The Gators desperately need some Jacksonville weirdness

Thoughts of the Day

By FRANZ BEARD

A few thoughts to help jump start your Monday morning..

THE GATORS DESPERATELY NEED SOME JACKSONVILLE WEIRDNESS

A year ago, the oddsmakers in Las Vegas made No. 1 Georgia a 14.5-point favorite to beat the Gators. Georgia covered. Easily. The final was 34-7 and it really didn’t seem that close even though Georgia needed a 21-point blitz in the final 2:16 of the first half to break out of a 3-0 white knuckler.

This year, Georgia again is ranked No. 1 and this time is a 22-point favorite, which eclipses 1971, when Georgia was favored by 21 and won, 49-7.

Georgia is second in the country in total offense (526.6 yards per game), seventh in passing (329.9 yards), eighth in scoring (41.7 points), eighth in third down conversions (44-84, 52.38 percent), second in scoring defense (9.1 points), fourth in total defense (247 yards), fourth in rush defense (83.29 yards, 3.29 per carry), fifth in pass defense (163.7 yards, 5.4 per attempt) and 12th in third down defense (28-95, 29.47 percent).

Florida, on the other hand, is 56th in scoring (31.4), 16th in rushing (213.14 yards, 6.38 per carry), 92nd in passing (217 yards, 8.3 per attempt), 43rd in total offense (430.1 yards), 49th in third down conversions (34-80, 42.5 percent), 80th in scoring defense (28.1 points), 108th in rushing defense (185 yards, 4.47 per carry), 90th in pass defense (244.3 yards), 109th in total defense (429.3 yards) and 130th in third down defense (51-97, 52.58 percent).

The numbers beg the question why should the Gators even show up?

Well, one reason is weird things happen in Jacksonville like 1976 when Georgia beat the Gators 10-7 on an 80-yard tight end around pass from Richard Appleby to Gene Washington. On that play, Henry Davis, who only gave up one TD all year (that one), stepped in a mud puddle, slipped and fell down.

Or 2014. Georgia came into the game 6-1, ranked 9th nationally and 11.5-point favorites to hammer the Gators, who came into the game on the heels of a 42-13 blasting at the hands of Missouri. The Gators started true freshman Treon Harris at QB and the same team that averaged 2.81 yards per carry against Missouri pounded Georgia for 418 yards and five rushing touchdowns. Kelvin Taylor ran for 197 yards and Matt Jones 192. Harris threw six passes, completed three for 27 yards. Florida scored a shocking 38-20 win. Georgia went on to win 10 games. Will Muschamp wound up getting fired even though the Gators did post a winning season.

Muschamp knows Jacksonville weirdness. Now, Georgia’s defensive coordinator, he was a safety on the Georgia team that lost to Florida, 33-26, in 1993. That’s the year Anthone Lott called time out just before the ball was snapped with five seconds to go, nullifying what appeared to be an Eric Zeier touchdown pass. On the re-snap, Zeier threw an incompletion.

Call it Jacksonville weirdness. Billy Napier and the Gators need a huge dose of it Saturday.

USWNT for World Gymnastics Championships has a distinct Gator flavor

The United States women’s national team will have distinctive Gator flavor for the World Gymnastics Championships October 29-30 in Liverpool, England. Florida sophomore Leanne Wong, who won a silver at the 2021 World Championships in Tokyo, will be joined on the team by future Gators Skye Blakely and Shilese Jones.

Wong, a first team All-American on vault, floor exercise and all-around and second team on even bars as a UF freshman, was the SEC balance beam champion and third in the all-around at the NCAA championship final.

Skye Blakely, younger sister of Gator gymnast Sloane Blakely, and Jones have deferred entry at the University of Florida until the 2024 season.

Swimming: The 3rd-ranked Gator men beat 9th-ranked Virginia, 189-11, over the weekend in Charlottesville, while the 11th-ranked UF women lost to top-ranked Virginia, 189-115. Both the UF men and women will swim against Georgia in Athens Friday evening.

Softball: The Gators won two exhibition games at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, taking out Jacksonville, 6-0, Friday night, then Florida State, 5-3, Sunday afternoon. Friday night, Skylar Wallace went 4-4 with two singles, a double, a triple, two stolen bases and four RBI. Four Florida pitchers – Olivia Gigante, Elizabeth Hightower, Rylee Trlicek and Samantha Bender – allowed JU only four hits and the UF defense backed them up with three double plays. Sunday, Reagan Walsh drove in three runs while Bender and Trlicek combined to pitch a 5-hitter.

