I am told there are people in this world – Gator fans mind you – who say they always cheer for Southeastern Conference teams when they’re playing a non-SEC opponent. For the most part, I agree except for one slight deviation and that is to never, under any circumstance, pull for the University of Georgia unless it can help the University of Florida win a championship. For example, let’s say Florida and Tennessee are tied for the SEC East lead in football and the Vols are playing Georgia. If a Georgia win means the Gators win the SEC East, then I will, ever so grudgingly, pull for Georgia. But I feel dirty after I’ve done it. Simply saying I don’t like Georgia would be the understatement of the last two centuries. Saying I hate Georgia is far closer to reality but lacks intensity. Imagine this: the white hot heat of ten thousand suns. You’re in the same neighborhood. I am so repulsed by the University of Georgia that I have wondered why it is General William Tecumseh Sherman didn’t detour from his march to Savannah to burn down everything in Athens and Clarke County then salt the earth so nothing would grow there for a hundred years. And why is it that allegedly well-educated people who are graduates of what is supposedly a world class university proudly call their team the Dawgs? The rest of the world sees that and thinks what a bunch of functioning illiterate rednecks. So, let the big dog spell! For those of you who think that it’s cute to say Dawg or that Georgia’s not so bad the next 364 days after the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville, allow me to offer you a refresher course in why despising the Georgia Bulldogs should resonate to the very core of your being. If it does not, then you have somehow missed the Gator standard. By a wide margin. 1. THE 1942 GAME: I wasn’t even an idea in 1942 when my father was a 17-year-old freshman on the University of Florida campus, biding his time until he was 18 so he could enlist in the Navy. At UF as in most campuses across the nation, the physically able athletes signed up to fight the Germans and Japanese within weeks of Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, what was expected to be a very good University of Florida football team was decimated. The 1941 Gators had finished 4-6, but five of the six losses were by six or fewer points and in the final three games, UF beat Miami and Georgia then lost by three to UCLA. Coach Thomas Lieb’s 1942 Gators were a shell of the team that was envisioned prior to Pearl Harbor. The Gators were a team made up mostly of players either too young to enlist or ones who couldn’t pass the military physical. Meanwhile up at Georgia, Wally Butts assembled a dream team. Georgia had one of the best ROTC programs in the country and had been selected for a Navy Pre-Flight program. As players from around the country poured into Athens for Pre-Flight and ROTC, Georgia’s already strong roster became stacked. The roster included “Flatfoot” Frankie Sinkwich, who would win the Heisman Trophy; Charlie Trippi, who would win MVP of the Rose Bowl and probably should have won the Heisman in 1946 when he came back from military service; George Poschner, an All-American end who became a war hero at the Battle of the Bulge; and Gene Ellenson, a great defensive lineman who would win a pair of Silver Stars for heroism at the Battle of the Bulge and would later become the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida. The Gators limped into Jacksonville (Florida-Georgia was played at Fairfield Stadium) losers of three straight while Georgia had won seven in a row and was fresh off a 21-10 win over 3rd-ranked Alabama. No one in his right mind gave the Gators a chance and for good reason. The game was essentially over before it began, but Georgia poured it on from the opening kickoff and even with the score mounting in the third quarter, Butts never saw fit to put in his second and third teamers. Sinkwich, Trippi, Poschner and Ellenson were still in the game late in the fourth quarter. The final score was 75-0. Florida finished the season 3-7 and wouldn’t have a break-even season again until 1948. Georgia beat UCLA to win the Rose Bowl and a piece of the national championship. My dad and other Gators I talked to who were part of that greatest generation that went on to serve our nation and win a war in Europe and the Pacific, never forgot how Wally Butts chose to humiliate the Gators when it was obvious UF could offer little to no resistance. Every single one of them was bitter and the mention of Wally Butts made their blood boil. 2. THE 1968 GAME: Florida was picked in the preseason to win the SEC for the first time and finish top five nationally. The season began well with four straight wins and a No. 7 ranking but on a rainy day in the mud in Chapel Hill the Gators fumbled seven times and lost to North Carolina. The bottom fell out of the season that day. The Gators tied Vanderbilt in Nashville, then lost to Auburn on Homecoming. By the time the Georgia game arrived, UF was 4-2-1 and spiraling downward. Georgia, meanwhile, was 5-0-2, ranked 9th and closing in on Vince Dooley’s second SEC championship. Florida was a team with issues that had much to do with a quarterback controversy that divided the offense almost straight down the middle. Half wanted Larry Rentz while the other half wanted Jackie Eckdahl. On the other side of the locker room, defensive players were angry because they thought the offensive players were selfish to allow such a controversy to split loyalties. Making matters worse, a few days before the Florida-Georgia game, play caller and offensive backfield coach Fred Pancoast was hospitalized for an appendectomy. Feeling the need to shake up the team Ray Graves made the decision to swap coordinators – Ed Kensler became the defensive coordinator and Gene Ellenson became the offensive coordinator. About the only thing shaken up was the team’s confidence. Game day was cold, rainy and downright miserable. I was working for the Gainesville Sun at that time but press box space at the old Gator Bowl was limited. My boss, Joe Halberstein, got me a ticket to watch but I wasn’t there to write. By the second quarter, my rain gear was completely inadequate, I was soaked to the core and freezing. Georgia arrived at the Gator Bowl on a seek and destroy mission. Mike Cavan ran the offense to perfection and Georgia’s defense, led by future College Football Hall of Famers Bill Stanfill and Jake Scott, made the Gators pay on nearly every play. It was 41-0 at the half. The Gators didn’t cross midfield until the third quarter. In the final minute of the game with the score 48-0, Georgia faced a fourth down when one of the centers on the team approached Dooley and told him he hadn’t kicked a field goal since high school. Dooley called time out, sent his center in to kick the field goal that nailed down the final humiliation points in a 51-0 beatdown that will go down as one of the worst in Florida football history. As was his habit on Saturdays upon seeing the Florida football score, San Francisco 49ers backup QB Steve Spurrier called Ellenson to talk about the game. If you’ve ever wondered why Spurrier was obsessed with running up the score on Georgia whenever he had the chance, the conversation he had with Coach Ellenson is the reason. Remember when Spurrier ran it up in Athens in 1995? Do you remember Eric Kresser throwing two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, the last one with 1:21 remaining that put the Gators ahead 52-17? Remember Spurrier saying he wanted to be the first coach to hang “half a hundred” on Georgia in Sanford Stadium? Think back to 1968 and you’ve got the reason. Coach Ellenson wasn’t alive for Spurrier to call with congratulations but a call was made to Coach Graves to say “this one’s for you.” 3. THE PROBATION YEARS: Okay, we’ll start with the obvious. Florida got nailed by the NCAA not just once, but twice. The first time, the Gators were hit with 109 violations, some of them as heinous as Dale Dorminey going back to Pensacola with a T-shirt and Hoss Adams buying him a pack of Juicy Fruit and a Sprite while waiting on the plane at the Gainesville airport. Hanging offenses! Now there were some violations that were pretty bad, but the majority were of the nickel and dime variety. For that Charley Pell was fired and the SEC championship the 1984 Gators won on the field was forfeited (more on that later). The second probation was for Galen Hall allegedly paying a month or so of child support for Jarvis Williams. At the same time the NCAA dropped the hammer on Florida (two years of probation without TV; maximum 12 in recruiting classes for consecutive years), Florida State, Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia all got slaps on the wrist. You see, the NCAA is quite selective about who it chooses to punish. For landing Herschel Walker – allegedly sold to the highest bidder – Georgia lost two scholarships. That’s a rather small price to pay for perhaps the greatest college football player of all time who led Georgia to one national and three SEC championships. It turns out that at the time the Georgia was being investigated, Vince Dooley was chairman of the NCAA television committee. Coincidence that Georgia was given a pass? Rumors persist that Dooley lobbied long and hard to ensure the penalties for Georgia’s transgressions were light. Georgia fans will tell you Vince Dooley is a man of the highest possible integrity, so explain why Georgia went on football probation three times (1965, 1978, 1982) while he was the coach and again in 1997 while he was the AD. He’s the guy who hired Hugh Durham and Jim Harrick, who both put Georgia basketball in the NCAA jailhouse. Dooley is also the same guy who allowed a serious academic fraud scandal to go on right under his nose. Google Jan Kemp sometime and read the details about how she got fired because she wouldn’t give athletes passing grades. She was fired but she sued and won a $1.08 million settlement. All this is relevant for Gators because Vince Dooley was among the leaders of the vote to strip Florida of the 1984 SEC title won on the field. Florida, by the way, destroyed Georgia on the field in 1984, 27-0. Years ago, I did a magazine article with College Football Hall of Famer and Gator great Wilber Marshall. When we got around to the subject of recruiting Wilber said, “I went to Florida because it was close to home and I’m a mama’s boy. I didn’t go there because they paid me to go but other schools made offers – some big offers – some of the same teams that voted to strip the SEC championship from us in 1984. You would go on recruiting trips and some fat cat booster would let you know what you could expect. That was pretty common then.” When I mentioned Georgia, Wilber laughed rather sarcastically. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, hung a probation on Steve Spurrier’s first Florida team for something that happened during the Galen Hall years. Not a single player on that 1990 Florida roster was even on the team when Hall allegedly paid the child support for Jarvis Williams. Galen has always denied he did it. There were stories that he did pay the cash but the next morning Jarvis’ mom drove over from Palatka to pay him back. None of that was ever substantiated. What’s interesting is the NCAA never offered any real proof that Galen had done it. For that alleged crime, Galen was fired during the 1989 season. The Florida AD at the time (Bill Arnsparger) refused to fight the allegations but was very quick to fired Galen. Arnsparger saw this as the perfect opportunity to hire Mike Archer, who had succeeded him as the HBC at LSU. He would have done it if not for powerful Florida boosters like Ben Hill Griffin, who put him in his place. The NCAA gave Florida a bowl ban. The SEC athletic directors voted that Florida was ineligible to win the SEC championship even though the Gators won it on the field. You’ll never guess in a million years who was at the forefront of keeping the Gators from winning the SEC title? Go to the head of the class if your answer was Vince Dooley. Punishment should always fit the crime. It could be argued that what Florida did in 1984 deserved time in the NCAA jailhouse, but if that’s the case, why was Florida’s punishment so tough and the punishment to FSU (a couple of scholarships lost), Tennessee (something similar) and Georgia nothing more than a pop on the fanny and the NCAA saying “be good boys and don’t do this again”? And why was it so important for Vince Dooley to go to the mat to have the Gators stripped of the 1984 SEC title and then prevent the 1990 team from winning it? After all, this is the same Vince Dooley whose history of cheating dated back to 1965. His 1966 and 1968 SEC titles were never stripped. The only logical answer is that Dooley was determined to keep Florida down as long as he could. He might have succeeded except that he hired Ray Goff as his successor and Spurrier was hired at Florida over Arnsparger’s objections. Hiring Spurrier changed everything and tilted the rivalry advantages strongly in Florida’s favor. The Head Ball Coach understood the hypocrisy and he knew the history. That has everything to do with why he took such delight in sticking it to Georgia (11 wins in 12 years; average margin of victory 23.36 points) every chance he got. Ron Zook beat Georgia two-out-of-three and might have made it three-for-three if he hadn’t been fired the Monday prior to the 2004 Georgia game. He still almost won that one. As a Spurrier assistant for five years (1991-95) Zook was well versed in what beating Georgia meant and why it was so important. Urban Meyer wasn’t around for the Spurrier years but he understood it too. He beat Georgia five times in six seasons. He knew all about the recruiting advantages for beating Georgia and he had been well versed in the history of the rivalry. In the years since Urban Meyer left Florida in 2010, the Florida-Georgia rivalry has tilted in Georgia’s favor. Florida has won only four times including last year when Kyle Trask lit up Georgia’s vaunted defense for 474 yards and four touchdown passes. Georgia is a prohibitive favorite this year, but it’s entirely possible Dan Mullen can do what no one else has done this year and that is to design an offense capable of shocking the world. But no matter what happens Saturday, whether the Gators win or lose, it won’t change my intense disdain for the University of Georgia. No matter the sport, my favorite teams are the Florida Gators and whoever Georgia is playing.

