A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: TWO YEARS AND A LOT OF WHAT IFS Texas A&M 41, Florida 38 (2020): Kyle Trask threw for four touchdowns and 312 yards, but the Gators couldn’t get the Aggies off the field in the second half. Texas A&M had 543 yards of offense including 205 on the ground, most of it in the second half. Florida’s lone turnover led to the Aggies kicking the game-winning field goal as time expired. LSU 37, Florida 34 (2020): Everybody remembers Marco Wilson throwing the shoe but his most glaring error was the pass interference call early in the fourth quarter when the Gators were about to stuff the Tigers at their own 32 on a 3rd-and-7. UF turned it over three times including a pick six and Evan McPherson missed a game-tying field goal by inches. Alabama 52, Florida 46 (2020): On a game when Trask carved up the Alabama defense for 408 yards and three touchdowns, the Florida defense gave up 620 yards. The Gators had chances to stop Alabama but there was an offside in the first quarter that gave Alabama new life (TD on the drive). Trey Dean picked off Mac Jones but fumbled the ball away when he was hit helmet-to-helmet (no targeting call). Alabama scored on the next play. A personal foul was called on Zach Carter when UF got a third down stop. Alabama scored on the drive. The Gators got a stop on 3rd-and-8 but Kyree Campbell slowed down as he ran off the field. Bama snapped the ball, substitution infraction, five plays later Alabama scored. That was in the first half. The moral of the story: A single play in each of those three games and the Gators would have been 11-0 and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Alabama 31, Florida 29 (2021): In a 21-3 first quarter, Alabama got a pass interference call on Kaiir Elam when there was apparently a 3rd-and-7 incompletion. On third down on the same drive, Jase McClellan grabs Mohamoud Diabate by the face mask on a third down completion. No call. Two plays later, John Metchie runs a pick (no call) that helps a TDP to Jahleel Billingsley. Florida dominates the last three quarters, 26-10, but a missed extra point after a TD cut the Bama lead to 28-23 forced a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter instead of an extra point that could have tied the game. Florida outgained Alabama 439-331. Kentucky 20, Florida 13 (2021): UF was flagged for 15 penalties, converted 4-13 on third down, a blocked field goal was returned by UK for a TD and an interception gave the Wildcats a short field for a TD. Florida outgained UK 382-224. LSU 49, Florida 42 (2021): The defense gave up 321 rushing yards. Three interceptions (two by Emory Jones, one by Anthony Richardson) gave LSU a pick six and two short fields for TDs. Florida put up 42 points and outgained the Tigers 488-454. Georgia 34, Florida 7 (2021): Except for a three-minute stretch at the end of the first half when the Gators turned it over three times, one a pick six, it is a 13-7 game. Florida outgained the Bulldogs 355-354. The moral of the story: Although there is no explaining what happened at South Carolina, it’s a legitimate argument that if the Gators had made one or two plays in three of their four (Alabama, Kentucky, LSU) losses going into that game, the focus would have been different completely. A handful of plays the last two years and instead of 34-14 with the entire college football playing universe debating whether Dan Mullen goes or stays, he could easily be 40-8. Some would argue that the fact the Gators have lost all the close games is reason for Mullen to be gone, particularly since five of the close losses could be laid at the feet of former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. I’m not the one who will make the decision about Mullen’s future at the University of Florida. I do know that the number of close calls are being taken into account and may very well be a factor in whatever decision is made. Do you fire a coach who’s not all that far away from 40-8, which would be the second best record in four seasons at UF? Or do you give him a year to see if he’s capable of winning the close ones? I believe there will be a lot of unhappy people whether he gets another year or is fired. GATORS CRACK HOOPS TOP 25; CASTLETON SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK R-e-s-p-e-c-t. That’s what you get when you manhandle a team like Florida State, which has made its reputation in basketball by physically manhandling opponents. The Gators (2-0) went from an AP top 25 afterthought to the No. 24 ranking Monday thanks to that dominant, 71-55, win over Florida State that had Leonard Hamilton saying the Gators “out-Florida Stated Florida State.” The Gators are one of six SEC teams in the AP top 25, the most of any conference in the country (Big Ten 5, Big 12 3, Pac-12 3, American 2, ACC 2, Big East 2). The man in the middle who totally destroyed FSU’s interior game was Colin Castleton, whose 15-point, 16-rebound, 6-blocked shots effort earned him Southeastern Conference Player of the Week. Next up for the Gators is a Thursday night (6 p.m.) encounter with Milwaukee . The Associated Press Top 25 basketball poll: 1. Gonzaga 2-0; 2. UCLA 2-0; 3. Kansas 2-0; 4. Michigan 2-0; 5. Villanova 1-1; 6. Purdue 2-0; 7. Duke 3-0; 8. Texas 1-1; 9. Baylor 1-0; 10. Illinois 2-0; 11. Memphis 2-0; 12. Oregon 2-0; 13. Kentucky 1-1; 14. Alabama 2-0; 15. Houston 2-0; 16. Arkansas 2-0; 17. Tennessee 2-0; 18. North Carolina 2-0; 19. Ohio State 2-0; 20. Maryland 3-0; 21. Auburn 2-0; 22. St. Bonaventure 2-0; 23. UConn 2-0; 24. FLORIDA 2-0; 25. Southern Cal 2-0 SEC Basketball Monday’s games: LSU 74, Liberty 58; Kansas City 80, Missouri 66 No. 14 Alabama (2-0): next game South Alabama (1-1) No. 16 Arkansas (2-0): next game Northern Iowa (1-2) No. 21 Auburn (2-0): next game at South Florida (2-1) Georgia (1-1): next game South Carolina State (0-4) No. 13 Kentucky (1-1): next game Mt. St. Mary’s (1-2) LSU (3-0): next game McNeese State (0-2) Mississippi State (2-0): next game Detroit Mercy (0-2) Missouri (1-1): next game Northern Illinois (1-1) Ole Miss (2-0): next game Marquette (3-0) South Carolina (2-1): next game UAB (3-0) No. 17 Tennessee (2-0): next game Villanova (1-1) Texas A&M (3-0): next game Houston Baptist (1-1) Vanderbilt (2-0): next game VCU (1-1) JONATHAN INDIA NATIONAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Former Gator Jonathan India received 29 of the 30 votes cast to earn National League Rookie of the Year honors. The Cincinnati Reds second baseman hit .269 with 143 hits, 21 homers, 69 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He led all NL rookies in runs scored (98), doubles (34), extra base hits (57), on-base percentage (.376) and RBI (69). An All-America third baseman who was SEC Player of the Year with the Gators, India was a key member of Florida’s 2017 NCAA championship team. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL) No. 2 Alabama (9-1, 5-1 SEC): Running back Roydell Williams’ injured knee will require surgery. No timeline for his return. No. 21 Arkansas (7-3, 3-3 SEC): Linebacker Bumper Pool had 13 tackles in the win over LSU to reach 100 for the season with two games to go. Auburn (6-4, 3-3 SEC): Not only will Auburn be without QB Bo Nix Saturday against South Carolina, but placekicker Anders Carlson is out for at least that game with a leg injury. No. 1 Georgia (10-0, 8-0 SEC): Kirby Smart says so many players had the flu that he was forced to play his starters late in the game against Tennessee. Kentucky (7-3, 5-3 SEC): HBC Mark Stoops got a contract extension through 2027 that will pay him $6.75 million in the final year. LSU (4-6, 2-5 SEC): Injury-plagued LSU has lost another O-lineman. Left tackle Cam Wire was injured in the loss to Arkansas and is done for the year. Mississippi State (6-4, 4-3 SEC): QB Will Rogers was SEC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Bulldogs from 25 down to a 43-34 win over Auburn. Missouri (5-5, 2-4 SEC): HBC Eli Drinkwitz on running back Tyler Badie: “If there’s a better running back in our conference I can’t wait to see him.” No. 10 Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC): A year ago, QB Matt Corral threw 14 interceptions. Through 10 games this year, he’s thrown only two (17 TDPs). South Carolina (5-5, 2-5 SEC): HBC Shane Beamer on the poor defensive play against Mizzou: “We talked about one of the keys defensively was to gang tackle and we missed a lot of tackles tonight.” Tennessee (5-5, 3-4 SEC): Wide receiver Jonta Payton was injured against Georgia. His status for South Alabama won’t be known until later in the week. No. 16 Texas A&M (7-3, 4-3 SEC): Jimbo Fisher on why he’s not leaving the Aggies for LSU: “We’re going to recruit an unbelievable class this year, okay? … I ain’t going nowhere. I don’t wanna be nowhere else. I love being right here.” Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC): Vandy had 10-12 players with the flu prior to the UK game. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY WEEK TEN Extinct Species List Les Miles, Kansas (Permanent replacement Lance Leipold) Randy Edsall, UConn (Permanent replacement Jim Mora Jr.) Clay Helton, Southern Cal Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern (Permanent replacement Clay Helton) Ed Orgeron, LSU Nick Rolovich, Washington State Matt Wells, Texas Tech (Permanent replacement Joey McGuire) Gary Patterson, TCU Tom Arth, Akron Walt Bell, UMass Jimmy Lake, Washington Butch Davis, Florida International On Life Support Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech: He desperately needs to go 2-0, which means beating both Miami and Virginia on the road. There will be good Group of Five jobs available. Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are 3-7 and they still have to go to Notre Dame and play Georgia. Does anyone need a good defensive coordinator? Manny Diaz, Miami: Athletic director Blake James, who was very supportive of Manny, was canned Monday. Now that he has no protector, he could be dead man walking unless he blows the doors off Virginia Tech and Duke in the last two games. Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: The Falcons are 3-7 and they need to win these last two against Miami (OH) and Ohio U, otherwise Lefty is seeing if anyone needs a QB coach somewhere. Rod Carey, Temple: The Owls are 3-7 with five straight losses. Two more and he can order the U-Haul truck. Endangered Species List Steve Sarkisian, Texas: It’s bad enough to lose five games in a row, but when you lose in OT to Kansas, you’re in trouble. If he finishes the season with seven straight losses, he might get the old heave ho. Dino Babers, Syracuse: Dino was in good shape until getting blown out by Lulvil. He’s 5-6 and has to split the next two (at Louisville, Pitt) to remain gainfully employed. Chip Kelly, UCLA: The scheduling gods are merciful. He’s 6-4 with remaining games against Southern Cal and Cal. At 8-4, he’s as good as hanging around one more year. Seth Littrell, North Texas: He’s won three in a row and is 4-6, so folks are speculating that he’ll be around next year if he gets the Mean Green bowl eligible. He wins the next one against Florida International, but then has to face UTSA in the season finale. That might send him packing. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: The Phighting Phils are 4-6. They can beat Shirley Temple this week, and they have to hope SMU gets wasted by Cincinnati this week to have a chance at a win that makes them bowl eligible. Steve Addazio, Colorado State: The Lambs have lost their last four and they’re 3-7 with no hope of a winning season. Addazio is standing on a fault line and praying the earth doesn’t move underneath him. Justin Wilcox, California: Does he really want to be the coach at Cal? The Bears are 3-6 with three losable games to go. Even if he survives he might be looking for something somewhere else. Jeff Scott, South Florida: He will need to win some games next year, but a lot of folks seem to think scoring 28 on Cincinnati last week was a sign that the corner is about to be turned. David Cutcliffe, Duke: It seems like old times in Durham. The Dookies are 3-7 overall, 0-6 in league play and they probably get freight trained by Pitt and Miami in the last two. If Cut survives it’s because they value lifetime achievement. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In an effort to save itself from extinction, the NCAA is holding a constitutional convention. The smaller schools in the lower divisions are arguing that they will be hammered financially if Division I makes any changes. The Knight Commission is weighing in and talking equity. Here is what I think: It is time for the football schools in Division I to break away from the NCAA. Let the NCAA have basketball and the other sports, but Division I football needs its own organization, its own set of rules and an all-powerful commissioner who understands that football pays the freight.