To finish fast, the defense has to step up

Princely Umanmielen - Photo Credit - Chris Spears

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

BY FRANZ BEARD

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

The cure for Florida’s defensive woes sounds so simple when Princely Umanmielen says it.

“Stop the run so we can get to third down,” Umanmielen said Wednesday evening after the Gators (4-4, 1-4 SEC) finished practice for Saturday’s road trip to Texas A&M (3-5, 1-4 SEC). “Stop them on third down. It’s really that simple.”

Easier said than done. The Gators are next to last nationally in third down defense (opponents are 57-109).

Then there is the matter of chunk plays. The Gators are 113th nationally in allowing chunk plays in the running game (51 plays of 10 or more yards; 15 for more than 20 yards) and they’re 91st nationally in passing chunk plays (81 for more than 10 yards, 28 that have gone for 20 or more).

Umanmielen says the chunk plays and third down conversions aren’t necessarily a matter of the entire defensive unit breaking down.

“It's always just maybe a blown coverage or one guy or two guys don't do their job,” he said. “So most of the time, when those type of plays happen, I would say able the majority of the time is us doing something wrong rather than the other team doing something or just making good plays. People like giving PT [Patrick Toney] and the defensive coordinators and things like that a lot of heat, but at the end of the day, most of the time, whatever he calls, it’s our job to execute it. If we don't execute it, then it just looks bad. So, we just got to work on executing every call.”

In the loss to Georgia, the Gators held the Bulldogs to 172 yards on 61 plays (2.81 yards per play). Georgia’s other 17 plays netted 383 yards (237 passing, 146 rushing), an average of 22.5 per play.

For the Gators to win in College Station against a Texas A&M team that put up 28 points and 480 yards against Ole Miss last week, the defense has to show up every single play.

“We just have to make sure that on every single play, all 11 guys are executing their job,” Umanmielen said.

UF women’s basketball

The Gators tuned up for their regular season opener at the O-Dome Wednesday night with a 110-46 exhibition win over Saint Leo. Seven Gators scored in double figures led by Purdue transfer Ra Shaya Kyle, who scored 16 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. Also in double figures were Alberte Rimdal (15), Nina Rickards (14), St. John’s transfer Leilani Correa (14) and Jordyn Merritt, freshman Freida Buhner and West Virginia transfer KK Deans 10 each. The Gators were 40-82 from the field overall, 8-23 from the 3-point line. The Gator's ok held Saint Leo to 23.4 percent from the field overall and 4-23 (17.4 percent) from the 3-point line.

The Gators open the regular season Monday against Florida A&M at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men taking the floor to face Stony Brook in the nightcap.

SEC coaches pick Castleton preseason All-SEC

Colin Castleton was selected first team preseason All-SEC by the league’s coaches. Castleton (6-11, 250, 5th YR), who made All-SEC second team in the previous two seasons, was the only Gator picked on first or second team by the coaches.

All-SEC first team: Colin Castleton, Florida; Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama; Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas; Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky; Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky; Tolu Smith, Mississippi State; Kobe Brown, Missouri; Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee; Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee

Second team: Brandon Miller, Alabama; Wendell Green Jr., Auburn; K.D. Johnson, Auburn; Kario Oquendo, Georgia; KJ Williams, LSU; Matt Murrell, Ole Miss; Josiah-Jordan James, Tennessee; Henry Coleman III, Texas A&M

SEC football

No. 6 Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Alabama travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU. In three Alabama road games this season, the Crimson Tide has been flagged 42 times for 331 yards.

Arkansas (5-3, 2-3 SEC): Liberty will be the third ranked non-conference opponents the Hogs have faced this year.

Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC): Former Gator All-American and SEC Network analyst Chris Doering says Lane Kiffin appears to be Auburn’s top choice to replace Bryan Harsin.

No. 1 Georgia (8-0, 5-0 SEC): Georgia averages 7.24 yards per offensive snap, which is fourth nationally, but the Bulldogs have only four plays all season that have gone for 40 or more yards.

Kentucky (5-3, 2-3 SEC): The Wildcats are dead last in the SEC in sacks allowed (30), which is 123rdnationally.

No. 15 LSU (6-2, 4-1 SEC): Protecting Jayden Daniels has to be priority No. 1 for LSU against Alabama. Daniels has been sacked 26 times this season.

Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3 SEC): Special teams are an issue. The Bulldogs rank dead last in the SEC in field goal kicking (5-8) and extra points (29-33)

Missouri (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The Tigers rank third in the SEC in total defense, allowing just 310.6 yards per game and 4.9 yards per snap.

No. 11 Ole Miss (7-1, 3-1 SEC): The Rebels lead the Southeastern Conference in sacks (21), which ranks ninth nationally.

South Carolina (5-3, 2-3 SEC): The Gamecocks are tied for first nationally with Central Michigan and Notre Dame in blocked kicks this season with five. South Carolina is fourth nationally in kickoff coverage, allowing just 13.65 yards per return.

No. 2 Tennessee (8-0, 4-0 SEC): The Tennessee offense gets all the publicity, but the Vols allow only 92.88 yards per game on the ground and just 2.9 yards per carry. That’s second in the SEC and ninth nationally.