Dan Mullen faced his team, knowing he didn’t need to motivate them much for this game. It’s Florida-Georgia. It’s contentious and heated and more often than not, the decider of the SEC East crown. The latter won’t be the case this year, but the Gators—unranked for the first time in Mullen’s tenure—will step on to a field Saturday and see their most hated rival as the No. 1 team in the country. The chance to play upsetter is enticing. So is the opportunity to prove they’re better than their record indicates. Currently at 4-3, it can be argued the Gators best game of the season came in a loss, falling by two points to the then No. 1 team, Alabama Crimson Tide. Now, this Gators team has a chance to face a No. 1 team yet again. That’s what Dan Mullen decided to lean in to, giving a last bit of ump to a game that is already filled to the brim. He turned to Coach Paul Pasqualoni, a NFL position coach and longtime head coach for the Syracuse Orange, the latter of whom he led to their best run of winning seasons and Top 25 rankings over 13 years. He’s now on staff as the special assistant to the head coach. “In all your years of coaching, how many times you play the No.1 team,” Mullen asked Pasqualoni. “In 50 years,” responded the longtime coach, “never, never played the No. 1 team.” The message was clear. This isn’t what anyone would call a gift, by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s as rare an opportunity as many teams will ever get. “We get the opportunity to play two different No. 1 teams, you know, within our own conference, that was just on our schedule, it's a big opportunity and we look forward to it,” shared defensive lineman Antonio Valentino. “It’s another chance to play the No. 1 team in the country, and, I mean, what bigger opportunity could you ask for? You only get these opportunities so many times, and it’s now the second time that we’re being presented with this. So, I fully believe in my team, believe in my coaches, believe in all of us to go out there and do what we’re supposed to do.” That’s easier said than done. The Georgia Bulldogs defense is otherworldly. A third of the way though the season, they’d scored more points than they allowed. The defense. The defense had scored more points than they allowed. They’re allowing, on average, only 208.3 yards per game, the best in the nation. Kirby Smart’s crew also has the best scoring defense in the nation, only allowing—on average—6.6 points per game. Running back Malik Davis, who was a huge piece in defeating the Dawgs with a wheel route last season, isn’t worried. Asked if Florida had the pieces to get the win, he responded confidently, “I don’t think. I know. I know we do.” No disrespect to Malik Davis—who is of equitable talent to the Bulldogs stacked roster—but a win for the Gators would require a combination of a lights out game plan/coaching (which the Gators would have the edge on typically), a near perfect game with no penalties, some luck and Georgia to make mistakes. It’s definitely possible; this college football season has been crazy enough that it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. But these two teams are on different trajectories. Florida is 4-3 with one inexplicable loss to the LSU Tigers, and another questionable loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. Can they use those losses as lessons? Something to draw from and address in order to pull of the unimaginable? For corner Kaiir Elam, it’s the LSU loss. “How do we take it as fuel and learn from it? Honestly, as a competitor that should motivate us just to do better. I hate to lose. I’m not going to lie to you. I hate to lose at anything I do. I feel like the team has been really motivated this week, not only because it’s Georgia and a big game just because of taking an ‘L.’ “I feel like I’ve seen a lot of strides from the defense from last week to this week. I just feel like I’ve been staying on everybody to just do better because last week wasn’t enough. No matter who you look at everybody could have done something better.” On Saturday, they’ll have to do better than better. For a second date with No. 1, it’ll take their best. And their best is what this Florida Gators team promises to bring. “I think for the program it will definitely give us some juice going into the rest of the season,” admits Valentino. “But, even if Georgia wasn’t the No. 1 team in the country – we could both be unranked, be No. 1, No. 2, whatever – ranking is a bonus, but it doesn’t matter per se. You know what I’m saying? It’s a game. It’s a game that we have to win.” “I just feel like there's no reason for us to lose another game,” adds Elam. “Honestly, I just feel like, we just need to go out there and win. Like that's all I want to do is win. So whatever we got to do, we need to do it."

The Florida Gators football fan base is griping. They want to see people fired and different players starting. They want to see Florida's coaches doing better on the recruiting trail. They want to see a lot happen. But more than anything, they want to see the Gators come away with a win on Saturday when Florida travels to Jacksonville to take on the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. And while that would be the icing on the cake, here are three other things Florida Gators fans are hoping to see on Saturday: Florida Gators fans want to see the Gators come out with energy Sitting at 4-3 on the season, the Florida Gators' start to the 2021 campaign has been widely viewed as a disappointment. Florida's two-point loss to Alabama back in September, while promising, was still disappointing. The Gators' loss to Kentucky weeks later was a gut punch. But Florida's most recent loss to a LSU Tigers team that might as well be stripped to bare bones pending a rebuild is a loss that will sting Gators fans for years. Disappointed isn't a strong enough word to describe what was felt by the Florida Faithful two weeks ago. And that kind of energy bleeds into the locker room. Earlier this week, UF defensive tackle Antonio Valentino took to Twitter to express his frustrations with the nay-sayers within the Gator Nation. The locker room knows they've disappointed people. Hell, they've disappointed in themselves. And with that kind of weight, the Gators can either fight or fold. The weight of the Florida-Georgia game is heavy. And not because the Bulldogs are coming in as the top team in the country. But because it just is. "The rivalry makes it more than the rankings of whatever the teams are," Florida head coach Dan Mullen said earlier this week. Each year players say that games like the one in Jacksonville are the type of games you come to the University of Florida to play in. And while this season's edition of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party won't decide who wins the SEC East like it often does, a lot of dignity is hinging on Saturday's matchup. And perhaps there's nothing more important than seeing the Gators come out of the tunnel on Saturday looking they want to be there and that they belong there -- playing the No. 1 team in the country for the second time this season. "Our guys -- they get juiced for this. I don't need to motivate our guys a ton this week," Mullen said. "It's not like we need a rah-rah speech to get ready to play this game. It'll be a big game." Florida Gators fans want to see a decision be made under center After all the years of quarterback battles and controversies when Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain were at the helm in Gainesville, Florida fans are over it. Many Florida fans want to see a clear-cut starter be named (and most really want him to be named Anthony Richardson). However, from the sounds of it, Dan Mullen and the Florida offense is far from picking just one guy to take snaps. 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." So far this season, when both quarterbacks have been available, they've both played. And that will be the case on Saturday when the Gators take on the Bulldogs as well. "We plan on playing both of the guys like we have," Mullen said. Florida Gators fans want to see the defense look better than it has It's probably safe to call Steve Spurrier a Florida fan. And it's probably even safer to say that most would nod in agreeance with the Head Ball Coach's assessment of Florida's defense. When asked for his thoughts on the Gators' defense, Spurrier told SEC Network's Paul Finebaum that it was pretty simple. "Well, we don't tackle very well," Spurrier said. The LSU Tigers rushed for 321 yards against a porous Florida defense two weeks ago in a defensive showcase that was painful to watch. The Gators' defensive performance against LSU likely has Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham halfway out the door. And while UF's defensive scheme against the Tigers was largely ineffective, Florida's struggles two weeks also falls into the category of the Gators' inability to play with consistency. "Biggest think to me I wanna see is consistency of play. And that out of every aspect of our program," Mullen said on Monday. "We've seen that at times, and then there's other times there's glaring inconsistencies that jump out there that have hurt us at different times during the season." Undoubtedly, Florida's defensive woes fall under the category of inconsistencies. And if the Gators want to come out with a win on Saturday, Florida's defense will have to try and match the intensity that Georgia's defense plays with. After all, it was Florida's ability to stifle the Bulldogs' run game last season that helped bolster them to a 44-28 win. The Gators outgained the Bulldogs 571-277 last season and the Florida defense held Georgia's running backs to just 165 yards and allowed Georgia to convert just two of its 13 third downs. "Anytime, especially in college football, I think if you can get the game and get the team in a drop back mode where you stop the run and force them into a drop back passing situation, most teams in college football, that gives you the advantage," Mullen said of Florida's success last year.

Florida can embrace one of two mentalities this weekend in Jacksonville – it can either give up and understand its place beneath the heal of a superior Georgia team, or it can turn that frustration and disappointment into a furious rage that explodes against an unsuspecting team. It’s now Florida’s turn to play the role of caged animal, having seen already what a wounded beast is capable of two weeks ago in Baton Rouge. That should have been a no-brainer, beating an LSU team that seemed incapable of moving the football against a good defense or developing a game plan worthy of taking down a team above its stature. But one must never discount the cornered and injured animal that fights desperately for its life, and that’s what LSU was. Ed Orgeron was on the hot seat, Tigers players were the objects of scorn and derision even on their own campus, and the media had closed the book on that football program. Trouble is, there were still highly-recruited athletes wearing purple and gold and it was time to suck it up and show some pride, circle the wagons, or any other sports cliché one might imagine. It also helped that the Florida Gators did not take that wounded animal mentality into Baton Rouge, as it should have. Dreadful in Lexington, uninspiring against Vanderbilt, UF did not exactly enter the LSU game as a team glowing with promise – the Gators were ripe for the taking and that’s exactly what happened. No matter what any coaches or players say, the Gators did not enter the LSU game with a healthy respect for its opponent, and why should they after having watched a season of dreadful game film on the Tigers? That is where the Georgia Bulldogs stand this weekend. Kirby Smart’s team has watched film a Gators defense/sieve that must have him licking his chops. The game films of the last three games inspire no fear into a team that has been on a bulldozing campaign all year, nearly of unprecedented fashion the last 30 years in this league. So who could blame Georgia for bringing a lack of respect for Florida this weekend? Perhaps Smart is hiding the film of the last three Florida games and showing only the Alabama game to its players. He best be careful, though, as the team that played Alabama doesn’t seem to exist anymore. This leaves us with Florida in nearly the same situation as LSU heading into its game with the Gators: injured, lacking respect, facing an opponent that should crush it. Yet, what happened? The wounded beast thrashed its favored opponent. Florida can embrace one of two mentalities this weekend in Jacksonville – it can either give up and understand its place beneath the heal of a superior Georgia team, or it can turn that frustration and disappointment into a furious rage that explodes against an unsuspecting team. No one in the world, including perhaps many people in the Gators’ locker room, thinks there is a chance in hell Florida can pull off the upset. The oddsmakers have put Georgia as more than a two-touchdown favorite and for Florida to even stay that close seems on paper to be a bit fantastical. Carlton the Doorman, who is ready to start hocking household items on Ebay, notes that the algorithms call for a 37-point margin Saturday in favor of the Bulldogs. He also tells me there have been larger margins this year that have been wildly wrong: Last week, the algorithms had Penn State 44.5 points over Illinois, yet the Illini won in overtime. Also last week, Wyoming at home was 26.5 points over New Mexico according to the algorithms – New Mexico won by double digits. UAB was supposedly 36.5 points over Rice, but the Owls won 30-24. Two weeks ago, the algorithms put Iowa 42.5 points over visiting Purdue and that turned out to be a blowout in favor of the Boilermakers. These types of large margins turning into defeats have been rare in the algorithms history (the Penn State loss was the biggest favorite to ever lose in 37 seasons of these ratings), but are popping up this year in a season that has many scratching their heads. Still, the algorithms say take Georgia minus the 14.5 points, so that is what Carlton the Doorman is doing. Here are the top picks of the week: Underdog selections— Iowa plus 3.5 over Wisconsin; Indiana plus 5.5 over Maryland; Illinois plus 1.5 over Rutgers. Favored selections—Wake Forest minus 16.5 over Duke; Marshall minus 21.5 over FIU; Oklahoma State minus 30.5 over Kansas; Georgia minus 14.5 over Florida. This week’s system margins: Missouri by 19 over Vanderbilt; Georgia by 37 over Florida; Ole Miss by 4.5 over Auburn; Kentucky EVEN against Mississippi State; Pitt by 21.5 over Miami; Clemson by 16 over Florida State; Notre Dame by 14.5 over North Carolina; Michigan by 4 over Michigan State; Iowa by 6.5 over Wisconsin; Ohio State by 27 over Penn State; Baylor by 4.5 over Texas; Utah by 5 over UCLA; East Carolina by 23 over South Florida; UCF by 23.5 over Temple; Marshall by 43.5 over FIU; FAU by 11.5 over UTEP. This week’s Top-10: 1. Georgia (131.5) 2. Ohio State (130) 3. Alabama (128.5) 4. Cincinnati (100) 5. Ole Miss (97.5) 6. Pittsburgh (97.5) 7. Oklahoma (91) 8. Auburn (90.5) 9. Michigan (89) 10. Iowa (88.5) SEC Ratings: 1. Georgia (131.5) 2. Alabama (128.5) 3. Ole Miss (97.5) 4. Auburn (90.5) 5. Texas A&M (87) 6. Arkansas (71) 7. Kentucky (69) 8. Mississippi State (62.5) 9. Tennessee (62) 10. LSU (59) 11. Florida (57) 12. Missouri (21) 13. South Carolina (14.5) 14. Vanderbilt (-23)

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: CAN THE GATORS DO THE UNTHINKABLE SATURDAY IN JACKSONVILLE? Apparently everybody with a functioning brain seems to think not. Well, at least if you ask your typical Georgia fan, that’s what they’ll tell you. Georgia is No. 1 in the nation and the Florida Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) are merely a speed bump, hardly anything to worry about. Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Bulldogs will cover the 14-point spread and he’s not alone. Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic have Georgia winning by three or more touchdowns. So there you go. Why even show up if you’re the Gators? Not everybody is thinking that way. In his Saturday Down South column, Matt Hayes, one of the top college football writers in the country, reminded us of one teensy little fact. One Power 5 coach told Hayes, “I’m trying to figure out who (Georgia) has beaten.” Another Power 5 coach told Hayes, “Responding to adversity is a good thing. I’m not sure (Georgia) has had to do that yet, and that’s not a good thing for what’s ahead.” Adversity. The coaches are right. Who has Georgia actually beaten and have the Bulldogs actually had to handle any adversity this season? Most of the media and 100 percent of Georgia fans seem to think Georgia is so good that there won’t be anything close to adversity until the SEC Championship Game, but strange things have happened in Jacksonville in previous years. Could something strange happen Saturday? Can Dan Mullen come up with a game plan that Georgia is unprepared to deal with? Can Todd Grantham make this an audition for his next job by coming up with something exotic that slows the Georgia offense to a crawl? Can the Gators avoid the big mistake at the most inopportune moment on either side of the ball or on special teams? Those questions won’t be answered until Saturday, but do know this: Florida is capable of beating Georgia but I’m of the opinion only if these three things happen: (1) Anthony Richardson has to be electric; (2) the three big guys in the middle of the Florida offensive line – Kingsley Eguakun, Ethan White and Stewart Reese – have to neutralize Jordan Davis; and (3) Florida’s front seven have to play four quarters the way they played the final three quarters against Alabama. Richardson has to be electric because from what I’ve seen, nearly every team Georgia has played has tried to nickel and dime them without much success. I don’t believe you can beat Georgia dinking and dunking in the passing game. You have to be able to make downfield throws and I am not of the opinion Emory Jones has the confidence or vision to make those kind of throws. I think Richardson has the big arm and he’s the dynamic in the Florida running game that will at least give the Gators a puncher’s chance. Davis has been a one-man gang in the middle all season long. He’s even being talked about as the possibly the first nose tackle to ever win the Heisman Trophy. If he has his way in the middle then Florida’s chances to win decline significantly, but what happens if White, Eguakun and Reese can neutralize him? Lest we forget, the Gators gouged the Alabama defense for 258 yards on the ground and both D.J. Dale and Tim Smith, Bama’s two-headed monster at nose tackle, spent a lot of the day being stood up by White, Eguakun and Reese. Florida’s front seven was ridiculously bad against LSU, which ran for 321 yards. The Gators have too much talent for something like that to happen. Grantham had what can only be described as a rotten day calling the defense and adjusting. There isn’t much secret to what Georgia is going to do: line up, try to blow UF off the ball and then throw it over the top when the Gators try to crowd the line of scrimmage. To stop that, Florida’s front seven has to show up and play like they did in the final three quarters against Alabama when they held Alabama to 152 yards and only 10 points. It’s up to Todd Grantham to dial up four quarters of defense like the last three against Alabama for Florida to win. So what happens Saturday? I think Georgia should be favored, but will this be a blowout? It will be if the Gators are mistake-prone or if Grantham has another day like the one in Baton Rouge two weeks ago. But what happens if the Gators deal Georgia some early adversity and Grantham has a hot hand? Then it gets interesting. Interesting enough for the Gators to spring the upset? The Sayer says sooth: Georgia 23, Florida 21 THE SEC SOOTHSAYER No. 10 Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC) at No. 18 Auburn (5-2, 2-1 SEC): In three of their last four games, the Auburn defense has been gouged for more than 200 yards including last week when Arkansas ran for 232. Saturday the Tigers will have to stop Ole Miss from running the ball and so far the only team to do that is Alabama. Since that Alabama debacle, Ole Miss has run for 868 yards in wins over Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU, which is actually more yards than the Rebels have thrown for (723). If Auburn loads up the box to stop the run, then Matt Corral will pick them apart. If they try to stop the pass, Ole Miss will pound away. The people in Vegas don’t seem to see it that way, however. They have Auburn as a 3-point home favorite. They must think good Bo Nix shows up and not his evil twin Skippy Nix, the one who misses open receivers and turns potentially good plays into bad ones. The Sayer says sooth: Ole Miss 35, Auburn 24 No. 12 Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Kentucky has lost its last four games against Mississippi State and 11 of the last 12, which might have something to do with the oddsmakers in Las Vegas making MSU a 1-point favorite for Saturday night’s game. Maybe the people who make the point spreads figure it’s business as usual and Kentucky will figure out a way to lose again to Mississippi State. Mississippi State has been excellent against the run all season (93 yards per game) and for Mike Leach to win this one, the Bulldogs are going to have to make Kentucky win the game on the arm of Will Levis. For Kentucky to win, the Wildcats can’t let Mississippi State nickel and dime them to death with five and six-yard passes. That’s how MSU knocked off Texas A&M the week before the Aggies handed Alabama its only loss of the season. This one just feels like an upset. The Sayer says sooth: Mississippi State 24, Kentucky 20 Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC): This is a battle of two of the worst defenses in all of college football. Missouri is No. 126 nationally and dead last in the SEC, giving up 489.3 yards per game and 6.78 yards per play. The Tigers are 129th against the run (287.57 yards per game, 6.17 per carry). They’re 34th against the pass (201.7 yards per game) but why pass when it’s so easy to run on the Tigers? And then there is Vandy, which is No. 120 nationally in total defense (457.8 yards per game, 6.56 per play), and next to last in the SEC. The Commodores are 95th against the run (171.38 yards, 5.08 per carry) and 122nd against the pass (286.4 yards, 22 TDPs allowed). Despite the mutual ineptitude, Missouri actually has an edge. The Tigers aren’t that bad offensively (447.1 yards per game) and they have one of the SEC’s best players in Tyler Badie (736 rushing yards, 9 TDs; 32-256 receiving, 4 TDs). Vanderbilt’s offense is 124thnationally (291.4 yards per game), which is barely more than what Mizzou QB Conor Bazelac throws for each game (274.3 yards). This is the last chance for a Vandy win since the final three games are Kentucky, at Ole Miss and at Tennessee, but it’s a tall task against a Missouri team that Vegas favors by 16.5 points. The Sayer says sooth: Missouri 35, Vanderbilt 17 GAMES TO KEEP AN EYE ON No. 6 Michigan (7-0) at No. 8 Michigan State (7-0): One of them gets a first loss and barring something totally strange, loses its chance at the College Football Playoff. For a couple of teams that have played seriously weak schedules, this game is getting way too much hype. This will be Michigan’s first ranked opponent. Michigan State played Miami back when the Hurricanes were ranked, but that’s not exactly a write home to mom kind of win. Michigan is a shaky 4-point favorite. No. 9 Iowa (6-1) at Wisconsin (4-3): Wisconsin is unranked and a 4-point favorite over a team that just a couple of weeks ago was unbeaten and ranked second nationally. Iowa’s offense is ranked 119th in the nation. Wisconsin’s defense is ranked second nationally. Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz has thrown five more interceptions than TDs. Iowa leads the nation in interceptions. If you are an insomniac, tune in. This could be the cure. North Carolina (4-3) at No. 11 Notre Dame (6-1): The Irish are ranked 11th nationally, which is about 11 spots too high. They can’t run the ball (107.71 yards per game) and opponents have sacked their QB 25 times. North Carolina’s offensive line isn’t any better. Sam Howell has been sacked 27 times, but the Tar Heels can run it and if Howell has time, he can carve up a very suspect Irish defense. The Irish are 3.5-point favorites. Somehow. Miami (3-4) at No. 17 Pittsburgh (6-1): If Miami gets its doors blown off by Pittsburgh (9-point favorite) Saturday, buzzards will be circling The Ewe’s football offices before the team plane touches down at Miami International on the return home. Manny Diaz is on very shaky ground right now but he staved off the critics for at least one week when the Canes knocked off North Carolina State. Can they do it two in a row against Kenny Pickett? Pickett’s slim Heisman chances will nosedive if he doesn’t light up The Ewe. No. 19 SMU (7-0) at Houston (6-1): SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai is tied for the national lead in touchdown passes with 29. Saturday he’ll have to get the job done on the road in the face of Houston’s ferocious pass rush (28 sacks in seven games). This is a very interesting matchup against two Air Raid offense guys in SMU’s Sonny Dykes and Houston’s Dana Holgorsen. The funny thing is, Houston is getting it done with conservative offense and defense while SMU has the lights out offense, averaging 525.4 yards and 42.1 points per game. Vegas has it even with a 62-point over/under. Fresno State (6-2) at No. 21 San Diego State (7-0): The winner probably ends up winning the Mountain West’s West Division. It’s an interesting matchup between Fresno QB Jake Haener and the nation’s No. 11 offense against the nation’s No. 5 defense. San Diego State is a very shaky 1-point favorite playing on its “home field,” the soccer stadium in Carson, California (new on campus stadium due next year). Florida State (3-4) at Clemson (4-3): As bad as Clemson’s offense is (117th nationally) the Tigers are still favored by 9.5 points over FSU, which is the ultimate sign of disrespect. The folks in Vegas don’t seem to care that FSU has won three in a row. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: ESPN reports that bowl executives are of the opinion that an expanded College Football Playoff should be played exclusively within the bowl structure and not on college campuses. My hope is that college football has enough sense to defer – for once – to the fans by rewarding them with games in their home stadium. What the bowls pay now is a drop in the bucket of what they’re capable of paying, so unless they want to pay far more money than they’re paying now, then it’s time to render them obsolete for the playoffs at least. Let the bowls be the college football equivalent of the NIT if they must exist.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: “It’s like déjà vu all over again” – Yogi Berra The Florida Gators don’t have a chance of beating the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville Saturday. At least, that’s what everyone in the national media, every Georgia fan and probably a good number of Florida fans believe. It sounds a lot like 2002 to me. It also sounds a lot like 2005. Florida didn’t stand a chance in 2002 or 2005, either. It’s fairly easy to understand why everyone is jumping on the Georgia train right now. Alabama has lost a game and darn near went belly up against Florida back in September. Georgia, meanwhile, is unbeaten (7-0, 5-0 SEC), ranked No. 1 in the nation, and has a defense that would be the envy of Bronko Nagurski or Bear Bryant if either one were still alive. It is true that Georgia either leads the nation or ranks near the top in nearly every defensive category, and that has plenty to do with why the Bulldogs are 14-point favorites to wipe the floor of TIAA Stadium with the Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC), who most recently gave up a half-bazillion yards on the ground in a 49-42 loss to unranked LSU. But, we have seen versions of this movie before, haven’t we? Go back to 2002. The Gators limped into Jacksonville with a 5-3 record, the losses at the hands of Miami (41-16), Ole Miss (17-14) and LSU (36-7). Georgia arrived 8-0, ranked fifth and prohibitive favorites. A funny thing happened on the way to a rout, however. Florida changed tactics. Rex Grossman went horizontal and mastered the 2-inch pass. He threw 46 times, completed 36 for 339 yards. On the 10-play, 89-yard drive that got the game winning TD from Grossman to Ben Troupe, Grossman was 8-9 but only three of the passes could be considered downfield throws. Georgia never figured it out. David Pollack, who was supposed to spend the entire game in the Florida backfield, got one sack, the only time Georgia got to Grossman. Florida, meanwhile, sacked the Georgia QBs four times and Guss Scott ran a pick back 47 yards for a UF TD. So much for Florida’s lousy defense being able to stop that high-powered Georgia offense. Final score:Florida 20, Georgia 13. It was the only loss Georgia suffered all year. And then there was 2005, Urban Meyer’s first year on the Florida job. The Gators arrived in Jacksonville 5-2, ranked 16th and on heels of a loss to LSU in Baton Rouge so painful that Meyer burst into tears during his postgame press conference. Georgia was 7-0, ranked fourth and expected to make “Urban Crier” burst into tears again. The Gators drove 80 yards in 13 plays for a TD on their opening possession with Chris Leak scoring from three yards out. After forcing a 3-and-out, Vernell Brown ran a punt back 29 yards to set up a 4-play, 41-yard scoring drive that finished with a 1-yard Leak to Tate Casey TDP. From that point on, it was all on the Florida defense, which bent but broke only once. Brandon Coutu, who hit 23-29 field goals that year, missed from 39 and 52 yards in the second half. Final score: Florida 14, Georgia 10. Georgia lost to Auburn the next week, and after beating LSU in the SEC Championship Game, lost to West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl. The moral of the story: Yes, the Gators are prohibitive underdogs. Yes, Georgia is supposed to end the national championship drought that is 14,910 days and counting. Everybody in the media says so and they’re never wrong. Right? Okay, so they all picked Spencer Rattler to win the Heisman but they know their stuff. Right? Georgia may very well live up to the hype and blow the doors off the Gators, but strange things happen in Jacksonville, and not always to Georgia (see Run Lindsay run! See Fourth and Dumb!). Maybe Dan Mullen won’t come up with a game plan that can move the ball on the Georgia defense. Maybe Todd Grantham will have a defensive game plan that is reminiscent of LSU. But maybe Anthony Richardson becomes lightning in a bottle. Maybe the three-headed running back monster of Dameon Pierce, Nay’Quan Wright and Malik Davis will play the game of their lives. Maybe Brenton Cox Jr., Zachary Carter and Kaiir Elam stick it to Georgia. Maybe. It’s Florida-Georgia. It’s Jacksonville. Strange things have happened before. If they happen again, remember you heard it here first. TODD MCSHAY GIVES KAIIR ELAM HIGH GRADE: Elam is McShay’s No. 11 overall prospect and the second corner in his latest top 32 NFL prospects. McShay writes, “Elam is instinctive and aggressive. He has loads of top end speed (he ran track in high school), great closing burst and excellent awareness in coverage, and he is able to play in press, zone or off-man.” OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Nick Saban, who turns 70 Sunday on when he might retire: “The only thing I’ve ever said is that if I felt like I was riding the program down or I wasn’t able to make a positive contribution to the program, then that would probably be time to let somebody else carry the torch.” … Left tackle Evan Neal is Todd McShay’s 3rd-ranked NFL Draft prospect while wide receiver John Metchie III is No. 26 and wide receiver Jameson Williams is No. 28. Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Sam Pittman on The Paul Finebaum Show on some of the problems with SEC officiating: “I think they’re got to be some type of rules changes, you know, for the flops and certainly the targeting calls. I think we’ll address that and if we can clean that part of it up. We may have put too much on officials, to be honest with you. They’re looking for every single thing and maybe that’s part of what might be a problem.” Pittman said there are 20 flops per game but asked what is a real injury and what is a flop? “I’m not a medical doctor but it has to be addressed,” he said … Wide receiver Treylon Burks is Todd McShay’s No. 18 NFL prospect. Auburn (5-2, 2-1): HBC Bryan Harsin on the improvement of quarterback Bo Nix: “I think he’s fundamentally improved himself from the spring and to where he is now … He’s always put in the time.” Nix is completing 59 percent of his passes and has thrown 10 touchdown passes … Cornerback Roger McCreary is the No. 31 NFL prospect per Todd McShay. Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC): Making Todd McShay’s top 32 NFL Draft prospects are defensive tackle Jordan Davis (13), linebacker Nakobe Dean (14) and linebacker Adam Anderson (29). Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC): Wide receiver Josh Ali, who has been out since the Florida game, will be available for Saturday’s game with Mississippi State. “He will definitely play and hopefully be at full speed,” HBC Mark Stoops said. LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Coach Oeaux says the Tigers have so many injuries that they were unable to hold a full practice on Wednesday … Navonteque Strong, who was one of the best junior college linebackers in the country prior to transferring to LSU, has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. He had 17 tackles including a sack in LSU’s eight games … Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is the 2nd-ranked NFL Draft prospect per Todd McShay. Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Offensive tackle Charles Cross is the 7th-ranked NFL Draft prospect per Todd McShay. Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC): Running back Michael Cox and long snapper Daniel Hawthorne are now former walk-ons. HBC Eli Drinkwitz put them on scholarship Wednesday. Ole Miss (6-1, 4-1 SEC): On WJOX in Birmingham, ESPN radio host Bo Bounds said he thinks Lane Kiffin would leave LSU if the right offer came around. “I think if Lane’s offered the LSU job – and I have no idea if he will be – then I think he would have to take it,” Bounds said. “I mean, they’re losing Matt Corral, 17 starters. At Bama and Clemson and Ohio State, Georgia, I guess a few other programs, you can usually reload pretty quick and so on, right?” … Todd McShay rates QB Matt Corral as the No. 21 NFL Draft prospect. South Carolina (4-3, 1-3 SEC): On the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Shane Beamer said QB Zeb Noland is back in the practice facility and moving around fairly well one day after having a surgical procedure on his knee. Noland is expected to be back on the field for the Gamecocks’ next game against Florida. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Harrison Bailey, who started three games and played in six as a freshman in 2020 but has been relegated to the bench by first year coach Josh Heupel, has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. He’s a former 4-star prospect with a big arm. He will have plenty of options. Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): Todd McShay rates defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal as the 9th-best prospect for the 2022 NFL Draft. Tight end Jalen Wydermyer is McShay’s 19th ranked prospect. Basketball: Buzz Williams, who has been suspended for two games as part of a 2-year NCAA probation, said, “I’m disappointed but at the end of the day, it’s on me. It began during the lockdown but it wasn’t overly intentional. We were just trying to find some safety for our guys.” Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC): QB Ken Seals remains week-to-week so Vandy is preparing for Missouri with Mike Wright as the starter with Jeremy Moussa as the backup. FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: This can’t bode well for Virginia Tech’s embattled head coach Justin Fuente. Suspended linebacker Isimemen Etute has been indicted on second degree murder charges for the blount force trauma death of a 40-year-old Roanoke man … No. 11 Notre Dame (6-1) is a 3.5-point faovite over North Carolina (4-3) and Sam Howell in South Bend. Big Ten: At least one unbeaten will get tagged with its first loss Saturday when 6th-ranked Michigan (7-0) travels to 8th-ranked Michigan State (7-0). The loser will likely be eliminated from the College Football Playoff. Michigan is a 4-point favorite … Iowa (6-1) is ranked No. 9 nationally but is a 3.5-point underdog on the road to unranked Wisconsin (4-3). Big 12: Former Mike Leach quarterbacks will square off Saturday when Texas Tech (5-3) visits Oklahoma (8-0). Texas Tech interim Sonny Cumbie started one season for Leach at Texas Tech while Riley was a career backup. Pac-12: Immunologist Dr. Guy Palmer told ESPN that in conversations he had with fired Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich that religious objections were never discussed. Rolovich’s attorney says a lawsuit is in the works with Rolovich claiming he refused the vaccine on religious concerns. Group of Five: Old Dominion is the latest team to depart Conference USA, joining the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2023. Marshall is expected to join later this week with James Madison added next week. JMU will be making the jump from D1AA to Division I football. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: I broke out my Phil Steele College Football 2021 magazine today and turned to the All-America page. Here are the quarterbacks (in order) first through fourth team: Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma; Sam Howell, North Carolina; Matt Corral, Ole Miss; and DJ Uiagalelei, Clemson. Rattler has been benched and probably transfers out. Howell’s draft stock is falling although he hasn’t been terrible. Uiagalelei quarterbacks the worst Clemson offense maybe since Frank Howard was a real person and not a rock. Matt Corral? He’s the best QB in the country and should win the Heisman if the people in the media who vote have good sense. They always get things right … don’t they?

Eight Florida Gator Olympians jogged off the field, matching with their iconic Mr. Two-Bits t-shirts (complete with screen printed ties) and elated smiles. The Gator Nation medal winners from the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics had just served as the honorary Mr. Two Bits, all of them together, before the Gators homecoming win against Vanderbilt. After leading the team onto the field, the Olympians stood on the field for the first quarter, basking in the crowd and excitement and moment of laid-back exuberance that punctuated their incredible showing at the Summer Games. Two months out from the closing ceremonies, many of the athletes are returning to the pool or track or field to prepare for the next showing—the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. So they soak in this last moment of jubilation before the grind becomes the norm once again. The grind though, the endless pursuit of unattainable perfection, is often the only private aspect of their lives that these world class athletes have. It’s when they can retreat into their training, contemplate their goals, set then forge a path to reach them, and decide what it’s worth to achieve immortality through a legacy. And for that, they turn to Matt DeLancey. Caeleb Dressel calls DeLancey and his wife, his “garage parents.” In a quite Millhopper neighborhood in northwest Gainesville, DeLancey—now in his 20th year in Hogtown, a longtime strength and conditioning coach for the Florida Gators athletic program—and his wife, a former collegiate volleyball player (the two met after college) take care of and train a generation of Olympians. In the DeLancey’s attached two door garage, surrounded by personal affects and trappings of everyday life, sits workout equipment, exercise machines and the makings of an Olympian. And it was here, as the world shut down around them with a global pandemic, a couple of current Olympic legends trained to take over the world stage. DeLancey is the current S&C coach for the Gators volleyball team, as well as the Track and Field squad. He's there from 4:50am until well past dark most days, training the teams. For many years he also headed up the training for the Gators swim team. It’s there on campus he became the most trusted voice and expertise for those looking to ascend to the top of their game. After a rush of athletes, Gators and non, rushed to Gainesville in recent years to train with Olympic and Florida coaches like Gregg Troy (swimming) and Mike Holloway (track and field), DeLancey became the go-to strength coach. And even after those in Orange and Blue graduated, they stayed in town. They stayed near DeLancey. “It’s a silent expectation that you help our post grads,” DeLancey recently told GatorBait Magazine. “But that’s not why I work with them. I enjoy working with them. They’re good humans. I have one rule and it’s that you have to be a good person.” Under his tutelage, 15 medals came home from the 2012 London Games. He trained athletes for the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2020 (2021) Tokyo games and promises he’ll be in Paris in 2024. He helped swimmer Ryan Lochte to 12 medals over the years, received huge national attention himself after Lochte dominated at the 2012 World Championships and Olympics, and will be there as Lochte contemplates a return to competitive swimming after missing out on the Tokyo Olympics. “I think that the hardest part for this last cycle for him was probably adjusting on how to be a parent,” muses DeLancey of the former Gator great and world record holder, as the guy who knows Lochte almost better than anyone. “It's probably one of the tougher things you get to try to manage as being a pro athlete and a parent at the same time. It’s challenging, they’re both full time jobs.” But DeLancey has spent even more time recently with the younger athletes. For this past Tokyo Games, he trained close to 10 athletes, including five that brought back medals; Dressel, Holloway and Taylor Manson, plus he worked with Bobby Finke and Keiran Smith when they first arrived on campus, before S&C coach Taylor Zimmerman took over swimming full time. It’s the fewest he’s ever trained for a game. But two—Dressel and Grant Holloway—received some of the most personal attention yet. Dressel, in route to five gold medals and two world records at the Tokyo Olympics, credits his time toiling in DeLancey’s garage with preparing him for becoming the face of Team USA this summer. “We made do with what we had you know,” Dressel tells GatorBait. “We didn't have any of the gyms open. Matt opened up his house for us. And we got done, I feel like everything we had to. We worked around the issues that fell into place because of limited space, but I didn't feel like I was setback in any way. I thought it helped me if anything.” Holloway was a favorite to win gold in the 110m hurdle’s—his only event—and eventually came home with silver. In his first Olympic Games, Holloway was just shy of taking the top podium as three time Olympian Hansle Parchment. For his first Olympic Games, silver is nothing to scoff at, and he, like Dressel, credits so much to his time in the small garage at DeLancey’s home. “It was great,” recalls Holloway for GatorBait. “I mean, me and Caeleb, we were training partners for about a year. And I think that just elevated both of our games. We're both happy with what we had going on. I knew at the end of the day, we just had to work for it.” DeLancey, for his part, knows Holloway will return home and to his garage with a renewed sense of purpose. The track and field star has had a taste of the podium at the Olympics now, and he wants another shot at the top. Only 0.05 of a second separated Holloway and Parchment. Even fewer separated Dressel from those chasing his tail in the pool. It’s that commitment to slicing off that extra sliver of time, that attention to the most minute detail, that keep these guys motivated. There are only a few individuals in the world with the wherewithal to chase that goal. A decent portion of them just happen to chase it in DeLancey’s garage, allowing him to see the process up close. It’s one everyone wants to replicate, but few can. It starts with attention to detail, and that starts with DeLancey. “The first thing is you got to have parents that brought the DNA to the table right so without the genetics, it doesn't matter what we're doing,” jokes DeLancey. “And then they got to have a supporting cast throughout their developmental years in high school and middle school, high school that kept them on the straight narrow. People who perform at the highest level typically have a good supporting cast around them. “Then once they get to us, it’s on the conscious side…I look for any kind of dysfunction on day one. And to clarify any kind of dysfunction that could cause a performance decrement or some sort of an injury problem down the road, that's what I'm looking for on day one and we address what we find and work from there. “Then people always talk about details, they don't necessarily explain what it means but like, just for example if I see an ankle protesting in key jumping mechanic, then we're going to address that; there could be any number of details that are specific for any given athlete so the day to day, the attention to details is looking for things like that.” From there, the rest is up to each individual athlete. How much are they willing to take on? How much are they willing to sacrifice? How far are they willing to go? DeLancey is willing to get them there. “Dressel for sure is all about details and Grant,” notes DeLancey. “Those guys are detail guys. Lochte in his time was a pretty good detail guy. Elizabeth Biesel was a really good detail [girl], Gemma Spofforth. Conor Dwyer when he was here back in the day. “It's hard to be successful swimming if you're not detail oriented, same in track and field. They're fighting for hundreds of a second, and any of those details slip, the wrong time and instead of a gold medal, it could have been seventh for Caeleb.” That’s a lot of weight on sculpted shoulders; the weight of a nation and a sport and their own expectations, knowing years of training come down to one moment, one race. DeLancey knows that as well, so he works to make his garage a place that can build an Olympian without tearing them down. He uses a Thanos infinity gauntlet for levity and a carefully set schedule to relieve pressure. “We joke a lot. We joke around a lot. I like to keep all the stress off those guys because, in reality, when we're doing whatever we're doing in the weight room, in between the sets, I want them to be able to shut it off. And then when we get ready to get back into a set, to be able to turn it back on. “Because these meets are long, track meets and swim meets, they are a long ordeal. You can't constantly be pushing their buttons, all the time where you where you wear them out mentally, you wear them out physically too. So there's a lot of joking around going on between sets, and then a lot of locking back in. “I think it's an important skill set for any athlete at this level. You got to be able to turn it off, turn it back on in a second, so it's more fun.” Even as the world returns more to normal post-COVID and these Gator Olympians return to their training, with their eyes on Paris in 2024, Matt DeLancey will be there, his garage door open, just like always; the garage that builds Olympians. “Everybody that's ever been an Olympian under me has come to the garage at some point…I’ve had a lot of people come to that garage.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: CAN THE GATORS FIND THE DEFENSIVE MOJO THEY HAD AGAINST ALABAMA? It sounds so simple when Todd Grantham describes what Florida’s defense has to do Saturday when the Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) face No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC) in Jacksonville. “All you got to do is look at the plays that you did well in and the games you played well in and say, ‘Here’s what we did and here’s the things we got to do,’” Grantham said Monday. The Gators have had moments when they played very well. Alabama came to The Swamp ranked No. 1 and for a quarter looked very deserving of the top spot in the polls, but after the Gators fell behind 21-3, they took over the game. Alabama finished with 331 yards and just 91 on the ground. Florida held Kentucky to 224 yards and really gave up one offensive touchdown. So how can a defense play that well against really good teams and then give up 49 points and 321 rushing yards in a loss to a not so good LSU team? When he was asked earlier in the week about the LSU debacle, Dan Mullen said, “You’ve got to put yourself in the right position. You’ve got to be in the right gap. You’ve got to play disciplined football. Then you’ve got to put yourself in the right position fundamentally to go make tackles.” Sounds simple when he says it, too. Doesn’t sound so simple when you take a look at Georgia. LSU didn’t exactly try to bamboozle the Gators with shifts and exotic formations. The Tigers just lined up and blew the Gators off the ball. That’s pretty much what Georgia has been doing all year. The Bulldogs average 40 rushing attempts per game and just 24 pass attempts. They aren’t going to try to fool the Gators. They’re going to keep rotating in fresh backs and pound away. When opponents try to stack the box, they go play action and throw over the top. Georgia averages a respectable but not overwhelming 4.83 yards per carry on the ground. That they average 10 yards a pass attempt – expected starting QB Stetson Bennett averages 12.1 per attempt – has everything to do with the pick-your-poison decision each opposing defensive coordinator has to make. Do you risk giving up 300 yards on the ground or do you take your chances that your secondary can cover the receivers? That’s the dilemma for Grantham Saturday. Once past the first quarter in the Alabama game, the Gators were able to stuff the run and keep the Alabama receivers from getting deep. But, that was a month ago, back when the Gators had SEC East championship aspirations. Now the Gators are wounded, have lost three games they could have and probably should have won by a grand total of 16 points, and they’re looking at a season that could go south if they can’t figure out how to keep Georgia from grinding them into submission the way they’ve done six of their seven opponents. Can Florida find any measure of defensive consistency? Can the Gators turn in a defensive effort like the one Clemson did against Georgia in week one? Clemson held the Bulldogs to 256 yards – 121 on the ground and 135 in the air – but more importantly without an offensive touchdown. On paper, that’s what it seems the Gators are going to have to do against Georgia Saturday. Only Kentucky has scored two offensive touchdowns against the Georgia defense so odds are nobody is going to beat the Bulldogs in shootout fashion. It should be noted that Florida has the best offense the Bulldogs will have faced and Mullen has had a couple of weeks to come up with a game plan but still, Georgia’s defense dominates the national statistics in nearly every important category. So the question that has to be asked: If Mullen can get the Gators 21 points, can Grantham scheme a defense and make the right adjustments to shut down Georgia the way Clemson did? GATORS GET COMMITMENT FROM 6-10 F/C JALEN REED Mike White is putting together an impressive basketball recruiting class with the commitment of 4-star forward/center Jalen White (6-10, 225, Jackson, MS/Castaic, CA Southern California Academy). White joins 4-star power forward Malik Reneau (6-9, 210, Miami, FL/Montverde, FL Montverde Academy) and 3-star point guard Denzel Aberdeen (6-4, 180, Orlando, FL Dr. Phillips). Reed has ball handling skills of a small forward, the outside scoring of a stretch four and excellent inside moves around the basket where he can score with either hand. He can defend multiple positions and can be a dominating rebounder. Reed chose the Gators over Ole Miss, Arizona State, Maryland, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Houston among others. “I feel the play style fits me and with the development I feel like it was the perfect situation for me,” Reed told 247Sports. Assistant Akeem Miskdeen was the lead recruiter along with White. The Ole Miss connection probably helped. White was just finishing his Ole Miss basketball career when the late Justin Reed began an impressive 4-year run in Oxford that saw him win SEC Freshman of the Year in 2001, twice make third team All-SEC (2002-03) and first team All-SEC in 2004. Four years in Oxford was followed by a 5-year career in the NBA. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit on Alabama’s inconsistent defense: “The defense has been a mystery.” … Brian Robinson Jr. has run for 716 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 17 passes for 161 yards and two more TDs. Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Wide receiver Treylon Burks has caught 42 passes for 717 yards (17.7 per catch) and seven touchdowns. He also has six carries for 71 yards and a TD. Auburn (5-2, 2-1 SEC): Auburn’s offensive line has its work cut out Saturday with an Ole Miss pass rush that averages 3.29 sacks per game, led by defensive end Sam Williams, who has 7.5 sacks for 28 yards in losses … HBC Bryan Harsin is keeping his COVID-19 vaccination status private as Alabama state employees have until December 8 to get vaccinated or be fired. Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC): Wide receivers Arian Smith, who has missed the last five games, and Jermaine Burton, who has a hamstring injury, may be available for Florida … Georgia’s defense allows just 208.3 yards and 6.6 points per game. Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC): The Wildcats apparently had a very productive off week. Mark Stoops called it “one of the better bye weeks we’ve had. Guys were moving around and really concentrating on ourselves and just trying to get better and that’s what good teams do.” LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The Tigers rank 11th in the SEC in total defense (408.5 yards per game) and 12th in total offense (387.7). Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Mike Leach won’t discuss whether or not he’s had a COVID-19 vaccine. The state’s higher education authority has voted to make vaccines mandatory for every employee of a college or university. Leach’s successor at Washington State, Nick Rolovich, was fired for refusing a vaccine on religious grounds. Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC): Coming off a 35-14 beatdown at the hands of Texas A&M, Mizzou HBC Eli Drinkwitz says, “I haven’t had my butt whipped like that before … At the end of the day, the ownership lies with me, so I’ve got to continue to find ways to take lessons from losses.” Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC): Starting right guard Ben Brown has had surgery to repair a distal biceps tendon and will miss the rest of the season … Now that Ole Miss is bowl eligible, Lane Kiffin has a $50,000 bonus. He has bonuses totaling $150,000 so far … Former Ole Miss defensive coordinator and head coach Joe Lee Dunn passed away. He was 75. South Carolina (4-4, 1-4 SEC): Quarterback Zeb Noland had a surgical procedure to repair a torn meniscus. He’s expected back for the Florida game on November 6. Tennessee (4-3, 2-3 SEC): Hendon Hooker is completing 68.3 percent of his passes (9.4 yards per attempt), with 17 TDPs and just two interceptions. Hooker has also run for 416 yards and four touchdownsBasketball: Center John Fulkerson will miss the exhibition game with Lenoir-Rhyne but is expected to be ready for the season opener. Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): The Aggies have one of the nation’s best 1-2 sack combos in Tyree Johnson (6 sacks, -37 yards) and DeMarvin Leal (5.5 sacks, -25). Basketball: Grad transfer Jalen Johnson tore his ACL and will miss the entire season. Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC): Vanderbilt ranks 124th nationally in total offense at 291.4 yards per game. The Vanderbilt defense is a little bit better. They’re 120th, giving up 457.8 yards. FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: The ACC is considering relocating its league offices from Greensboro, which has been headquarters since the league was founded in 1953 … Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who began the year with 7-1 odds that he would win the Heisman Trophy, was benched for Taisun Phommachanh in the loss to Pitt. No word on which one will start Saturday when Florida State comes to town. Big Ten: This might seem a bit trivial but James Franklin has changed agents from Trace Armstrong to Jimmy Sexton. Some are wondering if this is a sign Franklin might be moving to the Southeastern Conference (LSU) since Sexton represents most of the SEC head coaches including Nick Saban, Dan Mullen, Kirby Smart, Mark Stoops, Jimbo Fisher and Lane Kiffin … A group of 100 protestors that included many former Michigan athletes, demanded the resignation of school president Mark Schlissel and associate athletic director/head trainer Paul Schmidt. This stems from allegations from a pair of former football players who say they were assaulted by former team doctor Robert Anderson. Big 12: Texas Tech hasn’t had a winning season since 2015 and has had only four winning seasons since Mike Leach was fired in 2010 (Leach never had a losing season and was 84-43 in 10 years on the job). So it makes perfect sense (sarcasm injected) to fire Matt Wells, who was off to a 5-3 start and had the Red Raiders on track to go to a bowl game. Athletic director Kirby Hocutt said firing Wells was “inevitable.” It is costing Texas Tech $7 million to make Wells go away. He won’t be unemployed long. Pac-12: Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn’t the least bit amused by speculation that Southern Cal wants him as its head coach. Tomlin said, “I got one of the best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football?” … Colorado HBC Karl Dorrell fired O-line coach Mitch Rodrigue and replaced him with former Alabama center William Vlachos. Colorado currently ranks dead last in total offense in Division I and has allowed 22 sacks in seven games. Group of Five: Southern Miss is leaving Conference USA to join the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2023. Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison are expected to join as well. With the exit last week of UAB, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, Rice, North Texas and Texas-San Antonio to the American Athletic Conference, you can stick a fork in Conference USA. Left in limbo are Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, UTEP and Louisiana Tech. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Are you superstitious? If you are, then consider this little factoid. Prior to Tuesday night when Atlanta beat the Houston Astros 6-2 in game one of the World Series, the Braves had made the World Series five times – 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. In each of those years the Gators beat Georgia.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: MULLEN DOESN’T TIP HIS HAND ABOUT QB FOR GEORGIA Maybe you were thinking Dan Mullen would announce that Anthony Richardson will be starting at quarterback for Saturday’s encounter with No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC) in Jacksonville. If you saw the LSU game, then you’re quite aware that the Florida offense played better in the second half with Richardson at QB than it was when Emory Jones was the main man in the first half. Maybe in your mind that settles things, but Mullen said Monday the reps in practice are being evenly split and that he plans to use both quarterbacks when the Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) face Georgia. “We’re going to keep playing them the same way,” Mullen said. “We plan on playing both of the guys like we have.” If you’re upset with that, then ask yourself this question: Why would Dan Mullen give any hint to Georgia what he’s planning to do? Georgia has three defensive coordinators working on the game plan against the Gators – HBC Kirby Smart, DC Dan Lanning and Will Muschamp, who is technically the special teams coordinator, but do you think for a New York minute that Muschamp isn’t fully involved in the defensive game plan? Some folks have hinted that Muschamp, in fact, is the biggest reason that Georgia’s defense has gone from extremely good to borderline legendary this year. Having three excellent defensive minds working on the Gators only helps so much and there are only so many practice hours allowed. While there is some similarity in the skill sets of both Jones and Richardson, they are different enough that it will take a different game plan for each one. Think back to 2014 if you will. Jeff Driskel was the starting QB through the first six games, but he was benched in favor of Treon Harris during a blowout loss to Missouri. Georgia had to plan as if Driskel would start and had only limited reps of Harris to work with so the bye week and game week prior to Florida were spent prepping for both quarterbacks. Florida started Harris, came out committed to run the football, threw sparingly and won the game 38-20 while running for 418 yards. Besides the obvious, which is to avoid tipping his hand to give Georgia any kind of edge, the injury factor is one more reason to have both Jones and Richardson getting plenty of reps. Georgia’s front seven is thought by many to be the best the SEC has seen since 2011 Alabama. They lead the nation in total defense (209.1 yards per game) and the SEC in sacks (25). They are nasty and they beat up on opposing QBs. “The quarterbacks, we try to keep them pretty evened out so they’re both ready to play,” Mullen said. “You’re a snap away from those guys getting on the field …” Thinking out loud: I believe that both quarterbacks will play against Georgia, but I am of the opinion – and I think Mullen is too – that if the Gators are going to beat Georgia, Anthony Richardson has to play the bigger role. From what I have seen so far this season, it takes big play capabilities to beat Georgia’s aggressive defense. You can’t nickel and dime the Bulldogs and expect to win. With Richardson, there is big play potential both running the ball and through the air. Jones can see a 5-yard opening and run for 15 yards. Richardson can see that same opening and go 30 or more. When it comes to throwing the football, I’ve seen too many instances when Jones didn’t see the receiver open 15 yards downfield, instead taking the safe, 5-yard throw. I’m not sure anyone is going to wear out the Georgia defense that way. Richardson showed me everything I need to know about his arm with that TD throw to Jacob Copeland against UF when he rolled left, flicked his wrist and it was a strike 40 yards down the field. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Not that anything he says is ever relevant, but ESPN radio’s Danny Kannell isn’t happy that Alabama moved ahead of unbeaten Oklahoma in the AP poll. Kanell said, “Nobody gets more free passes than Bama.” Maybe Kannell should check the record and see that Alabama has six national championships just since 2009. Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Sam Pittman on Arkansas needing one win to become bowl-eligible: “I don’t think we have a kid on our team that’s ever played in a bowl game … Our team, we want to go to postseason play and we want to earn it.” Auburn (5-2, 2-1 SEC): Defensive tackle Jeremiah Wright has not progressed enough in his rehab from a torn ACL in the spring to play this season. Wright has been cleared to start running again. Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC): Kirby Smart on who starts at QB vs. Florida, JT Daniels or Stetson Bennett: “I think it all depends on where JT is and where Stetson is and what gives us the best chance to win.” If Kirby doesn’t start Bennett then he’s not so smart. Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC): Asked about his name being mentioned as a possibility for the Miami job if Manny Diaz is fired, Mark Stoops replied, “I’m not getting into that.” LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Baylor coach Dave Aranda on rumors linking him to the LSU job: “I love it here. My family loves it here. Baylor has been everything that I thought it would be. Coming here has been an opportunity to grow.” Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Redshirt freshman linebacker Rocky Groce is no longer with the team. Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC): Linebacker Jamie Pettway has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC): Lane Kiffin on Ole Miss problems with penalties (10.2 per game; 128th in Division I): “I told them today, guys, we don’t just lead the NCAA in penalties. We lead little league, junior high.” South Carolina (4-4, 1-4 SEC): The Gamecocks were only 3-13 on third down conversions and 0-1 on fourth down in their loss to Texas A&M. Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): Tennessee fans have every right to be upset with SEC officiating after the zebras missed a blatant launch and helmet-to-helmet collision by an Alabama DB with Hendon Hooker last Saturday. Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): The Aggies scored on eight consecutive drives in their win over South Carolina. Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC): Vanderbilt allowed 10-16 third down conversions against Mississippi State and 87 offensive snaps. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: WEEK SEVEN The Extinct Species List got an unexpected addition Monday when Texas Tech fired Matt Wells, who was 5-3 this season but 13-17 since taking the job and only 7-16 in Big 12 games. Texas Tech blew a 14-point lead and lost 25-24 to Kansas State back on Saturday. Expect former TTU quarterback and Southern Cal offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, UT-San Antonio HBC Jeff Traylor and Arkansas OC Kendal Briles on AD Kirby Hocutt’s list. Extinct Species List Les Miles, Kansas Randy Edsall, UConn Clay Helton, Southern Cal Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern Ed Orgeron, LSU Nick Rolovich, Washington State Matt Wells, Texas Tech On Life Support Walt Bell, UMass: The Minutemen are 1-6, about to be 1-7 after Liberty unleashes Malik Willis on them Saturday. Three of the last four – Rhode Island and Maine from D1AA and New Mexico State – are winnable. Two out of three might save Bell’s job. Tom Arth, Akron: The key number is 34. When Akron scores more than 34 (35 against Bryant and Bowling Green) it’s a win. When the Zips give up at least 34 (the other six games) they lose. A 2-7 record is likely after this week’s expected beatdown by Ball State. Butch Davis, Florida International: When he looks in the mirror he must ask himself, “Why? Why God, did I leave Miami?” He was 51-20 and had recruited the team of the century which he left behind for Larry Coker. He lost in the NFL, put North Carolina on probation and now he’s going to get fired at FIU. Marcus Arroyo, UNLV: He’s ohfer 13 in his collegiate coaching career but at least he’s not getting his doors blown off every game. UNLV is 0-7 this year. Five of the losses are by a combined 28 points. Close is progress, right? Scott Frost, Nebraska: What’s the difference between 3-5 and 8-0? In the case of the Fighting Frosts, one play in five games. No team in college football knows what it takes to lose a winnable game better than the Fighting Frosts, 0-5 in one possession games this year, 5-17 since 2018. If Scott Frost is the coach next year it’s because of the $20 million buyout. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech: Three straight losses have the VaTech people thinking this will never get better. The last five games are winnable. Anything less than 4-1 to finish probably gets a pink slip. Endangered Species List Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: Getting hosed by 31 by Northern Ill will offset the win over Minnesota and three close call losses that could have been wins. One more blowout loss and he’s On Life Support. Dino Babers, Syracuse: Syracuse could be 8-0 right now. The four losses are by a combined 19 points including a stretch of three straight, all lost by a field goal. Two more wins and the Cuse is bowl eligible which will end the debate whether Dino comes back for another year. Chip Kelly, UCLA: He should have beaten Oregon but let it get away. He’s 5-3 and needs to go 3-1 the rest of the way to make people happy. The $9 million buyout is formidable. Seth Littrell, North Texas: Six straight losses have people asking why he’s making $1.9 million. A bad loss to Rice this week probably seals that he’ll be gone at season’s end. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: The Phighting Phils can win their third straight Saturday against Navy. Two Lane and Shirley Temple are still on the schedule so it’s possible the Phils could go bowling. Steve Addazio, Colorado State: Colorado State went brain dead in the last 11 seconds to botch a game-winning field goal, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against Utah State. Colorado State is 3-4 this season and should be no worse than 5-2. Justin Wilcox, California: He’s 2-5 with four of the losses by a combined 19 points. The beatdown of Colorado (26-3 win) helped but he needs at least three wins in the last five to feel comfortable. Manny Diaz, Miami: Miami is 3-4, should be 5-2. The win over North Carolina State helped but if the Hurricanes get clocked by Pitt this week, the heat will ratchet up. The $8 million buyout is formidable but works in Manny’s favor for one more year. Jeff Scott, South Florida: Beware of the Bulls. USF has a 1-game win streak after kicking Shirley Temple to the curb. Has anyone noticed that since Scott left Clemson where he was co-offensive coordinator that the Clemson offense has been dropping like a rock (now 117th nationally)? Checking for a pulse Ken Niumatalolo, Navy: He is safe for this year. A win over Army would lower the heat. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Now that UAB, Rice, North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Charlotte have accepted invitations to join the American Athletic Conference, look for a scramble between Conference USA and the Sun Belt for the remnants. Conference USA is expected to try to lure Liberty and James Madison while the Sun Belt is expecting to offer Southern Miss, Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison. If you think the Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten are just twiddling their thumbs, think again. Consider this like the undercard of a heavyweight bout. The big guys are just getting warmed up.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: GEORGIA OPENS AS 14.5-POINT FAVORITE OVER GATORS Unless you’ve been hanging out with Bill Walton lately (see One Final Pithy Thought), then you are well aware that it’s Florida vs. The World next Saturday in Jacksonville. Actually, it’s the Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) against No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC), the team that Las Vegas has declared a 14.5-point favorite, which has everyone in the world questioning the sanity of the oddsmakers. They wonder why it isn’t 25 or 30 points. Just ask any Georgia fan. Georgia, after all, already has won another Near National Championship which is why UGa is ranked No. 1 and not Alabama. You know what an NNC is. They happen periodically, like back in 2017 when Tua threw that laser to Devonta Smith for the TD in overtime that snatched the real national title Georgia fans have been waiting for since the last one when Herschel was living on Snickers bars and doing something like 30,000 pushups a day when not running over idiots who stood between him and the nearest goal line. That one was a killer, but it was oh so close so it is an NNC just like 2012 or 2007 or 2002. That one in 2002 was a real classic since Georgia only lost one game that year and that was to – brace yourself – Ron Zook and the Gators. Had Georgia won that one – 8-0 and ranked fifth at the time – it would have been smooth sailing until the national championship game against Miami. Oops. Those NNCs are so painful, but when it’s been 14,907 days since the last national championship and since then SEC cousins Alabama have won seven, Florida three, LSU three, Tennessee one and Auburn one, you have to hang your hat on something, right? And being able to say you’ve come close so many times is better than being Arkansas, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Kentucky or Vanderbilt, which neither have a national title or an NNC to their names. Okay, the Aggies claim one last year, but it was COVID so it really doesn’t count all that much, not as close as 2007 when everybody rushed the field in Jacksonville in an orchestrated celebration that had Mark Richt’s nose looking like Pinocchio when he tried to say he was clueless that something like this happened. Yep, and the next year there was payback in a BIG way. Florida 49, Georgia 10. Remember those time outs in the last minute that Urban called to remind everybody? Anyway, I’m not saying Georgia isn’t good. This is Kirby Smart’s best chance to erase 14,907 days (and counting) of suffering, but strange things happen in Jacksonville. Remember Anthone Lott calling time out in 1993? Or how Errict Rhett ran the ball 40 times in 1992 to keep Georgia out of the first SEC Championship Game? So, maybe Georgia throttles the Gators. Maybe that Georgia defense does a tap dance on Dan Mullen’s game plan. Or maybe a hero emerges for the Gators. Maybe Bainbridge, Georgia’s Dameon Pierce elects to channel Kelvin Taylor (see Florida 38, Georgia 20 in 2014) or Stockbridge, Georgia’s Brenton Cox Jr. channels Brandon Spikes decleating No Show Moreno back in 2008. You can say no way, won’t happen, but stranger things have been known to occur when the Gators face Georgia in Jacksonville. Just saying. The Coaches Top 25 Poll: 1. Georgia 7-0; 2. Cincinnati 7-0; 3. Alabama 7-1; 4. Oklahoma 8-0; 5. Ohio State 7-1; 6. Michigan 7-0; 7. Michigan State 7-0; 8. Oregon 6-1; 9. Ole Miss 6-1; 10. Iowa 6-1; 11. Notre Dame 6-1; 12. Kentucky 6-1; 13. Wake Forest 7-0; 14. Texas A&M 6-2; 15. Oklahoma State 6-1; 16. SMU 7-0; 17. Penn State 5-2; 18. Baylor 6-1; 19. Pittsburgh 6-1; 19. San Diego State 7-0; 21. Auburn 5-2; 22. Texas-San Antonio 8-0; 23. Iowa State 5-2; 24. Coastal Carolina 6-1; 25. North Carolina State 5-2 The Associated Press Top 25 Poll: 1. Georgia 7-0; 2. Cincinnati 7-0; 3. Alabama 7-1; 4. Oklahoma 8-0; 5. Ohio State 7-1; 6. Michigan 7-0; 7. Oregon 6-1; 8. Michigan State 7-0; 9. Iowa 6-1; 10. Ole Miss 6-1; 11. Notre Dame 6-1; 12. Kentucky 6-1; 13. Wake Forest 7-0; 14. Texas A&M 6-2; 15. Oklahoma State 6-1; 16. Baylor 6-1; 17. Pittsburgh 6-1; 18. Auburn 5-2; 19. SMU 7-0; 20. Penn State 5-2; 21. San Diego State 7-0; 22. Iowa State 5-2; 23. Texas-San Antonio 8-0; 24. Coastal Carolina 6-1; 25. BYU 6-2 UF BASEBALL/SOFTBALL STUFF Freshman shortstop Deric Fabian made his presence known as the Gators split a pair of 7-inning exhibition games with Georgia Southern over the weekend. Fabian homered in both games as Kevin O’Sullivan used 12 pitchers in a 3-1 loss and a 7-6 UF win. Older brother Jud Fabian went 3-7 for the doubleheader with Wyatt Langford going 4-5 with a home run. Hunter Barco pitched two hitless innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced. Florida’s softball team won a couple of 5-inning games against Florida Southwestern (14-0 and 7-3), which was the national juco champion last year. Baylee Goddard had three home runs while Charla Echols and Kendra Falby each had four hits. In Florida’s exhibition games this fall, Falby is 6-6 in stolen bases. Rylee Trlicek has been Florida’s most dominant pitcher in the fall. She went 3-1/3 innings against FSW, giving up one hit while striking out six. THE SEC AFTER WEEK EIGHT Alabama (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Bryce Young threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns and Brian Robinson ran for 107 and three TDs in Alabama’s 52-24 win over Tennessee. Next week: Open date Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Wide receiver Treylon Burks ran for 56 yards and a TD and caught four passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns in the Razorbacks’ easy win over D1AA Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Arkansas needs to win one of its next four games to become bowl eligible. Next week: Open date Auburn (5-2, 2-1 SEC): Next week: vs. Ole Miss 6-1, 3-1 SEC) Georgia (7-0, 5-0 SEC): Paul Finebaum thinks DT Jordan Davis should be in the Heisman Trophy discussion. On “Get Up” Friday morning Finebaum said, “He’s the head of the best defensive line I’ve ever seen at the University of Georgia. Will he win it? Probably not. He’s the best player. He represents that defensive line and I think he deserves a lot of consideration.” Next week: vs. Florida (4-3, 2-3 SEC) in Jacksonville Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC): Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated thinks UK head coach Mark Stoops should be a leading candidate if Miami axes Manny Diaz. Stoops was the secondary coach at The Ewe from 2001-03 when the defensive backfield included Sean Taylor and Ed Reed. Next week: at Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC) LSU (4-4, 2-3 SEC): A week after torching Florida for 321 rushing yards, LSU managed only 77 against Ole Miss. Next week: Open date Mississippi State (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Will Rogers bounced back from last week’s Alabama debacle by throwing for 384 yards and four touchdowns to lead MSU past Vanderbilt. Next week: vs. Kentucky (6-1, 4-1 SEC) Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC): Offensive lineman Case Cook, defensive back Mason Pack and defensive lineman Chris Turner have suffered season-ending injuries. Next week: at Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC) Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC): Matt Corral didn’t have to carry Ole Miss with his arm (18-23 for 185 yards and a TD) because the Rebels ran for 266 yards, led by Snoop Conner who ran for 117 and Jerion Ealy who had 97. The Ole Miss defense had five sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries. Next week: at Auburn (5-2, 2-1 SEC) South Carolina (4-4, 1-4 SEC): The Gamecocks managed only 185 yards in losing 44-14 to Texas A&M, which led HBC Shane Beamer to say postgame, “We’ve certainly got some issues we’ve got to figure out.” No. Really? Next week: Open date Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC): The wheels came off for Tennessee after the Vols closed to within 31-24 in the fourth quarter against Alabama. Alabama scored the final 28 points to make it a blowout 52-24 win. Next week: Open date Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 SEC): For the second straight week, the Aggies had two backs gain more than 100 yards on the ground. Devon Arcane fan for 154 yards and a TD while Isaiah Spiller ran for 102 yards and TD in the Aggies’ 44-14 win over South Carolina. Next week: Open date Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4 SEC): Vandy managed only 155 yards, nine on the ground, in the loss to Mississippi State. Next week: vs. Missouri (3-4, 0-3 SEC) FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: Wake Forest (7-0) beat Army (4-3) 70-56 as Sam Hartman threw for 458 yards and five touchdowns while running for another TD … Miami (3-4) did Wake Forest a favor in the Atlantic Division by knocking off North Carolina State (5-2) … Pittsburgh (6-1) got 302 yards and two touchdown passes from Kenny Pickett in a solid, 27-17, win over Clemson (4-3). Clemson has lost three regular season games for the first time since 2011 … Florida State (3-4) has won three in a row thanks to a 59-3 blasting of UMass, which is the second worst team in Division I. Big Ten: Redshirt freshman QB CJ Stroud threw for 266 yards and four TDs in Ohio State’s 54-7 win over Indiana (2-5). It was the fourth game this season with at least four touchdown passes for Stroud, who has 22 TDPs (three picks) in six games … Michigan (7-0) warmed up for its showdown with Michigan State (7-0) with an easy 33-7 win over Northwestern (3-4) … Stick a fork in Penn State’s College Football Playoff chances after a 20-18 9-overtime loss to Illinois (3-5). Nine overtimes, the last six two-point conversions? I miss touchdowns and field goals. That’s a rule that needs to be changed back to the old one. Big 12: Oklahoma (8-0) had an unexpected tough time with lowly Kansas (1-6) but remained unbeaten and in first place in the Big 12 ... Oklahoma State (6-1) lost its first game of the year to Iowa State (5-2). Pac-12: Oregon (6-1) kept its playoff hopes alive with a 34-31 win over UCLA (5-3) as Boston College transfer Anthony Brown threw for 296 yards and ran for 79 ... Arizona State (5-2) is back in control of the South after Utah (4-3) lost to Oregon State (4-3), 42-34. Independents: Notre Dame (6-1) has the best record among the independents after its 31-16 win over Southern Cal (3-4) … BYU (6-2) is 4-0 against the Pac-12 after taking down Washington State, 21-19. Group of Five: Cincinnati (7-0) struggled but remained unbeaten with a 27-20 win over Navy (1-6). Navy ran 81 plays from scrimmage to Cincinnati’s 51 … SMU (7-0) blew out Tulane 55-26 behind three TDPs from Tanner Mordecai, who has thrown for 29 touchdowns this season … Coastal Carolina (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season to Appalachian State (5-2) … San Diego State (7-0) was outgained 259-229 by Air Force but squeaked out a 20-14 win over the Falcons (6-2) to remain the only unbeaten team in the Mountain West Conference … South Florida (2-5) got its first win over a Division I team since 2019 by taking down Temple (3-4) … UNLV (0-7) gave us a scare by making San Jose State (4-4) rally for 14 fourth quarter points to keep the Running Rebels perfect. Marcus Arroyo is now 0-13 as a head coach. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: If I want football information, I watch Fox Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff” with Matt Leinhart, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush and Bob Stoops, but Saturday I had to watch “Game Day” on ESPN to catch Bill Walton as the celebrity guest picker. Outrageously funny! When Kirk Herbstreit picked Army to beat Wake Forest, Walton quipped, “Oh please! Give him a Coors Light!” And, when it came time to pick Oklahoma State at Iowa State, Walton admitted, “I’m a Space Cowboy.” Really, Bill? Who would have guessed?

The notion that Dan Mullen’s future is in question is almost laughable. The only way that could be possible would be for him to be mulling over a new job elsewhere, perhaps in the NFL, which I seriously doubt. So let’s take that off the table. The voices of dissent are getting louder in Gator Nation. Chicken Little is knocking at the door again. This time it’s not so easy to be dismissive. Is there Trouble in Hogtown? The hot water is 6 feet and risin’, perhaps all the way up to Dan Mullen’s toes. How did we get here so fast? Ten games ago, the Florida Gators were knocking on heaven’s door. At that point, Dan Mullen was 29-9 as Gators coach, streaking toward a championship constellation with planets Meyer and Spurrier. Then one night they threw a shoe and the curse of Marco Wilson’s meltdown left a crack in the sky, pieces of which sometimes appear to be falling. With Georgia up next, you can almost see the descending particles, as well as feel and hear hoofbeats of pending doom. Words like “beatdown” and “boatraced” have made it into the lexicon for Florida-Georgia. Dan Mullen, once 29-9, is now 4-6 his last 10 games and very likely going to be 4-7 and 33-16. What went wrong here? Rather than turn this into at doppleganger of an Internet message board – Florida playing the wrong QB, terrible defense, weak recruiting, etc. – I want to focus on one of Mullen’s best traits which may have betrayed him and contributed mightily to the conundrum which he finds himself in. Loyalty. Actually it’s one of my favorite traits in people, one which is becoming scarcer and scarcer. But loyalty can be a two-edge sword – both admirable and dangerous. And in Mullen’s case the blowback is bringing excessive heat. The notion that Dan Mullen’s future is in question is almost laughable. The only way that could be possible would be for him to be mulling over a new job elsewhere, perhaps in the NFL, which I seriously doubt. So let’s take that off the table. And all you people who screamed and demanded MORE OFFENSE! before Mullen was hired, shame on you! You’ve got probably the best guy in the country calling plays. Now you want MORE DEFENSE! Having said that, yes, there is a problem at Florida and Mullen is complicit. For the moment let’s focus on misguided loyalty. First off, unless you’ve coached or are married to one, you can’t begin to know the level of love, admiration and appreciation coaches have for some of their favorite players. They are almost father and son – in many cases even more so. I’ve never talked to Mullen about Emory Jones, but I have friends who know that relationship well. “He just loves that kid (Jones) to death,” said one insider. “And I can see why. Emory spends a lot of time in his office, watches film all the time – just a great kid! My guess is if they asked the team to vote on a captain, it would be Emory.” Clearly Jones knows the offense better and his willingness to flip his commitment to come play for Dan at UF speaks volumes, but not nearly as much as his remarkable patience to wait his turn for four years. And his performance has been far from lackluster, although Jones does have a little hitch in his throwing motion at times which can delay the timing to a wide-open receiver. The problem is that when Emory Jones is at his best, it’s not nearly as impressive as the dynamic skills of the 6-4, 240-pound Anthony Richardson, who commands the presence and following of a Promise Land prophet. But when is it time to call him “The Quarterback,” or will Mullen even do it? When Steve DeBerg was playing quarterback for the Denver Broncos as the oldest player on the team and a young rookie named John Elway showed up with a bazooka arm, we were all in a media lottery about when the old guy would lose his job to the budding superstar. So one day we asked DeBerg outright how long he could hold off Elway: “It’s just a matter of time,” DeBerg said philosophically, “before his talent catches up to my experience.” A few weeks later Elway was the starter. Although Jones isn’t that much older than AR-15, it’s the same point. With championship dreams lost for Florida – OK, if the Gators upset Georgia I’ll eat crow stew – there’s even more reason we need to see No. 15 taking the majority of snaps. Actually, more than one. Even if the Dawgs prevail as expected, Mullen has four more games to salvage the season, train his young quarterback and set him on course for 2022. Think about this: A new defensive staff and some choice transfers could put Florida on track for a very competitive couple of seasons. That may mean that Jones would opt out for the transfer portal and, even though that’s sad, Emory could still find a regular starting job somewhere and wind up with a successful final season. And yet, that would cut Mullen to the quick. The other matter, of course – and one that Gator fans are even more vocal about in their disdain – is what to do about Todd Grantham. I am on record numerous times over the year as backing Grantham. I’ve studied his defense for 3 ½ seasons now and, while I am impressed with its versatility and his ability to disguise its strike force, the last performance convinced me the Gators don’t have the strength, size and athleticism to stop a downhill running team like LSU. Or a scheme. I’m still scratching my head on this one and wondering why the Tigers ran that one counter play 14 times so successfully and the Gators gave up 287 yards to one running back. It was beyond embarrassing – it was abject humiliation. Grantham cannot be retained, although I used to feel that he was one of the best situational substitutionists (is that even a word?) in the business. Trouble is, who does he put in? He is also devoid of very many talented defensive players. Which brings up the recruiting issue for Mullen. A maestro though he may have been in the Transfer Portal these last few years, "Man Cannot Live In The Transfer Portal Alone." When your chief rivals are scarfing up most of the 4- and all of the 5-stars, and you’re dipping into the leftovers to fill out your roster, pretty soon it shows up in the competitive results. We’re no doubt going to see some of that Saturday. Finally, on the matter of finding the right DC and staff to match Mullen’s offense, fill in the blank. _______________________ should be hired as Florida’s defensive coordinator. Charlie Strong? Brent Venables? Jim Leonhard? Scott Stricklin can write Mr. X a $2 million check, the new DC can hire strong assistants then they head out to start signing defensive stalwarts who are impressed by the commitment. It’s been done before. Roll back the calendar to January, 1996. Steve Spurrier’s only unbeaten (regular season) team was annihilated by a freight train called Nebraska. Also abject humiliation. Jeremy Foley brought the list of the top defenses in the country to Spurrier’s office. No. 1 was Kansas State. The Wildcats’ co-defensive coordinator was named Bob Stoops. They hired Stoops that spring for about 10 per cent of what it would take for a new DC today. In the fall they won the school’s first national championship. It’s time to make the change.

