Thoughts of the Day: October 16, 2020

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:

The question of the day, one that I’ve been asked at least 100 times since Tuesday, is if a player who has tested positive for Covid-19 tests negative a day or so after, will he be eligible to return to practice and team activities or stay in quarantine?

Here is the SEC guideline: If an individual (player, coach or support staff) tests positive and then receives three negative tests including the second two in a 24-hour span and remains asymptomatic then that person can be “released from isolation and medically cleared to return to athletic activities only.” Two consecutive negative tests would officially declare the positive result as false positive.

So with any luck, the 18 scholarship players, three walk-ons and two assistant coaches who tested positive will be symptom free and will test negative three straight times. That should enable the Gators to get back to normal football activities.

SOOTHSAYING IN THE SEC

#3 GEORGIA (3-0) at #2 ALABAMA (3-0): Before Nick Saban came down with Covid-19 most people figured Alabama would score three or four touchdowns and get just enough defense to win. The Vegas oddsmakers still have Bama listed as a 4.5-pound favorite even though Steve Sarkisian will be Nick’s Saturday evening stand-in. Well, maybe. If Nick can test negative three times before Saturday he will be on the sideline. That’s a big if, but in this season of weirdness, anything is possible including Nick Saban getting a visit from Benny Hinn or a miracle drug that stops the virus in its tracks. It’s a home game so with Nick, you have to give Alabama an edge, plus Alabama has proven twice in the past that it can lose a regular season game then still win the College Football Playoff. That means the pressure is totally on Georgia and its vaunted defense. If the defense doesn’t come through, it will mean Stetson Bennett IV has to match Bama’s Mac Jones throw for throw to keep the Poodles in the hunt. Can he do that? If he can light up Alabama and get a win for the Poodles he will be a certifiable Georgia legend. Nobody has run the ball on Georgia’s defense, but the Poodles haven’t faced a running back like Najee Harris either. And while Mac Jones has had no problems locating receivers running deep behind opposing secondaries, he’s (a) had time to throw and (b) hasn’t faced a secondary as good as Georgia’s. it’s going to be very, very interesting. The Sayer Says Sooth: An Alabama loss with Nick in quarantine would still count as the first time a former Saban assistant has beaten the old boss. Kirby Smart would probably talk publicly that it shouldn’t count without Nick present. In private he would probably discover that he’s capable of break dancing. Of course, whether Nick is on the sideline or home alone, Sarkisian is still the coordinator of the most dangerous offense in all of college football. What we’ve seen of Sark as the Bama OC is the Crimson Tide always scores enough points to win. The defense doesn’t always do its part. Bama can score plenty enough Saturday night even against that very good Georgia defense. Georgia might have to score every time it has the football and that might be too tall an order for Bennett, who better have something in the tank we have yet to see for the Poodles to get the win. Alabama 35, Georgia 28

#11 TEXAS A&M (2-1) at MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-2): As bad as SEC defenses have been this year, the last two weeks have seen Arkansas and Kentucky figure out how to stop the Air Raid. It makes you wonder how bad defenses were in the Big 12 and Pac-12 because nobody in those leagues ever figured out how to effectively neuter a Mike Leach offense. Jimbo Fisher is a rather bright guy who’s seen the Arkansas and Kentucky drop eight on every play. Figure he’ll be doing the same thing Saturday. Will Leach stay stubborn and keep trying to force the ball into coverage or will he do something novel like use his running game? Another question that has to be answered is can the Aggies handle prosperity? They got what amounts to the signature win of Jimbo’s two-plus seasons in Aggieland. Will they be focused Saturday or still basking in the glow of a big win? The Sayer Says Sooth: For an 11th-ranked team coming off a big win and going against a team that has been a huge disappointment the last two weeks, a 5-point spread lends the impression that the folks in Vegas aren’t content the Aggies can play well two straight weeks. There is potential for a big upset here if K.J. Costello can remember to throw the ball to the guys wearing the same color shirt he’s wearing. That’s a big if. Close for the Bulldogs but no cigar. Texas A&M 31, Mississippi State 27

#15 AUBURN (2-1) at SOUTH CAROLINA (1-2): If you had to pencil in the leading candidate for the SEC’s most disappointing player through the first three weeks, Auburn QB Bo Nix would be on everybody’s short list. Now Nix has to go to South Carolina where he will face off with former Auburn DC Will Muschamp and former Auburn DB Travaris Robinson, the current South Carolina defensive coordinator. Nix has been throwing off his back foot way too often and he is making the kind of mistakes that a QB with 16 starts shouldn’t be making. South Carolina, meanwhile, seems like a team gaining some momentum. The Gamecocks should be 2-1 now and looking for win number three. To even things up at 2-2 they’re going to have to avoid bonehead mistakes like the one that cost them game one against Tennessee and sophomore running back Kevin Harris (326 yards, 5.82 per carry, 4 TDs) needs to go over the 100-yard mark for the third straight game. The Sayer Says Sooth: Auburn is a slight favorite (-3.5) to get a road win but the way Nix has been playing doesn’t make the Auburn faithful feel warm and fuzzy. South Carolina is better than the record indicates but to score an upset over the nation’s 15th-ranked team, the Gamecocks have to play turnover free and get some stops on third down (opponents are only 6-31, best in the SEC). It’s a must win game for Auburn, whose fans are already thinking Gus Malzahn needs to find gainful employment elsewhere. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The team that plays with more desperation Saturday will determine the winner. South Carolina 24, Auburn 21

KENTUCKY (1-2) at #18 TENNESSEE (2-1): Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano has had Kentucky’s number his entire career. Can he make it four straight years? If what we saw last week against Georgia holds over a second straight week then the Vols are in trouble. If Guarantano plays like he did last year when he came off the bench, then the Vols can put the egg they laid against Georgia in the rearview mirror. Kentucky is coming off a six-interception performance against Mississippi State, its best defensive performance of the season, but that was also the Wildcats worst offensive game. They’ll have to move the football and put points on the board if they intend to knock off the Vols in Knoxville. Quarterback Terry Wilson can’t expect to get a win for UK if he’s only averaging 6.2 yards per pass attempt. The Sayer Says Sooth: It’s a little early in the year to say a season is on the brink but Tennessee’s season will go south in a hurry if the Vols can’t figure out a way to win Saturday. Kentucky fans are hoping basketball season will hurry up and get here, but they will be pleasantly amused if the Wildcats can score a win over the hated Vols. This is going to come down to which quarterback plays better, Guarantano or Wilson. If Guarantano doesn’t play well, the Vols really don’t have a backup plan. If Wilson doesn’t UK will make the switch to Joey Gatewood. Tennessee 30, Kentucky 28

OLE MISS (1-2) at ARKANSAS (1-2): The Razorbacks should be 2-1 because the SEC zebras made a rotten call that cost them last week’s game with Auburn. That’s a shame because Feleipe Franks completely outplayed Bo Nix. Franks is playing very well right now and there is no doubt he and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles are on the same page. As well as Franks is playing the Arkansas defense is playing even better, but can Barry Odom dial up a formula to stop what Lane Kiffin is calling at Ole Miss? Kiffin has lit up three straight defenses including Alabama, which he torched for 673 yards and 48 points last week. Odom might not be able to stop the Lane Train but can he slow it down enough that the Hogs can win it in a shootout? The Sayer Says Sooth: F Square is one of the SEC’s feel good stories through three games and Arkansas is definitely an improved team under HBC Mike Pittman. Ole Miss has the worst defense in all of college football but the Rebels have an offense that is as exciting as any in the country. Does Feleipe light up Ole Miss? Probably. Does Matt Corral light up Arkansas? Again probably. This might come down to a missed extra point or total exhaustion. Ole Miss 49, Arkansas 48

THEY PLAY FOOTBALL ELSEWHERE BESIDE THE SEC

During the summer a number of Texas players demanded that the school stop playing “The Eyes of Texas.” Wednesday UT athletic director Chris Del Conte and HBC Tom Herman met with the team and told the players they are expected to remain on the field when the song is played. Given the political nature of athletes these days and times it’s going to be quite interesting to see how this plays out.

Coastal Carolina, picked to finish last in the Fun Belt Sun Belt in the preseason, is now the only team in the league with an unbeaten record after beating Louisiana 30-27 in Lafayette Wednesday night. Thursday night, Arkansas State scored a 59-52 win over Georgia State. Coastal, Louisiana and Arkansas State are a combined 3-0 against the Big 12.

Cincinnati’s game with Tulsa has been postponed due to an outbreak of Covid-19 among the 11th-ranked Bearcats.

Miami (3-1) faces Pittsburgh (3-2) Saturday at noon. The 13th-ranked Himmicanes are a 13.5-point favorite to bounce back from its hosing at the hands of #1 Climpson. Florida State (1-3) is a 13.5-point home dog to 5th-ranked North Carolina (3-0). UCF (2-1) goes on the road to Memphis (1-1) where the Knights are 3-point favorites. South Florida (1-3) is an 11-point road dog at Shirley Temple (0-1). FIU (0-2) is a 7-point road dog at Charlotte.

FRIDAY PITHINESS: Just when you think the Tampa Bay Rays are about to do the unthinkable and make it to the World Series, they lose two in a row to the Houston Disastros. Now that the Rays are up 3-2, can they hold on and make the World Series? If Houston wins the AL title will they play “Your Cheatin’ Heart” as the celebration song? … And since we’re on the topic of baseball, the Atlanta Braves are a win away from their first World Series since 1999. Does it seem weird to you that they could go into the World Series without Maddox, Glavine and Smoltz? … The Chicago White Sox have been given permission to discuss their managerial opening with Tony LaRussa. He’s 76 years old and hasn’t managed a game since 2011. How much coffee will it take to keep him awake at night during a 162-game schedule? … The Kansas City Chiefs are the new landing spot for running back Le’Veon Bell, who was released earlier in the week by the New York Jets. What does it say about a player released in the second year of a monster contract with $35 million in guaranteed money?