Thoughts of the Day: November 1, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: MONDAY AFTER GEORGIA … Two-thirds of Florida’s football season is over and done with. There are four games remaining, all of them winnable, and without a doubt, the Gators need to win all four to close out the regular season at 8-4. Is it what we wanted or thought we would get? No, but it cannot be stressed enough that winning these next four games is imperative.

Here are a few other thoughts in the aftermath of the Georgia loss:

Florida has turned the ball over 16 times this season – 14 interceptions and two fumbles. Nine of the 14 interceptions have been turned into 59 points by opponents (2-for-14 against Georgia). The two fumbles have been turned into 10 points (1-for-7 against Georgia). Of the 16 turnovers, 15 are by the quarterbacks. We can point to inexperience and there’s no doubt, that’s part of the problem, but there has to be better decision-making.

More on decision-making by the quarterbacks. If you’ve paid close attention, then you may have noticed there is no shortage of open receivers. There is, however, a shortage of passes thrown their way or a shortage of passes thrown on time. Xzavier Henderson gets open a lot. If Richardson makes the throw on time, Henderson is off and running but he held the ball, waited too late and the ball got tipped for an interception that led to Georgia taking a 17-0 lead. It has been that way all season with both quarterbacks.

The O-line coaching is not the problem. The Gators have allowed only seven sacks all year. They ran for 161 yards on Georgia, by far the most any team has all season and nearly as much as Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky had combined against UGa. However, Florida has to step up the recruiting. I’m not sure Hev is going to recruit better, but I do believe if he has better players, the offensive line will be outstanding. Someone has to pick up the recruiting slack, whether it’s Hev or someone else.

There is no explaining the defense. Against LSU, it was as if the scout team was on the field and the scholarship players had been left back in Gainesville. Against Georgia, you can only pin 13 points on them and that last TD was basically a gimme since the game was already lost. How can you get your defense to play so well against Georgia or the last three quarters against Alabama yet LSU destroys you with the exact same play over-and-over again? The inconsistency is baffling, just one more reason why Todd Grantham needs to be told thankee, have a good life somewhere else.

Special teams. Jeremy Crawshaw is just fine as a punter but coverage has been spotty. The Gators have to have a better placekicker. Kickoff coverage hasn’t been good. Someone else needs to take the reins of the special teams because this isn’t working all that well.

Final thoughts: There are only nine teams in all of Division I younger than Florida. I believe better days are ahead but (1) the Gators need to go 4-0 in November to gain some momentum; (2) Mullen needs to overhaul the defensive staff and bring in a young, aggressive type (like Doug Belk) who is a superior recruiter and capable of assembling an outstanding staff; (3) Florida needs to double up on recruiting staff/budget while bringing in a coordinator like Mark Pantoni or Todd Bates; (4) Mullen needs to work the transfer portal for talented kids who need a fresh start and have two or more seasons of eligibility remaining; and (5) the football facility and other facilities upgrades cannot happen fast enough. UF is in a hole that was dug deep long before Mullen arrived and if the Gators are to have any chance of regaining upper echelon status, it’s time to join the 21st century.

The Associated Press Top 25 poll: (1) Georgia (8-0); 2. Cincinnati 8-0; 3. Alabama 7-1; 4. Oklahoma 9-0; 5. Michigan State 8-0; 6. Ohio State 7-1; 7. Oregon 7-1; 8. Notre Dame 7-1; 9. Michigan 701; 10. Wake Forest 8-0; 11. Oklahoma State 7-1; 12. Auburn 6-2; 13. Texas A&M 6-2; 14. Baylor 7-1; 15. Ole Miss 6-2; 16. Texas-San Antonio 8-0; 17. BYU 7-2; 18. Kentucky 6-2; 19. Iowa 6-2; 20. Houston 7-1; 21. Coastal Carolina 7-1; 22. Penn State 5-3; 23. SMU 7-1; 24. Louisiana 7-1; 25. Fresno State 7-2

