Thoughts of the day: October 13, 2022

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

SATURDAY, PEARSALL AND DANIELS WILL BE RIVALS

A year ago, whenever Jayden Daniels needed to find an open receiver, the first person he looked for is Ricky Pearsall. The two of them hooked up 48 times for 580 yards and four touchdowns.

Daniels is still throwing passes and Pearsall is still catching them, the only difference they are no longer teammates at Arizona State. Daniels is the starting QB at LSU where he has thrown for 1,215 yards and seven touchdowns while running for 359 and three more. Pearsall has established himself as a go-to receiver for Anthony Richardson at Florida where he has caught 14 passes for 254 yards (18.14 per catch) and two touchdowns. He has also scored once on a 76-yard reverse.

There will be a reunion Saturday when they’re on opposite sidelines, each one trying to help his team get to win No. 5. They talk regularly, but especially in the last few days.

“I think we’ve been talking for the longest time, since I committed to Florida actually,” Pearsall said. “We FaceTime all the time. He’s definitely talking, but I talk, too, so it’s going to be really fun, a little rivalry with each other.”

Pearsall grinned when the subject of trash talk came up and when asked who’s better, the answer shot back without hesitation, “Me!”

Pearsall knows exactly what the Gators can expect from his buddy and former battery-mate.

“He’s really athletic,” Pearsall said. “He’s a really good runner, so I think that’s a really important thing. When he gets out of the pocket, he’s dangerous. I told Big G (Gervon Dexter Sr.) and I told Jayden, too. I was like, Big G is coming for you so I was trying to get in his head a little bit, but yeah, it will be good.”

Florida depth chart for LSU

WR: Xzavier Henderson; Daejon Reynolds or Marcus Burke

WR: Justin Shorter; Ja’Quavion Fraziars

WR: Ricky Pearsall; Trent Whittemore; Ja’Markis Weston

LT: Richard Gouraige; Kamryn Waites

LG: Ethan White; Josh Braun

C: Kingsley Eguakun; Jake Slaughter

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

RT: Austin Barber or Michael Tarquin

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; Kamari 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 Chaiakhiao-Bowman

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

Injured: CB Devin Moore, out; LB Diwun Black (out); RG O’Cyrus Torrence (questionable); LS Marco Ortiz (out); TE Arlis Boardingham (questionable); TE Nick Elksnis (out)

SEC football

No. 3 Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC): Nick Saban won’t say that Bryce Young will play against Tennessee, but he made it perfectly clear Young wants to play on the SEC Coaches Teleconference.

Arkansas (3-3, 1-3 SEC): HBC Sam Pittman said that quarterback KJ Jefferson “had a good week” of practice for BYU after missing last week’s game because of concussion protocol.

Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC): Greg McElroy says one of the reasons Bryan Harsin still has a job is that there really isn’t anyone on the Auburn staff with enough experience to be the interim.

No. 1 Georgia (6-0, 3-0, SEC): Former Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley is out of the hospital after a bout with COVID.

No. 22 Kentucky (4-2, 1-2 SEC): Whether it’s Will Levis or another QB Saturday against Mississippi State, he will have to have better protection. The Wildcats are 129th in the nation in sacks allowed (25). Mississippi State pass rushers have gotten to the QB 14 times in six games.

LSU (4-2, 2-1 SEC): Offensive lineman Will Campbell, who missed the Tennessee game with dehydration, is expected to play Saturday against Florida.

No. 16 Mississippi State (5-1, 2-1 SEC): Asked his views about childbirth, Mike Leach said, “You never know when liftoff is on those things. I almost missed my son. He popped out real fast.”

Missouri (2-4, 0-3 SEC): After three straight losses, HBC Eli Drinkwitz said the bye week “came at a great time for our team to recharge and refresh.”

No. 9 Ole Miss (6-0, 2-0 SEC): Speaking of QB Jaxson Dart, Lane Kiffin said, “I’d really like him to not throw the ball to the other team.”

South Carolina (4-2, 1-2 SEC): With a bye week, South Carolina HBC Shane Beamer will be concentrating on recruiting.

No. 6 Tennessee (6-0, 2-0 SEC): Wide receiver Cedric Tillman is still day-to-day. HBC Josh Heupel says a decision to play him against Alabama will be made “as we get closer to game day.”

Texas A&M (3-3, 1-2 SEC): Thirteen members of Texas A&M’s top-ranked 2022 recruiting class have already burned their redshirt.

Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-2 SEC): The Commodores had a great first half last week at Memphis before they melted down in the second half. With Vandy going to Athens to face No. 1 Georgia Saturday, HBC Clark Lea said, “If we can replicate Vanderbilt football over four quarters, we will put ourselves in good position in Athens.”

Our SEC orphans in the Big 12

Oklahoma (3-3, 0-3 Big 12): Dillon Gabriel’s status has been upgraded to probable for Saturday’s game with No. 19 Kansas. Gabriel was knocked unconscious in the TCU game and hasn’t played since.