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: NAY’QUAN WRIGHT AND THE TURTLE: A PLAN FOR LIFE With the Gator Nation in a turmoil about Dan Mullen – will he stay or will he go – and so many pulling their hair out about recruiting, potential assistant coach hires if Mullen stays and revamps his coaching staff, we tend to forget that the Florida football team is made up of kids, mostly 18-to-22 years old. Not all of them think UF is here as a waystation on the road to the NFL. Some, like running back Nay’Quan Wright, see the University of Florida as the next step to bigger and better things, not necessarily about football. He often tweets about turtles. Why does a fast, shifty, make-you-miss running back tweet about one of the slowest animals on the planet? After Monday’s practice as the Gators ready for a game at Missouri this weekend, Wright explained the thinking behind the tweets. “A turtle normally races a rabbit, and in the end the turtle won, so in the end I will be successful and it’s not just on the field,” Wright said. “It’s off the field, also. So I want to win, and my family preaches we just want to win at life and that’s the end goal – winning at life. Not just on the field, not just winning no natty or no championship. I mean, we gotta win at life. “The end goal: get a degree, get a master’s, set myself up for success, set my family up and the generation that comes after me. So, the life of the turtle is basically a process: ups and downs and in the end the turtle definitely came out on top.” In Wright’s family back in Miami, ideas and visions are both shared and shaped. That time after lunch or dinner when they sit down together is a time when plans are formulated about how to make the future better for everyone. “We have this little group chat where we pick each other’s brains and learn from one another,” Wright said. “And when you really think you do know your family, you actually don’t after you sit down after you have dinner together or lunch and just talk.” It was in those family sessions that got Wright thinking about the turtle. “I took it and ran with it because as I reflect, it defines my life and what I’ve been through,” he said. “And it was all a process, so I’ll continue to elevate.” Sometimes kids have a way of putting things in perspective for the adults. COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF POLL: WEEK THREE The top seven teams remained the same in the third College Football Playoff poll, but now that there are only two weeks remaining in the regular season, we could be seeing some movement. Cincinnati, which has been whining about being stuck outside the top four, could easily crack the top four next week if No. 3 Oregon and/or No. 4 Ohio State lose. The Top 25: 1. Georgia 10-0; 2. Alabama 9-1; 3. Oregon 9-1; 4. Ohio State 9-1; 5. Cincinnati 10-0; 6. Michigan 9-1; 7. Michigan State 9-1; 8. Notre Dame 9-1; 9. Oklahoma State 9-1; 10. Wake Forest 9-1; 11. Baylor 8-2; 12. Ole Miss 8-2; 13. Oklahoma 9-1; 14. BYU 8-2; 15. Wisconsin 7-3; 16. Texas A&M 7-3; 17. Iowa 8-2; 18. Pittsburgh 8-2; 19. San Diego State 9-1; 20. North Carolina State 7-3; 21. Arkansas 7-3; 22. Texas-San Antonio 10-0; 23. Utah 7-3; 24. Houston 9-1; 25. Mississippi State 6-4 Games that could seriously alter the poll next week: No. 3 Oregon (9-1) at No. 23 Utah (7-3): If Oregon loses, the Pac-12 won’t get a team in the playoff. Utah is favored by three and has the kind of QB that can drive Oregon nuts in dual threat sophomore Cameron Rising. No. 7 Michigan State (9-1) at No. 4 Ohio State (9-1): This is essentially a playoff elimination game since both have one loss. The Buckeyes are 19-point favorites but they have a shaky defense. Can Michigan State keep the ball away from that prolific Ohio State offense by pounding Kenneth Walker III between the tackles? SMU (8-2) at No. 5 Cincinnati (10-0): SMU is the best team Cincinnati has played since it beat Notre Dame and the best offense the Bearcats have seen all year. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (37 TDPs) can pick defenses apart if his protection holds up. Can the Bearcats make him average? Cincinnati is favored by 11.5 points. No. 9 Oklahoma State (9-1) at Texas Tech (6-4): Texas Tech beat Iowa State on a 62-yard field goal at the horn last week. Oklahoma State has a habit of losing a game it shouldn’t, like to Iowa State a month ago. If Okie State loses, it’s essentially the end of the Big 12 playoff hopes. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL) Alabama (9-1, 5-1 SEC): Linebacker Will Anderson Jr. leads the nation with 12.5 sacks good for -72 yards in losses. Arkansas (7-3, 3-3 SEC): Since Jalen Catalon was lost for the season with an injury, Myles Slusher has taken over at safety with 24 tackles and an interception in his four starts. Auburn (6-4, 3-3 SEC): With placekicker Anders Carlson sidelined after an injury suffered during an onside kick in last week’s loss to Mississippi State, Ben Patton will take over the kicking duties for Saturdays game with South Carolina. He hasn’t attempted a field goal this year but is 3-3 on extra points. Georgia (10-0, 8-0 SEC): Wide receiver George Pickens, who hasn’t played this year while rehabbing an ACL, is practicing in non-contact jersey and going against the No. 1 defense. Kentucky (7-3, 5-3 SEC): The Wildcats have their second winning record in SEC play since 1977, both posted by Mark Stoops, who will be taking UK to a school record sixth consecutive bowl game. LSU (4-5, 2-5 SEC): Commenting on rumors that have him interested in the soon to be vacant LSU job, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said, “I coach at the University of Oklahoma. You know how I feel about this place and this program. We’ve all been down this road many times before. You guys know where I stand and that hasn’t changed.” Mississippi State (6-4, 4-3 SEC): To have a chance to beat Mississippi State this weekend, former Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee coach Eddie Georgie says, “When they get in the red zone we need to force them to kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns.” Missouri (5-5, 2-4 SEC): How good is running back Tyler Badie? HBC Eli Drinkwitz says, “He’s been five wins valuable. I don’t know that we have five wins if it’s not for Tyler Badie.” Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC): ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit likes the Rebels and says, “If they can keep winning … they’ve got a real shot to get to 10-2 and be a New Year’s Six bowl team.” South Carolina (5-5, 2-5 SEC): Addressing speculation that he might be a candidate for the vacant Virginia Tech job, where his father had a hall of fame career as the HBC, Shane Beamer said, “This is home for me. I want to be the head coach here at South Carolina.” Tennessee (5-5, 3-4 SEC): Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has been nominated for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. Texas A&M (7-3, 4-3 SEC): Athletic director Russ Bjork is satisfied with Jimbo Fisher’s statement that he has no interest in coaching LSU next year. “He told the truth,” Bjork said Tuesday. Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC): Speaking about Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, who the Commodores have to stop to beat the Rebels this weekend, HBC Clark Lea said, “He’s a guy that has the ability to extend plays and thrown from multiple arm angles and find open receivers. It’s not going to always be the way it looks in the playbook.” SEC Basketball Tuesday’s games: No. 13 Kentucky (2-1) 80, Mount Saint Mary’s (1-3) 55; Georgia (2-1) 76, South Carolina State (0-4) 60; No. 14 Alabama (3-0) 73; South Alabama (1-2) 68 Wednesday’s games: Houston Baptist (1-1) at Texas A&M (3-0); Northern Iowa (1-2) at No. 16 Arkansas (2-0); VCU (1-1) at Vanderbilt (2-0); Detroit Mercy (0-2) at Mississippi State (2-0) COACH WATCH Here are the current openings in Division I and how their coaching searches are trending: Southern Cal: James Franklin would take the job in a heartbeat, but his star is fading. AD Mike Bohn hired Luke Fickell at Cincinnati but Fickell probably only moves on from Cincy if Mel Tucker takes the LSU job or Franklin leaves Penn State. The hot name is Baylor coach Dave Aranda, who is from San Bernardino County and played collegiately at Cal Lutheran. LSU: Forget Jimbo. He’s staying in Aggieland. Forget Lincoln Riley. He potentially has his next Heisman QB in Caleb Williams. Forget Franklin. Not even on the short list. Mel Tucker they want. If they can’t get him Dave Aranda probably gets the call if he’s still available. Washington State: Nevada head coach Jay Norvell is the one they want, but he may hold out for what he perceives as a better Power Five job … like Washington. They also like Oklahoma DC Alex Grinich, who worked wonders with Mike Leach’s defense at Wazzoo a few years ago. Washington: The name heard the most is Oregon offensive coordinator and former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead. If Washington offers Nevada head coach Jay Norvell, he almost certainly takes it. Virginia Tech: From the moment it was announced that Justin Fuente was being let go, the target has been on the back of Billy Napier, who reportedly is also on the TCU short list. If Napier takes the TCU job, look for Tech to go with Mike Houston, who has ECU bowl eligible and who won a D1AA national title at James Madison. TCU: The guy they want is Billy Napier. The guy they probably will get is Sonny Dykes, who currently coaches SMU. Deion Sanders’ name has also been mentioned. Florida International: This is a trainwreck. Mentioned as potential successors to Butch Davis are former Georgia offensive coordinator and Texas A&M tight ends coach James Coley and Western Carolina head coach and former Gator QB Kerwin Bell. If they’re smart they’ll stay right where they are. Akron: They thought they could do better than Terry Bowden. They were wrong. Tom Arth was terrible. The guy they want is former Zips QB and Miami Dolphins QB coach Charlie Frye, who was on the Florida support staff as Director of Player Development for Old Yeller (2016-17). UMass: They need to be back in D1AA where Mark Whipple made them a power, but they are D1 and playing paycheck games to pay for their Title IX sports. The guy they would love is Kentucky OC Liam Coen, a Massachusetts native. Two chances that happens: No way and no how. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Sometimes you get what you ask for and discover just how good you had it before you made the changes. Coaches asked for and got an early December signing period. You could say it’s successful since 85 percent of all Division I players will sign their LOI at that time but look what it’s done to the coaching profession. There have been 12 coaches fired DURING the 2021 season and we might expect a few more before the final regular season games are played November 27. The reason? To get a new coach in place to salvage recruiting. It creates a vicious cycle. Coaches are fired and replaced by new coaches. The new coaches leave behind a school that now has to do its own coach search to salvage recruiting. Kids who worked their tails off to get to a bowl game see their head coach leave for new pastures and they are coached in the bowl game by a lame duck staff. There is a further domino effect now that we effectively have free agency. So many kids are going to be transferring in and out of programs that it will make your heads spin. I always liked the old way of recruiting better when it all came to a crescendo on the first Wednesday in February. From a fan’s perspective that was best. I think it was best from coaching perspectives, too. There was less inclination to fire a coach during the season when a new coach could take over in January and have a full month to get his staff and recruiting together. What I would like to see is early signing ONLY for kids who have the grades to early enroll. Everyone else signs in February. Have some sort of moratorium on firing coaches during the season unless there is something egregious like lying about death threats. Use December to hire new coaches since that would also give assistants a chance to find new jobs. I doubt we’ll see anything like this in the near future. It makes good sense and we can’t have that, can we?

