Napier says Gators must earn "right to win" against Ole Miss

Shemar James (6) sacks LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (Gator Bait Photo by Chris Spears)

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

To put Saturday’s final home game (12 noon, ABC) of the season against No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) in perspective, Billy Napier says the goal for the Gators (5-5, 3-4 SEC) is to “earn the right to win.” That was the message a week ago as the Gators prepared for then No. 21 LSU and the result was an exceptional week of practice.

Napier is hoping for similar focus, attention to detail and work ethic from the Gators this week as they prep for an Ole Miss team that ranks No. 4 nationally in scoring (40.7 per game), No. 2 in pass offense (365.7 yards per game) and No. 2 in total offense (539.5 yards per game). Quarterback Jaxson Dart is the nation’s 3rd-ranked passer, completing 70.8 percent of his passes for 340.9 yards per game (11.4 per attempt). Dart has thrown for 22 touchdowns with only four picks.

Ole Miss is no slouch defensively, either. The Rebels are the No. 16 defense (309.2 yards allowed per game), No. 5 in scoring defense (12.9 points per game), No. 2 against the run (79.9 yards per game, 2.23 per carry) and No. 1 in sacks (46 for -296 yards). Suntarine Perkins is 6th nationally in sacks (10 for -60 yards) while former Gator Princely Umanmielen is tied for 7th (9.5 for -65 yards).

Ole Miss also comes into the game with the motivation of staying in the College Football Playoff hunt. With two losses, a third would almost certainly knock the Rebels out of contention.

“Obviously a good Ole Miss team coming into town and a lot at stake,” Napier said at his Monday morning press conference. “So the big thing for us is we have to earn the right to win, and I think that's got to be the approach each day of the week. I thought we wanted to be the most prepared we have been to play last week. That was the big message and challenge, and I think we were.

“So this week it's all about earning the right to win, and we have to have a little bit of a playoff mindset ourselves to some degree. You know, can we handle the praise, the positive?”

Against LSU, the Gators didn’t turn the ball over, didn’t allow a sack and despite the defense being on the field for 93 plays, sacked QB Garrett Nussmeier seven times and allowed only one touchdown. Nussmeier is a relatively stationary quarterback while Dart is extremely effective breaking out of the pocket to escape pressure or extend plays. Dart has run for 304 yards this season including 50 against Georgia.

“Not only do you have to match up with the skill outside and the coverages, you would like to play to leverage all the routes the right way,” Napier said. “It puts you in a position where the quarterback can hurt you, right? You are kind of picking your poison. I think they are committed to the run. There's a ton in RPOs in his system as well. That will be one of the chess matches that will be taking place.

“One thing I would say about Jackson Dart is he is 225 pounds. He is 6-1-1/2. He is dense and proven to be effective in this league as a runner. They mix him in there throughout the game when they need him, and he's effective.” 

James, Smack and Lagway earn SEC honors

For his efforts against LSU, linebacker Shemar James was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week. James had 11 tackles, two sacks and two pass breakups for Florida’s inspired defense.

Placekicker Trey Smack, who kicked field goals of 49 and 55 yards in the 27-16 win, was named SEC Special Teams Co-Player of the Week.

Freshman of the Week was quarterback DJ Lagway, who completed 13-26 passes against LSU for a touchdown.

UF BASKETBALL: GATORS HOST FAMU

The Gators dropped one place to No. 21 in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll despite going 2-0 last week including a 14-point road win against Florida State in Tallahassee. The Gators (4-0) return to action tonight (7 p.m., SEC Network+) at the O-Dome against winless Florida A&M.

The Gators are No. 19 in the kenpom.com analytics with a No. 10 offensive efficiency rating and a No. 50 defensive rating.

Walter Clayton Jr. leads the Gators in scoring at 18.8 per game followed by Richard (13.8), Alijah Martin (13.5) and Alex Condon (13.3). Condon leads the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game.

