Thoughts of the day: September 15, 2022

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

VENTRELL MILLER OUT FOR SOUTH FLORIDA GAME Billy Napier wouldn’t go into detail about the extent of the lower leg injuries suffered by middle linebacker Ventrell Miller and right tackle Michael Tarquin Wednesday. When asked about the status of the two starters, Napier replied simply, “They won’t play this week.”

Tarquin’s spot on the offensive line will be taken by Austin Barber (6-6, 312), who played most of the snaps at right tackle when Tarquin went down against Kentucky. Heading into the Kentucky game, Barber was listed as the backup to Richard Gouraige (6-4.5, 308) at left tackle. With Barber getting the start at right tackle, Josh Braun (6-6, 351) will shift from O’Cyrus Torrence’s (6-5, 347) backup at right guard to Gouraige’s backup. Now backing up Torrence is Jalen Farmer (6-4.5, 334).

Scooby Williams (6-2, 235) will get the start for Miller. He came off the bench to get a tackle against Kentucky. Williams has the physical talent to get the job done, but the question heading into Saturday’s game is his ability to get everyone in the right spot and direct traffic. That’s an area where Miller is quite proficient.

“The big challenge here goes back to what I talked about in the very beginning, the ability to process quickly and communicate,” Napier said. “When I think about replacing Ventrell I’m immediately thinking about replacing the communicator … the ability to process quickly and communicate. We talk about communication. We want to do it early, loud and often. We want to do it clearly, concisely and with confidence. That’s a big challenge for those linebackers to be as good of a communicator as Ventrell was. There’s a component to that position that affects that entire group.”

UF Depth Chart for South Florida (starter in bold face) Offense WR: Xzavier Henderson; Daejon Reynolds or Marcus Burker WR: Justin Shorter; Ja’Quavion Fraziars WR: Ricky Pearsall; Trent Whittemore; Ja’Markis Weston LT: Richard Gouraige; Josh Braun LG: Ethan White; Richard Leonard IV C: Kingsley Eguakun; Jake Slaughter RG: O’Cyrus Torrence; Jalen Farmer RT: Austin Barber; Kamryn Waites TE: Dante Zanders; Keon Zipperer

QB: Anthony Richardson; Jalen Kitna or Kyle Engel RB: Nayquan Wright; Montrell Johnson Jr. or Trevor Etienne; Lorenzo Lingard Defense

DE: Princely Umanmielen; Justus Boone

NT: Jalen Lee; Desmond Watson; Jaelin Humphries; Jamari Lyons DE: Gervon Dexter Sr.; Tyreak Sapp; Chris McClellan

JACK: Brenton Cox Jr.; Antwayn Powell-Ryland Jr.; Lloyd Summerall III or David Reese LB: Scooby Williams; Derek Wingo

LB: Amari Burney; Shemar James; Diwun Black

STAR: Tre’Vez Johnson; Jadarrius Perkins; Kamar Wilcoxson CB: Jason Marshall Jr.; Devin Moore; Jordan Young

S: Rashad Torrence II; Kamari Wilson; Corey Collier Jr. S: Trey Dean III; Donovan McMillon or Miguel Mitchell

CB: Avery Helm; Jalen Kimber; Ethan Pouncey

Special Teams KO: Adam Mihalek or Trey Smack

PK: Adam Mihalek or Trey Smack

P: Jeremy Crawshaw; Jacob Watkins LS: Rocco Underwood; Chase Whitfield

H: Jeremy Crawshaw; Jacob Watkins

KOR: Ja’Markis Weston; Trevor Etienne or Nay’Quan Wright; Tre’Vez Johnson

PR: Xzavier Henderson; Jason Marshall Jr. or Trevor Etienne

Injured: TE Arlis Boardingham; OL David Conner; CB Jaydon Hill; QB Jack Miller III; LB Ventrell Miller; LS Marco Ortiz; LT Michael Tarquin

SEC football

#2 Alabama (2-0): Louisville transfer wide receiver Tyrell Harrell, expected to be a difference maker in the passing game, remains sidelined with a foot injury. Nick Saban said Harrell has been unable to practice this week, will not play Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe and is listed as day-to-day.

