Conventional thinking says the Florida Gators are going to the Catfish Bowl. Catfish are bottom feeders and the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa is considered bottom rung on the overall bowl rankings, just one step above Birmingham in terms of the Southeastern Conference.   In terms of prestige, the Gators (7-5) are scraping the bottom of the pond when they play Tulane (9-4) next Friday (3:30 p.m., ESPN2) at RayJay. Florida is a 14-point favorite and the spread is probably going to grow as bettors come to the realization that Tulane’s three scholarship quarterbacks are in the transfer portal. Number two QB Tyler Thompson has agreed to take time out from his busy transfer schedule to lead the Green Wave in the bowl game. How magnanimous of him.   Amid all these negatives, Billy Napier sees a slew of positives that he believes weigh heavily in Florida’s favor.   For one, there is the matter of timing.   “For me, the timeline is a blessing to some degree,” Napier said on a Zoom press conference call Thursday. “We play on the 20th, our players and our staff will be at home for Christmas, and then we get a couple weeks off prior to coming back and understanding that we have to kind of work to do to prepare for next year. So we want to keep the momentum we have, and I think to do that, we have to focus on what's next, and that's getting ready for this bowl game.”   There is that matter of momentum. The Gators come into the game on the heels of a 3-game winning streak that ended the regular season. Wins over LSU and Ole Miss torpedoed their playoff possibilities. The win over Florida State helped to seal a recruiting class that went from 51 to 11 in the span of a month.   A win over Tulane in the bowl game would give the Gators eight, the most wins since the 2020 season. Perceptions are a big deal in college football and the Gators will be perceived as a very hot team heading into 2025.   “Momentum is key, and we've got some now,” Napier said. “We need to keep it and certainly this ball game is one of the next steps in that regard.”   The combination of a win and the practices leading up to the bowl game could have a very positive impact on visiting prospects from the transfer portal. Napier probably will be signing 10-12 transfers and many of them will get to see the Gators practicing and how they handle game week preparation.   “So, I think one of the cool things about this window is that we are practicing, we are having meetings, we are lifting weights, we're running,” Napier said. “So, I think the players that are in on visits, not only the portal players, but a lot of '26 recruits that have been on campus, they get a little bit of an inside look at what that workload looks like, that culture, you know, the format of practice, the attention to detail, the discipline, and then they get to be around the players.   “You know, we can not only sell the University of Florida to them, but we also can evaluate them and get them around our players, get our players opinions on them as people as fits here. But yeah, I think it's a great time to have people in. I think especially players that maybe are a little bit older, that, you know, the football is the main part of the decision. I think it's really healthy for them to see us practice.”   SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALS Alabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR) to Vanderbilt ; CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR); WR Kendrick Law (JR); OT Miles McVay (FR); WR Caleb Odom (FR); OT Naquil Betrand RFR); DL Hunter Osborne (FR); TE Danny Lewis Jr. (SO); QB Dylan Lonergan (RFR); LB Braylon Chatman (SO)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR) to Ole Miss ; TE Luke Hasz (SO); S Nico Davillier (JR); WR Kamron Bibby (SO); LB Kaden Henley (SO); LB Alex Sanford (SO); WR Davion Dozier (RFR); S Dallas Young (FR); P Sam Dubwig (FR); RB Emmanuel Crawford (FR); LS Eli Stein; S Tevis Metcalf (SO); CB TJ Metcalf (FR); LB Carson Dean (FR); RB Isaiah Sategna (RSO); OG Joshua Braun (RSR); DL Ty’kieast Crawford (SR); EDGE Brad Spence (SO); OG Addison Nichols (RSO); OT Jac’Qawn McCray (FR) from Oregon   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO) to Texas A&M ; EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR); QB Hank Brown (RFR); CB Antonio Kite (SO); WR Horatio Fields (RJR) from Wake Forest; QB Maalik Murphy (RSO) from Texas; LB Phoenix Jackson (RJR) from Fresno State;   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO); DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO); QB Parker Leise; EDGE Jack Pyburn (RSO); TE Gavin Hill (RFR) Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO); WR Nitro Tuggle (FR); David Daniel-Sisavanh; WR Michael Jackson III (SR); DL Jamaal Jarrett (SO)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR); WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO); QB Gavin Wimsatt (RJR); S Jarard Mosely (JR); RB Chip Trayanum (RSR); EDGE Caleb Redd (FR); WR Brandon White (RSO)   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR); CB JK Johnson (JR); PK Nathan Dibert (JR); S Jordan Allen (RSO); CB Jalailin Johnson (RJR); TE Ka’Morreun Pimpton (SO); CB Bernard Causey (FR); DL Jay’viar Suggs (RSR); S Sage Ryan (; DE Da’Shawn Womack (SO) to Ole Miss     Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State;  EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR); LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR); LB Marcus Ross (JR); WR Mario Craver (FR); CB Raydarious Jones (SR); CB Khamauri Rogers (SO); CB Brice Pollock (SO); DL Gabe Moore (FR); LB Jarvae Gilmore (RSO); DL Eric Taylor (SR); Christopher Keys (RSR); QB Michael Van Buren Jr.; EDGE Redd Hibbler (SR) from North Carolina State; S Jahron Manning (JR) from Old Dominion; CB Kevin Coleman (JR) to Missouri; EDGE Nevaeh Sanders (RJR) from Northern Illinois; WR Brenen Thompson (JR) from Oklahoma   Missouri: LB Brayshawn Littlejon (FR); P Will Safris (FR); WR Mekhi Miller (JR); PK Brody Boehm (FR); P Orion Phillips (SO); S Phillip Roche (SO); IOL Jack McGarry (RSO); EDGE Jaylen Brown (FR)CB Kevin Coleman (JR) from Mississippi State; EDGE Williams Nwaneri (FR) to Nebraska   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO); RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR); CB Makari Vickers (SO); RB Chapman McKown (FR); CB Kani Walker (RJR); OG Geirean Hatchett (SR) to Washington;  CB Jayden Rowe (SO) to Kansas State ; OT Kenny Wermy (RFR); IOL Joshua Bates  (RFR); WR JJ Hester (RSR); WR Jalil Farooq (SR); S Makari Vickers (SO); WR Andrel Anthony (SR); TE Josh Fanuiel (RSO); LB Phil Picciotti (RFR); QB Brendan Zurbrugg (FR); WR Brenen Thompson (JR) to Mississippi State ; S Dasan McCullough (JR)   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR); QB Walker Howard (RSO) to Louisiana;  OT Cam East (RSO); OT Mana Taimani (RSR); OT Jack Mills (SR); LB Rodney Groce Jr. (SR); OT PJ Wilkins (RFR) from Charlotte; EDGE Da’Shawn Womack (SO) from LSU; OG Patrick Kutas (JR) from Arkansas     South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (SO); TE Connor Cox (SO); TE Nick Elksnis (RJR); WR CJ Adams (RFR); QB Robby Ashford (RJR); DL Jamaal Whyce (RSO); DL Elijah Davis (SR)   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO); CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR); WR Chas Nimrod (SO); QB Ryan Damron (FR); WR Nathan Leacock (FR); TE Luke Shouse (RSR)   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe (RSO); DL Aaron Bryant (SO); LB Derion Gullette (FR); EDGE Tausill Akana (FR); DL Tiaoalii Savea (SR); CB Jay’vion Cole (JR); P Jack Bouwmeester (RJR) from Utah   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO) to Houston ; WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR);OT Hunter Erb (SO); CB Kevin Longstreet Jr. (FR); EDGE Malick Sylia (JR); LB Martrell Harris Jr. (JR); WR Micah Tease (SO); OG TJ Shanahan (FR); P Keegan Andrews (JR); LB Chantz Johnson (SO); OG Cam Dewberry (JR); EDGE Josh Celiscar (RSR); QB Jacob Zeno (RSR) from UAB; WR Jake Bostick (RSO); CB Donovan Saunders (; EDGE Enai White (JR); WR Jacob Bostick (RSO); DL Samu Taumanupepe (RFR) to Baylor   Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR); CB Alan Wright (SR); EDGE Darren Agu (JR); TE Tyler Fortenberry; PK Will Faris (SR); WR Ezra McAllister; CB Alvin Williamson Jr. (FR); EDGE Evan Hermann (SO); EDGE Callahan Blair (FR); LB Keanu Koht (RJR) from Alabama

Jake Slaughter (66) was second team All-America CBS Sports and first team AP All-SEC (Gator Bait Photo by Chris Spears) As the Gators begin their earnest preparations for Friday’s Gasparilla Bowl game (3:30 p.m., ESPN2) against Tulane, here are a few things that make you go hmmmm.   SEC coaches selected long snapper Rocco Underwood second team All-SEC. The American Football Coaches Association named Underwood second team All-America. Saturday night Underwood was announced as the winner of the Mannelly Award, given yearly to the No. 1 long snapper in the nation.   The SEC coaches didn’t think center Jake Slaughter belonged on either the first, second or third team. The Associated Press named Slaughter the first team center. CBS Sports named Slaughter second team All-American.   Starting right guard Damieon George Jr., who put his name in the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, withdrew his name on Saturday. What changed and why?   Co-defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong is leaving Florida for the defensive coordinator position at Houston. At $1,201,000 Armstrong was Florida’s highest paid assistant coach, making more than $200,000 more than O-line coach Rob Sale and $450,000 more than co-coordinator Ron Roberts. Wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales makes only $501,000 and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke makes $451,000, both of whom coach far more productive units than Armstrong ever did. The previous DC at Houston made only $750,000. Did Armstrong voluntarily take a huge cut in pay or was he nudged out the door?   There are whispers that as soon as the bowl game is completed, Billy Napier will be making other changes in his coaching staff. There are rumors that both Sale and Roberts won’t be returning. Is it a matter of money with them since Florida’s assistant coaches rank 10th in pay in the SEC at $6,565,000? The assistant coach money pool at FSU is $1.8 million more than UF.   