July 25, 2023 A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: It seems you can’t have a conversation about Florida football 2023 without questioning how Graham Mertz is going to play like an SEC quarterback. Certainly Mertz has to play well, but the way the UF offense is designed, it’s not a necessity for him to be a dynamic playmaker for the Gators to win football games. He just has to read defenses, take care of the football and make sure the playmakers get the ball in a timely fashion. The most important question that has to be asked is can the Gators actually tackle somebody? This isn’t something that happened overnight. Poor tackling is one of the chief reasons Dan Mullen lost his job in 2021 and why Billy Napier went 6-7 out of the first year gate last year. Go back to 2021 when Steve Spurrier was asked why Mullen and the Gators were losing games. Spurrier’s answer: “Well, we don’t tackle very well.” Napier can relate. Florida’s poor tackling cost at least four wins in 2022. Opposing quarterbacks (see Hendon Hooker, Jayden Daniels and Jordan Travis for example) ran through UF tacklers almost like they had greased jerseys. Missed tackles were an issue in losses to Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Florida State. Those five teams converted 36 of their 63 third downs. Better tackling has everything to do with discipline. For example, being in the right place at the right time to turn a ball carrier back into waiting tacklers. Having both feet balanced and shoulders squared. Staying in tackling lanes. Doing away with arm tackling. All those things add up. Can the Gators tackle better? If they can, the defense will be good. Burning questions for the rest of the SEC Alabama: Who’s going to play quarterback? Jalen Milroe has started and won an SEC game (three TDPs plus 83 rushing yards in a 24-20 win over Texas A&M). He is a tremendous runner (265 yards, 8.5 per carry last year) but an erratic passer (58.5 percent, 5 TDs, 3 INTs). Ty Simpson saw mop-up duty in four games but he’s a former 5-star recruit. Tyler Buchner came from Notre Dame where he was coached by new Bama OC Tommy Rees. In two seasons he has passed for six TDs and completed eight to the other team. He can run (459 yards, 6 TDs in two seasons) but so can Milroe. One of these three guys better be able to throw the football with some measure of accuracy because Alabama is loaded to the gills with receivers who can stretch the field. Arkansas: With QB K.J. Jefferson and stud running back Rocket Sanders, the Hogs are going to put points on the scoreboard. That’s not the issue. Stopping people? Houston, we have a problem. Arkansas gave up 30-plus points and more than 464 yards per game last year and that was with a defense that got to the quarterback 42 times. The pass rushers are gone and only three starters return. The Hogs gave up 26 rushing TDs and 24 through the air last year. Arkansas is going to have to win by shootout. Auburn: Everything that got Hugh Freeze in trouble back when he was coaching at Ole Miss is legal now. Hence NIL stands for Now It’s Legal. Hugh’s going to get the players and he knows how to win, but can he do it this year with a team that will be largely transfer dependent? Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne (6,493 passing yards, 49 TDPs) is the experienced QB who knows how to move the chains. Can the three transfers on the O-line (LT Dillion Wade from Tulsa, RT Gunner Britton from Western Kentucky, C Avery Jones from East Carolina) adapt to the SEC where the D-linemen are a bit more beastly than they were in the Group of Five? If Hugh can get the transfers to play at an SEC level on both sides of the ball, Auburn will be dangerous. Georgia: The way Kirby Smart has stacked up the talent on both sides of the football, some might conclude that there are no questions to be asked or answered but there are actually two. (1) Can the offense click with Carson Beck the way it did with Stetson Bennett; and (2) can Kirby keep a lid on the off-the-field troubles? Beck has the arm talent but Bennett was the kind of leader that teammates would take a bullet for. It remains to be seen if Beck commands the same kind of respect. Kirby better stick a sock in the off-the-field issues before they start chipping away at the team’s ability to focus during the games. Kentucky: The Wildcats brought in Devin Leary from North Carolina State to take over QB from the departed Will Levis and they replaced Chris Rodriguez with Vandy transfer Ray Davis, who rumbled for 1,042 yards. If we rated rushing yards the way we do dog years, this would be the equivalent of a 2,000-yard season. A strong arm QB and a stud running back are a good place to begin your offensive game planning, but there is this teensy issue about who’s going to block? A year ago Kentucky’s offensive line gave up 46 sacks (126thnationally) for -312 yards (128th). Those same linemen opened the holes for a running game that produced 116.23 yards per game (107th) and 3.26 per carry (119th). Four of those linemen are back. Does a year older make