Thoughts of the Day: September 3, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:

AMID THE UNKNOWNS UF SEASON STARTS SATURDAY NIGHT

Maybe we shouldn’t be upset that the Florida Gators open their 2021 football season Saturday night at The Swamp against Florida Atlantic ranked 13th nationally. When you think about all the unknowns, it’s actually a sign of respect that the Gators are ranked that high. After all, they’re replacing three highly skilled All-Americans, two starters on the O-line and a record-setting placekicker. Additionally, there are a lot of new faces on defense but considering last year’s abysmal performance, a lot of new faces are probably a good thing.

There is so much we don’t know about the Gators and that’s probably by design. With the need to re-tool the offense to fit his personnel and the addition of so many transfers to shore up the defense, is it any wonder Dan Mullen elected to keep spring practice under wraps and offer little or no solid information about practices and scrimmages in August? No sense in giving anyone a head start on how to defend and attack UF by blabbing too much information.

So when the Gators face FAU Saturday night, you can almost bet we’ll see the pure vanilla version. With Alabama looming on September 18, no sense in giving Nick Saban and his zillion analysts any more info than necessary that will help them prepare for their trip to Gainesville. Meanwhile, Alabama faces Miami Saturday so the Tide might not be able to play it close to the vest.

After three years of waiting his turn, this will be the first start of Emory Jones’ career and he will get some opportunities to make plays, but Jones has been in big games before. Backup Anthony Richardson is the one who needs the experience so he may get 40 percent of the snaps. The offense will not be a problem. If the defense is flying around and making plays, it will be a good sign for the future. Florida is favored by 23.5 points. The Sayer says sooth: FLORIDA 48, Florida Atlantic 14

THE SEC SOOTHSAYER

No. 1 Alabama vs. Miami (Atlanta): Miami has been focused on this game for nine months and the Hurricanes really believe they have what it takes to upset Alabama. Obviously, the oddsmakers aren’t impressed. They’ve made Alabama a 19.5-point favorite, believing freshman QB Bryce Young is the real deal and that the Bama defense isn’t going to let Miami QB D’Eriq King turn collapsing pockets into huge gainers. I’m not quite sold on Young just yet but as long as he can get Alabama 21 points, that’s all the Crimson Tide will need to win. The Sayer says sooth: Alabama 24, Miami 7

No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 3 Clemson (Charlotte): Georgia’s last national championship was 14,855 days ago. Expectations in Athens are that this will be the first year since Herschel that Georgia wins a national title. Georgia apologists are already selling that they can lose to Clemson, still win the SEC, make the playoff and win the national championship. The Bulldogs are going to lose to Clemson, which may have the nation’s best defense in 2021. An immobile JT Daniels will face the best pass rush he’s ever seen. The Sayer says sooth: Clemson 24, Georgia 14

Kent State at No. 6 Texas A&M: The Aggies are breaking in a new quarterback (Haynes King) and a new offensive line. They could be breaking in the QB from the sorority powder puff league champs and they would still beat Kent State. The Aggies are favored to win by 29 and it might be a shocker if they fail to cover. The Sayer says sooth: Texas A&M 41, Kent State 7

No. 16 LSU at UCLA (1-0): Maybe it’s Hurricane Ida that is creating the uneasy feeling that LSU might go down in flames at the Rose Bowl. A whole lot of LSU players have family and friends whose lives have been turned upside down by this devastating category 4 storm that caused billions of dollars of destruction. Will those LSU players affected most by the storm be able to focus on doing their job? The Sayer says sooth: LSU 28, UCLA 24

Louisiana-Monroe at Kentucky: At age 65, Terry Bowden embarks on his fifth head coaching gig at a job most consider one of the real dead ends in all of Division I. Terry spent the last two years working as an analyst for Dabo up at Clemson. If he only had some of Dabo’s players he might stand a chance against Kentucky. The Sayer says sooth: Kentucky 48, Louisiana-Monroe 10

Rice at Arkansas: Why is Arkansas favored by only 19 points? The Men from Uncle Ben are coming off a 2-3 season in which they finished 107th in total offense nationally. It’s hard to imagine them scoring even a couple of TDs against Arkansas. The Sayer says sooth: Arkansas 34, Rice 7

Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State: The good news for Louisiana Tech is that nine starters return on defense. That’s also the bad news because Tech stunk last year. Now they go against a Mississippi State team that has had spring football and an offseason to iron out the kinks from last year’s first year of the Mike Leach Air Raid. The Sayer says sooth: Mississippi State 44, Louisiana Tech 17

Central Michigan at Missouri: Jim McElwain won’t be at the game since he had his appendix removed during the week. Even if he were in attendance, the fighting Chips would lose. Missouri is favored by 14. The Sayer says sooth: Missouri 33, Central Michigan 13

