Thoughts of the Day: August 11, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

GATORS BEGIN AT NO. 11 IN THE COACHES POLL

In private, Dan Mullen has to be absolutely giddy. The first Coaches Poll came out Tuesday and the Gators are ranked 11th, just close enough that a couple of good wins can put them in College Football Playoff and SEC East contention, just far enough away that the pressure is on the 10 teams ranked ahead of UF.

Mullen has to like it that the targets are squarely on the backs of No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Texas A&M, the three SEC teams ranked ahead of the Gators. This is nothing new for Alabama to start the year ranked either first or second, but the three main offensive weapons – Devonta Smith, Mac Jones and Najee Harris – have all departed for the No Fun League along with what seems like half of the Tide’s national championship team from 2020. With a 14-game winning streak on the line and a brand-new quarterback who has never started a game, the pressure might be greater than usual. Georgia personifies Murphy’s Law: “If there are two or more ways to do something and one of those ways can result in an absolute catastrophe, someone will do it.” See the national championship game in 2017, the SEC championship game in 2018, the loss to unranked South Carolina in 2019 and the Florida-Georgia game in 2020 as the most recent examples. The Aggies, who haven’t won a national championship since 1939, experienced one of those Georgia-like near national championship moments last year when their only loss was by 28 points to Alabama. History says that at some point in the season the Aggies will want to move to Manila and change their name to the Folders.

And then there is Florida. Sure, there’s pressure at No. 11. All the teams ranked below the Gators will want to score an upset, but when you’re No. 11 you can win ugly and no one will notice nearly as much. If you happen to lose to a higher-ranked team – Alabama comes to The Swamp September 18; Georgia in Jacksonville October 30 – you were SUPPOSED to do it. Win those two games and the Gators will find themselves championship contenders.

At No. 11, the Gators are about where most of the preseason prognosticators have them. Well, everyone but Phil Steele, who has the Gators outside his top 25, which is the equivalent of starting the season in Siberia. Don’t believe it? Just ask Auburn 2004, which went 13-0 but was never considered a BCS Championship Game contender because the Tigers started the season too far out at No. 17.

When he met the media last week, Mullen seemed more subdued than usual. Perhaps it’s because he is quite happy that Florida is being low-balled by the experts. I’m of the opinion he doesn’t want to tip his hand that he’s got a team he likes very much with a quarterback situation he likes with Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson to go with the best running backs room he’s ever had as a head coach dating back to his Mississippi State days. The offense is going to be just fine and if the defense stages a turnaround from last year’s disaster and the Gators avoid the injury bug, they’re going to win 10 or more games.

THE PRESEASON COACHES TOP 25 POLL 1. Alabama 2. Clemson 3. Oklahoma 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Texas A&M 7. Notre Dame 8. Iowa State 9. North Carolina 10. Cincinnati 11. FLORIDA 12. Oregon 13. LSU 14. Southern Cal

15. Wisconsin 16. Miami 17. Indiana

18. Iowa 19. Texas 20. Penn State 21. Washington 22. Oklahoma State 23. Louisiana 24. Coastal Carolina 25. Ole Miss

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama: Evan Neal, who most preseason magazines project as a first team All-America offensive tackle, has lost 15 pounds and expects to play at or near 345 in the fall. “I’m a lot more light on my toes,” Neal said.

Arkansas: There may not be a more underrated trio of linebackers anywhere in the country than Grant Morgan (111 tackles in 2020, 1 interception returned for a TD, 7.5 tackles for loss), Bumper Pool (101, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups) and Hayden Henry (25, 3 tackles for loss).

Auburn: Defensive tackle Tyrone Truesdell, a starter the last two seasons, is no longer part of the team according to HBC Bryan Harsin. Truesdell was back for the NCAA extra year of eligibility granted to everyone who played in 2020. The 6-2, 335-pound nose tackle made 19 starts and played in 44 games in four years.

Georgia: Officially, Will Muschamp is Georgia’s new special teams coordinator. Dan Lanning, the defensive coordinator says, “I definitely think he [Muschamp] will be involved on defense.” Bet the farm that Muschamp will be put in charge of Georgia’s secondary.

Kentucky: Kentucky has moved former 4-star wide receiver Michael Drennen to running back. Drennen caught three passes for 26 yards last season as a true freshman. LSU: In the early days of August camp, LSU is short-handed when it comes to experience at running back. Junior Tyrion Davis-Price is sidelined with a calf injury and fellow junior John Emery hasn’t practiced while he finishes up some schoolwork.

Mississippi State: The battle for the starting quarterback job is being waged by Will Rogers, who had six starts as a true freshman in 2020, and South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich. Rogers threw for 1,976 yards and 11 touchdowns last year while Lovertich threw for 619 yards and five TDs.

Missouri: New Missouri AD Desiree Reed-Francois has a six-year contract with a base salary of $800,000. She has deferred compensation of $150,000 per year paid if she finishes out her contract and $150,000 in incentives.

Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin knows he needs John Rhys Plumlee on the field so that’s why the former quarterback is focusing on learning to play wide receiver. Kiffin says Plumlee will be used in many different ways and can take snaps at QB when he’s in the game, too, but the focus will be on catching passes. Kinkead Dean and true freshman Luke Altmeyer are battling for the backup QB position behind starter Matt Corral.

