Thoughts of the Day: October 6, 2026

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

When asked if there is such a thing as a good loss, most often the competitive nature of coaches will compel them to say no, quite often with an expletive or two attached for emphasis. Truth is, there is a fine line between what can be categorized as a good loss and a bad one. If losing brings about a unified response with focus and intensity levels raised from top to bottom – head coach all the way down to the lowest manager on the team – then the loss might be looked on in the rearview mirror as a turning point. Coaches tend to like the concept of turning point better than admitting such a thing as a good loss.

The loss to Missouri scraped all the luster off a 4-0 September that made the Florida Gators media darlings, that team straight out of nowhere streaking across the college football sky like a meteor. It only took a 45-17 pasting by Missouri to bring the Gators back down to earth. On Friday the Gators were the next big thing, a Cignetti-like clone ready to swashbuckle their way through the SEC and onto the College Football Playoff. By Saturday night, the debate was raging. Are the Gators contenders or are they pretenders?

That is not an unfair question and it might not be answered Saturday (12:45 p.m., SEC Network) against South Carolina (2-3, 0-3 SEC) even if the now 16th-ranked Gators (4-1, 2-1 SEC) cover the 12.5-point spread. Too much might be read into the outcome whether the Gators bounce back from Mizzou with a blowout win or arrive at the finish line bent over, holding their knees and gasping for air. Because it is South Carolina, a game the Gators were penciled in to win as far back as the spring, it is likely too much will be read into the outcome as long as it is a UF win.

Lose to the Gamecocks? Perish the thought, but this South Carolina team might arrive at The Swamp hair on fire and determined to save the job of embattled head coach Shane Beamer.

Winning this game, whether in blowout fashion or a chest-clutching, "it's the big one, Elizabeth" finish, is all that matters for the Gators. A win will mean that at midseason Jon Sumrall already has more wins (5) than the Gators had in 12 games a year ago, but will not tell us in which category Florida belongs – contender or pretender? The next two games after South Carolina (at Texas and Georgia in Atlanta) will answer that question but a great response in the form of a return to form by the offense and some defensive improvement would be rather soothing after the way things went down at Missouri.

Associated Press top 25 (SEC teams bold face): 1. Texas 4-0; 2. Georgia 5-0; 3. Notre Dame 5-0; 4. Miami 5-0; 5. Ohio State 4-1; 6. Alabama 5-0; 7. Indiana 6-0; 8. BYU 4-0; 9. Ole Miss 3-1; 10. LSU 4-1; 11. Texas Tech 5-0; 12. Utah 4-0; 13. Oregon 3-1; 14. Missouri 4-1; 15. Tennessee 4-1; 16. FLORIDA 4-1; 17. Mississippi State 4-1; 18. Oklahoma State 3-1; 19. Southern Cal 5-1; 20. Iowa 4-1; 21. UCLA 4-0; 22. Houston 4-1; 23. Boise State 4-1; 24. SMU 4-1; 25. Pittsburgh 5-0

AFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Texas 4-0; 2. Georgia 5-0; 3. Notre Dame 5-0; 4. Miami 5-0; 5. Indiana 5-0; 6. Ohio State 4-1; 7. Alabama 5-0; 8. BYU 4-0; 9. Texas Tech 5-0; 10. LSU 4-1; 11. Ole Miss 3-1; 12. Utah 4-0; 13. Oregon 3-1; 14. Tennessee 4-1; 15. FLORIDA 4-1; 16. Missouri 4-1; 17. Southern Cal 5-1; 18. Iowa 4-1; 19. Houston 4-1; 20. Mississippi State 4-1; 21. SMU 4-1; 22. UCLA 4-0; 23. Duke 4-0; 24. Pittsburgh 5-0; 25. Kentucky 4-1

ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC

No. 6 Alabama (5-0, 3-0 SEC): Keelon Russell has thrown for 1,414 yards (10.7 per attempt) and 11 touchdowns while running for 184 yards and four more TDs … Alabama is averaging 186.4 rushing yards per game with 17 TDs on the ground. That is a more than 80 yard per game improvement over last season. Saturday: No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC), 7:30 p.m., ABC

Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC): The Hogs have no ground game. They're averaging 92 yards per game overall and in two SEC games have run for a combined 120 yards. Saturday: No. 15 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC), 4:15 p.m., SEC Network

Auburn (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Byrum Brown has thrown as many interceptions (7) as touchdown passes, which is a grave concern for head coach Alex Golesh. Auburn has nine turnovers in five games and is last in the SEC in sacks allowed (18).

No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC): Gunner Stockton is 77-102 passing (75.5 percent), averaging 10.3 yards per attempt with 13 TDPs against only one interception … Georgia continues to lead the nation in scoring (51.4 points per game) while ranking seventh in the country in total defense (244.6 yards per game). Saturday: at No. 6 Alabama (5-0, 3-0 SEC), 7:30 p.m., ABC

Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 SEC): With one more win the Wildcats will match last year's total … A year ago the Wildcats were plagued by interceptions (14). This year with Kenny Minchey at QB they've only thrown one. Saturday: No. 10 LSU (4-1, 1-1 SEC), 7 p.m., ESPN

No. 10 LSU (4-1, 1-1 SEC): The Tigers are third in the country in total offense (547.8 yards per game) and second in total defense (220.6). If there is an issue it's turnovers. Quarterback Sam Leavitt has thrown seven interceptions … The Tigers are 10-point favorites against Kentucky. Saturday: at Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 SEC), 7 p.m., ESPN

No. 17 Mississippi State (4-1, 2-1 SEC): Quarterback Kamario Taylor left the game early against Alabama after aggravating an injury suffered the week before against Missouri. The Bulldogs have the week off so he will have a chance to get healthy prior to LSU.