Anticipated starting lineups

FLORIDA (4-0): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)

FAMU (0-3): Saiyd Burnside (6-9, 210, JR); Tyler Shirley (6-8, 210, SR); Jordan Chatman (6-4, 210, SR); Milton Mathews (6-3, 200, SR); Sterling Young (6-1, 175, SR)

Associated Press top 25: 1. Kansas 4-0; 2. UConn 3-0; 3. Gonzaga 3-0; 4. Auburn 3-0; 5. Iowa State 2-0; 6. Purdue 4-0; 7. Houston 2-1; 8. Alabama 3-1; 9. Kentucky 3-0; 10. North Carolina 2-1; 11. Tennessee 4-0; 12. Duke 3-1; 13. Baylor 3-1; 14. Creighton 4-0; 15. Marquette 4-0; 16. Indiana 3-0; 17. Arizona 2-1; 18. Cincinnati 3-0; 19. Wisconsin 4-0; 20. Arkansas 2-1; 21. FLORIDA 4-0; 22. St. John’s 4-0; 23. Texas A&M 3-1; 24. Rutgers 2-0; 25. Illinois 3-0

Coaches top 25: 1. Kansas 4-0; 2. UConn 3-0; 3. Auburn 3-0; 4. Gonzaga 3-0; 5. Iowa State 2-0; 6. Purdue 4-0; 7. Alabama 3-1; 8. Houston 2-1; 9. Tennessee 4-0; 10. Duke 3-1; 11. Kentucky 3-0; 12. North Carolina 2-1; 13. Creighton 4-0; 14. Baylor 3-1; 15. Marquette 4-0; 16. Cincinnati 3-0; 17. Arizona 2-1; 18. Indiana 3-0; 19. FLORIDA 4-0; 20. (Tie) St. John’s 4-0 and Illinois 3-0; 22. Texas A&M 3-1; 23. Arkansas 2-1; 24. Texas Tech 3-0; 25. Wisconsin 4-0

SEC Basketball

Monday’s scores

No. 4 Auburn (4-0) 102, North Alabama (3-2) 69

No. 20 Arkansas (3-1) 91, Pacific (3-3) 72

Today’s games

Florida A&M (0-3) at No. 20 FLORIDA (4-0)

Lipscomb (2-3) at No. 19 Kentucky (3-0)

Alabama A&M (3-1) at Georgia (4-0)

Charleston Southern (1-4) at LSU (3-0)

Wednesday’s games

Southern (1-3) at No. 23 Texas A&M (3-1)

Illinois (3-0) at No. 2 Alabama (3-1)

Thursday’s games

Mercer (2-2) at South Carolina (2-2)

Syracuse (3-0) vs. Texas (3-1) in Brooklyn

Vanderbilt (4-0) vs. Nevada (4-0) in Charleston, SC

Oral Roberts (2-2) at No. 25 Ole Miss (4-0)

East Texas A&M (1-3) at Oklahoma (3-0)

Virginia (3-0) vs. No. 11 Tennessee (4-0) in Nassau, Bahamas

Friday’s games

Southern Illinois (1-2) at No. 20 FLORIDA (4-0)

Pittsburgh (5-0) at LSU (4-0)

Jackson State (0-4) at No. 19 Kentucky (3-0)

Pacific (3-2) at Missouri (3-1)

Mississippi State (4-0) at SMU (4-1)

Little Rock (2-2) at No. 18 Arkansas (2-1)

Saturday’s game

No. 15 Marquette (4-0) vs. Georgia (4-0) in Nassau, Bahamas

COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY

EXTINCT SPECIES LIST

Joe Houston, East Carolina: The Pirates are 3-0 and have scored 143 points since Houston was fired and interim Blake Harrell took over. They’re going bowling. All things point to Harrell getting the full time gig.

Mike Bloomgren, Rice: Former Washington State head coach Mike Rolovich has been interviewed.

Will Hall, Southern Miss: Auburn offensive coordinator Derrick Nix, a stud running back for the Golden Eagles during his playing days, seems to be the front runner to take over for Hall.

Mike Neu, Ball State: They probably should have pulled the plug last year. They are cash strapped and may dip into the D1AA or DII ranks to find someone who will work cheap enough to hire.

Stan Drayton, Temple: Great assistant coach who picked the worst possible place to be a head coach. Shirley Temple admin seems to think they can convince Ohio State DC Jim Knowles or Texas OC Kyle Flood to take this dead end job.

Tom Herman, Florida Atlantic: Losing to Shirley Temple was the last straw. The coach they would like to land is Penn State running backs coach JaJuan Seider, a former UF assistant who is from The Muck.

