Thoughts of the Day by Franz Beard https://www.gatorbaitmedia.com DJ Lagway (2) hands off to Jadan Baugh (Gator Bait Photo by Noah Lantor) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:.. “Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” – Lewis Grizzard   There was a time and not all that long ago when the Florida Gators were the lead dog when it came to Southeastern Conference football. No longer and the view isn’t changing.   What happened Saturday night in Knoxville is just the latest episode in this unending monotony of blown chances and missed opportunities, compounded now by injuries to quarterback Graham Mertz and Montrell Johnson Jr. suffered on the same drive in the third quarter. Oh, how the Gators could have used them in the last 22 minutes of Saturday night’s 23-17 overtime loss to Tennessee.   Mertz, it seems, might be done for the year although we haven’t had a full diagnosis of the injury that sidelined him after he had thrown a beautiful touchdown pass to Arlis Boardingham to give the Gators a 10-0 lead in the third quarter. On the sidelines in street clothes late in the fourth quarter, teammates were almost tearful in their greetings of this marvelous team leader. Despite Florida’s poor record, this is Mertz’s team. You can’t blame him for all that has gone wrong in the season and a half he’s been with us. With Mertz we got far more than we bargained for when he transferred in from Wisconsin. If you believe some of the stuff that was written about him back then, he was nothing more than a consolation prize. He’s proven far more than that and made idiots of some of these so-called experts whose entire understanding of the game stems from hours playing Madden on TV.   Montrell Johnson’s injury may not be as severe as the one suffered by Mertz. His appeared to be an ankle, although if it’s a high sprain it could linger for weeks. Montrell was having his best game of the season when he went down after a 20-yard run on what’s known as a hip-drop tackle, banned in the NFL because of player safety issues, but still legal in the college game.   The injuries to Mertz and Johnson are severe blows to a team whose next five games – Kentucky, No. 5 Georgia, No. 1 Texas, No. 8 LSU and No. 18 Ole Miss – are a gauntlet no team in the country would be comfortable facing. With those two gone, the torch has been passed to the kids. DJ Lagway takes over as the No. 1 quarterback with Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson sharing the carries at running back. With Treyaun Webb’s injury status up in the air, the Gators may have to burn the redshirt on freshman K.D. Daniels, who has played in two games with three carries.   While the kids feel their way into more prominent roles in the offense, the Gators will need the defense to continue playing with the same efficiency that has stifled the last two opponents. In the win over UCF and Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, the Gators have allowed only one sustained touchdown drive.   In the first four games of the season, the Gators allowed 109 points and 1,702 yards of offense. In the last two the Gators have allowed 585 yards and 26 points.   For the view to change for the Gators in the second half of the season, the kids on offense will be required to grow up in a hurry while the defense continues on an upward trend. Getting to a break even season might be asking a miracle of Jonah being swallowed by a whale proportions, but it’s not impossible. Stranger things have happened.   Associated Press top 25: 1. Texas 6-0; 2. Oregon 6-0; 3. Penn State 6-0; 4. Ohio State 5-1; 5. Georgia 5-1; 6. Miami 6-0; 7. Alabama 5-1; 8. LSU 5-1; 9. Iowa State 6-0; 10. Clemson 5-1; 11. Tennessee 5-1; 12. Notre Dame 5-1; 13. BYU 6-0; 14. Texas A&M 5-1; 15. Boise State 5-1; 16. Indiana 6-0; 17. Kansas State 5-1; 18. Ole Miss 5-2; 19. Missouri 5-1; 20. Pittsburgh 6-0; 21. SMU 5-1; 22. Illinois 5-1; 23. Army 6-0; 24. Michigan 4-2; 25. Navy 5-0   AFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Texas 6-0; 2. Oregon 6-0; 3. Penn State 6-0; 4. Georgia 5-1; 5. Ohio State 5-1; 6. Miami 6-0; 7. Alabama 5-1; 8. LSU 5-1; 9. Clemson 5-1; 10. Tennessee 5-1; 11. Notre Dame 5-1; 12. Iowa State 6-0; 13. BYU 6-0; 14. Texas A&M 5-1; 15. Ole Miss 5-2; 16. Missouri  5-1; 17. Kansas State 5-1; 18. Indiana 6-0; 19. Boise State 5-1; 20. Pittsburgh 6-0; 21. Illinois 5-1; 22. Michigan 4-2; 23. SMU 5-1; 24. Army 6-0; 25. Nebraska 5-1   SEC FOOTBALL No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1 SEC): After Alabama’s last two games, Paul Finebaum says, “I can’t believe we’re talking about them as a playoff team.” … Jalen Milroe’s Heisman chances probably went rock bottom when he threw two critical interceptions and had an intentional grounding in the end zone which resulted in a safety against South Carolina. Saturday: at No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC)   Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 SEC): Quarterback Taylen Green, injured in the Razorbacks’ win over Tennessee, is questionable for LSU. Saturday: No. 8 LSU (5-1, 2-0 SEC)   Auburn (2-4, 0-3 SEC): The Tigers have lost 15 turnovers in six games, six fumbles and nine interceptions, worst in the SEC. Saturday: at No. 19 Missouri (5-1, 1-1 SEC)   No. 5 Georgia (5-1, 3-1 SEC): Carson Beck threw for 458 yards and three touchdowns, but he was picked off twice by Mississippi State … The Georgia defense gave up 31 points and 306 passing yards. Saturday: at No. 1 Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC)   Kentucky (3-3, 1-3 SEC): The Wildcats gave the ball away twice and couldn’t get Vanderbilt off the field in their 20-13 loss. Vanderbilt had a 34:35-25:25 advantage in time of possession. Saturday: at FLORIDA (3-3, 1-2 SEC)   No. 8 LSU (5-1, 2-0 SEC): Garrett Nussmeier’s touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy on LSU’s first play of overtime gave the Tigers a 29-26 win over Ole Miss. Nussmeier threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, his fifth game this season with more than 300 passing yards. Saturday: at Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 SEC)   Mississippi State (1-5, 0-3 SEC): Freshman QB Michael Van Buren had his best game against Georgia, throwing for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Saturday: No. 14 Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 SEC)   No. 19 Missouri (5-1, 1-1 SEC): Missouri walloped Massachusetts in Amherst before a crowd of 16,102. The final six games of the regular season are all against SEC opponents. Saturday: Auburn (2-4, 0-3 SEC)   Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2 SEC): The Sooners haven’t much in the way of offense. Against Texas they gained 89 yards on the ground in 39 carries and threw for only 143. Saturday: South Carolina (3-3, 1-3 SEC)   No. 18 Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 SEC): The Rebels will have to run the table the rest of the way to have a shot at the College Football Playoff. Saturday: Open   South Carolina (3-3, 1-3 SEC): The Gamecocks missed a chance to tie the game with Alabama on a 2-point conversion, then after recovering the onside kick, couldn’t move the ball in close enough for a chance at a game-winning field goal.  Saturday: at Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2 SEC)   No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC): The Vols beat Florida in overtime despite being held for less than 350 yards of offense for the third consecutive game. Saturday: No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1 SEC)   No. 1 Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC): Quintrevion Wisner ran for 118 yards and a TD to lead the Longhorns past Oklahoma in their tuneup for their showdown with Georgia in Austin. Quinn Ewers, back in the lineup after missing two games with an oblique injury, threw for 199 yards and a TD. Saturday: No. 5 Georgia (5-1, 3-1 SEC)   No. 14 Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 SEC): Joel Klatt of Fox Sports says a Texas-Texas A&M rematch in the SEC Championship Game seems the most likely scenario. Saturday: at Mississippi State (1-5, 0-3 SEC)   Vanderbilt (4-2, 2-1 SEC): Despite being outgained 322-288, Vanderbilt won its second straight SEC game over Kentucky in Lexington. Diego Pavia threw for two touchdowns and ran for an additional 53 yards to lead the Commodores. Saturday: Ball State (2-4)   AROUND THE STATE Florida Atlantic (2-4, 0-2 American): The Owls gave up a TD in the final minute to fall to North Texas 41-37 despite Cam Fancher’s 351 passing yards and three TDPs.  