Thoughts of the Day: September 13, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:

PATIENCE, GRASSHOPPER: THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY MIGHT SEEM I find myself reminded of the 1970s television series “Kung Fu” in which Master Po at the Shaolin monastery would teach a lesson to young Kwai Chang Caine, encouraging him to look beyond the obvious. “Patience, Grasshopper!” he would tell Caine, who would flash back to those moments any time he encountered difficulty as an adult wandering in the US.

When it comes to the quarterback situation at the University of Florida, I will state the obvious: Things are not always as they seem. Dan Mullen is well aware that Emory Jones hasn’t exactly set the world on fire through the Gators’ first two wins. He also knows fully well that he has lightning in a bottle in redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson.

If we go strictly by what we’ve seen either in person or on television in Florida’s two games, then it’s clear as a bell that Emory Jones is still playing like he’s the backup quarterback, and not the starter. While Jones has yet to make a mistake that has cost the Gators a football game, it’s painful watching him when he is indecisive and it’s easy to forget that perhaps moments before he made an outstanding play.

We measure Jones against Richardson, who, in just two games has shown an almost Percy-like propensity for the sensational. When it comes to making big plays, Jones just doesn’t measure up. Fans see Jones making mistakes. They only see Richardson electrifying the crowd.

Obviously, fans want more Richardson, less Jones and they wonder why Dan Mullen doesn’t see the same thing. Well, Mullen does, but he also sees a far bigger picture. He’s at practice every day. He’s in the quarterback room. He knows just how far Richardson has come and just how far he needs to go before he can turn him loose with the entire offense. Don’t forget, this is a coach whose success in developing quarterbacks is almost unparalleled.

It’s not a case of if but a matter of when Anthony Richardson will take the reins of the Florida offense as the starting QB. When Mullen is comfortable that he can see something from the sideline and signal it to Richardson to change from a bad play into one that will work against whatever look the defense is giving, then Anthony Richardson is going to be THE guy.

You might find that overly simplistic, but it’s true. Right now, Emory Jones has the best overall grasp of the offense but Anthony Richardson has the most talent. That part is obvious. When Richardson has a firm enough grasp of what Mullen wants, then he will be unleashed on the SEC and it will be righteous.

But until Mullen reaches that comfort level, it’s going to be a two-quarterback system. So until we get to that point in time, here is what I say to you: Patience, Grasshopper!

The Coaches Top 25 Poll: 1. Alabama 2-0; 2. Georgia 2-0; 3. Oklahoma 2-0; 4. Oregon 2-0; 5. Texas A&M 2-0; 6. Clemson 1-1; 7. Iowa 2-0; 8. Cincinnati 2-0; 9. FLORIDA 2-0; 10. Notre Dame 2-0; 11. Ohio State 1-1; 12. Penn State 2-0; 13. UCLA 2-0; 14. Iowa State 1-1; 15. Virginia Tech 2-0; 16. Ole Miss 2-0; 17. Wisconsin 1-1; 18. Coastal Carolina 2-0; 19. North Carolina 1-1; 20. Auburn 2-0; 21. Arizona State 2-0; 22. Oklahoma State 2-0; 23. BYU 2-0; 24. Arkansas 2-0; 25. Michigan 2-0

The Associated Press Top 25 Poll: 1. Alabama 2-0; 2. Georgia 2-0; 3. Oklahoma 2-0; 4. Oregon 2-0; 5. Iowa 2-0; 6. Clemson 1-1; 7. Texas A&M 2-0; 8. Cincinnati 2-0; 9. Ohio State 1-1; 10. Penn State 2-0; 11. FLORIDA 2-0; 12. Notre Dame 2-0; 13. UCLA 2-0; 14. Iowa State 1-1; 15. Virginia Tech 2-0; 16. Coastal Carolina 2-0; 17. Ole Miss 2-0; 18. Wisconsin 1-1; 19. Arizona State 2-0; 20. Arkansas 2-0; 21. North Carolina 1-1; 22. Auburn 2-0; 23. BYU 2-0; 24. Miami 1-1; 25. Michigan 2-0

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (2-0): Alabama might be without its best pass rusher, outside linebacker Will Anderson, for the game with Florida. Anderson took a helmet to the knee against Mercer and is considered questionable for the Gators. Alabama lost linebacker Christopher Allen for 10-12 weeks when he fractured his foot in the Miami game. Next week: at Florida (2-0)

Arkansas (1-0): In blowing the doors off 15th-ranked Texas, 40-21, Arkansas ran for 333 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. The Arkansas defense allowed Texas just 118 passing yards and 138 on the ground. Next week: Georgia Southern (1-1)

Auburn (2-0): Former Georgia wide receiver Demetris Robertson accounted for three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) and 120 all-purpose yards (receiving, rushing, punt returns) in the 62-0 win over Alabama State. Next week: at Penn State (2-0)

Georgia (2-0): Stetson Bennett IV was the surprise starter at QB. He completed 10-12 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns in Georgia’s 56-7 win over UAB. The Georgia defense allowed only 174 total yards. Next week: South Carolina (2-0)

Kentucky (1-0): Will Levis might give the Wildcats a far better passing option than they had with Terry Wilson, but there is no doubt the Wildcats aren’t going to stray too far from ground and pound. To beat Missouri, 35-28, the Wildcats ran the ball 52 times for 340 yards with Chris Rodriguez going 27-206 and three touchdowns. Next week: Chattanooga (1-1)

LSU (1-1): The Tigers sacked Coach O’s son Cody eight times for 64 yards in losses in LSU’s 34-7 win over D1AA McNeese State. That’s the good news. The bad news is the offense, minus both starting tackles, generated only 305 yards and just 4.18 yards per snap. Next week: Central Michigan (1-1)

Mississippi State (2-0): The Bulldogs moved to 2-0 thanks to a defense that got four sacks and created three turnovers in a 24-10 win over North Carolina State. Next week: at Memphis (2-0)

Missouri (0-1): Mizzou QB Connor Bazelac threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns but only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt going against a Kentucky zone that kept dropping seven into coverage. Meanwhile, the Tigers couldn’t get Kentucky’s offense off the field as the Wildcats ran for 340 yards.