SEC top ten assistant coach salary pools: 1. Georgia 10.332 million; 2. Alabama $9.475 million; 3. LSU $9.3 million; 4. Texas $9.1 million; 5. Ole Miss $8.225 million; 6. Kentucky $7.565 million; 7. Texas A&M $7.2 million; 8. Tennessee $7.135 million; 9. Oklahoma $7.114 million; 10. Missouri $6.98 million; 11. FLORIDA $6.565 million; 12. Auburn $6.475 million; 13. South Carolina $6.35 million; 14. Arkansas $6.19 million; 15. Mississippi State $5.26 million.   SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALS Alabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR) to Vanderbilt ; CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR); WR Kendrick Law (JR); OT Miles McVay (FR); WR Caleb Odom (FR); OT Naquil Betrand RFR); DL Hunter Osborne (FR); TE Danny Lewis Jr. (SO); QB Dylan Lonergan (RFR); LB Braylon Chatman (SO); RB Justice Haynes (SO); CB Devonta Smith (RJR)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR) to Ole Miss ; TE Luke Hasz (SO) to Ole Miss ; S Nico Davillier (JR); WR Kamron Bibby (SO); LB Kaden Henley (SO); LB Alex Sanford (SO); WR Davion Dozier (RFR); S Dallas Young (FR); P Sam Dubwig (FR); RB Emmanuel Crawford (FR); LS Eli Stein; S Tevis Metcalf (SO); CB TJ Metcalf (FR); LB Carson Dean (FR); RB Isaiah Sategna (RSO); OG Joshua Braun (RSR); DL Ty’kieast Crawford (SR); EDGE Brad Spence (SO); OG Addison Nichols (RSO); OT Jac’Qawn McCray (FR) from Oregon; CB Jaylon Braxton (SO) to Ole Miss   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO) to Texas A&M ; EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR); QB Hank Brown (RFR) to Iowa ; CB Antonio Kite (SO); WR Horatio Fields (RJR) from Wake Forest; QB Maalik Murphy (RSO) from Texas; LB Phoenix Jackson (RJR) from Fresno State; LB Laquan Robinson (JR); QB Jackson Arnold (SO) from Oklahoma; RB Durrell Robinson (SO) from UConn; P Hudson Haak (SO) from Oklahoma State; QB Walker White (FR)   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO) to LSU ; DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO); QB Parker Leise; EDGE Jack Pyburn (RSO); TE Gavin Hill (RFR); P Tommy Doman (SR) from Michigan   Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO); WR Nitro Tuggle (FR); David Daniel-Sisavanh; WR Michael Jackson III (SR); DL Jamaal Jarrett (SO); EDGE Samuel M’Pemba (SO); LB Troy Bowles (SO); CB Justyn Rhett (RFR); S Jake Pope (RSO)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR) to LSU ; WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO); QB Gavin Wimsatt (RJR); S Jarard Mosely (JR); RB Chip Trayanum (RSR); EDGE Caleb Redd (FR); WR Brandon White (RSO); EDGE Sam Greene (RFR) from Southern California; LB Landyn Watson ( from Marshall   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR); CB JK Johnson (JR); PK Nathan Dibert (JR); S Jordan Allen (RSO); CB Jalailin Johnson (RJR); TE Ka’Morreun Pimpton (SO); CB Bernard Causey (FR); DL Jay’viar Suggs (RSR); S Sage Ryan (RJR); DE Da’Shawn Womack (SO) to Ole Miss; TE Bauer Sharp (JR) from Oklahoma; CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO) from Florida; WR Barion Brown (JR) from Kentucky; S Jordan Allen (JR) to Houston; EDGE Jimari Butler (RJR) from Nebraska   Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State;  EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR) to Louisville ; LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR); LB Marcus Ross (JR); WR Mario Craver (FR); CB Raydarious Jones (SR); CB Khamauri Rogers (SO); CB Brice Pollock (SO) to Texas Tech ; DL Gabe Moore (FR); LB Jarvae Gilmore (RSO); DL Eric Taylor (SR); Christopher Keys (RSR); QB Michael Van Buren Jr.; EDGE Redd Hibbler (SR) from North Carolina State; S Jahron Manning (JR) from Old Dominion; CB Kevin Coleman (JR) to Missouri; EDGE Nevaeh Sanders (RJR) from Northern Illinois; WR Brenen Thompson (JR) from Oklahoma; WR Jaron Glover (RSO) from Michigan State   Missouri: LB Brayshawn Littlejon (FR); P Will Safris (FR); WR Mekhi Miller (JR); PK Brody Boehm (FR); P Orion Phillips (SO); S Phillip Roche (SO); IOL Jack McGarry (RSO); EDGE Jaylen Brown (FR) to South Carolina; CB Kevin Coleman (JR) from Mississippi State; EDGE Williams Nwaneri (FR) to Nebraska; QB Aidan Glover (FR)   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO) to Auburn ; RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR) to LSU ; CB Makari Vickers (SO); RB Chapman McKown (FR); CB Kani Walker (RJR); OG Geirean Hatchett (SR) to Washington;  CB Jayden Rowe (SO) to Kansas State ; OT Kenny Wermy (RFR); IOL Joshua Bates  (RFR); WR JJ Hester (RSR); WR Jalil Farooq (SR); S Makari Vickers (SO); WR Andrel Anthony (SR); TE Josh Fanuiel (RSO); LB Phil Picciotti (RFR); QB Brendan Zurbrugg (FR); WR Brenen Thompson (JR) to Mississippi State ; S Dasan McCullough (JR)   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR); QB Walker Howard (RSO) to Louisiana;  OT Cam East (RSO); OT Mana Taimani (RSR); OT Jack Mills (SR); LB Rodney Groce Jr. (SR); OT PJ Wilkins (RFR) from Charlotte; EDGE Da’Shawn Womack (SO) from LSU; OG Patrick Kutas (JR) from Arkansas; CB Jaylon Braxton (SO) from Arkansas; TE Luke Haasz (SO) from Arkansas; EDGE Princewill Umanmielen (SO) from Nebraska    South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (SO); TE Connor Cox (SO); TE Nick Elksnis (RJR); WR CJ Adams (RFR); QB Robby Ashford (RJR); DL Jamaal Whyce (RSO); DL Elijah Davis (SR); EDGE Jaylen Brown (FR) from Missouri; IOL Nick Sharpe ( from Wake Forest   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO) to Wake Forest ; CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR); WR Chas Nimrod (SO); QB Ryan Damron (FR); WR Nathan Leacock (FR); TE Luke Shouse (RSR)   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe (RSO); DL Aaron Bryant (SO); LB Derion Gullette (FR); EDGE Tausill Akana (FR); DL Tiaoalii Savea (SR); CB Jay’vion Cole (JR); P Jack Bouwmeester (RJR) from Utah; Edge Justice Finkley (JR); DL Cole Brevard (RSR) from Purdue   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO) to Houston ; WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR);OT Hunter Erb (SO); CB Kevin Longstreet Jr. (FR); EDGE Malick Sylia (JR); LB Martrell Harris Jr. (JR); WR Micah Tease (SO); OG TJ Shanahan (FR); P Keegan Andrews (JR); LB Chantz Johnson (SO); OG Cam Dewberry (JR); EDGE Josh Celiscar (RSR); QB Jacob Zeno (RSR) from UAB; WR Jake Bostick (RSO); CB Donovan Saunders (; EDGE Enai White (JR); WR Jacob Bostick (RSO); DL Samu Taumanupepe (RFR) to Baylor Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR); CB Alan Wright (SR); EDGE Darren Agu (JR); TE Tyler Fortenberry; PK Will Faris (SR); WR Ezra McAllister; CB Alvin Williamson Jr. (FR); EDGE Evan Hermann (SO); EDGE Callahan Blair (FR); LB Keanu Koht (RJR) from Alabama   “WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY: THEY IS US” -- POGO The late, great Walt Kelly, whose biting political commentary came in the form of the comic strip Pogo penned those words back in the 1950s. They could have been written about college football 2024, especially now that all hell has broken loose in the form of the NCAA transfer portal.   As of late Saturday night, On3.com reported that 1,681 players were in the portal with a grand total of 91 committed to a new school and 12 who went in but changed their minds. If that doesn’t boggle your mind, consider the fact we’re just getting started. By the time January 1 arrives, you can almost bet the farm that the number of players in the portal will have doubled. A good many, perhaps even a majority, will find a new place to play football next year, but sadly quite a few will end up college football’s version of homeless. Some will have been kicked to the curb by their most recent head coach and others will have made the tragic mistake of highly overrating their own value.   There are voices screaming in the wilderness for common sense to prevail, but unfortunately the people in charge are at the NCAA where their bloated bureaucracy led by Charlie Baker and common sense are like two ships passing in the night. About 1,500 miles apart.   Common sense was already telling us this current model of inefficiency is unsustainable before the weekend. That’s when the NCAA was kicked in the butt until its many bureaucratic noses bled profusely by Marshall University. In case you missed it, last weekend Marshall University won its 10th game, capturing the Sun Belt Conference championship by bitch slapping Louisiana all over Cajun Field to the tune of 31-3. Sunday, Marshall found out it’s scheduled to play Army in the Independence Bowl, which is still lovingly nicknamed “The Weedwacker” even though its sponsorship agreement with weedwacker manufacturer Poulan ended years ago. The celebration for a great season didn’t last long because also on Sunday, HBC Charles Huff left Marshall for the blank canvas that is Southern Miss, which went 1-11 in 2024, 0-8 in the Sun Belt. Huff and Marshall beat Southern Miss, 37-3, in their regular season encounter. Huff left because he couldn’t come to terms with Marshall for a contract.   Coach gone after championship week in December, no big deal, right? Maybe true in the days prior to free agency, which is what the portal is, but in the subsequent days since Huff bolted some 36 Marshall players have entered the transfer portal, leaving Marshall with only 29 scholarship players.     Marshall withdrew from the bowl, leaving Army, which went 11-2, without an opponent. Hastily, the Weedwacker folks invoked an NCAA rule that allows 5-win teams to play in a bowl if they meet certain criteria. Louisiana Tech, which beat one team that posted a winning record, will be Army’s opponent.   Army deserves better. Shame on the NCAA which has yet to come up with a common sense solution for the portal, NIL, players opting out of bowl games and at midseason, and coaches leaving for new jobs, jilting their teams prior to bowl games.   At some point -- it can’t come too quickly -- the geniuses in charge of the conferences and athletic departments in Division I need to figure out once and for all that the NCAA is less useful than a fart in an overcrowded elevator. Ditch the NCAA and come up with common sense solutions that can navigate college football out of the mess the NCAA has given us.

