We could argue that maybe I Won’t Back Down is a more recent and hip anthem – and certainly appropriate for these days. Played back to back, these two songs make a powerful double-play medley for Gator fans, old and new. But let’s get real here. Just for a minute, let’s switch the narrative and take a breath: If you’re not a Gator, turn the page, or click off – this will bore you. If you are a Gator, consider this: The next time you tune up your vocal cords to belt out, “We are the Boys From Old F-L-O-R-I-D-A” … stop and consider the power of the words. A beloved, cherished song, still one of the most hallowed traditions of college football. We are all strong for old Florida, down where the old Gators play, In all kinds of weather, We'll all stick together, for F-L-O-R-I-D-A... We Are The Boys (And Girls) From Old Florida is like a gospel song, straight to the soul. Unless, of course, the culture cancelers have put the Ki-bosh on that, too. Let’s not get political here, however – lawdy, lawdy, that’s what we’re all running from! – but rather let’s identify who that song is about. If you’re singing it as the third quarter comes to an end, it’s most likely a song about you. Your Gators. Your broken dreams. Your school. Your coach. And your infighting. Your mess. FACTS: Written by two students in 1919 by Robert Swanson and John Isenour for their barbershop and dance band, We Are The Boys is best consumed live, arm-in-arm with a swaying Gator football crowd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium/Steve Spurrier Field as a show of unity and support for the UF football team. We could argue that maybe I Won’t Back Down is a more recent and hip anthem – and certainly appropriate for these days. Played back to back, these two songs make a powerful double-play medley for Gator fans, old and new. But let’s get real here. We love Tom Petty, aloof from UF though he really was originally, and I Won’t Back Down as the B Side. But the A side is the biggest authentic anthem of Gator football. Having said that, the story behind Petty’s writing of I Won’t Back Down does seem appropriate for the times. Before recording Full Moon Fever, an arsonist burned down Tom Petty's house while he was in it with his family and their housekeeper. They escaped, but Petty was badly shaken and spent much of the next few months driving between hotel rooms and a rented house. It was on these drives that he came up with many of the songs for the album; the fire was a huge influence, especially on this song. Petty felt grateful to be alive, but also traumatized -- understandable considering someone had tried to kill him. "I Won't Back Down" was his way of reclaiming his life and getting past the torment -- he said that writing and recording the song had a calming effect on him. -- From Songfacts.com As one of four SEC East teams at 4-4, the trajectory of Florida football appears flat-lined. The Gators must go 4-0 the rest of the way to achieve an 8-4, which may sound like epic failure by Gator fans under 50. This is going to be a bitter pill for some, but if Dan Mullen wins out and goes to post-season with an 8-4 the second straight season, it’s really not all far that off many projections (just listen to Mike Griffith on The Paul Finebaum Show) and this presents an endless stream of questions. First off, who’s to say Florida just isn’t an 8-4 program? Of course it’s not acceptable and expectations are far greater than that. Petulant Gator fans won’t hear of that because they’ve been eating filet mignon, so ground prime sirloin isn’t going to cut it. But taste buds may have to be adjusted. I looked up this small sample: In the past 70 years, in almost half of the seasons the Gators have finished 8-4 or worse. After 46 games at Florida, Mullen’s winning overall percentage is just under 72 percent. Based on that, Mullen would be projected to win 8.6 games per season from this point forward. That would include post-season. Which is, of course, not acceptable, but about one less win than where Las Vegas had them projected for this regular season. With a bowl win they can be 9-4. In the foreseeable future, that model doesn’t look good enough to win an SEC East every few seasons and go to a New Year’s Six Bowl. Not good enough for those Gators loyalists who expect Dan Mullen to consistently compete with Georgia or Alabama. Right now they’re behind even the Auburns, Texas A&Ms and Kentuckys. However, all hope isn’t lost. Other programs ebb and flow, too. For the record, I do agree that Scott Stricklin and Mullen have got to find a way to recruit better football players and assemble a stronger staff with better recruiting skills. Again, the idea that Mullen should be fired is laughable, even if you don’t care for his demeanor or enjoy his “I’m-the-smartest-guy-in-the-room” press conferences (which he always is). Also, before I rattle off some questions, please don’t take this as a caveat as an endorsement for Florida becoming an 8-4 program. Unless changes and adjustments are made, that could be where it’s headed. But I’m not ready to accept that as the program paradigm. Remember, Stricklin and Mullen are smart guys who are good at their jobs. As for my questions: If Todd Grantham and his staff are fired or not retained, who can they hire? Don’t people have to calm down with the recruiting rhetoric? The first players that need to be recruited are the 40-50 core group on the current roster, including two very good quarterbacks. Constantly complaining about the talent is borderline disrespectful. Can digging deep into the transfer portal offset recruiting deficiencies? And will superb development of players by Mullen’s staff at least enhance the chances of upsetting Georgia? Back to the warm fuzzies of music. The fractured Gator Nation certainly doesn’t need a debate over which song is best, because their nerves are already frazzled. And frankly, we’re all a little bumfuzzled. We have no real answers as to how this Gator Angst Virus has been spread. In fact, we have more questions than ever. However, it's OK not to have all the answers right now.

By CARLTON REESE No Kin To The Doorman How selective our memories have become! The furor over Dan Mullen’s staying home during a critical recruiting period is somewhat amusing and quite a tell about the mentality of the average recruitnik. Imagine the date is Sept. 9, 2002 and one looks up at the Manhattan skyline and starts screaming about the removal of the Twin Towers – we would label this person a fool, would we not? On Dec. 22, 2020, Mullen’s Gator football program was placed on probation by the NCAA for some minor recruiting violations. Among the penalties was Mullen being barred from all off-campus recruiting during the fall 2021 contact period. When the news broke, it broke nationally and all heard, but it seems few remembered. When it was heard Mullen did not make a recent recruiting trip, Gator fans on social media went nuts, apparently forgetting about the ban. Funny, yes, but also telling about where the state of mind exists among many fans: at this point, many are looking for anything to create kindling around Dan Mullen. As for the Doorman, he was in better spirits this week following a 5-2 mark among games listed, including 4-0 in underdog bets. I discovered him to be a pretty good tipper when he’s in a good mood. Once again, he bet against Florida and once again cashed in rather handsomely, but he warns me that South Carolina is wagering poison at 2-5 against the spread this season. Considering the Gators are 3-5 against the spread, the 19-point line in UF’s favor is probably spot on and worth avoiding, at least according to the Doorman. His advice on Florida this week: Don’t put your money down on either the Gators or Gamecocks. To not cover 19 points on the road would not be an embarrassment and seems like a stretch for a UF team that may be suffering from some infighting and an injured quarterback. Since the Gators’ national championship season of 2008, the Gators have covered 19 points against South Carolina only once (in 2012), so where is all the confidence it could happen in what has turned into a forgettable 2021? South Carolina’s wins this season have come against Eastern Illinois, East Carolina, Troy and Vanderbilt – not exactly Murderer’s Row. The losses have all been blowouts save a narrow defeat to Kentucky, so who knows? The Gators haven’t really beaten anybody, either, except maybe Tennessee which would probably be favored if the game were played today. What this all means: Watch Saturday night’s game in comfort without putting any hard-earned money down. This week’s selections of Carlton the Doorman: Underdogs: Wake Forest plus 2.5 over North Carolina; Rice plus 6 over Charlotte; Middle Tennessee plus 15 over Western Kentucky; Auburn plus 4.5 over Texas A&M Favorites: Pitt minus 21 over Duke; Cincinnati minus 22.5 over Tulsa; East Carolina minus 15.5 over Temple; Georgia minus 37.5 over Missouri. This week’s margins of games of note: SEC-- Georgia by 60.5 over Missouri; Alabama by 38 over LSU; Auburn by 4.5 over Texas A&M; Ole Miss by 21 over Liberty; Arkansas by 2.5 over Mississippi State; Kentucky by 3.5 over Tennessee; Florida by 18.5 over South Carolina. Others—N.C. State by 13 over Florida State; Miami by 24.5 over Georgia Tech; Ohio State by 35 over Nebraska; Michigan by 25.5 over Indiana; Michigan State by 9 over Purdue; Iowa State by 5 over Texas; Utah by 18 over Stanford; Oregon by 9.5 over Washington; Arizona State by 15.5 over USC; Central Florida by 22 over Tulane; Houston by 28.5 over South Florida; FAU by 1 over Marshall; Old Dominion by 10 over FIU. Top 10 Ratings: 1. Georgia (134) 2. Ohio State (129.5) 3. Alabama (128.5) 4. Auburn (102.5) 5. Cincinnati (97.5) 6. Oklahoma (95) 7. Ole Miss (89.5) 8. Texas A&M (87) 9. Penn State (87) 10. Pittsburgh (86.5) SEC Ratings: 1. Georgia (134) 2. Alabama (128.5) 3. Auburn (102.5) 4. Ole Miss (89.5) 5. Texas A&M (87) 6. Mississippi State (72.5) 7. Arkansas (71) 8. Kentucky (62.5) 9. Tennessee (62) 10. LSU (59) 11. Florida (57.5) 12. Missouri (19) 13. South Carolina (14.5) 14. Vanderbilt (-25)

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: MULLEN TRIES TO PROJECT CALM DEMEANOR IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY It’s been quite a week for Dan Mullen. He was already getting hammered for losing to Georgia 34-7 last Saturday when he hustled his way through a press conference Monday after which he canceled all media availability with players and coaches except for the Wednesday SEC Coaches Teleconference, for which attendance is mandatory. But, there was more. Monday night and throughout the day on Tuesday there were rumors leaking out that at a team meeting that involved coaches and players there was a whole lot of shouting going on although it hasn’t been pinpointed who exactly were the shouters and who were the shoutees. Making matters worse, quarterback Anthony Richardson may not be able to play Saturday night when the Gators travel to South Carolina due to concussion protocols and the flu bug apparently is making the rounds. Other than that, everything is peachy. Or at least, that’s what Mullen was trying to project on the Teleconference Wednesday morning. On the call, he made reference to the team regaining its mojo and playing with confidence – “the expectations to go make plays” is how Mullen described it. “I think there’s a huge aspect to that of the guys expecting to make plays out there on the field and looking at each other and not just expecting themselves, but expecting their teammates, to make plays,” Mullen said. That, it would seem, is an issue of confidence and accountability. If confidence and accountability are missing, then these last four games are going to be a struggle. Florida is an 18-point favorite to beat South Carolina Saturday night and should be favored by at least two or three touchdowns to win their other three games this month. Mullen did say that the Gators practiced with great energy and indicated that confidence is returning. “I think their focus has been fantastic this week and I think part of the preparation is building all of that confidence within each other and expecting great things to happen … expecting each other to make plays while we're out there on the field,” Mullen said. "Within our expectations there’s two aspects – two to me – which [are] expecting good things to happen to us and make plays. Some of that comes with the consistency of our performance. In our losses this year you can’t pinpoint one thing, but you can pinpoint that when bad things happen, they were really bad for us. And they were different bad things in each game.” Bad things do happen during the course of games. The good teams put the bad things in the rearview. The bad to mediocre teams dwell on what went wrong and it affects the way they play the game. "The other part of it is, one, to eliminate the mistakes, which you want to do,” Mullen said. “The second part of it really is when something bad happens during the course of the game, to put the brakes on and say, 'Hey, the ebbs and flows of the game make them minor.' When things go wrong, okay, we have the confidence whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams for guys to believe we’re going to step up and go make that play and turn adversity to just a minor adversity, not into something major that has cost four losses on the season, whatever it may be." Here is what we can conclude by Mullen’s statements: He knows better than anyone that the month of November equates to a 4-game season. Not only is he coaching to salvage what’s left, but he has a lot of questions that these four games will answer regarding which players and coaches wish to be part of the University of Florida football program in 2022. Mullen can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, so what is done is done. He can, however, find out plenty about players, coaches and even himself moving forward. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): If the four teams in the initial College Football Playoff poll actually make it in, then we could rename this the Nick Saban Invitational since the coaches at Georgia (Kirby Smart), Michigan State (Mel Tucker) and Oregon (Mario Cristobal) were all on Saban’s 2015 coaching staff. Also on that staff were Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss HBC) and Billy Napier (Lousiana HBC) … Linebacker Drew Sanders (hand) is expected to be available when Alabama hosts LSU Saturday. Saban is still waiting clearance for running back Camar Wheaton, who has been sidelined with a meniscus injury. Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): The Razorbacks, who average 249 yards per game on the ground, will be going against a Mississippi State defense that allows just 89.63 and is coming off a game in which it gave up only 61 to Kentucky … Arkansas not only plans to start 240-pound sophomore running back Dominique Johnson against Mississippi State but get him plenty of carries. “I think that 15 [carries] range is probably about right knowing we still have three other backs,” HBC Sam Pittman said Wednesday. Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC): Linebacker Owen Pappoe, who has missed four games due to an injury suffered at Penn State, will be at 100 percent for Saturday’s game at Texas A&M … On WJOX, Paul Finebaum said that Bryan Harsin would be his choice of SEC Coach of the Year. “I don’t think it’s really in dispute at the moment,” Finebaum said. “… he’s already won a couple of games I did not have him winning so I could not be more impressed.” Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC): Kirby Smart declined to answer which quarterback will start Saturday against Missouri – Stetson Bennett IV or JT Daniels. “I’m pleased with where both of them are and I think both of them are doing a great job,” Smart said … Freshman tight end Brock Bowers has been named a John Mackey Award semifinalist … Linebacker Nakobe Dean is a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC): After throwing for 337 yards and five TDs without an interception in games against LSU and Georgia, QB Will Levis threw two critical interceptions against Mississippi State. HBC Mark Stoops said that in the Mississippi State game, “Will had a chance to hit a few strikes, complete a few passes to possibly hit a touchdown or two and we missed them so we have to get that fixed.” LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): LSU has been hit hard with injuries this year, the latest to cornerback Cordale Flott, who Coach Oeaux says, “Very questionable. I doubt he’s going to play [against Alabama].” Flott has one interception and 31 tackles this season. Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC): Explaining how it is Mississippi State is ranked No. 17 in the College Football Playoff poll despite losses to unranked Memphis and LSU, committee chairman Gary Barta explained the Bulldogs have three wins over ranked teams – North Carolina State, Texas A&M and Kentucky. “Those three wins impressed the committee enough to put them at 17,” Barta said. Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): HBC Eli Drinkwitz doesn’t know if Georgia will start Stetson Bennett IV or JT Daniels Saturday, but said that no matter which one plays, “I really don’t know that [the offense] changes that much.” … Former Mizzou coach Warren Powers (1978-84) died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC): QB Matt Corral is the only SEC quarterback among the 10 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award … Because of the injuries, Lane Kiffin has had to adjust the offense. “We’re going to simplify things, try to play some younger players,” Kiffin said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “We were very overmatched at a number of spots and we have to find ways to overcome that. That’s what coaching is.” Kiffin and the Rebels will be hosting Liberty Saturday, coached by former Ole Miss HBC Hugh Freeze. Basketball: Ole Miss has given Kermit Davis a 4-year contract extension. South Carolina (4-4, 1-3 SEC): Responding to ongoing criticism that the South Carolina offense is too complex for the Gamecocks to grasp, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said, “There’s nothing we’re going that’s too complex, especially in the run game. I’ve coached at the FCS level. My dad coached at the high school level. It’s basic football.” … HBC Shane Beamer still won’t name a starting QB (either Zeb Noland or Jason Brown) for Saturday night’s game with Florida. “I don’t know if that gives us any benefit at all,” Beamer said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): To beat Kentucky in Lexington Saturday, HBC Josh Heupel says, “Our kids are preparing in a really good way. For us, it’s the next challenge for us. They’re really good up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage. We have to go up there and compete for 60 minutes and play smart football.” Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Jimbo Fisher is very aware at how tough Auburn’s defense plays in the red zone. “They’re playing really good in the red zone,” Fisher said. “I think last week Ole Miss was there four different times and never got a point.” Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): The Commodores have an open date this week. Basketball: Rodney Chatman, who transferred in from Dayton and was expected to start from day one, will miss the next 4-6 weeks after suffering a knee injury during a scrimmage. Center Liam Robbins, a Minnesota transfer, will miss the season opener while recovering from a foot injury. LINCOLN RILEY UPSET WITH TREND OF FIRING COACHES AT MIDSEASON It’s one thing to fire a college football coach for cause at any point during a season, but something altogether different when we see coaches being fired during the season as we’ve seen in high profile jobs like Southern Cal, LSU, Texas Tech and most recently, TCU. At TCU, Gary Patterson, who was on the job for 22 years and won 189 games, was let go Sunday night with a third of the season still to be played. Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley says the trend to fire coaches during the season simply because they aren’t winning is not a good trend for college football. “We may have to look at something maybe like the pros do, or something like that that really draws some hard lines on when [firings] can happen and when they can’t,” Riley told ESPN. “Gary Patterson not finishing a season at a place he built? Man, that ain’t right.” ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For the most part, I am against the Federal government getting involved in sports but a bill has been introduced to Congress to create a statute of limitations for the NCAA to complete investigations while giving any sanctioned school the right to appeal before a third-party arbitrator. Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN) has teamed with Burgess Owens (R-UT) and Josh Harder (D-CA) to force the NCAA to act swiftly and fairly to deal with rules breakers. “The NCAA acts as investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner,” Kustoff told ESPN. “[Our bill] sets up a framework. The NCAA can still do their jobs, but with more constraints.” Short of the NCAA being abolished in favor of a streamlined organization that lacks the administrative bloat and insanely complicated set of rules, anything that will hasten investigations, trials and punishment is welcome. It’s ridiculous that the NCAA has dragged its feet in dealing with LSU, South Carolina, Alabama and Auburn (and others), who were implicated in the college basketball corruption investigations.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: “Our guys are completely focused. Our guys are playing hard, practicing their butt off; our guys want to compete and want to win and to be honest with you we need to win. Winning fixes a lot of problems. It doesn’t solve all of your problems, but it fixes some of them.” – Dan Mullen in an interview with Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel Winning will not fix all of Dan Mullen’s problems, but more than any coach in the country, he needs to go 4-0 in the month of November. Perceptions and optics are the worst they’ve been for a Florida coach since Jim McElwain tried to sell us that he and his family had been recipients of death threats. Of course, there were none. Mullen’s predicament isn’t anything close to what sent McElwain packing, but he definitely needs to change perceptions that he’s the captain of a ship that is springing too many leaks to stay afloat. Consecutive losses to LSU and Georgia combined with the poor optics of a Monday press conference that came across as smug and arrogant, have made Mullen an easy target for many in the state and national media. He’s paid more than $7.5 million a year, so he should know that criticism comes with the territory. Winning these last four games may not do a total transformation of Mullen’s image but when you consider he entered 2021 with a three-game losing streak, winning the last four of 2021 can only help perceptions that the Florida football program is still viable. So much of the criticism of Mullen has had to do with recruiting and let’s face it, he’s not going to flip a bunch of 5-stars at the last moment. He needs to focus on getting good players in the recruiting class and then do what Mel Tucker has done at Michigan State. Michigan State, in case you haven’t been following, is a national championship contender just one year after going 2-5. Tucker didn’t do it by outrecruiting Michigan but instead brought in 20 transfers including five from the SEC and four from the ACC. Former Gator Chester Kimbrough starts at one corner and Wake Forest transfer Kenneth Walker III (1,194 rushing yards, 14 TDs) has a legitimate chance to win the Heisman Trophy. Finishing the season with four wins can only help Mullen in the transfer portal. Now that the NCAA rules have changed, the transfer portal will fill up faster than ever before and there will be a lot of good players available. Kids want to play for winners and a team with a winning streak at the end of the year should be quite attractive. The transfer portal can’t solve all of Dan Mullen’s image problems, but it can go a long way toward evening up some of the talent gaps that exist. The folks in Las Vegas say: The folks in Las Vegas obviously don’t think the media storm against Mullen will affect Saturday’s outcome against South Carolina in Columbia. The Gators have been established as 18-point favorites. GEORGIA, ALABAMA 1-2 IN FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF POLL The first College Football Playoff poll was released Tuesday night and it was bad news for Cincinnati, hoping to become the first Group of Five team to crash the playoff party. The Bearcats are ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, but the playoff committee, which weighs things like strength of