The Coaches Top 25 Poll: 1. Georgia (8-0); 2. Cincinnati 8-0; 3. Alabama 7-1; 4. Oklahoma 9-0; 5. Ohio State 7-1; 6. Michigan State 8-0; 7. Oregon 7-1; 8. Notre Dame 7-1; 9. Wake Forest 8-0; 10. Michigan 7-1; 11. Oklahoma State 7-1; 12. Texas A&M 6-2; 13. Baylor 7-1; 14. Auburn 6-2; 15. Ole Miss 6-2; 16. Iowa 6-2; 17. Kentucky 6-2; 18. Texas-San Antonio 8-0; 19. Houston 7-1; 20. BYU 7-2; 21. Coastal Carolina 7-1; 22. North Carolina State 6-2; 23. Penn State 5-3; 24. SMU 7-1; 25. Pittsburgh 6-2

THE SEC AFTER NINE WEEKS Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): If this isn’t a sign of the times, then nothing is. Alabama is opening as a three touchdown favorite over LSU. Next week: vs. LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC)

Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Arkansas used the bye week to let the players on the two-deep rest while giving the younger players nearly all the practice reps. Next week: vs. Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC)

Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC): Good Bo Nix showed up against Ole Miss, throwing for 276 yards and a TD and running for two more. He got help from Tank Bigsby who had his best game of the season, running for 140 yards and a TD. Next week: at Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC)

Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC): The combination of Georgia’s win over Florida and Kentucky’s loss to Mississippi State makes the Bulldogs the SEC East champions. Next week: vs. Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC)

Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC): Kentucky couldn’t run the ball (66 yards), couldn’t protect the ball (four turnovers) and couldn’t get Mississippi State off the field (74 plays, 41:10 time of possession). Next week: vs. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC)

LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Paul Finebaum thinks that Michigan State’s win over Michigan makes it less likely that Mel Tucker will leave East Lansing to come to Baton Rouge to become the next head coach at LSU. On ESPN, Finebaum said, “… I think there’s maybe a little more likelihood after yesterday he looked around and said, ‘You know what, I like where I am. I even like the weather here and I really like the fact that Jim Harbaugh is down the road.’” Next week: at Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC)

Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC): Sophomore QB Will Rogers set an SEC record for completion percentage when he hit 36-39 passes for 344 yards to lead Mississippi State over then 12th-ranked Kentucky. Next week: at Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC)

Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): Tyler Badie ran for 254 yards and two touchdowns and caught eight passes for 40 yards in the win over Vandy. It’s a good thing he did because the Mizzou defense allowed Vanderbilt to run for 258 yards … QB Connor Bazelac suffered an injury in the win and will have to be evaluated to see if he can go against Georgia. Next week: at Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC)

Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC): Matt Corral shouldered the blame for the loss to Auburn, saying, “The plays I usually make, I just missed. I blame myself. This loss is on me.” Of course, the Ole Miss defense had a hand in the loss too, giving up 483 yards including 207 on the ground. Next week: vs. Liberty (7-2)

South Carolina (4-4, 1-3 SEC): HBC Shane Beamer hasn’t named a starting QB for Florida, either Zeb Noland or Jason Brown. Noland is recovering from a knee procedure. Next week: vs. Florida (4-4, 2-4 SEC)

Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The Athletic is reporting that the University of Tennessee has banned nine fans – not students – from attending any UT athletic event the rest of the 2021-22 school year for throwing things on the field and at Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin back on October 16. Next week: at Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC)

Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Next week: vs. Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): Mike Wright threw for three touchdowns and ran for 152 yards in the loss to Missouri. Next week: Open date

FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: Wake Forest (8-0) continues to be the league bell cow after racking up 677 yards of offense in a 45-7 rout of Duke (3-5). Sam Hartman threw for 402 yards and three TDs for the Deacons … The Save Manny Diaz Tour continues for Miami (4-4) as the Hurricanes beat Pitt (6-2), the second straight week they’ve knocked off a ranked team. Pitt’s Kenny Pickett threw for 519 yards and three TDs in the loss … Florida State (3-5) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end when Clemson (5-3) rallied in the fourth quarter for a 30-20 come-from-behind win.

