To upset the Vols, the Gators have to win the line of scrimmage

For the Gators to beat Tennessee, center Jake Slaughter (66) will have to have a great game (Photo by Chris Spears)

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

Until Arkansas came along, Tennessee’s defense was being talked up as practically impenetrable. In their first four games, the Vols allowed only 176 yards and seven points per game. The Vols were so good against the run that opponents were good for 50.8 yards and 1.5 yards per carry.

Then came Arkansas.

The Razorbacks ran for 137 yards on 44 carries and they threw for 297, averaging a very impressive 9.9 yards per attempt. The Vols pass rush got to Arkansas quarterbacks for two sacks, one by James Pearce Jr., but Pearce, said to be a stud among studs by Mel Kiper Jr. didn’t have any other pressures.

So what are we to believe? Is Tennessee the swarming defense that nobody could run or score against in games one through four? Or have the Vols been exposed in much the same way their offense has been exposed the last two games. In games one through three, Tennessee was scoring at will and turning games into a track meet. In the last two, the Vols have had all the firepower of a late-80s Yugo GVX, which is to say they’ve sputtered.

This will be the most critical game of the season for Florida’s offensive line. For the Gators to do an Arkansas-like number on the Tennessee defense in terms of moving the football, the O-line is going to have to create enough cracks in the UT front for a respectable running game. It isn’t necessary for the Gators to dominate in the running game although that would be nice. What Florida has to do is make the Vols respect the running game enough that they can’t simply pin their ears back and pressure Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway.

Florida really struggled running the ball against Texas A&M, but in the last two games, the Gators have run for 356 yards, averaging a very respectable 5.2 yards per carry. Montrell Johnson Jr. is still Florida’s No. 1 running back (288 yards, 4.97 per carry, 4 TDs), but freshman Jaden Baugh (128 yards, 6.74 per carry) and Ja’Kobi Jackson (93 yards, 6.64 per carry, 3 TDs) offer fresh legs, speed and moves.

If they’re able to run the ball against UT, then Mertz and Lagway (combined 99-134 for 1,333 yards and 9 touchdowns) should have adequate time to throw the football. Mertz, who is 38-44 (83.3 percent) in his last two games, and Lagway (averaging 12.1 per attempt) haven’t been sacked nor have they thrown an interception since the Aggies in game three. In Elijhah Badgers (17-346, 2 TDs) and Chimere Dike (15-277, 1 TD) the Gators have two exceptional receivers. If Tre Wilson is healthy enough to join them against the Vols, Florida could pose serious issues to the Tennessee secondary.

Of course, it all comes down to the offensive line. The Gators gave up five sacks in the first three games, but they’ve given Mertz and Lagway time to throw the ball the last two. The Gators are rock solid at center where Jake Slaughter grades as the No. 8 center in the country per Pro Football Focus. Right tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson grades at 85 percent as a pass blocker and left tackle Austin Barber grades at 75.9 percent. The productivity at guard has picked up considerably since the Gators began rotating in Kamryn Waites and Bryce Lovett with Knijeah Harris and Damieon George Jr.

If Vols are the super team on defense they were hyped to be early in the year will be found out Saturday evening. Whether they are an elite defense or not, the answer for the Gators will be the same formula that worked for Arkansas. The offensive line has to give the Gators enough of a running game that it open up the passing game for Mertz and Lagway.

This is the SEC and as always it’s a line of scrimmage league. If the Gators win the line of scrimmage against the Tennessee defense, then they’ll have a chance to win the game.

SEC FOOTBALL

No. 7 Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC):  After allowing Vanderbilt to convert 12 of 18 third downs last week, Alabama defenders have asked for quicker calls coming in from the sideline. Against Vandy, Alabama struggled to get lined up quick enough plus had problems getting players on and off the field. Saturday: South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC)

No. 5 Georgia (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Wide receiver Colbie Young is the seventh Georgia player arrested since March, the second on family violence charges. HBC Kirby Smart, of course, said he can’t comment. Through five games, Young, a transfer from Miami, had 11 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Saturday: Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 SEC)

Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC): At his Monday press conference, HBC Mark Stoops said Vanderbilt “is using some stuff you don’t see a whole lot. Unbalanced sets. Shifts and motions. They do a good job of keeping you unbalanced. They keep you on your toes.” Saturday: Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2 SEC)

No. 13 LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC): LSU is dead last in the SEC in pass defense, giving up 236.4 yards per game and 8.1 per pass attempt. Saturday, former UF secondary coach Corey Raymond’s troops will be going against an Ole Miss passing game that averages 372.8 yards per game and a whopping 11.4 yards per attempt. Saturday: No. 8 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 SEC)

Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 SEC): The Bulldogs are dead last and No. 122 nationally in total defensive, giving up yards per game, 213 on the ground and 225 through the air. Saturday: at No. 5 Georgia (4-1, 1-1 SEC)

No. 21 Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Missouri has issues with its offensive line. The Tigers allowed Texas A&M six sacks last week and the Aggies got pressure on Brady Cook 25 times. Saturday: at UMass (1-5)

No. 18 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Sophomore wide receiver Nic Anderson is out for Saturday’s Red River Shootout with Texas. Anderson, who caught 38 passes for 798 yards last year, will miss several more weeks. Saturday: No. 1 Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC) in Dallas

No. 8 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 SEC): Wide receiver Tre Harris is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game with LSU in Death Valley. Through six games, Harris has caught 52 passes for 885 yards and five touchdowns. Saturday: at No. 13 LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC)

South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Linebacker Bangally Kamara has elected to quit on his teammates. He will take a redshirt and enter the transfer portal. A transfer who spent his first four years at Pitt, Kamara had nine tackles in four games.  Saturday: at No. 7 Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC)

No. 9 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC): The Vols struggled on the O-line against Arkansas, allowing four sacks in addition to numerous blown assignments and penalties, the bulk of which were against tackles Lance Heard and John Campbell Jr. When HBC Josh Heupel released his depth chart for Saturday’s game with Florida, Heard or Larry Johnson were listed at left tackle with Campbell or Dayne Davis listed at right tackle.  Saturday: FLORIDA (3-2, 2-1 SEC)

No. 1 Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC): The Longhorns are favored by 14.5 points to knock off arch-rival Oklahoma Saturday in Dallas … QB Quinn Ewers, out the last couple of games with an oblique injury, has been taking the first team snaps this week. Saturday: No. 18 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 SEC) in Dallas

Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Quarterback Diego Pavia said Alabama players were talking trash during the coin toss. On the Dan Patrick Show Monday, Pavia said, “They thought they were going to come in here and treat us like an FCS team? … They were talking, laughing.” Obviously, Vanderbilt got the last laugh on the then No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide. Saturday: at Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC)

PROJECT RUDY: COLLEGE FOOTBALL REIMAGINED

This week SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commish Tony Petiti are meeting to discuss a scheduling alliance that some university presidents believe will usher in something that looks an awful lot like the NFL. Meanwhile, a group of Disney executives backed by the private equity firm Smash Capital are proposing a 70-team super league made up of the four power conferences and Notre Dame.

Called Project Rudy, this newest proposal would have $9 billion capital to get it off the ground. Essentially, the new entity would negotiate the TV contracts much the same way the NFL deals with the television networks. The 70 teams would only play each other, therefore eliminating games with D1AA and Group of Five schools.

The idea behind this project is to provide the cash needed to pay players while at the same time enough cash for the schools to fund the non-revenue sports in the future. It sounds very good except for one teensy problem – What to do about the Group of Five and D1AA teams? Some of them will go belly up without paycheck games.

This concept might be the future, but at some point someone needs to take care of the Group of Five and D1AA schools. To survive without paycheck games, someone better come up with an idea that gives them their own playoffs and a TV package that can compensate.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has reacted to the chaos of the transfer portal by shortening the December window to 20 days and the spring window in April to 10 days. Whoopteedoo. What this tells us is that Charlie Baker, the current president of the NCAA, is as braindead as predecessor Mark Emmert.

What the NCAA needs in the worst way is a common sense approach to the portal. Of course, common sense and the NCAA are two ships passing in the night separated by five or six hundred miles of ocean. Here are some suggestions:

1. FIVE years of eligibility. Period. You can play all five years, but that’s it. Redshirt and you have only four to play. Injured and redshirt, you only have three. Period. No sixth year eligibility. Period.

2. Except in cases of a coach being fired, no freshman can transfer until he has been on campus for a full fall and spring. Any freshman who transfers must have at least a 2.0 in core classes – remedial classes do not count – or else he sits for a year.

3. Any player still taking remedial courses will have to sit an entire year if he transfers. Any player taking remedial courses after his sophomore season will be ineligible until he can pass core courses with at least a 2.0 minimum GPA.

4. Make all scholarships and NIL money enforceable CONTRACTS. Opt out during the season or before the bowl game and there is a breach of contract with the athlete required to pay back the school the cost of his scholarship and whoever is responsible for the NIL all money received. Also, a player who opts out during the season will have to sit a year, so a player who is in his fourth season would not be able to play the next year.

5. Any player who hasn’t made satisfactory progress toward a degree will sit a year if he should transfer.