Sam Alexis hammers down a dunk against Arizona State (UAA Photo by Maddie Washburn) Saturday in Atlanta was all about defense for the Florida Gators. At one end of the court, the Arizona State Sun Devils had no defensive answers for the Gators, who almost casually hung 83 points on the scoreboard, leaving you with the feeling they could have lit it up for another 20 or 30 if a greater sense of urgency had prevailed. When the Gators went on defense they were like a boxer with a lethal jab and an opponent with wobbly knees up against the ropes.   “We’ve got a very good offensive scheme and most teams are not going to be able to hang with us offensively, so if we get stops then we’re just untouchable,” Alijah Martin said after the 9th-ranked Gators beat a very good Arizona State team into submission, 83-66, to go 10-0 to start the season for only the third time in school history.   The Gators were all but untouchable as they won their 10th consecutive game by at least 13 points. It was typical Florida fashion. The Gators had these offensive bursts -- 19-4 in the first half; 21-5 in the second -- that Todd Golden calls “spurtability.”   When the Gators get in a zone, the points come in a hurry and so often from different sources. The first half spurt began with four straight 3-pointers, two of them by Will Richard, one each by Walter Clayton Jr. and Martin.   The Gators trailed 8-6 when Martin nailed a 3-pointer with 16:16 left in the first half, taking the lead for good. An offensive rebound by Clayton led to a 3-pointer by Richard, who finished off a fast break after a blocked shot by Clayton with another three that made it a 15-8 game with 15:13 left. Nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot, all in a span of 1:03. Clayton hit the fourth straight Florida three with 14:29 to go to give the Gators a 10-point lead.   Martin, who began the run with a three, closed it with one at the 10:40 mark that gave the Gators a 25-12 lead. They went on to lead 41-32 at the half.   Arizona State closed within eight two minutes into the second half, but Clayton drilled a 3-pointer 10 seconds later to put Florida ahead, 46-35 with 17:50 left in the game. That was as close as Arizona State got the rest of the way.   It was 52-40 when the Gators went beast mode and put the Sun Devils out of their misery. Richard got it started with a short jumper with 15:39 to go and he ended it with a hammer of a jam with 8:31 left that gave the Gators a 73-47 lead.   During the run, the Gators knocked down nine of 13 shots.   “We all put a lot of work in, get a lot of reps in shooting, so when we see those opportunities we’ve got to take them, and they were going in so it was definitely good to get on a run like that,” Richard said.     Sandwiched in between, the big guys made their presence known. During one segment of the 21-5 run, Sam Alexis had two thunder dunks, Thomas Haugh finished off a fast break with a layup and threw in a nice baby hook, and Rueben Chinyelu nearly broke the rim in half with his dunk. Those were sandwiched between 3-balls by Clayton and Martin on the front side, Clayton on the back.   Through it all, the defense smothered the Sun Devils, who came into the game averaging 80 a game, 47.1 percent overall from the field and 39.5 percent from the 3-point line. They didn’t come close to matching those numbers against the Gators.   Arizona State hit only 37.1 percent of its shots and just 28 percent on 3-balls. When the Sun Devils missed a shot, chances are Gators were there to clean things up. Florida outrebounded Arizona State  47-27 overall and 12-6 on the offensive boards.   “I thought in second half we did a really good job of letting our defense lead us to transition,” Golden said. “We were able to get out on some spurts – getting some steals, getting some run-outs, getting some dunks.”   From a scoring standpoint, Florida’s perimeter guys completely dominated the game. Walter Clayton Jr. lit up the Sun Devils for 25 points, his fourth game of the season in which he’s scored at least that many. He hit five threes, making the 33rd straight game with at least one and the third straight with five. Only one other Gator (Anthony Roberson) has had three straight with five 3-pointers. But, as a statement of how his overall game has evolved, Clayton also had three rebounds, three assists (only one turnover), one blocked shot and three steals.   Richard had 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and two steals. Martin had his usual stat-stuffer game -- 15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a steal. The rebounds and assists were game-highs.   The big guys did their part. Chinyelu had six points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Alexis had eight points, one rebound, one assist and one steal. Alex Condon had five points, eight rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot. Haugh had six points, four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.   “I thought our depth showed up really well tonight,” Golden said. “Sam [Alexis], Tommy [Haugh], Zel [Denzel Aberdeen] coming off the bench provided great minutes. I just think our depth wore them down a little bit. But I’m really proud of the way our players played and another really good win for us.”   Game notes: This was Florida’s third game this season in which the Gators have outrebounded an opponent (Grambling and Wichita State were the other two) by at least 20 ... The Gators went 10-30 from the 3-point line. It was the sixth time in the last seven games that the Gators have hit at least 10 threes ... Next up for the Gators is North Carolina in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN)   SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s scores (SEC teams bold face) No. 9 FLORIDA (10-0) 83, Arizona State (8-2) 66 No. 1 Tennessee (10-0)  66, Illinois (7-3) 64 No. 2 Auburn (9-1) 91 , Ohio State (6-4) 53 No. 5 Kentucky (10-1) 93,  Louisville (6-5) 85 No. 7 Alabama (8-2) 83,  Creighton (7-4) 75 No. 13 Oklahoma (10-0) 80,  Oklahoma State (6-3) 65 No. 17 Texas A&M (9-2) 70,  No. 11 Purdue (8-3) 66 No. 19 Ole Miss (9-1) 77,  Southern Miss (4-6) 46 Missouri (9-1) 88,  Long Island (4-9) 61 Georgia (9-1) 73, Grand Canyon (6-3) 68 Arkansas (9-2) (9-2) 82,  Central Arkansas (2-8) 57 SMU (9-2) 74, LSU (8-2) 64 South Carolina (7-3) 73,  South Carolina Upstate (4-9) 53   Today’s game Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-9) at Texas (8-2)   Tuesday’s games North Carolina (6-4) vs.  No. 9 FLORIDA (10-0) in Charlotte Western Carolina (3-6) at No. 1 Tennessee (10-0) Georgia State (4-6) at No. 2 Auburn (9-1) No. 16 Clemson (9-2) at South Carolina (7-3) Southern (5-4) at No. 19 Ole Miss (9-1) Central Michigan (5-4) at No. 25 Mississippi State (9-1) Jacksonville State (6-4) at Missouri (9-1) Stetson (1-9) at LSU (8-2)   Wednesday’s games The Citadel (5-4) at Vanderbilt (9-1) No. 7 Alabama (8-2) at North Dakota (4-7) No. 13 Oklahoma (10-0) vs. No. 14 Michigan (8-2) in Charlotte   Thursday’s games Buffalo (5-5) at Georgia (9-1) New Orleans (2-6) at Texas (8-2)   Friday’s game Houston Christian (3-7) at No. 17 Texas A&M (9-2)

Todd Golden anticipates the Gators' toughest game of the year today (Gator Bait Photo by Chris Spears) The Gators (9-0) get back into action after a 10-day break today, a chance for Todd Golden to find out if his team has kept an even keel with the combination of time off and breaking into the top ten (9th) for the first time. It’s no cupcake for the Gators today (3:30 p.m., SEC Network) in Atlanta. On paper, at least, Arizona State (8-1) is the toughest team the Gators have played this year.   “It's going to be a good challenge for us,” Golden said Thursday. “I think the best team we've played to this point. We've got to play well to beat them.”   The Gators are off to their best start since the 2006 national championship team started 17-0. The Gators have won every game by at least 13 points, their average margin of victory 21.6 per game, which ranks ninth nationally. The Gators average 86.6 points per game, which was more or less expected, but there has been tremendous improvement on the defensive end. The Gators give up just 65 points per game and 30.2 percent from the 3-point line. The Gators have done a good job chasing teams off the 3-point line and making them shoot a tough two instead.   To come away with a win today, the Gators have to match the physical play of Arizona State’s front court duo of 6-9 Basheer Jihad and 7-0 Jayden Quaintance. The two combine for 21.1 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.   “It's going to be a good challenge for our frontcourt,” Napier said. “Obviously, we think we have great depth and we’ve got to be really physical with them. I think that's an area where we’ve got to set the tone and kind of control the paint. If we can do that, it'll help give us a better chance."   Anticipated starting lineupsFLORIDA (9-0): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)   Arizona State (8-1): Basheer Jihad (6-9, 239, SR); Jayden Quaintance (7-0, 250, FR); B.J. Freeman (6-6, 200, SR); Adam Miller (6-3, 190, SR); Alston Mason (6-2, 175, SR)   SEC BASKETBALLToday’s gamesNo. 9 FLORIDA (9-0) vs. Arizona State (8-1), in AtlantaNo. 1 Tennessee (9-0)  at Illinois (7-2) No. 2 Auburn (8-1) vs. Ohio State (6-3), in AtlantaLouisville (6-4) at No. 5 Kentucky (8-1) Creighton (7-3) at No. 7 Alabama (7-2)No. 13 Oklahoma (9-0) vs. Oklahoma State (6-2), in Oklahoma City No. 17 Texas A&M (8-2) vs. No. 11 Purdue (8-2), in Indianapolis No. 19 Ole Miss (8-1) vs. Southern Miss (4-5), in Biloxi No. 25 Mississippi State (8-1) vs. McNeese State (5-4), in Tupelo Georgia (8-1) vs. Grand Canyon (6-2), in Atlanta LSU (8-1) vs. SMU (8-2), in Frisco, TXLong Island (4-8) at Missouri (8-1)Arkansas (8-2) vs. Central Arkansas (2-7) in Little RockArkansas-Pine Bluff (2-9) at Texas (8-2) South Carolina Upstate (4-8) at South Carolina (6-3) Wednesday’s game Austin Peay (4-5) at Vanderbilt (9-1)     ARMSTRONG TO HOUSTON AS DC; GEORGE IN PORTAL The first move in what is expected to be a shakeup of the football coaching staff took place Friday when defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong accepted the defensive coordinator job at Houston. Armstrong came to Florida in 2023 following the departure of Patrick Toney, who left for the NFL Arizona Cardinals. The defense had moderate improvement under Armstrong but still finished 11th in what was then a 14-team Southeastern Conference. After four games in 2024 when the defense did a u-turn, Billy Napier shook up the assignments. Armstrong went to the field and associate head coach Ron Roberts went to the booth. The Gators showed serious improvement, particularly in the last three games (all wins) in which the Gators held LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State to 993 total yards and 44 points while registering 18 sacks and nine takeaways.   Good sources are telling Gator Bait that there will be at least one other defensive staff change. On the offensive side of the ball, at least one change is expected.   That wasn’t the only news. There was one pickup from the transfer portal and one departure. The pickup is Michigan punter Tommy Doman, who averaged 42.61 yards per punt in 2024, 44.26 in 2023. Doman is a hedge since Napier signed punter Hayden Craig from Brigton Academy in Maine. Craig won’t be in Gainesville until June.   The latest Gator to enter the transfer portal is right guard Damieon George Jr., a starter at right tackle in 2023, right guard in 2024. In the final month of the season George saw fewer snaps per game as the Gators turned to Bryce Lovett, who made the SEC All-Freshman team.     SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALS Alabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR) to Vanderbilt ; CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR); WR Kendrick Law (JR); OT Miles McVay (FR); WR Caleb Odom (FR); OT Naquil Betrand RFR); DL Hunter Osborne (FR); TE Danny Lewis Jr. (SO); QB Dylan Lonergan (RFR); LB Braylon Chatman (SO); RB Justice Haynes (SO)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR) to Ole Miss ; TE Luke Hasz (SO); S Nico Davillier (JR); WR Kamron Bibby (SO); LB Kaden Henley (SO); LB Alex Sanford (SO); WR Davion Dozier (RFR); S Dallas Young (FR); P Sam Dubwig (FR); RB Emmanuel Crawford (FR); LS Eli Stein; S Tevis Metcalf (SO); CB TJ Metcalf (FR); LB Carson Dean (FR); RB Isaiah Sategna (RSO); OG Joshua Braun (RSR); DL Ty’kieast Crawford (SR); EDGE Brad Spence (SO); OG Addison Nichols (RSO); OT Jac’Qawn McCray (FR) from Oregon; CB Jaylon Braxton (SO) to Ole Miss   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO) to Texas A&M ; EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR); QB Hank Brown (RFR) to Iowa ; CB Antonio Kite (SO); WR Horatio Fields (RJR) from Wake Forest; QB Maalik Murphy (RSO) from Texas; LB Phoenix Jackson (RJR) from Fresno State; LB Laquan Robinson (JR)   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO); DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO); QB Parker Leise; EDGE Jack Pyburn (RSO); TE Gavin Hill (RFR); P Tommy Doman (SR) from Michigan   Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO); WR Nitro Tuggle (FR); David Daniel-Sisavanh; WR Michael Jackson III (SR); DL Jamaal Jarrett (SO); EDGE Samuel M’Pemba (SO); LB Troy Bowles (SO); CB Justyn Rhett (RFR)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR); WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO); QB Gavin Wimsatt (RJR); S Jarard Mosely (JR); RB Chip Trayanum (RSR); EDGE Caleb Redd (FR); WR Brandon White (RSO)   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR); CB JK Johnson (JR); PK Nathan Dibert (JR); S Jordan Allen (RSO); CB Jalailin Johnson (RJR); TE Ka’Morreun Pimpton (SO); CB Bernard Causey (FR); DL Jay’viar Suggs (RSR); S Sage Ryan (; DE Da’Shawn Womack (SO) to Ole Miss; TE Bauer Sharp (JR) from Oklahoma   Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State;  EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR); LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR); LB Marcus Ross (JR); WR Mario Craver (FR); CB Raydarious Jones (SR); CB Khamauri Rogers (SO); CB Brice Pollock (SO) to Texas Tech ; DL Gabe Moore (FR); LB Jarvae Gilmore (RSO); DL Eric Taylor (SR); Christopher Keys (RSR); QB Michael Van Buren Jr.; EDGE Redd Hibbler (SR) from North Carolina State; S Jahron Manning (JR) from Old Dominion; CB Kevin Coleman (JR) to Missouri; EDGE Nevaeh Sanders (RJR) from Northern Illinois; WR Brenen Thompson (JR) from Oklahoma; WR Jaron Glover (RSO) from Michigan State   Missouri: LB Brayshawn Littlejon (FR); P Will Safris (FR); WR Mekhi Miller (JR); PK Brody Boehm (FR); P Orion Phillips (SO); S Phillip Roche (SO); IOL Jack McGarry (RSO); EDGE Jaylen Brown (FR)CB Kevin Coleman (JR) from Mississippi State; EDGE Williams Nwaneri (FR) to Nebraska; QB Aidan Glover (   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO); RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR) to LSU ; CB Makari Vickers (SO); RB Chapman McKown (FR); CB Kani Walker (RJR); OG Geirean Hatchett (SR) to Washington;  CB Jayden Rowe (SO) to Kansas State ; OT Kenny Wermy (RFR); IOL Joshua Bates  (RFR); WR JJ Hester (RSR); WR Jalil Farooq (SR); S Makari Vickers (SO); WR Andrel Anthony (SR); TE Josh Fanuiel (RSO); LB Phil Picciotti (RFR); QB Brendan Zurbrugg (FR); WR Brenen Thompson (JR) to Mississippi State ; S Dasan McCullough (JR)   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR); QB Walker Howard (RSO) to Louisiana;  OT Cam East (RSO); OT Mana Taimani (RSR); OT Jack Mills (SR); LB Rodney Groce Jr. (SR); OT PJ Wilkins (RFR) from Charlotte; EDGE Da’Shawn Womack (SO) from LSU; OG Patrick Kutas (JR) from Arkansas; CB Jaylon Braxton (SO) from Arkansas     South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (SO); TE Connor Cox (SO); TE Nick Elksnis (RJR); WR CJ Adams (RFR); QB Robby Ashford (RJR); DL Jamaal Whyce (RSO); DL Elijah Davis (SR)   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO) to Wake Forest ; CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR); WR Chas Nimrod (SO); QB Ryan Damron (FR); WR Nathan Leacock (FR); TE Luke Shouse (RSR)   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe (RSO); DL Aaron Bryant (SO); LB Derion Gullette (FR); EDGE Tausill Akana (FR); DL Tiaoalii Savea (SR); CB Jay’vion Cole (JR); P Jack Bouwmeester (RJR) from Utah; Edge Justice Finkley (   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO) to Houston ; WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR);OT Hunter Erb (SO); CB Kevin Longstreet Jr. (FR); EDGE Malick Sylia (JR); LB Martrell Harris Jr. (JR); WR Micah Tease (SO); OG TJ Shanahan (FR); P Keegan Andrews (JR); LB Chantz Johnson (SO); OG Cam Dewberry (JR); EDGE Josh Celiscar (RSR); QB Jacob Zeno (RSR) from UAB; WR Jake Bostick (RSO); CB Donovan Saunders (; EDGE Enai White (JR); WR Jacob Bostick (RSO); DL Samu Taumanupepe (RFR) to Baylor   Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR); CB Alan Wright (SR); EDGE Darren Agu (JR); TE Tyler Fortenberry; PK Will Faris (SR); WR Ezra McAllister; CB Alvin Williamson Jr. (FR); EDGE Evan Hermann (SO); EDGE Callahan Blair (FR); LB Keanu Koht (RJR) from Alabama

While the season began with critics calling for Napier to be fired, the Gators self-corrected and found themselves in line for 8 wins for the first time since 2020. By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedai.com , Football Analyst Heeeeerre come the Gators!! (Chris Spears photo) On August 18, 2024, a prediction of seven wins for the Gators was made based upon seven key reasons. Coming of a perplexing 5-7 finish, it was thought that despite facing the nation’s toughest schedule the Gators would flip the results of 2023 and find a way to win at least seven games. The oddsmakers were not as convinced, predicting the Gators win total at 5.5 games, which would mean another disappointing and perhaps disastrous season. But what do supporters think now?   The Gators would falter early, with many calling for the firing of Napier as early as Week 3. Desspite the factors that were predicted to yield at least 7 wins, the situation looked bleak. Then came an SEC road win at Mississippi State, followed by a bye week and the fortunes of this team slowly began to turn. The seven reasons for seven wins began to show themselves in a positive light and the Gators finished the season with two wins over Top 15 teams and bested FSU for the first time since 2021. What roles did the seven reasons play in this turnaround? Did we get it right? Or did something so special occur that has the Gators rode momentum into the bowl season and a possible eighth win. Let’s review, shall we?   Seven reasons for seven wins in review.   1.     Improved Roster -With high school recruits and transfers combined the Gators added 33 new athletes to the roster. The Gators ranked 7th overall according to 24/7 Sports and added key players at almost every position. Key additions included safety Asa Turner, receivers Elijah Badger and Chimere Dike, linebackers Pup Howard, and Myles Graham, defensive linemen Joey Slackman and LJ McCray, and offensive linemen Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson and Devon Manuel.    Only Asa Turner, Joey Slackman, and Devon Manuel failed to make an impact during the Gators up and down season due to injury. Offensive linemen Brandon-Crenshaw Dixon and would be a starter most of the season making 11 starts and earning a Pro Football Focus grade of 81.1.   Chimere Dike and Elijah Badger proved to be better than expected as the two possibly make up the most underrated receiver duo in the country. Dike hauled in 36 passes for 687 yards, two touchdowns, averaging 19 yards per catch. He also handled the primary punt return duties most of the season averaging over 13 yards per return. Badger would become the Gators big play threat leading the team in catches and yards with 37 catches for 789 yards and four touchdowns. Badger’s 21.29 yards per catch ranked second in the SEC and fifth nationally.    Linebacker Pup Howard would see substantial time at inside linebacker appearing in 9 games totaling 37 tackles to finish eighth on the team. Myles Graham would be a contributor in all 12 games this season. Graham began the season on special teams but late in the season became a catalyst for one of the SEC’s most improved defenses. In Florida’s final three regular season games Graham would register 13 tackles as his snaps increased over that time. 5-star recruit LJ McCray would have a similar start to the season contributing on special teams early and then finding more snaps as the season progressed. A star in the making according to his coaches McCray appeared in all 12 games tallying 10 tackles and a 0.5 sacks for a unit that helped the Gator’s finish 8th nationally in getting to the quarterback.    2.     Retooled Offensive Line -Along with the addition of Crenshaw-Dickson and Manuel the offensive line coaches took a look at the personnel that was previously in place and where it fit best. The Gators welcomed back a healthy Austin Barber who would start all 12 games at left tackle and penciled in Jake Slaughter at center full time for 2024. Damien George moved to right guard with Knijeah Harris at left guard. The unit that gave up 39 sacks last season would look to improve in 2024.   While it was not always smooth sailing, the offensive line weathered the early season storm to become a more than serviceable group in in 2024. Both Austin Barber and Jake Slaughter finished the season on the NFL radar due to their improved play. Barber started 11 games on the season and had some of his best games against the SEC’s best pass rushers. Slaughter started all 12 games this season and graded out as the 3rd best center in the country according to Pro Football Focus. At one point in the season Slaughter had a pass blocking grade of over 90 percent and finished with a run blocking grade of 79.1 (7th nationally).    Collectively, a unit that surrendered 39 sacks last season lowered that total by six this season while the last three games of the season, wins against LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State saw the Gators rush for 515 yards and five touchdowns. Freshman offensive lineman Bryce Lovett and running back Jaden Baugh would be named to the SEC All-Freshman Team as well recognizing the performance of this retooled unit.    3.     Defensive Staff Additions -This spring the Gators added three assistant coaches to the defensive side of the ball. Defensive line coach Gerald Chatman from Tulane, defensive backs coach Will Harris from the San Diego Chargers, and the “father of the creeper” defense Ron Roberts from Auburn. These three would look to help the Gator defense improve on a historically poor 2023 season that saw them finish with just 22 sacks and a miserable three interceptions.    2024 didn’t get off to great start for the Gator defense but everything began to change in the fifth game of the season that saw the Gators hold UCF, the nation’s top rushing team, to just 108 yards. Since that game (forget Texas) the Gators have been on a consistent climb to become a formidable unit. Against LSU the Gators would register seven sacks against a team that had only surrendered six to that point in the season. The secondary that had only snatched the ball three times a year ago increased that number to 11 in 2024.   4.     Billy Gonzales and receiver depth -Long hailed as one of the top receiver coaches in college football, Gonzales was a key factor in former Gator Ricky Pearsall Jr. being drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. This season the Gators had a talented room receivers including Eugene Wilson III, Kahleil Jackson, Marcus Burke, Andy Jean, Aiden Mizell, and the aforementioned Dike and Badger. The Gators also welcomed freshmen Tank Hawkins and TJ Abrams who looked to be factors in the return game as well.    Jackson and Wilson spent most of the season out with injuries. The Gators carried on with a next man up mentality that saw the emergence of Burke and Mizell to go along with the performances of Dike and Badger. Gonzales continues to build excellence as Burke and Mizell would set career highs in catches and touchdowns as they continue to improve under the tutelage of the receiver guru. Andy Jean would battle injuries all season and will look to transfer but Hawkins was solid early in his career with 10 catches for 100 yards and touchdown. Abrams saw limited action in four games and will look to emerge as a part of a retooled group in 2025 with the departure of Dike and Badger.    5.     Improved Defensive Communication -Ron Roberts arrived in Gainesville off a successful 2023 that saw him bring the defense at Auburn within one play of upsetting Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Roberts would assist Co-Defensive Coordinator Austin Armstrong with a like-minded sounding board and someone to lean on for game-planning and in-game adjustments which were said to be his specialty. In 2023 the Gators defensive unit looked disconnected at all three levels and Roberts, Chatman, and Harris were brought in to bring some continuity to the struggling group.   Early in the season it was not looking good for Gator defense at all. Embarrassing performances against Miami and Texas A&M had many ready to creep the team right out of Gainesville. The unit lacked swagger and bounce and it showed in their performance. The first off-week of the season saw a change in responsibilities bringing Armstrong onto the field and Roberts in moving to the coaches box and it looked as that was step one to getting the unit turned around.  Step two was a change in practice philosophy that while good for the team as whole saw the defense gain a little mojo and play inspired football. While things weren’t perfect the Gators looked their best the last three games of the season with 14 sacks and three interceptions. Linebacker Shemar James noted the defense was more connected due to an increased understanding of the schemes and philosophy as the season progressed. This would lead to the Gators finishing the regular season 8th nationally in sacks (up from 101st) and increasing their interception total by eight.    6.     Graham Mertz was the unquestioned leader of the team. Last season Mertz had career highs in almost every passing category while throwing 20 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions. Those numbers set the stage for Mertz to improve this season while his understudy DJ Lagway looked to be the Gators quarterback of the future. Mertz’ leadership resonated throughout the team as he built a relationship with Lagway from the day he arrived on campus and was a positive influence on the young quarterback. The two built a friendship that unfortunately would have to pay dividends sooner than later this season.   Mertz did not have the start to the season that he anticipated against Miami where a concussion caused him to sit out the Samford game that saw Lagway make his first start to rave reviews. He then had an up and down game in the loss to Texas A&M but played well in wins against Mississippi State and UCF. Mertz was on his way to possibly his biggest win at Florida when he had to leave the Tennessee game with an ACL tear. Fortunately for Mertz, his last pass as a Gator was a touchdown.   Where Mertz effect on this team would be felt the most was in his continued relationship and guidance with DJ Lagway who would have to navigate the rigors of a tough schedule as a full-time starter. Lagway and his teammates lauded the influence of Mertz on both Lagway and the team by his constant presence in meetings and team activities. Mertz continued to be active in game plans and was a constant voice in the ear of Lagway during games. While Mertz will move on at seasons end, his effect on this team will be felt for seasons to come due to his positive relationship with Lagway.   