Texas A&M (3-5, 1-4 SEC): Running back Devon Achane leads the Aggies with 765 rushing yards and four TDs. He has also caught 33 passes for 195 yards and two TDs plus he’s run back 11 kickoffs for 312 yards and a TD.

Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-4 SEC): Vanderbilt has lost an SEC record 25 consecutive conference games. The last SEC win came against Missouri in 2019.

Our SEC orphans in the Big 12

Oklahoma (5-3, 2-3 Big 12): Quarterback Dillon Gabriel has thrown 14 touchdown passes with only one interception this season.

Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12): Quinn Ewers averages 8.0 per pass attempt with 11 TDPs and five interceptions. Hudson Card has better numbers: 8.6 per attempt, six TDPs and only one pick.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The reason it took so long for Auburn to fire Bryan Harsin, which everybody knew was going to happen even before the season began, was the hiring of a new athletic director. Once John Cohen was hired away from Mississippi State, Harsin was shown the door. That makes seven Division I coaches who didn’t make it until November.

November is going to be interesting. Schools that may be contemplating a change might accelerate the process in order to (a) get a head start on hiring a replacement so that (b) recruiting can be salvaged.

Countdown to firing day: Week 10

Extinct Species List

Scott Frost, Nebraska: Dave Doeren wouldn’t be a home run hire, but he’s solid, has a 93-55 head coaching record at Northern Illinois and North Carolina State, and his coaching roots are in the Midwest. His name has some traction.

Herm Edwards, Arizona State: Given the success Oregon has had with former Georgia DC Dan Lanning, Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken could emerge as a front runner. He’s reportedly on the list.

Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: A new name out there in the search is Tulane’s Willie Fritz, who wins everywhere he goes. He knows how to recruit in the backyard of a recruiting monster (LSU) so he might fit in well recruiting in the shadow of Kirby Smart.

Karl Dorrell, Colorado: Former TCU HBC Gary Patterson’s name is gathering momentum. He’s 181-79 career, knows how to recruit Texas which is a necessity for CU, and he knows what it takes to build a program into a winner without an abundance of 5-star recruits.

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: The two names that continue to get the most mention are Kansas HBC Lance Leipold and Wisconsin interim head coach and DC Jim Leonhard. Leonhard seems the likely guy in that he was a walk-on for Barry Alvarez, who still carries a lot of weight with Wisconsin athletics.

Will Healy, Charlotte: North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo and Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins are names that are getting plenty of mention.

Bryan Harsin, Auburn: Harsin’s go away money is $15.5 million, half of which he gets in 30 days, the other half over the next four years with no offset. The money Auburn has spent to pay coaches not to coach would fund a rather decent revolution in a lot of third world countries.

On Life Support

Neal Brown, West Virginia: He’s 3-5 this year and only one of the final four games seems remotely winnable. The boosters and fans are ready for change, but are they willing to pony up the $20 million it will take to give him the old heave ho?

Ken Niumatalolo, Navy: He got a win over Shirley Temple last week to improve to 3-5 but the final four games are Cincinnati, Notre Dame, UCF and Army. Bowl eligible is a longshot but if he beat Army would that be what is necessary to extend for one more year?

Jeff Scott, South Florida: His career record is 4-25. Normally that gets you fired, but injuries have been a problem and he’s not going to have a chance to win consistently until he gets an on campus stadium. Right now they’re debating where on campus to build one so figure it’s four or five years out. It’s doubtful Scott lasts long enough to lead USF out on the field in the new digs.

Tom Allen, Indiana: The Hoosiers are 3-5 and with Penn State and (at) Ohio State the next two weeks, a mortal lock to finish with a second straight losing record. He’s 29-37 for his career, 16-32 in the Big Ten. Three wins will save him, but the situation looks grim.

Endangered Species List:

Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic: The Owls are 4-5 thanks to an unlikely win over UAB last week. The next two are FIU and Middle Tennessee. Win them and FAU is bowling, which likely means Willie lives to coach another year in Boca.

David Shaw, Stanford: He is 3-5 this year, 14-24 since 2018 and for that, boosters are questioning why they are paying him $9 million a year. Three of the last four are winnable games and that would not only get the Cardinal to a bowl game but it would keep the boosters satisfied for another year.

Danny Gonzales, New Mexico: The Lobos are winless in the Mountain West and working on a 5-game losing streak. This will be the third straight losing season for Gonzales. The only thing that might save him is his DC is Rocky Long, who had a 10-year run as UNM head coach when the Lobos were respectable.

Justin Wilcox, California: The Bears have lost four in a row and Southern Cal is next. This will wind up as the third straight losing season for Wilcox. If he can finish 5-7 he probably gets another year.

Jeff Hafley, Boston College: Hafley is 2-6 this year, 14-17 overall. They fired Steve Addazio for going 44-44 and making five bowl games in six years. He probably survives but will be on a very short leash next year.

Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: He’s 41-51 for his career at Tulsa and 3-5 this year. Making a third straight bowl game would help his cause but two of the remaining four games are very losable. They’d probably like to get a new coach, but money is tight in Tulsa so he probably gets one more year.