you a year better? If it doesn’t then Kentucky will be in deepest and darkest. LSU: A year ago, Jayden Daniels dazzled a lot of folks with his ability to escape collapsing pockets. He ran for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns. That’s the good news. Now for the bad news. He was sacked 45 times (124thnationally) for 219 yards in losses (91st nationally). Despite that, LSU won the SEC West and finished with 10 wins. Go figure on how that happened. Daniels is an exceptional runner and he’s ever so dangerous when he escapes containment in the pocket, but there is every good chance that one of these days he’s going to take the big hit and won’t get up? It would help if LSU had a run game that wasn’t so quarterback dependent. They think they’ve got the right guy to alleviate some of that stress in Notre Dame transfer Logan Diggs (822 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns) but the guys up front have to do a better job. All five starters are back. Can the O-line get the job done consistently? A year ago the Tigers allowed five sacks to Tennessee, six to Alabama and four to Georgia. Mississippi State: When Mike Leach died, Mississippi State’s embrace of the Air Raid offense croaked as well. Zach Arnett, who was Leach’s defensive coordinator last year, is the new HBC and he wants a more conventional offense but how do you go from a team that throws the ball 50-60 times a game to one with a 50-50 run/pass ratio without some serious speed bumps? How will quarterback Will Rogers adapt to a huddle up offense after a quick tempo, make the call at the line scheme? The last time the Bulldogs failed to go bowling was 2009. That streak of 13 straight bowl years has a real chance to go belly up unless the transition from Air Raid to conventional goes smoothly. Missouri: Eight starters return on the defensive side of the football including middle linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, who blossomed into a star after transferring from Florida last year. Mizzou should be good enough defensively to keep the games close. Over on the offensive side of the ball, they need a go-to guy in the worst way. Ever since the spring they’ve been touting former 5-star wide receiver Luther Burden as the next big thing. He’s got the size and the speed to be a stud, but can he be that consistent playmaker? Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin scares the bejabbers out of every defensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference. Scoring points has never been a problem. Keeping opponents out of the end zone has always been problematic. To that end, his new defensive coordinator is Pete Golding, formerly of Alabama. His five Bama defenses were always good, just not great and that was with better personnel than he’ll be coaching at Ole Miss. But, at Ole Miss he won’t have Nick Saban looking over his shoulder and he won’t be asked to pitch shutouts. Can Pete Golding get the Rebels one or two more possessions every game? South Carolina: Third and two was almost automatic for South Carolina opponents last year. The Gamecocks were almost incapable of stopping opponents from lining up and blowing them off the football. The Gamecocks gave up 199 yards per game on the ground last year (117th nationally) when they finished 114th in third down conversions. Seven of 13 opponents ran for at least 200 yards. In four of the five losses opponents ran for at least 265 with Florida pounding away for 374. The Gamecocks believe they’re capable of winning 9-10 games this season but to do that they better figure out run defense. Can Shane Beamer find a front seven that can get some stops at the line of scrimmage? Tennessee: The first finger will point to quarterback Joe Milton and say that’s the question that has to be answered. It’s true Milton was a bust as a starter at Michigan and then at Tennessee before Hendon Hooker took over in 2021, but supposedly he’s waited his turn, matured and is ready to show off a rocket arm, fleet feet and unprecedented playmaking ability. The big question, however, is can the Vols stop anyone from picking up big chunks of yardage through the air? They gave up 289.5 passing yards per game (127thnationally) last year, which was actually worse than 2021, Josh Heupel’s first year as HBC. The Vols think they have the offense to win a championship this year, but they better be able to stop the pass. Texas A&M: From the day Jimbo Fisher announced he hired Bobby Petrino to coordinate the offense and call the plays, everyone has been expecting a nasty divorce. That they made it through spring practice without at least a legal separation is considered a minor miracle. Both Jimbo and Petrino are set in their ways, both rather headstrong and neither one a stranger to controversy. There is enough talent on hand that the Aggies could be one of the better offensive teams in the country. Can Jimbo and Petrino get along or at least tolerate each other enough to let the talent do what it’s capable of doing? Vanderbilt: Okay, it’s Vanderbilt and everyone thought Clark Lea did a brilliant coaching job last year when the Commodores won five games included back-to-back wins over Kentucky and Florida. That was then. This is now. The question of all questions is that now expectations have been raised – five wins at Vandy raises expectations through the roof – what can Clark Lea do for an encore? Can the Commodores win six or more in 2023 and go bowling for the first time since 2018? To at least equal last year’s win totals, the front seven will have to do a better job, particularly in stopping the run. Opponents ran for 170.67 yards per game (96thnationally) and 5.16 per carry (121st). ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In Athens, Adam Anderson, a former Georgia player who at one time was thought to be a first round NFL pick, was sentenced to a year in jail after the judge accepted a guilty plea for sexually assaulting two women including one the Thursday before the 2021 Florida-Georgia game. For that one, he was charged with rape but the rape charge and second sexual assault were reduced to misdemeanor sexual battery. The judge sentenced Anderson to two 12-month sentences to be run concurrently. This comes on the heels of Georgia’s protest of an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that pointed out more than 300 traffic violations including a wreck that killed a player and a staffer and 11 sexual assaults on women by UGa football players. The AJC article was written by Alan Judd, who won many writing awards in 25 years with the newspaper. The AJC said it investigated Judd’s reporting and agreed with Georgia’s claims that the article was chock full of inaccuracies. Judd was fired. The soft sentence of Anderson should make you question if the AJC really did an investigation or if it was simply bowing to pressure by big money UGa boosters? It should also tell you that the most powerful man in the entire state is the football coach at the University of Georgia.

The Indianapolis Colts have successfully completed all contract negotiations with their 2023 draft class, ensuring that all 12 members will be signed and ready for the start of training camp on Wednesday. The final signing to seal the deal was rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, who agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth an impressive $33.99 million. His agent, Deiric Jackson, revealed that Richardson will receive a hefty $21.72 million signing bonus upfront, along with the customary fifth-year team option given to all first-round picks in the NFL. The announcement of Richardson's deal came shortly after the Colts also inked contracts with second-round cornerback JuJu Brents and fourth-round offensive tackle Blake Freeland. Brents secured a four-year deal, estimated at around $8.2 million, while Freeland's contract is expected to be approximately $4.6 million over four years. The smooth resolution of these contract negotiations was anticipated, given the rarity of rookie holdouts in recent years. The league has seen few high-profile holdouts since then, with one notable exception being Chargers' defensive end Joey Bosa, whose stalemate lasted deep into August. For the Colts, having all their rookies ready for training camp was crucial, particularly for their prized first-round quarterback, Anthony Richardson. The team's owner, Jim Irsay, has been vocal throughout the offseason about the importance of Richardson's development on the field, a sentiment echoed by the new Colts head coach, Shane Steichen, on draft night. However, despite the optimism surrounding Richardson's potential, a recent ranking by Pro Football Focus (PFF) has raised some eyebrows. PFF rated all 32 starting quarterbacks in the league, placing Richardson at the bottom of the list. This ranking has sparked debates and concerns among fans and analysts alike. PFF's assessment points out that Richardson's college performance in the SEC was less than stellar, with an overall grade of 80.3, ranking 38th in the nation. His rushing ability propped up his grade, which will need to continue as he transitions to the NFL. The article acknowledges that Richardson has landed with a head coach, Shane Steichen, who successfully developed Jalen Hurts, utilizing his limitless athleticism while honing his passing skills. While the ranking might seem harsh, it reflects genuine concerns about Richardson's readiness to take on the starting quarterback role immediately. Many experts believed that Richardson's best-case scenario would involve joining a team with an experienced veteran quarterback to guide his development. Gardner Minshew, who was acquired by the Colts, is sharing first-team reps with Richardson during summer OTAs, but it remains uncertain if he can keep Richardson on the bench in the long run. The Colts are hopeful that Richardson will make significant strides during the offseason, evolving into a confident and effective starting quarterback. However, the reality is that starting a rookie quarterback with limited experience could pose challenges and might not yield immediate success.