7.     Head Coach Billy Napier -If you know him you probably love him. That has always been the read out on Billy Napier. This season was to be a defining one for a coach who had recruited well, improved the player experience, and now was looking to take the next step at Florida. With near misses the past two seasons, the self-inflicted wounds were supposed to end and this team with experience on both sides of the ball was ready to roll.   Then the season started and the boos that followed home losses against Miami and Texas A&M began talk that maybe it was time to move on from the soft spoken, philosophical Napier. There was even talk that the 20-plus million dollar buyout had been raised and one more bad loss would be his undoing. As stated before, if you know him you love him, and those that were hunkered down inside the Heavener Complex never strayed from their embattled leader. Players continued their support, staff continued to praise, and those that new him best continued to push the narrative that Napier was the man for the job.   Napier himself acknowledged that things needed to change and what seemed to resonate most was that his team needed to change the way they practiced. As self-deprecating as that admission could be Napier had the right to express the concern and get it fixed. The team began to compete more in practice and that led to a team that competed better on the field, and while stumbles still occurred the eagerness to get back to work after a win or loss became the standard. Coaches get to change, it is what we applaud them for, and that change may have saved the tenure of Napier at Florida. A three-game winning streak to end the season has brought a recruiting class that just a month ago was in the 50’s into the top 10 and the transfer portal is sure to be full of players looking to play with a talent such as Lagway. Napier has steered the ship from the abyss and with a win in the Gasparilla Bowl could set sail for a positive outlook in 2025.     So there you have it. Seven reasons for seven wins. The Gators bested the bookies and are on course for eight wins that many thought would out of sight as 2024 came to a close. An 8th win will certainly make the Gators one of the darlings of the offseason. A star at quarterback along with a possible 17 of 22 starters returning will certainly put that win total closer to 8 or 9 when Vegas assesses the 2025 edition of the Gators. The schedule features the same SEC foes as 2024 but the lineup is a bit more agreeable setting the stage for a return to relevancy.   Prediction: 7-5/Give me the Gators to get to 8-5   Quarterback DJ Lagway (Chris Spears photo)

(Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: On paper, it’s another brutal schedule for the Gators in 2025. Florida’s 12-game schedule includes six home games, five road trips and Georgia in Jacksonville, which will officially be a home game for UF. With quarterback DJ Lagway coming back along with most of the starters on both sides of the football, the Gators will be a much improved team, but the schedule is going to be a grinder.   After the season opener with D1AA Long Island of the Northeast Conference, the Gators will face three teams (Texas, Georgia and Tennessee) that made the College Football Playoff and five others who got to a bowl game.  The eight teams on the SEC portion of the schedule are a combined 63-35. The three Division I non-conference teams are a combined 18-18.   This year’s muderer’s row will be games three through six: at LSU, at Miami, then after the bye week, Texas at home and the Aggies in College Station. August 31: Long Island University (4-8 in D1AA), Gainesville September 6: South Florida (6-6, Hawaii Bowl), Gainesville September 13: LSU (8-4, Texas Bowl), Baton Rouge September 20: Miami (10-2, Pop Tarts Bowl), Miami Gardens September 27: Bye October 4: Texas (11-2, Playoff), Gainesville October 11: Texas A&M (8-4, Las Vegas Bowl), College Station October 18: Mississippi State (2-10), Gainesville October 25: Bye November 1: Georgia (11-2, Playoff), Jacksonville November 8: Kentucky (4-8), Lexington November 15: Ole Miss (9-3, Gator Bowl), Oxford November 22: Tennessee (10-2, Playoff), Gainesville November 29: Florida State (2-10), Gainesville   LET’S MAKE A DEAL: WHO’S THE TULANE BOWL GAME QB? For Tulane, finding a quarterback to play against the Florida Gators in the December 20 Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa (3:30 p.m., ESPN2) must feel like watching “Let’s Make a Deal” on television.  Behind door number one is freshman QB Darian Mensah, who was instantly proclaimed as the hottest QB in the transfer portal market when he tossed his name into the ring on Sunday. Behind door number two is Ty Thompson, a former 5-star recruit who signed to play for Mario Cristobal at Oregon in 2021 but spent 2024 at Tulane backing up Mensah. Behind door number three is Kai Horton, a fourth-year junior at Tulane who once led Carthage, Texas to back-to-back state championships but is a career backup at Tulane.   There is no Monty Hall to capture the drama on this one. Mensah is off to Duke, reportedly for more than a million in NIL cash. Thompson is in the portal, too, and so is Horton although neither one has made a decision.   Thompson wins this one. He will remain in the portal but will use the Gasparilla Bowl as an audition since it’s the first game he’s ever started as a collegiate quarterback. Maybe he will impress someone who will make him a priority. Maybe.   You have to wonder just how many Tulane players will feel like giving their all for a QB who has one foot out the door. Can Thompson inspire teammates to go all out for him when they know he had to somehow be coerced into coming back for one more game?   BELICHICK, RICHROD AND MULLEN This has the sound of a pricey law firm that if the price is right can get you off the hook for anything. Lest we forget, the late, great Racehorse Haynes, a legendary southern defense lawyer, once said, “Murder is the easiest crime to defend because the single most important witness can’t attend the trial.” Nobody is accusing Bill Belichick, Rich Rodriguez or Dan Mullen of doing anything illegal, but the lawyers and doctors among the alums and boosters of North Carolina, West Virginia and UNLV better bring in more billable hours to pay for these guys.   Belichick: He won six Super Bowls with Tom Brady before Brady proved that the Patriots’ winning probably had more to do with him than the coach. Still, this is an intriguing hire for North Carolina which has had a lot of good seasons, but never a great one. Kids who want to play for a coach who knows what it takes to get them in the NFL will certainly take notice. And you have to wonder what Bill can do with a 105-man roster after working all those years in the NFL with 53. Now, the ultimate finishing touch on this deal would be to bring in best bud and greatest of all time in college coaching Nick Saban as his defensive coordinator.   Rich Rodriguez: Return of the native. RichRod played for Don Nehlen at West Virginia and 17 years after graduation replaced his old coach as the HBC for the Mountaineers where he went 60-26 including 32-5 in his last three years. After the 2006 season he turned down Alabama (they hired that Saban guy) and stayed one more year at WVU. He took the Michigan job, got fired after three years; resurfaced at Arizona, got fired after six years; and spent the last two years at Jacksonville State where he went 18-8 and won the 2024 Conference USA title. Can you go home again? They’re about to find out with Rich Rod.   Dan Mullen: When North Carolina fired Mack Brown, speculation had it that Mullen would be THE guy, but that faded fast. Tulane coach Jon Sumrall became the hot name but out of nowhere Bill Belichick showed interest and got the job. Meanwhile, Barry Odom won 19 games in two years at UNLV but departed for Purdue. It had to be the money because Purdue is as dead end as it will get. Now that Indiana is good, Purdue will be No. 3 in the state behind Notre Dame and the Hoosiers. But that’s Purdue and Odom’s problem. It’s actually a really good move for Mullen. He might be able to use the glitz and glam of Vegas to lure recruits that he might not otherwise be in the running for. He sure can run an offense. If he can get a decent defensive coordinator and find a couple of gung ho types who live to recruit, he can use this job as a stepping stone to something big. Or, if he’s smart, he can do what he did at Mississippi State, which is win consistently at a place where expectations have never been too high.   SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALS Alabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR) to Vanderbilt ; CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR); WR Kendrick Law (JR); OT Miles McVay (FR); WR Caleb Odom (FR); OT Naquil Betrand RFR); DL Hunter Osborne (FR); TE Danny Lewis Jr. (SO); QB Dylan Lonergan (RFR)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR); TE Luke Hasz (SO); S Nico Davillier (JR); CB Selman Bridges (FR); WR Kamron Bibby (SO); LB Kaden Henley (SO); LB Alex Sanford (SO); WR Davion Dozier (RFR); S Dallas Young (FR); P Sam Dubwig (FR); RB Emmanuel Crawford (FR); LS Eli Stein; S Tevis Metcalf (SO); CB TJ Metcalf (FR); LB Carson Dean (FR); RB Isaiah Sategna (RSO); OG Joshua Braun (RSR); DL Ty’kieast Crawford (SR); EDGE Brad Spence (SO); OG Addison Nichols (RSO)   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO); EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR); QB Hank Brown (RFR); CB Antonio Kite (SO); WR Horatio Fields (RJR) from Wake Forest; QB Maalik Murphy (RSO) from Texas; LB Phoenix Jackson (RJR) from Fresno State;   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO); DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO); QB Parker Leise; EDGE Jack Pyburn (RSO); TE Gavin Hill (RFR)   Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO); WR Nitro Tuggle (FR); David Daniel-Sisavanh; WR Michael Jackson III (SR)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR); WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO); QB Gavin Wimsatt (RJR); S Jarard Mosely (JR); RB Chip Trayanum (RSR); EDGE Caleb Redd (FR); WR Brandon White (RSO)   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR); CB JK Johnson (JR); PK Nathan Dibert (JR; S Jordan Allen (RSO); CB Jalailin Johnson (RJR); TE Ka’Morreun Pimpton (SO); CB Bernard Causey (FR); DL Jay’viar Suggs (RSR)   Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State;  EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR); LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR); LB Marcus Ross (JR); WR Mario Craver (FR); CB Raydarious Jones (SR); CB Khamauri Rogers (SO); CB Brice Pollock (SO); DL Gabe Moore (FR); LB Jarvae Gilmore (RSO); DL Eric Taylor (SR); Christopher Keys (RSR); QB Michael Van Buren Jr.; EDGE Redd Hibbler (SR) from North Carolina State; S Jahron Manning (JR) from Old Dominion; CB Kevin Coleman (JR) to Missouri   Missouri: LB Brayshawn Littlejon (FR); P Will Safris (FR); WR Mekhi Miller (JR); PK Brody Boehm (FR); P Orion Phillips (SO); S Phillip Roche (SO); IOL Jack McGarry (RSO); EDGE Jaylen Brown (FR)CB Kevin Coleman (JR) from Mississippi State   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO); RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR); CB Makari Vickers (SO); RB Chapman McKown (FR); CB Kani Walker (RJR); OG Geirean Hatchett (SR) to Washington;  CB Jayden Rowe (SO); OT Kenny Wermy (RFR); IOL Joshua Bates  (RFR); WR JJ Hester (RSR); WR Jalil Farooq (SR); S Makari Vickers (SO); WR Andrel Anthony (; TE Josh Fanuiel (   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR); QB Walker Howard (RSO) to Louisiana;  OT Cam East (RSO); OT Mana Taimani (RSR); OT Jack Mills (SR); LB Rodney Groce Jr. (SR)   South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (FR); TE Connor Cox (SO); TE Nick Elksnis (RJR); WR CJ Adams (RFR); QB Robby Ashford (RJR); DL Jamaal Whyce (RSO); DL Elijah Davis (SR)   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO); CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR); WR Chas Nimrod (SO); QB Ryan Damron (FR)   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe (RSO); DL Aaron Bryant (SO); LB Derion Gullette (FR); EDGE Tausill Akana (FR); DL Tiaoalii Savea (SR); CB Jay’vion Cole (JR)   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO) to Houston ; WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR);OT Hunter Erb (SO); CB Kevin Longstreet Jr. (FR); EDGE Malick Sylia (JR); LB Martrell Harris Jr. (JR); WR Micah Tease (SO); OG TJ Shanahan (FR); P Keegan Andrews (JR); LB Chantz Johnson (SO); OG Cam Dewberry (JR); EDGE Josh Celiscar (RSR); QB Jacob Zeno (RSR) from UAB; WR Jake Bostick (RSO); CB Donovan Saunders (; EDGE Enai White (JR); WR Jacob Bostick (RSO)   Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR); CB Alan Wright (SR); EDGE Darren Agu (JR); TE Tyler Fortenberry; PK Will Faris (SR); WR Ezra McAllister; CB Alvin Williamson Jr. (FR); EDGE Evan Hermann (SO); EDGE Callahan Blair (FR); LB Keanu Koht (RJR) from Alabama   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For all the hype about the new television deal for the Big Ten that includes Fox, CBS, NBC, Paramount and CW, the SEC (ABC, ESPN and ESPN/Disney affiliates) blew away the competition when it came to viewers during the 2024 regular season. Eight of the top ten most viewed teams are from the SEC per Nielson. From the Big Ten, only Ohio State (2) and Michigan (6) cracked the top ten.   Here are the top ten most viewed teams and their average audience for every game they were on network TV: 1. Georgia 8.6 million; 2. Ohio State 6.8 million; 3. Alabama 6.6 million; 4. Texas 6.4 million; 5. Tennessee 5.4 million; 6. Michigan 5.2 million; 7. Texas A&M 4.9 million; 8. LSU (4.8 million); 9. Kentucky 4.5 million; 10. FLORIDA 4.3 million.