College football polls

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

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

SEC football

No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): One week after they were torched for 567 yards and 52 points by Tennessee, the Alabama defense held Mississippi State to six points and 293 yards. More important, Alabama was penalized only three times for -20 yards. They were flagged 17 times for -130 against the Vols. Next week: Open

Arkansas (4-3, 1-3 SEC): The Razorbacks have one of the most balanced offenses in the country – 240 rushing yards and 248.6 passing yards per game. Moving the ball and scoring points isn’t the problem. Stopping people is. The Hogs are next to last in the SEC in both scoring defense (32.6) and total defense (457.3 yards). Next week: at Auburn (3-4, 1-3 SEC)

Auburn (3-4, 1-3 SEC): The Tigers have the worst rushing defense in the SEC (204.43 yards per game, 4.85 per carry). Saturday, they’ll be going against an Arkansas team that averages 240 yards per game and 4.99 yards per carry. Next week: vs. Arkansas (4-3, 1-3 SEC)

No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC): Georgia ranks fourth nationally in total defense (247 yards per game) and second in scoring defense (9.1 per game) despite only seven sacks and nine forced turnovers. Next week: vs. FLORIDA (4-3, 1-3 SEC) in Jacksonville

No. 17 Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC): Kentucky’s defense is ranked 14th nationally (295.4 yards per game). Saturday the Wildcats’ job will be to slow down Tennessee, which has the No. 1 scoring (50.1) and total offense (571.7) offense in the country. Next week: at No. 3 Tennessee (7-0, 3-0 SEC)

No. 18 LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC): After falling behind 17-3, LSU outscored Ole Miss 42-3 the rest of the way. Jayden Daniels threw for 248 yards and a TD and ran for 121 and three more. Daniels has thrown for five touchdowns and run for six in the last two games. Next week: Open

Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3 SEC): Mike Leach isn’t happy with all the dropped passes by his receivers in the last couple of weeks. “I’m genuinely fearful that on our team if me and the other coaches don’t get them right, that about a generation from now their kids and grandkids won’t have hands,” Leach said Saturday night. “Because from a lack of use those hands just disappear.” Next week: Open

Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): After Mizzou’s ugly 17-14 win over Vandy, Eli Drinkwitz said, “Some really bad stuff, but it’s a lot easier to fix after a win.” Next week: at South Carolina (5-2, 2-2 SEC)

No. 15 Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1 SEC): Citing what went wrong against LSU, Lane Kiffin pointed out, “Missed tackles. We got pushed around a lot.” LSU ran for 252 yards and passed for 248 against the Ole Miss defense. Next week: at Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3 SEC)

No. 25 South Carolina (5-2, 2-2 SEC): With the win over the Aggies, South Carolina has won four straight games for the first time since the 2013 season, when the then-Steve Spurrier coached Gamecocks went 11-2. Next week: vs. Missouri (3-4, 1-3 SEC)

No. 3 Tennessee (7-0, 3-0 SEC): Hendon Hooker threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns, further establishing himself as the Heisman front runner. Wide receiver Jailyn Hyatt caught seven passes for 174 yards and two TDs. He has to be on the Biletnikoff short list. Next week: vs. No. 17 Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC)

Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3 SEC): The Aggies are in need of three more wins to even be bowl eligible and the remaining five games are No. 12 Ole Miss, Florida, (at) Auburn, UMass and No. 18 LSU. Only the UMass game is a certain win. Next week: vs. No. 15 Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-4 SEC): In losing 17-14 to Missouri, the Commodores extended their SEC record losing streak in conference games to 25. Next week: Open

Our SEC orphans in the Big 12

Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3 Big 12): The Sooners rank dead last in the Big 12 and 121st nationally in rushing defense (207.43 yards per game). The Sooners are 116th nationally in total defense (447.1 yards per game). Next week: at Iowa State (3-4, 0-4 Big 12)

Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12): Quinn Ewers was 19-49 passing for 319 yards with two TDs and three interceptions in the loss to Oklahoma State. Next week: Open

Football played somewhere beside the SEC

Charlotte (1-7): Will Healy joined the Extinct Species List, fired after a 34-15 loss to Florida International. Healy was 15-24 at Charlotte after a very successful run as the HBC at D1AA Austin Peay.

Liberty (7-1): Liberty’s 7-1 record includes a blowout win over BYU and a 1-point loss on the road at Wake Forest Gump. Of the four remaining games on the schedule, the only one the Flames will be underdogs is their roadie to Arkansas on November 5. Has Hugh Freeze spent enough time in purgatory for Greg Sankey to offer absolution so that he can return to the SEC? He’s the perfect fit for Auburn.

Miami (3-4): Things are not well at The Ewe. Mario Cristobal was brought in to right the ship but his three wins are over D1AA Bethune-Cookman, Southern Miss of the Fun Belt and a really bad Virginia Tech team. In losing to Duke, 45-21, Saturday, the Hurricanes lost five fumbles, completed three passes to the Blue Devils DBs and their porous O-line allowed six sacks. Were things really this bad under Manny Diaz?

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Dameon Pierce carried the football 20 times for 92 yards Sunday in the Houston Texans’ 38-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Through six games now, Pierce has 106 carries for 504 yards and three touchdowns. He averages 4.8 per carry and has the second longest rushing TD (75 yards) in the NFL this season.

That is worth noting because a year ago in a Florida uniform, Pierce had 100 carries for 574 yards and 13 touchdowns in THIRTEEN games. The year before he had 106 carries for 503 yards and four TDs. In his entire UF career, Pierce had 329 carries for 1,806 yards and 23 TDs, plus he caught 45 passes for 422 yards and five more TDs.

The NFL plays a 17-game schedule. If Pierce stays healthy and maintains the current average, he will finish with 1,428 yards.

So, the question of the day is how is it the NFL knows how to use a running back and Dan Mullen didn’t? It is mind-boggling.