In These Weird Times For the Florida Gators It's Good to Have Greg Sankey
The recent outbreak of Covid-19 that has forced a re-boot of football scheduling in the Southeastern Conference is the perfect example of why Greg Sankey is the best commissioner in all of college sports. When the virus forced the postponement of the LSU-Florida and Vanderbilt-Missouri games, Sankey had to shuffle schedules, which created some inconvenience, but the result was the possibility that all 14 teams in the conference will be able to play their full 10-game schedule.
As awkward as it seemed when Sankey stepped in to give Florida two consecutive open dates with the Missouri game bumped back to October 31, it turns out the move was a stroke of genius. The virus has run amok through the Florida team and coaching staff. Even Dan Mullen has been in quarantine. The hope is that the Gators will have the SEC mandated minimum of 53 players available on the 31st when Missouri comes to Gainesville, otherwise that game will be postponed without the possibility of a makeup date.
This is why Sankey put three consecutive weeks in which all 14 SEC teams had an open date. Sure, the open date was nice because it broke up the schedule so no one had to play 10 consecutive weeks, but it also gave Sankey some flexibility to do a re-boot if the virus got loose in one or more programs, which is exactly what it did.
In the original re-boot, the one Sankey did back in August when he went with a 10-game, conference only schedule, both Florida and Georgia had an October 31 open date a week prior to their annual showdown in Jacksonville on November 7. The Florida-Georgia game was in August and is in October the game that if it doesn’t decide the SEC East championship will heavily influence who will walk away with the title. Florida’s loss to Texas A&M gave Georgia a short-lived advantage that was eliminated when Alabama scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to take a 41-24 win a week ago. Now both teams have a loss so the game in Jacksonville could prove to be winner take all for the SEC East title.
When Sankey adjusted the schedules due to the outbreak at Florida, he leveled the playing field by taking away Georgia’s October 31 open date. Instead of playing Kentucky October 24 and having an open week to get everybody healthy in preparation for the Gators, Sankey moved the Kentucky game to October 31. Initially, Georgia fans were quite unhappy with the adjustment, but given the pounding they took in Tuscaloosa, even they see the wisdom in the changes.
The loss at Alabama exposed Georgia’s offense, particularly at the quarterback position. Stetson Bennett IV is a great story. He walked on at Georgia, left for junior college to get experience and played well enough that he got a scholarship to return to Athens, one that was made available when Justin Fields elected to transfer to Ohio State. Bennett came back, did a year of apprenticeship behind Jake Fromm, and then found himself third or fourth on the depth chart after no spring football and a late August start to fall practice. Wake Forest grad transfer was supposed to be THE GUY and then he opted out. Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels was supposed to be THE guy but it wasn’t until October before he was medically cleared for contact. D’Wan Mathis spent last year recovering from brain surgery but he’s got a game similar to Newman in that he can throw and has good wheels. Freshman Carson Beck has a big arm and a huge upside.
When Mathis couldn’t cut it and Georgia seemed on the verge of a loss to Arkansas in game one, it was Bennett who got the fireman’s call to come put out the fire. Daniels was cleared prior to game two against Auburn but Bennett was flawless albeit unspectacular in getting that win. He did a repeat in the win over Tennessee and had an exceptional first half against Alabama before the Bennett wheels came off.
The loss to Alabama left Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Todd Monken needing to re-evaluate the quarterback situation, particularly with the way Kentucky is playing defense. The Wildcats have intercepted nine passes the last two games as they have completely dominated Mississippi State and Tennessee. Bennett’s lack of pocket presence was exploited by Alabama in the second half when the Crimson Tide batted down five passes at the line of scrimmage and picked off two throws that Bennett might not have made if he had a clearer vision of the entire field. Smart says Bennett is still the number one QB for Georgia, but will he light up Kentucky or will the Wildcats exploit him the way Alabama did? A better question: Will Bennett still be when the Bulldogs roll into Jacksonville to face the Gators?