No. 23 Texas (4-2, 2-1 Big 12): Freshman Kelvin Banks has started all six games at left tackle and fellow freshman Cole Hutson has started the last five at right guard.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Call it the upset of the firing season. We went an entire week without anyone getting the pink slip. That could change this week, particularly if Ole Miss blows the doors off Auburn. Of course, the Auburn faithful who want Bryan Harsin gone were thinking that last week when Georgia pounded the Tigers into oblivion.

Countdown to Firing Day: Week 7

Extinct Species List

Scott Frost, Nebraska: Everybody seems to think Matt Rhule would be the perfect fit at Nebraska since he has already revived dead programs at Temple and Baylor in the past. Does he want to do another rebuild? He may ask with $800,000 a month in Carolina Panthers buyout money for the next four years why go through the agony of starting from scratch again?

Herm Edwards, Arizona State: The smart hire would be Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who played and coached at Arizona State but will he be willing to anchor his coaching future to a school that is going to get absolutely hammered by the NCAA?

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: Since Collins was fired, interim Brent Key has won two straight to even the record at 3-3. The folks at North Avenue tend to be on the cheap side, so there is every good chance Key will be the replacement since there are no buyouts and moving expenses involved.

Karl Dorrell, Colorado: Ryan Walters, the defensive coordinator at Illinois and a former Colorado safety, seems to be the hot name, especially since the Fighting Illini are second nationally in total defense and holding opponents to 67 yards a game on the ground.

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: The guy they want is Kansas coach Lance Leipold, a Wisconsin native who won six Division III national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater. If Leipold says no they probably stick with interim Jim Leonhard, who was a 3-time All-America safety at Wisconsin after walking on. He’s been the defensive coordinator, knows the state and is a good recruiter.

On Life Support

Bryan Harsin, Auburn: It’s a given that Harsin won’t be back but somehow he’s still coaching. In the immortal words of Jeremy Foley, “What should be done eventually must be done immediately.” Especially with the possibility of hiring Matt Rhule out there.

Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: The next three games will likely determine if Lefty is back another year. He’s 2-4 with that big win over Marshall but he needs to go 3-3 the rest of the way to have a chance to be back. A 4-2 mark, which is highly unlikely, would do the trick.

Neal Brown, West Virginia: The Mounties are 2-3 heading into tonight’s game with Baylor. Brown needs five wins in the last seven to remain gainfully employed. The schedule says that isn’t going to happen. There are buzzards seriously debating whether it’s time to start circling.

Dana Holgorsen, Houston: The Cougars are 3-3, certainly not what was expected when the season began and there were aspirations of being this year’s Cincinnati. There isn’t a game of the remaining six that isn’t winnable. Holgorsen really needs to go 6-0 to show he’s worth every penny of the more than $4 million they’re paying him.

Will Healy, Charlotte: He’s 1-5, on the verge of another losing season and next year Charlotte moves up from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. It’s going to take a minor miracle for Healy to keep his job.

Endangered Species List

Ken Niumatalolo, Navy: Have the Middies turned the corner on the season? That 53-21 win over Tulsa last week was an eye opener. They’re 2-3 and the schedule is daunting enough that 6-6 might be a stretch, but it would take the heat off Niumatalolo.

Mike Bloomgren, Rice: If he wins the Owl Bowl in Boca this weekend, the Rice Owls will be 4-2, meaning Bloomgren is (a) two wins away from bowl eligibility and (b) two wins away from avoiding the pink slip.

Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic: It’s all but imperative FAU wins the Owl Bowl in Boca Saturday. They’re 2-4 and out of excuses for why they’re not better. Willie needs a minimum 4-2 finish to avoid a losing season and walking the proverbial coaches plank.

David Shaw, Stanford: Since the 9-4 season of 2018, the Cardinal have gone 12-24, 1-4 this season. The only team worse in the Pac-12 is Colorado, which already sent its coach packing. Shaw makes $8.9 million which has folks thinking they aren’t getting near enough bang for their buck on The Farm. The buzzards might start gathering if Notre Dame drops the hammer this weekend in South Bend.

Scott Satterfield, Louisville: The Cardinals are 3-3 but the next six games are all losable and the last three – (at) Clemson, North Carolina State and (at) Kentucky – have the look of a 3-game losing streak at the end of the season. A loss to Pitt this week might set the firing wheels in motion.

Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee: Since scoring that shocker of a win over then 25th-ranked Miami, the Blue Raiders have gone in the tank. They’re 3-3 with a schedule that could take them in either direction. A 4-2 finish wouldn’t excite the masses, but it might keep him from getting canned.

Jake Spavital, Texas State: The relatively easy win over the Happy Appys raised a few eyebrows. The Bobcats are 3-3 and the next three are very winnable. Progress is being made and a 6-6 season will keep Spavital off a will work for beer street corner.