A Frightening Thought: The Loser Of Saturday's Game In The Swamp Will Be 0-3 In SEC Play “I think we’re a lot closer. I think when you lose football games it becomes a little bit more real. It stings a little bit. We’ve played losing football sometimes and ultimately it has cost us games.” – Billy Napier I took a look at the SEC standings the other day. Alabama is great at football. Georgia is getting better and maybe approaching greatness. The rest of the SEC? Well, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Mississippi State are all trending upward. LSU? I have no clue. Brian Kelly’s team, unbeaten in league play, is leading the SEC. Florida? Tied for dead last. Meanwhile, has A&M dropped out, or what? Therein lies the conundrum. How to measure what we see, or don’t see. The standings sometimes do skew accuracy. And yet it’s right there in black and white: The Florida Gators are losers, without an SEC win. Although they are now above .500 overall as they head into homecoming with Missouri and favored by 11 points, this is an imminently losable game to a virtual SEC bottom-feeder. That’s harsh reality. Wasn’t it just a week ago that Paul Finebaum was running a poll about which would be the “worst team in the SEC” after Auburn played Missouri? (Missouri lost on a last-second chip shot field goal miss, 17-14). More of that ugly harsh reality is that the loser of Saturday’s game at The Swamp will be 0-3. To take another step into darkness, should the Gators lose, it would be their seventh consecutive loss in the SEC -- a dubious feat equalled only in the inglorious post-World War II "Golden Era." It’s getting down to the time when we must separate the winners from the losers. And the only way to do that is look at the results of the games. The Florida Gators are in limbo, despite a respectable start to the most difficult September in America in which they were pitted against three ranked teams. Still, as the old line used to be, “parts is parts,” and “losses is losses.” It took a question by GatorBait colleague Franz Beard to Napier to drive that point home when he asked the Gator coach for a progress report. “I think we’re a lot closer,” Napier told Franz. “I think when you lose football games it becomes a little bit more real. It stings a little bit. We’ve played losing football sometimes and ultimately it has cost us games.” “Losing football.” Right there is that term that causes Dan Mullen-type flashbacks. I was pretty much all-in on Mullen through two seasons. It hit me in 2021 that things were about to go the wrong way when friend Lee McGriff provided me with valuable insight. About to speak to the Ocala Quarterback Club, McGriff heeded that Mullen was only going to be 3-3 even if he defeated Vanderbilt and was perilously close to a losing record if his team was upset by underdog LSU. He was, and the severity of it was underscored by the ugly shoe-throwing incident that began the downward spiral that resulted in his Humpty-Dumpty fall from grace. What finished Mullen off was the home loss to Missouri, his questionable conduct at halftime and post-game which were unbecoming of a Gator coach. And we didn’t know all that much at that point about the NCAA-issued show-cause for his hushed-up recruiting violation. The point is, while we were lavishing Mullen with praise, projecting him as the probable savior of the slumping UF program, it was cratering beneath him. Some of us missed that – ALL of us missed that. In the interest of a more cautious observance – the “let’s not fall in love on the first date” approach with the new coach -- we pause at the halfway mark to assess where Billy Napier resides on his scale of success. Which is not to say Billy Napier is failing, but up until now he has yet to meet his objective. There is this recent new term for evaluating a program: “Trajectory.” Here’s one way to project that: Would you rather be an Aggie or a Gator right now? What started out as a Las Vegas-projected 7½ win season has settled in right about in that spot so far. You could see the Gators winning five of their last seven. Eight wins look do-able, with Georgia as a likely “L” and maybe either LSU or Texas A&M. The Aggies look beatable, but because it’s a road game that comes the week after a brutally physical game against Georgia, it’s going to be challenging. And Jimbo Fisher will have his offense playing better by then. What’s key here is to remember that old HBC coaching cliché, “the most important game of the season is always the one you play next.” Missouri may not be a favorable Florida matchup, given the way Eli Drinkwitz was able to pound both Georgia lines of scrimmages last game and the proclivity Andrew Toney’s defense has for getting gashed with his “bend but don’t break” defense. Meanwhile, there is a feel-good atmosphere around the UF football program. Among other things, they rolled out some of the positive results from the GatorMade program designed to help young athletes engage in the community. Ventrell Miller’s new foundation and “Millerville” project designed to aid Southwest Florida victims was highlighted most impressively. The theme behind all of these off-field, out-of-class efforts is the molding of character and maturity to prepare young men for life after football – or without football. Napier encourages them to be prepared for that day and instead of making a goal for a pro career as Plan A, to make it Plan B. Plan A is life. As much as we all embrace these values and salute Billy Napier’s commitment to the cause, however, college football still must be about winning games. Vanderbilt’s spectacular academic program is noble and worthy, so the Commodore football record gets winked at. At Florida, winning football games takes precedence over character building, although we’d like to think UF could have both. And it loves to brag on being a Top Five public university. But the people who write checks also want a Top Five football ranking. Right about now I am wondering what new guidelines and policies will be invoked with the installation of U.S. Senator Dr. Ben Sasse soon as the 13th president of the University of Florida. Meanwhile, it was encouraging to see some of the smiling faces after the win over lightweight Eastern Washington. Because of early dominance by the starters and big chunk plays, Napier could substitute freely in the second half. Eighty-one Gator players made the field. We saw enough to convince us that Jalen Kitna can take snaps behind Anthony Richardson if Jack Miller isn’t ready. Justin Shorter and Richardson brought back the deep ball. Ricky Pearsall’s execution of breakaway running was impressive. Those are positive signs. The question is: Were they an aberration or can they become part of Billy Napier’s toolbox? This is the stuff of winners. The stuff that can begin to erode that ugly black-and-white 0-2 in the standings next to the word “Florida.”

By Franz Beard - Gator Bait Media “Better people make better football players” – Billy Napier At some point – for some sooner and others later – reality will grab the lapels of the approximately 125 scholarship and walk-ons at the University of Florida and shake them with the cold, hard fact that their football playing days are over and done with. The handful that extend their careers beyond Florida to play in the NFL know their time in the league is limited. The average career is four years. Some play longer, but from the moment they go to their first training camp, their days are numbered. For the vast majority of Gators, there will be no NFL but just like their talented brothers who play professionally, they will be faced with dealing with whatever is next. Billy Napier, who played quarterback at Furman in the Southern Conference of what is known today as the Football Championship Series, understands all too well that the opportunities to play at the next level are extremely limited. Of the 262 players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, only 20 were from FCS schools and only five were taken from Division II. Even for players at a high profile Division I school like Florida, the odds are stacked against a professional career. Each year, more than 4,000 Division I players either use up their eligibility or leave early for the NFL. You can do the math. There is less than one percent chance a Division I player gets taken. Napier was fortunate when he graduated from Furman. The son of a Georgia legend of a high school football coach, he already knew what he wanted to do and was very well prepared when it was time to hang up his cleats. He wanted to be a football coach. He had a degree and the willingness to start at the bottom to climb the coaching ranks until now when he’s the head coach at the University of Florida. In his 20 years since entering the coaching business, he’s come to understand a couple of basic facts: (1) If you’re not getting the kids you coach ready for life after football, then you’re doing them a tremendous disservice; and (2) if you invest the time and effort into turning them into better people, it will pay off on the football field. This notion that a head coach has a far-reaching impact on the lives of his players is why there is such a thing as the GatorMade program, which occupies prominent space on the second floor of the new Heavener Football Facility. Napier believes that football is only a part of the overall equation, that he owes it to the kids who come to play for the Gators and their parents to send a kid out into the world better off than when he arrived at UF. Prominent in this effort is the GatorMade division of the “army” Napier promised back in December when he became Florida’s football coach. Led by Savannah Bailey, who is assisted by Vernell Brown Jr., Marcus Castro-Walker and Diane Lebon, GatorMade is there for every player whether scholarship or walk-on. Former Florida center and ultra-successful business exec Mike Ricketts knows what a life-changing experience football can be, which is why he made a significant investment into the program whose function it is to change lives while preparing players for the inevitable, that day when, like it or not, they know it’s time to turn the page for the next chapter in life. “We want to equip and educate the players,” Napier said at his Wednesday press briefing after the Gators had finished their last full contact practice for Saturday’s close encounter with Missouri. “We want to create experiences for the players, ultimately that changes and impacts lives for the better. Hopefully these young men leave here more prepared for life after ball.” Far too many kids when they are being recruited are sold this bill of goods that college football is akin to changing planes in Atlanta. It’s just a stopping off point in the journey to the National Football League. It’s called selling the dream, and far too many kids learn too late that they have little or no chance to turn their dream into reality. At some point the kids realize that while they were studs in high school, college football is played at an entirely different level and the NFL is only for the best of the best, the one percent of the one percent as Urban Meyer used to describe it. Some kids arrive on campus understanding they’ll never make it to the NFL. For others who have dreamed the dream since they were kids just starting to play, there is that unexpected wakeup call. If a school is doing it the right way, that dreamer will have help transitioning to something meaningful when football days end. Schools that are doing it the right way also invest in the kids who will have a chance to fulfill their dreams by playing on Sunday. They, too, will one day see their playing days come to an end so they have to be prepared to adjust to civilian life. Preparing kids for the future is only a portion of what GatorMade is all about. It’s also about preparing them for the here and now, the small things in life that we’ll never see like balancing a checkbook or buying insurance for a car or a hundred other things that are part of daily life. Helping football players develop the skills to handle even the situations of a daily routine eliminate the kind of distractions that can keep a kid from focusing on the practice or playing field. When a kid learns one of these new skills and becomes more accountable, it is a victory. To Savannah Bailey, who spent five years as the director of life skills and community service for Dabo Swinney at Clemson, the little victories that aren’t necessarily football-related are reasons to celebrate. “There could be the guy who is late constantly, but he’s there a minute early, great!” she said. “That is progress! I’ll take it! It’s just one of those kind of things. You celebrate all of the things in their accomplishments, all the progress that they make. It’s not just a football-related thing. It’s how do you keep them encouraged in the small details because all the small details add up.” The small details off the playing field have a way of manifesting themselves on the playing field. That player who has been in the habit of arriving late, hustles to be on time to a meeting. During the game, he hustles to get on and off the field. How important is that? Think back to the SEC Championship Game against Alabama in 2020. On a third-and-eight at the Alabama 43, a Florida player didn’t hustle off the field just as Mac Jones threw an incompletion. Florida was flagged, giving Alabama a third-and-three do-over rather than a fourth-and-eight punt. Bama converted the third down, drove nine more plays while taking nearly four more minutes off the clock before scoring a touchdown. Florida lost that game, 52-46. A few seconds of hustle, an Alabama touchdown is eliminated and perhaps the Florida Gators win the Southeastern Conference championship. Another part of the program is bringing in motivational speakers like Inky Johnson, a former Tennessee cornerback whose playing career ended with an injury that left his right arm permanently paralyzed. Johnson got his degree and has become an in-demand motivational speaker. When he spoke to the Gators recently, it had a far-reaching impact on the entire team. “Inky was a really cool guy,” tight end Keon Zipperer said. “I watched him growing up. I always watched the one little video about how his career went. Seeing him in person, like, amazed me a little bit. I just, like, damn. It’s real. Stuff can happen in football. Your career can end like that. So from that, I took, each and every play, I try to give it my all, because you never know when your time is up.” With the assistance of the GatorMade staff, linebacker Ventrell Miller is using his NIL money, name recognition and platform to form the Ventrell Miller Foundation. He’s using the foundation to raise money for victims of Hurricane Ian who have lost their homes and livelihood. There is the Service Abroad program that did a trip to Greece back in the summer. For wide receiver Justin Shorter, his eyes were opened up to life in a different country and a culture he knew nothing about. He raves about the experience. “I had my favorite life experience I've ever had,” Shorter said. “Just changed my whole perspective on life, really how I look at things … I feel like that's definitely a program that's going to help a lot of boys become men in this