#10 Arkansas (2-0): Through two games, Georgia transfer wide receiver Matt Landers is the leading receiver with seven receptions for 88 yards. “He’s been a joy to have on our team,” said HBC Sam Pittman.

Auburn (2-0): Social media exploded Wednesday when 4-star wide receiver Karmello English de-committed, calling the school the “University of Auburn” … The game with Penn State at Jordan-Hare Stadium still isn’t sold out.

#1 Georgia (2-0): Sophomore wide receiver AD Mitchell and freshman defensive back Nyland Green are both listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game in Columbia with South Carolina.

LSU (1-1): LSU’s best pass rusher, B.J. Ojulari, is expected to play Saturday when Mississippi State comes to Baton Rouge. He has been out since hurting his knee in the first quarter of the Tigers’ season opener with Florida State.

Mississippi State (2-0): Of the 22 players on the Mississippi State two-deep on the defensive side of the ball, 17 are in their third season in coordinator Zach Arnett’s 3-3-5 scheme and three others are in their second year.

Missouri (1-1): When talking on the SEC Coaches Teleconference about Mizzou’s 40-12 loss to Kansas State, HBC Eli Drinkwitz said, “We can’t control the event that happened Saturday. All we can control is our response to it.”

#20 Ole Miss (2-0): When asked about the competition for the starting QB job between Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmeyer ahead of Saturday’s game with Georgia Tech, Lane Kiffin said, “I see both guys playing.”

South Carolina (1-1): Quarterback Spencer Rattler can make all the throws, but can he stay upright when the Gamecocks play Georgia this week? In two games, Rattler has already been sacked nine times, which ranks dead last in the SEC.

#15 Tennessee (2-0): When speaking about his offense, coordinator Alex Golesh said Wednesday, “There’s a bunch of guys in that room that have earned the right to be confident.”

#24 Texas A&M (1-1): If Texas A&M wanted to fire Jimbo Fisher it would cost $89,950,000. Lawyer Alexander Shunnarah, who has 24 offices around the country including Houston, went to social media to post “Need help with future contract negotiations? CALL ME Texas A&M! If you or a loved one find yourself stuck in a $75M contract with no results, you know who to call.”

Vanderbilt (2-1): Sophomore defensive tackle Devin Lee is expected to return from injury to make his 2022 debut when the Commodores travel to Northern Illinois.

Our SEC orphans in the Big 12

#6 Oklahoma (2-0): Rather than attend Oklahoma’s game with Nebraska in Lincoln, former OU head coach Bob Stoops will be in Lexington to celebrate younger brother Mark becoming the winningest coach in UK history with 61 wins, breaking the record held by Bear Bryant since 1953.

#21 Texas (1-1): Columnist Joey Hickey writes, “Now, Texas is already further ahead than Texas A&M ever was in Jimbo’s second season, while Fisher lost to a Sun Belt team in year five. It doesn’t take much discernment to see where both programs are headed.”

Football played somewhere beside the SEC Mountain West Conference: Craig Thompson, who worked closely with Greg Sankey, Bob Bowlsby and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, is stepping down as commissioner of the Mountain West Conference. BYU (2-0): Oregon is paying BYU, the nation’s 12th-ranked team, $1.1 million to travel to Eugene to play the 25th-ranked Ducks this weekend. It’s rather odd that the oddsmakers in Las Vegas list Oregon as a 3.5-point favorite when you consider the Ducks were destroyed by Georgia in game one and their only win is a 56-point beatdown of D1AA Eastern Washington. BYU, meanwhile, is coming off a win over then 9th-ranked Baylor. It should also be noted that BYU was 5-0 against Pac-12 teams last year.