Don Brown, UMass: Perhaps they think they can get someone who (a) works super cheap (b) doesn’t mind rotten facilities, (c) is okay with living and recruiting in a state that might produce a half dozen 3-star recruits yearly and (d) doesn’t mind three or four paycheck games a year against the likes of Georgia, who they play Saturday.  

Biff Poggi, Charlotte: It’s just his second season so this one wasn’t expected. If they want a real coach they need to at least double the capacity of their little 15,000-seat stadium. That would be a good place to start.

Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State: He was 68-24 in Division IAA, 4-14 once the Owls made the move to Division I. They should have stuck with Division IAA. No money. No facilities. Other than that everything’s peachy.

ON LIFE SUPPORT

Joe Moorhead, Akron: If the Zips lose to Kent State, Moorhead might not coach the Toledo game. He’s a goner any way you slice it.

Kenni Burns, Kent State: The Golden Flashes haven’t won a game and they’re being outscored by an average of 30 a game. He’s 1-21 as the KSU coach.

Trent Dilfer, UAB: They didn’t fire him after a 35-point loss to Memphis. The last two games are winnable. Win or lose, if he keeps the job it’s because they can’t afford to fire him and hire someone new.

Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech: His 1-game win streak comes to an end this week at Arkansas. He could get a win against Kennesaw State in the final game, but that probably won’t save his job.

Jim McElwain, Central Michigan: The Chips are being investigated by the NCAA, not good news for Old Yeller who’s 3-7 this year with two losable games ahead.

Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion: If he doesn’t beat Marshall and Arkansas State, he’ll get pink slipped.

Ryan Walters, Purdue: He’s 1-9 this year, 5-17 since taking the job. Odds are that he gets pink slipped after the season ender wtih Indiana.

ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST 

Hugh Freeze, Auburn: Not many happy campers on The Plains. It’s doubtful Hugh gets canned this year, but anything less than eight wins and you can bet the farm he’s a goner next year.

Sam Pittman, Arkansas: Sam has two games to get one win for bowl eligibility. In that Saturday’s game is Louisiana Tech he should be good to go for one more year.

Kevin Wilson, Tulsa: They really don’t have the money to fire him and they love the potential in freshmen like QB Kirk Francis and wide receiver Joseph Williams. Right now it’s looking like he will get another year.

Mike Norvell, Florida State: The wheels have come off on the field where the Seminoles are 1-9, but also on the recruiting class which lost its 2025 recruiting class is falling apart. QB commit Tramell Jones flipped to Florida and it’s expected that OT commit Solomon Thomas is about to follow suit. FSU gave Norvell a big raise and extension after last year. They can’t afford to fire him.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The only sure thing about the Southeastern Conference Championship Game is if Texas (9-1, 5-1 SEC) and Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1 SEC) both win this weekend (Texas hosts Kentucky; Aggies at Auburn) then the winner of their season-ending game in College Station will be in Atlanta. Of course, there is still the problem of winning the SEC title. If Texas loses to the Aggies, it will still make the playoff. If the Longhorns beat the Aggies then lose in Atlanta, they will still make the playoff.

A loss to Texas or in the SEC Championship Game would be all she wrote for the Aggies, who have that loss to Notre Dame on their resume. Three losses and they can forget the playoff.

Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) and Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) have to win both their remaining SEC games to make the playoff. If one of them gets in the SEC Championship Game and loses, it’s curtains for the playoff. Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC) has only one SEC game remaining (Vandy next week) so a loss there or a loss if the Vols make the SEC Championship Game will be sayonara playoff.

Georgia (8-2, 6-2 SEC) has finished its SEC schedule and with UMass and Georgia Tech remaining in non-conference games, the Bulldogs are almost mortal locks for a 10-2 regular season finish. But the Bulldogs could do a repeat of last year by losing the SEC Championship game and missing the playoff altogether. Last year it was a 4-team playoff. This year it’s 12 and still Georgia will have to win to make it.

If you thrive on uncertainty and chaos, then you have to love this. Not only do six SEC teams still have a shot at making both the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff, but five other teams could be spoilers -- Florida and Mississippi State (for Ole Miss), Oklahoma and Auburn (for Alabama), Auburn (also for Texas A&M) and Kentucky (for Texas).  

This is pure chaos. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?