Big Ten: Michigan (7-1) was outscored 23-3 by Michigan State (8-0) in the last 17:49 and lost to Michigan State, 37-34. Wake Forest transfer Kenneth Walker III ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns to lead Michigan State and move to the front of the Heisman Trophy race. He has run for 1,194 yards and 14 touchdowns with four games to go in the regular season … Ohio State (7-1) beat Penn State (5-3) 33-24 but didn’t exactly look like a playoff team doing it. The Buckeyes had to settle for four field goals in the red zone and were penalized 10 times for 74 yards … Those same Minnesota Gophers (6-2) who lost to Bowling Green (3-6) find themselves in the awkward spot of leading the Big Ten West after blowtorching Northwestern 41-14. Wisconsin (5-3) put the kibosh on Iowa (6-2), which, only three weeks ago was unbeaten and ranked 2nd nationally.

Big 12: TCU has fired longtime coach Gary Patterson, effective immediately. Patterson was 181-79 as the HBC of the Horned Frogs … There was a Spencer Rattler sighting Saturday, but the former Heisman front runner only got in Oklahoma’s (9-0) 52-21 win over Texas Tech (5-4) after Caleb Williams had thrown for 402 yards and six touchdowns. Rattler was 5-5 for 67 yards and a TD in mop-up duty … The Texas (4-4) misery index ratcheted up a couple more notches after Baylor (7-1) outscored the Longhorns 14-3 in the fourth quarter to take a 31-24 win … Oklahoma State (7-1) hammered Kansas (1-7), 55-3.

Pac-12: The league is a mess. Oregon (7-1) is the only decent team. The Ducks pounded Colorado 52-29 behind three TDPs from Anthony Brown … Utah (5-3) took control of the Pac-12 South by blowing out UCLA (5-4), 44-24. Figure Chip Kelly’s tush is a bit toasty about now.

Independents: Notre Dame (7-1) ran for 293 yards to knock off North Carolina (4-4) 44-34 … BYU (7-2) racked up 734 yards of offense while taking out Virginia (6-3) 66-49. Virginia had 588 yards in the losing effort. Tyler Allegeier ran for 266 yards and five TDs for BYU.

Group of Five: Cincinnati (8-0) continues to carry the torch for the Group of Five, but it took outscoring Tulane 17-0 in the second half to stay unbeaten … SMU (7-1) fell from the unbeaten ranks when Houston outscored the Mustangs 14-3 in the fourth quarter for a 44-37 win … San Diego State (7-1) also lost its bid for a perfect season when Fresno State (7-2) ambushed the Aztecs, 30-20 … UTSA (8-0) didn’t have a game this weekend but you can’t say the Roadrunners didn’t win. HBC Jeff Traylor (15-5 at what was thought to be a deadend program) was just locked up long term for $2.8 million a year with increased money for his assistants and recruiting.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The first College Football Playoff poll will be out Tuesday, accompanied by the usual moans and groans about the rankings. About the only ranked team that won’t be able to complain is Georgia, which should be a unanimous No. 1. Georgia has beaten then No. 3 Clemson, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 18 Auburn and No. 11 Kentucky. Nobody else has that many wins over ranked teams. I’ll be interested to see where they rank Cincinnati, whose only quality win is over now No. 8 (then 9) Notre Dame. The only other team with a winning record the Bearcats have beaten is UCF (5-3). The resumes for everyone else is rather spotty. Wake Forest Gump for example is 8-0 but hasn’t played a ranked team nor is there a ranked team on its schedule.