Photo by Chris Spears These are the late autumn days of long shadows that may obscure the true action on the field, but not the true personality of the team and real identity of its coaches, which eventually come to the light anyway. Mullen is not Spurrier or Meyer, but neither is he garbage, or chopped liver or a coach who went to seed in 12 months. I’ve been around football coaches all my life. For the most part I’ve liked them – a few were even close friends. Generally they are well-meaning guys, good people who give far more than they take, intent on making boys into good men and contributing to a better universe. Most truly do care about teaching The Right Stuff and enhancing the character of players. They are passionate people, as committed to the singular purpose of winning games as the matador is to defeating the bull. They are also very human, although on occasion they often try to portray someone or something that isn’t. And they are inevitably compared to each other. Which brings us to the curious case of an identity crisis for Dan Mullen. Dan Mullen is not Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer. Their records were similar for a brief period during his first 35 games; Mullen’s early speed outpaced them, but ended after the 29-6 imploded into 34-14. Gator fans, confused over how they could have gotten it so wrong, are licking their wounds and wondering whether they still believe We Are The Boys Who Won’t Back Down, and if Mullen is the right person to guide them out of the woods. They are as deep in those woods as Hansel and Gretel, as deep as any team in a long time. After 11 hugely disappointing weeks on the heels of a three-game losing streak at the end of last season, it’s show-and-sell time for Mullen. Who is he? What happened to magic he brought to Gainesville the day he got off the plane chomping? This we know: He is coaching for his job, career and reputation in these next two games. He might survive another loss, since that could still make Florida bowl eligible, but there is this eerie feeling of borrowed time. Thrashing at the deep end of the pool, it appeared the 49-year-old coach was about to go under for the third time Saturday in the most embarrassing victory – is that even a term? – in which the defense gave up more points in the first half of any Gator football team in 110 years. It weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of all Gators, including Mullen. These are the late autumn days of long shadows that may obscure the true action on the field, but not the true personality of the team and real identity of its coaches, which eventually come to the light anyway. Mullen is not Spurrier or Meyer, but neither is he garbage, or chopped liver or a coach who went to seed in 12 months. Just as he’s not Spurrier or Meyer, neither is Shane Beamer a Spurrier, nor Jimbo Fisher a Nick Saban, nor Brian Harsin a Shug Jordan, nor Lane Kiffin a Johnny Vaught, or Josh Heupel a Phil Fulmer. Well, you get the idea… I see no reason to replay what my colleague Carlton Reese referred to as “A Nightmare on Lemerand” because the rule for nightmares is that you don’t tell them the next morning. As for you Gators who want Mullen gone, I understand, because he might not be the best guide for Hansel and Gretel to emerge from the forest. I do defend his right for a chance to fight his way out. Yet I can’t muster the confidence that they deserve the role as 10-point favorites at Missouri Saturday. Yes, Humpty Dumpty has fallen and the program is swirling down drainword, consumed by rumors of massive decommitments, long transfer portal cue lines and secret lists of coaching replacements. Frankly it’s just hearsay at the moment -- downright depressing and exhausting. Some disgruntled fans are sneering and taunting over the video of a jubilant lockerroom celebrating after that “nightmarish” 70-52 win over tiny Samford. Mullen was quick to say that mocking victory was disrespectful – and he’s not wrong about that. So what I’m going to do this week is wait and see, or look in a different direction. It’s often so painful that fans look away, turn off the TV, curse the coach or the program on social media, call for his head, castigate the players as a sorry bunch, grouse at the water cooler or over coffee on Monday at the office, threaten to give up their tickets and whimper on their pillows at night. I’m giving Mullen a shot to see if he’s got anything left in the tank. We’re not going to have pity parties, even for the coaches that get fired. Some of us feel badly for them, but with a reported $12 million buyout in place, Dan Mullen would have numerous other opportunities – including Nick Saban’s home for rehabilitated coaches. Heck, sometimes we turn to fiction for an escape. Ted Lasso isn't Dan Mullen. And Dan Mullen is not Steve Spurrier. (Photo Courtesy Ted Lasso) I love me some Ted Lasso. It took me a year to find him on Apple TV and another few months before learning that my five-year-old, not-so-smart, big screen TV couldn’t dial it in before I finally resorted to watching it on my laptop. Then I couldn’t get enough of this fictional character, Jason Sudeikis, playing an American football pro coach as he tries to take the reins of a New Premier League team AFC Richmond despite having no experience coaching English soccer. I binge-watched five episodes. And I can’t lie – I’ll do another couple of hours soon. Why do I do this? Honestly, I find Ted Lasso funny, committed, honest, grateful, considerate and somebody brave enough to fight through a losing season for the greater good. He doesn’t have a $12 million buyout, but he has the guts enough to say it’s more about relationships than wins. Which, of course, means Gator fans would want to fire him in 10 minutes. In the course of commiserating over the “terrible” win Saturday, some of us clicked on the Florida-Florida State basketball game and witnessed the Gators winning, 71-55. Much to surprise, this Mike White team finally beat the Seminoles, breaking a seven-game losing streak, despite FSU’s talented roster of recruits. And BTW, we could still hear the “Fire Mike White” echoes left over in the O’Connell Center. Sound familiar? It got me to thinking, when was the last time the Gators beat the Seminoles in both football and basketball the same year? Well, it was 2012. With the strong showing in this basketball win over the ‘Noles, it might make that Nov. 27 football game in The Swamp even more crucial. You don’t suppose … Nah, that would be too positive a thing to say.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: “YOU GOT FINS TO THE LEFT, FINS TO THE RIGHT …” The sharks are schooling and we can only speculate what is next for Dan Mullen. Some very well-intentioned people seem to think he’s got one foot out the door already. There are claims of booster money raised to pay for the buyout and many in the media say it will be impossible for Mullen to be the head coach next year even if the Gators win their next two games to finish 7-5 in the regular season. Only a handful of people know for sure whether Mullen will be coaching the Gators next year or if he’s the football coaching equivalent of dead man walking – Dan Mullen, Megan Mullen, Scott Stricklin, Dr. Kent Fuchs, Jimmy Sexton and maybe two or three others. For everyone else, it’s a matter of speculation. This is a real dilemma and no matter how strongly you believe Dan Mullen needs to go or how much you believe he should be given a year to fix the mess that has his signature on it, there isn’t an easy answer. Here are a few of the suggestions that have come to me via phone call, email or text message since the Florida defense laid such a gigantic egg in the Gators’ 70-52 win over Samford. Fire him and announce it at the Monday morning press conference: My response to that is Dan Mullen is 34-14 and has gone to three straight New Year’s Six bowls. Do you think firing him with two games to go in the regular season is going to send a message to the kind of coach you want to hire if and when Mullen is gone? Fire him and announce it the day after the Florida State game: My response is that if he’s going to be fired, then that would be the time to do it and not before. Secondly, don’t fire Dan Mullen unless there is a short list of candidates who have indicated a serious interest BEFORE Mullen is canned. This is why God invented agents, so contacted coaches could have plausible deniability when asked if they’ve been contacted by a school and their season is still going on. Hire Bob Stoops: Really? Hire Mark Stoops: I like Mark Stoops. I really do. I think he’s a fine football coach but I think he’s Les Miles all over again. Les won a lot of games but was boring. Really boring. Weren’t the seven years pre-Mullen enough? Hire Mel Tucker: If Mullen has to go, he would be my first phone call. He knows the SEC, has coached in the SEC, knows how Nick and Kirby tick, knows how to recruit, deals with the transfer portal the way an NFL GM deals with free agency and unless his mother dropped him on his head too many times when he was an infant, he has to know it’s easier to get to the SEC Championship Game at Florida than it is to the Big Ten Championship Game at Michigan State. Hire Mario Cristobal: I wonder if he is willing to coach in the SEC when Uncle Phil will throw all that Nike money at him to give him whatever he needs. The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams. Easier to make the playoff as the Pac-12 champ than it will be from an SEC that not only includes Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Auburn but will soon include Texas and Oklahoma. But, if Mullen were to go and Mario wanted to be a Gator, he could be a big time hire. Hire Billy Napier: He’s turned down SEC jobs already. He’s got a job that pays well at Louisiana, very little pressure, and may be wanting to see what Nick is going to do at Alabama in the next 2-3 years before leaving Lafayette. But, a great hire if the UF job were to open. Give Mullen another year, but tell him he has to gut his staff completely: I can see him being given another year. Dr. Fuchs likes him. Scott Stricklin likes him. I’ve talked to a number of high powered boosters who like him and an equal number who liked him until the Samford game. I don’t think anyone has to tell Dan that he’s got a whole heap of changing to do if he intends to be the long term solution at UF. If he doesn’t (a) make significant staff changes and (b) find some people who are better recruiters, then another year will be wasted. Without changes you might as well can him now. But, I think it’s worth Dr. Fuchs, Stricklin and the boosters to ask now for a detailed plan on how the ship can and will be righted. Give Mullen another year, but encourage him to take another job if he’s offered: You might find it surprising, but there are a lot of folks in the coaching profession that think that Mullen has been operating at a handicap, has to deal with the worst fans in America (I can vouch that this is the reputation UF fans have with a lot of prominent coaches) who haven’t taken into account he’s had a serious facilities deficit that is only now being addressed, and that he should take another job elsewhere. There are jobs out there to be had by Dan Mullen. You may find that hard to believe but it’s true. Under this scenario, if he doesn’t think UF’s issues can be solved in a single year and there will be little patience beyond that, then perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to encourage him to go if a good job is offered. The Associated Press Top 25 poll: 1. Georgia 10-0; 2. Alabama 9-1; 3. Cincinnati 10-0; 4. Oregon 9-1; 5. Ohio State 9-1; 6. Notre Dame 9-1; 7. Michigan State 9-1; 8. Michigan 9-1; 9. Oklahoma State 9-1; 10. Ole Miss 8-2; 11. Baylor 8-2; 12. Oklahoma 9-1; 13. Wake Forest 9-1; 14. BYU 8-2; 15. Texas-San Antonio; 16. Texas A&M 7-3; 17. Houston 9-1; 18. Iowa 8-2; 19. Wisconsin 7-3; 20. Pittsburgh 8-2; 21. Arkansas 7-3; 22. Louisiana 9-1; 23. San Diego State 9-1; 24. Utah 7-3; 25. North Carolina State 7-3 The Coaches Top 25 poll: 1. Georgia 10-0; 2. Alabama 9-1; 3. Cincinnati 10-0; 4. Ohio State 9-1; 5. Oregon 9-1; 6. Notre Dame 9-1; 7. Michigan 9-1; 8. Michigan State 9-1; 9. Oklahoma State 9-1; 10. Ole Miss 8-2; 11. Oklahoma 9-1; 12. Wake Forest 9-1; 13. Baylor 8-2; 14. Iowa 8-2. 15. BYU 8-2; 16. Texas A&M 7-3; 17. Houston 9-1; 18. Texas-San Antonio 10-0; 19. Pittsburgh 8-2; 20. Wisconsin 7-3; 21. Louisiana 9-1; 22. Arkansas 7-3; 23. San Diego State 9-1; 24. North Carolina State 7-3; 25. Utah 7-3 SEC FOOTBALL AFTER WEEK 11 Alabama (9-1, 5-1 SEC): Jameson Williams had five catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns in the win over New Mexico State. He has 50 catches for 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns. He didn’t even crack the top three receivers at Ohio State … With five TDPs Bryce Young has thrown 33 for the season. Next week: vs. Arkansas (7-3, 3-3 SEC) Arkansas (7-3, 3-3 SEC): Cam Little kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime for a 16-13 win over LSU, the Hogs first win over LSU in six years. Next week: at No. 2 Alabama (9-1, 5-1 SEC) Auburn (6-4, 3-3 SEC): Bo Nix is done for the year with an ankle that will require surgery. LSU transfer T.J. Finley will take over as the starting QB. Next week: at South Carolina (5-5, 2-5 SEC) Georgia (10-0, 8-0 SEC): Georgia just bludgeoned the Tennessee defense for 274 rushing yards. James Cook ran for 104 yards and two TDs and was 3-43 receiving with another TD. Next week: vs. Charleston Southern (4-5) Kentucky (7-3, 5-3 SEC): Chris Rodriguez ran for 114 yards and a TD. He has 1,032 yards for the season. Next week: vs. New Mexico State (1-9) LSU (4-6, 2-5 SEC): LSU’s top two replacement candidates for Coach Oeaux are Jimbo Fisher, who signed a 10-year extension with the Aggies and Mel Tucker, who’s expected to get a bump in pay to $7.5-8 million to remain with Michigan State. Next week: vs. Louisiana-Monroe (4-6) Mississippi State (6-4, 4-3 SEC): After falling behind 28-3, Mississippi State scored the next 40 points. Will Rogers threw for 415 yards and six touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 43-34 win over Auburn. Next week: vs. Tennessee State (5-5) Missouri (5-5, 2-4 SEC): Tyler Badie ran for 209 yards, his fourth 200-plus game of the season, to lead Mizzou past South Carolina. Badie leads the SEC with 1,239 yards. Next week: vs. Florida (5-5, 2-5 SEC): Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC): The Rebels sealed with win over Texas A&M with an interception by Ashanti Cistrunk to set up a Snoop Conner TD run and a pick six by AJ Finley. Next week: vs. Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC) South Carolina (5-5, 2-5 SEC): A week after running for 284 yards on Florida, South Carolina managed 57 (1.63 per carry) against Mizzou. Next week: Auburn (6-4, 3-3 SEC) Tennessee (5-5, 3-4 SEC): In the loss to Georgia, wide receiver Cedric Tillman caught 10 passes for 200 yards and a TD. Next week: vs. South Alabama (5-5) Texas A&M (7-3, 4-3 SEC): The Aggies had given up 242 rushing yards in their three previous games. Ole Miss ran for 267 to go with 247 passing yards. Next week: vs. Prairie View A&M (7-2) Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC): Mike Wright came off the bench to throw for a couple of touchdown passes to make the loss to Kentucky more respectable. Next week: at Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC) FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: Wake Forest (9-1) outlasted North Carolina State (7-3) to remain on top of the Coastal Division despite three Sam Hartman interceptions and only 20-47 passing … Clemson (7-3) won its third straight game. Okay, so it was UConn ... Pitt (8-2) The Deacons will travel to Clemson (7-3) in a game … Pitt (8-2) beat North Carolina (5-5) 30-23 in overtime to stay in the Atlantic Division lead … Jordan Travis scored from one yard out with 26 seconds left as Florida State (4-6) rallied to beat Miami (5-5), 31-28. Big Ten: Ohio State (9-1) is unbeaten in league play and wins the East by beating Michigan State (9-1) and Michigan (9-1) in the next two weeks. Wisconsin (7-3) and Iowa (8-2) are tied in the West but Wisconsin owns the tiebreaker. Big 12: Oklahoma (9-1) went down for the first time this season at Baylor (8-2) when the Bears held the OU offense to 260 yards and 14 points Caleb Williams threw two interceptions and ran for only 17 yards before he was benched in favor of Spencer Rattler. Baylor ran for 296 yards on the Oklahoma defense … Oklahoma State (9-1) is now tied with Oklahoma on top of the Big 12 after an easy 63-17 win over TCU … Texas Tech (6-4) got its first win for new coach Joey McGuire when Jonathan Garibay kicked a 62-yards field goal as time expired to knock off Iowa State (6-4), 41-38. Pac-12: Washington (4-6) has fired Jimmy Lake. He’s owed $9 million … Oregon (9-1) could see its College Football Playoff hopes go down the chute this weekend at Utah (7-3), which is on a 3-game winning streak and is unbeaten in Salt Lake City. Independents: Notre Dame (9-1) caught a break when Virginia (6-4) QB Brennan Armstrong couldn’t go due to a rib injury. The Irish held Virginia’s normally high-powered offense to 278 yards for a 28-3 win … Army (6-3) hammered D1AA Bucknell to become bowl-eligible. Group of Five: Cincinnati (10-0) beat South Florida (2-8) 45-28 to set up a showdown game with SMU (8-2), which blew out injury-riddled UCF, 55-28. Houston (9-1) lurks for the winner … UTSA (10-0) scored the last 17 points to rally past Southern Miss (1-9), 27-17, and remain unbeaten … Billy Napier has Louisiana sitting pretty in the Fun Belt with a 9-1 record. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: A retired head football coach I know told me this Sunday afternoon: “It’s more than Dan Mullen. Georgia has better facilities, boosters who are heavily involved in NIL, and Kirby inherited a program that already had 16 years of really good recruiting under Mark Richt. Dan inherited bad facilities, seven years of bad football that saw everybody else start recruiting the state of Florida well, and he’s got boosters who are clueless about NIL. Yeah, he’s made some mistakes, too, like keeping Grantham, but not everything is his fault.”

