Thoughts of the Day: October 27, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

CAN THE GATORS FIND THE DEFENSIVE MOJO THEY HAD AGAINST ALABAMA?

It sounds so simple when Todd Grantham describes what Florida’s defense has to do Saturday when the Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) face No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC) in Jacksonville.

“All you got to do is look at the plays that you did well in and the games you played well in and say, ‘Here’s what we did and here’s the things we got to do,’” Grantham said Monday.

The Gators have had moments when they played very well. Alabama came to The Swamp ranked No. 1 and for a quarter looked very deserving of the top spot in the polls, but after the Gators fell behind 21-3, they took over the game. Alabama finished with 331 yards and just 91 on the ground. Florida held Kentucky to 224 yards and really gave up one offensive touchdown.

So how can a defense play that well against really good teams and then give up 49 points and 321 rushing yards in a loss to a not so good LSU team?

When he was asked earlier in the week about the LSU debacle, Dan Mullen said, “You’ve got to put yourself in the right position. You’ve got to be in the right gap. You’ve got to play disciplined football. Then you’ve got to put yourself in the right position fundamentally to go make tackles.”

Sounds simple when he says it, too. Doesn’t sound so simple when you take a look at Georgia. LSU didn’t exactly try to bamboozle the Gators with shifts and exotic formations. The Tigers just lined up and blew the Gators off the ball. That’s pretty much what Georgia has been doing all year. The Bulldogs average 40 rushing attempts per game and just 24 pass attempts.

They aren’t going to try to fool the Gators. They’re going to keep rotating in fresh backs and pound away. When opponents try to stack the box, they go play action and throw over the top. Georgia averages a respectable but not overwhelming 4.83 yards per carry on the ground. That they average 10 yards a pass attempt – expected starting QB Stetson Bennett averages 12.1 per attempt – has everything to do with the pick-your-poison decision each opposing defensive coordinator has to make.

Do you risk giving up 300 yards on the ground or do you take your chances that your secondary can cover the receivers?

That’s the dilemma for Grantham Saturday. Once past the first quarter in the Alabama game, the Gators were able to stuff the run and keep the Alabama receivers from getting deep. But, that was a month ago, back when the Gators had SEC East championship aspirations. Now the Gators are wounded, have lost three games they could have and probably should have won by a grand total of 16 points, and they’re looking at a season that could go south if they can’t figure out how to keep Georgia from grinding them into submission the way they’ve done six of their seven opponents.

Can Florida find any measure of defensive consistency? Can the Gators turn in a defensive effort like the one Clemson did against Georgia in week one? Clemson held the Bulldogs to 256 yards – 121 on the ground and 135 in the air – but more importantly without an offensive touchdown.

On paper, that’s what it seems the Gators are going to have to do against Georgia Saturday. Only Kentucky has scored two offensive touchdowns against the Georgia defense so odds are nobody is going to beat the Bulldogs in shootout fashion. It should be noted that Florida has the best offense the Bulldogs will have faced and Mullen has had a couple of weeks to come up with a game plan but still, Georgia’s defense dominates the national statistics in nearly every important category.

So the question that has to be asked: If Mullen can get the Gators 21 points, can Grantham scheme a defense and make the right adjustments to shut down Georgia the way Clemson did?

GATORS GET COMMITMENT FROM 6-10 F/C JALEN REED Mike White is putting together an impressive basketball recruiting class with the commitment of 4-star forward/center Jalen White (6-10, 225, Jackson, MS/Castaic, CA Southern California Academy). White joins 4-star power forward Malik Reneau (6-9, 210, Miami, FL/Montverde, FL Montverde Academy) and 3-star point guard Denzel Aberdeen (6-4, 180, Orlando, FL Dr. Phillips).

Reed has ball handling skills of a small forward, the outside scoring of a stretch four and excellent inside moves around the basket where he can score with either hand. He can defend multiple positions and can be a dominating rebounder. Reed chose the Gators over Ole Miss, Arizona State, Maryland, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Houston among others.

“I feel the play style fits me and with the development I feel like it was the perfect situation for me,” Reed told 247Sports. Assistant Akeem Miskdeen was the lead recruiter along with White.

The Ole Miss connection probably helped. White was just finishing his Ole Miss basketball career when the late Justin Reed began an impressive 4-year run in Oxford that saw him win SEC Freshman of the Year in 2001, twice make third team All-SEC (2002-03) and first team All-SEC in 2004. Four years in Oxford was followed by a 5-year career in the NBA.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit on Alabama’s inconsistent defense: “The defense has been a mystery.” … Brian Robinson Jr. has run for 716 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 17 passes for 161 yards and two more TDs.

Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Wide receiver Treylon Burks has caught 42 passes for 717 yards (17.7 per catch) and seven touchdowns. He also has six carries for 71 yards and a TD.