South Carolina: Running back MarShawn Lloyd, who sat last season after tearing his ACL in August, is fit and ready to go this fall. He could be the first-game starter if last year’s SEC leading rusher Kevin Harris still hasn’t recovered from a back procedure.

Tennessee: Tennessee athletic director Danny White says the Vols have been 100 percent cooperative throughout the NCAA’s investigation into irregularities in the football program during the watch of former HBC Jeremy Pruitt. Since February, the Vols have been billed $756,453 by the legal firm of Bond, Schoeneck and King.

Texas A&M: HBC Jimbo Fisher is giving redshirt freshman Haynes King and redshirt sophomore Zach Calzada equal opportunities to win the starting quarterback job by alternating the days they work with the first team offense.

Vanderbilt: Although it will likely make Vanderbilt football more of an SEC bottom feeder if that is even possible, athletic director Candice Lee says adding Oklahoma and Texas “is a great day for the SEC” … Vanderbilt has already raised $200 million of the $300 million it plans to invest on athletic department infrastructure.

RANKING THE TOP TEN QUARTERBACKS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2021 My list is probably at odds with some of the “experts” at the preseason mags and some other websites, but I might have watched as many games as anyone so I feel good about my rankings. I refuse to rank top 10 a quarterback who has four or fewer starts at his current school. 1. Sam Howell, North Carolina: If UNC is to challenge Clemson for the ACC title it will be because Howell lights everyone up. He has 7,227 passing yards (9.4 per attempt) and 68 TDPs in two seasons. 2. Matt Corral, Ole Miss: He threw for 3,337 yards (10.2 per attempt) and 29 TDs plus ran for 506 and four more last year in a brand-new offense without the benefit of a spring practice. He’s had a spring and an offseason with Lane Kiffin. He could be scary good. 3. Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma: Once Rattler got over the early season jitters last year, he was very, very good. He threw for 3,031 yards (9.6 per attempt) and 28 touchdowns and ran for six more scores last year, his first as a starter. 4. Malik Willis, Liberty: Auburn screwed up when they let him get away. Last year he threw for 2,250 yards (8.5 per attempt) and 20 TDs while running for 944 (6.7 per carry) and 14 for a 10-1 Liberty team. NFL scouts believe he could be a top 10 pick. 5. D’Eriq King, Miami: He’s the reason Alabama is sweating the season opener with Miami. Last year he threw for 2,686 yards (8.6 per carry) and 23 touchdowns while running for 538 and four more. He has 73 passing TDs and 32 rushing TDs in his college career.

6. Kedon Slovis, Southern Cal: He is the reason JT Daniels transferred out at USC. In 18 collegiate games he has thrown for 5,423 yards (8.3 per attempt) and 47 touchdowns. 7. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati: The Bearcats could run a second straight regular season schedule if Ridder stays healthy. His three-year totals are 6,905 passing yards (7.5 per attempt) and 57 touchdowns while rushing for 1,825 (4.7 per carry) and 22 TDs.

8. Carson Strong, Nevada: Never heard of him? Every NFL scout has after last season when he threw for 2,858 yards (8.1 per attempt) and 27 touchdowns in just nine games. 9. Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina: Coastal almost scored a perfect season last year when McCall threw for 2,488 yards (10.0 per attempt) and 26 touchdowns while rushing for 569 yards (5.1 per carry) and seven TDs as a redshirt freshman. Coastal is good enough to run the table again if McCall stays healthy. 10. Brock Purdy, Iowa State: Iowa State is in everybody’s top ten this year because Purdy is that good. In 35 collegiate games, he has thrown for 8,982 yards (8.5 per attempt) and 62 touchdowns while rushing for 939 and 18 more TDs.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: A couple of weeks before the Gators put the kibosh on Ohio State in the national championship game in 2006, D-line coach/co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and I walked from the practice field to the stadium talking about the advantages he thought the Gators had with their defensive tackles. “They can’t handle us inside,” he told me. “They’ll have to keep their fullback and running back in to keep us from pressuring straight up the gut. That’s where great pass defense begins. When you can pressure in the middle, there’s no help for the guys on the outside so if you have quality guys at the ends, you should make life miserable for the quarterback.” Ohio State managed all of 82 yards of offense and one offensive touchdown as UF destroyed the Buckeyes 41-14. Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss combined for five sacks on the outside because Steven Harris, Ray McDonald and Joe Cohen forced the Buckeyes to hold their fullback and running back in. By the second quarter, Ohio State was in max protect, holding in the tight end which meant two-man routes the rest of the way. In the years since, every outstanding Florida defense has been strong in the middle without exception. A year ago, the Gators rarely got pressure up the gut and couldn’t stop the run. A soft middle has a lot to do with why the defense stunk. I believe things are about to change. If this season’s inside rotation of Daquan Newkirk, Antonio Valentino and Gervon Dexter is as good as I think it’s going to be, then Florida’s defense has a chance to be top 30 and perhaps top 20. If the Gators are that good they will be contenders.