schedule, placed the Bearcats at No. 6. The only hope Cincinnati has to make the final four will be to run the table, win the American Athletic Conference championship game, and hope for some losses among the teams in front. Georgia and Alabama from the SEC hold down the top two spots but that could change if the two meet in the SEC Championship Game. If Alabama arrives at the game with one loss and then knocks off an unbeaten Georgia, it is almost certain both would make the final four. If Georgia were to beat Alabama, then two-loss Alabama would be out. Michigan State, which is unbeaten after a win over previously unbeaten Michigan, is somewhat of a surprise at No. 3 since the Spartans trail Ohio State in both the AP and Coaches polls. Oregon is at No. 4 on the strength of its September win over Ohio State, which is No. 5 in the CFP poll. In both the AP and Coaches polls, Oregon ranks No. 7. Like Cincinnati, whose only quality win is over No. 10 Notre Dame, Oklahoma’s lack of wins over quality opponents kept the Sooners from cracking the top four. Oklahoma is No. 8 in the CFP, yet fourth in both the AP and Coaches polls. Unlike Cincinnati, however, the Sooners will have some opportunities to get quality wins since they still have games remaining with No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 12 Baylor. There isn’t a single ranked team remaining on the Cincinnati schedule. Week 1 CFP poll: 1. Georgia 8-0; 2. Alabama 7-1; 3. Michigan State 8-0; 4. Oregon 7-1; 5. Ohio State 7-1; 6. Cincinnati 8-0; 7. Michigan 7-1; 8. Oklahoma 9-0; 9. Wake Forest 8-0; 10. Notre Dame 7-1; 11. Oklahoma State 7-1; 12. Baylor 7-1; 13. Auburn 6-2; 14. Texas A&M 6-2; 15. BYU 7-2; 16. Ole Miss 6-2; 17. Mississippi State 5-3; 18. Kentucky 6-2; 19. North Carolina State 6-2; 20. Minnesota 6-2; 21. Wisconsin 5-3; 22. Iowa 6-2; 23. Fresno State 7-2; 24. San Diego State 7-1; 25. Pittsburgh 6-2 OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Okay, I don’t have to make things like this up. Former Alabama assistant Jeff Banks now makes $1 million a year coaching tight ends and special teams at Texas. His girlfriend, Danielle Thomas, is an exotic dancer known as the “Pole Assassin.” At a Halloween party hosted by Banks and Thomas, their pet monkey allegedly bit a child, which has set social media in Texas abuzz. Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): The bye week was critical for getting first teamers healthy again. “If we can get healthy, our ones can compete real well,” said HBC Sam Pittman. Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC): Tom Green at Al.com writes that Auburn has given up only 22 second half points in SEC wins over LSU, Arkansas and Ole Miss. Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC): Wide receivers George Pickens (ACL in 2020) and Dominique Blaylock (ACL in 2020, hamstring 2021) are recovering from their injuries but still unable to play. Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC): In its last two SEC games – both losses – the Wildcats have rushed for 51 yards against Georgia and 66 against Mississippi State. That’s the first time the Wildcats have gone consecutive games without gaining at least 100 yards on the ground since 2018. LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Coach Oeaux may be on his way out at the end of the season but he’s still recruiting for LSU. “I love LSU and I think LSU is a great school, especially for the in-state player and that he ought to come to LSU and I told every one of them that,” Coach Oeaux said on ESPN Radio in Baton Rouge Tuesday morning. “Still think LSU is the best place for them.” Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC): While speaking to the media Monday, HBC Mike Leach joked, “I’ve actually thought about running 100 percent of the time one game, pass 100 percent of the time the next game and brag about how balanced we are.” The Bulldogs have attempted 169 running plays while throwing it 443 times this year. Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): HBC Eli Drinkwitz won’t disclose the status of injured quarterback Connor Bazelak until Thursday. If Bazelac can’t go Saturday when the Tigers visit Georgia, Drinkwitz will go with either Tyler Macon or Brady Cook. The two have combined to complete 8-9 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC): Ole Miss may have to play Liberty this weekend without quarterback Matt Corral and wide receivers Dontario Drummond and Braylon Sanders. Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo continues to be sidelined with a broken foot. South Carolina (4-4, 1-3 SEC): With fans and media alike questioning if the offense is too complex, HBC Shane Beamer told SportsTalkSC, “We’re carrying less plays in our game plan than we did early in the season to try to be a little more efficient. You want to be complex and multiple enough where a defense can’t just line up and know exactly what you’re doing.” The Gamecocks rank next to last in the SEC and 115thnationally in total offense at 327.6 yards per game. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Corner Altonae Taylor probably gave Kentucky some bulletin board material for Saturday’s game when he said, “You don’t lose to Kentucky.” Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Jimbo Fisher says the Aggies open date came at just the right time. “Eight weeks, that’s a lot of game, that’s a lot of bang and bruises, not just the physical strain, but the mental strain,” Fisher said. The Aggies play host to Auburn Saturday. Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): Vandy is working with a marketing company to sell naming rights to its little bandbox stadium. Good luck on that one. GEORGIA SOUTHERN HIRES CLAY HELTON Former Southern Cal head coach Clay Helton is the new head coach at Georgia Southern. Helton was 46-24 in a little more than six seasons at Southern Cal after he succeeded Lane Kiffin. Helton, who was a backup quarterback at Auburn (1990-92) before finishing his career at Houston, is the son of former Gator and Gainesville High star Kim Helton. Georgia Southern fired Chad Lunsford in September and has gone 1-3 under interim Kevin Whitley. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The commissioners of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC should feel a little silly right now. Back when Texas and Oklahoma bolted the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference back in the summer, the three commissioners decried this as a complete and total disaster for all of college football, then they went about attempting to derail the plan for the College Football Playoff to expand. Sankey, of course, was one of the authors of the plan to take the playoff from four to 12 teams. The reasoning of the three bozos – Kevin Warren (Big Ten), George Kliavkoff (Pac-12) and Jim Phillips (ACC) whined that in a 12-team playoff the SEC might get as many as six teams in, putting the squeeze on everyone else. Well, take a look at the first CFP poll that came out Tuesday night and you see Georgia and Alabama ranked 1-2, but they are the only two SEC teams to crack the top 12. Even if Oklahoma were suddenly switched to the SEC, the SEC would still only have three teams in. The way it stands today, the Big Ten (Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan) and Big 12 (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor) would each have three teams in, with two from the SEC. The other four would be Oregon (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), Wake Forest (ACC) and Notre Dame (Independent). Here is what the playoff would look like if the playoff were expanded to 12 teams today: Six highest ranked conference champions: Georgia (SEC), Michigan State (Big Ten), Oregon (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), Oklahoma (Big 12) and Wake Forest (ACC). At-large: Alabama (SEC), Ohio State and Michigan (Big Ten), Notre Dame (Independent), Oklahoma State and Baylor (Big 12) The first round matchups (top four ranked teams get a bye): No. 12 Baylor at No. 5 Ohio State; No. 11 Oklahoma State at No. 6 Cincinnati; No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Michigan; No. 9 Wake Forest at No. 8 Oklahoma.

Here is what was accomplished in Florida’s 80-57 exhibition game win over Embry-Riddle Monday night: (1) Even though the Gators were playing an undermanned, vertically challenged team from the Division II Sunshine State Conference, Mike White got to see his guys, particularly all the new faces, playing someone other than themselves; and (2) once past the first half, the Gators got into a rhythm and played better. We shouldn’t read too much into this game other than it provides good film study that White can use to correct mistakes and teach between now and next Tuesday when Elon comes to the O-Dome. Florida played a listless, almost disinterested first half, then ratcheted up the defensive intensity in the second half and that changed the dynamic of the entire game. White’s starting lineup was a mix of returning veterans Colin Castleton and Anthony Duruji with transfers Brandon McKissic, Phlandrous Fleming Jr. and Myreon Jones. That’s probably going to be the starting lineup with Tyree Appleby and transfer C.J. Felder the first two off the bench. In a very low-energy first half (UF led 31-25 at the break), the Gators looked like a team trying to break in a lot of new faces. There were lapses in the defensive rotations, too much standing around instead of tracking the ball for rebounds, and way too many missed shots (10-32 overall, 4-18 on 3-pointers). The Gators played with much more energy and intensity in the second half. When the defense ratcheted up about five minutes into the half, the offense began to flow and the Gators began to look like a team. It was 41-37 when the Gators began to surge on back-to-back 3-pointers by Appleby, the second a 4-point play when he was fouled in the corner. That’s when McKissic took over the game, scoring 14 of Florida’s next 17 points to put the game well out of Embry-Riddle’s reach. So here are some very short-sighted conclusions that could very well change next week when the Gators play their first real game: 1. This team isn’t very deep. In the early going, at least, it’s going to be a 7-man rotation. That’s not necessarily a bad thing unless there is foul troubles. Freshman Kowacie Reeves needs to grow up in a hurry because he can score and despite the fact he’s skinny, he’s got good hops and can help out on the boards. Niels Lane didn’t play much but he’s very physical so he needs to be ready to play. From what I saw of Jason Jitoboh, he still isn’t in great physical condition. I could see him as a 5X5X5 guy … as in 5 minutes, combination 5 points and rebounds, 5 fouls kind of guy. Toungthach Gatkek is 6-9, but way too skinny to give more than a couple of minutes. 2. Size is going to be a problem. If Castleton gets into foul trouble, either Jitoboh is going to have to make enormous strides to show that he can give quality minutes or Felder is going to have to be the backup. He’s only 6-7 but he has a 7-2 reach. He’s good on the defensive end, an adventure offensively. Duruji looked much improved. He can be a stretch four but he can’t afford foul troubles because there is no one else who’s (a) nearly 6-8, (b) has a 46-48-inch vertical and (c) experienced. The Gators will probably go with a 3-man rotation in the post with Castleton and Duruji starting and Felder filling in at both spots. 3. This could be the best defensive team since the Elite Eight team in 2017 even though the Gators lack size. That’s because all four transfers are very solid when it comes to defensive fundamentals and they’re very quick. McKissic and Fleming were defensive players of the year in their respective leagues, and Felder was one the top shot blockers and paint defenders in the ACC. Jones was an above average although not elite defender in the Big Ten. Castleton is 6-11 and last year proved he is an exceptional shot blocker, but he’s not extremely physical. Duruji can jump out of the gym but has to be more focused on rebounding fundamentals instead of relying on his athleticism, which got him into trouble at times last year. Appleby is quick enough to handle most of the point guards the Gators will face. Beyond those seven, defense will be an adventure, at least early on. I keep hoping Jitoboh can give the Gators more than five solid minutes a game. If he can do that, the entire defensive dynamic of the team changes. McKissic and Fleming are grown men who can play a very physical game yet both have the quickness to succeed in open court defense if White elects to mask some of the size deficiencies by making it a full court game with the press. 