So, you're saying there's a chance?

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

By FRANZ BEARD

GatorBaitMedia.com Senior Columnist

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

So you’re saying there’s a chance?” – Lloyd Christmas when told by Mary Swanson there’s only one chance in a million the two of them could ever be a couple.

If you believe the Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Florida Gators’ (4-3, 1-3 SEC) chances to spring the upset on No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) are only slightly better than those of Lloyd Christmas from the 1994 film “Dumb and Dumber.” Georgia is a 22.5-point favorite which are only slightly better than the odds Vegas would have given Moses to part the Red Sea back in the day.

But there is a chance.

There is always a chance once foot hits football and very large young men start running into each other at rather astonishing speeds. Georgia is such a huge favorite because the Bulldogs rarely make the kind of mistake that could alter the outcome of a game. The Gators, on the other hand, don’t seem to be able to stand prosperity. If you don’t believe that, then just watch what happens on third down. All too often this season the Gators have done a dandy job of bottling up opponents on first and second downs only to give up a chunk play (see third-and-22 vs. Missouri) for a confounding first down.

The Gators, we know, spent the bye week in search of their missing third down mojo. What happens if they found it whether by design or they simply stumbled on it? What happens if the Gators avoid turnovers, blown coverages, missed assignments and they set the edge? What happens if Anthony Richardson goes interplanetary? He’s talented enough to do it and he’s easily the most physically gifted quarterback Georgia has faced this year. If he avoids turnovers and shows Georgia what he did against Tennessee (453 passing yards for two TDs, 62 rushing yards for two TDs) the Gators might be in the hunt. If the defense remembers it’s legal to tackle opponents, break up passes, sack the quarterback and go an entire game without blowing an assignment on a deep pass, the Gators might have a chance.

Perhaps this is asking too much of the Gators, but as good as Georgia is, the Bulldogs could have and actually should have lost to Missouri. It took scoring two touchdowns in the final 9:36 for Georgia to pull out a 26-22 win. Missouri had chances to put the game away and couldn’t do it.

And one other thing to remember. Georgia, with its “generational” defense and its greatest team in 40 years, was only ahead of Florida 3-0 until the Gators gave the Bulldogs 21 points in the final 2:26 of the first half. Georgia won, 34-7, but 28 of those points were the direct result of Florida turnovers.

So, is beating Georgia probable? No, not at all. Florida hasn’t shown that it can play a near flawless game which is what it may take. But is there a chance? Maybe not a good one, but there is a chance.

Depth chart for Georgia (Starters in bold face)

Offense

WR: Xzavier Henderson; Daejon Reynolds or Marcus Burke WR: Justin Shorter; Ja’Quavion Fraziars or Caleb Douglas

WR: Ricky Pearsall; Trent Whittemore or Thail Chiaokhiao-Bowman

LT: Richard Gouraige; Kamryn Waites

LG: Ethan White; Richie Leonard IV

C: Kingsley Eguakun; Jake Slaughter

RG: O’Cyrus Torrence; Richie Leonard IV; Jalen Farmer

RT: Michael Tarquin; Austin Barber

TE: Dante Zanders; Keon Zipperer QB: Anthony Richardson; Jalen Kitna; Jack Miller III RB: Montrell Johnson Jr.; Trevor Etienne; Nay’Quan Wright or Lorenzo Lingard

Defense

DE: Princely Umanmielen; Justus Boone

NT: Desmond Watson; Jalen Lee; Jaelin Humphries; Jamari Lyons

DE: Gervon Dexter Sr.; Tyreak Sapp; Chris McClellan

JACK: Brenton Cox Jr.; Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr.; Lloyd Summerall III or David Reese

LB: Ventrell Miller; Scooby Williams or Derek Wingo

LB: Amari Burney; Shemar James STAR: Tre’Vez Johnson; Jadarrius Perkins;

Kamar Wilcoxson CB: Jason Marshall Jr.; Jalen Kimber; Jordan Young S: Rashad Torrence II; Kamari Wilson; Corey Collier Jr.

S: Trey Dean III; Donovan McMillon; Miguel Mitchell CB: Jaydon Hill; Avery Helm

Special Teams KO: Trey Smack or Adam Mihalek

PK: Adam Mihalek or Trey Smack

P: Jeremy Crawshaw; Jacob Watkins

LS: Rocco Underwood; Chase Whitfield

H: Jeremy Crawshaw; Jacob Watkins

KOR: Trevor Etienne; Xzavier Henderson or Jason Marshall Jr.; Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman

PR: Xzavier Henderson; Jason Marshall Jr. or Trevor Etienne

Injured: TE Nick Elksnis (out, upper body); TE Arlis Boardingham (out, upper body); EDGE Lloyd Summerall III (questionable, upper body); LB Diwun Black (out, lower body); CB Devin Moore (out, lower body)

Rocco Ortiz will transfer

Long snapper Marco Ortiz, who hasn’t played since the season opener with Utah, announced that he is leaving the team to preserve his redshirt with the intent of placing his name in the transfer portal in December. Ortiz leaves UF as a graduate. With his departure, Florida currently has 83 on scholarship with four running out of eligibility when the season is over. The Gators have 22 committed recruits and plans to sign a class of as many as 28, so expect many more to be entering the transfer portal in the weeks ahead.

UF volleyball

The Gators (16-4, 8-2 SEC) moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC when they scored a straight set win on the road at Auburn, 25-23, 25-18, 25-15. Merritt Beason and Sofia Victoria each had 14 kills for the Gators while Alexis Stucky had 37 assists.

