Thoughts of the Day: November 4, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

MULLEN TRIES TO PROJECT CALM DEMEANOR IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY It’s been quite a week for Dan Mullen. He was already getting hammered for losing to Georgia 34-7 last Saturday when he hustled his way through a press conference Monday after which he canceled all media availability with players and coaches except for the Wednesday SEC Coaches Teleconference, for which attendance is mandatory.

But, there was more. Monday night and throughout the day on Tuesday there were rumors leaking out that at a team meeting that involved coaches and players there was a whole lot of shouting going on although it hasn’t been pinpointed who exactly were the shouters and who were the shoutees. Making matters worse, quarterback Anthony Richardson may not be able to play Saturday night when the Gators travel to South Carolina due to concussion protocols and the flu bug apparently is making the rounds.

Other than that, everything is peachy. Or at least, that’s what Mullen was trying to project on the Teleconference Wednesday morning. On the call, he made reference to the team regaining its mojo and playing with confidence – “the expectations to go make plays” is how Mullen described it.

“I think there’s a huge aspect to that of the guys expecting to make plays out there on the field and looking at each other and not just expecting themselves, but expecting their teammates, to make plays,” Mullen said.

That, it would seem, is an issue of confidence and accountability. If confidence and accountability are missing, then these last four games are going to be a struggle. Florida is an 18-point favorite to beat South Carolina Saturday night and should be favored by at least two or three touchdowns to win their other three games this month.

Mullen did say that the Gators practiced with great energy and indicated that confidence is returning.

“I think their focus has been fantastic this week and I think part of the preparation is building all of that confidence within each other and expecting great things to happen … expecting each other to make plays while we're out there on the field,” Mullen said. "Within our expectations there’s two aspects – two to me – which [are] expecting good things to happen to us and make plays. Some of that comes with the consistency of our performance. In our losses this year you can’t pinpoint one thing, but you can pinpoint that when bad things happen, they were really bad for us. And they were different bad things in each game.”

Bad things do happen during the course of games. The good teams put the bad things in the rearview. The bad to mediocre teams dwell on what went wrong and it affects the way they play the game.

"The other part of it is, one, to eliminate the mistakes, which you want to do,” Mullen said. “The second part of it really is when something bad happens during the course of the game, to put the brakes on and say, 'Hey, the ebbs and flows of the game make them minor.' When things go wrong, okay, we have the confidence whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams for guys to believe we’re going to step up and go make that play and turn adversity to just a minor adversity, not into something major that has cost four losses on the season, whatever it may be."

Here is what we can conclude by Mullen’s statements: He knows better than anyone that the month of November equates to a 4-game season. Not only is he coaching to salvage what’s left, but he has a lot of questions that these four games will answer regarding which players and coaches wish to be part of the University of Florida football program in 2022.

Mullen can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, so what is done is done. He can, however, find out plenty about players, coaches and even himself moving forward.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): If the four teams in the initial College Football Playoff poll actually make it in, then we could rename this the Nick Saban Invitational since the coaches at Georgia (Kirby Smart), Michigan State (Mel Tucker) and Oregon (Mario Cristobal) were all on Saban’s 2015 coaching staff. Also on that staff were Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss HBC) and Billy Napier (Lousiana HBC) … Linebacker Drew Sanders (hand) is expected to be available when Alabama hosts LSU Saturday. Saban is still waiting clearance for running back Camar Wheaton, who has been sidelined with a meniscus injury.

Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): The Razorbacks, who average 249 yards per game on the ground, will be going against a Mississippi State defense that allows just 89.63 and is coming off a game in which it gave up only 61 to Kentucky … Arkansas not only plans to start 240-pound sophomore running back Dominique Johnson against Mississippi State but get him plenty of carries. “I think that 15 [carries] range is probably about right knowing we still have three other backs,” HBC Sam Pittman said Wednesday.

Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC): Linebacker Owen Pappoe, who has missed four games due to an injury suffered at Penn State, will be at 100 percent for Saturday’s game at Texas A&M … On WJOX, Paul Finebaum said that Bryan Harsin would be his choice of SEC Coach of the Year. “I don’t think it’s really in dispute at the moment,” Finebaum said. “… he’s already won a couple of games I did not have him winning so I could not be more impressed.”

Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC): Kirby Smart declined to answer which quarterback will start Saturday against Missouri – Stetson Bennett IV or JT Daniels. “I’m pleased with where both of them are and I think both of them are doing a great job,” Smart said … Freshman tight end Brock Bowers has been named a John Mackey Award semifinalist … Linebacker Nakobe Dean is a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.

Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC): After throwing for 337 yards and five TDs without an interception in games against LSU and Georgia, QB Will Levis threw two critical interceptions against Mississippi State. HBC Mark Stoops said that in the Mississippi State game, “Will had a chance to hit a few strikes, complete a few passes to possibly hit a touchdown or two and we missed them so we have to get that fixed.”

LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): LSU has been hit hard with injuries this year, the latest to cornerback Cordale Flott, who Coach Oeaux says, “Very questionable. I doubt he’s going to play [against Alabama].” Flott has one interception and 31 tackles this season.

Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC): Explaining how it is Mississippi State is ranked No. 17 in the College Football Playoff poll despite losses to unranked Memphis and LSU, committee chairman Gary Barta explained the Bulldogs have three wins over ranked teams – North Carolina State, Texas A&M and Kentucky. “Those three wins impressed the committee enough to put them at 17,” Barta said.

Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): HBC Eli Drinkwitz doesn’t know if Georgia will start Stetson Bennett IV or JT Daniels Saturday, but said that no matter which one plays, “I really don’t know that [the offense] changes that much.” … Former Mizzou coach Warren Powers (1978-84) died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC): QB Matt Corral is the only SEC quarterback among the 10 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award … Because of the injuries, Lane Kiffin has had to adjust the offense. “We’re going to simplify things, try to play some younger players,” Kiffin said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “We were very overmatched at a number of spots and we have to find ways to overcome that. That’s what coaching is.” Kiffin and the Rebels will be hosting Liberty Saturday, coached by former Ole Miss HBC Hugh Freeze. Basketball: Ole Miss has given Kermit Davis a 4-year contract extension.

South Carolina (4-4, 1-3 SEC): Responding to ongoing criticism that the South Carolina offense is too complex for the Gamecocks to grasp, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said, “There’s nothing we’re going that’s too complex, especially in the run game. I’ve coached at the FCS level. My dad coached at the high school level. It’s basic football.” … HBC Shane Beamer still won’t name a starting QB (either Zeb Noland or Jason Brown) for Saturday night’s game with Florida. “I don’t know if that gives us any benefit at all,” Beamer said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference.

Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): To beat Kentucky in Lexington Saturday, HBC Josh Heupel says, “Our kids are preparing in a really good way. For us, it’s the next challenge for us. They’re really good up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage. We have to go up there and compete for 60 minutes and play smart football.”

Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Jimbo Fisher is very aware at how tough Auburn’s defense plays in the red zone. “They’re playing really good in the red zone,” Fisher said. “I think last week Ole Miss was there four different times and never got a point.”

Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): The Commodores have an open date this week. Basketball: Rodney Chatman, who transferred in from Dayton and was expected to start from day one, will miss the next 4-6 weeks after suffering a knee injury during a scrimmage. Center Liam Robbins, a Minnesota transfer, will miss the season opener while recovering from a foot injury.

LINCOLN RILEY UPSET WITH TREND OF FIRING COACHES AT MIDSEASON

It’s one thing to fire a college football coach for cause at any point during a season, but something altogether different when we see coaches being fired during the season as we’ve seen in high profile jobs like Southern Cal, LSU, Texas Tech and most recently, TCU. At TCU, Gary Patterson, who was on the job for 22 years and won 189 games, was let go Sunday night with a third of the season still to be played.

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley says the trend to fire coaches during the season simply because they aren’t winning is not a good trend for college football.

“We may have to look at something maybe like the pros do, or something like that that really draws some hard lines on when [firings] can happen and when they can’t,” Riley told ESPN. “Gary Patterson not finishing a season at a place he built? Man, that ain’t right.”

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For the most part, I am against the Federal government getting involved in sports but a bill has been introduced to Congress to create a statute of limitations for the NCAA to complete investigations while giving any sanctioned school the right to appeal before a third-party arbitrator. Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN) has teamed with Burgess Owens (R-UT) and Josh Harder (D-CA) to force the NCAA to act swiftly and fairly to deal with rules breakers. “The NCAA acts as investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner,” Kustoff told ESPN. “[Our bill] sets up a framework. The NCAA can still do their jobs, but with more constraints.” Short of the NCAA being abolished in favor of a streamlined organization that lacks the administrative bloat and insanely complicated set of rules, anything that will hasten investigations, trials and punishment is welcome. It’s ridiculous that the NCAA has dragged its feet in dealing with LSU, South Carolina, Alabama and Auburn (and others), who were implicated in the college basketball corruption investigations.