The basketball schedule only gets tougher for 6th-ranked Florida
A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:
Just when we were getting over the Gators navigating the most challenging football schedule in recent memory, along comes the start of the SEC portion of the basketball schedule. Sixth-ranked Florida (13-1, 0-1 SEC) started out with a 106-100 loss to 10th-ranked Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at Rupp Arena on Saturday but that gives way to Tuesday night when No. 1 and unbeaten Tennesee comes to Gainesville (7 p.m., ESPN2) for a high profile matchup at the O-Dome.
The rest of January looks like this for the Gators: at No. 23 Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC); Missouri (11-3, 0-1 SEC); Texas (11-3, 0-1 SEC); at South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) and Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC). In February the Gators will play at Tennessee; at No. 2 Auburn; at No. 17 Mississippi State; No. 12 Oklahoma; at LSU; at Georgia; No. 13 Texas A&M; at No. 5 Alabama; and No. 24 Ole Miss.
There are no cupcakes on that schedule. In the kenpom.com analytics, the only SEC team that isn’t in the top 60 is South Carolina. The top 20 at kenpom.com include (1) Auburn, (4) Houston; (7) Florida; (8) Alabama; (11) Texas A&M; (15) Mississippi State; and (19) Kentucky.
The NCAA NET rankings, which factor heavily in the teams that make the NCAA Tournament field, place 15 SEC teams in the top 60. Only South Carolina (92) is outside the top 20. Here is where 15 SEC teams stand: (1) Auburn; (2) Tennessee; (8) Florida; (9) Alabama; (11) Kentucky; (13) Mississippi State; (15) Texas A&M; (28) Vanderbilt; (31) Ole Miss; (36) Georgia; (41) Arkansas; (43) Texas; (45) Oklahoma; (47) Missouri; and (60) LSU.
Joe Lundardi, ESPN’s bracketologist, should come out with new brackets today, but here were his seedings for SEC teams in his last effort back on Friday:
South: (1) Auburn; (3) Texas A&M
West: (2) FLORIDA; (6) Oklahoma; (8) Ole Miss
Midwest: (1) Tennessee; (3) Kentucky; (9) Arkansas
East: (2) Alabama; (4) Mississippi State; (8) Georgia; (10) Texas
SEC BASKETBALL
Tuesday’s games
No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 6 FLORIDA (13-1, 0-1 SEC)
No. 2 Auburn (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Texas (11-3, 0-1 SEC)
No. 10 Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at Georgia (12-2, 0-1 SEC)
No. 17 Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (13-1, 1-0 SEC)
LSU (11-3, 0-1 SEC) at Missouri (11-3, 0-1 SEC)
Wednesday’s games
No. 5 Alabama (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC)
No. 13 Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 12 Oklahoma (13-1, 0-1 SEC)
No. 24 Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC) at No. 23 Arkansas (11-3, 0-1 SEC)
GATORS ADD TRANSFER SAFETY FROM UAB
The Gators added their fifth player from the transfer portal Sunday when former UAB safety Adrian Maddox committed. Maddox spent the 2024 season at UAB after an outstanding two seasons at D1AA Alabama State where he was a semifinalist for the Jerry Rice Award.
At UAB, Maddox was in on 44 tackles with an interception he returned 99 yards for a TD against Rice, seven pass breakups and two forced fumbles. A two-time All-SWAC performer at Alabama State, Maddox was in on 90 tackles including 9.5 for loss. He also had three sacks and two interceptions.
Maddux joins an incoming transfer class of punter Tommy Doman (from Michigan), wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant (from UCLA), EDGE rusher Kofi Asare (from UMass) and quarterback Deshawn Purdie (from Charlotte).
With classes for the spring semester set to begin on January 13 and late registration ending on January 17, the Gators have about 11 days to take care of business in the portal.
SEC FOOTBALL
Alabama: Starting offensive tackle Elijah Pritchett is in the transfer portal. The former 5-star recruit has two years of eligibility remaining ... New names in the portal from Alabama are tight end Ty Lawson and linebacker Sterling Dixon. Lawson is a redshirt freshman with three years of eligibility. Dixon is a redshirt freshman with four years remaining.
Arkansas: HBC Sam Pittman got a $250,000 raise and a 1-year extension following the Razorbacks’ win over Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl.
Georgia: Kirby Smart’s father Sonny, a legendary high school football coach in South Georgia, passed away in New Orleans. Sonny Smith fell and fractured his hip New Year’s Eve. Complications from surgery on the hip were reported as the casue of death ... Jaden Rashada is looking for his third home in three years, actually his fourth if you count the couple of weeks he was a Gator signee before he got his release.
Kentucky: Former 5-star recruit Brock Vandagriff, who spent the 2024 season at Kentucky after transferring from Georgia, is retiring from football. Vandagriff threw for 1,593 yards with 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions at UK.