4. This may turn out to be a live by the three, die by the three team. Although Jones didn’t make a single 3-ball, everything he throws up looks like it’s going in. I liked McKissic’s shot a lot and was surprised by Fleming. I still think he’s going to have to score most of his points off his defense and in transition, but I don’t think he’s going to have prolonged shooting slumps, not with the nice release and squared shoulders when he shoots. Appleby is a known commodity who can heat up and stay hot. 5. The Gators had 18 assists (7 by Appleby, 4 by Jones, 3 by Fleming) and only nine turnovers. Last year the Gators had more turnovers than assists. If they’re going to be successful this year, they’ll have to have no worse than a 60/40 (or better) turnover-to-assist ratio. Once in the second half against Embry-Riddle, there was much better ball movement around the perimeter and what seemed a commitment to make the extra pass. Final assessment: It’s early. A lot can change in the month of November and December heading into the SEC portion of the schedule. I’m concerned that the Gators aren’t tall enough, but I am encouraged that they have better defenders and can make up for a lot of deficiencies by locking the other team down. One veteran Florida basketball observer told me last night pre-game that he thinks this team will go in one of two directions: Either a very high ceiling in which they are one of the truly surprise teams in the SEC or else one that will have to fight hard to remain somewhere in the middle of the pack. If the team chemistry is there – and it certainly wasn’t last year after Keyontae went down – then this could be the surprise team. If the chemistry is anything like it was from January onward last season, then the Gators are going to struggle to find themselves. I realize it was only one game and an exhibition game at that, but what I saw of this team on the court, in the huddles and on the bench was encouraging. I saw some leadership, which is something I think last year’s team severely lacked. I’m not sure who will emerge as the true leaders on the team, but I think McKissic and Appleby can be the glue guys who hold the team together and everyone follows.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: CIRCLING THE WAGONS … Dan Mullen might deny that he's adapted a bunker mentality, but that’s what people are reading into the optics of a Monday press conference gone bad. Two days removed from a second straight loss, this one a 27-point shelling at the hands of No. 1 Georgia, Mullen seemed terribly uncomfortable in a press conference that lasted a few seconds short of 13 minutes. During his nearly 13 minutes on the microphone, Mullen deflected one question about taking a different approach to recruiting, used 170 words to answer a question about the remaining schedule that he could have answered in two sentences, gave a two-word answer to a question about Anthony Richardson (“We’ll see" was his response) and then spent the remaining minutes of the press conference looking like someone who couldn't wait to get this over and done with. Mullen wasn't smiling, perhaps because he was prepared for a barrage of negative questions. When you've lost two games in a row and your season is on the brink, the negatives can be expected so there probably isn't much worth smiling about. There wasn't a lot of energy in his demeanor, perhaps because he knows there is no use delaying the inevitable. Change is overdue and Mullen knows it. That doesn't mean it's pleasant. Mullen on the mike already had the Twitterverse going ballistic, but it went into an absolute frenzy when it was disclosed that all media access with the exception of his required 10 minutes on the weekly SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday morning has been canceled. That's not exactly a weather is here, wish you were beautiful announcement. The Twitterverse interpreted it as Dan's gone into the bunker to prepare for the siege ahead. Some are calling this desperation on Mullen's part. The optics aren't good, that's for certain, but I would hesitate to call it desperation. He knows what the expectations are here, knows the Gators haven't lived up to expectations and knows also that there will be plenty of hurt feelings when the winds of change blow the hardest later this month. Dan Mullen is a very smart man. Some might say he's way too smart for his own good. It's not lost on him that the Gators are 4-4 with all four losses in the Southeastern Conference. Nobody knows better than Dan Mullen that the Gators have outgained all eight opponents and yet the Gators have lost four times. When you're 4-4 and you're losing games that you could have and should have won, then you've got a team of underperformers. That falls right back in the lap of the head coach. All four of the losses have been giveaways, even the one to Georgia. Say what you want about Mullen and recruiting, but there is enough talent for the Gators to have won every single game. All four losses, even the one to Georgia, were gifts. The losses to Alabama, Kentucky and LSU were all one-possession games. An interception, a missed extra point and a first quarter when the defense was a no show were the culprits against Alabama. An interception and a blocked field goal run back for a TD cost UF the Kentucky game. LSU? There aren't enough fingers to point but the defense was the proverbial lost ball in the high weeds and the offense gave the Tigers 21 points. The Gators lost by 27 to Georgia but they gave that one away in perhaps the worst three-minute stretch of Florida football since the Nebraska Chainsaw Massacre in 1995. Florida-Georgia 2021 should have been – but wasn’t – white knuckles. Reality says the Gators are 4-4, but you know as well as I they should be no worse than 6-1 at this point … perhaps 7-0 if they hadn't blown off both feet in that three minute stretch against Georgia. So, why is it 4-4 instead of 6-1 or 7-0? The Readers Digest condensed version says the offense has given opponents 69 points on turnovers, special teams are an adventure with the exception of the punter and you never know if the defense is going to show up or do some snoozerobics like they did in Baton Rouge. Added together, Mullen has all the ingredients for insurrection within his team. Some think this is the logical explanation for the abrupt and somewhat arrogant press conference Monday, but let's not forget there are still four games to go. Win them and it's 8-4, which is what some of the experts were thinking back in August. Four wins and then a win in the bowl game and Mullen finishes 9-4, which just so happens to be the record UF had in 2007 when a certain Tim Tebow won the Heisman. That team also lost games it should have won, but it bounced back the next season in a very big way. That was light years ago, however, and much has changed, but remains a Florida program that can still move onward and upward with a strong finish to 2021. Once the season is over, it will take avoiding a wholesale exit via the transfer portal . Since Mullen isn't going to win big in 2022 with incoming recruits, he needs to go hard into the transfer portal for plug and play types that can make a difference, preferably talented kids with 2-3 years or remaining eligibility. They're out there. Lots of them. That has to be a priority. Finally, if the Good Ship Gator is to avoid hitting an iceberg and going down like the Titanic, change has to be made even if it means saying good-bye to some old friends. It's time and Dan Mullen knows it. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Drew Sanders, who has been out with a hand injury, could be ready to go Saturday against LSU. Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Sam Pittman says the final four games for the Hogs are "big because of the way we started the season." One win will make the Hogs bowl-eligible. Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC): "The one story that nobody has talked about and you better start paying attention to them is Auburn," says Paul Finebaum, who believes Auburn is a legitimate SEC West contender. Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC): Kirby Smart says Georgia's upperclassmen are one of the reasons the Bulldogs are unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the nation. "For the first time, we have a large group of really good leaders, juniors and seniors, but both classes are full of guys that love football and they enjoy practice," Smart said on "SEC This Morning." Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC): Following the Wildcats’ loss to Mississippi State, HBC Mark Stoops said, “It’s been awhile since we’ve had a game like that. They beat us in all phases … we got pushed around. They outcoached us and outplayed us in every area.” LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Quarterback Myles Brennan has entered the NCAA transfer portal. Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC): Following the win over Kentucky, Mike Leach said the Wildcats were simulating the MSU snap count, which is a rules violation. “If folks can get away with that we gotta start coaching it,” Leach said. Perhaps that also explains some of Florida’s eight false starts against UK? Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): Tyler Badie leads the SEC in rushing with 989 yards (11 TDs). He's also caught 40 passes for 305 yards and four TDs. Badie ranks No. 3 in the nation in scoring (90 points) and fourth in rushing. Ole Miss (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Injuries are taking their toll on the Rebels. Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo is still sidelined with a broken foot. Braylon Sanders was unable to play against Auburn. Dontario Drummond played injured against Auburn. Right guard Ben Brown is done for the season and Caleb Warren is playing through an injury. Matt Corral missed time against Auburn with an injury, but played in the second half. South Carolina (4-4, 1-4 SEC): Defensive back Jaylen Dickerson is doubtful for the game with the Gators. HBC Shane Beamer is optimistic quarterback Zeb Noland (knee) will be ready to go. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Discussing the decision by quarterback Harrison Bailey to enter the transfer portal, HBC Josh Heupel said, “In some ways, disappointed in the timing of when he makes that decision. It is a different era in college athletics with the transfer portal over the last couple years.” Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Discussing the improvement of his team since dropping two straight SEC games, HBC Jimbo Fisher said, "We kind of found out who we are." Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): Vanderbilt is planning a blackout for its game with Kentucky on November 13. Judging by the scarcity of fans that were in attendance for the Commodores’ loss to Missouri, there will be far more people in Kentucky blue than Vanderbilt black. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY WEEK NINE With the Sunday Night Massacre in Fort Worth that saw Gary Patterson out after 189 wins and 22 seasons, there are now eight job openings, only one of which (Kansas) has been filled. Extinct Species List Les Miles, Kansas (Permanent replacement Lance Leipold) Randy Edsall, UConn Clay Helton, Southern Cal Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern Ed Orgeron, LSU Nick Rolovich, Washington State Matt Wells, Texas Tech Gary Patterson, TCU On Life Support Walt Bell, UMass: The Minutemen just got hosed by Liberty 62-7, but there help is on the way. The next two are against D1AA teams. Win those and it’s three wins baby! Tom Arth, Akron: The Zips get to lose to Ball State this week, but they’ve already exceeded expectations with two wins. Butch Davis, Florida International: The Panthers lost to Marshall 38-0. They haven’t beaten a Division I team this year and probably won’t. Marcus Arroyo, UNLV: He kept his coaching record (0-14) perfect with a 51-20 loss to Nevada. The record could be broken against New Mexico this week. Scott Frost, Nebraska: The Huskers are now 5-18 in one-possession games since Frost took over. Close counts in horseshoes and perhaps when there is a $20 million buyout to consider. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech: The Hokies are 4-4 and need to win three of the last four for Fuente to be gainfully employed after this season. Endangered Species List Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: Lefty got kicked out of the game Saturday but Bowling Green beat Buffalo for its third win of the season. Could he win two more? That would ensure he has a job next year. Dino Babers, Syracuse: One more win and The Cuse is bowl eligible which means Babers won’t have to sell his house and move somewhere. I’ve been to Syracuse. That’s actually not a bad idea! Chip Kelly, UCLA: The Bruins got hosed by Utah, their second straight loss. The Fire Chip Kelly folks are restless again but there is that $9 million buyout. Seth Littrell, North Texas: The Mean Green have a 1-game winning streak now that they whacked Rice. This is not going to have a happy ending. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: The Phighting Phils lost to Navy on a night when Navy didn’t complete a single pass. The end could be near if Cincinnati blows their doors off Saturday. Steve Addazio, Colorado State: The Lambs are 3-5 and the next four are perfectly losable. Addazio probably will be the coach next year but he’s on shaky ground. Justin Wilcox, California: What’s this? A 2-game winning streak? It just goes to show you how bad the Pac-12 is. Manny Diaz, Miami: Two straight weeks of beating ranked teams has quieted the folks who want Manny gone. He could actually finish the season on a 5-game winning streak. Go figure. Jeff Scott, South Florida: The euphoria of a win over a Division I team ended with the loss to ECU. Houston and Cincinnati are next. THE REALIGNMENT SHUFFLE Here is what the Big 12, American Athletic and Sun Belt conferences are looking like after the latest wave of realignment and expansion and the big questions that will have to be answered in the weeks and months ahead. The New Big 12: Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, West Virginia, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston. The big questions: Will the Big Ten offer Kansas and Iowa State? Will the Pac-12 expand by offering Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State? Will the Big 12 offer SMU, South Florida, Memphis and Tulane from the AAC? The New American Athletic Conference: SMU, South Florida, East Carolina, Tulsa, Navy, Temple, Memphis, Tulane, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, UT-San Antonio, North Texas, UAB, Rice. The big questions: Will the AAC try to expand to 16 teams? What will the AAC do if Memphis, South Florida, SMU and Tulane leave for the Big 12? The New Sun Belt: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Troy, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Arkansas State, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Marshall. The big questions: With James Madison expected to join, making this a 14-team league for football, does expansion stop there since there are two non-football members (Little Rock, UT-Arlington) which means 16 for basketball? Or, does the league boot the non-football members and add two more for football? The new Conference USA: Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Florida International, UTEP. The big questions: Do they try to make it as independents, or do they form a new league by adding some D1AA teams? ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Speaking to Greg Sankey prior to the Florida-Georgia game, I asked the SEC commish why the 12-team model for the College Football Playoff is preferable to eight and 16-team models that some prefer. “I think 12 gives us the right number for conference champions and for at-large teams,” he said, explaining that this model accommodates independents, Group of Five and at-large better than any other model and still keeps postseason play in for 30 other teams who would go to bowls. Using the 12-team model, which gives an automatic bid to the six highest-ranked conference champions and accommodates six at-large teams, here is what the playoff would look like this morning using the Associated Press rankings as we await the first rankings by the playoff committee for this year’s four-team tournament: Automatic bids: Georgia (SEC), Cincinnati (American), Oklahoma (Big 12), Michigan State (Big Ten), Oregon (Pac-12), Wake Forest (ACC) At-large: Alabama (SEC), Ohio State (Big Ten), Notre Dame (Independent), Michigan (Big Ten), Oklahoma State (Big 12), Auburn (SEC) First round byes: 1. Georgia; 2. Cincinnati; 3. Alabama; 4. Oklahoma First round games: 12. Auburn at 5. Michigan State; 11. Oklahoma State at 6. Ohio State; 10. Wake Forest at 7. Oregon; 9. Michigan at 8. Notre Dame

For Georgia, ever since Herschel Walker, Bulldog fans have been going to bed with the familiar whine, “wait ‘til next decade.” This could be it. JACKSONVILLE – The Mighty Georgia Bulldogs, now the best team in the land, have found their Steve Spurrier. Maybe. Come gather ‘round yon Gator Nation, young and old, battered and beleaguered – although maybe not yet bowed – striped with disappointment of unrealistic expectations. Take your medicine. Drink from the bitter cup of reality and defeat. Then try to remember what it was once like to sip and savor that sweetness of victory, because it may be a while before you taste it again. Old time Gator fans will remember the mantra in the pre-Steve Spurrier days, embraced through those cruel winters of discontent: “Wait ‘til next year.” Next year finally arrived in 1996, and then again in 2006 and 2008. For Georgia, ever since Herschel Walker, Bulldog fans have been going to bed with the familiar whine, “wait ‘til next decade.“ This could be it. Around Athens these days, 2021 has the makings. We all know it, but some of us just didn’t want to admit it. Saturday the Bulldogs made a down payment and has a natty on layaway. Prodigal son Kirby Smart, mentored by the all-time greatest college football coach (name not needed) is no doubt going to be around for a while, inflicting pain on SEC teams, coaches and fans. After more than 40 years, it may be finally the Bulldogs’ turn. In Halloweens to come, some Gator fans will no doubt dress as their worst nightmare, Kirby Smart, unless somehow a way can be found in Gainesville to produce a reversal of fortunes. The trajectory is favorable for UGA. (To be clear, Kirby has a long way to go before being anointed as Spurrier — including a bunch of SEC titles and his first natty.) This Halloween Nightmare arrived a day early. It was pretty close to a beatdown of Florida, even though for about 21 minutes Saturday at TIAA Bank Field it was actually a competitive football game. For a few minutes on a soft Indian summer Saturday afternoon, when autumn would occasionally cast a semi-cool wisp off the St. John’s River, Gator fans settled in briefly with a wild imagination of a path to some redemption. After all, they never want to concede hope against Georgia. For the first time since 2009, two bitter rivals had fought to a scoreless draw in the first period. And it wasn’t until another 8-½ minutes that either team would squeeze a single point out of the big flashy video scoreboards at both ends of TIAA Bank Field. This was almost enough to lull Gator fans into a false sense of hope. These Bulldogs weren’t steamrolling anybody! Yet. Stetson Bennett scrambled down to the Florida 5, but without succeeding beyond that, settled for a 21-yard field goal by Jack Podlesny and a sparse 3-0 lead. They had played 21 minutes, 24 seconds and the best that the mighty Bulldogs could do was a 3-point advantage? Hey, maybe they didn’t deserve that lofty No. 1 ranking? Trailing the best team in America by only three points at the half wouldn’t be too shabby. A little bit of juice right then surely would shift momentum and change the mood, getting these spunky Gators off the field and back to the locker room just in time, trailing by just a smidgeon. And here came to juice. Although he finally got to start, it was a "School of Hard Knocks" for Anthony Richardson. (Chris Spears photo). On a fourth down with 2 yards to go, the strapping 6-foot-4, 240-pound Anthony Richardson from Gainesville Eastside stuck his foot in the ground and powered through several Bulldog tacklers for the first down. It was enough juice to light up Mick Hubert (“Oh my”) on the radio broadcast, and Lee McGriff, who referenced “Bronko Nagurski” to portray Richardson’s style of power running. Honestly, it did feel like a momentum shift. Then it began to rain. Not raindrops, like when Georgia shut out Ray Graves’ 1968 team, 51-0. This time it rained mistakes by Florida, and points for Georgia. In just over two minutes, beginning at 3:39 to play in the first half, the bottom fell out. It would prove to be a School of Hard Knocks education -- interceptions, fumble, sack -- for this splendid young quarterback, who would later give way to the loyal Emory Jones because of an undisclosed injury. We could point to the absence of key wide receivers Rick Wells and Trent Whittemore, the fact that AR-15 had to go on an Easter Egg hunt to find separation by a wide receiver among the smothering Bulldog secondary. But injuries cannot blamed for a 34-7 ass-kicking, even if the Gators were pinning their hopes on a freshman wunderkind in his first start. Ironically, another Richardson named Nolan, he of Arkansas basketball fame, coached his Razorbacks to play with a fury he called “40 minutes of hell.” This Richardson, named Anthony, of Gator football fame, experienced all of that it 2 minutes, 17 seconds, when everything came apart. So many possibilities were frittered away. (Warning: Look away if you can’t stand the pain…) In a nutshell … an 11-yard sack loss, a curious call by Mullen on a fourth-and-13 attempt to Jacob Copeland which fell incomplete … After a Herculean effort to gain 8 yards, in another “Bronko” style effort, AR-15 was stood up and stripped by Nolan Smith after which James Cook turned it into an 11-yard rushing TD and a 10-0 lead … Seconds later the interception by the same Nolan Smith, a one-man wrecking crew, capitalized on by a 36-yard scoring strike from Bennett to Kearis Jackson and 17-0 lead ... And then finally, the Pick Six by Nakobe Dean, who read the young UF quarterback like a cheap novel for a 50-yard touchdown. Georgia 24, Florida 0. Not 3-0. Whaatt? (OK, you can look up again.) It was a House of Horrors from which Dan Mullen’s team could not recover. Now the bigger question: Can Mullen’s program ever recover from it? One of the best offensive minds in CFB is 4-4 this season and 4-7 in his last 11. And let’s be honest here, the cup of bitterness isn’t going away — because recruiting season for Florida isn’t looking like a holiday to be celebrated. Credit Mullen for doing his best to stress the old “there’s still a lot football left” line and “still a third of the season to play.” All of which is the mandatory language required to keep members of his squad from going over the wall. It may be a challenge. Just one year ago Mullen had a win over Smart and his ticket punched to the SEC Championship game. Since that time Smart has gone 12-0 and Mullen is 8-7. There should be zero chances of Mullen losing his job, but the 49-year-old coach needs to regain the confidence of his boss, Scott Stricklin, and the fan base. He might do better if he was willing to explain some of the problems in more detail during Zoom media conferences and become more engaged after legitimate questions. Instead, he tends to fall back on the old generic non-answers like“we’re going to have to correct that” and “I’m not happy with this either.” He gets paid well enough to explain, although he did do better of total ownership after the Saturday debacle. And by way, he could probably use a hug. (Monday’s presser was cut short by Mullen, who declined to answer questions about recruiting. Also Todd Grantham, usually available to the media, was not. The UF announced no more players or coaches would talk to the press until after Saturday night’s game in Columbia, S.C.) Earlier this week I made a reference to lyrics of a James Taylor song, “Fire and Rain.” Pardon me for the redundancy but this line from the same song is also applicable … even if I’m stuck in the late 1960s. But this reminded me of the current state of Florida football ... “Sweet dreams and flying machines, and pieces on the ground …” Maybe it’s because I’m really stuck in 1996, 2006 and 2008.