July 24, 2023

Following this past week's SEC Media Days and the release of the SEC preseason media poll, three Gators were named to the preseason All-SEC teams.

The media came out with their preseason ballots in Nashville this past week and, as expected, everyone has the Southeastern Conference coming down to an Alabama-Georgia showdown to win the championship. As expected, the media had the Florida Gators way down the pack at fifth in the SEC East. Georgia is clearly head and shoulders above everyone else in the East, but are Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky that much better than Florida? Over in the West, it’s the Nick Saban Revenge Tour with everyone else hoping to finish second. SEC Media predictions SEC East: 1. Georgia; 2. Tennessee; 3. South Carolina; 4. Kentucky; 5. FLORIDA; 6. Missouri; 7. Vanderbilt SEC West: 1. Alabama; 2. LSU; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Ole Miss; 5. Arkansas; 6. Auburn; 7. Mississippi State. Now, here are my thoughts team-by-team. East 1. Georgia The schedule: 9/2 UT-Martin; 9/9 Ball State; 9/16 South Carolina; 9/23 UAB; 9/30 at Auburn; 10/7 Kentucky; 10/14 at Vanderbilt; 10/28 FLORIDA in Jacksonville; 11/4 Missouri; 11/11 Ole Miss; 11/18 at Tennessee; 11/25 at Georgia Tech Georgia handled the pressure of repeating quite well last year. The pressure will be double this year as the Bulldogs try to make it three in a row. The schedule is largely cupcake but even if the Bulldogs played a decent schedule, they’ve got the talent and depth to handle it. A waltz through September will let Carson Beck get his feet wet at QB. Florida in Jacksonville could be tougher than expected. Ole Miss the week before the roadie to Tennessee could cause problems the next week in Knoxville. Prediction: Georgia won’t lose a game until it meets Alabama for the SEC championship. 2. Tennessee First month: 9/2 Virginia in Nashville; 9/9 Austin Peay; 9/16 at FLORIDA; 9/23 UT-San Antonio; 9/30 South Carolina; 10/14 Texas A&M; 10/21 at Alabama; 10/28 at Kentucky; 11/4 UConn; 11/11 at Missouri; 11/18 Georgia; 11/25 Vanderbilt We will get our first chance to see how good the Vols are going to be September 16 in Gainesville, where they haven’t won since Ron Zook’s second year on the job in 2003. Strange things happen in Gainesville (see the Heave to Cleve in 2017). If Joe Milton doesn’t get off to (a) a great start and (b) beats Florida and South Carolina in the month of September, then UT fans will be (c) screaming for freshman Nico Iamaleava to start against the Aggies on October 14. The Vols sneaked up everyone last year. This year, the pressure is on. Prediction: Iamaleava will be the starting QB by mid-October. This is an 8-4 team, 9-3 at best. 3. FLORIDA First month: 8/31 at Utah; 9/9 McNeese State; 9/16 Tennessee; 9/23 Charlotte; 9/30 at Kentucky; 10/7 Vanderbilt; 10/14 at South Carolina; 10/28 Georgia in Jacksonville; 11/4 Arkansas; 11/11 at LSU; 11/18 at Missouri; 11/25 Florida State It’s no secret what the Gators are going to do this year. They’re going to line up, knock people off the ball and control the clock. As good as the offensive line was last year, it is going to be better this year. Count on it. As bad as the defense was last year, it can’t get any worse. So, here’s the Florida formula that Billy Napier will use to win eight games in season two. Grind away with the running game, throw over the top when the box is loaded and when the defense goes on the field, bring every exotic blitz you can think of to create havoc. Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne will be as good a 1-2 running back punch as there is in the country and Teradja Mitchell will show everyone on defense why he was a captain at Ohio State last year. Prediction: This is a 7-8 win team. 4. Kentucky First month: 9/2 Ball State; 9/9 Eastern Kentucky; 9/16 Akron; 9/23 at Vanderbilt; 9/30 FLORIDA; 10/7 at Georgia; 10/14 Missouri; 10/28 Tennessee; 11/4 at Mississippi State; 11/11 Alabama; 11/18 at South Carolina; 11/25 Louisville Take a look at those first four games and you see why Kentucky was so adamantly opposed to a 9-game SEC schedule. UK should be two-thirds of the way to bowl eligibility before Florida comes to town. Do you understand now why Mark Stoops stays at UK even though every single year he can leave for jobs where he could actually win a championship? When you can go 6-6 every year and you won’t get fired, you stay put. Prediction: After a 4-0 start, the Wildcats will go 3-5 the rest of the way. 5. South Carolina First month: 9/2 North Carolina in Charlotte; 9/9 Furman; 9/16 at Georgia; 9/23 Mississippi State; 9/30 at Tennessee; 10/14 FLORIDA; 10/21 at Missouri; 10/28 at Texas A&M; 11/4 Jacksonville State; 11/11 Vanderbilt; 11/18 Kentucky; 11/25 Clemson Games are won in the trenches in the Southeastern Conference and that’s where South Carolina is going to struggle. Spencer Rattler has an NFL arm but he’ll have a sieve protecting him. The D-line couldn’t stop the run last year. It won’t stop anybody this year either. Game one against North Carolina and game three at Georgia are going to define the season for the Gamecocks. Prediction: Anything better than a 6-6 season will have Shane Beamer in the hunt for SEC coach of the year. 6. Missouri First month: 9/2 South Dakota; 9/9 Middle Tennessee; 9/16 Kansas State; 9/23 Memphis in St. Louis; 9/30 at Vanderbilt; 10/7 LSU; 10/14 at Kentucky; 10/21 South Carolina; 11/4 at Georgia; 11/11 Tennessee; 11/18 FLORIDA; 11/25 at Arkansas The defense should be very, very good if Eli Drinkwitz can keep everybody healthy because the depth behind the starters is iffy. Over on the offensive side of the football, the skill people are good but there are way too many questions in the trenches. The November schedule is absolutely brutal, too. Prediction: This is a 4-win team but five is possible if the Tigers can spring an upset along the way. Sixth in the East. 7. Vanderbilt First month: 8/26 Hawaii; 9/2 Alabama A&M; 9/9 Wake Forest; 9/16 at UNLV; 9/23 Kentucky; 9/30 Missouri; 10/7 at FLORIDA; 10/14 Georgia; 10/28 at Ole Miss; 11/4 Auburn; 11/11 South Carolina; 11/25 Tennessee Vanderbilt will be a better football team than last season because Clark Lea is a very good football coach. The record won’t show the progress, however. At Vandy, only those who take mind-altering drugs envision championships. Getting to six wins and going to a bowl game in an exotic locale such as Shreveport or Birmingham? That can be done. Just not this year. Vanderbilt will be a tough out for most everyone on the schedule. Prediction: A 4-8 record is likely. Clark Lea could be coach of the year if he wins five. Seventh in the East. West 1. Alabama First month: 9/2 Middle Tennessee; 9/9 Texas; 9/16 at South Florida; 9/23 Ole Miss; 9/30 at Mississippi State; 10/7 at Texas A&M; 10/14 Arkansas; 10/21 Tennessee; 11/4 LSU; 11/11 at Kentucky; 11/18 Chattanooga; 11/25 at Auburn Nick Saban hears all those “experts” saying his career has peaked all because (a) Georgia has won the last two national championships and (b) he goes into the fall without an established starting quarterback. The defense will be nasty. The O-line will be dominant. There are plenty of good running backs and the wide receivers will be better than anyone expected. Tennessee and LSU are at home. Revenge games. Prediction: Reports of Nick Saban’s demise are greatly exaggerated. The Revenge Tour will be a 12-0 regular season and a win over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. 