Last Day in the Swamp - Photo Chris Spears So far in the pre-bowl game attrition war, the Florida Gators are winning. Of the 12 Gators who have put their names in the transfer portal, only EDGE rusher Jack Pyburn figured to have a significant role against Tulane in the December 20 Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa.   Pyburn, who announced his intention to transfer Tuesday, has been an energy guy who helped spark Florida’s defensive resurgence following six tackles in the win over Mississippi State. Of his 60 tackles, second on the team to Trikweze Bridges, 17 were registered in the last three games. He had a season-high eight tackles in Florida’s win over LSU and he finished the season wtih four tackles including his first sack of the year against Florida State.   It should also be noted that Pyburn planted the Florida flag at midfield, which promoted a scuffle among the two teams that was borderline nasty. Head coach Billy Napier didn’t address Pyburn specifically in his post game remarks, but he did say that the Gators who instigated the melee would face punishment.   Zach Abloverdi of GatorsOnline, reports that Pyburn wanted an NIL deal that paid him $45,000 per month along with guarantees that he would be a starting outside linebacker, would play on third down and would be guaranteed more snaps. Head coach Billy Napier wouldn’t meet Pyburn’s demands.   While Pyburn played a role in the defense becoming a dominant force in the last month of the season, the Gators have plenty of depth, especially when it comes to rushing the passer. Pyburn played 12 games and registered one of Florida’s 38 sacks.   A couple of other prominent names are in the portal, tight end Arlis Boardingham and EDGE Justus Boone. Boardingham, who caught 18 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns, saw his role in the offense decrease significantly in the second half of the season. Boardingham had four catches for 16 yards in the month of December but did not play in the win over Florida State. Boone was thought to be a key factor in Florida’s defense when the season began, but he finished with 10 tackles and a half sack.   Meanwhile, Tulane has only nine days to come up with a quarterback who can move the team like Darian Mensah. As a true freshman, Mensah completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 2,723 yards (9.5 yards per attempt) and 22 touchdowns with only six interceptions while leading the Green Wave to a 9-4 record.   Mensah is listed by On3.com as the No. 1 quarterback in the transfer portal, expected to get an NIL package in excess of $1 million at his next location. He visited Duke Tuesday and has garnered interest from Alabama and Ole Miss among others.   The dropoff after Mensah is significant. Ty Thompson, who began his career at Oregon figures to get the start. Thompson attempted 11 passes in 2024, completed six for 74 yards and two touchdowns. He ran 40 times for 243 yards and six touchdowns.     Losing Mensah is problem enough, but the Green Wave is also losing EDGE Mathew Fobbes-White, nose tackle Parker Peterson and third string quarterback Kai Horton. Fobbes-White has 4.0 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, while Peterson has 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in the middle.   The Gators are listed as 13-point favorites.   SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALSAlabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR); CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR); WR Kendrick Law (JR); OT Miles McVay (FR); WR Caleb Odom (FR); OT Naquil Betrand RFR); DL Hunter Osborne (FR); TE Danny Lewis Jr. (SO)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR); TE Luke Hasz (SO); S Nico Davillier (JR); CB Selman Bridges (FR); WR Kamron Bibby (SO); LB Kaden Henley (SO); LB Alex Sanford (SO); WR Davion Dozier (RFR); S Dallas Young (FR); P Sam Dubwig (FR); RB Emmanuel Crawford (FR); LS Eli Stein; S Tevis Metcalf (SO); CB TJ Metcalf (FR); LB Carson Dean (FR); RB Isaiah Sategna (RSO); OG Joshua Braun (RSR); DL Ty’kieast Crawford (SR)   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO); EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR); QB Hank Brown (RFR); CB Antonio Kite (SO); WR Horatio Fields (RJR) from Wake Forest; QB Maalik Murphy (RSO) from Texas; LB Phoenix Jackson (RJR) from Fresno State;   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO); DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO); QB Parker Leise; EDGE Jack Pyburn (RSO)   Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO); WR Nitro Tuggle (FR); David Daniel-Sisavanh; WR Michael Jackson III (SR)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR); WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO); QB Gavin Wimsatt (RJR); S Jarard Mosely (JR); RB Chip Trayanum (RSR); EDGE Caleb Redd (FR); WR Brandon White (RSO)   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR); CB JK Johnson (JR); PK Nathan Dibert (JR; S Jordan Allen (RSO); CB Jalailin Johnson (RJR); TE Ka’Morreun Pimpton (SO)   Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State;  EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR); LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR); LB Marcus Ross (JR); WR Mario Craver (FR); CB Raydarious Jones (SR); CB Khamauri Rogers (SO); CB Brice Pollock (SO); DL Gabe Moore (FR); LB Jarvae Gilmore (RSO); DL Eric Taylor (SR); Christopher Keys (RSR); QB Michael Van Buren Jr.   Missouri: LB Brayshawn Littlejon (FR); P Will Safris (FR); WR Mekhi Miller (JR); PK Brody Boehm (FR); P Orion Phillips (SO); S Phillip Roche (SO); IOL Jack McGarry (RSO)   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO); RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR); CB Makari Vickers (SO); RB Chapman McKown (FR); CB Kani Walker (RJR); OG Geirean Hatchett (SR) to Washington;  CB Jayden Rowe (SO); OT Kenny Wermy (RFR); IOL Joshua Bates  (RFR); WR JJ Hester (RSR)   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR); QB Walker Howard (RSO) to Louisiana;  OT Cam East (RSO); OT Mana Taimani (RSR); OT Jack Mills (SR); LB Rodney Groce Jr. (SR)   South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (FR); TE Connor Cox (SO); TE Nick Elksnis (RJR); WR CJ Adams (RFR); QB Robby Ashford (RJR); DL Jamaal Whyce (RSO)   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO); CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR); WR Chas Nimrod (   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe (RSO); DL Aaron Bryant (SO); LB Derion Gullette (FR); EDGE Tausill Akana (FR)   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO); WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR);OT Hunter Erb (SO); CB Kevin Longstreet Jr. (FR); EDGE Malick Sylia (JR); LB Martrell Harris Jr. (JR); WR Micah Tease (SO); OG TJ Shanahan (FR); P Keegan Andrews (JR); LB Chantz Johnson (SO); OG Cam Dewberry (JR); EDGE Josh Celiscar (RSR); QB Jacob Zeno (RSR) from UAB   Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR); CB Alan Wright (SR); EDGE Darren Agu (JR); TE Tyler Fortenberry; PK Will Faris (SR); WR Ezra McAllister; CB Alvin Williamson Jr. (FR); EDGE Evan Hermann (SO); EDGE Callahan Blair (FR)   GATORS CRACK TOP 10 IN BOTH POLLS The Gators (9-0) haven’t played in a week but that didn’t keep them from moving up in both the Associated Press and Coaches basketball polls. The Gators are ninth in the AP and seventh in the Coaches.   The SEC is the dominant conference with nine teams ranked in the AP top 25 and eight in the Coaches.   Associated Press top 25 (SEC teams bold face: 1. Tennessee 8-0; 2. Auburn 8-1;  3. Iowa State 7-1; 4. Duke 7-2; 5. Kentucky 8-1;  6. Marquette 9-1; 7. Alabama 7-2;  8. Gonzaga 7-2; 9. FLORIDA 9-0; 10. Kansas 7-2; 11. Purdue 8-2; 12. Oregon 9-1; 13. Oklahoma 9-0;  14. Michigan 8-1; 15. Houston 5-3; 16. Clemson 9-1; 17. Texas A&M 8-2;  18. UConn 7-3; 19. Ole Miss 8-1;  20. Wisconsin 8-2; 21. Michigan State 8-2; 22. Cincinnati 7-1; 23. San Diego State 6-2; 24. UCLA 8-1; 25. Mississippi State 8-1   Coaches top 25 basketball: 1. Tennessee 8-0; 2. Auburn 8-1;  3. Iowa State 7-1; 4. Marquette 9-1; 5. Kentucky 8-1;  6. Duke 7-2; 7. FLORIDA 9-0; 8. Alabama 7-2; 9. Gonzaga 7-2; 10. Kansas 7-2; 11. Purdue 8-2; 12. Oregon 9-1; 13. Houston 5-3; 14. Michigan 8-1; 15. Ole Miss 8-1;  16. Clemson 9-1; 17. Oklahoma 9-0; 18. Texas A&M 8-2; 19. Michigan State 8-2; 20. UConn 7-3; 21. UCLA 8-1; 22. Wisconsin 8-2; 23. Cincinnati 7-1; 24. San Diego State 6-2; 25. Baylor 5-3

