A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: EMORY JONES: SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK, EXCEPTIONAL TEAMMATE What Emory Jones did in leading the Florida Gators to a 38-14 win over Tennessee Saturday night – 21-27 for 209 passing yards and two touchdowns; 15-144 rushing – was bound to earn some recognition from the Southeastern Conference. What Jones did at Florida’s Monday press conference is the kind of thing that makes him the team leader and ultimate teammate. Named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, Jones made it a point to heap credit on his teammates for his success: “I mean when I saw that the first thing I thought of is like my guys up front – the offensive line – because they really made everything happen … Ethan White (left guard), he won co-offensive player of the game for our team. So I mean all that happened because of the guys up front, all the skill players outside making plays for me. So I just made sure I told them, made sure I thanked them for everything they did and for playing their tails off during the game.” Those are not disingenuous remarks from a star who’s trying to enhance his public image. Jones is a confident leader, but he’s genuinely humble and understands that it’s a team game that requires all parts functioning as one. He’s also not the jealous type. No one seems happier that the electric Anthony Richardson should be able to play Saturday against Kentucky than Emory Jones. “He’ll switch things up for the defenses and make them have to defend us in a lot of different ways,” Jones said. “I’m all for it.” Richardson hasn’t played since tweaking his hamstring in the fourth quarter of game two at South Florida. Florida coach Dan Mullen said Richardson could have played against Tennessee but was held out as a further precaution. “We thought just about at 100 percent last week but just decided to be cautionary,” Mullen said. “… When you think you’re 100 percent wait one more week and then you are good. So, that’s kind of what we were able to do that on that front.” Injury report: The Gators played the Tennessee game without starting right guard Stewart Reese and starting cornerback Kaiir Elam. Starting right tackle Jean Delance played only a few snaps. All three are expected to be ready to go against Kentucky. Additionally, backup quarterback Anthony Richardson is expected to be ready to go Saturday evening. Mullen said, “Stewart Reese, we held him back last week. He was cleared to play but wouldn’t have been 100 percent and Josh Braun came in, I thought did a great job for him. Again one of those situations where we felt Josh at 100 percent was going to be better than Stewart at 75 percent and now we expect to have Stewart back healthy to go this week. Same kind of with Jean Delance. Played a little bit and was banged up. Michael Tarquin did a great job last week and came in. So hopefully not only has it created some depth but it’s allowed those – the two older guys – to get healthy getting ready for a tough road battle.” Regarding Elam, Mullen said, “I met with our trainers this morning. We’ll know later this week but I’d say he’s probable. They feel pretty good about him being back in the game this week.” OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC): At his Monday press conference HBC Nick Saban called Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, who the Crimson Tide must contain Saturday, “… very elusive. He can extend plays, he’s a very accurate passer. He can make plays with his feet. He’s as talented as anyone we’ve seen run or pass in a long time” … Kick returner Jameson Williams was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Arkansas (4-0, 1-0 SEC): There are few things more dangerous in college sports than a team that finds itself believing in its coach and teammates passionately. Count Arkansas one of those teams after scoring wins over Texas and Texas A&M. “For us to have this belief in Coach (Sam) Pittman and the guys on this team, we’ll believe anything now,” stud linebacker Grant Morgan said Monday on “SEC This Morning.” Morgan, through 3-1/2 games (missed the first half of the A&M game because of a bogus targeting penalty the week before), has 25 tackles including 3.5 for loss, two pass breakups, a half sack and three quarterback hurries … Wide receiver Treylon Burks was named Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week and end Tre Williams was named Defensive Lineman of the Week. Auburn (3-1): HBC Bryan Harsin fired wide receivers coach Cornelius Williams. Through four games, Auburn ranks ninth in the SEC in pass offense but receivers are averaging only 11.36 yards per catch. Former Boise State offensive coordinator and Auburn analyst Eric Kiesau was elevated to a full-time assistant replacing Williams … Harsin wouldn’t name a starting quarterback between Bo Nix and TJ Finley for Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge against LSU. Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC): Tight end Brock Bowers was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Kentucky (4-0, 2-0 SEC): HBC Mark Stoops has to be concerned with the five fumbles so far by tailback Chris Rodriguez, who is the SEC’s leading rusher (552 yards) through five games. “I’m not in a state of panic or anything, but anytime you have an issue early in the season you need to get it corrected,” Stoops said Monday … Center Luke Fortner was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. LSU (3-1, 1-0 SEC): At his Monday press conference, Coach Oeaux talked about the possibility that the Tigers will be matched up with former teammate TJ Finley, who transferred to Auburn during the summer and is expected to get the start Saturday against LSU. Finley started several games at quarterback last year. “He didn’t want to leave … he cried,” Coach Oeaux said. “LSU meant a lot to him, but I knew that. It was a decision that was made and it was best for him. So he left, and looks like he’s doing well” … Linebacker Damone Clark was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Mississippi State (2-2, 0-1 SEC): The Bulldogs lead the SEC in passing (363.5 yards per game) but they’re dead last in rushing (62.75 yards per game). Missouri (2-2, 0-1 SEC): Tyler Badie ranks second in the SEC in rushing with 417 yards (5 touchdowns) and he has caught 20 passes for 176 yards and three TDs). Ole Miss (3-0): Most of the Las Vegas sports books have moved QB Matt Corral into the favorite position to win the Heisman Trophy. Corral was considered a 50-1 longshot to win it when the season began a month ago. South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC): Kevin Harris, who led the SEC in rushing with 1,138 yards while averaging 6.15 per carry last year, has only 92 yards on 35 carries (2.63 per carry) this season. “I don’t think it’s the scheme,” HBC Shane Beamer said Sunday night regarding the problems running the ball. Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC): Quarterback Hendon Hooker is not in concussion protocol after a big hit in the Florida game, but HBC Josh Heupel isn’t certain Hooker “will be available or not” Saturday when the Vols travel to Missouri. Texas A&M (3-1, 0-1 SEC): Offensive tackle Jahmir Johnson, who had to leave the Arkansas game when he hyperextended his knee, is expected to play Saturday when the Aggies host Mississippi State. Right guard Layden Robinson, who has missed the last two games dealing with an injury, is practicing this week and could play again. Starting wide receivers Chase Lane and Caleb Chapman are listed day-to-day. Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-1 SEC): Vanderbilt’s 62-0 loss to Georgia is the worst loss in school history. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: WEEK FOUR Extinct Species List Les Miles: The entire football culture has changed since The Hat was canned. Lance Leipold won’t win this year (1-3 so far) but he will in years to come. Randy Edsall: Things are looking up with Edsall gone. UConn could actually win games this week at Vandy and next week at UMass. Now they need to beg the Atlantic Coast Conference to add them in expansion. Clay Helton, Southern Cal: Don’t be surprised if the wheels come off. Admin hated Helton but the players loved him. Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern: The folks in Statesboro don’t have a sense of humor. Three straight bowl games and yet they fire the HBC after a 1-3 start? On Life Support Scott Frost, Nebraska: Nobody can lose a game like the Fighting Frosts. They led Michigan State 20-13 and didn’t allow a first down in the second half but gave up a punt return TD and threw a pick that led to a game ending field goal. If they lose to Northwestern this week, he’s a goner. Walt Bell, UMass: Losing by 50 to Coastal Carolina didn’t exactly help his cause. UMass needs to dip back down to D1AA. Tom Arth, Akron: The ultimate loser’s bowl is this week when the Zipperheads host Ohio U. They are a combined 0-8. Endangered Species List Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: He’s off life support thanks to that shocker of a win over Minnesota. It’s possible he gets another year based on beating a Big Ten team. Ed Orgeron, LSU: He got a win at Mississippi State, but it’s a long season and his leash is short. Dino Babers, Syracuse: He got a surprise win over Liberty, but still needs to get to six to stay gainfully employed. Chip Kelly, UCLA: The Bruins are 3-1 after beating Stanford. The Chipster needs to go 8-4 to feel safe. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois: He got a win over John Hevesy’s alma mammy (Maine) but that only makes him 2-2. He needs four more wins. Dana Dimmel, UTEP: He’s 3-1 and has a legit shot at a 6-6 season. Six wins at UTEP is like going 30-0 at Alabama. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: He’s 1-3 and somehow needs a 5-3 finish. Stranger things have happened. Steve Addazio, Colorado State: The Fighting Addazios had Iowa on the ropes. They’re 1-3 and a 4-4 finish probably keeps Addazio safe one more year. Butch Davis, Florida International: He was 0-5 last year and is 1-3 this year with the Fighting Willie Taggarts up next. This is not what they envisioned when they hired him. Checking for a pulse P.J. Fleck, Minnesota: He really wasn’t in trouble until he lost to Bowling Green. He can’t afford another slipup. Manny Diaz, Miami: They really can’t afford to fire him but players are about to do the rats deserting a sinking ship thing. The next three weeks will determine if he’s going to stay or go. Ken Niumatolo, Navy: Two years ago he was 11-2 and last year was a COVID year, but if he oh-fers the season he could find himself in the middle of the Atlantic with a rowboat, a jug of water and a compass. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The new so-called “Alliance” was formed by the still wet behind the ears commissioners of the Big Ten (Kevin Warren), Pac-12 (George Kliavkoff) and ACC (Jim Phillips as a way to combat the dominance of the Southeastern Conference and Greg Sankey, who is only the single most powerful man in all of college sports. What they’re opposed to is that in an expanded 12-team playoff that the SEC could command half the field with a conference champ and five at-large selections. If they think that’s dominance then consider what could happen this year in the four-team playoff. The way things stand right now, the SEC would have two of the four slots. Could there be three from the SEC? Entirely possible if there is one unbeaten and two one-loss SEC teams because (a) the ACC is all but out of it; (b) the Big 12 is highly unstable; (c) Oregon is the last unbeaten in the Pac-12 and the Ducks seem to always lose a game they shouldn’t; and (d) it wouldn’t be shocking if no team from the Big Ten emerges with fewer than two losses. If you want to see the “Alliance” push for a 12-team playoff, just let the SEC get three teams in this year.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: GATORS NEED 60 MINUTES OF HELL INSTEAD OF 40 Back when he was turning Arkansas into the national basketball power nobody wanted to play, Nolan Richardson called the Razorbacks’ full court assault that encompassed a pressing defense and fast break offense “40 minutes of hell.” Just ask Alabama and Tennessee about the Florida football team and they can tell you all about 40 minutes of hell. That’s the last 40 minutes of their games against the Gators in which UF dominated on both sides of the ball. It’s the first 20 minutes when the Gators aren’t exactly burning up opponents, which needs to change quickly. Saturday night’s opponent (Kentucky) has had the Florida return visit to Lexington circled on its calendar ever since Kyle Trask came off the bench to lead the Gators to 19 unanswered points for a 29-21 win in 2019. In the first 20 minutes of the Alabama game (Alabama won, 31-29), the Gators gave up 21 points and 187 yards. When the Gators had the ball, they produced three points and gained 103 yards. In the final 40 minutes, the Gators outscored Alabama, 26-10, and outgained the Crimson Tide, 336-144. For the game, the Gators outgained Alabama, 439-331 (258-91 on the ground). In Florida’s 38-14 win over Tennessee, the Gators gave up 14 points, 197 yards and trailed the Vols 14-10 after the first 20 minutes. During those first 20 minutes, Florida was 17-76 yards rushing and 8-11 