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: MONDAY AFTER GEORGIA … Two-thirds of Florida’s football season is over and done with. There are four games remaining, all of them winnable, and without a doubt, the Gators need to win all four to close out the regular season at 8-4. Is it what we wanted or thought we would get? No, but it cannot be stressed enough that winning these next four games is imperative. Here are a few other thoughts in the aftermath of the Georgia loss: Florida has turned the ball over 16 times this season – 14 interceptions and two fumbles. Nine of the 14 interceptions have been turned into 59 points by opponents (2-for-14 against Georgia). The two fumbles have been turned into 10 points (1-for-7 against Georgia). Of the 16 turnovers, 15 are by the quarterbacks. We can point to inexperience and there’s no doubt, that’s part of the problem, but there has to be better decision-making. More on decision-making by the quarterbacks. If you’ve paid close attention, then you may have noticed there is no shortage of open receivers. There is, however, a shortage of passes thrown their way or a shortage of passes thrown on time. Xzavier Henderson gets open a lot. If Richardson makes the throw on time, Henderson is off and running but he held the ball, waited too late and the ball got tipped for an interception that led to Georgia taking a 17-0 lead. It has been that way all season with both quarterbacks. The O-line coaching is not the problem. The Gators have allowed only seven sacks all year. They ran for 161 yards on Georgia, by far the most any team has all season and nearly as much as Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky had combined against UGa. However, Florida has to step up the recruiting. I’m not sure Hev is going to recruit better, but I do believe if he has better players, the offensive line will be outstanding. Someone has to pick up the recruiting slack, whether it’s Hev or someone else. There is no explaining the defense. Against LSU, it was as if the scout team was on the field and the scholarship players had been left back in Gainesville. Against Georgia, you can only pin 13 points on them and that last TD was basically a gimme since the game was already lost. How can you get your defense to play so well against Georgia or the last three quarters against Alabama yet LSU destroys you with the exact same play over-and-over again? The inconsistency is baffling, just one more reason why Todd Grantham needs to be told thankee, have a good life somewhere else. Special teams. Jeremy Crawshaw is just fine as a punter but coverage has been spotty. The Gators have to have a better placekicker. Kickoff coverage hasn’t been good. Someone else needs to take the reins of the special teams because this isn’t working all that well. Final thoughts: There are only nine teams in all of Division I younger than Florida. I believe better days are ahead but (1) the Gators need to go 4-0 in November to gain some momentum; (2) Mullen needs to overhaul the defensive staff and bring in a young, aggressive type (like Doug Belk) who is a superior recruiter and capable of assembling an outstanding staff; (3) Florida needs to double up on recruiting staff/budget while bringing in a coordinator like Mark Pantoni or Todd Bates; (4) Mullen needs to work the transfer portal for talented kids who need a fresh start and have two or more seasons of eligibility remaining; and (5) the football facility and other facilities upgrades cannot happen fast enough. UF is in a hole that was dug deep long before Mullen arrived and if the Gators are to have any chance of regaining upper echelon status, it’s time to join the 21st century. The Associated Press Top 25 poll: (1) Georgia (8-0); 2. Cincinnati 8-0; 3. Alabama 7-1; 4. Oklahoma 9-0; 5. Michigan State 8-0; 6. Ohio State 7-1; 7. Oregon 7-1; 8. Notre Dame 7-1; 9. Michigan 701; 10. Wake Forest 8-0; 11. Oklahoma State 7-1; 12. Auburn 6-2; 13. Texas A&M 6-2; 14. Baylor 7-1; 15. Ole Miss 6-2; 16. Texas-San Antonio 8-0; 17. BYU 7-2; 18. Kentucky 6-2; 19. Iowa 6-2; 20. Houston 7-1; 21. Coastal Carolina 7-1; 22. Penn State 5-3; 23. SMU 7-1; 24. Louisiana 7-1; 25. Fresno State 7-2 The Coaches Top 25 Poll: 1. Georgia (8-0); 2. Cincinnati 8-0; 3. Alabama 7-1; 4. Oklahoma 9-0; 5. Ohio State 7-1; 6. Michigan State 8-0; 7. Oregon 7-1; 8. Notre Dame 7-1; 9. Wake Forest 8-0; 10. Michigan 7-1; 11. Oklahoma State 7-1; 12. Texas A&M 6-2; 13. Baylor 7-1; 14. Auburn 6-2; 15. Ole Miss 6-2; 16. Iowa 6-2; 17. Kentucky 6-2; 18. Texas-San Antonio 8-0; 19. Houston 7-1; 20. BYU 7-2; 21. Coastal Carolina 7-1; 22. North Carolina State 6-2; 23. Penn State 5-3; 24. SMU 7-1; 25. Pittsburgh 6-2 THE SEC AFTER NINE WEEKS Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): If this isn’t a sign of the times, then nothing is. Alabama is opening as a three touchdown favorite over LSU. Next week: vs. LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC) Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Arkansas used the bye week to let the players on the two-deep rest while giving the younger players nearly all the practice reps. Next week: vs. Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC) Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC): Good Bo Nix showed up against Ole Miss, throwing for 276 yards and a TD and running for two more. He got help from Tank Bigsby who had his best game of the season, running for 140 yards and a TD. Next week: at Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC) Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC): The combination of Georgia’s win over Florida and Kentucky’s loss to Mississippi State makes the Bulldogs the SEC East champions. Next week: vs. Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC) Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC): Kentucky couldn’t run the ball (66 yards), couldn’t protect the ball (four turnovers) and couldn’t get Mississippi State off the field (74 plays, 41:10 time of possession). Next week: vs. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC) LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Paul Finebaum thinks that Michigan State’s win over Michigan makes it less likely that Mel Tucker will leave East Lansing to come to Baton Rouge to become the next head coach at LSU. On ESPN, Finebaum said, “… I think there’s maybe a little more likelihood after yesterday he looked around and said, ‘You know what, I like where I am. I even like the weather here and I really like the fact that Jim Harbaugh is down the road.’” Next week: at Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC) Mississippi State (5-3, 3-2 SEC): Sophomore QB Will Rogers set an SEC record for completion percentage when he hit 36-39 passes for 344 yards to lead Mississippi State over then 12th-ranked Kentucky. Next week: at Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC) Missouri (4-4, 1-3 SEC): Tyler Badie ran for 254 yards and two touchdowns and caught eight passes for 40 yards in the win over Vandy. It’s a good thing he did because the Mizzou defense allowed Vanderbilt to run for 258 yards … QB Connor Bazelac suffered an injury in the win and will have to be evaluated to see if he can go against Georgia. Next week: at Georgia (8-0, 6-0 SEC) Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC): Matt Corral shouldered the blame for the loss to Auburn, saying, “The plays I usually make, I just missed. I blame myself. This loss is on me.” Of course, the Ole Miss defense had a hand in the loss too, giving up 483 yards including 207 on the ground. Next week: vs. Liberty (7-2) South Carolina (4-4, 1-3 SEC): HBC Shane Beamer hasn’t named a starting QB for Florida, either Zeb Noland or Jason Brown. Noland is recovering from a knee procedure. Next week: vs. Florida (4-4, 2-4 SEC) Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The Athletic is reporting that the University of Tennessee has banned nine fans – not students – from attending any UT athletic event the rest of the 2021-22 school year for throwing things on the field and at Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin back on October 16. Next week: at Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC) Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Next week: vs. Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC) Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 SEC): Mike Wright threw for three touchdowns and ran for 152 yards in the loss to Missouri. Next week: Open date FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: Wake Forest (8-0) continues to be the league bell cow after racking up 677 yards of offense in a 45-7 rout of Duke (3-5). Sam Hartman threw for 402 yards and three TDs for the Deacons … The Save Manny Diaz Tour continues for Miami (4-4) as the Hurricanes beat Pitt (6-2), the second straight week they’ve knocked off a ranked team. Pitt’s Kenny Pickett threw for 519 yards and three TDs in the loss … Florida State (3-5) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end when Clemson (5-3) rallied in the fourth quarter for a 30-20 come-from-behind win. Big Ten: Michigan (7-1) was outscored 23-3 by Michigan State (8-0) in the last 17:49 and lost to Michigan State, 37-34. Wake Forest transfer Kenneth Walker III ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns to lead Michigan State and move to the front of the Heisman Trophy race. He has run for 1,194 yards and 14 touchdowns with four games to go in the regular season … Ohio State (7-1) beat Penn State (5-3) 33-24 but didn’t exactly look like a playoff team doing it. The Buckeyes had to settle for four field goals in the red zone and were penalized 10 times for 74 yards … Those same Minnesota Gophers (6-2) who lost to Bowling Green (3-6) find themselves in the awkward spot of leading the Big Ten West after blowtorching Northwestern 41-14. Wisconsin (5-3) put the kibosh on Iowa (6-2), which, only three weeks ago was unbeaten and ranked 2nd nationally. Big 12: TCU has fired longtime coach Gary Patterson, effective immediately. Patterson was 181-79 as the HBC of the Horned Frogs … There was a Spencer Rattler sighting Saturday, but the former Heisman front runner only got in Oklahoma’s (9-0) 52-21 win over Texas Tech (5-4) after Caleb Williams had thrown for 402 yards and six touchdowns. Rattler was 5-5 for 67 yards and a TD in mop-up duty … The Texas (4-4) misery index ratcheted up a couple more notches after Baylor (7-1) outscored the Longhorns 14-3 in the fourth quarter to take a 31-24 win … Oklahoma State (7-1) hammered Kansas (1-7), 55-3. Pac-12: The league is a mess. Oregon (7-1) is the only decent team. The Ducks pounded Colorado 52-29 behind three TDPs from Anthony Brown … Utah (5-3) took control of the Pac-12 South by blowing out UCLA (5-4), 44-24. Figure Chip Kelly’s tush is a bit toasty about now. Independents: Notre Dame (7-1) ran for 293 yards to knock off North Carolina (4-4) 44-34 … BYU (7-2) racked up 734 yards of offense while taking out Virginia (6-3) 66-49. Virginia had 588 yards in the losing effort. Tyler Allegeier ran for 266 yards and five TDs for BYU. Group of Five: Cincinnati (8-0) continues to carry the torch for the Group of Five, but it took outscoring Tulane 17-0 in the second half to stay unbeaten … SMU (7-1) fell from the unbeaten ranks when Houston outscored the Mustangs 14-3 in the fourth quarter for a 44-37 win … San Diego State (7-1) also lost its bid for a perfect season when Fresno State (7-2) ambushed the Aztecs, 30-20 … UTSA (8-0) didn’t have a game this weekend but you can’t say the Roadrunners didn’t win. HBC Jeff Traylor (15-5 at what was thought to be a deadend program) was just locked up long term for $2.8 million a year with increased money for his assistants and recruiting. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The first College Football Playoff poll will be out Tuesday, accompanied by the usual moans and groans about the rankings. About the only ranked team that won’t be able to complain is Georgia, which should be a unanimous No. 1. Georgia has beaten then No. 3 Clemson, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 18 Auburn and No. 11 Kentucky. Nobody else has that many wins over ranked teams. I’ll be interested to see where they rank Cincinnati, whose only quality win is over now No. 8 (then 9) Notre Dame. The only other team with a winning record the Bearcats have beaten is UCF (5-3). The resumes for everyone else is rather spotty. Wake Forest Gump for example is 8-0 but hasn’t played a ranked team nor is there a ranked team on its schedule.

JACKSONVILLE -- All things relative, Florida couldn't have asked for a much better start against the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at TIAA Everbank Field in Jacksonville. The Gators' defense, which has been a whipping post for criticism this season, allowed 156 yards on its opening 29 plays from the line of scrimmage, resulting in three points through 28 minutes of play against the top-ranked team in America. Meanwhile, Florida's Anthony Richardson-led offense threatened Georgia's elite defense, reaching Bulldog territory on back-to-back drives, but came up empty handed after a missed 51-yard field goal and a turnover on downs. Nonetheless, if offered to take a three-point deficit into halftime, you can bet the Gators would've made out like bandits. But instead, Freshman Friday bled into Saturday as the Georgia defense exploited Richardson's inexperience en route to a 34-7 thumping to win the 2021 edition of the rivalry on the river. When the game clock at the World's Largest Cocktail Party wound down to 3:11 left to play in the first half, that's when Florida's nightmare began. After Florida sophomore safety Rashaad Torrence II picked off Georgia's Stetson Bennett and gifted the ball back to Richardson and Co. at the UF 2-yard line, Georgia's Nolan Smith picked Richardson's pocket during a QB rush, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs at the UF 11-yard line. Georgia running back James Cook scored from 11 yards out on the ensuing play to put the Bulldogs on top 10-0 with 2:16 left in the half. But the snowball evolved into an avalanche as Florida committed back-to-back turnovers via the freshman arm of Richardson. Richardson tossed an interception to Smith, the junior's second turnover of the game, and the Bennett-led Bulldogs immediately scored with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kearis Jackson. Now in a 17-point hole with 1:35 to play in the second quarter, the Gators got six snaps off before Richardson committed his third, final and worst turnover. Georgia's Nakobe Dean sniffed out Richardson's shallow pass to Malik Davis and made a 50-yard house call to give the Bulldogs a 24-0 half time lead over the Gators. "Yeah, some critical mistakes right there," Mullen said of the final minutes of the second quarter. "When the defense is playing great, offense's got to respond. We got to score some points early. You know, defense kind of shutting them down early, we got to get some points on the board when our defense is playing great and play team football." Richardson's first start of his Florida career ended in the third quarter when he left the field with an apparent hand injury. Mullen didn't have an update on Richardson following the game. The redshirt freshman finished 12-for-20 through the for 82 yards and two interceptions. Richardson also added 26 yards on the ground and a fumble. Following the game, Mullen wasted no time offering Richardson empathetic-tinged praise, reminding everyone that the green signal caller was thrown into a tough game against the best defense in the country. "Obviously a tough situation and tough scenario when you're playing a great defense like Georgia has. And give them credit for having some really good defensive guys," Mullen said. "He (Richardson) did some things really well and made a couple of errors as well," Mullen said. "That's stuff we'll coach them up on." Coming out of the locker room, the game seemed largely out of reach for the Gators. But there was still one moral victory to be earned. Coming into Saturday afternoon's tilt, the Gators had avoided getting shutout by an opponent for 417 straight games, a streak that dates back to 1988 and stands as the longest in college football history. And while the Gators escaped Jacksonville with the streak still intact, it didn't come easy. In Florida's second drive of the second half, which began following a Georgia fumble, the Gators lined up for a 23-yard chip shot, but Jace Christmann shanked it, making for his second miss of the game. The Gators' side of the scoreboard didn't light up until Emory Jones led the Florida offense 89 yards down the field on 10 plays. The drive was capped off by a 2-yard rushing touchdown from the legs of Jones with 2:49 left to play in the game. Florida's offense, albeit its fair share of woes, narrowly out-gained Georgia 355 yards to 354. Stetson Bennett finished the game 10-for-19 for 161 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' elite backfield rushed for 193 yards, with junior Zamir White leading the efforts with 105 yards and a trip to the end zone. The Gators' defense evened the turnover battle thanks to a pair of interceptions and a recovered fumble from Rashaad Torrence, who was one of the few bright spots for the Gators on Saturday. "Offensively, we've got to build off of that," Mullen said. "We've got to go then put together a drive to take advantage of the great play defensively." In addition to the three turnovers, Torrence also tied Trey Dean III with a team-leading eight tackles. With the World's Largest Cocktail Party behind Florida, the Gators, now 4-4, now look onto South Carolina. The Gators and the Gamecocks will kickoff from Columbia next Saturday at noon. But in hindsight, the Gamecocks are just one piece of of the puzzle for the Gators. Though Mullen wouldn't say that the program was at a crossroads, he did offer his thoughts on where the program stands through two-thirds of the 2021 campaign. "Obviously looking at us right now, we're not where we want to be," Mullen said. "I'm certainly not where we want to be through this point of the season. Our players certainly are not where we want to be at this point in the season. "I mean, it's a mindset right now that we got to go change and we got to fix. Football's a great team sport -- the ultimate team sport. And as the head coach, the mindset of the team falls on me."

By CARLTON REESE The fans wanted him, and in the end got exactly what they asked for: A freshman quarterback taking the reins against the No.1 team in the country with perhaps the decade’s best defense. What ensued probably surprised many people, but shouldn’t have. Anthony Richardson, with his lack of command of Dan Mullen’s offense, would need a lot more than just his rare athletic ability to garner any success against Georgia, and the ugly aftermath that should have been anticipated did come to fruition Saturday in Jacksonville. The Florida defense did its job, playing well enough to give the Gators a chance with even an average performance from its offense. Alas, Richardson was clearly not ready for the moment and the Florida offense played just well enough to keep its 417-game scoring streak alive, about the only drama to keep fan interest. Those leaps over defenders and highlight reel cuts look really good against FAU, South Florida and a bad LSU team, but they mean nothing against a real defense. Against a real defense, the quarterback must be capable of making quick decisions, anticipating secondary options and safety valves, and remaining cool under pressure. Richardson failed on all three counts against the Dawgs. Florida has played one other game against a defense that would be considered elite – Alabama – and Emory Jones looked every bit the part of a player ready for such a big moment. Georgia presented another opportunity for a veteran to prove his worth, but we’ll never know. Many fans are now giving up on Mullen, the guy who followed their orders in tabbing Richardson to not only start against Georgia but to take the wheel for the entire game. Even when it seemed obvious – a lost fumble and a couple of picks including one that was returned for a touchdown – that Jones would take his turn in the driver’s seat, there was Richardson back on the field. Keep in mind, when Richardson develops, he may actually be Cam Newton, dazzling the world and hauling in hardware to fill up a garage. Anthony Richardson is the future of the Florida Gators, but this is the present. Even with Florida’s season over, when you take the field against the Georgia Bulldogs you must play for the present and put your best option on the field to win right there and not simply give players reps in preparation for next year. On Saturday, as opposed to what the masses were saying, Emory Jones was Florida’s best option and it appeared pretty early in the game to be the case. So what happened to the QB rotation? Mullen has earned a reputation for game-planning an offense to shred even the stingiest of defenses and all Gator fans were resting their hopes on this notion. Aside from a few gadget plays that failed, we witnessed vanilla paste, perhaps the only flavor available to Mullen with a freshman QB at the helm. Still, late in the second quarter the Gators trailed only 3-0 and had just intercepted Stetson Bennett. That interception set the stage for the next 47 seconds of hell. When Rashad Torrance intercepted Bennett, his momentum took him into the end zone where he should have stayed put, giving UF the ball at its own 20. Instead, Torrance brought it out to the 2 where the Gators would have to start and employ an offense not necessarily suited to its game plan. A strip, a one-play touchdown drive, an interception two plays later and a touchdown pass on the next play sealed this game. With a 17-point lead, there was no way the Georgia defense was going to blow this one. With 17 seconds remaining in the first half, Richardson threw one to a Georgia defender who returned it for six points, capping perhaps the worst 2 minutes and 15 seconds in college football history. The final tally for Georgia: two offensive plays, three touchdowns and the salting away of a game that looked winnable moments earlier when you took that bathroom break following Torrance’s interception. When you returned to the living room, it was a blowout and time to see if Clemson could hang on to beat FSU. The message boards are full of Gator fans calling for Mullen’s neck. These are the same folks who lambasted Mullen for penciling in Jones to start at QB each week before Saturday. They’re the same ones who had been shopping for nooses to fit the neck of Todd Grantham, defensive coordinator and scapegoat for the 49-point debacle in Baton Rouge two weeks ago. Grantham seemed up to the challenge of preparing for the Georgia offense, but that won’t get much discussion. Proper perspective says Grantham’s defense has been bad for five quarters: the first one against Alabama and all four against LSU. Was the defense to blame for the Alabama loss? For the Kentucky loss? For the Georgia loss? No, no and no. Where is the answer? We know the answer does not come from the peanut gallery of fans and pundits who have been wrong on just about everything. Mullen may not have the answer, either, but at this point who really cares? The Gators are 4-4 and headed to some place like Shreveport for the holidays. The next three games are likely comfortable wins, with FSU not so much. For Mullen, to win the next three games but lose to the Seminoles may be too much for this fan base to endure. If the fans run Mullen out of town, Richardson may follow as well and the whole thing collapses. A note to fans: Be careful what you wish for. This is what it looked like on the first play with Anthony Richardson as the starter. But was it the correct decision by Dan Mullen? (Buddy Martin photo)

“Well, it just goes to show you, it's always something! If it isn’t one thing it’s always something else!" – Roseanne Rosanadanna JACKSONVILLE – While we were pointing fingers at Todd Grantham for the abysmal performance of his defense a couple of weeks ago in Baton Rouge when LSU slapped the Gators silly for 321 rushing yards and 49 points, we conveniently overlooked the four turnovers that giftwrapped at least three LSU touchdowns. Saturday, Grantham’s defense actually showed up. It’s hard to blame them for Florida’s 34-7 loss to No. 1 Georgia. It was the offense that giftwrapped three touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half, turning what seemed like a brewing upset into another notch in Kirby Smart’s belt. For the first 27 minutes, Florida’s defense kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone. It was 3-0 and while Anthony Richardson wasn’t exactly ripping and shredding, he had made just enough decent plays to offset the kind of plays you might expect of a freshman quarterback getting his first career start against the nation’s most dominating defense. A step here, a better throw there. That’s all it would have taken. Sleep experts say the typical nightmare lasts less than five minutes. The biggest nightmare of Anthony Richardson’s still young career lasted three. In that short span he fumbled at the UF 11 while trying to fight his way for the extra yard that would have given the Gators a first down. Next play, Georgia scored on an 11-yard run by James Cook and it was 10-0, still close. Still a winnable game. Then came the first of two interceptions. It was third and 15 at the UF 20 when Richardson threw a yard or so behind Xzavier Henderson. Quay Walker got a hand on the ball, deflecting to Nolan Smith. Next play, Georgia scored again, this one on a Stetson Bennett to Kearis Jackson pass and it was 17-0. Situation grim. The second interception, the absolute killer that essentially was game over, came on a sideline pass on second-and-11 near midfield. Richardson needed to throw a dart. Instead he put air under it and that gave Nakobe Dean all the time he needed to cut in front of the UF receiver and run it back 50 yards for a TD. From grim to unwinnable, all in the span of three minutes, the kind of nightmare that will haunt Anthony Richardson and the Gators for a long, long time. The Gators came into this game 14-point underdogs, needing to play as close to flawless as possible to hang with the nation’s No. 1 team. At 3-0 it felt like the Gators had a puncher’s chance. At 24-0, everyone in the stadium knew Georgia wasn’t going to allow the Gators to rally. The way Grantham’s defense was playing when the score was 3-0, you would have thought the Gators had played the scout team against LSU, saving the scholarship guys for Georgia. Actually, with the exception of that last TD, which was almost a gimme since the game had long since been decided, the Florida defense played winning football. It’s hard to fault the defense for Georgia’s two offensive touchdowns at the end of the first half since they both came deep in UF territory and after a sudden change turnover. And let’s face it, the second of the two sudden change turnovers took a near perfect throw from Bennett to Jackson. Because the Gators were such heavy underdogs, it was fairly clear in everyone’s mind that mistakes in all phases of the game had to be minimized. Grantham’s defense held Georgia to 354 yards and for all practical purposes 13 points – two field goals and that last TD. The Gators forced Georgia to turn the ball over three times, two interceptions by Rashad Torrence and a fumble, also recovered by Torrence. Coming into the game, Georgia had turned it over only seven times all season. Had you told Dan Mullen that Grantham’s defense would give him the ball three times while holding Georgia to two field goals and a touchdown, he would have all but chalked this up in the Florida win column. The defense didn’t let him down. The offense did. Teams of Georgia’s caliber don’t lose games when they have the ball handed to them twice deep in the other team’s territory and get a defensive touchdown on a pick six. This loss was all about the turnovers, which have been a serious issue since game No. 1. Through eight games, the Gators have yet to play turnover-free. UF is 4-4 and in each of the four losses, turnovers have played a prominent role. Against Alabama, Emory Jones was hit as he threw and Alabama picked it off to set up one of its three first quarter touchdowns. The Gators lost by two in a game they scored 29 points. In a penalty-plagued game at Kentucky, Jones threw an interception and UK ran a blocked field goal back for a TD. The Gators lost by seven. Two weeks ago, Jones threw two interceptions and Richardson threw two more. LSU scored 21 points off the four turnovers and won by seven. Florida scored 42 and should have won the football game despite the fact the defense was a no show, Counting the loss to Georgia, the Gators have turned the ball over 16 times this season. Jones and Richardson have combined to throw 15 touchdown passes. They have completed 14 passes to the other team. Richardson’s fumble was just the second the Gators have lost this season and the first one that led to an opponent’s touchdown. The Gators are 12-8 since the 2020 season. Of the eight losses, six were one possession games and in five of them, UF scored more than enough points to win the game in spite of the defense. Last year, if the defense shows up in losses to Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama, the Gators are 11-0 and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff because in each of those three losses, UF put plenty of points on the scoreboard. Last year, we could put so much of the blame on the defense for not doing its part. This year, the defense has been a roller coaster, playing well enough to win in both the Kentucky and Georgia losses, bad enough to lose in the first quarter of the Alabama game and downright horrible against LSU. A year ago, the Gators could count on Kyle Trask throwing to Kyle Pitts and Kadarious Toney to at least make even the losses white knuckles affairs. This year, one week the offense shows up and the defense leaves its game on the bus. Then, as in the case of the Kentucky and Georgia losses, the offense gives the game away. So what’s wrong with the offense? We can’t blame the receivers. They aren’t dropping the football and they do get open but open receivers need the football thrown accurately. We can’t blame the offensive line. They’ve only given up seven sacks all season (Georgia managed only two) and they’ve done their part to open holes for the running backs. The Gators ran for 161 Saturday, the most any team has run on Georgia all season and almost as many as Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky combined (172) in their losses to the Bulldogs. The quarterback play has been an issue. After all, they’re the ones throwing the interceptions and they’re the ones who are quite often indecisive whether to hold the ball or take off running. The perfect example Saturday was when the score was 3-0. Florida had the ball at the Georgia 42 after Richardson had been sacked on a play when he held the ball too long. Jones was inserted into the game with Richardson going wide into the slot. Georgia wasn’t the least bit fooled. The Bulldogs expected a double pass and that’s exactly what they got. Jones threw the long lateral to Richardson who had so much time he could have ordered pizza. He had 20 yards of green space in front of him, but instead, he threw. Into double coverage. Incomplete on a play when the first down was possible if Richardson had just taken off running. By the time Richardson was lifted for Jones in the third quarter, he was 12-20 passing for 82 yards, a very bad 4.1 yards per attempt, with two interceptions. He took a pair of sacks so his net rushing total was 26 yards. Jones got the Gators their only touchdown on an 10-play, 89-yard drive, running it in from two yards with 2:49 to go to avert the shutout. He finished with 22 rushing yards and was 10-14 passing for 112 yards. The offense clearly ran better with Jones at the helm but it isn’t always that way. Against LSU, Richardson was the one who was effective and Jones the one who was indecisive. From a pure talent standpoint, Richardson has it all over Jones. Jones is a good athlete who hasn’t mastered the quarterback position. Richardson is a spectacular athlete who needs time to develop. There are four games left in this season and Mullen has a dilemma on his hands. He can’t be sure what the defense will do since Grantham hasn’t shown any measure of consistency. He also can’t be sure which of his quarterbacks is going to deliver the goods, not to mention he risks one of them electing to hit the transfer portal as soon as the clock flatlines at zero on November 27 when the Gators play FSU in the final regular season game. Make no mistake about it, Mullen needs a 4-0 November. There isn’t a team on the schedule that the Gators can’t beat and probably shouldn’t beat by at least four touchdowns. However, this team is so inconsistent that we’re past the point of knowing what we’re going to get since we haven’t had a single game in which the Gators have played lights out for four quarters on both sides of the football. If Mullen wants to impress recruits prior to the early signing day in December, then these next four games need to be a showcase of what’s good with football at the University of Florida. Back in 2018, the Gators struggled in October only to put together a nice winning streak in November that earned them a New Year’s Six bowl against Michigan, where they won handily. A New Year’s Six bowl is out of the question now, but a winning streak will keep the Gators out of Shreveport, Nashville or Birmingham when the bowl invitations go out and that’s important. While a season-ending win streak may convince some recruits that UF is their best bet, it's going to take consistency that hasn't been there all season long. We can’t look back on UF football after Thanksgiving and say the same thing we have been saying all of September and October, that it’s always something. If it isn’t one thing, it’s always something else.

After two weeks worth of speculation and questioning who would pilot the Florida offense on the opening play against the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, it was redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson who got the nod. Richardson acted as a catalyst for the Gators late in their 49-42 loss to the LSU Tigers on Oct. 16, but fell short when his final drive ended in an interception at the LSU 30-yard line. However, despite the loss, most Florida fans had seen all they needed to out of the Gainesville native and were ready to see Richardson take the keys to the Gators' offense. Mullen, on the other hand, wouldn't commit to naming Richardson -- or anyone for that matter -- the starter. Mullen told reporters on Monday that both Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson were getting reps with the starting offense. And according to Mullen, that's how it is week-in and week-out. "You gotta get both guys ready to go play," Mullen said. "We get both guys a lot of reps. It's probably a little more even than a lot of places... we try to keep them pretty evened out so that they are both ready to play." Mullen's reluctance to name a starter continued into Wednesday morning when he jokingly assured the media during the SEC teleconference that the Gators would field a quarterback, regardless of whose name was on the back nameplate. “We will play a quarterback on Saturday. We’ll have a quarterback on the field,” Mullen said Wednesday. After the Gators' defense got off the field unscathed following a missed 46-yard field goal off the foot of Georgia's Jack Podlesny, the Gators put a quarterback on the field -- and it was the greener of the two in question. Richardson's first pass of the game was competed to Kemore Gamble for a 2-yard gain. The redshirt freshman followed the completion with rush for a loss of a yard on third down, stalling the Gators drive and forcing them to punt from their own 34.