Akron at Auburn: This will be dial-a-score. Auburn is favored by 37 over the Zips, whose offensive output will match their name. The Sayer says sooth: Auburn 49, Akron 0

Eastern Illinois (0-1) at South Carolina: This is a paycheck game for Eastern Ill which lost to Indiana State last week. Gamecock fans should savor the moment. They won’t win more than one or two more this year. The Sayer says sooth: South Carolina 35, Eastern Illinois 7

East Tennessee State at Vanderbilt: The Clark Lea era at Vandy begins with a win over a D1AA team. There is only one other winnable game on the schedule. The Sayer says sooth: Vanderbilt 28, East Tennessee State 10

Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Atlanta, Monday): Lane Kiffin is going to turn Matt Corral loose this year. He has to because the Ole Miss defense isn’t very good. Corral could throw for 500 or more yards Monday. The Sayer says sooth: Ole Miss 51, Louisville 35

WHERE THEY RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: C

2010 1. Miles Dieffenbach (Pittsburgh, PA), Penn State; 2. Brandon Linder (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Miami; 3. A.J. Cann (Bamberg, SC), South Carolina; 4. Kody Innes (Scottsdale, AZ), UCLA; 5. Austin Woods (Rockwall, TX), Oklahoma; 6. Hroniss Grasu (Encino, CA), Oregon; 7. Torian Box (Atlanta, GA), North Carolina State; 8. Chase Hughes (Springville, AL), Ole Miss; 9. Jake Alexander (Jenks, OK), Tulsa; 10. Michael Thompson (Farmersville, TX), TCU

2011 1. Reese Dismukes (Spanish Fort, AL), Auburn; 2. Brian Bobek (Palatine, IL), Ohio State; 3. Ryan Kelly (West Chester, OH), Alabama; 4. Ryne Reeves (Crete, NE), Nebraska; 5. Mo Latu (Gilbert, AZ), Arizona State; 6. Ethan Hutson (Destrehan, LA), Ole Miss; 7. Errin Joe (Lakeland, FL), Georgia Tech; 8. David Andrews (Norcross, GA), Georgia; 9. Jake Brendel (Plano, TX), UCLA; 10. Jack Allen (Hinsdale, IL), Michigan State

2012 1. Ty Darlington (Apopka, FL), Oklahoma; 2. Mike Matthews (Missouri City, TX), Texas A&M; 3. Jared Kaster (Rice, TX), Texas Tech; 4. Grant Bays (Oceanside, CA), Oregon State; 5. Matt Cochran (Atwater, CA), California; 6. Cody Waldrop (Seffner, FL), South Carolina; 7. Jay Guillermo (Maryville, TN), Clemson; 8. Joey Hunt (El Campo, TX), TCU; 9. Joe Spencer (Mason, OH), Illinois; 10. Isaac Hayes (Saint Paul, MN), Minnesota

2013 1. Patrick Kugler (Wexford, PA), Michigan; 2. Jake Raulerson (Celina, TX), Texas; 3. Khaliel Rodgers (New Castle, DE), Southern Cal; 4. Brandon Kublanow (Marietta, GA), Georgia; 5. Scott Quessenberry (Encinitas, CA), UCLA; 6. Dane Crane (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Washington; 7. Tyler Lancaster (Plainfield, IL), Northwestern; 8. Bryce King (Dillon, SC), South Carolina; 9. K.J. Malone (Ruston, LA), LSU; 10. Lovell Peterson (Dayton, OH)

2014 1. J.C. Hassenauer (Saint Paul, MN), Alabama; 2. Joshua Casher (Mobile, AL), Alabama; 3. Brian Allen (Hinsdale, IL), Michigan State; 4. Alec Eberle (Mechanicsville, VA), Florida State; 5. Connor Mayes (Van Alstyne, TX); Minnesota; 6. Dalton Risner (Wiggins, CO), Kansas State; 7. Terrell Cuney (Jasper, TX), Texas; 8. Coleman Thomas (Max Meadows, VA), Tennessee; 9. Jacob Bragg (Nacogdoches, TX), Kansas; 10. Andrew Marshall (Cumming, GA), Georgia Tech

2015 1. Tristen Hoge (Pocatello, ID), Notre Dame; 2. Patrick Vahe (Euless, TX), Texas; 3. Fred Ulu-Perry (Honolulu, HI), UCLA; 4. Tommy Hatton (Montvale, NJ), North Carolina; 5. Kaleb Kim (Hoschton, GA), Auburn; 6. James Daniel (Warren, OH), Iowa; 7. Tyler Jordan (Jacksonville, FL), Florida; 8. Darryl Williams (Bessemer, AL), Mississippi State; 9. Brian Chaffin (Charlotte, NC), Stanford; 10. Cole Smith (Mission Viejo, CA), Southern Cal