LSU: Sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks, who was carted off the field after a gruesome leg injury in the bowl win over Baylor, is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery ... Analyst Todd Fitch is leaving LSU to become the offensive coordinator at Charlotte.
Missouri: Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll, Mizzou’s top two rushers in 2024, have declared for the NFL Draft. Noel gained 818 yards and scored three touchdowns after transferring to Mizzou from Appalachian State. He finishes his college career with 3,892 yards and 21 touchdowns. Carroll, who transferred from Georgia State, gained 595 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He finishes his college career with 2,731 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Oklahoma: Marvin Jones Jr., son of the former Florida State great, has transferred from FSU to Oklahoma. This is the third stop for Jones, who began his career at Georgia.
Ole Miss: Ole Miss has won 21 games the past two seasons and is 39-13 over the last four. The 2024 Rebels (10-3) were 13 points away from a perfect season with 3-point losses to Kentucky and LSU (overtime) along with a 7-point loss at Florida.
South Carolina: Robby Ashford has transferred to Wake Forest, his fourth collegiate team. Ashford started out at Oregon, transferred to Auburn and spent last year at South Carolina.
Tennessee: Wide receiver Squirrel White, who caught 131 passes for 1,665 yards and six touchdowns in his three years in Knoxville, has transferred to Florida State.
Texas: The Longhorns are 6-point underdogs for their Friday night College Football Playoff semifinal with Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl ... ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports several NFL teams are expected to at least kick tires regarding Texas HBC Steve Sarkisian’s interest in coaching in the NFL. At least one team -- New England -- already has an opening after Jerod Mayo was fired Sunday after one year on the job.
Texas A&M: Wide receiver Noah Thomas, who led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns, is in the portal. In three seasons, Thomas caught 73 passes for 984 yards and 15 touchdowns.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: This might go down as the most important offseason in recent University of Florida football history as the Gators are expected to modernize their football operations in the next two or three weeks. Zach Abloverdi of Gators Online reports that the moves will entail more than one hire. Abloverdi has recently reported that the Gators will hire an assistant athletic director for football and a vice president of football.
Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Napier and athletic director Scott Stricklin interviewed four candidates this past Thursday and Friday for a role that will involve negotiating contracts, evaluating talent and manage a salary cap. Interviewed were Philadelphia Eagles exec David Caldwell, formerly the GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars; Ole Miss general manager Matt Lindsay, who worked for the Eagles previously; Nick Polk, for 17 years director of football operations for the Atlanta Falcons; and Rick Mueller, director of player personnel of the Arlington Renegades of the UFL, another formerly with the Eagles.
University of Florida graduate Howie Roseman is the executive vice president and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a two-time NFL Executive of the Year.
These changes are an absolute necessity as college football makes substantial changes as of July 1, 2025, when revenue sharing begins as part of a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement. Schools will operate under a $20.5 million cap and rosters will be limited to 105 players. It is hoped that the revenue sharing will help eliminate some of the NIL deals that are widely criticized for the explosion of transfers in the portal. As of late Sunday night there were nearly 2,500 in the portal with only 949 having found a new place to call home.
The changes in the Florida organization are long overdue. Billy Napier made it a priority to change the way the Gators evaluate personnel and scouting, which has resulted in better use of the portal as well as high school recruiting. However, with Division I football going to revenue sharing and essentially the elimination of the walk-on program thanks to the 105-player cap, the Gators have to further modernize if they’re going to catch up to and surpass the operations at Alabama, Georgia and others in the SEC.
The $20.5 million cap is the result of the NCAA trying to stave off antitrust legislation. Like everything the NCAA attempts to accomplish, there is a very good change it will fail mightily. The cap is to be voted on April 7, at which time it is almost a certainty that the NCAA will be hammered with dozens of lawsuits from athletes claiming it is an attempt to restrict their earnings, from agents who will claim it is an attempt to limit what athletes and agents make and from collectives that will claim it’s an attempt to put them out of business completely.
Lawsuits could very well delay the implementation of any new plan. It only takes one judge with a vested interest in a certain team to put a hold on proceedings while appeals are heard. We’ve seen how both Florida State and Clemson have found sympathetic judges to try to force their lawsuits against the Atlantic Coast Conference to be heard in Florida and South Carolina. The ACC wants the cases heard in North Carolina, where the league is headquartered. It only takes one judge to force a delay that could last months or even years in the cap case, so it isn’t a done deal just yet.
In reality, this new deal with caps and roster limits is a last gasp to remain in the Division I football business by the NCAA. If you’ve followed the NCAA and its inept attempts to provide leadership, then you should see this as nothing more than fingers plugged into a leaking dam. Perhaps it will work, but history says it is a deal done by the NCAA which guarantees failure.
Hopefully, smart people such as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey see this for what it’s worth: a stopgap measure at best. Sankey has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to collegiate athletics. He needs to be on his game once again, ready with a contingency plan for a new organization that has a chance to actually save college football from itself.
the ncaa is inept and has ruined college football