Auburn (5-2, 2-1 SEC): Auburn’s offensive line has its work cut out Saturday with an Ole Miss pass rush that averages 3.29 sacks per game, led by defensive end Sam Williams, who has 7.5 sacks for 28 yards in losses … HBC Bryan Harsin is keeping his COVID-19 vaccination status private as Alabama state employees have until December 8 to get vaccinated or be fired.

Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC): Wide receivers Arian Smith, who has missed the last five games, and Jermaine Burton, who has a hamstring injury, may be available for Florida … Georgia’s defense allows just 208.3 yards and 6.6 points per game.

Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC): The Wildcats apparently had a very productive off week. Mark Stoops called it “one of the better bye weeks we’ve had. Guys were moving around and really concentrating on ourselves and just trying to get better and that’s what good teams do.”

LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The Tigers rank 11th in the SEC in total defense (408.5 yards per game) and 12th in total offense (387.7).

Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Mike Leach won’t discuss whether or not he’s had a COVID-19 vaccine. The state’s higher education authority has voted to make vaccines mandatory for every employee of a college or university. Leach’s successor at Washington State, Nick Rolovich, was fired for refusing a vaccine on religious grounds.

Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC): Coming off a 35-14 beatdown at the hands of Texas A&M, Mizzou HBC Eli Drinkwitz says, “I haven’t had my butt whipped like that before … At the end of the day, the ownership lies with me, so I’ve got to continue to find ways to take lessons from losses.”

Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC): Starting right guard Ben Brown has had surgery to repair a distal biceps tendon and will miss the rest of the season … Now that Ole Miss is bowl eligible, Lane Kiffin has a $50,000 bonus. He has bonuses totaling $150,000 so far … Former Ole Miss defensive coordinator and head coach Joe Lee Dunn passed away. He was 75.

South Carolina (4-4, 1-4 SEC): Quarterback Zeb Noland had a surgical procedure to repair a torn meniscus. He’s expected back for the Florida game on November 6.

Tennessee (4-3, 2-3 SEC): Hendon Hooker is completing 68.3 percent of his passes (9.4 yards per attempt), with 17 TDPs and just two interceptions. Hooker has also run for 416 yards and four touchdownsBasketball: Center John Fulkerson will miss the exhibition game with Lenoir-Rhyne but is expected to be ready for the season opener.

Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): The Aggies have one of the nation’s best 1-2 sack combos in Tyree Johnson (6 sacks, -37 yards) and DeMarvin Leal (5.5 sacks, -25). Basketball: Grad transfer Jalen Johnson tore his ACL and will miss the entire season.

Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC): Vanderbilt ranks 124th nationally in total offense at 291.4 yards per game. The Vanderbilt defense is a little bit better. They’re 120th, giving up 457.8 yards.

FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES

ACC: The ACC is considering relocating its league offices from Greensboro, which has been headquarters since the league was founded in 1953 … Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who began the year with 7-1 odds that he would win the Heisman Trophy, was benched for Taisun Phommachanh in the loss to Pitt. No word on which one will start Saturday when Florida State comes to town.

Big Ten: This might seem a bit trivial but James Franklin has changed agents from Trace Armstrong to Jimmy Sexton. Some are wondering if this is a sign Franklin might be moving to the Southeastern Conference (LSU) since Sexton represents most of the SEC head coaches including Nick Saban, Dan Mullen, Kirby Smart, Mark Stoops, Jimbo Fisher and Lane Kiffin … A group of 100 protestors that included many former Michigan athletes, demanded the resignation of school president Mark Schlissel and associate athletic director/head trainer Paul Schmidt. This stems from allegations from a pair of former football players who say they were assaulted by former team doctor Robert Anderson.

Big 12: Texas Tech hasn’t had a winning season since 2015 and has had only four winning seasons since Mike Leach was fired in 2010 (Leach never had a losing season and was 84-43 in 10 years on the job). So it makes perfect sense (sarcasm injected) to fire Matt Wells, who was off to a 5-3 start and had the Red Raiders on track to go to a bowl game. Athletic director Kirby Hocutt said firing Wells was “inevitable.” It is costing Texas Tech $7 million to make Wells go away. He won’t be unemployed long.

Pac-12: Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn’t the least bit amused by speculation that Southern Cal wants him as its head coach. Tomlin said, “I got one of the best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football?” … Colorado HBC Karl Dorrell fired O-line coach Mitch Rodrigue and replaced him with former Alabama center William Vlachos. Colorado currently ranks dead last in total offense in Division I and has allowed 22 sacks in seven games.

Group of Five: Southern Miss is leaving Conference USA to join the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2023. Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison are expected to join as well. With the exit last week of UAB, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, Rice, North Texas and Texas-San Antonio to the American Athletic Conference, you can stick a fork in Conference USA. Left in limbo are Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, UTEP and Louisiana Tech.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Are you superstitious? If you are, then consider this little factoid. Prior to Tuesday night when Atlanta beat the Houston Astros 6-2 in game one of the World Series, the Braves had made the World Series five times – 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. In each of those years the Gators beat Georgia.