No. 14 Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Jamal Roberts had runs of 77 and 80 yards in the Tigers' win over Florida. He is now second in the SEC in rushing with 606 yards and six touchdowns … Quarterback Austin Simmons has thrown 13 touchdown passes and no interceptions … Missouri is a 3.5-point favorite to knock off Texas A&M. Saturday: Texas A&M (3-2, 1-2 SEC), 12 noon, ABC

Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1 SEC): The Sooners are dead last in the SEC in turnovers (10). Saturday they will be going against Will Muschamp's Texas defense that has allowed only one touchdown in the last 10 quarters. Saturday: No. 1 Texas (4-0, 1-0 SEC), 3:30 p.m., ABC, in Dallas

No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1 SEC): Ole Miss is finalizing a deal to leave Nike for Adidas. Reports are the 10-year deal will be worth in excess of $200 million. Saturday: at Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2 SEC), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

South Carolina (2-3, 0-3 SEC): Embattled head coach Shane Beamer faces growing discontent among the fan base after blowing a 17-point lead to Kentucky, then losing the game in overtime. The South Carolina fan base seems locked in on Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner as the preferred replacement for Beamer. Saturday: at No. 16 Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC), 12:45 p.m., SEC Network

No. 15 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC): A quarterback controversy is brewing after Josh Heupel benched freshman Faizon Brandon for George MacIntyre in the win over Auburn. MacIntyre completed 8-10 passes for 86 yards. Brandon was 3-8 for zero yards and an interception … The Vols lead the nation in sacks with 23 for -118 yards. Saturday: at Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC), 4:15 p.m., SEC Network

No. 1 Texas (4-0, 1-0 SEC): The Longhorns have opened as 7.5-point favorites over Oklahoma … Running back Hollywood Smothers, who missed the game with Tennessee with an ankle injury, is expected to be back for Oklahoma. Saturday: Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1 SEC), 3:30 p.m., ABC, in Dallas

Texas A&M (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Even with the win over Arkansas there are concerns with quarterback Marcel Reed who is averaging only 6.1 yards per pass attempt, which is 2.3 yards per attempt fewer than last season … The A&M offense has regressed from last year. The Aggies' 356 yards per game is about 90 less than a year ago. Saturday: at No. 14 Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC), 12 noon, ABC

Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Quarterback Jared Curtis was unable to play in the loss to Georgia. If he can't go Saturday, New Mexico State transfer Blaze Berlowitz will get the start. Saturday: No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1 SEC), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The first time I heard the expression "the inmates are running the asylum" was when I was 14 years old. My Uncle Don, the brains behind the Duncan Hines cake mix division at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, used that phrase in reaction to the Reds trading Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson. Already well on his way to a Hall of Fame career, Frank would go on to win the 1966 Triple Crown while leading the Orioles to the World Series where they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers. Milt Pappas, the starting pitcher for the American League in the 1965 All-Star Game went 12-11.

Here we are some 60 years since Frank won the Triple Crown and we're at the midway point of the college football season with the start of basketball less than a month away. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, is continuing to fight in courtrooms across the country lawsuits that challenge the 5-for-5 eligibility rules. Just last week Denzel Aberdeen got a fifth year to play for the Gators in an Alachua County court using a legal strategy that Jeffrey Meldon tells me is straight out of first year law school. Aberdeen got an airtight verdict that won't be overturned in appeal because his lawyers used the NCAA's own contract law against it. Others won't be so lucky. Depending on the legal strategy used to get temporary restraining orders, some of the players who are currently starting in Division I football and basketball players practicing for the start of the season on November 2, will have their TROs stayed in appellate courts.

Imagine how unsettling this is for Stephen Daly and Kellan Wyatt at Indiana. They played important roles on Indiana's defensive line last season when the Hoosiers won the national championship. They won a TRO and once again play a vital role for Indiana's defense. I don't know the strategy they used in court to get their TRO but if they used anti-trust arguments, they probably will lose when the NCAA appeals.

In every court case the NCAA is throwing out this "irreparable harm" defense, claiming that by letting Daly, Wyatt and others seeking the fifth year will cause chaos and harm to collegiate sports. How incredibly stupid. The NCAA, which is supposed to advocate in favor of athletes, is the only one doing any harm here. There isn't a functioning brain in the entire NCAA, otherwise emergency legislation would be passed to grandfather in the players who graduated high school in 2022 and seek a fifth year of eligibility. That would be so simple not to mention cost effective since the NCAA has already paid millions of dollars to its attorneys to fight in courtrooms coast to coast.

Rather than do something logical that requires only a small measure of common sense, the NCAA elects to fight it out in court. The only chaos and irreparable harm here is created by the NCAA where the inmates definitely run the asylum.