams in 2011-12, then began coaching offense for the well-regarded Chris Hatcher at Murray State. Hatcher was a record-setting quarterback for Hal Mumme, on a staff that included Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen. As the head coach at Valdosta State, Hatcher won a Division II national title. When Hatcher took the Samford job in 2015, Callaway came with him. He coached wide receivers and was Samford’s offensive coordinator from 2016-19, during which time Samford’s offenses were top five in Division IAA. Callaway worked for Ed Orgeron at LSU in 2020 and was with the New York Giants in 2021.

With the promotion of Callaway from within, Napier still has to add another coach on the offensive side of his staff. There are options here. If Callaway is also promoted to coach the quarterbacks, a job that Napier has held while also coordinating the offense, then a new tight ends coach will need to be hired. If Callaway remains with tight ends, then the new coach will likely be a second offensive line coach to work with Rob Sale. That spot has been vacant a couple of weeks since Darnell Stapleton left for a job with the NFL Washington Commanders.