It there is a ray of hope to be discovered in this confounding roller coaster year of inconsistencies with the Florida Gators, it is what Dameon Pierce saw happen in the halftime locker room Saturday afternoon. Trailing D1AA Samford 42-35 was bad, but the way the Gators went about trailing was even worse. There was that second Samford touchdown, a 58-yarder from Liam Welch to Michael Vice. Not only was there a blown coverage that allowed Vice to catch the ball all alone at the Florida 40, but you would have thought Vice was wearing Teflon the way Rashad Torrence slid off him at the 30. There was a simple swing pass out of the backfield by Welch to Jay Stanton. It should have been stopped for a short gain, but Stanton split two Florida defenders and turned it into a 40-yard touchdown. There was also a 98-yard kickoff return by Montrell Washington, who was surrounded by Gators between the 20 and 25 but no one laid a hand on him, so he broke through the pack and sprinted into the end zone. The Gators gave up 358 yards in the first half, helping the Samford cause with five defensive penalties. All that offset the kind of offensive output you expect of an SEC team against a D1AA team that has a losing record. The Gators put up 35 points, 385 yards and scored on five of seven first half possessions. And yet they trailed and looked bad doing it. “I definitely felt a change in the locker room from the previous weeks,” Pierce said the Gators played far better in the second half to outscore Samford 70-52 to break a three-game losing streak. “In previous weeks sometimes the leadership wasn’t there but you could see guys are fed up and things started to click.” There was yelling. There was screaming. There was even some finger pointing, particularly by defensive players who Pierce said “were the guys who were making all the noise in the locker room, telling guys to step up and start playing way better than we were playing.” Pierce is one of these if you don’t want to know the answer, don’t ask the question kind of guys. The yelling, screaming and finger pointing he was alluding to are symptoms of a far greater disease that might go a long way toward explaining why it is that the Gators need to win one of their remaining two games just to be bowl eligible when there is enough talent to be in the hunt for a fourth straight New Year’s Six bowl game. A lack of leadership is a killer disease for a football team. Dan Mullen attempted to surgically remove some of the problem earlier in the week when he dismissed defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy. The O-line obviously got the message the way they responded to interim coach Michael Sollenne – 717 offensive yards (10.4 per play), 253 rushing yards (7.2 per carry), zero sacks allowed. The defense took a half to figure things out. Mullen said interim defensive coordinator Christian Robinson was making the right calls and doing a good job of getting the calls in quickly to offset Samford’s no-huddle, up tempo scheme but the Gators were slow to react, tackled poorly, blew coverages, extended drives with penalties and were too often in position to make a play, but just didn’t do it. When Mullen got into the locker room the tension de-escalated. He made it a point quickly that things had to change from a “not you, you, you, you, you” to “me and we” mentality. “We need to do this together and we need to turn it inside and go say, ‘Hey, there’s plenty of opportunities to go make plays on that field right now … there are plenty and we’re just not doing them,’” Mullen said. “I mean, I can go in there, yell and scream or do any of that [but] I just called them out, saying that’s what we need to do so stop with any of the you, you, you, or pointing or even asking anybody. Just take the ownership and go make the plays and believe in each other to go make it together.” For the most part, it worked. In the second half, Samford put together one touchdown drive – seven plays, 75 yards that was aided by a dubious pass interference penalty – and a drive for a field goal following the TD when there was a special teams breakdown on an onside kick. “We said, ‘Hey we got to be ready for the surprise onside kick here,’” Mullen said. “We moved guys up … we had three guys right there. We didn’t get the ball and that gets into guys making plays.” Other than those two drives that totaled 111 yards and accounted for all 10 Samford points, the Florida defense held the Bulldogs to 61 yards, a definite improvement. The offense did what the offense is supposed to do in both halves. The Gators scored five touchdowns in each half. Emory Jones completed 28-34 passes for 464 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 86 yards and a TD. His 550 yards of total offense broke Tim Tebow’s single game school record. He also went an entire game without turning the ball over, the first time that’s happened all season. A great offense and half a game of good defense. Special teams that struggled again. Twelve penalties for 94 yards (Samford had three for 30). Another game with glaring inconsistencies, a problem all season long for a team that has proven in stretches that it is capable of playing with anybody in the country. Ten games played and we still haven’t seen what could be deemed a complete game in which offense, defense and special teams played with intensity and consistency for four quarters. Inconsistent football teams can usually point to three problem areas – bad coaching, lack of talent and poor leadership. In hindsight, Mullen hung on to Grantham and Hevesy much too long. If he intends to remain the head football coach at the University of Florida for more than next season, then there is no question more changes need to be made because Grantham and Hevesy aren’t the only coaches who have under-performed this season. Realistically, the only coach who should feel safe right now is wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales. Mullen has to take a total inventory of his football program and make whatever changes are necessary to his entire staff and not just his assistant coaches. That will not compensate for what happened in 2021 or those confounding dial-a-score losses in 2020 but it can go a long way toward ensuring there are no repeat debacles. The Gators don’t have the level of talent that you see at Georgia and Alabama. But, as we saw in the way UF played both those teams for three quarters, there is enough talent. Take away that disastrous three-minute stretch at the end of the first half, and the Georgia game is a 13-7 deficit. Florida was outscored by Alabama 21-3 in the first quarter but outscored Alabama 26-10 the rest of the way. More talent definitely would have helped in both games, but Florida had enough to win. Mullen can eliminate some of the talent deficits with the top teams in the SEC by hiring assistant coaches who are better recruiters and bringing in a recruiting staff headed up by a Mark Pantoni clone. Leadership? Well, Dameon Pierce probably pinpointed a very big reason why the Gators are 5-5 right now. Coaches can only provide so much leadership. If the coaches are the only ones doing the leading then there is every good chance what they’re telling players is going in one ear and out the other. At some point, the alpha males on a team have to take stock of what is going on and tell their teammates to either lead, follow or get the hell out of the way. Perhaps that is what happened at halftime against Samford. Looking back over the previous three weeks, we can see how leadership played a key role in losses to LSU, Georgia and South Carolina. We don’t know what happened in the locker rooms after those losses, but you can bet the farm that if there had been the yelling, screaming and finger pointing followed by leaders stepping up, then at least two of those three losses probably would have been avoided. The question now is was this a one-shot deal, or will there be carryover into next week’s game at Missouri and the following week at The Swamp against Florida State? If the leaders who took ownership in the locker room Saturday against Samford, are more than just talk, then it will spill over into the upcoming week of practice and we’ll see the Gators play inspired football against Missouri. The hope is that the first half against Samford was a long-awaited wakeup call. If not, then the last two weeks of the season will be dreary.

The play that personified Florida’s defensive effort Sunday afternoon at the O-Dome wasn’t the kind that shows up on the stat sheet. The Gators had taken a 43-42 lead on a 3-pointer by Phlandrous Fleming Jr. which sent the already raucous O-Dome crowd into a frenzy. Down at the defensive end, the FSU guards were having problems with the Florida pressure. As the shot clock wound down, Anthony Duruji made a dive near midcourt to try to knock the ball away from Anthony Polite. He got just enough of the ball that Polite wasted a couple of precious seconds retrieving the ball. By the time he regained control, Duruji was on his feet and coming after him again. He got rid of the ball but before the Seminoles could get a shot off, the buzzer sounded with a clock violation. It’s a wonder the roof of the O-Dome managed to stay hinged to its base because the crowd sent the decibel level to new heights. In the final 10 minutes of the game, each defensive play – and there were many – seemed to lead to a layup or a 3-ball at the other end, sending a new crescendo of ear-splitting roars skyward. What happened Sunday afternoon at the O-Dome – a 71-55 Florida victory that broke a 7-year losing streak to FSU – was really the first chance we’ve had to see Mike White’s total team makeover. This was unlike previous years when FSU’s physical style took the Gators out of the game both mentally and physically. This Florida team not only fought back but beat the Seminoles at their own game. “This year, it’s a different team,” Colin Castleton said after a monster game in which he scored 15 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked six shots. They don’t give stats for altered shots but his presence forced at least a dozen bad shots from the Seminoles. “We have a different mentality. We didn’t really care what they were going to bring. It was about us and how hard we were going to play, how tough we were, how much heart we had and we felt like we brought more of that than they did.” It wasn’t lost on Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, whose Seminoles are annually one of the more physically tough defensive teams in the country. “They out-Florida Stated Florida State,” was how Hamilton described the beatdown. “I thought they did the things to us that we’ve been accustomed to doing to other people and you’ve got to give them credit for that.” Castleton put the Gators ahead 45-44 on a stickback of a Myreon Jones shot with 10:14 left in the game. That set the Gators off on a 13-0 run that left the Seminoles dazed and confused. Over the final 11:09 of the game, Florida outscored FSU, 28-11. Castleton was the dominant inside force but he didn’t have to do it alone. Duruji played much bigger than 6-7, finishing the game with 15 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. It was his midcourt steal followed by a two-handed dunk that put the Gators up 60-47 with 7:09 to play. That was another of those moments when the roof to the O-Dome seemed ready to blow, powered by a Florida crowd that was using its lungs to voice seven years of frustration coming to an end. Those kind of moments weren’t lost on the Seminoles, nor the Gators. The crowd noise was like an energy steroid. “They started feeding off that energy,” said FSU’s Malik Osborne. “They clearly wanted the game more than us and had more pride than us.” The atmosphere and energy wasn’t lost on White, who is obviously pleased to have the Gators playing in front of big crowds again after a year of near empty arenas due to COVID-19 restrictions. “It was rockin’ … it was an incredible college basketball environment,” White said. It fueled our guys. Honestly, we’ve got to get used again to playing in front of that decibel level – in front of that electricity – because it did fuel us … It was definitely a significant home court advantage and I’m very appreciative to all our fans and the Rowdies and to our administration. Great coaches will tell you that defense is contagious and that it has everything to do with want to. There are nights when you can’t throw the ball in the ocean while standing on the end of the pier but good teams stay in the game even on bad shooting nights because they bring the defensive intensity. That has been hit and miss for much of the past few years, mostly miss. The toughness has also been missing with rare exceptions. Keyontae Johnson was always tough, but he hasn’t been able to play since he collapsed in Tallahassee last year against Florida State, one more reason why Sunday’s win over FSU was special. The change of defensive heart and injection of toughness has plenty to do with the four transfers who turned what seemed to be an all-out exit at the end of last season into a ray of hope. At the end of the 2020 season, Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis declared for the NBA. Noah Locke transferred to Louisville and Omar Payne to Illinois. Brandon McKissic (UM-Kansas City), Myreon Jones (Penn State), C.J. Felder (Boston College) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) came to Florida with serious defensive credentials, toughness and the ability to more than make up for what was lost on the offensive end. Sunday, McKissic, Jones and Fleming all made their presence felt, combining for 33 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals and one blocked shot. These are grown men, who come to practice ready to work and who expect teammates to match their intensity. It was important enough for Fleming Sunday that he played although he’s missed the last several days of practice due to the flu bug and was taking IV before the game. He’s 6-5 and is willing to defend all five positions on the floor. McKissic and Jones are more natural scorers than Fleming, but like Fleming, they bring the defensive intensity. Felder, who has had his bouts with the bug, hardly played Sunday but White says he’s one of the more gifted defensive players the Gators have had. Add these guys in with Castleton, who is capable of dominating in the paint as he did against FSU, Duruji, who seems far more comfortable this year, and Tyree Appleby, the quickest of the Gators who had a game-high five assists, and the Gators have a transformed lineup that is adapting well to White’s new defensive strategy. Because Castleton is the only true post player and Florida’s only real size in the paint, White is using a 2-2-1 zone trap that is designed mostly to force opponents to use 12-15 seconds of clock before they can get into their offense. Fleming, McKissic, Jones and Appleby spent Sunday putting enormous pressure on the perimeter and that the Seminoles from jamming the ball inside to attack Castleton and Duruji. “We have a really good group of guys who like playing defense,” Castleton said. “All our guards have that grit and nastiness about them. They just play really well on ball defense. They get deflections and they make it rough for their guards as you saw today. They turned the ball over. They make it easy for me because they drive in there and then they throw stuff up. I just do what I have to do which is block shots and play good defense around the rim.” We’re only two games into the season and injuries, sickness, COVID-19 could all inject their troubles on the Gators and any team on the schedule, but what we’ve seen through two games is a Florida team that isn’t going to necessarily be the finesse team of the past few years. Instead, this is a team that seems to embrace toughness and floor burns. It’s a fragile group. If Castleton were to go down for any length of time whether by injury or sickness, it would be hard to compensate, but if they can remain healthy, this is going to be a fun team to watch. If FSU, with all of its hand-to-hand combat rules for playing intimidating defense, can’t intimidate or out-tough the Gators, then UF is going to be a very difficult team for anyone on the schedule.