2016 1. Baveon Johnson (Lakeland, FL), Florida State; 2. Drake Jackson (Versailles, KY), Kentucky; 3. Connor McGovern (Lopez, PA), Penn State; 4. Eli Johnson (Oxford, MS), Ole Miss; 5. Sean Auwae (Kapolei, HI), Vanderbilt; 6. Brett Heggie (Mount Dora, FL), Florida; 7. Kellton Hollins (Zachary, LA), TCU; 8. Trystan Colon-Castillo (Webb City, MO), Iowa; 9. Zach Bycznski (Berea, OH), Cincinnati; 10. Matthew Allen (Hinsdale, IL), Michigan State

2017 1. Cesar Ruiz (Bradenton, FL), Michigan; 2. Brett Neilon (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Southern; 3. Creed Humphrey (Shawnee, OK), Oklahoma; 4. Mike Miranda (Stow, OH), Penn State; 5. Case Crook (Carrollton, GA), Missouri; 6. Dawson Deaton (Frisco, TX), Texas Tech; 7. Drew Dalman (Salinas, CA), Stanford; 8. Sam Gerak (Avon, OH), Northwestern; 9. Will Taylor (Loganville, GA), Duke; 10. Johnny Jordan (Washington, DC), Maryland

2018 1. Matthew Jones (Brooklyn, NY), Ohio State; 2. Justin Dedich (Temecula, CA), Southern Cal; 3. Emile Ekiyor (Indianapolis, IN), Alabama; 4. Juice Scruggs (Erie, PA), Penn State; 5. Warren Ericson (Duluth, GA), Georgia; 6. Verdis Brown (Chicago, IL), Illinois; 7. Tyrone Sampson Jr. (Detroit, MI), Fresno State; 8. Cole Smith (Pontotoc, MS), LSU; 9. Hank Manos (Chapin, SC), South Carolina; 10. Trey Stafford (Allen, TX), Stanford

2019 1. Clay Webb (Oxford, AL), Georgia; 2. Harry Miller (Buford, GA), Ohio State; 3. Zeke Correll (Cincinnati, OH), Notre Dame; 4. Branson Bragg (Crandall, TX), Stanford; 5. Layden Richardson (Manvel, TX), Texas A&M; 6. Ricky Stromberg (Tulsa, OK), Arkansas; 7. Vincent Murphy (Fort Lauderdale, FL), South Carolina; 8. Charles Turner (Bradenton, FL), LSU; 9. Logan Sagapolu (Lehi, UT), Oregon; 10. Breaux Limmer (Tyler, TX), Arkansas

2020 1. Sedrick Van Pran (New Orleans, LA), Georgia; 2. Luke Wypler (Montvale, NJ), Ohio State; 3. Peter Skoronski (Park Ridge, IL), Northwestern; 4. Myles Murao (Santa Ana, CA), Washington; 5. Jake Majors (Prosper, TX), Texas; 6. Cooper Mays (Knoxville, TN), Tennessee; 7. Gus Hartwig (Zionsville, IN), Purdue; 8. Drake Metcalf (Bellflower, CA), Stanford; 9. Reece Atteberry (Aurora, CO), Michigan; 10. Seth McLaughlin (Buford, GA), Alabama

2021 (Only five centers listed instead of 10) 1. Ryan Linthicum (Damascus, MD), Clemson; 2. Raheem Anderson (Detroit, MI), Michigan; 3. Ezra Dotson-Oyetade (Garland, TX), Arizona State; 4. James Brockermeyer (Fort Worth, TX), Alabama; 5. Jackson Light (Draper, UT), Oregon

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Is the Big 12 on the verge of expansion? Both The Athletic and ESPN are reporting that after two days of meetings to discuss adding new teams, the four teams in the expansion crosshairs are BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston. BYU is an independent that would join the Big 12 in a heartbeat. UCF, Cincinnati and Houston would each owe a $10 million exit fee to leave the American Athletic Conference, money the Big 12 could pay from the exit fees Texas and Oklahoma will be paying to leave for the Southeastern Conference, estimated at $50 million apiece. These four teams won’t make up for the loss in TV revenue by the Texas/Oklahoma exit, but they will allow the Big 12 to remain an autonomous Power Five Conference which means a large cut of the College Football Playoff revenue. If and when the playoff expands to 12 teams each power conference will be in line for as much as $200 million compared to the current $66 million. Don’t be surprised if the Big 12 elects to expand by six, adding South Florida and Memphis.