Gator Bait Photo by Chris Spears) The Gators will be facing Tulane (9-4) in the Union Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa on December 20 (3:30 p.m., ESPN). Prior to Sunday’s announced bowl destination for 7-5 Florida, best guesses were the Gators would wind up in Jacksonville to face Duke in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl or in Tampa to face Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31.   The Gator Bowl and the ReliaQuest bowls got it half right. Ole Miss will be facing Duke in the Gator Bowl and Alabama will face Michigan in the ReliaQuest. The Tulane team the Gators face in Tampa could be seriously handicapped as head coach Jon Sumrall is thought to be the leading contender for the vacancy at North Carolina. Additionally, freshman QB Darian Mensah placed his name in the transfer portal Sunday.   Tulane has won 32 games in the past three years, 23 for previous coach Willie Fritz (now HBC at Houston) and nine this year for Sumrall, who was an impressive 23-4 in two years at Troy prior to Tulane. Sumrall's balanced offense that averages 37.9 points, 205.4 rushing yards and 215.8 passing yards per game and defense that ranks 13th nationally (307.7 yards per game) is why he's the leader on UNC's short list to replace Mack Brown. Sumrall has been tight lipped about the possibility of taking the UNC job. Asked Sunday about leaving, he told NOLA.com  that he’s not into commenting on “hypotheticals.”   Mensah, who threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2024, put his name in the NCAA transfer portal Sunday. If Mensah is out for the bowl game, the QB will be Ty Thompson, who completed 6-11 passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns while running for 243 yards and six more TDs.   If Sumrall and Mensah leave, then stud sophomore running back Makhi Hughes could join the exit. In two seasons, Hughes has run for 2,750 yards and 22 touchdowns, 1,378 yards and 15 TDs this season alone.   The early line from Las Vegas has established Florida as a 12-point favorite, but if Sumrall and Mensah aren’t available for Tulane, the spread should go higher. However, no matter if it’s an undermanned Tulane team or one at full strength, the Gators can’t afford to take this game lightly. Getting to eight wins is very important, not just for the momentum that will carry over into mat drills and spring football, but also on phase two of recruiting which begins today. The Gators can start signing players in the transfer portal starting today through December 28. When the bowl game is over, Billy Napier will have a week to focus entirely on transfers while most of Florida’s SEC brethren are getting ready for their bowl games. There could be an advantage for the Gators who are thought to be a hot ticket destination for players in the portal.    SEC Bowl matchups Gasparilla Bowl: FLORIDA (7-5) vs. Tulane (9-4) Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma (6-6)  vs. Navy (8-3) Birmingham Bowl: Vanderbilt (6-6)  vs. Georgia Tech (7-5) Liberty Bowl: Arkansas (6-6)  vs. Texas Tech (8-4) Las Vegas Bowl: Texas A&M (8-4)  vs. Southern California (6-6) Music City Bowl: Missouri (10-2)  vs. Iowa (8-4) Reliaquest Bowl: Alabama (9-3)  vs. Michigan (7-5) Citrus Bowl: South Carolina (9-3)  vs. Illinois (9-3) Texas Bowl: LSU (8-4)  vs. Baylor (8-4) Gator Bowl: Ole Miss (9-3)  vs. Duke (9-3)   College Football Playoff top 25:  1. Oregon 13-0; 2. Georgia 11-2; 3. Texas 11-2; 4. Penn State 11-2; 5. Notre Dame 11-1; 6. Ohio State 10-2; 7. Tennessee 10-2; 8. Indiana 11-1; 9. Boise State 12-1; 10. SMU 11-2; 11. Alabama 9-3; 12. Arizona State 11-2; 13. Miami 10-2; 14. Ole Miss 9-3; 15. South Carolina 9-3; 16. Clemson 10-3; 17. BYU 10-2; 18. Iowa State 10-3; 19. Missouri 9-3; 20. Illinois 9-3; 21. Syracuse 9-3; 22. Army 11-1; 23. Colorado 9-3; 24. UNLV 10-3;  25. Memphis 10-2   Associated Press top 25:  1. Oregon 13-0; 2. Georgia 11-2; 3. Notre Dame 11-1; 4. Texas 11-2; 5. Penn State 11-2; 6. Ohio State 10-2; 7. Tennessee 10-2; 8. Boise State 12-1; 9. Indiana 11-1; 10. Arizona State 11-2; 11. Alabama 9-3; 12. SMU 11-2; 13. Clemson 10-3; 14. South Carolina 9-3; 15. Miami 10-2; 16. Ole Miss 9-3; 17. BYU 10-2; 18. Iowa State 10-2; 19. Army 11-1; 20. Colorado 9-3; 21. Illinois 9-3; 22. Syracuse 9-3; 23. Missouri 9-3; 24. UNLV 10-3; 25. Memphis 10-2   COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEEDING/SCHEDULES First round games No. 12 Clemson (10-3) at No. 5 Texas (11-2) No. 11 SMU (11-2) at No. 6 Penn State (11-2) No. 10 Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1) No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) at No. 8 Ohio State (10-2)   Quarter-final games Tennessee-Ohio State winner vs. No. 1 Oregon (13-0) Indiana-Notre Dame winner vs. No. 2 Georgia (11-2) SMU-Penn State winner vs. No. 3 Boise State (12-1) Clemson-Texas winner vs. No. 4 Arizona State (11-2)   SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALS Alabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR); CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR); WR Kendrick Law (JR); OT Miles McVay (FR); WR Caleb Odom (FR)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR); TE Luke Hasz (SO); OG Josh Braun (SR); S Nico Davillier (JR)   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO); EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR); QB Hank Brown (RFR)   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO); DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO)   Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR); WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO)   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR)   Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State; EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR); LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR)   Missouri: LB Brayshawn Littlejon (FR)   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO); RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR)   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR); QB Walker Howard (RSO)   South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (FR); TE Connor Cox (SO)   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO); CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR)   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO); WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR);OT Hunter Erb (SO)   Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR); CB Alan Wright (SR); EDGE Darren Agu (JR)   SEC BASKETBALL No. 10 Alabama (7-2): Bama’s best shooter Latrell Wrightsell is done for the year with an ACL.   Arkansas (7-2): Freshman point guard Boogie Fland is averaging 15 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.   No. 2 Auburn (8-1): Five players scored in double figures as Auburn bounced back from its first loss of the season (to Duke) with a 98-54 blowout win over Richmond Sunday.   No. 13 FLORIDA (9-0): The Gators are off to their best start in 19 years. They started the 2005-06 season 17-0 before absorbing their first loss. Currently the Gators are No. 6 in the NCAA Net Rankings, No. 8 in kenpom.com analytics.   Georgia (8-1): Freshman center Asa Newell leads the Bulldogs with 15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.   No. 4 Kentucky (8-1):  The Wildcats rebounded from their first loss of the season at Clemson by overcoming an 18-point second half deficit to beat Gonzaga, 90-89.   LSU (8-1): Jalen Reed, who was averaging 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game is done for the year with a torn ACL.   Mississippi State (8-1): Keyshawn Murphy, who averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last year, is off to the best start of his career at 12.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.   Missouri (8-1): Mizzou rode 29 points by Tamar Bates and defensive pressure that forced 22 turnovers to hand No. 1 Kansas its second consecutive loss.   No. 21 Oklahoma (9-0): The backcourt duo of Jalon Moore and Jeremiah Fears are combining to average 34.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.4 steals per game.   No. 23 Ole Miss (8-1): Point guard Jaelyn Murray is averaging 4.8 assists per game while hitting 42.9 percent of his 3-point shots.   South Carolina (6-3): The Gamecocks hit eight 3-pointers in the second half in their 75-68 win over East Carolina.   No. 3 Tennessee (8-0): With Kansas losing twice including to Missouri on Sunday, and Auburn losing to Duke, the Vols are poised to ascend to the No. 1 ranking today.   Texas (7-2): In dropping a 76-65 game to UConn Sunday, the Longhorns were overpowered on the backboards, 39-25.   No. 22 Texas A&M (8-2): Wade Taylor IV scored 19 points to lead the Aggies past Texas Tech, 72-67, Sunday.   Vanderbilt (9-1): Jason Edwards scored 30 points off the bench Sunday as the Commodores beat TCU, 83-74.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT:  The 12 teams for an expanded College Football Playoff have been selected with the usual bitching and moaning from teams that believe the selection committee shafted them. The fine folks 142 miles to the west, who definitely need something to laugh about after their disaster of a season, are probably giggling non-stop about now. Last year when it was a 4-team playoff, the unbeaten Seminoles were done in by 1-loss Alabama, which promptly lost to Michigan in the playoff semis.   This year, it’s Alabama doing its best butt hurt routine after SMU is in the expanded 12-team playoff and Bama will have to settle for the bowl formerly known as the Outback. Should Alabama be in rather than SMU? No question about it, but this isn’t about putting best teams in the 12-team field. If that were the case Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina would definitely be in, but they are not thanks to each of them going down in flames three times.   SMU is in because it had one regular season loss and then lost the ACC Championship Game to 3-loss Clemson on a 56-yard bomb of a field goal as time ran out. Yes, the same Clemson team that Georgia beat by 31 points, the same Clemson team that was 0-2 against ranked teams prior to beating SMU. As for SMU, Clemson and now unranked Louisville are the only ranked teams the Mustangs have played all year.     Alabama and Ole Miss beat both Georgia and South Carolina but somehow their wins don’t count as much as those of SMU. South Carolina has won six games in a row and owns wins over three teams that were ranked when they played them. Like Alabama and Ole Miss, their wins don’t count as much as the wins by SMU.   Now, there is no doubt a 12-team playoff is better than the previous 4-team playoff or the 2-team BCS, but if we’re going to stick with a 12-team format for awhile then tweaks are necessary. It’s great that the five highest ranked conference champs get in but after that it has to be the seven best teams. This isn’t kids soccer where finishing second (see SMU) gets a participation trophy, especially at the expense of a better team.   Strength of schedule has to matter. Who you play has to matter. A near perfect record against mediocre competition is wonderful. You play who’s on your schedule, but that doesn’t make you worthy of playing for a national championship.