Next week: at UT-San Antonio (2-4, 0-2 American)   Florida International (2-4, 1-1 Conference USA): The Panthers couldn’t stop the run in their loss to Liberty, allowing 281 yards on the ground. Wednesday: at UTEP (0-6, 0-3 Conference USA)   Florida State (1-5, 1-4 ACC): The Seminoles are dead last in the ACC in total offense, averaging just 273.5 yards per game. They have yet to gain at least 300 yards in a single game. Friday: at Duke (5-1, 1-1 ACC)   No. 6 Miami (6-0, 2-0 ACC): The Hurricanes lead the ACC in both total offense (583.8 yards per game) and total defense (282.5 yards per game). Saturday: at Louisville (4-2, 2-1 ACC)   South Florida (2-4, 0-2 American): Only 3,365 attended the Bulls’ 21-3 loss to Memphis which was moved from Tampa to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium because of Hurricane Milton. Saturday: UAB (1-5, 0-3 American)   UCF (3-3, 1-2 Big 12): UCF benched KJ Jefferson and went with true freshman QB EJ Colson in their loss to Cincinnati. Colson threw for 201 yards and a TD and didn’t turn the ball over. Saturday: at No. 9 Iowa State (6-0, 3-0 Big 12)   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: It is homecoming week at the University of Florida when alumni and friends from all over the country descend on Gainesville for a reunion that will be capped by the Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) squaring off with Kentucky (3-3, 1-3 SEC) Saturday evening (7:45 p.m., SEC Network). This year will be a bit different than previous homecoming weekends in the past 40 years because the University of Florida has finally done the right thing and will honor the 1984 Gators.   It is shameful how this team has been treated by UF. That 1984 team went 9-1-1, winning its last eight games all with a redshirt freshman walk-on quarterback (Kerwin Bell) and an interim coach (Galen Hall), who took over after Charley Pell was dismissed after game three due to NCAA violations that included the heinous crime of buying Dale Dorminey a Sprite and a pack of Juicy Fruit at the Gainesville airport. The Gators won the SEC championship on the field although the Southeastern Conference, led by Georgia and Tennessee, voted to strip UF of the championship. The Gators were so good at the end of the year that the New York Times awarded Florida its 1984 national championship trophy. The Times, to its credit, has never asked for the trophy to be returned.   NCAA probation kept the Gators from being declared national champs by the Associated Press. BYU was selected national champs because the Cougars were the only undefeated team in the country. BYU played a 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl pre-Christmas. Florida would have wiped any floor in the country with BYU or any other team.   That was 40 years ago. In the years since, it has been disgraceful that the 1984 team has been treated like pariahs by the University of Florida athletic administration. Giving these guys a weekend in which their on the field accomplishments are honored won’t make up for many years of treating them like outcasts, but it’s a start toward reconciliation.   Now the University of Florida should do the right thing by restoring Vernon Maxwell’s basketball scoring records. UF recognizes only Vernon’s freshman and sophomore seasons but wiped his junior and senior seasons off the books. Vernon scored 2,450 points in four years, but only his points from his freshman and sophomore seasons count because he took money from an agent. Taking the money was wrong. Denying him his scoring record invalidates the accomplishments of teammates.

Graham Mertz (15) will leave UF as the most accurate passer in school history (Gator Bait photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: A close friend who I could nickname Midas because everything he touches turns to gold called me Monday evening, thoroughly upset that Graham Mertz’s college football career has come to an end after he tore an ACL Saturday night in Knoxville.   “He’s as impressive a young man as we’ve had in the football program here,” he told me. “It makes me sad that his playing days are over. I could see him being the CEO of some Fortune 500 company someday.”   Or somebody’s head football coach I interjected to which my friend replied without hesitation, “That too. Whatever he wants to do in life I can see him being super successful.”   I can’t disagree with those assessments. Graham Mertz has been everything we could have asked for and then some during his playing days at the University of Florida. We got far more than we ever bargained once he transferred to Florida from Wisconsin. When he first committed to the Gators out of the transfer portal I joked that he was the most famous Mertz since Fred and Ethel. You have to be old enough to remember “I Love Lucy” or else that one goes right over the top. You would be amazed at how many came up to me asking what I was talking about.   Graham Mertz wasn’t the popular choice to succeed Anthony Richardson and probably 95 percent of the people in the media both state and nationwide ridiculed Billy Napier, who insisted he got the quarterback he wanted. Here are some of the quarterbacks everybody else wanted: Sam Hartman (Wake Forest to Notre Dame), Devin Leary (North Carolina State to Kentucky), Walker Howard (LSU to Ole Miss), Luke Altmeyer (Ole Miss to Illinois), DJ Uigalelei (Clemson to Oregon State to Florida State), Payton Thorne (Michigan State to Auburn), Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State to Ole Miss), Tayven Jackson (Tennessee to Indiana), Tanner Mordecai (SMU to Wisconsin), Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech to Nebraska to Arizona State), Emory Jones (Arizona State to Cincinnati) and Brennan Armstrong (Virginia to North Carolina State). All these guys were rated higher than Mertz in the portal.   Mertz was better than all of them even though he played on a 2023 team handicapped by a lousy defense and an equally lousy offensive line. Through the first six games of 2024, he guided the Gators through a tough start to respectability before he was injured after throwing a picture perfect TD pass to Arlis Boardingham that gave the Gators a 10-0 third quarter lead over Tennessee.   In the 16 games he played at Florida, Mertz completed 333 of his 452 pass attempts (73.7 percent) for 3,694 yards (8.2 per attempt) and 26 touchdowns with only five interceptions. I have to wonder what those numbers could have been if (a) the Gators could have blocked for him with any consistency; (b) Mertz had Chimere Dike and Elijhah Badger to complement Ricky Pearsall in 2023; and (c) Florida’s defense had gotten off the field more often to give the offense more opportunities to put points on the scoreboard.   Even with all the things that went wrong, however, Mertz never once wavered in his loyalty to the University of Florida, his coaches and his teammates. This was the consummate teammate which is why you saw teammates almost in tears Saturday night in the fourth quarter when Mertz joined them on the sidelines in street clothes and on crutches, his knee in a brace. They recognized his value not just to the team, but to each of them individually. I can count on one hand the number of Florida football players over the more than 50 years I’ve been writing sports who were as respected by teammates as Graham Mertz.   In front of the media, he was a natural. He answered questions intelligently, articulately  and never offered excuses. He never pointed fingers although if anyone deserved to he did last year when the O-line was a functioning sieve.   His playing days have ended and perhaps any dreams he might have of playing in the NFL. I hope someone will give him a chance because it will give him the opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream. Put him with a team that requires a cerebral quarterback to understand its offense and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he makes the roster. As Shane Matthews proved you can stick around the NFL a long time if you’re smart enough to learn a new offense quickly (Mertz is), know it inside-out and be an asset in the film room.   Meanwhile, Mertz is already plunging himself into getting DJ Lagway ready to be THE MAN the rest of the way. After what we’ve seen of Mertz since he arrived in Gainesville why would we expect anything less?   My first Florida football game was Georgia Tech in 1960 when Ray Graves went for two to win the game instead of going for the tie. Since then my heroes have always been Gators, but I’ve made it a point to reserve my favorite list to a select few. Saturday night I added Graham Mertz to my all-time favorite list. He deserves to be there.   UF BASKETBALL: MEDIA PICKS UF 6TH; GATORS NO. 21 PRESEASON AP POLL In a sure sign that Todd Golden has the Florida basketball program on the way up, the SEC media predicted the Gators to finish sixth in what should be the most competitive league in the country. Proof of how far both the SEC and the Gators have come – the Associated Press ranked Florida No. 21 in its preseason poll. Nine SEC teams made the AP preseason top 25, by far the most of any league in the country. The Big 12 had six teams in the top 25, the Big Ten four, the Big East three and the ACC two.     The media selected senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. to its preseason first team All-SEC and sophomore center Alex Condon third team.   SEC media predicted order of finish: 1. Alabama; 2. Auburn; 3. Tennessee; 4. Arkansas; 5. Texas A&M; 6. FLORIDA; 7. Texas; 8. Kentucky; 9. Ole Miss; 10. Mississippi State; 11. South Carolina; 12. Georgia; 13. Missouri; 14. LSU; 15. Oklahoma; 16. Vanderbilt   Preseason 1st team All-SEC: Mark Sears, Alabama; Johni Broome, Auburn; Walter Clayton Jr., FLORIDA; Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee; Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M Preseason 2nd team All-SEC: Grant Nelson, Alabama; Jonas Aidoo, Arkansas; Johnell Davis, Arkansas; Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss; Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State Preseason 3rd team All-SEC: Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn; Alex Condon, FLORIDA; Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky; Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina; Tramon Mark, Texas   Associated Press preseason top 25: 1. Kansas; 2. Alabama; 3. UConn; 4. Houston; 5. Iowa State; 6. Gonzaga; 7. Duke; 8. Baylor; 9. North Carolina; 10. Arizona; 11. Auburn; 12. Tennessee; 13. Texas A&M; 14. Purdue; 15. Creighton; 16. Arkansas; 17. Indiana; 18. Marquette; 19. Texas; 20. Cincinnati; 21. FLORIDA; 22. UCLA; 23. Kentucky; 24. Ole Miss; 25.  Rutgers   COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: WEEK SIX  On Life Support Billy Napier, Florida: The Gators should have beaten Tennessee, but like so many coulda and shoulda games in the Napier era, they lost. A win over Kentucky Saturday might shoo away the buzzards circling the Heavener Center.         Stan Drayton, Temple: The winner of Saturday’s game with Tulsa can avoid a reverse run of the American Athletic Conference table. If you bet on bottom feeders, put your money on Tulsa.   Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech:   Lousy Tech got a win last week to move to 2-3. If the stars and planets align Sonny could win six games. Will that save his job?     Joe Moorhead, Akron:   The Zips are 1-6. The good news is they can beat Kent State in five weeks.     Will Hall, Southern Miss:   Did you know that from 1947-63 Southern Miss was the 6th-winningest team in all of college football? Neither does anyone on this year’s team. There is a really good chance the Eagles finish on a 10-game losing streak.   Mike Bloomgren, Rice:   The Owls are 2-4 riding the crest of a 1-game win streak. They probably lose the next four. They probably don’t fire Bloomgren if he can get to 4-8 because firing at Rice is such a tacky thing.    Mike Neu, Ball State: The Cardinals actually won a game. Big news there. They play at Vanderbilt Saturday. Back to their losing ways.     Dave Aranda, Baylor: Maybe the Baptists who run Baylor would hold an all-night prayer vigil to send scurrying the demons that have taken hold of the football program.   Endangered Species List Hugh Freeze, Auburn: Until Mr. Yella Wood throws his hands in the air and says he’s had enough, Hugh’s got a job. If he doesn’t start winning, Mr. Yella Wood might decide to pull the plug.      Mike Houston, East Carolina: The Pirates are going to get hosed by Army this week up in West Point, but they’ll have three very winnable games in a row after that to guarantee bowl eligibility. Will that be enough?   Clay Helton, Georgia Southern: The Eagles are 4-2 after a come-from-behind win over Marshall. With the exception of this week’s game with James Madison, there are five winnable games on the schedule. Clay’s inching his way off the Endangered Species List.       Jim McElwain, Central Michigan: Old Yeller got his troops to rally for 17 points in the fourth quarter. They still lost. The Chips are 3-3. Four of the last six are losable.   Don Brown, UMass: The Minutemen lost to Missouri. How did they ever convince an SEC team to come play in a 17,000-seat stadium? They would have made money on the road.   Mike Norvell, Florida State: The Seminoles still stink after barely outlasting open date. They get Duke and Miami, both on the road, next two weeks. The only winnable game remaining on the schedule is D1AA Charleston Southern.   Trent Dilfer, UAB: The Blazers are 1-5 and they have a legit shot at a 1-11 record. This is just his second year. It might take a miracle to get a third year.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Three weeks ago, the Kentucky Wildcats (3-3, 1-3 SEC) shut down the vaunted Ole Miss offense in Oxford to score a 20-17 upset over the high-powered Rebels. In holding Ole Miss to a season-low 353 yard, the only time they’ve been held to fewer than 425 yards all year, Kentucky sacked Jackson Dart four times. Ole Miss couldn’t run the ball (29 carries, 92 yards) because it couldn’t move nose tackle Deone Walker, a 6-6, 350-pounder who requires a double and often a triple-team every single snap.   Defense is Kentucky’s calling card. The Wildcats are third in the SEC and fourth in the nation in total defense (251.5 yards per game), ninth against the run (89.33) and 13th against the pass (162.2). This is what awaits Florida freshman quarterback DJ Lagway when the Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) host Kentucky Saturday night at The Swamp (7:45 p.m., SEC Network).   No team has run for more than 145 yards and Ole Miss is the only team to have passed for more than 200 against the UK defense. Of course, they were saying similar things about the Tennessee defense yet the Gators gained 361 yards including 138 on the ground. Except for some questionable play calls that left points on the field, the Gators could have easily put up 400 yards and close to 30 points on the Volunteers.     Will the Gators be able to run the ball against the Wildcats? That will be critical for Lagway. If he doesn’t at least have the threat of a running game, Kentucky can run a picket fence of a zone that will negate any deep threats in the passing game. Lagway throws the deep ball as well as anyone, but he will have to have protection and the threat of a run to have adequate time.   As of Monday night, the Gators were favored by one point.

It was a complete give-away by the Gators, who outplayed the Vols and seemed to clearly be the better team by Carlton Reese https://www.Gatorbaitmedia..com Beyond what little was at stake Saturday night in Knoxville, the battle between Florida and Tennessee smelled an awful lot like 1998. The utter fluke that was the Volunteers’ victory 26 years ago came about much like the one the other night, only the hurt was much worse then. For the Gators, about the only thing at stake was the fate of Billy Napier’s future as Florida head coach. Tennessee thinks its playoff hopes were at stake, a laughable notion – at least two more losses wait in the wings for a team the world now understands has been an overhyped boy band from the beginning. Just like in 1998, Tennessee had zero business winning this game – it was a complete give-away by the Gators, who outplayed the Vols and seemed to clearly be the better team. The better of two quite mediocre teams, one of which falsely believes it belongs in the national conversation. When the Gators went up 10-0 in the third quarter, it was the first real separation of what should have been something in the range of a 27-0 drubbing at that point. A turnover on downs (fourth-and-1-inch to be precise) deep in Tennessee territory, a fumble on first-and-goal at the 1, and a field goal negated by penalty for too many players on the field created situations for the Gators to be up a minimum 16-0 at half or as much as 20-0. All the while, Tennessee’s vaunted offense, which every defensive coordinator from Little Rock to Buchholz High School is privy to the schemes at stopping it, churned out zip after a decent opening drive that ended with a fumble. Despite Florida’s domination, Tennessee was able to hang around and eventually take a lead. When the Gators tied it late to force overtime, the flashbacks coldly invaded the psyche. Remember that nonsense? Tennessee gained just 235 yards offense with only seven first downs, but Florida fumbled four times in addition to an interception and there they went to overtime at, yep, 17-17. Even in the OT, Tennessee went backward, but Jeff Hall kicked a long field to take the lead. Florida marched deep on its possession, but was held to a short field goal attempt by Collins Cooper, who missed, and before the ball had landed it seemed the fans had already torn those goal posts down. Steve Spurrier summed it up: “… and we couldn’t make a 10-yard field goal.” Now, the Gators are 0-for-2 all time in overtime field goal attempts at Neyland Stadium. Perhaps Napier should have gone for two on the final PAT – that will be debated for the 50 minutes or so – and Gator fans everywhere would have appreciated the moxie exuded their soon-to-be former head coach.  Despite the mistakes deep in the red zone, it was fun to watch the Gators play with an amount of fire that has not existed this year. In this game, you often must play as though you want to hurt someone, but most of this year the game of football has been taken more like chess, where urgency only happens when it’s too late. Against Tennessee, the Gators played with the necessary fire and urgency that turns average teams into very good ones. It revealed how good this team could   be, only the score was not a reflection. All too often, the type of play has mirrored the personality of its coach: nice and accommodating, concerned mainly with proper timing and small details and less about simply pushing the damn wall over. In Knoxville, that seemed to change, only the result that should have been, turned into a gut-wrenching defeat. A sentiment not felt a week ago: Florida is just as good, likely better than Tennessee. That gets you placed in a straitjacket in most precincts, but the evidence backs it up. The Vols are ranked in the top 10, which is not where they belong, and their record belies how truly average they are. The Gators possess talent and a defense that is improving every week, so things could actually get interesting moving forward if they play every week like they have nothing to lose, because they don’t have anything to lose. Will Napier coach like there’s nothing to lose? He’s got no reason not to – he’s staring into the gaping maw of 4-8. This is now D.J. Lagway’s team and for every jaw-dropping moment there is likely to be a freshman moment. Either way, it’s going to be fun to watch this kid pull off a magic act every now and then, and mature every week before our very eyes. This is officially a lost season, but one that shows some hope for perhaps pulling off an upset down the road, and that makes this team worth watching. Lagway’s at the helm, Trey Wilson is back, the tight ends look good, the offensive line performed well against what many pundits believe may be one of the country’s best defensive front 7s, and the defense now seems pretty decent. Despite the loss to Tennessee, the Gators may be worth the effort, after all. For some, the Napier death watch garners all the attention, but his fate may be a foregone conclusion, anyway, so why bother? This is not such a bad team, only a team with a bad record, but anyone who thinks there may not be a few exciting moments coming down the pike is likely too caught up in the peripherals to simply drink in some football for an interesting ride the next six weeks. Kentucky can be beat as well as Florida State. All the other games, the Gators will be prohibitive underdogs. One upset and Florida could be bowling … whether you like it or not.

The Gators find a way to snatch a victory from themselves on a night when they were the better team.  Montrell Johnson Jr. (1) and Damieon George Jr. (70) (Noah Lantor picture) By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com , Football Analyst   KNOXVILLE — Following a solid win that saw his defense take a step forward, the Billy Napier-led Florida Gators were poised to take yet a second step of improvement against one of their most bitter rivals. While the Tennessee Volunteers were a double-digit favorite at home, it was believed that this game would be closer than most expected but would still belong to the home team. What occurred was a game that ended in the better team leaving in the loser’s circle and another week of head-scratching, second guessing and wondering what might have been.    What We Thought: The Florida defense would continue to improve and contain a Volunteer offensive attack that had struggled in their last contest on the road. While scoring almost two touchdowns more at home, the Florida defense would make life hard for quarterback Nico Iamaleava, forcing him into erratic off-platform throws with varied pre-snap looks and post-snap pressures. The Gator secondary would be good enough where the talented quartet of Vol receivers would have some success but fail to have their way with an improving Florida secondary. Offensively Florida would be challenged by the SEC’s top defense and the dominant front led by one of the nation’s top edge rushers who would look to feast on an offensive line dealing with health and depth issues. Florida would need to be sound in the middle of its offensive line as well as the Volunteers could send as many as six interior linemen at Florida center Jake Slaughter, testing one of the nation’s top linemen in terms of pass protection.  If Florida was able to hold its own in the trenches, this game was there for Florida’s taking.    What We Got: To their credit, the Florida defense played well enough to win this football game. They played well enough to win a lot of football games. The Gator defense was able to force Iamaleava into his worst passer rating of his career, at home, where he has played his best. Iamaleava was 16 of 25 passing for just 169 yards and one interception. His 16.9 QBR was one of the lowest by a Tennessee quarterback under Josh Heupel and the Florida defense was able to pressure Iamaleava and confused him with different looks that forced late and errant throws. Florida would also sack Iamaleava three times, adding to their solid performance. Florida also reduced the SEC’s top rushing offense to a shell of itself, holding the Volunteers to 143 yards rushing, 124 off of their season average. Additionally, the Florida defense limited explosive plays with a 24-yard catch by Squirrel White standing as the longest play of the evening and only one of three that went further than 20 yards. Offensively, Florida was able to run the football with more success than teams that had previously played the Volunteers. Florida gained 138 yards on the ground, more than double the 67 yards per game the Volunteers had surrendered on average. Graham Mertz, who would leave the game due to injury, continued his efficiency finding success against the secondary completing 11 of 15 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. Due to his injury, Florida would turn to back-up DJ Lagway who would show flashes of his future greatness, driving the Gators down the field for the tying score after a superb punt return by Chimere Dike. The 30-yard return was another welcome sight for Florida as the special teams are beginning to make their mark for an “organization” that had been devoid of any game-changing plays by those units.    Florida will look back on this game and lament three separate drives that tell the tale that should have never been a double-digit spread to begin with. The Gators would take at least 17 points off of the board with head-scratching play calls (again), inexcusable turnovers and near misses on third and fourth and short. A game that was 3-0 at half time should have been at worst 17-0 and took the Neyland crowd out of the game and gave a defense that was playing its best ball even more ammo to give the Volunteers fits. To its credit, Florida would be in this game literally to the end when they could have easily laid down after a disappointing outcome in first half.   The Skinny: 4th and 1 at Tennessee, 3rd and 1 at Tennessee, 4th and 17 at Missouri, the Arkansas field goal debacle, the Kentucky beatdown, the No Show in Nashville. This is unfortunately becoming a recurring theme for an “organization” that has been given all the tools possible to bring this thing together and get the Florida Gators back to respectability. In each game, particularly in head-scratching losses there seems to be a moment where those that know and cover the game are left to question why? The answer that follows is usually a long-winded philosophical attempt to take responsibility for what amounts to be very little. While things happen and no one is perfect, the fact that a group of longstanding Florida fans that attended the game noted that Billy Napier would find a way to “mess things up” shows a pattern of expectation for erratic decision making. People will remember the fourth down calls, the Mertz fumble and the missed overtime field goal when lamenting the outcome. Unfortunately there were 12 men on the field (again), the time out after a turnover that preceded it and the poor explanation by Napier that somehow that is something that happens because an injured player chose to stay in the game and then his backup ran onto the field. Nah coach that ain’t it, and if so, shame on you. They teach the holder to count prior to a field goal or extra point, right? 11 is the same in Gainesville and everywhere else correct? These things cause you to lose games in hostile territory and it seems that there is always something that rears its ugly head with this team under Napier. The Gators lined up for a go-ahead two-point conversion that would have doubled down on Napier’s “scared money don’t make money” moniker that many have waited three years to show its face. But after the Volunteers called time out to catch their breath, Napier decided once again to questionably play for overtime on the road, in a game that should have been over hours before. You don’t have more than one two-point play ready to go coach? Near misses and excuses are becoming the norm with Napier and it could be his undoing. For three years the Gators have had a roster that is equipped to win at least 7-8 games and failed make it happen. There is a pattern here and that will be the issue moving forward. Florida is better, but the inability to get out of their own way may cause the Gators to spiral downward as the next eight weeks could be toughest in school history. How will it play out? Head-scratching minds want to know.    Final Score: Florida 17 Tennessee 23 OT (Prediction Florida 28-Tennessee 24)

The Gators could have beaten the Vols in spite of themselves Arlis Boardingham crosses into the end zone to put the Gators up 10-0 (Photo by Noah Lantor) It seems we have heard a version of this story before. The Florida Gators played hard, could have won a big game, yet came up short. This time it was 8th-ranked Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. This time it was overtime.   Tennessee 23, Florida 17. It should have never gone to overtime. That it went into the extra period goes against the “Scared money don’t make money” mantra that Billy Napier brought with him when he was hired from Louisiana back in December of 2021. Instead of going for the win with 29 seconds left in regulation after DJ Lagway had connected with Chimere Dike for a 27-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 17-16, Napier had a decision to make – go for the win or tie it up and hope to pull it out in overtime.   For a few fleeting seconds, Napier elected to try to win the game outright. He left his offense on the field and lined them up for a trick play. There was a massive shift of personnel pre-snap with five offensive linemen and running back Ja’Kobi Jackson running to the boundary on the left side with tight end Hayden Hansen taking over as the snapper. Hansen would have been eligible. To the right Arlis Boardingham, Elijhah Badger and Dike were lined up, stringing Tennessee’s defense out like a picket fence across the field so the Vols called time out.     In the huddle on the sideline, Napier reversed course. Rather than try for two and a monumental win that could have cooled his hot coaching seat considerably, he changed his mind, sending the extra point unit onto the field where Trey Smack punched it through to tie the game at 17-17.   What changed? Why did Napier go for the sure thing instead of the play that could have stuck a 13-inch stiletto into the hearts of the majority of the 101,915 who packed Neyland Stadium to the rafters? Perhaps a trick play was out of the question after tipping his hand, but did Napier not trust any one of a few dozen calls in his playbook that could have gained three yards?   Three yards. Nine feet, but in this case it might have been a thousand miles. The home team almost always has the upper hand in overtime games. It certainly worked out that way in this one.   Napier explained post game, “We had a play that we felt good about and then obviously they burned their time out and I think we felt from the three there we were playing pretty good on both sides of our team at that point in time so we thought, ‘Let's go play overtime. Let's go give our guys a chance to play some more plays.’ Defensively, we kept ourself in it. Wasn't quite ready to do that at that point in time.”   In reality, the outcome of this game should not have rested upon a change of mind with 29 seconds remaining. There were points left on the field, particularly in the first half, and even with injuries that put Montrell Johnson Jr. and Graham Mertz on the sidelines for the final quarter-and-a-half and who knows however many games in the future, this is a game Florida should have won.   Handily.   Unlike the Miami and Texas A&M games in which the Gators were chewed up and spit out, the defense showed up and played a winning football game. Considering the way the Gators played in losses to the Canes and the Aggies, it was almost as if aliens from another football galaxy had inhabited the bodies of the Florida defenders. The Gators held the Vols to 312 total yards and only 4-15 on third downs. They forced a pair of turnovers – a first half fumble and a second quarter interception – and on one sequence sacked Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava three consecutive plays.   Of Tennessee’s 17 points in regulation, only seven can be held against the defense. They gave up an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive after the Gators took a 10-0 lead in the third quarter. It was the only time the entire game the Vols were able to sustain a long drive against the Gators. The Vols tied the game at 10-10 in the third quarter after a DJ Lagway interception gave them a 17-yard field to work with. The Vols took the lead at 17-10 with 9:42 left in regulation after Jeremy Crawshaw had to punt from the end line of the end zone. When Jermod McCoy caught the punt at the UF 46 there wasn’t a Gator within 15 yards of him. His return to the 29 set up a two-play touchdown drive. Two short fields, one from a pick, the other from poor punt coverage. You can’t blame the defense for those 10 points.   Defensively, the Gators played like a team that knows what it’s doing, unlike those games in September when they were no shows. Good teams play defense like this.      “We played with good gap integrity,” Napier said. “I thought the line of scrimmage, on the edges, we tackled well, we mixed in the pressures. We were able to create some negative plays, made some long-yardage situations, and then ultimately we got off the field. We were pretty good on conversion downs throughout the day. So defensively, we kept ourselves in the game.”   As true as it is that the UF defense kept the Gators in the game it is also true that some rather questionable play calls and blunders kept the game within Tennessee’s reach. Some might call these avoidable or unforced errors, but that is being kind because they have been happening over-and-over again for a long, long time. As Einstein once said insanity is “doing the same thing over-and-over again and expecting different results.”   Had Einstein watched the previous 30 games of the Napier era he would have concluded what the Gators are doing goes beyond borderline insanity.   Since Napier’s first season on the job in 2022, one constant is the Gators’ penchant for shooting themselves in the feet. Florida is 14-17 with Napier in charge. If not for the games in which they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, the Gators could be 21-10 per perhaps even 23-8.   Instead they are 3-3 this season, 1-2 in the SEC. After next Saturday’s game with Kentucky (3-3, 1-3 SEC), a 20-13 loser to Vanderbilt, the Gators will play in order Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss before closing out the season with Florida State in Tallahassee. Only the eternal optimist would project anything better than a 5-7 record.   Even an optimist can’t overlook the crucial plays in the first half that cost the Gators this game.   On Florida’s second possession in the first quarter, the Gators moved from their own 49 to the Tennessee 29. On third-and-1, Jadan Baugh took a shotgun handoff and was stuffed for a four-yard loss back at the 24. Why didn’t the call put Mertz under center and why wasn’t Montrell Johnson in the game instead of Baugh, who is a true freshman? Florida settled for three on a drive that could have resulted in a TD had there been a better play call on third-and-1.   In the second quarter with the Gators leading 3-0, DJ Lagway led the Gators on a drive from their own 10 to the Tennessee 18 where they faced a fourth-and-inches. Lagway lined up in the shotgun and gave the ball to Tre Wilson on a jet sweep where he was dragged down for no gain. Why the shotgun when inches were needed? Why a jet sweep? Lagway weighs 240 pounds. He could have run a sneak from under center. He could have handed the ball to Johnson, who has run for nearly 3,000 yards in his career. Napier thought it was a really good play call.   Napier said, “We got them all blocked. I think the guy that had Tre man-to-man ran over the top of the play and made a heck of a play. We blocked the perimeter really well. DJ made a good decision. I think it's an outstanding play by the corner that had Tre man to show up on the other side. It was a good physical tackle and a really good play by the defender.”   A better play call would have negated that really good defensive play.   On Florida’s next possession, the Gators marched from their own 20 to the Tennessee one on the strength of two Mertz completions (17 to Hayden Hansen, 18 to Elijhah Badger) and three carries that covered 42 yards by Johnson. At the one, Mertz had the ball stripped away from him as he tried to sneak in on the right side. Another head scratcher of a call because Johnson had earned the carry to get into the end zone.   Then there was the end of the first half after Shareef Denson picked off Iamaleava and ran the ball back to the Tennessee 22. A personal foul on UT during the runback gave the Gators a first down at the 11 with 1:11 to go, plenty of time to score a touchdown. A false start on Kam Waites moved it back to the 16, then came two rather lame play calls football – incompletions on passes that Tennessee anticipated, passes that didn’t clear the line of scrimmage. On third-and-14, an obvious passing down, Florida’s protection broke down and Mertz was sacked for a 10-yard loss. Smack kicked what should have been a 43-yard field goal but the Gators had 12 men on the field – remember Arkansas last year? – which took the points off the scoreboard. Because it was a penalty in the last seconds and UF didn’t have any time outs remaining, there was a 10-second runoff. Half over.   “It was relative to an injury, just to be cut and dry,” Napier explained. “It was a substitution error based on an injured player who stayed on the field. Yeah, that's exactly what it was. The injured player that had been substituted on that unit did not come off. He stayed.” Here we were thinking the days of really dumb special teams errors were a thing of the past (See Utah last year as well as Arkansas). Obviously, we thought wrong. Florida led 3-0 at the half. It should have been at least 13-0, maybe even 17-0.   “We had a chance to really take control of the game in the first half, and we missed on those opportunities,” Napier said. Call that the understatement of the year.   On Florida’s second possession of the third quarter, Montrell Johnson suffered an injury when his leg was twisted on the tackle that ended a 20-yard run to the Tennessee 34. Two plays later Mertz scrambled 15 yards to the Tennessee 13 and a play later threw a perfect pass into the left front corner of the end zone for a touchdown. That was with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter, the last play Mertz was on the field. After the TDP he took a step backward and suffered a non-contact injury to his knee.     A 10-0 lead in the Southeastern Conference is always precarious, particularly on the road at Neyland Stadium, but let’s face it, the Mertz-to-Boardingham touchdown should have made it at least 20-0. The way Florida’s defense was playing, had it been 20-0 you would have liked the odds of the Gators leaving Knoxville with a win, even with Mertz and Johnson sidelined.   Of the 17 losses the Gators have suffered in the Billy Napier era, this was probably the toughest to take. It’s easy to point to another rash of self-inflicted wounds as the reason another perfectly winnable game was lost, but in this case the Gators had a chance to win in spite of themselves had the decision been made to go for two.      There are no guarantees the Gators would have made the two-point conversion but at least Napier would have put it all on the line to win the game. It’s puzzling that he didn’t.   “Scared money don’t make money.” Billy Napier said it before. Saturday night at Neyland Stadium he had a decision to make at the end and he played it safe. He certainly didn’t make any money.

The Florida Gators are 14.5 underdog as they look to take a second straight game from the Volunteers. By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com , Football Analyst Big game on the horizon from Knoxville (GatorBait photo) KNOXVILLE -- As the clock neared 7 in Knoxville, the Florida Gators arrived at Neyland Stadium ready to take on their longstanding rivals in one of the game's epic venues. The Gators looked to usher in a defensive resurgence against a Volunteer offense looking to regain its swagger after a lackluster Week 5 performance. Volunteer quarterback Nico Iamaleava was the focal point of the Gator front led by Tyreak Sapp, Justus Boone and Jack Pyburn. Pyburn has begun to assert himself the last two games with 11 tackles. His play has been a welcome addition to an improving defensive unit that also includes sophomores Kelby Collins, TJ Searcy and freshman LJ McCray -- the Gators have also seen great production from Northern Illinois transfer George Gumbs Jr. who finshed last week's game with two tackles, and 1.5 sacks.   The Tennessee offense received some good news on Friday as receivers Bru McCoy, Dont’e Thornton, and Squirrel White were made available for tonight’s contest. All three had been listed as questionable in Wednesday’s initial availability report but were available as of Friday evening. With a combined 37 catches and 650 yards the trio will definitely be called upon to help get Nico Iamaleava going early in Tennessee’s first home game since throttling Kent State on September 14th.    For quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway they will be elated to know that they should be with nearly a full compliment of their top receivers as Aiden Mizzell and Eugene Wilson III are set to return from injury. Gator fans last saw Wilson streaking down the middle of the field on a 85-yard touchdown pass from Lagway against Samford. Mizell will make his return after a solid day in Florida’s last game at Mississippi State. Mizell finished that game with a career high five catches and two electric big plays that were negated by penalty. Wilson can affect the game as both a pass catcher and a runner and the Volunteers will definitely be aware of his whereabouts when he is in the game.    In a game that is always filled with four quarters of drama it would be interesting to see which football team would take the next step in what has suddenly become one of the most interesting games on the SEC slate this week. The Tennessee fans were full of glee as their beloved Volunteers made the walk down Phil Fulmer Way but prior to their arrival had plenty of boos for the Gators as they arrived at the stadium.

Florida takes the show on the road against an old rival. By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com , Football Analyst Edge rusher Tyreak Sapp (Chris Spears photo) KNOXVILLE —  Once thought to be the de facto SEC Championship Game the Florida-Tennessee rivalry has been filled with drama and near misses lately. Tennessee Offense Key Players-#8 QB Nico Iamaleava (6-6, 215, R-Fr.), #6 RB Dylan Sampson (5-11, 201, Jr.), #18 RB DeSean Bishop (5-10, 200, R-Fr.), #15WR Bru McCoy (6-3, 230 R-Sr.), #1 WR Dont’e Thornton (6-5, 214, Sr.), #17 WR Chris Brazzell II (6-5, 200, R-So./Tulane), #3 WR Squirrel White (5-10, 167, Jr.), #63 Cooper Mays (6-4, 310, Sr.)   Matchups To Watch: Tennessee Offensive Line v. Florida Defensive Line, Tennessee Receivers v. Florida Corners   The Tennessee offense features plenty of start power at every level. It begins with Nico Iamaleava at the quarterback positions. In his first season as a starter Iamaleava has accounted for 1184 yards of total offense throwing seven touchdown passes and adding another on the ground. His targets include Bru McCoy a top rated recruit who looks more like a hybrid tight end than a receiver, Dont’e Thompson who at 6-5 is a matchup nightmare for smaller corners, and Squirrel White the dynamic slot receiver who can affect the game as a receiver and return threat. The best of the group may be redshirt sophomore Chris Brazzell II who transferred to Tennessee from Tulane after earning freshman All-American honors as Tulane’s leading receiver last season. Brazzell is long with great ball skills and has been a solid addition to the group. While Iamaleava can hurt you in the run game, running backs Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop do most of the heavy lifting. Sampson has carried the ball 91 times for 589 yards while Bishop has gained 313 yards on 41 carries. Thompson leads the SEC in rushing touchdowns and is second nationally. The anchor of the offensive attack is center Cooper Mays, a Tennessee legacy who has not given up a sack in his last 18 games. Mays was voted first team All-SEC by the media and was a Walter Camp Preseason All-American.    The Tennessee offense stubbed its toe last weekend against Arkansas in Fayetteville with 332 yards of total offense and zero first half points. This was mainly due to the inability of Tennessee to get the offense going through the air. Iamaleava had his worst game of the year and his first this season without a touchdown pass. Arkansas was able to force Iamaleava into some errant throws as the young quarterback struggled to get his eyes to the right read on a consistent basis. Coach Josh Heupel, a former quarterback, stated that his team needed to do a better job adjusting to different looks and it is certain that he and his staff were very intentional in studying the way the Gators successfully defended UCF last week. Florida will need to continue the diverse looks that Ron Roberts and Austin Armstrong want to employ and the defensive line will again need to swallow up blocks to allow the Florida linebackers to get downhill. This will be the toughest challenge for the Florida secondary this season. McCoy, Thompson, White, and Brazzell are collectively the best group of receivers Florida may see all season and they are coached by Kelsey Pope who has coached the Tennessee receivers to 22 individuals 100-yard games in 3 years leading the SEC over that span. Jason Marshall Jr. and Devin Moore have NFL caliber ability and they will be tested by this long athletic group on the deep ball particularly Thompson who averages over 35 yards per catch.      Tennessee Defense Key Players-#11 LB Keenan Pill (6-3, 240, Gr.), #7 LB Arion Carter (6-1, 234 So.), #27 DL James Pearce Jr. (6-5, 243, Jr.), #42 DL Tyre West (6-3, 290, Jr.), #35 S Will Brooks (6-1, 206, R-Sr.), #3 CB Jermad McCoy (6-0, 193, So./Oregon State), #2 S Andre Turrentine (5-11, 195, R-Jr)   Matchups to Watch: Florida Tackles vs. Pearce Jr., Jake Slaughter v. Tyre West   The defense of Tennessee is one of the country’s best and is littered with size, athleticism and depth. Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was nearly a consensus Preseason All-American and was rated the #1 player in the ESPN Preseason Top 100. Long and lean, Pearce uses speed and an array of pass rush moves to get to the quarterback. Leading tackler Keenan Pill is in his seventh year of college football and has returned from injury to enjoy a solid start in 2024. Hill has 28 tackles, 2 for loss, 1.5 sack and two quarterback hurries. Arion Carter is an athletic, versatile linebacker than can play downhill as well as in space. Carter leads the team in tackles for loss and pass breakups and will be tasked with keeping an eye on the Florida tight ends and slot receivers. While Pearce has struggled to find the quarterback early in 2024 Tyre West has picked up some of the slack with two sacks and, and 3.5 tackles for loss. West is a quality linemen who has shown flashes in his first year as a starter. On the back end Will Brooks, transfer Jermad McCoy and Andre Turrentine will be tasked with containing a Florida passing attack that seems to be finding its way. Brooks brings experience and posted a career-high 10 tackles in last weeks’ game against Arkansas. Oregon State transfer Jermad McCoy played in all 12 games and started five as a true freshman. He may also be called upon as kick returner if needed. Safety Andre Turrentine is Brooks’ partner at safety and was voted the Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week in the teams road win at Oklahoma.    Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has a unit that has played well this surrendering just 3.81 yards per play, which is tops in the SEC. They also are the SEC’s best run defense and third in pass defense. This has been done without standout play from their best player in Pearce Jr. and with giving up 431 yards to Arkansas last week. Did Arkansas crack the code or a booby trap that plagued many teams a week ago? The Florida offensive attack is built on getting ahead of the chains and allowing the play-action passing game to be a factor. Tennessee will look to limit that success and force Florida into passing downs where they can unleash their All-American pass rusher looking for a break out game. Florida’s Jake Slaughter has been rated as one of the top centers in pass protection this season and his ability to keep West and company at bay will be huge. Florida left tackle Austin Barber is listed as questionable and his back-up Devon Manuel is out this week so Pearce could meet an inexperienced foe at left tackle, allowing him even more opportunities to affect quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway.   The Skinny: Tennessee has found the win column only twice in the last 19 games and hasn’t won in Gainesville in over 20 years. Last year’s game saw Florida jump on Tennessee early and ride a solid defense to a stunning 29-16 victory.  This year Tennessee will look to jump on Florida early and keep their foot on the gas to leave no doubt who is boss in this years’ showdown. Tennessee left Fayetteville a little embarrassed and a bit surprised by the lackluster play of the quarterback who had become a media darling for the first month of the season. Can the Florida defense repeat the performance of last week or will they revert to the head-scratching behavior that has shown itself in their previous two games against ranked opponents? Florida will move the ball and despite what people think the two quarterback system works for Florida and the two quarterbacks themselves. Which leads me to trust that Florida will get out of Knoxville with another stunning win and cool the seat of Billy Napier heading into homecoming. I like the Florida quarterbacks better. The UCF game was must win by any means necessary and they got it done. This week Florida continues its steady improvement on defense and forces Iamaleava into a late turnover to take a close one in Neyland.    Prediction: Florida 28 Tennessee 24

For the Gators to beat Tennessee, center Jake Slaughter (66) will have to have a great game (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: Until Arkansas came along, Tennessee’s defense was being talked up as practically impenetrable. In their first four games, the Vols allowed only 176 yards and seven points per game. The Vols were so good against the run that opponents were good for 50.8 yards and 1.5 yards per carry.   Then came Arkansas.   The Razorbacks ran for 137 yards on 44 carries and they threw for 297, averaging a very impressive 9.9 yards per attempt. The Vols pass rush got to Arkansas quarterbacks for two sacks, one by James Pearce Jr., but Pearce, said to be a stud among studs by Mel Kiper Jr. didn’t have any other pressures.   So what are we to believe? Is Tennessee the swarming defense that nobody could run or score against in games one through four? Or have the Vols been exposed in much the same way their offense has been exposed the last two games. In games one through three, Tennessee was scoring at will and turning games into a track meet. In the last two, the Vols have had all the firepower of a late-80s Yugo GVX, which is to say they’ve sputtered.   This will be the most critical game of the season for Florida’s offensive line. For the Gators to do an Arkansas-like number on the Tennessee defense in terms of moving the football, the O-line is going to have to create enough cracks in the UT front for a respectable running game. It isn’t necessary for the Gators to dominate in the running game although that would be nice. What Florida has to do is make the Vols respect the running game enough that they can’t simply pin their ears back and pressure Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway.   Florida really struggled running the ball against Texas A&M, but in the last two games, the Gators have run for 356 yards, averaging a very respectable 5.2 yards per carry. Montrell Johnson Jr. is still Florida’s No. 1 running back (288 yards, 4.97 per carry, 4 TDs), but freshman Jaden Baugh (128 yards, 6.74 per carry) and Ja’Kobi Jackson (93 yards, 6.64 per carry, 3 TDs) offer fresh legs, speed and moves.   If they’re able to run the ball against UT, then Mertz and Lagway (combined 99-134 for 1,333 yards and 9 touchdowns) should have adequate time to throw the football. Mertz, who is 38-44 (83.3 percent) in his last two games, and Lagway (averaging 12.1 per attempt) haven’t been sacked nor have they thrown an interception since the Aggies in game three. In Elijhah Badgers (17-346, 2 TDs) and Chimere Dike (15-277, 1 TD) the Gators have two exceptional receivers. If Tre Wilson is healthy enough to join them against the Vols, Florida could pose serious issues to the Tennessee secondary.   Of course, it all comes down to the offensive line. The Gators gave up five sacks in the first three games, but they’ve given Mertz and Lagway time to throw the ball the last two. The Gators are rock solid at center where Jake Slaughter grades as the No. 8 center in the country per Pro Football Focus. Right tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson grades at 85 percent as a pass blocker and left tackle Austin Barber grades at 75.9 percent. The productivity at guard has picked up considerably since the Gators began rotating in Kamryn Waites and Bryce Lovett with Knijeah Harris and Damieon George Jr.   If Vols are the super team on defense they were hyped to be early in the year will be found out Saturday evening. Whether they are an elite defense or not, the answer for the Gators will be the same formula that worked for Arkansas. The offensive line has to give the Gators enough of a running game that it open up the passing game for Mertz and Lagway.   This is the SEC and as always it’s a line of scrimmage league. If the Gators win the line of scrimmage against the Tennessee defense, then they’ll have a chance to win the game.   SEC FOOTBALL No. 7 Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC):  After allowing Vanderbilt to convert 12 of 18 third downs last week, Alabama defenders have asked for quicker calls coming in from the sideline. Against Vandy, Alabama struggled to get lined up quick enough plus had problems getting players on and off the field. Saturday: South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC)   No. 5 Georgia (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Wide receiver Colbie Young is the seventh Georgia player arrested since March, the second on family violence charges. HBC Kirby Smart, of course, said he can’t comment. Through five games, Young, a transfer from Miami, had 11 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Saturday: Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 SEC)   Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC): At his Monday press conference, HBC Mark Stoops said Vanderbilt “is using some stuff you don’t see a whole lot. Unbalanced sets. Shifts and motions. They do a good job of keeping you unbalanced. They keep you on your toes.” Saturday: Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2 SEC)   No. 13 LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC): LSU is dead last in the SEC in pass defense, giving up 236.4 yards per game and 8.1 per pass attempt. Saturday, former UF secondary coach Corey Raymond’s troops will be going against an Ole Miss passing game that averages 372.8 yards per game and a whopping 11.4 yards per attempt. Saturday: No. 8 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 SEC)   Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 SEC): The Bulldogs are dead last and No. 122 nationally in total defensive, giving up yards per game, 213 on the ground and 225 through the air. Saturday: at No. 5 Georgia (4-1, 1-1 SEC)   No. 21 Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Missouri has issues with its offensive line. The Tigers allowed Texas A&M six sacks last week and the Aggies got pressure on Brady Cook 25 times. Saturday: at UMass (1-5)   No. 18 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Sophomore wide receiver Nic Anderson is out for Saturday’s Red River Shootout with Texas. Anderson, who caught 38 passes for 798 yards last year, will miss several more weeks. Saturday: No. 1 Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC) in Dallas   No. 8 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 SEC): Wide receiver Tre Harris is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game with LSU in Death Valley. Through six games, Harris has caught 52 passes for 885 yards and five touchdowns. Saturday: at No. 13 LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC)   South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Linebacker Bangally Kamara has elected to quit on his teammates. He will take a redshirt and enter the transfer portal. A transfer who spent his first four years at Pitt, Kamara had nine tackles in four games.  Saturday: at No. 7 Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC)   No. 9 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC): The Vols struggled on the O-line against Arkansas, allowing four sacks in addition to numerous blown assignments and penalties, the bulk of which were against tackles Lance Heard and John Campbell Jr. When HBC Josh Heupel released his depth chart for Saturday’s game with Florida, Heard or Larry Johnson were listed at left tackle with Campbell or Dayne Davis listed at right tackle.   Saturday: FLORIDA (3-2, 2-1 SEC)   No. 1 Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC): The Longhorns are favored by 14.5 points to knock off arch-rival Oklahoma Saturday in Dallas … QB Quinn Ewers, out the last couple of games with an oblique injury, has been taking the first team snaps this week. Saturday: No. 18 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 SEC) in Dallas   Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Quarterback Diego Pavia said Alabama players were talking trash during the coin toss. On the Dan Patrick Show Monday, Pavia said, “They thought they were going to come in here and treat us like an FCS team? … They were talking, laughing.” Obviously, Vanderbilt got the last laugh on the then No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide. Saturday: at Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC)   PROJECT RUDY: COLLEGE FOOTBALL REIMAGINED This week SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commish Tony Petiti are meeting to discuss a scheduling alliance that some university presidents believe will usher in something that looks an awful lot like the NFL. Meanwhile, a group of Disney executives backed by the private equity firm Smash Capital are proposing a 70-team super league made up of the four power conferences and Notre Dame.   Called Project Rudy, this newest proposal would have $9 billion capital to get it off the ground. Essentially, the new entity would negotiate the TV contracts much the same way the NFL deals with the television networks. The 70 teams would only play each other, therefore eliminating games with D1AA and Group of Five schools.   The idea behind this project is to provide the cash needed to pay players while at the same time enough cash for the schools to fund the non-revenue sports in the future. It sounds very good except for one teensy problem – What to do about the Group of Five and D1AA teams? Some of them will go belly up without paycheck games.   This concept might be the future, but at some point someone needs to take care of the Group of Five and D1AA schools. To survive without paycheck games, someone better come up with an idea that gives them their own playoffs and a TV package that can compensate.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has reacted to the chaos of the transfer portal by shortening the December window to 20 days and the spring window in April to 10 days. Whoopteedoo. What this tells us is that Charlie Baker, the current president of the NCAA, is as braindead as predecessor Mark Emmert.   What the NCAA needs in the worst way is a common sense approach to the portal. Of course, common sense and the NCAA are two ships passing in the night separated by five or six hundred miles of ocean. Here are some suggestions:   1. FIVE years of eligibility. Period. You can play all five years, but that’s it. Redshirt and you have only four to play. Injured and redshirt, you only have three. Period. No sixth year eligibility. Period.   2. Except in cases of a coach being fired, no freshman can transfer until he has been on campus for a full fall and spring. Any freshman who transfers must have at least a 2.0 in core classes – remedial classes do not count – or else he sits for a year.   3. Any player still taking remedial courses will have to sit an entire year if he transfers. Any player taking remedial courses after his sophomore season will be ineligible until he can pass core courses with at least a 2.0 minimum GPA.   4. Make all scholarships and NIL money enforceable CONTRACTS. Opt out during the season or before the bowl game and there is a breach of contract with the athlete required to pay back the school the cost of his scholarship and whoever is responsible for the NIL all money received. Also, a player who opts out during the season will have to sit a year, so a player who is in his fourth season would not be able to play the next year.   5. Any player who hasn’t made satisfactory progress toward a degree will sit a year if he should transfer.