Thoughts of the Day: October 7, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: AN IMPROVING DEFENSE IS A GOOD SIGN FOR THE GATORS

Looking back on how his defense played last week in Florida’s 20-13 loss to Kentucky, Dan Mullen sees a unit that is improving despite playing shorthanded due to injuries to some key players. The Gators held Kentucky to 224 yards – 137 on the ground, 87 in the passing game – and just 4.77 yards per play. The Gators gave up 75 yards on Kentucky’s opening drive, 41 on a screen pass that went 41 yards for a touchdown, but after that, the Wildcats managed only 149 yards.

“I think we did a really good job of containing explosives plays and big plays during the course of the game,” Mullen said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday. “They hit one big screen pass where we had a couple of missed tackles on, which was disappointing, but overall I thought we ran well to the ball. They were a physical team that runs hard. We got hats to the ball and wrapped up ball carriers.”

Mullen probably wonders if the screen pass to Wan’Dale Robinson would have gone for a TD if Kaiir Elam had been playing. Elam was a preseason All-SEC selection who made second team All-America on some of the football magazines but he’s had to miss the last two games after going down with an injury in the Alabama game. A physical tackler, Elam most likely would have had one-on-one coverage on Robinson, who has established himself as one of the SEC’s most electric players with the ball in his hands.

Without Elam or Jaydon Hill, who was slated to be Florida’s other starting corner before he suffered a season-ending ACL injury back in August, the Gators have been forced to play a lot of kids in the secondary. They’re starting to see great improvement from redshirt freshman Avery Helm and true freshman Jason Marshall. Transfers Elijah Blades and Jadarrius Perkins are seeing more snaps as they grow comfortable in defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s coverage schemes.

The run defense has been surprisingly good after losing team captain Ventrell Miller, last year’s leading tackler, to a season-ending torn biceps. Kentucky wanted to dominate the Gators on the ground, but the Wildcats, who ran for 571 yards on their two previous SEC opponents (Missouri and South Carolina) never could get into any kind of rhythm.

"We're down both our starting corners, we're down our captain middle linebacker, but you’re starting to see some of the younger guys mature and get more comfortable on the field,” Mullen said, adding that against Kentucky the Gators “didn’t give up a whole lot of yards and defensively held them to 14 points. There’s a lot we can build off of there.”

SATURDAY BY THE NUMBERS Florida (3-2, 1-2 SEC) is a 38.5-point favorite over Vanderbilt

Scoring offense: Florida 31.4; Vanderbilt 16.0

Rushing offense: Florida 292 per game (6.89 per carry); Vanderbilt 119 (3.44 per carry)

Passing offense: Florida 216.8 per game (7.3 per attempt); Vanderbilt 196.4 (5.3 per attempt) Third down efficiency: Florida 31-67 (46.27%); Vanderbilt 24-80 (30%) Offensive Turnovers: Florida 7; Vanderbilt 10 Sacks allowed: Florida 3 for -12; Vanderbilt 8 for -60 Scoring defense: Florida 19.8; Vanderbilt 35.0 Rushing defense: Florida 112.6 (3.34 per carry); Vanderbilt 204.6 (5.59 per carry)

Passing defense: Florida 210.2 (7.2 per attempt); Vanderbilt 242.6 (7.6 per attempt) Third down defense: Florida 23-64 (35.94%); Vanderbilt 22-68 (32.35%) Turnovers forced: Florida 4; Vanderbilt 4

Sacks: Florida 17 for -79; Vanderbilt 3 for -19

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Nick Saban is aware of how difficult it is to play in Kyle Field with 102,000 Aggies screaming at the top of their lungs. “Playing on the road is always difficult in our league, especially their place,” Saban said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday. “I think it’s very important for us to prepare the right way, respect winning, do all the things you need to do to perform well when the game comes. These guys have a really, really good defensive team. I think they’re like fifth nationally and one of the top teams in the SEC” … Linebacker Drew Sanders had a surgical procedure on his hand that will keep him out of Saturday’s game with Texas A&M. Vegas says: The Crimson Tide is a 17.5-point road favorite at Texas A&M.

Arkansas (4-1, 1-1 SEC): HBC Sam Pittman offered this honest evaluation of the Razorbacks’ performance last week at Georgia on the SEC Teleconference: “We were not a threat to them. We had one nice option run and that’s about it during the game.” Vegas says: The Hogs are 5.5-point road dogs at Ole Miss.

Auburn (4-1, 1-0 SEC): HBC Bryan Harsin doesn’t know if Georgia will play JT Daniels or Stetson Bennett at quarterback Saturday. Daniels has missed the last two games with an injury, but Bennett has played well in his place. “I don’t know about their quarterback situation,” Harsin said on the SEC teleconference. “JT Daniels is very good. Stetson Bennett, been very impressed with him.” Vegas says: The Tigers are 15.5-point home dogs against Georgia.

Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC): Kirby Smart has the best defense in the country, but he says the Bulldogs have room to improve. “We gotta force more turnovers,” Smart said on the SEC Teleconference. “We have to tackle better, especially on the edge and in the secondary and we have to have better gap control.” Vegas says: The Bulldogs are 15.5-point favorites at Auburn.

Kentucky (5-0, 3-0 SEC): Wan’Dale Robinson has provided an element of explosiveness to the Kentucky offense that has been missing. He has 29 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns but HBC Mark Stoops says there is more to Robinson’s game than you see on the stat sheet. “The one thing that’s evident is how extremely hard Wan’Dale plays and how unselfish he is,” Stoops said on the SEC Teleconference. “He blocks extremely hard, he runs hard on decoys.” Vegas says: Kentucky is a 3.5-point home favorite over LSU.

LSU (3-2, 1-1 SEC): All-Interplanetary corner Derek Stingley Jr. has had a surgical procedure on his foot and is out indefinitely. “I’m doing all I can to return to the field as soon as possible,” Stingley said. “I want to finish out the season with my teammates and I will do everything I can to get healthy so that I will be able to play again” … On the SEC Teleconference Coach Oeaux would not blame first year offensive line coach Brad Davis for the team’s horrendous running game. “Brad’s a good coach,” Coach Oeaux said. “We need to be more committed to the run.” Vegas says: The Tigers are 3.5-point road dogs at Kentucky.

Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC): The Bulldogs have a bye week and practice will focus on improving on the basics. “Biggest thing we’re going to do is go back to the fundamentals and try to sharpen up there,” Leach said on the SEC Teleconference.

Missouri (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Corner Ennis Rakestraw tore an ACL during practice and is done for the season. Rakestraw had 13 tackles and two pass breakups this season … HBC Eli Drinkwitz is looking for the Tigers to bounce back from their 62-24 loss to Tennessee last week. “Just because we had one bad day it doesn’t have to define us,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s a lot of football left to play.” Vegas says: Missouri is a 19.5-point favorite at home against North Texas.

Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1 SEC): HBC Lane Kiffin has the Rebels focused on neutralizing Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson (6-3, 245). “The size is crazy how big he is,” Kiffin said on the SEC Teleconference. “Maybe Cam (Newton) was that big at one point. I don’t know. It’s like a giant running back back there when he runs the ball. He has improved on some throws. He’s very dangerous.” Vegas says: Ole Miss is a 5.5-point favorite at home against Arkansas.

South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC): The Gamecocks lead the SEC 14 turnovers forced, nine interceptions and five fumble recoveries … HBC Shane Beamer says the Gamecocks will be challenged by Tennessee’s running game out of a fast tempo offense. “You have to be able to handle the tempo, get lined up,” Beamer said on the SEC Teleconference. Vegas says: The Gamecocks are 5.5-point road dogs at Tennessee.

Tennessee (3-2, 1-1 SEC): The Vols have outscored five opponents 73-13 in the first quarter. On the SEC Teleconference, HBC Josh Heupel explained the fast starts: “When it’s going good, guys are doing their job. That’s offense, defense. They’re dialed in and paying attention to the details. I think that, as much as anything, plays apar in how you start or how you finish. In this football game coming up, our start will be important, too.” Vegas says: Tennessee is a 10.5-point home favorite against South Carolina.

Texas A&M (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Jimbo Fisher says the Aggies are not in awe of No. 1 Alabama, which comes to College Station Saturday with a 19-game winning streak. “You respect what they do but you’re not in awe of them,” Fisher said on the SEC Teleconference. “Our players play them all the time. I don’t see that as an issue. We respect what they do.” Since Fisher became the Aggies’ HBC in 2018, they have lost all three games to Alabama by a combined 69 points. Vegas says: The Aggies are 17.5-point home dogs to Alabama.

Vanderbilt (2-3, 0-1 SEC): What does Vandy HBC Clark Lea believe is critical for the Commodores Saturday against Florida in Gainesville? “Let’s get out to a better start and give ourselves a competitive chance,” Lea said Tuesday. “Then design around the matchups. Let’s find a rhythm on offense. That gives us a chance to get our playmakers the ball in space and defensively, let’s make sure we’re doing a good job of accounting for the quarterback in the run game and have an awareness of their shot plays, too. It’s gonna be about us. It’s gonna be about getting off to a better start, again not having the self-inflicted wounds and putting ourselves behind early, and then trying to get to that one-possession game in the fourth quarter where the pressure’s on the opponent.” Vegas says: Vanderbilt is a 38.5-point underdog at Florida.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The Louisiana love affair with LSU coach Ed Orgeron seems to be teetering on the verge of divorce. Shall we call this love on the rocks? It’s not that the people in the state or the LSU boosters hate Coach Oeaux. Far from it. They love the guy, it’s just that they love the Tigers even more. So what has gone so wrong in the 21 months since Coach Oeaux could have run for governor that the fan base wouldn’t shed too many tears if he were to leave or get fired, whichever comes first? Look no further than replacement coaches. The two bright minds behind LSU’s national championship run in 2019 are coaching somewhere else – Joe Brady with the NFL Carolina Panthers where he is offensive coordinator; Dave Aranda to Baylor where he’s HBC. The replacements in 2020 were Scott Linehan (offense for Brady) and Bo Pelini (defense for Aranda. Pelini, in particular, was a total disaster. They’re both gone and their replacements for 2021 – Jake Peetz (offense) and Daronte Jones (defense) – haven’t exactly set the world on fire. Coach Oeaux can recruit against anyone, but all that talent can’t compensate for bad assistant coaching. We saw it at Florida in 2010 when Urban Meyer made numerous bad choices to replace coaches. The Gators went from consecutive 13-1 seasons including a 2008 national championship to 8-5. Making matters worse are NCAA and Title IX difficulties. If bad assistants don’t do Coach Oeaux in, it seems inevitable the off-the-field matters will.