“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting” – Author unknown We live in a country where sharp political divides have become the norm. It seems there is no middle ground to be had. You’re either on one side or the other with little hope to understand the vision and direction of the other side. We could almost say the same thing about the Gator Nation, which finds itself at a most unexpected crossroads. Who would have guessed when the season began the first Saturday in September that so many Gator fans have reached a crossroads when it comes to the performance of Dan Mullen. While most fans and boosters seem supportive it seems there is a growing number frustrated that three-and-a-half years into the Mullen Era the Gators are 4-3 overall, 2-3 in the SEC and their shot at a return trip to Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship Game has been completely derailed. Mullen detractors would say we’re back to being “wait ‘til next year” Gators and that is unacceptable. Mullen supporters, on the other hand, preach patience, offering the Rome wasn’t built in a single day analogy in the head ball coach’s defense. Mullen is 33-12 since taking over for Florida after the disastrous 4-7 final year of Jim McElwain. That’s the best four year run since Urban Meyer was the head coach but there is that element of the Gator Nation that says this just isn’t good enough, that Mullen should be much further along in year four than being completely out of the SEC East race a couple of weeks prior to the annual showdown with Georgia in Jacksonville. The impatience is understandable to a certain degree. The Gators, after all, won two national championships in three years (2006 and 2008) and put together back-to-back 13-1 seasons in 2008-09. Tim Tebow won the 2007 Heisman Trophy and should have won it in 2008 when he led the Gators to a national championship win over Oklahoma, clearly outclassing Sam Bradford, the OU quarterback who did take home the big trophy. Fans remember those days and they’ve been aching for a return to that time when the Gators were the most feared team in college football and nearly every 5-star prospect in the country had the University of Florida on its short list. Mullen supporters point to what happened between 2010-17 as the chief reason why UF isn’t back in beast mode. Detractors point to Mullen’s choice of defensive coordinators and an inability to land top five recruiting classes. There is a measure of truth in both theories. What happened between 2010-17 set Florida football back years and the return to excellence is not on speed dial although Mullen has certainly made progress. While Mullen made scoring points trendy once again, it is Grantham’s defense that hasn’t produced at a high level with any consistency in the last two years. Supporters point fingers at Grantham and say if only. Detractors point fingers at Mullen and ask why someone else isn’t coordinating the defense. No matter whether you are preaching patience, that Mullen will deliver championship-level football at Florida, or you’re in the patience is wearing thin group, that it’s time to make changes with UF football starting at the top, understand this first and foremost: Dan Mullen is going to be the football coach at the University of Florida in 2022. You can get your hammer and chisel out and etch that into stone. Dan Mullen will be Florida’s football coach next year. He’s 33-12, has taken the Gators to three consecutive New Year’s Six bowl games and got the Gators to the SEC Championship Game last year. You don’t fire a coach who’s done that well, particularly when you consider the SS Gator was a sinking ship when Captain McElwain was in command back in 2017. Of the 12 losses, eight have come down to a single possession. What frustrates the Mullen detractors the most is that five of those eight losses have come in the last two years. Three of Florida’s four losses in 2020 – to Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama – were by a combined 12 points. Not only were the Gators the only team eventual national champ Alabama didn’t stomp by 17 or more points, but if there had been another minute on the clock UF would have won that game. Florida was a single possession or defensive stop in three games from an 11-0 record that would have made the Gators the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Florida’s three losses in 2021 – to Alabama, Kentucky and LSU – are by a combined 16 points. Just like last year, one more possession or one more stop and the Gators would be 7-0 with next week’s annual Florida-Georgia game a battle for the No. 1 ranking in the country. Think about this for a moment: A single offensive play or one defensive stop in six games and instead 33-12, the Gators could be no worse than 39-6 since 2018. Do you know how many schools have a better record than 39-6? There is Alabama 43-4, Clemson 42-5, Ohio State 38-4 and Oklahoma 39-6. That’s it. Because the Gators aren’t 39-6 and because half of Mullen’s losses have been in one-possession games, both supporters and detractors are frustrated. Optimistic supporters, however, will tell you that it’s only a matter of time before the Gators start finding ways to win the close encounters. Pessimistic detractors regularly ask will Mullen ever be able to seal the deal in those white knuckles games? Will he always be that close but no cigar coach who can only take the Gators so far? It is the combination of close call losses with Mullen’s inability to bring in even one top five recruiting class that has critics invoking that famous line from former UF athletic director Jeremy Foley, who said when talking about the right time to fire one coach and hire another, “What should be done eventually must be done immediately.” In their way of thinking, it’s either fire Mullen now or forever lose recruiting battles to Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M. They also point out that within a few years, Oklahoma and Texas will be joining the SEC, making recruiting all the more difficult. Although the critics insist that if Mullen is not replaced now, he will forever set the Gators on a cycle of good but not great finishes from which they may never emerge, replacing him at this juncture probably isn’t the right path to take. If you see the world through orange and blue glasses you might think that every coach in America would crawl backwards to Gainesville for the chance to be the football coach at the University of Florida. Tennessee had a similar attitude back when it replaced Phillip Fulmer after the 2008 season. The Vols are on their fifth coach since then. Replacing Mullen is a dubious proposition at best, but demanding change instead of status quo is not out of line. Mark Twain has often been quoted as saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve always been.” Something different has to be done if Dan Mullen is to take Florida to the next level. Something different should include a change of defensive coordinators. To jettison Todd Grantham will not be an easy proposition for Mullen. Grantham has been with Mullen since the 2017 season at Mississippi State. He’s the longest serving defensive coordinator in Mullen’s head coaching career. For Grantham, four years at Florida and five years under the same boss is his longest tenure since the first six years of his coaching career (1990-95) when his boss was Frank Beamer. He left Virginia Tech for a three-year stint working for Nick Saban at Michigan State. The Gators improved defensively in 2018 and 2019, but things have gone sideways in the two years since. The 2020 Gators were statistically the worst defense in school history, giving up a whopping 30.8 points and 428 yards per game. Contrast that to 2019 when UF gave up 15.5 points and 304.8 yards. A year later, Florida is better than last year – how could the Gators be worse? – but the inconsistency has fans contemplating yanking their hair out. In the game three loss to Alabama the Gators were owned by the Crimson Tide in the first quarter when they scored 21 points. Florida dominated Alabama defensively in the final three quarters to the point the Tide couldn’t run the football. Two weeks later UF held Kentucky to 224 yards, a loss that can’t be hung on the defense due to a plethora of offensive mistakes that gave the game away. The same Gators that Kentucky couldn’t move the ball against, struggled in the first half to Vanderbilt. That Florida earned its first shutout since the 2016 season was a miracle since Vanderbilt missed three point-blank field goals. Then there was last week’s LSU debacle in which the Gators gave up 321 rushing yards to a team that was averaging 80 per game on the ground in the six games prior. A certain amount of leeway should be given Grantham for 2020. Because COVID-19 eliminated spring football and offseason training, nearly every defense in the country took a hit and not just Florida. Georgia, for example, which led the nation in scoring defense in 2019, gave up 7.4 more points per game in 2020 and that was against a noticeably softer schedule. In 2019, for example, Georgia faced Notre Dame, Florida, Auburn, LSU and Baylor, all of whom were nationally ranked. Until Georgia faced Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl, Florida was the only ranked team the Bulldogs had faced. The worldwide pandemic seemed to justify why Mullen gave Grantham a Mulligan for 2020 but the experience gained in those 12 games should have translated into a better 2021. This year the overall stats are improved – through seven games the Gators are giving up 21.1 points and 338.4 yards per game – but the Gators can only point to the Kentucky game for a four quarters of solid defense. Four quarters of solid defense against Kentucky, four quarters of inept defense last week against LSU when the Tigers kept running the same counter trap play over and over again. The only attempt to deceive Grantham was sometimes the Tigers went left and other times they went right. Bamboozling, right? Even Mullen supporters have reached their fork in the road when it comes to Grantham. Speak to anyone who follows the Gators closely and you’ll find near unanimous agreement that Grantham’s sell-by date has expired and it’s time for someone new with a fresh approach to coordinate the defense. Those with intimate knowledge of the football program say the Gators have good enough defensive personnel to win games but they point to schemes that are far too complicated. “The defensive playbook is thicker than the one Mullen uses for the offense,” a regular observer of Florida’s football practices told me. “Every team we’ve played this year runs some version of the spread and the way that spaces you out, you don’t have a lot of time to think. It’s all about reaction but if you’re thinking too much, your reactions are way too slow.” In only two of Florida’s seven losses – Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl in 2020, this year’s Kentucky game – have the Gators failed to score more than enough points to win the football game. In 2020, the Gators scored 38 against Texas A&M (gave up 41), 34 against LSU (gave up 37) and 46 against Alabama (gave up 52). This year, the Gators scored 29 against Alabama (gave up 31) and 42 against LSU (gave up 49). When you score 29 or more points in a football game, you really shouldn’t lose. But lose the Gators have which means it is time for a divorce no matter how painful that may be. Staff changes are never easy because lives and families are disrupted and relationships are severed. There is also the matter of bringing in new people whose first line of business is to earn the trust of 18-22-year-old kids who have the leverage of a transfer portal if they don’t like the new coaches. If Grantham goes, it’s almost certain the entire defensive staff will also be pink slipped and the replacement process isn’t easy. There is also no guarantee that Mullen will only choose to replace defensive coaches, but remember, this isn’t quite as easy as picking up the phone and making a few phone calls. Simply because it’s Florida doesn’t mean that Mullen will have the pick of the best assistants. If you don’t believe that look at what happened at Florida following the 2009 season when Charlie Strong, Vance Bedford, Billy Gonzales and Kenny Carter left following a 13-1 season. Established coaches with strong recruiting ties and who were perfect fits within the Florida football culture were replaced by coaches who didn’t measure up on one or more of those qualities. The replacements were inadequate and one of the reasons why the Gators dipped to 8-5, the first and only 5-loss season Meyer ever suffered as a collegiate coach. So, if and when Dan Mullen elects to make changes on his coaching staff he will have to find people who (a) know how to deal with players who have the transfer portal option; (b) can fit in with the Florida football culture; (c) get the job done as coaches on the field; and (d) make a difference on the recruiting trail. That’s not an easy thing to do, but Mullen has to understand that his long term success at Florida depends on finding the right assistants as well as maybe finding a personnel/recruiting coordinator like Mark Pantoni. Pantoni is the unsung hero behind Florida’s great recruiting classes under Urban Meyer. He is also the ongoing energy behind Ohio State’s recruiting juggernaut since 2012. Dan Mullen has definitely reached a point when it’s time to evaluate everything in the Florida football program starting with the way he delegates authority to making changes in his staff to changing the perception that Florida’s coaches are lazy, disinterested recruiters. Once he’s taken stock of the program, he’s got to do whatever is necessary to make some changes. Not everything is wrong with Florida football. Far from it. The changes made in the program since Mullen took the job are not insignificant, but it is time to make the decision whether to always be what the Gators have always been since 2018 or take the next steps to do something differently. It is never easy to make changes, but without change there is no growth and there is no question that Mullen’s supporters and detractors alike want to see visible signs of growth. Florida has traveled quite a distance from where the program was when Mullen replaced Jim McElwain. The time is now to start making the next steps that will take the Gators to the next level. That’s where everyone, especially, Dan Mullen wants to be. There may be much division within the Gator Nation right now, but that’s one thing that everyone can agree on.