SEC football

No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-0 SEC): Defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe will miss the remainder of the season due to a neck injury.

Arkansas (4-3, 1-3 SEC): Quarterback KJ Jefferson says that when the Hogs face Auburn Saturday, “We’re just going to come out and dominate and play our brand of football.”

Auburn (3-4, 1-3 SEC): Wide receiver Tar’vish Dawson is leaving the team and plans to transfer in December.

No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC): Although Georgia is a 22.5-point favorite over Florida, left tackle Broderick Jones said the Bulldogs will “prepare the same as if we’re playing the national championship game.”

No. 19 Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC): The Wildcats have beaten Tennessee only three times since 1985. The Vols are 82-26-9 all time against UK.

No. 15 Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1 SEC): The Rebels will be facing their old defensive coordinator DJ Durkin when they travel to Texas A&M. Lane Kiffin said the Rebels tried to keep Durkin but they were outbid. “Kind of a common theme with that program,” Kiffin said.

No. 25 South Carolina (5-2, 2-2 SEC): Wide receiver Corey Rucker will miss his seventh straight game while recovering from a stress

fracture in his foot.

No. 3 Tennessee (7-0, 3-0 SEC): When asked who is the No. 1 team in the country, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said, “It’s a toss-up for me between Tennessee and Ohio State.”

Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3 SEC): Backup punter Alan Guerreri is leaving the team and will put his name in the transfer portal.

Our SEC orphans in the Big 12

Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3 Big 12): The Sooners are favored by a single point at Iowa State (3-4, 0-4 Big 12 Saturday.

Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12): Bijan Robinson is the second highest rated running back in the country by Pro Football Focus.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: When Charlotte pulled the plug on Will Healy, it brought to six the number of coaches who have been given the pink slip this year. There are boosters from Texas A&M, Miami (Florida) and Iowa who firmly believe that number should have expanded to nine last weekend, but the collective buyout for Jimbo, Mario and Kirk Ferentz is right at $200 million. Unless some gozillionaire decides enough is enough, those three will be back for several more seasons, much to the chagrin of fans who think if you’re paid millions your team should win football games.

Countdown to Firing Day: Week 9

Extinct Species List

Scott Frost, Nebraska: They’re still searching for a new coach, but there is a report in the Omaha paper that keeping interim head coach Mickey Joseph could be a deal breaker. Another report has Mark Stoops on the potential list. He’s got a better gig at Kentucky.

Herm Edwards, Arizona State: The smart hire would be Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who played and coached at ASU, but when is the last time Arizona State did something smart?

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: The home run hire would be Deion Sanders but the new AD came from Alabama so figure it will be someone off the Saban tree. Interim Brent Key fits that bill, plus he would work cheap and is a Tech graduate.

Karl Dorrell, Colorado: The two home run candidates are Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy, a former CU All-American, and Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, a former CU defensive back. Walters could also be the guy Nick Saban goes after if Pete Golding gets shoved out the door.

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: The home run hire is Kansas coach Lance Leipold. The probable hire is interim coach and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, a former Wisconsin walk-on who made All-America three years and played 10 years in the NFL.

Will Healy, Charlotte: They went with a D1AA coach in Healy and that didn’t work out, but whoever it is has to work cheap. The name Skip Holtz keeps popping up as does Alabama tight ends coach Joe Cox, who may want to hold out for something more substantial.

On Life Support

Bryan Harsin, Auburn: Winner of this year’s Dead Man Walking Award. He’s known for weeks now that he’s going to be fired. It’s just a matter of when.

Neal Brown, West Virginia: The Mounties got hosed by 38 points last week by Texas Tech. It was almost a shocker that Brown wasn’t fired then. He’s 3-4 with one winnable game in the last five.

Ken Niumatalolo, Navy: The Midshipmen are 2-5 which means they have to go 4-1 just to finish break even. If he can beat Army in the last game of

Jeff Scott, South Florida: Everybody likes Jeff. Everybody appreciates that he’s trying to build the program the right way. He doesn’t have an on campus stadium like they have 90 minutes away at UCF and he certainly isn’t winning as many games as Gus Malzahn is at UCF.

Endangered Species List:

Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic: They’re 3-5. Finishing 4-0 would definitely save Taggart’s job. If he goes 3-1 there’s an outside chance he remains gainfully employed.

David Shaw, Stanford: The Cardinal are on a 2-game winning streak that includes a nail-biter over Notre Dame. Getting to 6-6 would require three wins in the last five and that would calm the masses who think it’s time for a new coach.

Scott Satterfield, Louisville: The Cards are 4-3, but there is probably only one win in the last five and if Lulvil sleeps on James Madison there will be hell to pay.

Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee: Since beati

ng Miami – Florida not Ohio – the Blue Raiders are 0-3. They are 3-4 with five winnable games to go. They better win at least three or Stockstill can hang up his whistle.

Danny Gonzales, New Mexico: The Lobos are 2-6, 0-4 in Mountain West play. Right now a 3-9 record might be a reach. Gonzales is 7-20. Buzzards are circling the football complex.

Tom Allen, Indiana: He’s 3-5 this year, 5-15 in his last 20. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue await. Figure he’s a goner.

Justin Wilcox, California: Cal has lost three in a row and the next two games are Oregon and Southern Cal. The final game is UCLA. Situation grim. At best.

Jeff Hafley, Boston College: He’s 14-16 for his BC career. They fired Steve Addazio with a .500 record. Hafley needs to four of the last five just to break even.