program, which is I feel like a lot of us need.” It was Shorter’s first time outside the United States. It was a short but valuable experience. “Really just seeing something else, seeing how other people live, someone else's culture for a change … That really opened my eyes up,” he said. “I was kind of like, whoa!” Napier said there has already been the GatorMade Atlanta Business Break and next year (2023) there will be a trip to New York City. “I’m different because of the people I've met along the way, the people I've listened to along the way, and the experiences that I've had,” Napier said. Napier sees preparing players for life after football as one of his main missions, but the fact is, he’s paid quite handsomely to prepare his players to win football games. He sees a direct correlation between investing in the lives of his players and the amount of time and effort it takes to develop them into football players who can win games. It’s all part of his own version of the Nick Saban made famous “Process.” In the Napier version, there is a Plan A and a Plan B. “I think Plan A should be the degree, the education, the experience, the skill set, the connections, right, the career, who I am as a person, my character,” Napier said. “I think Plan B is the National Football League. Sometimes we obviously have to paint that picture in a little bit different way, but I firmly believe that football is a game that can teach a lot of lessons about life.” No other game requires football’s emphasis on teamwork. On any given play it is 11 players working together as a single unit. In a game it is sometimes 50-60 players, all with a job to do, but functioning as a team. In practice, it is the starters, the reserves, the redshirts, the walk-ons all working together with the idea of getting better every single day. It is a game that demands accountability, not just from the players but from the coaches and support staff. Coaches demand accountability from the players. Players should demand accountability from the coaches as well. And when there is accountability on all sides, the result is better people and better players which will translate into winning football. “I think it does show up on the field,” Napier said. “That would be my opinion. I think that trust factor, knowing that you've got a plan for them, knowing that you care for them, knowing that you're investing for them … I think ultimately that ends up paying you back in some form or fashion along the way.” Accountability. Investing in the lives of players. Getting them to focus on what’s right. Expanding their horizons to show that there is a whole world out there waiting to be conquered once football is in the rearview. It is also about players taking the time to do what’s best for their own future. “It’s them investing in themselves,” Savannah Bailey said. “Football is just a tool for life. It is not something you rely on your whole life but you can use it to power yourself through many, many doors.” After all, there are 470,000 University of Florida alumni. The Gator Nation is very large, very real and an asset available for every football player. When playing days are done, the Gator Nation can open doors of opportunity. Doors of opportunity is what GatorMade is all about. “I think this is more of a complete, holistic investment into making them the absolute best person, student and football player they can be,” Napier said. “I mean, I think we're making significant impact. We've seen young men change for the better. I think they're more prepared than maybe they would have been without it.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: Depending on your frame of reference, the Missouri Tigers (2-3, 0-2 SEC) are either a very dangerous team that is better than their record or else they’re pretty bad and last week’s close encounter with Georgia is more about Georgia playing poorly (or bored) than Missouri playing well. Of course, we can say something similar about the Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC), whose record could be anything from 5-0 to 1-4 right now. Both Florida losses were giveaways, games the Gators could have won if they hadn’t committed one dumb mistake after another. Of course, you could say the same thing about two of Florida’s three wins. The Gators did everything but give away the wins over Utah and South Florida. Only the win over Eastern Washington was a no-doubter, and well it should have been since the Eagles are So maybe we should call Saturday’s homecoming encounter with Mizzou at The Swamp a woulda, coulda, shoulda game. Both teams think they woulda, coulda and shoulda done much better in their five previous games. That brings us to this one and the question has to be which team will show up? Will it be the Missouri team that had Georgia on the ropes or the one that got its doors blown off by K-State? Or maybe the team that did everything right but win on the road at Auburn? And which Florida team is going to show up? The Gators played good enough defense to beat Kentucky but they gave the Wildcats 23 of their points in a 26-16 loss. Gators ran the ball all over Utah and lit up Tennessee in the passing game. They were fortunate to beat Utah. Tennessee was fortunate to beat the Gators. In both those games the defense was somewhat of a no-show. For Missouri to win Saturday, the Tigers are going to have to run the football and run it consistently, something they haven’t done in any of their three losses. For Florida to win, the Gators are going to have to balance out the offense and probably more important, play with the lead. One way to keep the Tigers from running the ball is to combine some early touchdowns with a few stops to force them to throw the ball. It’s hard to win games on the road when you can’t run the football with any consistency. The Gators can expect Missouri’s defense to focus on clogging up the running lanes, therefore forcing Anthony Richardson to win the game with his arm. It’s a strategy Tennessee used with some success against the run only to have Richardson torch the Vols for 453 passing yards. If Richardson can hit some throws early to Justin Shorter and Ricky Pearsall, then the Tigers will have to loosen up that run strategy. If Richardson can get outside the tackles with run-pass options, Florida can open this game up in a hurry. Defensively, Florida has to make the Tigers one-dimensional by taking the out the running game. When Mizzou has to throw on every down, the Gators have to (1) set the edge to keep the QB from getting outside and (2) the safeties can’t forget their assignments. This is a very winnable game, but it’s dangerous if the Gators leave a substantial portion of their game back in the locker room. The expectation here is that Richardson puts up Tennessee numbers and the defense makes progress. The Sayer says sooth!: FLORIDA 34, Misery Index 17 The SEC Soothsayer Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) at No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Just four days before the Texas A&M Aggies played their first SEC football game against the Florida Gators on September 8, 2012, Melissa Etheridge released the song “Just What You Asked For.” The Aggies wanted to be in the SEC and they got exactly what they asked for. Here we are, 10 years and still no SEC or West Division championships later, and the Aggies have another one of those just what they asked for moments. Back in the summer Jimbo and the Aggies were all but begging for Big Bad Bama. Well, sometimes you get what you ask for. Jimbo should pray for St. Nick the Merciful. Nick probably asks God to allow him to be the instrument of his vengeance. The Sayer says sooth!: Paybacks Are Hell 38, Mercy Mercy Me 10 Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC) at No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Under normal circumstances, this would be as good a week as any for those zany Auburn boosters to fire their coach. They would love for Bryan Harsin to say “Take This Job and Shove It” but that would mean walking away from an $18 million buyout. The man may be a lot of things, but crazy isn’t one of them. Is he crazy enough to beat Georgia Saturday? The Poodles might be the most unimpressive 29.5-point favorite in recent member. Imagine the state of mind in the Peach State if they lose or have to win a white knuckler. The Sayer says sooth!: Widespread Panic 30, Waiting for the Axe to Fall 17 No. 8 Tennessee (5-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 25 LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC): You would be amazed at how many people – many probably from the state of Louisiana – who think the R.E.M hit “Man on the Moon” is about faking Neal Armstrong’s walk on the moon in 1969. A conspiracy, they’ll tell you. Many of those same folks probably think CBS and ESPN are engaged in a more sinister conspiracy theory because instead of playing Tennessee at night, the LSU Tigers have to play the Vols in broad daylight, a game that will start at 11 a.m. in Red Stick. Tiger Stadium is rather formidable after dark when 100,000 liquored up Cajuns are trying to scream themselves sober so they can start drinking again right after LSU wins. At 11 a.m. they’ll all be hung over from drinking the night away while listening to Rufus Jaganeaux croon “Opelousas Sostan” so they won’t be nearly as loud or obnoxious. Win this one and every still in East Tennessee will be going 24/7 to produce enough sour mash for the masses next week when Big Bad Bama comes to Neyland. The Sayer says sooth!: Chug-a-lug Chug-a-lug 34, Conspiracy Theory 21 No. 9 Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC): Gloria Vanderbilt has already won three games this year, which is one more than the previous two seasons combined. So, that’s progress! Of course none of these wins have been against SEC opponents. They’ve lost their last 22 SEC games, but as Dusty Springfield sang back in the 1960s, “Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’” … it will take all that and more to beat Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss Saturday. The way the Rebels are running the ball and playing defense, there’s every good chance they’ll be 9-0 on November 12 when Big Bad Bama stops in for a swell time in The Grove. The spread is 17. It won’t be that close. The Sayer says sooth!: No horse shoes or hand grenades necessary 35, Designer Blue Jeans 10 South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC) at No. 13 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Miles Nielsen wrote a song called “Kentucky (You’re Killing Me).” Wildcat fans can relate after they fumbled the ball away deep in Ole Miss territory on their final two possessions, missed an extra point and had a field goal blocked, all in a 3-point loss to the Rebels. Florida fans can also relate. The Gators gave away their game with UK in Gainesville so depending on how you look at things, UK could be 3-2, 4-1 or 5-0, depending on your perspective. Saturday, the South Carolina Gamecocks travel to the state that gave us Kentucky Fried Chicken. Fans in Lexington have to be asking which UK team will bother to show up. The Sayer says sooth!: Colonel Sanders 24, Chicken Fricassee 17 Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC) at No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC): There is potentially bad news, very bad news and even worse news for the boys from Fayette Nam. First the potentially bad news. QB KJ Jefferson still hasn’t been cleared from concussion protocol, but perhaps he will be. Potentially bad transforms to good if he can play although you have to wonder would Arkansas take that kind of chance after what happened to Tua a couple of weeks ago. The really bad news and this is really bad news. The Hogs’ secondary should be nicknamed The Burnt Ends. The even worse news. Mississippi State QB Will Rogers has already thrown for 19 TDPs this year and he completes 73 percent of his passes. The Sayer says sooth!: More Cowbell Please 28, Pulled Pork 14 Our SEC orphans in the Big 12 Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) vs. Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) in Dallas: The Man with the Million Dollar Mullet is back for Texas, complete with a brand new NIL deal that will keep his Ferrari gassed up. He’s very cocky but as Texas philosopher Kinky Friedman once said, “If you have the choice between humble and cocky, go with cocky. There’s always time to be humble later.” If Dillon Gabriel doesn’t play, the Okies haven’t a chance. Judging by their defense last week against TCU, they may not have a chance even if he does play. The Longhorns aren’t all that good, but right now they look better than the folks from Norman. The Sayer says sooth!: Achy Breaky Mullet 38, Norman is that you? 28 Football played somewhere other than the SEC No. 18 UCLA (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12): The Bruins play their home games in the Rose Bowl (capacity 92,000) in Pasadena, some 25 miles from the UCLA campus in Westwood. In four home games so far, the Bruins have drawn 131,557 fans, an average of 32,889 per game. They play No. 11 Utah (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) at the Rose Bowl Saturday in one of only matchups in the country where both teams are ranked. It may be an upset if the stadium is more than half-full. No. 19 Kansas (5-0, 2-0 Big 12): The ESPN Game Day crew will be in Lawrence for the matchup with No. 17 TCU (4-0, 2-0 Big 12). With a win, Kansas can be bowl eligible for the first time since 2008. When Kansas gets its sixth win of the season it will be one more than the three previous seasons COMBINED. No. 6 Southern California (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12): The Trojans are 13-point favorites to whip up on their country cousins from the Paloose, aka Washington State (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12). Keep a close eye on this one because (a) Wazzoo’s pass rush (18 sacks) is fierce and (b) Cameron Ward is lightning in a bottle if he can avoid turning the ball over. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: A week ago Mike Leach was offering marriage advice to an SEC Network sideline reporter, suggesting she elope rather than deal with all the hassles of a big wedding. Leach, who has a law degree from Pepperdine, has opinions about nearly everything. He’s funny so often that folks don’t necessarily know when to take him seriously. One thing for certain, he’s serious about the future of college football. Speaking to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, Leach suggested earlier in the week that it’s time to categorize college football players into two groups – amateurs and professionals. He thinks the amateurs should be able to transfer freely and should be given a $100,000 bonus if they stay their entire career at one school. Professionals, he believes, should be paid a salary and can be traded and cut. He believes in salary pools where schools are limited in their spending. It sounds quirky, but then again, Mike Leach is a quirky kind of guy. Maybe his ideas aren’t so far-fetched however. Did you ever think 10 years ago that we would have what amounts to free agency and kids getting NIL deals for millions of dollars even before they play a game?

"Florida and Missouri are two teams looking in the same direction. Both have former Sun Belt Conference Coaches of the Year looking to bring their programs to or back to prominence. Florida has been shackled by a defense that despite some pieces cannot string it all together with consistency. While Missouri has not been able to dial up big plays at crucial times offensively." By LOREN MEADOWS GatorBaitMedia.com Football Analyst Both teams go looking for their first conference victories Saturday as the Florida Gators welcome the Missouri Tigers to The Swamp for an SEC East showdown and UF homecoming. Billy Napier and staff will look to continue the development of his improving team. Missouri has played two physical, heartbreaking games against conference foes the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, the Tigers salted away a 17-14 loss at Auburn before returning home and nearly upsetting defending national champion Georgia. Missouri led for over three quarters but scored only one touchdown to fall 26-22. With two very different but emotional losses, what type of Missouri team will arrive in Gainesville? Will two near misses keep the Tigers hungry for a win, or will a second trip in three weeks to a hostile environment be too much for Missouri? In both cases the Gators will look to take control what they can. Reestablishing the running game and getting a defense under construction to round into form. Missouri Offense: Quarterback Brady Cook (#12, 6-2, 203) will lead the Missouri offense into The Swamp on Saturday. Through five games Cook has also shown an inability to drive the ball down the field with a pedestrian 7.1 yards per attempt. His completion percentage is a respectable 63.1 percent however he has thrown only two touchdowns against FCS opponents. Not the most explosive runner Cook can extend plays and throw on the run, which hurt Georgia at times in last weeks’ contest. In the run game Missouri has 4 returning starters on the offensive line along with two transfer backs to bolster the attack. At running back, Nathanial Peat (Stanford), and Cody Schrader (Truman State) have earned most of the carries. Peat (#8, 5-10, 198) is a Columbia, Missouri native who led the Pac-12 in kickoff returns in 2021. Schrader (#20, 5-9, 217) led all of Division II in rushing a year ago. Of the four returning offensive lineman, left tackle Javon Foster (#76, 6-5, 319) is the best of the group and a polished run blocker. The receiver group is a collection of solid players made up of Dominic Lovett (#7, 5-10, 187), Tauskie Dove#1, 6-2, 198), Barret Bannister (#11 6-0, 196), and freshman Luther Burden (#3, 5-11, 210). Former high school teammates, Lovett averages 17 yards per catch in the slot while Burden was the #1 receiver in the Class of 2022. Lovett however is questionable this week with a lower leg injury. While there are weapons to be excited about, Missouri has underperformed offensively to this point in 2022. Nationally the Tigers rank 90th in total offense, 89th in scoring offense, and 102nd in passing offense. Welcome news for a Gator defense that despite a solid scheme and staff is ranked 108th in Total Defense. The Gators are ranked 77th in Scoring Defense, so while they do give up a ton of yards, they are forcing turnovers and four-and-outs late in drives. For the fourth time this season the Gators will face an offense that threatens your eye discipline on every play, by now they should be used to it. The Gators are not very strong against the run but young players such as Desmond Watson (#21) and Chris McLellan (#7) seem to get better every week. The matchup between the Missouri receivers and the Florida secondary will be fun to watch as both groups are talented but have had their issues. Eli Drinkwitz calls Brenton Cox Jr. and Ventrell Miller the “most disruptive player” and “best linebacker” the Tigers have played all year. It will be these two that make the difference as the elder statesmen look to handle the Tigers offense. Missouri Defense: Ranked 39th nationally, the Missouri defense will head to Gainesville with a lot of confidence. Despite giving up 481 total yards, the Tigers defense was able to register 2 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, and 7 hurries last week against Georgia and is led by a trio of solid defenders. True to the stats, two of the main culprits are defensive ends Isaiah McGuire (#9, 6-4, 272) and Trajan Jeffcoat (#18, 6-4, 277). The duo has combined for 5.5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. The third name will be familiar to Gator fans as linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (#8, 6-2, 220) will return to The Swamp after transferring to Missouri following the 2021 season. Hopper started four games for the Gators in 2021 and this season has totaled 32 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks which is tied for the team lead. Hopper could be tasked with “spying” Anthony Richardson at times on Saturday which in an interesting matchup. On the back end, Missouri has two solid safeties in Martez Manuel and Jaylon Carlies. Manuel (#3, 6-0, 213), is another homegrown talent with great top end speed. Carlies (#1, 6-3, 215) had a breakout game against Georgia last week totaling 13 tackles, 2.5 for loss). New defensive coordinator Blake Baker will be tasked with slowing down a Florida offense that seems to be finding its way. Anthony Richardson is coming off of back-to-back 200-yard passing games while leading all SEC quarterbacks with 5 rushing touchdowns. With Manuel and Carlies Missouri has the safeties to crowd the line and force Anthony Richardson and Florida to earn it through the air. This should allow Florida to run play-action passes as well as look to involve Richardson in the running game. The Missouri defensive line played well last week, however the Florida offensive line has only surrendered three sacks all season and right guard O’Cyrus Torrence is the nation’s highest rated guard in the country per pro football focus. I give Florida the advantage. Ultimately, Missouri will employ what has been the blueprint since Week 1 against the Florida offense. Crowd the box, keep Anthony Richardson in the pocket and force him to make consistent throws down the field. So far two of three teams have been victorious with this formula. The Skinny: Florida and Missouri are two teams headed in the same direction. Both have former Sun Belt Conference Coaches of the Year looking to bring their programs to or back to prominence. Florida has been shackled by a defense that despite some pieces cannot string it all together with consistency. While Missouri has not been able to dial up big plays at crucial times offensively. In most cases this would mean that we are in for a sloppy low scoring contest this weekend. However, Florida seems to be handing its new quarterback, and playmakers more of the offense each week and the execution and organizations seems to be improving. This means that the talent is free to play without thinking and Florida could be poised for a big day Saturday. This could have been labeled “Revenge of the Sith” after Drinkwitz comments following the Tigers win last season. Unfortunately, Darth Vader is gone but many of the Gators that played in the game are not. Missouri has struggled on the road at Kansas State and Auburn and The Swamp will be rocking. Between an improving Anthony Richardson and many of the enthusiastic Florida alumni at The Swamp, that’s too much for Missouri to handle. Richardson throws for two, runs for one. Gators get another pick six and the win. Prediction: Florida 31 Missouri 17

In D1Baseball’s annual ranking of the top programs in the nation, Florida landed as the No. 4 college baseball program. By KYLE CURTIS GatorBaitMedia.com While Billy Napier and his squad have been dominating storylines in the Gators sports world, and rightfully so, baseball season is right around the corner. In D1Baseball’s annual ranking of the top programs in the nation, Florida landed as the No. 4 college baseball program. This is Florida’s second-straight time being recognized by D1Baseball as a top-five program. Back in 2019, Florida was awarded the No. 1 overall ranking. D1Baseball’s ultimate goal by these rankings is to determine what programs are in the best shape to not only succeed now but also within the next five to 10 years. Success over the past decade and a half has been due to the efforts of head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who arrived in Gainesville in 2008 and has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in college baseball. Since his arrival, he has led the Gators to the NCAA Tournament every season for a program record of 14 consecutive appearances. During those 14 seasons, the Gators have the most top-eight national seeds (nine), Super Regionals hosted (eight) and College World Series appearances (seven). O’Sullivan also brought Florida their lone baseball National Championship when he defeated LSU in 2017. On top of the national championship, Florida has also dominated conference play under O’Sullivan’s regime. Over the last 15 seasons, Florida has an overall record of 627-302 (.675) including 257-162 in the Southeastern Conferences. In the most dominant conference in college baseball, the Gators have managed to gather five SEC championships during O’Sullivan’s era. On top of team success, O’Sullivan has also proved that individual success can be gained while going through his program. Since 2008, Florida has placed the most players in the MLB with 33. Of those 33, 29 were coached by O’Sullivan. Along with making it to The Show, the Gators have also done exceptionally well getting their players drafted. Under O’Sullivan, the Gators have an astounding 99 MLB Draft picks. Since 2008, Florida has had 11 first-round draft picks along with 20 pitchers being chosen in the first five rounds. The Gator standard has been set at a high level with Kevin O’Sullivan at the reins. The Florida baseball starts Oct. 9 with exhibition games against Georgia in Jacksonville and Stetson in Gainesville.

“That feels like a long time ago,” Napier said when referring to his and Drinkwitz's previous matchups. BY: KYLE CURTIS GatorBaitMedia.com Florida is set to face the Missouri Tigers this upcoming weekend for the annual homecoming match. Last week, the Gators made history by becoming the first collegiate program that started in the 20th century to win 750 games. This week though, the Gators are looking for revenge after last year's defeat to Missouri that ultimately cost Dan Mullen his job. Florida is also looking to avoid a streak that hasn’t been mentioned in over 70 years. The Gators will go into Saturday looking to avoid losing their seventh straight SEC matchup, something that has not occurred since 1945-1947 when the Gators lost 11 straight SEC games. The losing streak dates back to Halloween of last year against Georgia. Nonetheless, despite the big picture, the Gators will have to find a way to overcome last year’s heartbreaking one-point overtime loss. The overtime defeat was the only time Florida has been in an overtime matchup over the last 83 games. All time, this will be the Gator's 12th all-time matchup between Florida and Missouri while this is the Tigers’ sixth time in Gainesville. Historically, Missouri has had the slight upper hand on Florida with a record of 6-5, although the Gators have the edge at home with three games won while only losing two. As SEC members, the two schools are 5-5. Despite last year’s barnburner of a game, where Missouri’s Tyler Badder tore the Gator's D-line apart with 146 yards on the ground, this has not been a close series historically. Not including the 24-23 matchup from last year, each of the last eight matchups in this series has been decided by 17 or more points (2013-2020). Both head coaches also have some history with past success in the Sun Belt Conference. This is the third time that Billy Napier and Elijah Drinkwitz will meet as head coaches. Drinkwitz has had success against Napier in the past going 2-0 at Appalachian State during Napier’s tenure at Louisiana. “That feels like a long time ago,” Napier said when referring to his and Drinkwitz's previous matchups. Coming off a week where the Gators were forced to move their game against Eastern Washington to Sunday due to Hurricane Ian, that gave the Gators one less day to prepare. “This isn’t something new,” Napier said. “Back at Louisiana and having those Friday games gave us a script for how a shortened game week looks like.” During his head coaching career, Napier is 4-0 in games where the games were played with less than one week of prep. A familiar face will also be returning to the field Saturday, just not in the orange and blue. Linebacker, Ty’Ron Hopper, will be back in The Swamp after transferring to Missouri in the offseason after the departure of Dan Mullen. Hopper had 62 tackles last year and was poised to have another big year for the Gators if he had chosen to stay. “We certainly would have loved to have him on our team,” Napier said on Hopper. “He’s a good player.” Since joining the Tigers, Hopper has emerged as one of the premiere linebackers in all the SEC. He is currently third in the SEC in tackles for loss with 7.5 along with 32 tackles, two sacks, an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Nonetheless, Hopper’s old teammates are ready to compete against him. “I think it just brings more fuel to the fire,” Ventral Miller said Wednesday on Hopper’s return. “I hated to see him go. But since it’s down to rival teams now, I think it just brings more fuel, to show up and dominate.” Quarterback Anthony Richardson has also found his stride after having a roller-coaster start. He is coming off back-to-back 200-yard passing games - the first two of his career. Over those two games, Richardson threw for 693 yards and four touchdowns while adding 107 yards and two more scores on the ground. Richardson’s five rushing touchdowns through five games lead the SEC and is tied for fourth in the whole FBS. Offensive-line Coach Robert Sale and his unit have gotten off to a strong start. Sale’s unit has allowed just three sacks throughout the season which ranks as the second-best in the SEC. This unit is led by pre-season all-American O’Cyrus Torrence who is currently the top-rated guard in the country with a 91.1 grade, according to ProFootballFocus.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: VENTRELL MILLER IS A DIFFERENCE MAKER “Ventrell Miller is as good a human being as I’ve been around,” Florida coach Billy Napier says about his tackling machine inside linebacker who three days ago started The Ventrell Miller Foundation to raise money for victims of Hurricane Ian. “What makes him special to me is he actually has significant care for other people. I mean, he’s walking around living life and he’s got enough wisdom and perspective to realize that there’s other people out there and he’s not consumed with himself. He's actually thinking about the people around him. “He’s doing good things for other people now. He’s making a difference now. He’ll do that the rest of his life. That’s who he is.” When he’s healthy, Miller is sort of Florida’s traffic cop on defense. He not only knows his assignment but he’s the communicator who gets everyone else in the right spot. He will be critical Saturday (12 noon, ESPNU) when the Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC) try to end their SEC losing skid at two games against Missouri (2-3, 0-2 SEC). Miller, who missed almost all of last season and has been dinged up the last three games, will be 100 percent for Missouri. He is ready to play hard, ready to do his part to get the Gators on the right track, but he’s also feeling the need to get people hardest hit by the hurricane back on the right track as well. “Just seeing it … those people got impacted hard,” Miller said. “Flooded, houses lost, all different kinds of things those people are going through … I felt like it was my job to come do something to help.” So, he’s putting his own NIL money where his mouth is and he’s formed a foundation to do his part. Perhaps the Gators haven’t won as many games or performed to the standard as some would like, but when you have a team leader like this, then you know the football program is heading in the right direction. Florida depth chart vs. Missouri (starters in bold face) Offense WR: Xzavier Henderson; Daejon Reynolds or Marcus Burke WR: Justin Shorter; Ja’Quavion Fraziars WR: Ricky Pearsall; Trent Whittemore; Ja’Markis Weston LT: Richard Gouraige; Josh Braun LG: Ethan White; Richie Leonard IV C: Kingsley Eguakun; Jake Slaughter RG: O’Cyrus Torrence; Jalen Farmer RT: Austin Barber; Kamryn Waites QB: Anthony Richardson; Jalen Kitna; Kyle Engel RB: Nay’Quan Wright; Montrell Johnson Jr. or Trevor Etienne; Lorenzo Lingard Defense DE: Princely Umanmielen; Justus Boone NT: Desmond Watson; Jalen Lee; Jaelin Humphries; Jamari Lyons DE: Gervon Dexter Sr.; Tyreak Sapp; Chris McClellan Jack: Brenton Cox Jr.; Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr.; Lloyd Summerall III or David Reese LB: Ventrell Miller; Scooby Williams or Derek Wingo LB: Amari Burney; Shemar James STAR: Tre’Vez Johnson; Jadarrius Perkins; Kamar Wilcoxson CB: Jason Marshall Jr.; Devin Moore; Jordan Young S: Rashad Torrence II; Kamari Wilson; Corey Collier Jr. S: Trey Dean III; Donovan McMillon; Miguel Mitchell CB: Jaydon Hill; Avery Helm; Jalen Kimber Special teams KO: Trey Smack or Adam Mihalek PK: Adam Mihalek or Trey Smack P: Jeremy Crawshaw; Jacob Watkins LS: Rocco Underwood; Chase Whitfield H: Jeremy Crawshaw; Jacob Watkins KOR: Trevor Etienne; Xzavier Henderson or Jason Marshall Jr.; Thai Chiahhiao-Bowman PR: Xzavier Henderson; Jason Marshall Jr. or Trevor Etienne Injured: QB Jack Miller (questionable); LB Diwun Black (out); LS Marco Ortiz (out); LT Michael Tarquin (out); TE Arlis Boardingham (questionable); TE Nick Elksnis (out); LB Kenny Anyaehie (out) UF volleyball: The Gators (11-3, 3-1 SEC) needed four sets to secure a 26-24, 25-23, 16-25, 25-20 win over Tennessee (8-8, 2-2 SEC) Wednesday night in Knoxville. The Gators will host LSU (10-6, 4-2 SEC) for two matches over the weekend at the O-Dome, 6 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. SEC football/basketball No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Heisman Trophy QB Bryce Young is practicing, but still listed day-to-day for Texas A&M. Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC): HBC Sam Pittman says QB KJ Jefferson will “be on the plane” to Starkville, but he’s still unsure if he will be able to play. Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Starting center Brandon Council looks at the Georgia defense and says the Tigers will “run the ball on them and if we can keep them out of their third-down packages, we can demolish them, I believe.” No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Former Georgia All-American and ESPN analyst David Pollack says the Bulldogs are an immature team whose “offensive line got absolutely manhandled” last week by Missouri. No. 13 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Despite an intentional grounding call that resulted in a safety and two critical fumbles on the Wildcats last two possessions in their loss to Ole Miss last week, Will Levis hasn’t lost the confidence of HBC Mark Stoops, who says, “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.” No. 25 LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC): Considering Saturday’s game with No. 8 Tennessee is one of only three games in the country where both teams are ranked, it seems a bit strange that it’s an 11 a.m. kickoff and not a Saturday night game at Tiger Stadium. No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC): The MSU defense has forced 10 turnovers – four fumbles and six interceptions – which ranks second in the SEC. Missouri (2-3, 0-2 SEC): The Tigers rank second in the SEC in third down defense, allowing only 27.4 perecent conversions, which ranks 12th in the country. No. 9 Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Freshman running back Quinshon Judkins, whose 535 rushing yards (6.29 per carry) ranks second in the SEC and 11th nationally, was a 3-star recruit out of high school, the 562ndranked prospect in the country. South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Kentucky has allowed 19 sacks in five games, which is 127th in the country. South Carolina’s pass rush has four sacks in five games. No. 8 Tennessee (5-0, 1-0 SEC): The Vols lead the nation in total offense (559.3 yards per game). Saturday they’ll be going against an LSU defense that ranks 19th nationally (293.8 yards per game) … Guard Josiah-Jordan James says he didn’t even like basketball coach Rick Barnes at first but now says “I can’t imagine my life without him.” Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Quarterback Max Johnson remains day-to-day for Saturday night’s game in Tuscaloosa with No. 1 Alabama. Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC): The Commodores have allowed at least 151 yards on the ground in all but the season opener with Hawai’i. Saturday the Commodores will be trying to stop an Ole Miss ground game that averages 261.8 yards and ranks fifth nationally. Our SEC orphans in the Big 12 Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2 Big 12): The status of quarterback Dillon Gabriel (concussion) remains up in the air for Saturday’s game with Texas. Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12): Quinn Ewers has another big NIL deal, this one with a technology company called Metabilia. For a quarterback with two career touchdown passes, Ewers, who drives a Ferarri, sure has made a lot of NIL money. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The Extinct Species List stands at five now but it could be another eventful week on the coaching circuit as a couple of coaches are teetering on the verge of extinction. Countdown to Firing Day: Week 6 Extinct Species List Scott Frost, Nebraska: The wish list to take over the Fighting Frosts starts with Lance Leipold, Matt Campbell and Bill O’Brien. Whoever takes the job is relegating himself to unrealistic expectations, one of the worst states in the world for recruiting (and the nearby states aren’t much better), brutally cold winters, blast furnace summers and a chance to finish middle of the pack in the Big Ten West. Herm Edwards, Arizona State: Whoever takes this job does so knowing the NCAA is probably going to do a tap dance on the program. The name that’s on the tip of a lot of tongues is former Texas HBC Tom Herman. Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: The home run hire is Deion Sanders. The safe hire is interim head coach Brent Key, the former Alabama O-line coach who is a Tech man and now 1-0 after scoring an upset over Pitt last week. Home run vs. Safe? Tech, left to its own lack of imagination, will go safe. Karl Dorrell, Colorado: Dorrell was 0-5 this year and recruiting was in the tank. The name that comes to mind who can resuscitate the program is Eric Bienemy, the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and the All-American running back on Colorado’s 1990 national championship team. If he doesn’t get the first call, the governor of the state should fire everyone in the CU administration from the president on down. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: Oh how they’d love to hire Lance Leipold, a native Wisconsonite who won six Division III national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater and is a Saturday win away from bowl-eligibility at Kansas. Kansas! Nobody but nobody wins at Kansas. This guy can coach. It may take a Brinks truck to convince him to bug out to head to a dysfunctional place that just fired a coach who was 67-26, won three Big Ten West titles and never missed going bowling. On Life Support Bryan Harsin, Auburn: Sometimes you wonder why don’t the folks at Auburn just go ahead and fire him? You know they’re going to do it. Maybe Sunday if Auburn gets destroyed by Georgia. Beating Georgia? Donkeys may fly first but there are folks who smoke funny things who swear they’ve seen it happen. Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: He doesn’t make a lot of money and has the Falcons sitting 2-3 right now, which is actually above expectations but back in 2001 Urban Meyer convinced folks that it can be done at BG. They’re still looking for their next Urban. Jake Spavital, Texas State: This one is tricky. Jake the Snake is already halfway to last year’s win total (4). Could he go 4-3 the rest of the way? Well, four of the seven remaining teams have losing records. Neal Brown, West Virginia: Buzzards are circling. The Mounties are 2-3 and a 4-win season may be the ceiling. Neal Brown should have realized that he was at the zenith of his career at Troy. Now he’s in way over his head. Dana Holgorsen, Houston: The Cougars were supposed to be the class of the American. Now they’ve got three losses and a restless fan base wondering what’s going to happen a year from now when the Cougars are in the Big 12? Will Healy, Charlotte: Since taking the 49ers to their first bowl in school history in 2019, it’s been all downhill. They’re 1-5 so far this year and have to go 5-1 to avoid their third straight losing year. Endangered Species List Ken Niumatalolo, Navy: He does everything right, but the Middies aren’t winning. Still, they are two years removed from an 11-win season. That should count for something, shouldn’t it? Mike Bloomgren, Rice: The Owls are 3-3 and the next three games are very winnable. If Bloomgren gets to six wins, you can bet the farm he won’t be fired. He might even survive with five wins since it would represent the best Rice season since 2014. Willie Taggart, Florida Atlantic: The Owls can’t stop anybody. They’re 2-4 with three straight losses. At a bare minimum they have to go 4-2 in the second half of the season or else it will be pink slip time for Taggart, who’s being paid $1.5 million. The folks in Boca would feel a whole lot better about Taggart’s future if he somehow got to seven wins, but that’s a real longshot. David Shaw, Stanford: Since the COVID year he’s 4-12. They’re paying him $7 million a year and the Chardonnay and grapes tailgaters are wondering if they can’t get a bigger bang for fewer bucks. Scott Satterfield, Louisville: Satterfield is 20-22 since he arrived in 2019, but the last two seasons have been losers and the Cards are 2-3 this year. The schedule has a minimum of four more losses. Lose to Virginia this week and he’s On Life Support. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: They wouldn’t fire a coach who has a $94.45 million buyout would they? A coach who signed what some call a legendary recruiting class in the last cycle? They wouldn’t do that, now would they? They’re Aggies. You bet they would. Buzzards may be circling in College Station if Alabama covers the 24-point spread Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.

Practice six is in the books for the Gators, who worked out for the second straight day in the O-Dome Tuesday. The Gators did some full court work on both offensive and defensive transition, but most of the practice was devoted to half court work. Play of the day Freshman Riley Kugel (6-5, 190, FR) maneuvered his way through a crowded paint area, elevated above everyone and hammered home a two-handed jam. This is the third straight practice that Kugel has shown serious hops and the ability to thunder home a poster finish. Before practice, Niels Lane (6-5, 215, JR) said, “He’s definitely super advanced and he’s super athletic. Probably one of the bounciest guys on the team. He surprises me every time we get on the court. I’d say he has more bounce than me.” Lane has a 43-inch vertical. Kugel may be up around 45. Kugel spent a lot of time with the first unit Tuesday and did a few rounds at the point where he looked very much in control. Player of the day Once again, that was Colin Castleton (6-11, 247, 5th YR), who spent the day showing what happens if you double team him. Doubled on the left block, he spied Kowacie Reeves (6-6, 190, SO) deep beyond the 3-point line. It was an easy catch-and-shoot 3-pointer for Reeves, who was a good 24 feet beyond the basket. Later on, the two of them connected again. This time Castleton was at the high post when Reeves rubbed off a pick to make a catch in stride for a layup. Castleton had to physically fight through a double team to find Alex Fudge (6-9, 200, SO) on a cut through the lane for a layup. Those two connected again on a high-low with Castleton seeing the floor from the top of the key and Fudge rubbing off the pick for the score. Quote of the day Kowacie Reeves on the importance of Colin Castleton returning for one more year: “Crucial, crucial part. I guarantee if he doesn’t come back we’re not the team we’re about to be. He’s a crucial part of the team and like Coach Golden says, ’17 and 10’ – that’s pretty self-explanatory for how much he can impact the game.” Other players of note: Reeves: After a frustrating day on Monday when Lane was in a defensive coma in which he was truly harassing, Kowacie finally got the best of him from what seemed to be another time zone. With the shot clock winding down, Reeves launched and nailed the three. Fouled as he shot, he knocked down the free throw. Lane gave it that old “even blind squirrels find an acorn sometimes” grin and shrugged his shoulder. All-in-all, it was a productive day for Reeves on the offensive end. He shot the ball rather well, but he still needs to put the ball on the deck and take it to the rack. He’s too quick and too good a ball handler not to be able to either get to the rack or draw a foul. “I like to be guarded by guys like that (Lane) because in a game it makes me so much easier,” Reeves said. Lane: He’s truly elite on the defensive end. One-on-one, he can guard four of the five positions (center the only one he can’t) and lock them down. He looked good in full court pressure as well as defending in the half court. What’s surprising is his growing offensive game. He had one really nice play when he elevated over everyone just to the right of the foul line and banked in (on purpose) about an 8-footer over Fudge. After practice he hung around and had managers feeding him for 3-pointers. He’s done some mechanical work on his shot. “I’m just trying to make it all one motion and make it smoother and working on knocking down open threes and making some midrange shots,” Lane said. Fudge: Watching him, you realize he doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands to be a scoring threat. He runs constantly so he’s open a lot for passes near the rim where he’s a strong finisher. He gets his hands on a lot of loose balls so he’s going to score points every game on stickbacks. Those quick hands serve him well on the defensive end. He’s like Lane, a truly elite defender. He blocks shots, gets his hand in the passing lane and tips a lot of loose balls into teammates’ hands. “He can be one of those guys that just fills up the start sheet – blocks, rebounds, dunks, threes,” Reeves said. “He can do it all and I’m excited to see what he has in store for this team.” Trey Bonham (6-0, 170, JR): He should be nicknamed Area Code, as in he is in range from area codes outside the 352. He’s a legitimate deep threat but he’s not an unconscious gunner. He does a really nice job of shooting when he’s open and most of the time, keeping the ball moving from the point. You may have to go all the way back to Anthony Roberson to find a Florida guard with his kind of quickness. He had a couple of ankle-breaker crossover dribbles. He’s fearless in the paint, not afraid of contact. He had a very nice slice through a double team to finish with a high off the glass bank over Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 300, SR). Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 185, FR): He’s growing more comfortable out there. He played the point most of the day with the twos and had a very nice day. Only had a couple of turnovers that can best be described as freshman mistakes. He’ll learn. He showed some confidence and some range when he nailed a long (probably 24 feet) jumper from just left of the key. Jitoboh: He still doesn’t have complete vision in his left eye from the injury in Knoxville back in February, but he’s very aware of teammates, sets lethal picks and he’s not turning the ball over. Defensively, he doesn’t elevate to block many shots but doesn’t have to. He’s a wall and he’s very strong. “He’s a big guy,” said associate head coach Carlin Hartman. “When he sets a ball screen you’re not going through him first of all. It’s had to go around him because he’s so wide and he’s a target at the rim. He’s a wrecking ball in there. There’s a lot of use for a guy like that. The thing I’m impressed the most with him is how great a teammate he is.” Aleks Szymczyk (6-11, 232, FR): He gets beat up a lot going head-to-head with Castleton, Jitoboh, Fudge and Felder, but he doesn’t back down on either end of the court. He had a nice shot over Castleton that hung on the rim before dropping in and showed some skill when he hit Lane cutting through the lane for a layup. CJ Felder (6-7, 240, SR): He had a solid defensive day and showed some real toughness battling in the paint for rebounds. He only got off a couple of shots in the offense but his play was solid throughout. He’s still getting back to where he was as a freshman at Boston College after an injury-filled season last year at UF, but he’s so physical and so strong inside, plus he can guard at least three positions. Myreon Jones (6-3, 177, GR): He played some point, mostly wing with the ones. He had a good day shooting although he didn’t launch many shots, just mostly kept the ball moving. He handles the ball with a lot more confidence this year. Injured reserve Kyle Lofton (6-3, 186, GR) wasn’t dressed out again. This is just short term and a precaution from a groin bruise from Saturday. Will Rich (6-4, 206, SO): He’s hoisting shots whenever he can. Still recovering from an ankle sprain but the compression was off the ankle Tuesday so he could be back in a matter of days.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: CAN THE GATORS STOP THE RUN AGAINST MISSOURI? In Missouri’s two wins – 52-24 over a bad Louisiana Tech team whose only win is over D1AA Stephen F. Austin and 34-17 over D1AA independent Abilene Christian – the Tigers (2-3, 0-2 SEC) ran for 523 yards. In their three losses to Kansas State, Auburn and Georgia, the Tigers have a combined 329 yards on 95 carries. That’s 3.46 per carry. When Missouri can’t run the ball, the entire offense slows to a crawl. In the three losses, the Tigers have a combined 824 yards of offense and only 48 points. In Florida’s five games, the Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC) have given up 966 yards (4.6 per carry) and 10 rushing touchdowns. Utah (230), South Florida (286) and Tennessee (227) combined for 743 yards (5.85 per carry) and eight touchdowns. The only game in which the Gators looked anything close to adept in stopping the run was against Kentucky, which managed only 70 yards on 48 carries. Of course, Kentucky hasn’t run the ball effectively on anyone this season so we can’t really read that much into it. Saturday, both the Gators and the Tigers will be trying for their first SEC win of the season and whoever proves capable of stopping the run has a really good chance of getting the W. Florida averages 210.2 yards per game on the ground, 6.22 per carry which is fourth nationally. Florida has three outstanding running backs in Montrell Johnson Jr. (38-282, 4 TDs), Trevor Etienne (35-223, 2 touchdowns) and Nay’Quan Wright (39-153, 2 TDs) plus quarterback Anthony Richardson (42-241, 5 TDs) is capable of busting a long gainer any time he breaks containment in the pocket. Other than allowing Kansas State to run for 235 yards (5.47 per carry) in game two, Missouri has done a rather nice job stuffing the run. In their other four games, the Tigers have given up just 368 yards and 2.83 per carry. Last Saturday, the Tigers held Georgia’s running game fairly intact until the fourth quarter when they just gave out of gas. Even though Florida’s passing game has exploded for 845 yards in the last two games, we’re probably going to see something from Missouri that bears resemblance to what Kentucky and Tennessee ran against the Gators. Both Kentucky and Tennessee slowed down Florida’s running game and dared Richardson to beat them throwing the football. Kentucky had success both against the run and the pass. Tennessee held the Gators to 3.36 per rushing attempt but was torched in the passing game (Richardson threw for 453 yards). Florida’s chances to score their first SEC win will probably come down to the ground game. Can the Gators run it on Missouri and can they stop Mizzou from running the ball? Other UF sports Men’s golf: Behind Fred Biondi’s final round 64, the Gators moved up five places to finish tied for ninth at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Tournament played at Colonia Country Club in Fort Worth. The Gators finished +9 for the tournament, won by North Carolina at -15. The tournament featured 16 of the nation’s top golf teams including eight who made the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships back in the spring. Women’s golf: The Gators finished 12th at the Windy City Classic at Exmoor Country Club in Chicago. Southern Cal won the tournament at +3. Annabell Fuller finished 12th for UF. SEC football/basketball No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): CBS analyst Barrett Sallee on Saturday’s Alabama-Texas A&M game in Tuscaloosa: “This could be the biggest blowout in this series since Kenny Hill lost 59-0. I just think with Texas A&M’s offense, I don’t care if Max Johnson plays or not, that offense is flat out horrendous. Alabama can stop Devon Archane, so when that happens, what’s Texas A&M going to do? They can’t do anything.” Alabama is favored by a mere 24 points. Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC): If KJ Jefferson is unable to go Saturday in Starkville, the Hogs will be playing either Cade Fortin or Malik Hornsby at quarterback. Fortin has completed 65-130 passes in his four years at North Carolina, South Florida and Arkansas, good for 645 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Hornsby is 5-12 for 46 yards passing but 29-156 rushing the ball for one touchdown … The Razorbacks are 8-point underdogs Saturday. Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Auburn is a 30-point underdog for Saturday’s game in Athens against Georgia. If Auburn loses by 30 or more, bet the farm that Bryan Harsin will be fired Sunday and forced to squeeze by in the immediate future on an $18 million buyout. No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Linebacker Smael Mondon and wide receiver AD Mitchell, both with injured ankles, are practicing but their status for Saturday’s game with Auburn is still unclear … The Bulldogs are 30-point favorites Saturday. They have been huge favorites in each of their two previous games but failed to cover. No. 13 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC): The Wildcats, who have built their winning reputation under Mark Stoops as a grind it out team, have yet to run for more than 108 yards or average even 3.0 yards per carry in any of their five games so far … Kentucky is a 10.5-point home favorite against South Carolina Saturday … Last year’s national player of the year Oscar Tschiebwe has seen enough of freshman center Ugonna Onyenso as a future college basketball star. Tschiebwe says, “I see him blocking shots. I see him like a new Anthony Davis blocking shots.” No. 25 LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC): In a Wilson Alexander tweet, QB Jayden Daniels called a players’ only meeting between the quarterback and wide receiver rooms “to discuss the passing game and work on their trust in one another.” LSU threw for only 85 yards in last week’s win over Auburn. It should be noted that LSU’s offensive line has allowed Daniels to be sacked 16 times … LSU is a 3-point home underdog to Tennessee Saturday. No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Mike Leach says he essentially ignores the polls. “There’s no stopping point on the polls,” he says. “Just worry about now and what you can control. Today it’s put together the best game plan you can. Tomorrow, it’s have the best practice you can. So it goes.” … The Bulldogs are favored by eight Saturday when Arkansas comes to town. Missouri (2-3, 0-2 SEC): The Gators can expect a heavy dose of tunnel screens and passes that travel less than 10 yards against Missouri Saturday. The only true downfield threat is Dominic Lovett who has caught 27 passes for 460 yards (17.04 per catch) and two touchdowns. No other receiver is averaging more than 11.4 yards per catch. No. 9 Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC): In getting off to their first 5-0 start since 2014, the Rebels have picked off four passes, recovered five fumbles and sacked opposing quarterbacks 16 times, which is a 5-way tie for 11th in the nation and second in the SEC … Ole Miss is only favored by 18 on the road Saturday at Vanderbilt … Guard Daeshun Ruffin, who was averaging 12.2 points before going down with a season-ending knee injury last year, has been cleared for non-contact drills and could be ready to go for the season opener. South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC): The expectations for Oklahoma transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler are through the roof, but so far he’s thrown more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (4). One of the biggest problems for Rattler is protection. He’s spent a lot of time running for his life and he’s been sacked 10 times … The Gamecocks are 10.5-point road underdogs against Kentucky. No. 8 Tennessee (5-0, 1-0 SEC): The Vols are breaking out the smoke grey uniforms for their road trip to LSU Saturday, where they are 3-point favorites … Indiana State transfer point guard Tyreke Key says the difference in playing at a mid-major school and in the SEC is “the big men. Everybody’s got good, fast guards but you don’t see the big men there like the big men here.” Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Paul Finebaum on the status of Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M – “The buyout, should he be fired, is $90 million. Essentially Jimbo Fisher is his own boss. He does whatever he wants … His predecessor, Kevin Sumlin, was fired with a better record than Jimbo Fisher has now.” … The Aggies are 24-point underdogs at Alabama Saturday night. Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC): Starting left guard Ben Cox and starting defensive tackle Myles Cecil are back from injury and both will play Saturday against Ole Miss. The Commodores are 18-point underdogs … Freshman defensive tackle Bradley Mann is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery for an injury suffered a couple of weeks ago against Alabama. Our SEC orphans in the Big 12 Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2 Big 12): Former Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight on Oklahoma starting the Big 12 portion of the season 0-2 – “You’re not going to the Big 12 title game. If is a failed season already in Norman if you ask me.” The Sooners are 7-point underdogs for their Red River Rivalry showdown with Texas. Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12): Former Texas HBC Tom Herman is emerging as one of the names on the hot list to replace Herm Edwards at Arizona State. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The SMU Mustangs (2-2, 0-0 American) will be playing UCF (3-1, 0-0 American) tonight at the Bounce House in Orlando. UCF is favored to win by three, but probably will win by more because of the turmoil within the SMU program. On3 Sports is reporting that four SMU players are going to sit out the remainder of the season to preserve their redshirt, then transfer out. Under the new NCAA transfer portal guidelines, there are only a couple of windows open for transfers to enter the portal and leave their current program for another without having to sit a year. The four kids from SMU can’t put their names in the portal until December, but the damage is already done and there should be plenty of concern that this is the kind of situation that could spread like wildfire. Here's a hypothetical for you: A school – we’ll call it Western Wenatchee A&M – has a coach that players despise, but the coach has an ironclad buyout and the school hasn’t the money it would take to fire him. So, all the players on the two-deep who have eligibility remaining beyond the current season, decide they’ll quit after four games to preserve their redshirt. Let’s say it’s 30 players. WWAMU has only 75 on scholarship and five are done for the season because of injuries. Thirty leave and now the Fighting Aardvarks have only 40 scholarship players available. A season is cancelled and a football program that is struggling with finances has just taken three laser-guided supercavitation torpedoes at midship is sinking fast. This may sound like overreaction, but how many saw the growing flood of transfers in football and basketball that has become an epidemic? Back in the summer, someone reported that more than half of the players in the football transfer portal didn’t have a scholarship. It’s probably worse for basketball. It’s a crisis that setting transfer portal windows only partially addresses. If the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, wishes to for once tackle a situation before it becomes a full-fledged, out-of-control tsunami, then there is a simple solution: Quit on your team for anything short of an extraordinary reason during the season, you sit a year when you transfer out and you lose your redshirt. That makes sense, but when has the NCAA ever done anything that required a measure of common sense? Given the choice of dealing with an issue before it gets out of control or doing nothing, the NCAA always seems to wait until it’s too late.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: GATORS FAVORED BY A VERY SHAKY 11 POINTS The Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC) have been established as 11-point favorites to take out Missouri (2-3, 0-2 SEC) for Saturday’s homecoming game (12 noon, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, ESPNU). All things considered, this is a shaky 11 points because with the exception of the blowout win over Eastern Washington the other Florida games have all been white knucklers. This is not the kind of season where anything is all that certain for a Florida team that could just as easily be 5-0 or 1-4 right now. Missouri can’t be taken lightly, not after the Tigers had No. 2 Georgia on the ropes in Columbia before falling 26-22. The Tigers have a pair of wins over inferior non-conference opponents and a 40-12 blowout loss to Kansas State, but they can look at losses to Auburn and Georgia and think what might have been if not for critical mistakes in the fourth quarter. Florida’s offense, which looked so fragile in the loss to Kentucky and the close call win over South Florida, seems to have found its sea legs so barring a completely unexpected reversal of fortune, the Gators should be in good shape against Mizzou. The Tigers struggled to stop the K-State running game (235 yards, 4 TDs) and had all sorts of problems with Georgia’s passing game (312 yards). Florida runs it well (210.2 per game led by Montrell Johnson Jr. 38-282, 4 TDs) and Anthony Richardson has found a really nice groove throwing to Justin Shorter (14-314, 1 TD) and Ricky Pearsall (13-245). After 597 yards against Tennessee and 666 against Eastern Washington, Florida’s offense seems to be in a very good place. We can’t say the same about a defense that is allowing 27 points and 421.4 yards per game. The 2020 Gators, by contrast, gave up 428 yards and 30.8 points per game. The Gators are allowing opponents to average 42 running plays per game that are good for 193.2 yards and 4.6 per carry. Opponents are averaging 228.2 yards per game passing. The number that’s disturbing is the 7.5 yards per pass attempt. Against Georgia’s vaunted defense, the Tigers threw for 192 yards and a TD and averaged nearly five yards (4.86) per carry. This should be a very winnable game for the Gators, but if we look at things analytically, the Gators had their opportunities to beat both Kentucky and Tennessee, the two games they lost. They also could have lost to both Utah and South Florida, games they won. So, 11-point favorites sounds good, but this is one of those believe it when you see it years. Time set for UF-LSU: The Florida-LSU matchup on October 15 will be a 7 p.m. broadcast on ESPN. By the numbers Rushing: The Gators are 22nd nationally and fourth in the SEC at 210.2 yards per game, but the number that is important is yards per carry. At 6.22 per carry, the Gators rank fourth nationally and second in the SEC, which says plenty about the offensive line. Sacks allowed: This is another stat that says plenty about the offensive line. The Gators have allowed only three sacks through five games, which is a 5-way tie for seventh nationally. It should be noted that on only one of the sacks was Anthony Richardson tackled. On the other two he ran out of bounds. Total offense: The Gators are averaging 463.8 yards per game which is 27th in the country and fifth in the SEC. The important number is 7.41 yards per play, which ranks fourth nationally and second in the SEC. It should be noted that the Gators are averaging only 62.6 plays per game (Tennessee, for example averages 75.75 plays per game). Other UF sports Men’s golf: The Gators are 14th through two rounds of the Ben Hogan Collegiate in Fort Worth. The Gators are at +12 for the two days, 22 shots behind North Carolina and 18 behind second place Stanford. Volleyball: The Gators (10-3, 2-1 SEC) are ranked 15th in the latest AVCA poll. Next match is Wednesday in Knoxville against Tennessee (8-7, 2-1 SEC). Baseball: D1Baseball.com ranks Florida as the No. 4 baseball program in the country. The top 10: 1. Vanderbilt; 2. Arkansas; 3. Mississippi State; 4. FLORIDA; 5. Oregon State; 6. Louisville; 7. LSU; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Texas Tech; 10. Stanford. SEC football No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Nick Saban got a bit testy with the media when talking about Bryce Young’s injury and what the Tide will do if Jalen Milroe is the QB when the Aggies come to town Saturday night. Saban said Monday, “You think I’m going to tell you what I’m going to do with our offense and our team? You might as well make it up. I saw today there’s headlines I’m going to keep a secret what we’re doing with Bryce. It sounded like me making that statement! But I’ve never said that! But it was there in black and white like so you can make up whatever you want to make up. Look at somebody else’s running quarterback and say they should put these plays in. Think that’d be the better way to do it.” Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Quarterback KJ Jefferson may not be available for Saturday’s game at Mississippi State. Jefferson left the Alabama game with what appeared to be a concussion. HBC Sam Pittman said, “He has some mild symptoms and those are things the doctors look at … He’s kind of a wait and see, to be honest with you.” If Jefferson can’t go, Arkansas is expected to go with Cade Fortin, who is 4-10 passing for 35 yards with one running play for nine yards so far this season. Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Eku Leota, an edge rusher who transferred to Auburn from Northwestern, is done for the year after surgery to repair an injured pectoral muscle. Leota had two sacks and five tackles for loss prior to the injury. HBC Bryan Harsin said, “He’s an emotional leader; he’s one of the smartest players we have.” No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Defensive tackle Jalen Carter, expected to be a top five pick in the NFL Draft, will miss at least 1-2 weeks with an MCL sprained in the win over Missouri … Defensive back Javon Bullard’s suspension for a DUI lasted all of one game. He’s practicing again and will be available Saturday when the Bulldogs host Auburn. No. 13 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC): The Wildcats are 13th in the SEC in total offense (367.8 yards per game) and dead last in rushing (86.8 yards per game, 2.52 per carry). They lead the SEC and are 127th nationally in sacks allowed, 19 for -123 yards. No. 25 LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC): Speaking to Paul Finebaum about the status of quarterback Jayden Daniels, who couldn’t finish the Tigers’ win over Auburn Saturday night, HBC Brian Kelly said Daniels was “hurt but the pain level was pretty high so he wasn’t able to finish the game, but he’s much better today and he’ll be ready to play on Saturday.” Saturday, LSU will play host to Tennessee. No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Will Rogers leads the nation and is fourth in the nation in passing, averaging 343 yards per game. He has thrown for 1,715 yards (7.3 per attempt) with 19 touchdown passes against only three interceptions. Rogers is 171-234 which is 73.1 percent. Missouri (2-3, 0-2 SEC): Dominic Lovett has emerged as Mizzou’s go-to receiver with 27 catches for 460 yards (17.04 per catch) and two touchdowns. No. 9 Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Led by freshman Quinshon Judkins (85-535, 6 touchdowns) and Zach Evans (68-389, 5 touchdowns), Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally in rushing at 261.8 yards per game (5.62 per carry) … The Rebels are giving up just 11.8 points per game, which is third in the SEC and seventh nationally. South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC): The Gamecocks have turned the ball over more than any team in the SEC (13), having thrown nine interceptions and fumbled it away four times. Quarterback Spencer Rattler has thrown seven interceptions, worst number in the SEC. No. 8 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC): Defensive back Warren Burrell, who started every game and had 41 tackles, is out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair an upper body injury … Wide receiver Cedric Tillman, who had tightrope surgery to repair an ankle injury, practiced in a limited capacity Monday. He’s listed day-to-day and could actually play Saturday when the Vols play LSU in Baton Rouge. Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Quarterback Max Johnson had to leave the loss to Mississippi State with an injury to his right (non-throwing) hand. In a Monday update about Johnson’s status ahead of Saturday’s game with Alabama, HBC Jimbo Fisher said, “We’ll go day-to-day. We’ll get Haynes (King) and Conner (Weigman) ready to play if Max can’t go.” Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC): After a week off, the Commodores will be home Saturday against 9th-ranked Ole Miss. The Commodores have the worst defense in the SEC (457.2 yards per game) to go against an Ole Miss offense that is averaging 37.2 points and 470.2 yards per game. Our SEC orphans in the Big 12 Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2 Big 12): The Sooners have started the Big 12 season 0-2 for the first time since 1998 when John Blake was in his final season as the HBC. Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12): Quinn Ewers is healthy enough to play Saturday when the Longhorns face Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas, but Hudson Card is coming off his best game ever (303 passing yards, three TDs) in the Longhorns win over West Virginia. Mike Leach said it … While being interviewed by SEC Network sideline reporter Alyssa Lang after Mississippi State blew the doors off Texas A&M, 42-24, this past Saturday, Mike Leach offered some advice to Lang, who is engaged to marry another college football reporter: “As soon as the season’s over or even in an off week, go elope, because basically every female in the family is going to terrorize you guys until it’s over. Once it’s over, they’ll be upset for a few days, but it’ll be over. Then you cruise along, have a happy marriage, have a happy life.” ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Wisconsin is going to pay Paul Chryst $11 million by February 1, 2023 to simply go away. Colorado parted ways with Karl Dorrell at a cost of $8.7 million. Apparently Auburn, which paid Gus Malzahn $21.4 million to go away after the 2020 season, seems all set to send Bryan Harsin on his merry way. He’ll have to squeeze by on $18 million once those zany Auburn alums pony up the good-bye money. Aggie boosters are so upset with Jimbo that rumors are flying that they’ve already got commitments for the $94.5 million it will take to buy out his fully guaranteed contract. There was a time when coaches were given a reasonable amount of time to turn a program around – usually 4-5 years – and you didn’t fire coaches who won more than they lost and kept the program out of the NCAA jailhouse. No more. The window to turn a program around is three years tops. Coaches who don’t have their teams on track to win big might as well bend over at the waist, stick their heads between their legs and kiss their butts good bye. With a nice buyout, of course. Football is big business and if the football team isn’t winning, those boosters who write the big checks that pay for standalone football facilities and other amenities aren’t going to be happy campers. Get used to it. It’s the world we’re living in.

Franz Beard A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: DEFENSIVE TACKLE IS AN ISSUE In their 52-17 win over Eastern Washington Sunday afternoon at The Swamp, the Eagles ran 85 offensive plays to Florida’s 50 and dominated time of possessions, 36:28-23:32. A couple of weeks ago, South Florida ran 74 plays to Florida’s 48 and dominated the time of possession, 36:19-23:41. The Gators won that one, 31-28, but it’s a game they could have lost, particularly since they couldn’t get the Bulls off the field. Points win games, not time of possession or most offensive plays, but at some point if the Gators (3-2, 0-2 SEC) can’t start getting third down stops – opponents are 34-68 on the season; Eastern Washington was 8-18 – it’s going to bite the Gators in a very bad way. Through five games, the Gators are allowing 421.4 yards per game. Kentucky, which ranks 13th out of 14 SEC teams in total offense, is the only team that managed fewer than 400 yards (272) against UF. The secondary is quite young, but if you’re interested in pointing fingers somewhere, the defensive line, and in particular, defensive tackle is a good place to start. It’s very difficult to stop the run when there is a lack of depth at the tackles and the pass rush is suffering as well. Florida’s problems are the result of years of neglect on the recruiting trail. In the years since the 2010 recruiting class produced future pros Dominique Easley, Sharif Floyd and Leon Orr, the Gators have had too many seasons in which they either whiffed completely or brought in too many non-factors at the position. Dan Mullen had serious issues recruiting defensive tackles. He inherited four from the last Jim McElwain recruiting class but he whiffed completely in 2018. In 2019, Mullen’s only DT was Jaelin Humphries, who has played in three games this year, but only five total since. In 2020, the Gators signed three – 5-star Gervon Dexter Sr., Jalen Lee and Lamar Goods. Dexter is Florida’s best D-lineman. Lee started two games and is in the rotation. Goods transferred out. For 2021, Mullen signed Desmond Watson, a 400-pound project who is starting at nose tackle, Chris Thomas Jr., who has been in two games in his career (one this year) and three one-and-done transfer DTs in Daquan Newkirk, Antonio Valentino and Tyrone Truesdell. Billy Napier signed two in Chris McClellan, who has played in all five games, and Jamari Lyons, who has played in two. Clearly, Napier is playing from behind here. He knows and understands you don’t win in the line-of-scrimmage SEC without enough quality defensive tackles is by smoke and mirrors. That’s probably what it’s going to take for the Gators to carve out wins especially the next six which are all against SEC foes. The goal this year is to figure out a way to win with whatever is available, recruit like crazy for the future, then bring in some transfer tackles who have more than one year of eligibility remaining. Associated Press Top 25 poll: 1. Alabama 5-0; 2. Georgia 5-0; 3. Ohio State 5-0; 4. Michigan 5-0; 5. Clemson 5-0; 6. Southern California 5-0; 7. Oklahoma State 4-0; 8. Tennessee 4-0; 9. Ole Miss 5-0; 10. Penn State 5-0; 11. Utah 4-1; 12. Oregon 4-1; 13. Kentucky 4-1; 14. North Carolina State 4-1; 15. Wake Forest 4-1; 16. BYU 4-1; 17. TCU 4-0; 18. UCLA 5-0; 19. Kansas 5-0; 20. Kansas State 4-1; 21. Washington 4-1; 22. Syracuse 5-0; 23. Mississippi State 4-1; 24. Cincinnati 5-1; 25. LSU 4-1 AFCA Coaches Top 25 poll: 1. Alabama 5-0; 2. Georgia 5-0; 3. Ohio State 5-0; 4. Michigan 5-0; 5. Clemson 5-0; 6. Southern California 5-0; 7. Oklahoma State 4-0; 8. Tennessee 4-0; 9. Ole Miss 5-0; 10. Penn State 5-0; 11. Utah 4-1; 12. Oregon 4-1; 13. Kentucky 4-1; 14. North Carolina State 4-1; 15. Wake Forest 4-1; 16. BYU 4-1; 17. Kansas 5-0; 18. TCU 5-0; 19. UCLA 5-0; 20. Kansas State 4-1; 21. Syracuse 5-0; 22. Baylor 3-2; 23. Mississippi State 4-1; 24. Washington 4-1; 25. Arkansas 3-2 SEC football No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Big Bad Bama was in trouble. Heisman Trophy QB Bryce Young was probably numbed up on the sideline after suffering what is described as a sprained AC joint, and Arkansas had closed a 28-7 deficit to 28-23. Third and 15 at the Bama 20? No problem. Backup QB Jalen Milroe just fired up the afterjets, blew by everyone for a 77-yard run that set up a TD. Later in the quarter Jahmyr Gibbs broke off TD runs of 72 and 76 yards to ensure that all was right in the universe again. Next week: vs. Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Prior to losing to Alabama, the Hogs had given up only 397 rushing yards in four games. Against Alabama, they gave up 317 including three runs of 70 or more yards. Next week: at No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC) Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Bryan Harsin is still the head coach despite blowing a 17-0 lead and then losing to LSU, 21-17. Harsin is a big name on the Left Coast. With Arizona State and Colorado jobs open, he could be a hot name if Auburn pink slips him. His buyout is a mere $18 million. Next week: at No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): For the second straight week the Bulldogs under-performed against an inferior opponent. In their 26-22 win over Missouri, Georgia turned the ball over twice, scored only two touchdowns and had to settle for four field goals. After giving up only 10 points in their first three games, the Bulldogs have allowed 44 in the last two. Next week: vs. Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC) No. 13 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Will Levis was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which resulted in a safety, and he fumbled the ball away on the Wildcats’ last two drives, the first at the Ole Miss 19, the second at the Ole Miss 25. Next week: vs. South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC) No. 25 LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC): Quarterback Jayden Daniels, who left the win over Auburn and didn’t return after a knee-to-knee collision, suffered no structural damage Next week: vs. No. 8 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) No. 23 Mississippi State (4-1, 1-1 SEC): There were three big stories in the Bulldogs 42-24 win over the then 17th-ranked Aggies – (1) Will Rogers threw for 329 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions; (2) 144 rushing yards, second highest total for an MSU game since Mike Leach became head coach; and (3) the defense forced four turnovers, scoring on a blocked field goal and a pick six. Next week: vs. Arkansas (3-2, 1-2 SEC) Missouri (1-4, 0-2 SEC): The Tigers managed to convert only 3-13 on third down against Georgia, plus they committed seven penalties for -66 yards, prompting HBC Eli Drinkwitz to state, “We’re self-inflicted wounds away from winning that game.” Next week: at FLORIDA (3-2, 0-2 SEC) No. 9 Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC): The Ole Miss defense forced fumbles that ended Kentucky’s final two drives to save a 22-19 win that kept the Rebels undefeated. Ole Miss held Kentucky to 108 yards on the ground and 2.9 per carry ... Next week: at Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC) South Carolina (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Offensive line coach Greg Adkins has stepped away from the team for what HBC Shane Beamer says is a “minor medical procedure.” While he’s away from the team, offensive analyst Lonnie Teasley will coach the O-line. Next week: at No. 13 Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC) No. 8 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC): Wide receiver Cedric Tillman had what is called “tightrope” surgery on his injured ankle last week with the hope of getting him back to the UT lineup much sooner. The procedure uses high strength sutures rather than screws in an effort to promote quicker healing. Next week: at No. 25 LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC) Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): After a blowout loss to Mississippi State in which the Aggies turned the ball over four times and had a field goal blocked, Paul Finebaum said of HBC Jimbo Fisher, “You take Jameis Winston out of this guy’s arsenal and he may not be a head coach right now.” Next week: at No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-1 SEC): The Commodores only SEC game to date was a 55-3 loss to No. 1 Alabama. The next two games are against No. 9 Ole Miss and (at) No. 2 Georgia. Next week: vs. Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC) Our SEC orphans in the Big 12 Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2 Big 12): Quarterback Dillon Gabriel is questionable for the Texas game after taking a shot to the head while he was sliding in the loss to TCU. Next week: vs. Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) in Dallas Texas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12): The Longhorns got through their win over West Virginia without needing Quinn Ewers. Hudson Card completed 21-27 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns against the Mountaineers. Ewers is expected to be ready to go Saturday against Oklahoma. Next game: vs. Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) in Dallas Countdown to Firing Day: Sunday night update Colorado (0-5, 0-2 Pac-12): Head coach Karl Dorrell joined the Extinct Species List Sunday when he was fired along with defensive coordinator Chris Wilson after the Buffaloes were hammered by Arizona, 43-20. Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford will serve as the interim. Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten): The Badgers parted ways with Paul Chryst, whose eight years in Madison produced a 67-26 record, three Big Ten West championships and one trip to the Rose Bowl. A year ago the Badgers went 9-4 with a win over Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Named as interim coach was defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Next Saturday night, Texas A&M will face off with No. 1 Alabama in what the summer promised to be the single most anticipated college football game of the season. Jimbo beat Nick Saban last year in College Station and then called Nick all sorts of nasty things all because Nick had the temerity to say what just about everyone in the free world knows: That the Aggies 2022 recruiting class that some are calling generational was bought and paid for by deep pocketed boosters. Nick never said the Aggies cheated, just said the class was bought and paid for. Which it was thanks to NIL (now it’s legal) money. Jimbo went ballistic. Nick tried to walk things back because SEC commish Greg Sankey insisted. The media frothed at the mouth. We had ourselves an instant classic. Except now it isn’t a classic. The Aggies have lost two games, one to Appalachian State, of all people, and the other a cowbell special in Starkville in which Mike Leach blew Texas A&M’s doors off. Alabama, meanwhile is good and getting better. Did you see what they did in the fourth quarter against Arkansas when Nick finally unleashed Jahmyr Gibbs on the Hogs? Gibbs had 172 yards in Bama’s first four games. He had 148 and two touchdowns on two fourth quarter carries Saturday, finishing the night with 206 yards on 18 carries. The folks in Vegas who make the point spreads were impressed, so much so that even with the possibility that Jalen Milroe will start at QB instead of Heisman Trophy QB Bryce Young (injured shoulder) Alabama is a 24.5-point favorite. Two things to watch out for when this non-classic classic is played: (1) Will Nick pour it on if he gets the chance to let Jimbo know it’s not nice to say nasty things about the former boss; and (2) will Aggie billionaire boosters, when faced with yet another season of three or more losses, start pooling money to buy out Jimbo’s fully guaranteed $94.95 million contract?

In the past two weeks, unbeknownst to fans and media, Jalen Kitna has been lighting up the airways in practices. At least once, said Billy Napier, Kitna completed every pass he threw that day – something Billy said he’d never seen before. By BUDDY MARTIN GatorBaitMedia.com In football matters, winning over an FCS opponent was a big priority, and winning in lopsided fashion, 52-17, was just what the doctor ordered. Then there is happenstance … It’s October. The Ides of Autumn. Get the Stephen King scripts ready for fall weirdness. Take nothing for granted. Starting with Mother Nature. Digging out from Ian, however, takes priority over digging out from 2-2. Priorities mean everything. They mean taking care of business against an FCS team. And then there is happenstance... Billy Napier kept his priorities in order after his Gator team’s third win of the season, beginning his post-game press conference by thanking the emergency workers and encouraging charitable donations, and offering thoughts and prayers for the victims of Hurricane Ian. He also pointed out that it was a learning experience for his players. “We are very thankful for all the people that worked the game and made the game happen today,” said Napier. “It’s already been a tough week for a lot of people around the state. We appreciate all the workers that showed up today and were able to make the game happen. I think for our team, there’s some opportunity to learn here, relative to perspective and being thankful for what we do have.” I like that Napier used the impact of a natural disaster as a teaching moment. “I think as an organization and for our players, over the next couple of months, we are going to have the opportunity to help a lot of people. We are able to invest in and contribute to a couple of key funds: Red Cross, Volunteer Gator, and other websites that we encourage people to contribute to. Those are going directly to all the people that are maybe in a tough spot. Our thoughts and prayers to those people.” It was also a day Jalen Kitna will never forget, a teaching moment for a young quarterback in mothballs who got the opportunity to excel in a “next man up” role when starter Anthony Richardson tweaked his ankle and left the game in the second quarter. Jalen Kitna was too young to get the full impact of his father Jon Kitna’s journeyman stint as an NFL quarterback when he played for four teams from 1996 to 2013, including the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons. Actually, his dad wasn’t keen on Jalen playing football and kept steering him toward golf. It didn’t work, so Jalen wound up getting signed at Florida by Jon’s friend Dan Mullen. What Kitna did Sunday, coming off the bench cold to fill in for the injured Richardson and immediately completing his first college pass on his first snap, then throwing a 62-yard touchdown pass to receiver Caleb Douglas, was an impressive debut and is bound to remind us of Kyle Trask. No, it was not against an SEC opponent on a night in Lexington, like Trask did in the ultimate “next man up” performance that not only won the game but jump-started a remarkable career. But Kitna’s sudden and unexpected appearance did offer a battle test under fire for a backup quarterback who passed it with flying colors. Everybody knows that injury-prone Richardson has been needing a security blanket backup, but with Jack Miller injured and never able to see the field, there was reason for concern. In the past two weeks, unbeknownst to fans and media, Kitna has been lighting up the airways in practices. At least once, said Napier, Kitna completed every pass he threw – something Billy said he’d never seen before. “The last probably two weeks, he’s really grown up a lot,” Napier said of Kitna. “He’s really grown up a lot. You go back to training camp, probably the fourth or fifth day of training camp, he got injured. He missed significant time. But since Jack’s (Miller) injury and he started getting those twos, you’ve seen some growth there.” Of his accuracy, Napier said: “All the guy does is throw completions in practice and that’s what he did today. Two Thursdays ago, he was 100 percent completion percentage in practice. I don’t know if that’s ever been done. The guy’s a pretty smart player. He’s learned our system. For the most part, the ball went where it was supposed to go today.” It would be premature to say Kitna has received a battlefield promotion as the backup to Richardson. Napier gave the media a “not so fast” response to that suggestion. While he was offering praise to his red-shirt freshman for a capable performance, he also pointed out Kitna has a way to go. “I think there’s a lot of young players that got a chance to play for the first time today,” said Napier. “Jalen Kitna would be a prime example of a guy who I thought first time between the lines really did a lot of good things and there’s a number of other young freshman that played. We are going to make the most of this learning experience and we are going to turn the page to get ready for the SEC East opponent.” On the whole, given the real-life events of the week and the challenging road ahead for a 3-2 team in a brutally difficult league where the also-ran teams can jump up and bite you, this was an important hurdle for Napier’s team to surpass. Napier said they showed “maturity” in not losing focus. And he loved that 81 players got into the game to taste some of the fun. Football was fun again! So coach and players savored it for a day. Understandably. Need I remind you of how some of the ranked teams have done vs. weaker FCS opponents lately. Or how it looks and feels in College Station these days for Jimbo Fisher’s disappointing 3-2 Aggies. Or the heart attack scare for the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, who dropped to No. 2 after barely overcoming a lightly regarded Missouri team. A lightly regarded Missouri team that’s in Gainesville this week for Florida’s homecoming won’t be lightly regarded after the way they pushed the Bulldogs around for 3 ½ quarters. Like I said, the Ides of Autumn. So don’t change the channel.