Notre Dame (0-2): There is a good reason why the Irish are 0-2 out the gate. They are 118th nationally in total offense (302 yards per game) and 117th in scoring (15.5 points per game). Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is feeling the heat, but he’s not the only one. There are calls for coordinator Al Golden to simplify the defense after the Irish couldn’t stop Marshall from running between the tackles for 219 yards last week.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: It took three weeks but we have our first member of the Extinct Species List. No one should be surprised that it’s Scott Frost, whose 16-31 record included 22 losses by eight or fewer points. Frost made the mistake of going home to Nebraska to try to resurrect a program that is no longer relevant. Rule number one when leaving a job where you’re ultra-successful (Frost was at UCF) – pick and choose wisely. Only take a job where you know everything is in place to win. What worked for Nebraska 25 years ago doesn’t work anymore. Frost needs a couple of years recycling at St. Nick’s to get a chance to be a good coach again.

Countdown to firing day: Week 3

Extinct Species List Scott Frost, Nebraska: He had a good thing going at UCF, then mama called. Sometimes you need to slap mama in the face and tell her to keep her opinions to herself. Frost will likely re-emerge as somebody’s offensive coordinator, perhaps even at Alabama if OC Bill O’Brien takes a head coaching job somewhere after this season.

On Life Support

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: Situation grim. The stadium was barely half full last week when the Jackets had a good second half to beat D1AA Western Carolina. Ole Miss comes to Atlanta this weekend. Jacket fans are braced for a boatracing. The buzzards are circling.

Scott Loeffler, Bowling Green: He’s 0-2 and faces the same Marshall team that just beat Notre Dame in South Bend this week. That will be followed by Mississippi State. The only thing that will save him is a bowl game and a winning record in the MAC and Cheese Conference.

Bryan Harsin, Auburn: This is the ultimate can’t win situation. Auburn’s zany fans don’t want him and they’ve run off the AD that hired him. They presume the new AD will see things their way. Nine wins, one of them over Alabama, will keep him safe. To fire him they would have to pay $18 million. They paid Gus Malzahn $21.4 million to walk.

Jake Spavital, Texas State: The Bobcats are 1-1 thanks to that win over Florida International. Baylor looms this week. Yikes. Jake the Snake needs five more wins or else the buzzards start circling.

Mike Bloomgren, Rice: Career record 12-32. The next three games are Louisiana, Houston and UAB. There is a reason the buzzards are circling.

Endangered Species List

Herm Edwards, Arizona State: The Sun Devils are 1-1. The good news is that Emory Jones has yet to throw a pick and they probably get their second win this week against Eastern Michigan. The bad news is that Utah, Southern Cal and Washington follow the fighting EMUs. Then there is that teensy matter of the NCAA, which may be dropping the hammer soon.

Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic: The wins are over a very bad Charlotte team and D1AA Southeastern Louisiana. The Free Willies need a good showing this week against UCF.

Seth Littrell, North Texas: Fans aren’t fooled by the 2-1 start. The wins are over UTEP and D1AA Texas Southern. Three straight losing seasons. He needs eight wins. Badly.

Neal Brown, West Virginia: The Mounties are 0-2 and they’ve lost to Kansas. The athletic director is telling fans to be patient, which is AD-speak for, “It’s too early to fire him, especially when we play D1AA Towson Saturday.” Brown makes $4 million a year.

Ken Niumalatololo, Navy: The Navy has fallen on hard times since that 11-2 season in 2019. The Midshipmen are 7-17, 0-2 out the gate this year with a loss to D1AA Delaware in game one. If they wind up with a losing record this year, it will be the fourth time in five years.

Karl Dorrell, Colorado: He’s not just 0-2 out of the gate, but 0-2 in the Pac-12, so the Buffs are out of the conference race by mid-September. This is not going to end well.

Brent Brennan, San Jose State: He’s 21-38 for his career. His only win this year is over D1AA Portland State and that was a white knuckler. They’re paying him $1 million, which is a lot for a school with little history or tradition.