2. LSU First month: 9/3 Florida State in Orlando; 9/9 Grambling; 9/16 Mississippi State; 9/23 Arkansas; 9/30 Ole Miss; 10/7 at Missouri; 10/14 Auburn; 10/21 Army; 11/4 at Alabama; 11/11 FLORIDA; 11/18 Georgia State; 11/25 Texas A&M That first game against Florida State will tell a lot about LSU. If the Tigers drop the hammer on FSU, they will be favored by double digits to win every game leading up to that November 4 showdown in Tuscaloosa against Alabama. Brian Kelly knows the Tigers have to do a better job of protecting QB Jayden Daniels this year (45 sacks allowed in 2022) and someone other than Daniels has to be able to run the football. Over on the defensive side they’ve got to get off the field better on third down. Harold Perkins Jr. is being hyped as the greatest pass rusher since Derrick Thomas used to terrorize QBs in the SEC. He needs to live up to the hype for LSU to have a chance to win the SEC West for a second straight year. Prediction: Kim Mulkey and Jay Johnson won national championships in their second years at LSU. The pressure is on Brian Kelly. A 10-2 regular season. Close but no cigar. 3. Ole Miss First month: 9/2 Mercer; 9/9 at Tulane; 9/16 Georgia Tech; 9/23 at Alabama; 9/30 LSU; 10/7 Arkansas; 10/21 at Auburn; 10/28 Vanderbilt; 11/4 Texas A&M; 11/11 at Georgia; 11/18 Louisiana-Monroe; 11/23 at Mississippi State This is the team absolutely NOBODY wants to play. Lane Kiffin has skill people running out the wazzoo including the best running back in the country in Quinshon Judkins. He’s got a beastly offensive line that gave up only 16 sacks last year while paving the way for 256 yards a game on the ground. He’s got two quarterbacks who could start for at least 10 of the 14 SEC teams. What scares everyone isn’t the offense, however. You know what you’re facing there. What scares everyone is the defense. What if the Rebels can actually get some stops? Yikes. Prediction: The Rebels will win at least eight games, nine if they can get a few defensive stops. They’re going to scare the hell out of everybody they play. 4. Texas A&M First month: 9/2 New Mexico; 9/9 at Miami; 9/16 Louisiana-Monroe; 9/23 Auburn; 9/30 Arkansas in Arlington, TX; 10/7 Alabama; 10/14 at Tennessee; 10/28 South Carolina; 11/4 at Ole Miss; 11/11 Mississippi State; 11/18 Abilene Christian; 11/25 at LSU From a pure talent standpoint, the Aggies have a roster capable of winning championships, but there are way too many questions starting with Jimbo Fisher’s relationship with offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. If they can get along, the Aggies might be very, very good. After all, they were so close last year when five of their seven losses were by six or fewer points. Will Petrino make enough of a difference that those close losses become wins? Or will this wind up in divorce court? If it does, then Jimbo will get a rather hefty alimony settlement himself at the end of the year. Back-to-back Arkansas and Alabama will tell us plenty. Prediction: The Aggies will go 8-4, Petrino will get fired and Jimbo will survive for one more year by the skin of his teeth. 