Next week: Southeast Missouri State (0-2)

Ole Miss (2-0): Ole Miss racked up 630 offensive yards in its 54-17 win over Austin Peay, 336 on the ground and 294 through the air. Matt Corral threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns with Dontario Drummond and Jonathan Mingo each on the receiving end of two TDPs. Next week: Tulane (1-1)

South Carolina (2-0): South Carolina is 2-0 with former grad assistant Zeb Noland at quarterback, but will probably need Luke Doty to return from injury if there is any hope whatsoever in knocking off Georgia in Athens. Answering a question about Doty in his remarks after the 20-17 win over East Carolina, HBC Shane Beamer said, “We feel fully confident he’ll be 100 percent next week.”

Next week: at Georgia (2-0)

Tennessee (1-1): The Vols have a quarterback controversy on their hands. When Joe Milton went down with an injury, he was replaced by Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker, who threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns while running for 49 on nine carries. Hooker averaged 9.0 yards per pass attempt while Milton averaged 4.2. Next week: Tennessee Tech (0-2)

Texas A&M (2-0): Starting quarterback Haynes King was injured in the first half of the Aggies’ 10-7 win over Colorado. He spent the entire second half on the sideline in a walking boot and on crutches. Zach Calzada, who threw the game-winning touchdown pass, with 2:41 left in the game, will be the starter for the foreseeable future. Next week: New Mexico (2-0)

Vanderbilt (1-1): Vanderbilt’s 11-game losing streak came to an end Saturday night when former Alabama placekicker Joseph Bulovas hit a 38-yard field goal with 0:19 left in the game to give the Commodores a 24-21 win over Colorado State. Next week: Stanford

ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The alliance of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC is looking pretty feeble about now. The alliance was formed to counter the strength of the Southeastern Conference but you can’t counter strength with weakness which is exactly what you get from those three leagues. Did you see the way Oregon absolutely bludgeoned the Ohio State defense? Of their 505 yards, 269 were on the ground. Don’t let the Associated Press rankings fool you. Iowa is NOT a top five team and Penn State would be a 6-6 team against an SEC schedule.

Clemson (1-1) is still the only thing close to a decent team in the ACC. Did you happen to catch the way Florida State (0-2) lost on the last play of the game against D1AA Jacksonville State? Miami had to hang on by a thread to beat App State from the Fun Belt at home. You know your league is in trouble when Wake Forest Gump looks like a contender.

The Pac-12 is nothing to get excited about. It’s Oregon (2-0) and a bunch of bad teams. Oregon probably runs the table.

If the College Football Playoff were held today, both the Big Ten and ACC would be shut out. The semifinals would be No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Oklahoma.

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Notre Dame (2-0) has no business anywhere near the top ten. The two Irish victories are over a rotten Florida State team and Holy Toledo from the MAC and Cheese. Don’t be the least bit surprised if the Irish drop two out of three to Wisconsin, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech.

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The five best quarterbacks I’ve seen so far are Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Malik Willis (Liberty), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), Bryce Young (Alabama) and Demond Ridder (Cincinnati). Of those five, Matt Corral is in a league all by himself. In two games he’s 43-65 for 662 yards (10.2 per attempt) and six touchdowns. He’s 20-90 running the ball for another TD. He is the reason why I believe Ole Miss might have the best chance of any team in the SEC West to knock off Alabama.

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The Fire Clay Helton movement at Southern Cal picked up steam when the Trojans were whacked 42-28 by Stanford. About the only way he’s going to be gainfully employed at USC next year is to finish the regular season 11-1 and then beat Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That is not as difficult as it seems. The Trojans play at Notre Dame in October so the weather is probably going to be decent. The last two games will be the toughest – UCLA and BYU, both in the Coliseum.

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Apparently, the Big 12 will expand again but probably not until the situation with Texas and Oklahoma is resolved. Memphis, almost certainly, will be one of the teams since it has a very good football team and a basketball team that could make the Final Four this year. There is talk that Boise State will be considered, but the geographics aren’t good there. South Florida would be a better fit as it would solidify the I-4 corridor with its 10 million people.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Did any college football coach have a worse week than Florida State’s Mike Norvel? First, he iced his own kicker against Notre Dame. Ryan Fitzgerald drilled a 50-yard field goal only to have it waved off because Norvel challenged a replay. Fitzgerald ended up missing 36-yarder. Then, Saturday, Norvel didn’t go into a prevent defense, which allowed D1AA Jacksonville State to throw a Hail Mary that won the game. Norvel said he knew the Gamecocks had one more time out. Uh, excuse me. Jax State was 59 yards away from the goal line and there were only six seconds left and Norvel was worried that they had a time out remaining?