Even though Georgia has to play a rugged Kentucky defense the week before the Florida game, it’s the Gators who might be at a distinct disadvantage. Florida is hoping to resume football operations on Monday. When the Gators practice, it will be their first time on the field since the loss to the Aggies. How many players will be available for the Missouri game is a question that still has to be answered. What kind of physical condition the team will be is another question since the weight room has been off limits during the shutdown.
Prior to the shutdown, the Florida offense was operating at a very efficient level. The Gators were averaging 42.3 points and 464 yards per game. Kyle Trask had lit up three consecutive opponents and with 14 touchdown passes moved past Steve Spurrier (36) and Terry Dean (39) into eighth place on the all-time list at UF (Trask has 40 and is 14 behind John Reaves). With two 300-yard plus passing games, Trask moved past Tim Tebow into a tie with John Reaves (6) for sixth place on Florida’s all-time list. His next 300-yard game will move him into a fifth-place tie with Doug Johnson and Chris Leak.
And before the Gators got their unexpected hiatus, Kyle Pitts (17-274, 7 TDs) was on his way toward a landslide win for the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end and Kadarius Toney (18-237, 4 TDs receiving; 5-60 rushing; 2-42 punt returns) was becoming the nightmare matchup Gator fans have always expected him to be.
Yes, the defense was rotten in those first three games and the disruption has cost coordinator Todd Grantham valuable time on the field to implement changes both in terms of scheme and personnel. The lack of practice time for the defense probably will have more of an adverse effect than it will for the offense. With Trask operating with such confidence, there is every good chance it won’t take long for him to crank back up. With the defense, you worry. You worry a lot. Trask is capable of putting up shootout numbers but can the defense get one or two stops that allow the Gators to win a high scoring affair? And can the Gators put up Alabama-like numbers?
Despite these legitimate concerns on Florida’s part about a season that could go sideways because of the virus, credit must be given to Sankey for implementing the three weeks of open dates and adding in a makeup week for December 12. The Gators will play LSU that week and Vanderbilt will make the trip to Missouri. If there are other virus outbreaks at other programs in the next two weeks schedules can be rearranged if necessary and there is always the makeup week of December 12.
What this interruption has proved is that Sankey has no peers when it comes to foresight and efficiency. The same cannot be said of Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren or Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott. They absolutely dropped the ball when it came to fall football. Warren, in particular, believed that if the Big Ten opted out in the fall everyone else would follow suit. The Pac-12 did and so did Group of Fivers Mountain West and Mid-American, but Sankey held firm as did the Big 12, ACC, Sun Belt, American Athletic and Conference USA along with a small group of independents. When pressure mounted on the Big Ten and Pac-12 to play, they reversed field but their re-boots leave no wiggle room.
The Big Ten begins play this weekend with an eight-game schedule that has no makeup dates. If there are virus outbreaks and postponements, the Big Ten might be a quagmire of problems in determining a conference champ. The Pac-12 starts on November 7 with a seven-game schedule that, like the Big Ten, offers no makeup dates plus with four California schools and an ever-changing political atmosphere in the state where church services have been banned the potential is there for an unmitigated disaster when it comes to football.
Furthermore, will it be fair for a Big Ten team unbeaten but perhaps with a postponement or two or a 7-0 Pac-12 team to make the College Football Playoff over perhaps one or two one-loss teams from the Southeastern Conference that played full 10-game schedules thanks to the foresight of Sankey?
The Covid-19 virus has wreaked havoc with all college sports, but headway has been made in a positive manner in the SEC. It doesn’t take someone with an Einstein IQ to figure out that Sankey is light years ahead of his conference commissioner peers. Sankey’s leadership at a time when it takes someone with serious navigational and planning skills is unparalleled. There are questions galore and numerous potential speedbumps ahead, but who would you rather have leading the way at this perilous time: Greg Sankey or Kevin Warren or Larry Scott?
The answer is obvious. It’s Sankey. And when – not if – the Power Five and perhaps one or two other Division I conferences break away from the NCAA to form their own independent division, Sankey should be the unanimous choice to become the new czar. At a time when leadership is required, Sankey has put a premium on a thoughtful approach that elevates the SEC far beyond every other conference in college sports.
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