Head coach Dan Mullen said after the game, “Calling a win ‘disappointing’ is disrespectful to the game and our players.” Photo by Chris Spears By CARLTON REESE GatorBait Columnist Amid the conversations overheard during Saturday’s circus was that this season has turned into a “horror movie” for the Florida Gators. The slashing and gory bloodletting of this campaign may be reminiscent of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” but that’s where the analogy ends, because in a motion picture one generally has a good idea of how things will turn out – the monster eventually succumbs to the forces of good. By contrast, no one knows where this thing in Gainesville is headed. When the buzzer sounded at Florida Field, the scoreboard read 'Gators 70, Bulldogs 52’ but everyone walking back to their cars knew the only score that mattered was ‘Samford 42, Florida 28.’ Oh, to have witnessed the guffaws and gaiety of those tailgaters in Knoxville and Tallahassee as they swigged their beer and gnawed on ribs, reveling in what for them has become an enjoyable farce that defines the program of their hated rival to the south. Yes, at one point late in the first half Florida trailed Samford, a 42-point loser at home to Tennessee-Chattanooga three weeks ago, by two touchdowns. This was not a lead built on fluke gadget plays, odd bounces and Florida offensive miscues – no, the Samford offense earned every bit of 42 points in just under 27 minutes of play. The Bulldogs marched 75 yards on their opening drive and followed that up with drives of 75, 79, 44 and 87 yards with a 98- yard kickoff return to boot. Those are numbers of an offense that outmuscles, outclasses and outcoaches its opponent. But was it, really? It seemed something else may have been at play, because it’s not plausible for Samford to accomplish what neither Alabama nor Georgia could come close to: piling up close to 400 yards and 42 points in one half of play against the Florida defense. It’s not as though the Gator defenders weren’t trying – there was a fair amount of effort – it may be that there just wasn’t a whole lot of heart, something that provides the extra needed gear at this level, lest one become exposed by inferior talent. Could it also be that there wasn’t a very good defensive game plan for this one? Considering the defensive coordinator was fired six days before, it stands to reason that less coaching might naturally take its toll on the performance of a beleaguered unit. Once again, be careful what you wish for, and wishing for the heads of two assistant coaches in mid gag-reflux generally carries with it negative implications. At 42-28 with 3:17 to play in the half, nothing mattered beyond that point – the shame and embarrassment were permanently ensconced in our collective memory. The humiliation was so thorough that its stain would mar any defensive heroics that would come later. Ten sacks and negative-50 yards could have been the remainder of Florida’s defensive performance Saturday and it would never have made up for that first half of futility. Head coach Dan Mullen said after the game, “Calling a win ‘disappointing’ is disrespectful to the game and our players.” Well, in that case consider respect coming from this side of the table sorely lacking. When this game made its way on to the schedule, its purpose was as a glorified scrimmage to allow players to heal at the end of a grueling SEC season. From where, then, is the respect supposed to come? How will this movie end? Next week it’s a trip to Missouri, where the vaunted South Carolina Gamecocks came up empty Saturday night, so matters do not portend well for a UF defensive squad lacking in confidence, intensity and schematics. Is there anyone else on the staff Mullen can fire, so as to assure everyone he’s on the case? Addition through subtraction did, after all, yield a victory this time – so why not send another assistant coach out to pasture? Perhaps there is another graduate assistant waiting in the wings to step in for Wesley McGriff or Jules Montinar, whose secondary surrendered 416 yards passing to Samford. The less coaches the better, right? Sarcasm aside, Nick Saban could loan his whole staff to Florida and it would make no difference with the players’ intensity level akin to an afternoon nap. The sideline seemed business as usual even when the Bulldogs were face-planting them – the usual fracas among cornered animals never materialized. For Florida to have a chance in Missouri or at home the following week against a now-confident FSU squad, it must play like the desperate team it is. Shootouts will not likely produce victories against the upcoming opponents which are fighting for their bowl-eligibility lives. No doubt the Tigers and Seminoles will play with the desperation necessary to scratch their way into the postseason, but it remains to be seen if the Gators are even aware of their own desperation to win that magical sixth game. On offense, schemes work even when the intensity lags – sometimes too much intensity hinders execution for an offense. On defense, however, intensity wins. Precision and execution take a back seat to the desire to hit someone at any cost. Perhaps former DC Todd Grantham’s schemes encouraged more thinking and less passion and physicality – who knows? Perhaps one more week without Grantham will provide the comfort zone these players seek. Grasping at straws? Yes. But at least my effort is intense.

Depending on your point of view, either blood is in the water and Dan Mullen is treading water in a lagoon surrounded by a rather large school of circling sharks or he somehow swam safely to shore and is gasping for air on the beach, wondering how he managed to stay one step ahead of joining the extinct species list. Losing three games in a row including two – LSU and South Carolina – in which you were double digit favorites is the equivalent of blood in the water. Going 2-8 in your last 10 games against Power Five conference teams brings out record numbers of sharks. Perhaps it is too early to assume anything regarding Dan Mullen’s future at the University of Florida. Back on Sunday, Mullen did take the steps of firing defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy, whom he had worked with for the past 21 years. Those were necessary steps but was it enough to satisfy athletic director Scott Stricklin, boosters who are growing increasingly impatient and a fan base that seems to have gone off the rails? At his Monday press conference, less than 24 hours after it was announced that Grantham and Hevesy had been dismissed, Mullen’s entire demeanor was an upgrade from the previous Monday when he was on edge from the opening question. He indicated that all is well with Stricklin. Mullen actually seemed at ease when peppered with questions regarding change that involved coaches with whom he has close, longstanding relationships. When discussing what led to the decision to let Grantham and Hevesy go, he said, “But one of the ways you look and say is it a successful season? Are you a better team at the end of the year than you were at the beginning of the year. For me, one thing looking at where we are right now. We’re not better than we were earlier in the year. In fact, we’re worse than we were earlier in the year. At that point I looked and I said we’ve got to make some changes with what we’re doing and where we’re at.” He emphasized that the decision was completely his and there was no external pressure from athletic director Scott Stricklin or boosters to dismiss the two coaches, but it is quite obvious that Mullen knows and understands that the Florida football program is heading in the wrong direction. He also knows that if he intends to be the head coach for anything more than the end of this season or beyond next season that he is the one responsible for getting things back on track. He took complete responsibility for the current state of the program. “Me, I’m the head coach so I bear all of it,” Mullen said. “It’s on my shoulders. I’m the one that’s responsible for this program. I’m the one that’s responsible for this team and how we’ve got to perform. That’s your job here as the head coach is to take on that responsibility and my job is to make sure we go perform, that this team plays to the Gator Standard, which we’re not doing right now. It’s my responsibility to find a way to fix that.” How to fix it? That’s the $64,000 question. If there is a second question it is can Dan Mullen do it? He was 29-6 through his first 35 games as Florida’s head coach. He’s 4-8 since then as the Gators prep for a Saturday game with D1AA Samford from the Southern Conference. This cannot be Mullen’s Georgia Southern (See Will Muschamp, 2013). He desperately needs this win and to beat Missouri on the road and FSU at home to finish the regular season at 7-5. That will offer a bit of momentum heading into the early December signing day, but signing day is just the beginning. To make it work and for Florida to get back to being a regular contender for Southeastern Conference championships, Mullen has three issues he has to deal with: (1) Recruiting for 2022 and beyond; (2) the transfer portal; and (3) coaching staff. RECRUITING So much emphasis is placed on the December signing period since it’s when 75 percent or more of the top 500-700 high school kids will sign. Florida’s recruiting class, once top 12, has been decimated by defections recently and only a surge in the first two weeks of December will get the Gators back into the top 20. Fans are quick to point out that Mullen’s coaching staff isn’t blessed with the kind of lights out recruiters that you see at Alabama, Georgia and LSU, but there is more than meets the eye when it comes to problems landing top classes. Mullen desperately needs someone like Mark Pantoni to head up the recruiting effort. Pantoni is the associate athletic director for player personnel at Ohio State. He began working in Urban Meyer’s recruiting office at Florida in 2005 and advanced to recruiting coordinator. He is one of the reasons Meyer’s Friday Night Lights one night camp became such a success. When Meyer retired at UF after the 2010 season, new coach Will Muschamp made him the director of football administration. When Meyer took the Ohio State job in 2012, he quickly offered Pantoni the director of player personnel position, which he has held for the last nine years, during which time the Buckeyes’ recruiting classes have finished outside the top five nationally only twice. Pantoni has an excellent staff that begins identifying top talent early. They stay in regular contact with kids from the time they are freshmen and sophomores in high school. They go the extra mile on game day to make visiting recruits and families feel as if they would be crazy to consider any place but Ohio State. It is the constant contact, the attention to detail and the summer camp plus the Buckeye equivalent of Friday Night Lights that that make Ohio State a streamlined, systematic recruiting effort. Georgia and Alabama easily outspend Florida when it comes to recruiting, but not all of the money is spent on travel. Georgia and Alabama both have recruiting staffs similar to the one Pantoni runs at Ohio State. For Mullen to turn the corner on recruiting, he’s got to have a better budget that includes more money for staff and he needs to bring in a talent like Pantoni who has a system that identifies and prioritizes high school talent. The Gators particularly need to amp up recruiting in the state of Florida. Both Alabama and Georgia regularly poach the best talent in the state and Ohio State always seems to land two or three top players in the state. TRANSFERS Mel Tucker may have provided a blueprint for Mullen salvaging the Florida football program and his long term status as the head coach through effective use of the NCAA transfer portal. Now that NCAA rules allow a one-time transfer without having to sit a year, there is virtual free agency. It is expected that the transfer portal will have more than 2,000 players seeking greener pastures between December and June. A year ago with Michigan State floundering on the field in the Big Ten (2-5 record), on the recruiting trail (10thin the league) and with 27 players entering the transfer portal, leaving serious holes in the roster, Tucker turned to the transfer portal. Having just completed his first year as head coach, Tucker used his own NFL experience to rebuild the Spartans’ roster. Tucker was an NFL defensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears so he was familiar with finding plug and play guys who could step in and contribute immediately. “Going through 10 drafts and 10 free-agency periods, you get the experience of how to build a team, not just collect players,” Tucker told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently. Tucker looked into the transfer portal, studied film and did interviews to find players he thought would fit in. The result was 20 players with experience to complement a recruiting class of 19. The results have been spectacular. Running back Kenneth Walker III is the most visible of the new faces. The Wake Forest transfer leads the nation with 1,330 rushing yards (6.75 per carry) for 15 touchdowns. Walker has injected himself into the Heisman Trophy discussion and he’s come from nowhere to the No. 2 running back on Mel Kiper’s NFL Draft board. Former All-Sun Belt left tackle Jarrett Horst has become the most consistent player on an offensive line that opens big holes for Walker and has allowed only 14 sacks in nine games. Over on the defensive side, Tucker picked up a pair of starting corners in Chester Kimbrough (Florida) and Ronald Williams (Alabama), a middle linebacker in Quavaris Crouch (Tennessee), and key backups in defensive end Drew Jordan (Duke), linebacker Ben Van Summeren (Michigan) and corner Kendell Brooks (North Greenville College). The backup quarterback is Anthony Russo (Temple). Other transfers have contributed to the Spartans’ 8-1 start and No. 7 ranking in the most recent College Football Playoff poll. Florida’s recruiting class has been decimated with defections, the most recent wide receiver Raymond Cottrell, who flipped his commitment to Georgia. Florida is already one of the youngest teams in the country (121st in roster experience out of 130 Division I teams) and with so many young players getting experience this year, it’s hard to imagine that many freshmen will contribute this year. So, it’s an ideal situation for Mullen to use the transfer portal to supplement his recruiting efforts. A recent NCAA ruling will allow schools to replace as many as seven who transfer out with seven from the transfer portal without that counting against the limit of 25 signees. It’s entirely possible that Mullen could sign 12-14 transfers as part of his rebuild of the roster. Some with inside information have stated there is a stack of inquiries on Mullen’s desk from players already in the portal and those using their old high school coach or other methods to let it be known they will be searching for greener pastures. Mullen has effectively used transfers since he’s been at Florida. Wide receivers Van Jefferson (Ole Miss) and TreVon Grimes (Ohio State), linebacker/edge rusher Jonathan Greenard (Louisville), edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. (Georgia), guard Stewart Reese (Mississippi State), wide receiver Justin Shorter (Penn State), running backs Demarkcus Bowman (Clemson) and Lorenzo Lingard (Miami) and defensive tackles Antonio Valentino (Penn State), Daquan Newkirk (Auburn) and Tyrone Truesdell (Auburn) have filled holes in the UF roster since Mullen arrived in 2018. Mullen’s transfer wish list should include a couple of wide receivers with speed, one or two experienced offensive linemen, bigger linebackers who can play the inside positions, defensive tackles and at least one safety. OVERHAULING THE COACHING STAFF A new defensive coordinator will have to be given the option of bringing in an entire new staff. Christian Robinson, who will serve as the interim coordinator the last three games and probably for the bowl game if the Gators get to the minimum six wins, is a bright young coach who could be in the mix for the permanent coordinator job if the defense responds with three great efforts against Samford, Missouri and Florida State. He’s not considered the favorite to land the permanent job although he’s considered an excellent recruiter and may very well be on the next coordinator’s staff. If you were to poll the fan and booster base, you would probably hear these four names mentioned prominently for defensive coordinator: Charlie Strong, Gene Chizik, Marquand Manuel and Doug Belk. Charlie Strong, who was the defensive coordinator for Meyer when Mullen was Florida’s offensive coordinator, is the mature, seasoned veteran that fans and boosters alike would like to see. He’s a former head coach at Louisville, Texas and South Florida, and has worked at UF for Charley Pell, Galen Hall, Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook and Meyer. Strong is currently coaching linebackers for Meyer with the Jacksonville Jaguars and it is unclear if he would welcome a return to college football because he doesn’t have to go on the road to recruit in the NFL. When he was at Florida, Strong was a lockdown recruiter who turned the Tampa Bay area and Polk County into pipelines to Gainesville. Former Gator All-American Chris Doering, who is a commentator on the SEC Network, is an advocate for Gene Chizik, an SEC Network analyst who walked on at Florida and played for Charley Pell. Chizik is best know for winning the national championship as Auburn’s head coach in 2010 but he also won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in 2004 and was in charge of the defense at Texas in 2005 when the Longhorns won the national championship. Doering believes that the only thing that could lure Chizik out of coaching retirement would be if Florida called. He thinks it would be difficult for Chizik to say no. There is plenty of sentiment for Marquand Manuel, who had 308 tackles and six interceptions in a Florida career in which he was Steve Spurrier’s team captain in 2001. He played nine years in the NFL and has won a Super Bowl as an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s a former defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons who is now the secondary coach with the New York Jets. Manuel is 42 years old and while he hasn’t coached at the collegiate level, his background and well-known enthusiastic personality would seem to make him a natural recruiter, particularly in South Florida (he’s a Miami High grad). Another name that has garnered plenty of interest is Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk, who spent three years as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama on his way up the coaching ladder. His defense is currently ranked ninth overall and is among the national leaders in rushing defense and sacks. Belk is a 32-year-old Valdosta native who is an excellent recruiter. To replace Hevesy three names that have already been mentioned are Phil Trautwein, who was the starting left tackle on Florida’s 2008 national championship team, and former UF offensive line coach Joe Wickline. Trautwein is the O-line coach for James Franklin at Penn State, where he’s proving to be an outstanding recruiter. Wickline worked at Florida for Ron Zook but his best work was the nine years at Oklahoma State, which produced some of the highest scoring and most balanced offenses in the country. Another former Florida offensive line coach is Brad Davis, now at LSU. He might be open to a return to Florida should he along with the other assistant coaches be let go at the end of the year when Ed Orgeron coaches his final game. Davis worked in 2020 under Sam Pittman at Arkansas. He is probably the best recruiter of all the names mentioned prominently to replace Hevesy. It has been suggested that if Mullen wants to make a home run hire on the O-line he should convince one or both of the Pouncey twins to come to Gainesville. Maurkice and Mike are recently retired from the NFL after Pro Bowl careers. Mullen couldn’t find bigger names who would have instant recognition on the recruiting trail. It’s hard to imagine that either or both of the Pounceys would lose a big time prospect out of Polk or the Tampa Bay area. Asked Monday if he has a short list of coaches to call when he decides who stays and who goes among his assistants, Mullen responded, “Yeah, I mean I’m going to have some ideas. Right now we’re getting ready to play Samford as well. You’ve got this week’s game plan. Obviously, there’s a little bit more to deal with making sure our players, everybody’s on the same page and understands what we need to do moving forward. You’ve got all the recruiting stuff going on within our program, so when you combine all that stuff it hasn’t been the last 24 hours of me just going complete job search, looking for candidates that way. But the benefit of being here at Florida is there’s going to be a lot of people who want to come coach for the Florida Gators and be a part of this program.” CONCLUSIONS Mullen can turn this around at Florida, but it will not be easy and won’t be done unless he addresses recruiting, the transfer portal and assistant coach hires with a heretofore unseen enthusiasm. More than anything else, Dan Mullen needs to revert to the Dan Mullen that stepped off the plane in Gainesville with a wide grin and chomps in December of 2017. We haven’t seen the joy and enthusiasm Mullen had those first two years (2018-19) in quite some time. When he reinvents the Florida football program, he doesn’t necessarily need to reinvent himself as much as he needs to regain the joy of being a Gator. That, as much as anything, will re-energize the fan base, recruits, transfers and make potential assistant coaches want to come to Gainesville to work for him. Turning Florida around from the current 2022 disaster can be done. The question is will Dan Mullen do all that is necessary to make it happen.

“This was a U-Turn on the Road to Resurrection and Redemption, what looked like a clear path to resumption of championship caliber play. Then suddenly it wasn’t.” When I think of the rough patches for Florida football over the past seven decades, there are several eras of disappointment, failure and even semi-darkness that have rocked the world of Gator Nation and left a mark. This one is beginning to feel a lot like that. I won’t take you through the pantheon of disappointments, or even the exhilaration of success, but suffice to say of all the peaks and valleys in the last 70 years, this is one of the most shocking reversals of fate I can remember – coming almost like a thief in the night. First off, if you’re a Gator fan and this last 11-game streak is beginning to feel like a plague of locusts, you’re not alone. When historians look back at the cycles from 1990-2009 and what’s in between, they will likely be dumbfounded by what happened from the fall of 2018 to Dec. 12, 2020 and beyond. This was a U-Turn on the Road to Resurrection and Redemption, what looked like a clear path to a resumption of championship caliber play. Then suddenly it wasn’t. The Rise and Fall of certain college football programs seem bigger and more impactful than others. Truth is, all programs must endure the ebb and flow of “Dame Fortune,” which was what it was called back when Broadway playwrights could describe lucky and unlucky as such metaphors without being considered “sexist” or “misogynistic.” “Dame Fortune” was a New York street term more or less originating with the song “Luck Be A Lady” sung by Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson in Guys And Dolls. And “Dame Fortune” ain’t smiling on Florida football these days. She’s kicking the Gators’ ass. But I digress. Yes, this is ugly. HOW UGLY? to mimic the chirps of the late Johnny Carson? Soooo ugly …. Maybe the ugliest. When I reflect on the current slump for Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators, tragic though it may look and feel, it’s also true that outcomes are somewhat governed by the current cyclical occurrences and maybe even laws of average. I’m sure somebody smarter about analytics could explain it better. Still, it sucks and it hurts like hell. I think I understand why, in part, but if you’ve come here looking for assurances it will improve soon, you’d better look elsewhere. Here’s what I do know: From the time the pandemic hit the U.S. and we all began to feel it in March 2020, terrorized by the disease, the welcomed distraction of a successful football season for Gator fans became a blessing, sometimes getting them through the day and the week. When things began to unravel with an 0-3 finish to the 2020 season, for whatever reason, worlds began to fall apart. But, hey, maybe that was an aberration, and hadn’t Dan Mullen re-positioned his team for a strong comeback? So hopes were high in 2021. Until they weren’t. Starting in 2021 with the Kentucky game when the offensive line couldn’t grasp the snap count, to the LSU game when a feeble LSU “Ground Hog Day” offense repeatedly ran roughshod over a Gator defense apparently incapable of adjustment, right through the South Carolina crash-and-burn game, this Florida team may have hit an all-time low point. The bill came due and the price was the termination of two loyal aides – so far – with more changes likely to come. We won’t know the final tab for another year, but for now Mullen appears safe unless he can’t salvage something out of the last three games. The residual impact is still going, as prized recruits previously committed keep bailing. Another one jumped ship to Georgia just Thursday. (Four-star WR commit Raymond Cottrell of Milton, FL.) This is not a harbinger of good things to come, although it may well still be reversible one day. It kind of feels like flashbacks to some older Gator fans, who have had their hearts broken before. A major setback was the inability of Doug Dickey to transpose his SEC championship model from Knoxville to Gainesville, to the bottomless pit of Charlie Pell wrongdoing and the subsequent NCAA burn, through the mediocrity of Ron Zook, Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain. Of concern is not just that it came apart for Mullen, but how fast and how far it fell. We can write off losses to Alabama and Georgia as logical, but what happened after that was a total collapse, almost like the core disappeared. We saw it with our own eyes, but could not discern why this was happening – nor did the head coach seem to have an explanation. I asked around. Even the more sophisticated and enlightened Gator football observers I’ve spoken to had difficulty quantifying the reasons and responsibility for such abject failure. Nor did they want to pile on at a time when the glass half full/half empty turned out to be a dry Solo cup with a crack in the plastic that apparently sprung a leak a long time ago when we weren’t watching. One person courageous enough to speak up and blame Mullen for his shortcomings – although he is a fan of the Gator coach and is rooting for him to fix it – is Lee McGriff. In a 20-minute interview on my streaming show, McGriff spoke candidly, but cautiously avoided trashing the coach or the program. He related it to his experience of walking through the fire. “For me, it feels like maybe the worst I can remember – ever,” said Lee McGriff, broadcaster, the former Gator star receiver, coach and father of All-American receiver Travis McGriff. “I coached (at Florida) and a part of that 0-10-1 season in ’79 and that was the beginning of the Charley Pell era. But we grinded and fought through those games – it was exhausting to keep losing. I was on the inside and I felt like we coached them to 0-10-1. Coach Pell was so determined to make them the toughest team in America. And sometimes we did things to prove we were tough and not to win the game.” The end result, after the rock bottom in ’79, was the biggest turnaround in college football as the 1980 Gators bounced back. McGriff said even in the midst of the winless season he felt progress was being made. “It was right there – ‘let’s go’ – and the next year we won eight games.” What McGriff was also saying was that even in the darkness of the 0-10-1 season they never lost hope. He says, and I agree, that the difference was the 2021 Gators were expected to be successful. And then came the collapse. “This season it was different – things felt like this was a team that probably was good enough to have beaten Kentucky and LSU and been 6-2,” he lamented. “The bottom fell out and was like, ‘what happened…what happened?' And it’s mysterious to me.’” That feeling of a big regression is commonplace among close observers of the program, and I’m not talking about media people. McGriff’s statement that the program feels “empty” is shared by a large number of Gator loyalists. Some of the national media wonder if the players at Florida have lost their desire to play football. Kirk Herbstreit said maybe Mullen needs to recruit a different kind of player with more passion for the game. On the counter side, there have been a few warm and fuzzy quotes from players and Mullen this week in support of each other and both Dameon Pierce and Mohamoud Diabate see no signs of quit or transfer portal refugees on their team, they say. So we are left as McGriff is, mystified about the future of Gator football, looking in the bottom of cracker jack boxes for answers and feeling a little bit like we were blinded by the light and sucker-punched by fate. Sooner or later it’s going to come down to a choice of faith, or not, and mustering the courage to have it. And a lot of my friends right now are straddling the fence.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: SAMFORD A MUST WIN? YOU BETCHA Back in August the Samford Bulldogs were just another D1AA team that needed to balance its athletic department budget with a paycheck game in The Swamp against what we thought would be the mighty Gators. Well, the Gators aren’t looking so mighty and this looks like more than a thank you sir, may I have another game for Samford. On paper, the Gators should win by six or seven touchdowns, but who knows which Florida (4-5) team will bother to show up Saturday at noon? If it’s the Gators who have played well at times this season, it will be the blowout. If the Gators are emotionally drained from three straight losses, seeing two coaches fired and social media all but calling for Dan Mullen on a slow boat to China, then this could be tougher than expected. Another question that looms large: How many Florida fans will bother showing up? A slim crowd could add to the dreariness of a Saturday in The Swamp that fans think has no meaning. Here’s what needs to happen. Florida needs to play this game as if a championship is on the line. The Gators need to be in a take no prisoners mood from start to finish. Sure, it’s little old Samford but this is not a time for pity. It’s a time for the Gators to begin the first steps on the way to recovery. A decisive win Saturday followed by wins at Missouri and against FSU can salvage a good bit of pride and it can happen if the right Florida team shows up. The Sayer says sooth: FLORIDA 42, Samford 10 THE SEC SOOTHSAYER No. 1 Georgia (9-0, 7-0 SEC) at Tennessee (5-4, 3-3 SEC): Georgia is favored to win this game by 20 points, but it could turn out to be rather interesting because of two reasons – (1) Tennessee runs tempo and if the Vols can move the ball they’ll have a chance to wear out the Georgia defense; and (2) Georgia has yet to face a decent passing team and the Vols not only throw it well, they’ve got receivers who can go deep. Does that mean Tennessee is going to win this game? Hardly, but the Vols may have a better chance than the oddsmakers are giving them. Georgia’s strategy has to be ground and pound because the Vols have given up more than 200 rushing yards in their last three SEC contests and they allowed Florida 283 earlier in the year. The best way to keep those defensive linemen rested is to keep them on the sideline by pounding it between the tackles and only have Stetson Bennett IV throw it when the Vols try to load up the box to stop the run. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker averages 10.2 yards per pass attempt, has 21 TDPs (just two completed to the other team) and he has run for 458 yards. Georgia wins this one but it could be the toughest game the Bulldogs have played this year. The Sayer says sooth: Georgia 34, Tennessee 20 New Mexico State (1-8) at No. 2 Alabama (8-1): This is a will take a beating for a million dollar paycheck game. New Mexico State will proudly give up touchdown after touchdown as long as Bama AD Bill Byrne deposits that big check in the bank account. Alabama is favored to win by 51 points. New Mexico State isn’t nearly as good as the Southern Miss team Alabama hung 63 on back in September. The Sayer says sooth: Alabama 66, New Mexico State 3 No. 11 Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2 SEC) at No. 15 Ole Miss (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Give Lane Kiffin a healthy Matt Corral throwing to healthy Dontario Drummond, Jonathan Mingo and Braylon Sanders and this would be a no-brainer. You’d pick Ole Miss even with that leaky defense. But, Corral is hobbling, Mingo is out, Drummond is a maybe and Sanders still isn’t at full speed. And the defense is still bad. So, why is it that Texas A&M is only favored by 2.5 points? It can’t be that the Ole Miss defense has suddenly gone respectable. The Rebels gave up 284 on the ground last week to Liberty and a few weeks earlier, Arkansas ran for 350. The Aggies run the ball pretty well – 263.3 per game in the last three – and you have to think that’s what Jimbo Fisher is going to do, pound away and keep Lane Kiffin’s offense off the field. Even if Corral is not 100 percent and even with stud receivers MIA, any Lane Kiffin offense is dangerous to behold. Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane are well on their way to 1,000-yard seasons. Ole Miss isn’t going to be able to stop them. The Sayer says sooth: Texas A&M 28, Ole Miss 23 No. 25 Arkansas (6-3, 2-3 SEC) at LSU (4-5, 2-4 SEC): The Hogs are bowl eligible now that they have six wins. The question heading into Saturday night in Baton Rouge is how will they handle prosperity? Arkansas is favored by three and LSU is really beaten up, but even with all the injuries, LSU probably has more talent. The Tigers played a white knuckler last week in Tuscaloosa, a game they could have won with a break or two. This game is at home and with a win this week and next against Louisiana-Monroe, LSU becomes bowl eligible, a nice way to send Coach Oeaux off. Here are the stats that matter. Arkansas is averaging 243.78 yards per game on the ground. LSU gives up 111.89 and is coming off a game in which the Tigers held Alabama to six yards. If Arkansas can’t run on LSU, the Hogs can’t win. If the Tigers can give Max Johnson time to throw against Barry Odom’s blitz packages, the Tigers have a really good chance to win. This one feels like an upset. The Sayer says sooth: LSU 28, Arkansas 24 Mississippi State (5-4, 3-3 SEC) at No. 17 Auburn (6-3, 3-2 SEC): The big question for Auburn Saturday afternoon is can the Tigers keep Mississippi State from controlling the ball with that short passing game? Mississippi State averages almost 35 minutes a game of ball possession, and just a couple of weeks ago knocked off Kentucky when Will Rogers completed 36-39 passes. This is going to be a lot like this week’s Georgia and Texas A&M games in that Auburn is going to have to play defense with its offense to win this game. If the Tigers can run the ball and keep the chains moving they probably win but it’s questionable. Last week Auburn had its worst offensive game of the year, managing just 226 yards and only three points in a loss to Texas A&M. If this game comes down to a field goal, you have to like Auburn’s chances since Mississippi State’s kickers are just 9-17 this year and they blew three field goals in last week’s loss to Arkansas. Auburn is favored by 5.5 points. The Sayer says sooth: Auburn 20, Mississippi State 14 Kentucky (6-3, 4-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): Kentucky has lost three in a row and desperately needs a get well game. It’s a chance for Chris Rodriguez (918 yards) to crack the 1,000-yard barrier and for quarterback Will Levis (10 interceptions, four in the last two games) to recall that the object of the passing game is to complete passes to your team and not the opponent. Wan’Dale Robinson caught 13 passes for 166 yards against Tennessee last week. If Levis will target him that many times against Vandy’s defense, he could crack the 1,000-yard barrier (825 receiving yards so far). As for Vandy, the Commodores are coming off their best offensive game (380 yards, 28 points) against an SEC opponent this year. If the Dores score two TDs against Kentucky they can call this game a success. Kentucky is favored by 21 and should win by more. The Sayer says sooth: Kentucky 35, Vanderbilt 7 South Carolina (5-4, 2-4 SEC) at Missouri (4-5, 1-4 SEC): South Carolina has reason to be excited about this one. With a win the Gamecocks become bowl eligible. Of course, Mizzou needs this one and one more to become bowl eligible. The oddsmakers don’t know what to make of this one. South Carolina is favored by a single point. If the Gamecocks run the ball the way they did against Florida last week (289 yards) they probably win since Mizzou is next to last nationally in rush defense. Mizzou desperately needs QB Connor Bazelac to play. He missed last week’s game and is questionable for South Carolina. The Sayer says sooth: South Carolina 24, Missouri 20 SIX OTHER GAMES TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS WEEKEND No. 19 Purdue (6-3) at No. 4 Ohio State (8-1): Purdue has beaten Iowa when the Hawkeyes were No. 2 and Michigan State when the Spartans were No. 3. Can they take down No. 4 Ohio State at the Horseshoe this weekend? The Buckeyes are favored to win by 21, but this feels like it’s going to be white knuckles. No. 6 Michigan (8-1) at Penn State (6-3): Michigan is favored to win this one by 1.5 points, but the game is in Happy Valley. For James Franklin, a win could make him the odds-on favorite to land the Southern Cal job. It’s a whole lot easier to win the Pac-12 than it is to be in the Big Ten East with Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State. If Sean Clifford has a big game, Penn State wins and ends Michigan’s Big Ten championship dreams. Again. No. 8 Oklahoma (9-0) at No. 13 Baylor (7-2): This one would be a whole lot more interesting if Baylor hadn’t lost by two at TCU last week. This game’s in Wacky Waco where the Bears play much better than they do on the road. Can Baylor stop freshman phenom Caleb Williams? Can the Okie defense stop the 1-2 running punch of Abram Smith (1,055 yards) and Trestan Ebner (601)? Oklahoma is a 5.5-point favorite. No. 9 Notre Dame (8-1) at Virginia (6-3): Brennan Armstrong (3,557 yards, 27 TDPs) is the best quarterback the Irish have faced this year and he has five receivers with at least 28 catches. Stop Armstrong and you stop Virginia since the Cavaliers don’t run the ball very well. Jack Coan has to have a good game throwing the ball for Notre Dame to win this. The Irish are favored by 5.5 points. No. 16 North Carolina State (7-2) at No. 12 Wake Forest (8-1): The winner of this one will have the tiebreaker in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. North Carolina State’s game plan on defense is pretty simple. Stop Sam Hartman (2,873 passing yards, 27 TDPs) and win the game. If Hartman lights up the Wolfpack it’s all over. Wake is favored by two. Miami (5-4) at Florida State (3-6): Miami has won three straight against ranked opponents. FSU isn’t ranked and it isn’t going to matter. Tyler Van Dyke to Charleston Rambo is going to be a serious problem for the FSU defense. Miami is favored by 2.5 points. It should be worse. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: UConn has a football coach now that Jim Mora Jr. has taken the job. Now all the Huskies need is a conference to play in. If the folks in Storrs had functioning brains they would be begging the Atlantic Coast Conference to take them. That would give UConn a chance to have a decent football schedule and it would give the ACC two big name basketball programs – the UConn men (3 national championships) and perennial power UConn women (11 national championships). Add UConn and then raid West Virginia and the ACC might be able to convince ESPN to renegotiate its media rights deal.

By CARLTON REESE No Kin To The Doorman With the Samford Bulldogs coming to Gainesville, Carlton the Doorman was quick to remind me of Georgia Southern in 2013 and how a I-AA opponent (he refuses the ‘FBC’ nomenclature and I’m starting to warm up to that) should not be taken for granted. Jacksonville State turned the trick on FSU earlier this season, so crazy things do happen especially in this season where a loss to a team that fell by 42 points to Tennessee-Chattanooga is not beyond the realm of possibility. I assure him there is absolutely no way a loss to Samford will happen, but I’m not willing to put any money down it. Neither is the Doorman, who swears you can find a point spread on this one if you look hard enough. Mythical point spreads aside, I’m wondering what Anthony Richardson's injury looked like to the rest of the nation – hurt while dancing the night before the South Carolina game? Pardon me, but this sounds like a story that would have come out of Tallahassee during the Willie Taggart era, and the very thought of this scares me to no end. Richardson looks like the eventual future of Gator football, but I am beginning to wonder if he is the gridiron equivalent to a “glass jaw.” He has played only sparingly this season yet has missed games due to injuries on three separate occasions. His only full-time appearance ended with him leaving the game hurt. Enough contemplating the negative – this is a week to enjoy some atmosphere and put one in the win column. Samford could not have come at a better time, for the coaches, players or fans who are looking forward to the football equivalent of ‘drink in my hand, toes in the sand.’ As for the rest of the college football schedule, the Doorman is still licking his wounds from last week where several certain winners were flipped to losers in the waning moments of games. That sound you hear is a small pity fiddle playing in the background. He’s back on the horse, though, and offering up a few selections to make for an interesting Saturday while the Gators are rolling in their scrimmage: Home favorites: Boise State minus 13 over Wyoming; Clemson minus 40.5 over Connecticut; UTSA minus 33 over Southern Miss; Alabama minus 51.5 over New Mexico State. Home dogs: Penn State plus 1 over Michigan; UNLV plus 3 over Hawaii; California plus 2 over USC; Ole Miss plus 2.5 over Texas A&M; LSU plus 2.5 over Arkansas; Tulane plus 3 over Tulsa. The Doorman has advised to stay away from road teams this week. Here are this week’s predictions according to the algorithm: SEC Games: Georgia by 28.5 over Tennessee; Alabama by (off the grid) over New Mexico State; Auburn by 14 over Mississippi State; Florida by 21 over Samford; South Carolina by 2 over Missouri; Texas A&M by 2 over Ole Miss; Kentucky by 38.5 over Vanderbilt; Arkansas by 2 over LSU. Other games of note: Miami by 11 over Florida State; N.C. State by 2 over Wake Forest; Notre Dame by 10.5 over Virginia; Penn State by 5 over Michigan; Ohio State by 30.5 over Purdue; Oklahoma by 7.5 over Baylor; Cincinnati by 34 over South Florida; SMU by 2 over Central Florida; MTSU by 26.5 over FIU; FAU by 11 over Old Dominion. Top 10 in ratings: 1. Georgia (130.5) 2. Alabama (125.5) 3. Ohio State (125) 4. Texas A&M (102) 5. Wisconsin (98) 6. Oklahoma State (97.5) 7. Oklahoma (95) 8. Auburn (91.5) 9. Ole Miss (91.5) 10. Penn State (91) SEC Ratings: 1. Georgia (130.5) 2. Alabama (125.5) 3. Texas A&M (102) 4. Auburn (91.5) 5. Ole Miss (91.5) 6. Arkansas (75) 7. Mississippi State (70) 8. Tennessee (67.5) 9. LSU (65) 10. Kentucky (58) 11. Florida (36) 12. South Carolina (34) 13. Missouri (23.5) 14. Vanderbilt (-25)

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: THESE COACHES SHOULD BE ON THE FLORIDA RADAR Here are five coaches (three defensive coordinators, two O-line) who, if they’re not already on Dan Mullen’s radar, should be. Please note that four of the five are Florida grads and the fifth grew up in Valdosta and dreamed of playing for the Gators when he was in high school. Defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, New York Jets: Recruited to UF by Steve Spurrier from Miami High, he had 308 tackles, eight sacks and six interceptions in his career. He was made the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times. He spent nine years playing in the NFL, earned a Super Bowl ring in 2013 coaching the secondary with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s been a defensive coordinator in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and currently coaches the secondary for the Philadelphia Eagles. Doug Belk, Houston: He’s 32 years old and a native of Valdosta. He played collegiately at Carson Newman and was a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2014-16. He coached corners at West Virginia (2017-18), was Co-DC at Houston in 2019-20 and is now the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Houston. His defense currently ranks 9th nationally (300.1 yards per game), 8th against the run (99.22 yards, 3.27 per carry) and is tied for 10th in sacks (32 for -209 yards). He’s considered an exceptional recruiter who will be somebody’s head coach someday. Gene Chizik: Surprised? Don’t be. He had that one great year as Auburn’s head coach (national championship in 2010) but before that he was considered one of the nation’s brightest defensive coordinators at Auburn and Texas. He won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant in 2004. He walked on at Florida and played for Charley Pell. Chris Doering thinks Chizik would gladly come out of retirement if Florida called. The man can recruit. Offensive Line Joe Wickline, Baylor: Wickline was a three-year letterman for the Gators, first under Doug Dickey, then under Charley Pell. His late father-in-law was Hoss Adams (Florida special teams coach during the Charley Pell era). Wickline coached the O-line at Florida during Ron Zook’s three years. During his nine years at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys consistently had one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. He’s currently at Baylor, where the Bears rank 21st nationally in total offense (457.7 yards per game, 7.05 yards per carry), 8thin rushing (231.56 per game, 5.8 per carry) and tied for fourth in fewest sacks allowed (seven in nine games). Baylor averages 8.8 yards per pass attempt. His O-lines are known for toughness. He’s an outstanding recruiter. Phil Trautwein, Florida: Trautwein was recruited to Florida by Joe Wickline in Ron Zook’s 2004 recruiting class. He was a key O-line reserve on the 2006 national championship team and the starter at left tackle in all 14 games in Florida’s run to the 2008 national championship. He’s got a master’s degree from UF. He worked for Steve Addazio as a grad assistant at Boston College from 2013-15 and as Addazio’s O-line coach from 2018-19. He’s been the O-line coach at Penn State since 2020. His 2019 line at BC helped the Eagles average 253.15 rushing yards per game and gave up only 13 sacks in 13 games. He’s thought to be an exceptional recruiter who has four OL commits to the 2022 Penn State recruiting class which is ranked third. MIKE WHITE SIGNS THREE Florida basketball coach Mike White put together one of his better recruiting classes with the Wednesday signings of Malik Reneau (6-9, 220, Hialeah Gardens, FL/Montverde, FL Montverde Academy), Jalen Reed (6-10, 220, Jackson, MS/Castaic, CA Southern California Academy) and Denzel Aberdeen (6-4, 175, Orlando, FL Dr. Phillips). Florida’s class ranked 19th nationally by 247Sports and 24th by Rivals. Reneau is a 5-star power forward for perennial high school superpower Montverde Academy. He’s a mobile lefty who has solid fundamentals at both ends of the court. He’s not going to be a highlight reel guy, but he’s not the kind who makes mistakes that get you beaten either. He’s a very good passer and solid rebounder. Reneau chose the Gators over offers from Florida State, Memphis, Indiana, LSU, Ole Miss, Virginia and Arkansas. Reed is the son of former Ole Miss All-SEC power forward Justice Reed, who played for Rod Barnes, who just happened to be Mike White’s collegiate coach. Reed’s late father played five years in the NBA. Jalen is a late bloomer who could very well add a 5th star beside his name if he has the kind of high school season that he’s expected to have. He has excellent ball handling skills, shoots very well inside 18 feet although he can make 3-pointers. He’s a very good shot blocker but has work to do on his overall defense. Reed chose Florida over offers from South Carolina, Houston, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Maryland and Oklahoma. Aberdeen is a late bloomer who made All-State last year while leading Dr. Phillips to the Florida 7A championship. He is a tall, lanky point guard who will fill out his frame at around 200 pounds. He’s a streaky shooter who gets to the rack off the bounce and plays very good perimeter defense. Aberdeen chose the Gators over offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Minnesota and Texas Tech. Florida women’s basketball signs two: Frieda Buhner (6-3, Onsabruck, Germany); Myka Perry (6-1, Norman, OK) Baseball signs four: Yoel Tejada Jr., 1B (6-6, 205, Davie, FL North Broward Prep); Cade Fisher, LHP (6-4, 187, Dalton, GA North Whitfield County); Chris Arroyo, OF (6-2, 215, Coral Springs, FL Marjory Stoneman Douglas); Clete Hartzog, RHP (6-1, 180, Panama City, FL/Dothan AL Wallace Community College) Awaiting word on the following commitments: Luke Heyman, C (6-3, 205, Longwood, FL Lake Brantley); Xavier Isaac, 1B/OF (6-4, 240, Kernersville, GA East Forsyth); Jake Clemente, RHP/OF (Coral Springs, FL Marjory Stoneman Douglas); William Ross, RHP/1B (6-8, 245, Winter Garden, FL West Orange); Blaydon Plain, 1B/RHP (6-5, 195, Greenville, FL Madison County); Salvador Alvarez, C (Miami, FL/Montverde, FL Montverde Academy); Erik Blair, LHP/OF (Ft. Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian Academy); Landon Moran, 1B/LHP (6-2, 185, Altamonte Springs, FL Lake Brantley) Softball signs three: Samantha Roe, C (Niceville, FL); Kaila Pollard SS/2B (Riverside, CA Martin Luther King); Olivia Gigante, P/1B (San Diego, CA Patrick Henry) WHAT A 12-TEAM COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF WOULD LOOK LIKE TODAY We’re stuck with a 4-team playoff, but hopefully, the first two playoff polls will get the commissioners of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC to quit this silly obstruction to expanding to 12 teams. Based on Tuesday night’s rankings, if the playoff were to expand to 12 teams this year, the Big Ten would have three teams in and both the Pac-12 and ACC would get their conference champs in. Automatic bids (6 highest ranked conference champs) 1. Georgia (SEC), 3. Oregon (Pac-12), 4. Ohio State (Big Ten), 5. Cincinnati (American), 8. Oklahoma (Big 12), 12. Wake Forest (ACC) Six at-large bids 2. Alabama (SEC), 6. Michigan (Big Ten), 7. Michigan State (Big Ten), 9. Notre Dame (Independent), 10. Oklahoma State (Big 12), 11. Texas A&M (SEC) First round matchups No. 12 Wake Forest at No 5. Cincinnati; No. 11 Texas A&M at No. 6 Michigan; No. 10 Oklahoma State at No. 7 Michigan State; No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL) Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Jahleel Billingsley was expected to be one of the nation’s top tight ends this year, but he’s spent a good portion of the year in Nick Saban’s doghouse. AL.com’s Mike Rodak reports that Saban said, “He’s got to play fast. You can’t drop the ball. Yeah, do we miss his production? Yeah.” Arkansas (6-3, 2-3 SEC): Ranking and bowl eligibility are something Sam Pittman is trying to sell to recruits. On the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday, Pittman said, “We’re trying to have [recruits] forget we weren’t a very good team the past five seasons or so before this team.” Auburn (6-3, 3-2 SEC): Safety Zion Puckett, wide receiver Malcolm Johnson Jr. and guard Brandon Council are all expected to recover from their injuries and play Saturday against Mississippi State. Georgia (9-0, 7-0 SEC): Starting linebacker Adam Anderson has been formally charged with felony rape of a woman on October 29, the day before the Bulldogs played Florida. A Georgia spokesman says that HBC Kirby Smart wasn’t made aware of the investigation until the Monday after the game. Kentucky (6-3, 4-3 SEC): Kentucky HBC Mark Stoops has had it with SEC officials and said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference that he will no longer send questionable calls to the SEC office for review. “I don’t even know why I turn in plays anymore,” Stoops said. “It certainly doesn’t matter. I don’t think I will from now on.” LSU (4-5, 2-4 SEC): LSU will be without both starting guards against Arkansas. Right guard Chasen Hines has been lost for the season and left guard Ed Ingram has been unable to practice this week.” Mississippi State (5-4, 3-3 SEC): Mike Leach said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference that approximately 40 students answered his campus-wide call for tryouts for placekicker. Missouri (4-5, 1-4 SEC): Missouri, which ranks 129th out of 130 Division I teams in rushing defense (271 yards per game) will be facing a South Carolina team that ran for 289 yards last week against Florida. HBC Eli Drinkwitz says the Tigers have to execute better. Ole Miss (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Matt Corral hasn’t been practicing due to an ankle injury but he has not missed a game. Corral has thrown for 2,527 yards and 16 touchdowns while running for 528 and 10 TDs. South Carolina (5-4, 2-4 SEC): The Gamecocks can become bowl eligible with a win over Missouri Saturday. Tennessee (5-4, 3-3 SEC): The Vols scored 45 points on Kentucky last week with only 13:52 time of possession. “I’ve never been a part of a game with that little time of possession and that kind of success we had,” said HBC Josh Heupel. Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2 SEC): The Aggies have found success behind QB Zach Calzada, who began the season as the backup to Haynes King. Asked on the SEC Coaches Teleconference if King is making progress since surgery, Jimbo Fisher said, “He’s still rehabbing and healing.” Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): The Commodores rank dead last in the SEC in total offense (301.2 yards per game) and next to last (462.7 per game) in total defense. SEC BASKETBALL Mississippi State (1-0): North Carolina transfer Garrison Brooks scored 18 points in his debut with Mississippi State as the Bulldogs opened their season with a 75-49 win over North Alabama. Vanderbilt (1-0): Scotty Pippen Jr. had 15 points, two rebounds, two assists and four steals to lead Vanderbilt past Alabama State 91-72. FINEBAUM SAYS … Color Paul Finebaum surprised that Michigan was ranked (6th) ahead of Michigan State (7th) when the latest College Football Playoff poll was released Tuesday night. Just a couple of Saturdays ago, Michigan State beat Michigan head-on. “I was gobsmacked when I heard that last night and then the explanation from the chairman, Gary Barta, made even less sense,” Finebaum said. “He said we looked at it and we concluded that Michigan was the better team. No, you must have missed a game if that was your conclusion. I understand that when you play early in the season like Ohio State and Oregon, things can change eight weeks later, but nothing has changed. That game was 12 days ago and of all the preposterous statements that this committee has uttered in eight years, that may be No. 1.” ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: American Athletic Conference commish Mike Aresco emailed ESPN Wednesday and claimed there is a double standard that puts “unfair pressure” on Cincinnati when it comes to the College Football Playoff poll. The Bearcats are ranked fifth and have played a schedule that ranks 102nd in strength. The only win over a quality team is Notre Dame. UCF is the only other team the Bearcats have played that has a winning record. Oklahoma has a 9-0 record but is ranked 8th. The Sooners do have to play No. 13 Baylor and No. 10 Oklahoma State, plus a Big 12 Conference championship game, likely against Baylor or Oklahoma State. If Oklahoma wins out, it would be a no-brainer to me to put them in the top four if either Alabama, Oregon or Ohio State lose a game. Sorry Cincinnati, but good opponents matter.