5. Auburn First month: 9/2 UMass; 9/9 at California; 9/16 Samford; 9/23 at Texas A&M; 9/30 Georgia; 10/14 at LSU; 10/21 Ole Miss; 10/28 Mississippi State; 11/4 at Vanderbilt; 11/11 at Arkansas; 11/18 New Mexico State; 11/25 Alabama Hugh Freeze is back, his sins cleansed at Liberty. All the things that got him in trouble with the NCAA at Ole Miss are now legal and Auburn has far deeper pockets than Ole Miss. So, the long term future looks very good for a coach who’s the only currently active coach in the country with back-to-back wins over Nick Saban. The immediate future? Well, it may take awhile for Hugh to get the Tigers elevated to a championship level, but one thing you can count on: He will make it interesting in the interim and that includes this season. That stretch of Texas A&M< Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss won’t do Auburn any favors. Prediction: There are at least six wins on this schedule, maybe seven. 6. Arkansas First month: 9/2 Western Carolina in Little Rock; 9/9 Kent State; 9/16 BYU; 9/23 at LSU; 9/30 Texas A&M in Arlington, TX; 10/7 at Ole Miss; 10/14 at Alabama; 10/21 Mississippi State; 11/4 at FLORIDA; 11/11 Auburn; 11/18 Florida International; 11/25 at Missouri K.J. Jefferson might be the best quarterback in the SEC and Raheim Sanders ranks right there with Quinshon Judkins as the best running back. Arkansas is going to score points this year, but the Hogs are like Ole Miss in this respect: Can they actually stop anyone else from scoring? And, who’s going to get to opposing QBs now that all their best pass rushers have graduated? There is a new offensive coordinator (Dan Enos) and a new defensive coordinator (Travis Williams). They also have a 4-game gauntlet of LSU, Texas A&M Ole Miss and Alabama that could sink the season before the midway point. Prediction: The Hogs will struggle to win six games. Five is more likely. 7. Mississippi State First month: 9/2 Southeastern Louisiana; 9/9 Arizona; 9/16 LSU; 9/23 at South Carolina; 9/30 Alabama; 10/7 Western Carolina; 10/21 at Arkansas; 10/28 at Auburn; 11/4 Kentucky; 11/11 at Texas A&M; 11/18 Southern Miss; 11/23 Ole Miss Mike Leach is gone, replaced by Zach Arnett, a coach who everyone believes has a bright future, but it takes someone really special to win at Mississippi State. Dan Mullen and Leach did it because they could outscheme people with their offenses. Arnett is a defensive coach and he’s turning Mississippi State conventional on offense. We’ll see how that works. He’s got a stud QB in Will Rogers, but Rogers was a perfect Air Raid fit. Will he be as good in a conventional offense? Prediction: Four wins at the most. Three is more likely.

The Florida Gators took a big hit on Friday as news broke that sophomore offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin would be leaving the program as a result of a medical emergency within his family.

The Florida Gators' defensive backfield endured a roller-coaster ride during the 2022 season, but thanks to the combined efforts of defensive coordinator Patrick Toney and cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, it finished on an upward trajectory. As the Gators look ahead to the 2023 season, there's an air of anticipation surrounding their defensive backfield and hopes of even better performances.

Florida Gators' Head Coach Billy Napier spoke at SEC Media Day on Wednesday afternoon, addressing some of the questions that had been looming over the program this past offseason. Fresh off his 15th anniversary with his wife, Ali, Napier joked that he had been enjoying the "break" the offseason has to offer.

The Florida Gators took to the stand during Wednesday's SEC Media Days slate after things kicked off from Nashville on Monday. Representing the Orange & Blue this year was of course head coach Billy Napier, who was joined by wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun and cornerback Jason Marshall.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: