Thoughts of the Day: Protect Mertz has to be chief goal against UK

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

Nine sacks allowed in four games. That’s more than half the sacks the Gators allowed all last year when they were one of the better teams in the country protecting the quarterback. It is an issue the Gators will need to get a better handle on before they take the field against Kentucky in Lexington Saturday (12 noon kickoff, ESPN).

The Gators will be going against a Kentucky defense that gets most of its sacks (11 so far) from its front four, allowing the Wildcats to drop seven in coverage. That’s pretty much what Utah did in game one when the Gators allowed five sacks for -47 yards. That was with an O-line that had four new starters, one of whom was backup center Jake Slaughter. Two weeks ago, with Kingsley Eguakun back in his familiar starting role at center, the Gators gave up only one sack to Tennessee, which leads the SEC and ranks third nationally with 16 sacks.

The hope is that Eguakun will be ready to go Saturday. He was held out of the win over Charlotte and UF head coach Billy Napier won’t know until midweek if Eguakun will be able to go Saturday.

“I think it’s to be determined [if Eguakun can go],” Napier said at his Monday press conference. I think that he’s made progress. We anticipate him practicing tomorrow.”

The Gators played with three backups in the lineup in the win over Charlotte. Slaughter started for Eguakun at center, freshman Knijeah Harris started for Micah Mazzccua (discipline) at right guard, and Lyndell Hudson II started at right tackle for Damien George Jr., who missed the first half as the result of an SEC suspension. Napier said Mazzccua will definitely be back Saturday. If Eguakun and George are back in the lineup, the Gators will have the same starting five that was so effective against Tennessee.

“Look, we have a new group of players on the O-line and then we’ve had injuries,” Napier said. “So that group, the continuity has not been there this year. So we’ve played with a mixture of lineups and I think that’s contributed to some of the issues we’ve had, but I do think at times we really played well, also.”

Not all the issues with sacks can be attributed to the O-line, however. Napier pointed out Monday that it’s not uncommon for every position group to contribute to the breakdown that leads to a sack. It can be a missed block or a blown assignment by a running back. It can be a receiver running a wrong route or failing to get separation, causing the quarterback to hold the ball too long. It can also be caused by a wrong read by the quarterback, who perhaps locks in on one receiver instead of unloading to someone else who’s open.

At least one of the three sacks the Gators allowed against Charlotte wasn’t necessarily the fault of the O-line.

“There was one play when I held onto it way too long,” Mertz said. “Just it was one play I’d love to have back because I had a throw, and it’s a big one. You convert that and you’ve got another shot to score points.”

Mertz on being a Florida Gator: “I owe this university everything I’ve got and I try to hold to that every single day that I’m blessed to be here and I’m thankful for it. I think I said it the day they announced me as starter that it’s a blessing and it’s a privilege to be here. That’s what wakes me up every day. I enjoy doing what I’m doing. I love this sport. I love this team. I love this university. It’s been an absolute pleasure and I’m definitely doing what I love to do with people I love to do it with. So it’s a blessing.”

Mertz on being surprised at something new a defense throws his way: “There hasn’t been an opportunity in a while where I’ve seen something where I haven’t been prepared, I haven’t seen it. So for me it’s gathering all the information, getting our guys in the right protection, run game check, combination with routes. For me, that’s the game within the game. A lot of people don’t really have the opportunity to experience that, but that’s where the game gets fun. It’s a chess game. It’s a blast.”

Statistically speaking: Mertz is completing 77.8 percent of his passes (84-108, 976 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception). He’s the most accurate passer in the SEC and ranks fourth nationally. Mertz is averaging 8.8 yards per pass attempt, highest of his career. A year ago, Florida quarterbacks completed only 54.4 percent of their passes while averaging 8.0 per attempt.

UF volleyball: Gators fall one spot in AVCA top 25 poll

Despite a 2-0 record last week, the Gators dropped one spot to No. 4 in the AVCA rankings. While making the transition from injured (ACL) All-American setter Alexis Stucky to backup Kennedy Muff, the Gators went five sets in the wins over No. 24 Auburn and unranked Georgia.

Meanwhile, Florida middle blocker Nnedi Okammor was selected SEC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 17 blocks in the two wins. She had a career high 10 blocks in the win over Georgia.

The Gators (10-1, 2-0 SEC) will host Texas A&M (9-3, 1-1) at the O-Dome Wednesday night.

AVCA top 25: 1. Wisconsin 11-0; 2. Nebraska 11-0; 3. Stanford 9-2; 4. FLORIDA 10-1; 5. Louisville 11-1; 6. Oregon 12-1; 7. Washington State 12-1; 8. Pittsburgh 11-2; 9. BYU 13-1; 10. Texas 7-3; 11. Georgia Tech 11-1; 12. Tennessee 11-1; 13. Minnesota 5-5; 14. Arkansas 12-2; 15. Penn State 8-3; 16. Creighton 10-3; 17. Purdue 8-3; 18. Baylor 6-5; 19. Kansas 10-2; 20. Houston 7-3; 21. Dayton 13-2; 22. Ohio State 4-7; 23. Kentucky 3-7; 24. Auburn 11-2; 25. Arizona State 14-0

SEC football

No. 12 Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC): Left guard Tyler Booker was selected SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after recording six knockdown blocks and not allowing a sack in Alabama’s win over Ole Miss.

Arkansas (2-2, 0-1 SEC): Penalties have contributed mightily to two consecutive Arkansas losses. The Hogs committed 14 for -125 yards in the loss to Brigham Young, 11 for -69 against LSU. So many of the LSU penalties were false starts by the O-line.

Auburn (3-1, 0-1 SEC): “Offensively we’re searching and we’ve got to find some answers,” says HBC Hugh Freeze. In their two games against Power 5 opponents, the Tigers have thrown for a combined 150 yards.

No. 1 Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC): Offensive tackle Amarius Mims (ankle surgery) is out for the Auburn game. Safety Javon Bullard (ankle) has missed the last two games and is day-to-day. D-lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is still in a boot and highly doubtful. Wide receiver Ladd McConkey (back) remains day-to-day. Tight end Lawson Luckie (ankle) is on limited participation in practice. O-lineman Austin Blaske (knee) was dressed for UAB but did not play. D-lineman Mykel Williams missed UAB with an undisclosed illness and his status is unknown.

Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 SEC): Maxwell Hairston was selected SEC Defensive Player of the Week after returning two interceptions for touchdowns in UK’s win over Vanderbilt. Hairston also had three pass breakups in the game.

No. 13 LSU (3-1, 2-0 SEC): Quarterback Jayden Daniels was selected Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week after completing 29-29 passes for 320 yards and four TDPs to lead the Tigers past Arkansas.

Mississippi State (2-2, 0-2 SEC): In a losing effort against South Carolina, quarterback Will Rogers completed 30-48 passes for 487 yards and a touchdown. Rogers has now thrown for 11,668 yards and 88 touchdowns in his Mississippi State career, moving past Florida’s Chris Leak for fourth place in career yardage in the SEC. With two more TDPs he will move past Peyton Manning, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow for fourth all-time in the SEC.

No. 23 Missouri (4-0, 0-0 SEC): The Tigers rank third in the SEC at stopping the run (83.25 yards per game, 2.6 per carry) but they’re 12th in the league against the pass, allowing 238.3 yards per game and nine TDPs.

No. 20 Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1 SEC): Regarding the inconsistent running game, HBC Lane Kiffin says, “We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to coach better, involve different schemes, different things. Sometimes the running game is interesting. You’ll have these games and all of a sudden you’ll pop and you’ll have a bunch of explosive runs.”

South Carolina (2-2, 1-1 SEC): Quarterback Spencer Rattler was selected Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Mississippi State. Rattler completed 18-20 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, plus he led the Gamecocks on 98- and 99-yard scoring drives … Alex Huntley, who had three tackles, two sacks and two pass breakups in the win over Mississippi State was selected SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

No. 19 Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC): The Vols are giving up 190.8 passing yards per game and just 5.9 yards per attempt. The Vols will be challenged Saturday by a South Carolina passing offense that ranks No. 1 in the SEC (340 yards per game) and No. 8 nationally. The Vols rank No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 nationally in sacks with 16 while South Carolina ranks last in the SEC in pass protection, having given up 19 sacks in four games.

Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0 SEC): Quarterback Conner Weigman is listed day-to-day after leaving the Auburn game with an ankle injury. The offense actually functioned better when backup Max Johnson came into the game … Linebacker Taurean York was selected SEC Freshman of the Week after contributing 11 tackles including two for loss in the Aggies win over Auburn.

Vanderbilt (2-3, 0-1 SEC): Three interceptions thrown by QB AJ Swann, no running game and seven penalties for -75 yards doomed the Commodores in their loss to Kentucky.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Phineas T. Barnum, the early 19th century master showman who never missed an opportunity to promote his circus, is the most often given credit for the line, “Any publicity is good publicity” although there is no real evidence that he actually said it. Oscar Wilde, on the other hand, did say, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” And then there’s Brendan Behan, who said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.”

In his pregame speech before Oregon pummeled Colorado, handing Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes their first loss of the season, Ducks coach Dan Lanning said, “The Cinderella story is over, men. They’re fighting for clicks. We’re fighting for wins.”

I’m sure Dan Lanning thought he was being ever so clever. After all, it was a pre-game speech and coaches are known to embellish or challenge testosterone levels through any variety of word salad, but maybe Lanning didn’t understand that it would come across negatively for him and Oregon.

Deion knew the Buffs were going to get hammered although he said afterward he expects them to win every game. Deion Sanders does care about winning and losing, but he knows this year isn’t going to produce a championship. So what’s he doing? He’s making himself the PT Barnum of college football and the way he sees it any publicity is good publicity. Everybody is talking about him and Colorado.

What Dan Lanning probably didn’t factor into his speech was next year Deion Sanders and Colorado will be in the Big 12. Because of all the publicity Deion has generated, the Buffaloes will have lots of good players and because they’re in the Big 12, they’ll have a far better chance to (a) win a conference championship and (b) make the College Football Playoff than Oregon, which will be in the Big Ten.

You may think Deion Sanders runs his mouth too much. Some even say he’s all about Deion and not about the kids who play for him, although the kids who play for Colorado and those who played for him at Jackson State, would beg to differ. For his lightning rod approach to being Colorado’s head coach, the Buffaloes are swimming in booster money and they’re the talk of college football. Really good football players want to play for Coach Prime.

As Polonius said in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”

You can say Deion is madness personified, but his method is going to get results.