True confession time.   Things were really bad back on September 14, so bad that Jacksonville sports talk radio guru Terry Norvelle quipped, “Has any coach in college football history been fired during a weather delay.”   Texas A&M led the Gators 10-0 and there were only 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter when the game was halted for a lightning delay. The Gator Nation was not at all happy with Billy Napier. I can’t tell you how many texts I got from Gator fans who said they were praying that the lightning would continue causing the game to be postponed to avoid further embarrassment.   No such luck.   It’s not that the Aggies were all that good. It’s just that the Gators were playing so poorly they would have made an all-star team from the homeless shelter league look like world beaters. When play resumed after a 47-minute delay freshman quarterback Marcel Reed looked like the second coming of Lamar Jackson as he ran and passed the Aggies to a 33-20 win that was nowhere as close as the 13-point spread would indicate. The Aggies piled up 488 yards, 300 on the ground. Contrast that to the Gators’ 301 yards of which 52 were on the ground.   Marcel Reed was Gallagher’s Sledge-o-matic. He was a slicer, a dicer, a chopper and a hopper all rolled up into a package that the Gators couldn’t seem to tackle. He threw to receivers so wide open you might have thought they had the plague because Florida’s secondary refused to get within 10 yards of them.   Offensively, the Gators couldn’t block, therefore they couldn’t run the ball and had Graham Mertz in his feets don’t fail me now mode from bell to bell. It was pathetic.   Afterward, I wrote that it is time for the Gators to bite the bullet on the gozillion dollars it would take to not only pay the buyouts on Billy Napier and his coaching staff but go hire a coach whose team wouldn’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again.   Here we are three months later and I confess I was wrong. I didn’t like the path the Gators were on three weeks into the season but I do like the path Napier has the Gators on, particularly after the final three weeks. I’ve gone from believing Billy Napier needs to go back to coaching in the Sun Belt to believing he really can restore the Florida football program to a championship level.   Following that Texas A&M game, I was of the opinion that Billy Napier is a nice guy whose concept of building a winning program might have worked 50 years ago, but no longer. After watching the Gators go from a train wreck looking for a place to happen to a 7-5 team that could wind up in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville or the bowl formerly known as the Outback in Tampa, I’ve changed my mind completely.   For years I have theorized that SEC and national championships are won by teams with a few Boy Scouts and a majority of borderline psychopaths. Case in point the Georgia Bulldogs whose patron saint is Otis Campbell, a regular on “The Andy Griffith Show” who regularly checked himself in to the Mayberry, North Carolina jail. Georgia leads the SEC and perhaps the nation in players familiar with the Athens police blotter. Nobody in Athens or the state of Georgia seems to mind all the arrests as long as Kirby Smart keeps the Bulldogs in the hunt for SEC and national championships.   Georgia beat Texas in overtime yesterday to win the SEC. That’s the same Georgia team that lost at Alabama and Ole Miss, the same one that I am convinced Florida beats if DJ Lagway doesn’t go down wtih an injury in the second quarter in Jacksonville. The Gators proved at Tennessee and against Georgia that they’re capable of competing with teams that will be in the College Football Playoff. Once Lagway returned from the injury suffered against Georgia the Gators finished the season 3-0. The much maligned defense swarmed all over the quarterbacks at LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State.   The team you saw playing so poorly against the Aggies was dominating the last three games. The future that looked so grim in September looks capable of making a playoff run next year without a who’s who from the Alachua County Jail.   Napier and the Gators may very well be on the verge of proving championships can be won with kids who go to class, graduate and spend a portion of their free time visiting hospitals and volunteering at the Bread of the Mighty food bank. The Gators aren’t there yet, but the way the season ended has me convinced it can and will be done.   Sometimes it takes only a Moses arriving to lead a program to the promised land. Sometimes it takes some wandering in the desert before crossing the river to life among the contenders. I think DJ Lagway follows in the footsteps of quarterbacks like Steve Spurrier, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow. They led, the Gators followed and emerged from the college football wilderness.   This kid is special. He oozes charisma that makes teammates want to play their best for him and recruits flip to Florida to play with him. Lagway makes throws that not many quarterbacks college or pro can make and he wins. The Gators were 5-1 in games he started during the regular season. His combination of charisma and freaky athletic talent helped Napier flip 11 recruits in the final two weeks before signing day to move the Gators to the point they can reach out and touch the top ten classes nationally.   And it doesn’t end there. The Gators are going to be a hot ticket destination next week when some of the top studs who have put their names in the transfer portal start making their decisions. Receivers, linemen, defenders alike ... they see a quarterback who is going to take a team to new heights and they want to be a part of it.   Take a look at the returning quarterbacks in the SEC next year. Do you see one better than DJ Lagway? Carson Beck will be gone at Georgia. Jalen Milroe will be gone at Alabama. Jaxson Dart will be gone at Ole Miss and Garrett Nussmeier at LSU. You’re nuts if you think Nico Iamaleava at Tennessee is better than DJ. While I concede that Arch Manning at Texas is a real talent, I haven’t seen enough to convince me he’s better than DJ Lagway.   This is a team, this is a program that had zero in the way of momentum three months ago. Now it seems the Gators are a team that is going to finish with eight wins, quite a contrast to the 4.5 wins the oddsmakers in Las Vegas predicted back in August.   So, I confess. I was wrong back in September when I called for Scott Stricklin to bite the bullet on the money and replace Billy Napier. Now, take a moment, be honest and ask yourself these questions: Did you think Napier should have been fired back in September? Do you believe Stricklin made the right decision? Do you believe DJ Lagway can lead the Gators to the Promised Land?   COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS 1. Oregon (13-0); 2. Georgia (11-2); 3. Boise State (12-1); 4. Arizona State (11-2); 5. Notre Dame (11-1); 6. Texas (11-2); 7. Ohio State (10-2); 8. Tennessee (10-2); 9. Penn State (11-2); 10.  SMU (11-2); 11. Indiana (11-1); 12. Clemson (9-3) First round No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Notre Dame No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Texas No. 10. SMU at No. 7 Ohio State No. 9 Penn State at No. 8 Tennessee Second round Penn State-Tennessee winner vs. Oregon SMU-Ohio State winner vs. Georgia Indiana-Texas winner vs. Boise State Clemson-Notre Dame winner vs. Arizona State   SEC FOOTBALL: PORTAL DEPARTURES/ARRIVALS Alabama:  LB Keanu Koht (RJR); CB Jahlil Hurley (FR); WR Kobe Prentice (JR); DL Jehiem Oatis (JR)   Arkansas:  WR Jaedon Wilson (RJR) to UCLA; QB Malachi Singleton (FR); TE Tyrus Washington (SO); TE Var’keyes Gumms (JR); OG Patrick Kutas (JR); TE Luke Hasz (SO); OG Josh Braun (SR); S Nico Davillier (JR)   Auburn:  DL Gage Keys (RJR); TE Grant Hidalgo (RJR); QB Holden Geriner (RSO); OG EJ Harris (SO); P Gabe Russo (FR); WR Camden Brown (JR); TE Micah Riley (SO); EDGE T.J. Lindsey (FR); S Caleb Wooden (JR);   FLORIDA:  DE Justus Boone (RJR); OL Mike Williams (RFR); EDGE Quincy Ivory (RJR); EDGE Bryce Capers (SO); WR Andy Jean (RFR); CB Ja’Keem Jackson (SO); DL Kelby Collins (SO); OG Christian Williams (RSO); TE Arlis Boardingham (RSO); LB Deuce Spurlock (RSO)   Georgia:  CB Julian Humphrey (SO)   Kentucky:  DL Keeshawn Silver (RJR); LS Walker Himebauch (SO); CB Avery Stuart (FR); WR Dane Key (JR); LB Jayvant Brown (SO); EDGE Tommy Ziesmer (FR); TE Khamari Anderson (SO); TE Tanner Lemaster (FR); OT Courtland Ford (SR); WR Barion Brown (JR); WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (SO); OT Ben Cristman (RJR); EDGE Noah Matthews (SO); EDGE Tyreese Fearby (RSO)   LSU:  WR London Ibieta (SO); QB Rickie Collins (RFR); WR CJ Daniels (RJR); S Kylin Jackson (FR); WR Shelton Sampson JR (FR); LB Xavier Atkins (FR)   Mississippi State:  QB Chris Parson (RFR); WR Creed Whittemore (SO); WR JJ Harrell (FR); CB Jayven Williams (SO) from Kennesaw State; EDGE Ty Cooper (JR); LB John Lewis (RJR); OT Makylan Pounders (JR); LB Tabias Hinton (FR); WR Antonio Harmon (JR)   Oklahoma:  WR Jaquaize Pettaway (SO); QB Jackson Arnold (SO); RB Kalib Hicks (FR); WR Nic Anderson (SO); RB Emeka Megwa (JR); TE Bauer Sharp (JR)   Ole Miss:  S Key Lawrence (RSR)   South Carolina:  LB Bangally Kamara (RSR) to Kansas; LB Mohamed Kaba (RSR); WR Tyshawn Russell (FR); TE Connor Cox (SO)   Tennessee:  OG Vysen Lang (FR); RB Khalifa Keith (SO); WR Kaleb Webb (SO); CB Jordan Matthews (RFR); LB Jalen Smith (RFR)   Texas:  WR Johntay Cook II (SO); DL Jaray Bledsoe   Texas A&M:  DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (SO); QB Conner Weigman (RSO); WR Cyrus Allen (JR); TE Jaden Platt (FR); QB Jaylen Henderson (JR); OT Aki Ogunbiyi (JR); OT Hunter Erb (SO)   Vanderbilt:  LB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (JR); QB Nate Johnson (JR); EDGE BJ Diakate (JR); LB Steve Sannieniola (JR); DL Devin Lee (SR); OT Gunnar Hansen (SR)   COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: NEW HIRES EDITION UCF: Scott Frost, who was 19-7 in two years including 13-0 in 2017, is coming back for a second stint. Appalachian State: The Mounties are hiring Dowell Loggains, the offensive coordinator at South Carolina. Charlotte: The new head coach is Tim Albin, who led Ohio U to the Mid-American Conference title this year. Albin went 25-8 at Northwest Oklahoma, where he won an NAIA national title, and 33-19 in four years at Ohio where he’s won 10 games three straight years. Florida International: The new head coach will be former FAMU head coach and current Duke assistant Willie Simmons. Utah State: Bronco Mendenhall has been hired from New Mexico. Prior to that he was head coach at BYU and Virginia.

Gator softball coach Tim Walton was inducted into the national fastpitch coaches association Hall of Fame Friday. In his 20th season at Florida and 23rd overall after starting coaching at Wichita State, where he improved the shockers by eighteen wins after just one season,  Walton holds a record of 980-238 (.805) In 19 seasons at Florida. Winning back-to-back national championships in 2014 and 2015, 8 SEC regular season championships, 16 SEC tournament titles and an outstanding 12 trips to the Woman’s College World Series making the championship series five times.     When Coach Walton was hired back in June of 2005 he said:   “I'm excited for the opportunity to coach at the University of Florida,” Walton said. “There are three things that make Florida a great place to coach and to play. It is a university with a complete package in a college town with an athletic department that has achieved so much success. First and foremost, my goal is going to be to achieve success at the Southeastern Conference level. From the first day of meetings we are going to be geared towards working hard to win that conference title. The SEC is one of the top three conferences in the country, so if we can take care of that goal we can work on regional and national success.“   Here is a coach that stresses academics and community involvement, as well as on-field success. The countless athletes that he has touched is impressive as many have gone on to play on Olympic teams or have success as doctors and in other professional fields.   It has been a ride following the softball team as the sport has grown from few fans and no television and mostly a West Coast sport to today where the SEC dominates. The Woman’s College World Series sets attendance records each year and Florida home games are a must see event. Televised games are a norm now bringing in more fans and interest.