for 58 yards passing. Then, as in the Alabama game, something changed and it was 40 minutes of hell the rest of the way. In the final 40 minutes the Gators held the Vols scoreless. Tennessee rushed for 89 yards on 25 carries (12-59 in the first 20 minutes) and 9-22 passing for 137 yards (6-11 for 138 in the first 20). With Emory Jones heating up in the last 40 minutes, the Gators put up touchdown drives of 59, 78, 70 and 80 yards. The Gators were 23-207 yards rushing and 14-17 passing for 164 yards in the final 40 minutes. The Gators finished with 35:09 possession time for the game, outgaining the Vols, 505-423 overall and 283-148 on the ground. Saturday in Lexington, the Gators won’t have The Swamp packed to the rafters supporting them. Instead, they can expect the Kentucky crowd to be loud and hostile. The Wildcats are 4-0 and despite the fact they really haven’t beaten anyone of significance, UK folks are feeling a bit disrespected and need a win over a top ten team to change national perceptions. A fast start by the Gators will take their crowd out of the game. Another reason why the Gators need a fast start is to prevent that very big Kentucky offensive line headed by tackles Dare Rosenthal (6-7, 327) and Darian Kinnard (6-5, 338) from getting into a rhythm for tailback Chris Rodriguez, the SEC’s top power back and leading rusher (522 yards, 3 TDs). The Wildcats would like nothing more than to milk the clock and grind out the yards to keep Florida’s offense off the field. The best way to prevent that from happening is to play all 60 minutes like the Gators have played the last 40 in the previous two games. The Coaches Top 25 poll: 1. Alabama 4-0; 2. Georgia 4-0; 3. Oregon 4-0; 4. Oklahoma 4-0; 5. Iowa 4-0; 6. Penn State 4-0; 7. Notre Dame 4-0; 8. Cincinnati 3-0; 9. FLORIDA 3-1; 10. Ohio State 3-1; 11. Arkansas 4-0; 12. Ole Miss 3-0; 13. Texas A&M 3-1; 14. Michigan 4-0; 15. BYU 4-0; 16. (tie) Michigan State 4-0; Coastal Carolina 4-0; 18. Oklahoma State 4-0; 19. Clemson 2-2; 20. UCLA 3-1; 21. Fresno State 4-1; 22. Auburn 3-1; 23. Kentucky 4-0; 24. Baylor 4-0; 25. Wake Forest 4-0 The Associated Press Top 25 poll: 1. Alabama 4-0; 2. Georgia 4-0; 3. Oregon 4-0; 4. Penn State 4-0; 5. Iowa 4-0; 6. Oklahoma 4-0; 7. Cincinnati 3-0; 8. Arkansas 4-0; 9. Notre Dame 4-0; 10. FLORIDA 11. Ohio State 3-1; 12. Ole Miss 3-0; 13. BYU 4-0; 14. Michigan 4-0; 15. Texas A&M 3-1; 16. Coastal Carolina 4-0; 17. Michigan State 4-0; 18. Fresno State 4-1; 19. Oklahoma State 4-0; 20. UCLA 3-1; 21. Baylor 4-0; 22. Auburn 3-1; 23. North Carolina State 3-1; 24. Wake Forest; 25. Clemson 2-2 THE SEC AFTER FOUR WEEKS Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC): Tweeted out by Brad Edwards, Alabama hasn’t trailed at any point in its last 53 quarters. The last time the Crimson Tide trailed in a game was to Georgia last year, the fourth game of the 2020 season … Against Southern Miss, Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams had an 81-yard touchdown catch plus kickoff returns of 100 and 83 yards for TDs. Next week: vs. Ole Miss (3-0) Arkansas (4-0, 1-0 SEC): With wins over both Texas and Texas A&M, Paul Finebaum says the Razorbacks “own the state of Texas.” Will they own the SEC? Dicey with No. 2 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama still on the schedule. Next week: at Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC) Auburn (3-1): HBC Bryan Harsin has a full blown quarterback controversy on his hands after TJ Finley came off the bench to rally the Tigers to a win over Georgia State. Will he start Finley, who transferred to Auburn from LSU over the summer, in Baton Rouge this week or will he stick with Bo Nix, who has been ineffective? Next week: at LSU (3-1, 1-0 SEC) Georgia (4-0, 2-0 SEC): Georgia leads the country in total defense (185.3 yards per game) and scoring defense (5.8 points). Next week: vs. Arkansas (4-0, 1-0 SEC) Kentucky (4-0, 2-0 SEC): Kentucky beat South Carolina on the road in spite of itself. The Wildcats fumbled four times (lost two), threw an interception, were 3-12 on third down and 0-3 on fourth down conversions. Next week: vs. Florida (3-1, 1-1 SEC) LSU (3-1, 1-1 SEC): Kashon Boutte has caught eight of Max Johnson’s 15 touchdown passes this season. In Johnson’s six collegiate starts at QB, the two have combined for 12 touchdowns. Next week: vs. Auburn (3-1) Mississippi State (2-2, 0-1 SEC): Will Rogers has completed 75.1 percent of his passes for 1,454 yards (6.5 per attempt) and 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions in just four games. Next week: at Texas A&M (3-1, 0-1 SEC) Missouri (2-2, 0-1 SEC): Both of Missouri’s losses have everything with the Tigers’ inability to stop the run. They gave up 341 yards on the ground in losing to Kentucky, 275 in their loss Saturday at Boston College. Next week: vs. Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC) Ole Miss (3-0): A year ago against Alabama, Matt Corral was 21-28 passing for 365 yards and two touchdowns with an additional 40 rushing yards. So far this season, Corral has thrown for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns while running for 158 and five TDs. Next week: at Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC) South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC): The Gamecocks were just 3-12 on third down conversions and 0-3 on fourth downs in their loss to Kentucky … The Gamecocks ran for more yards (254) in their season opener against D1AA Eastern Illinois than they have in their last three games combined (253). Next week: vs. Troy (2-2) Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC): The Vols gave up more rushing yards (283) to Florida than they had in their previous three games combined (163). The Gators gouged the Vol defense for 7.08 yards per carry. Next week: at Missouri (2-2, 0-1 SEC) Texas A&M (3-1, 0-1 SEC): Prior to Saturday, the Aggies hadn’t allowed more than 110 passing yards in a game. The Aggies gave up 246 to Arkansas … The Aggies had 11 penalties (-75 yards) and managed only 272 yards of offense against the Razorbacks. Next week: vs. Mississippi State (2-2, 0-1 SEC) Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-1 SEC): The Commodores managed only 77 yards of offense – 53 rushing, 24 passing – in their 62-0 loss to Georgia. Vandy is dead last in the SEC and 123rd nationally in total offense (284.5 yards per game, 4.01 per play) and 129th (out of 130 teams) in Division I in scoring at 12.5 per game. Defensively, they are 13th in the SEC and 104th nationally (428.8 yards per game). Next week: UConn (0-5) FOOTBALL IN THE MINOR LEAGUES ACC: Stick a fork in Clemson’s chances of making the College Football Playoff for a seventh straight year after that 27-21 double overtime loss to North Carolina State … Wake Forest (4-0) and Boston College (4-0) are the only unbeatens remaining in the conference … Florida State is 0-4 for the first time since 1974 … North Carolina (2-2) got blown out by Georgia Tech. Like Clemson, things are going to get worse before they get better. Big Ten: Iowa (4-0) struggled to beat the Fighting Addazios. The Hawkeyes are 122nd nationally in offense, one spot below Clemson … The best player in the league is Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who has thrown for 1,40 yards and 10 touchdowns. Maryland (4-0) should be ranked but isn’t. The Terps get Iowa in College Park this week … Ohio State (3-1) is opening up as a 15.5-point road favorite over Rutgers (3-1). Like Iowa-Maryland, this has upset written all over it ... Considering the way Auburn struggled with Georgia State, Penn State (4-0) shouldn’t be feeling all that good about its 28-20 win over Auburn a couple of Saturdays ago. Big 12: There are three unbeatens remaining in the Big 12 – Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor, all with 4-0 records. There will be at least one less unbeaten next week since Oklahoma State and Baylor square off in Stillwater … Against Division I competition, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler has thrown three TDPs and had three INTs. You can just about write him off as a Heisman candidate … Baylor is getting the job done with defense (290.3 per game) and running the ball (273.25 yards per game). Pac-12: Oregon (4-0) is the only unbeaten team in the league. There are only three teams – Oregon State, Arizona State and UCLA – with only one loss. Independents: Notre Dame (4-0) got a 41-13 win over Wisconsin but it’s questionable if the Irish are that good. The Irish get their first really tough test this weekend with Cincinnati … Liberty (3-1) lost a winnable game to Syracuse … Army (4-0) has attempted 18 passes this year, completing 11 including four for TDs … BYU (4-0) beat USF but looked bad in doing so … Group of five: Georgia Southern fired HBC Chad Lunsford after Saturday’s loss to Louisiana dropped the Eagles to 1-3 on the season … San Diego State (4-0) is the only unbeaten in the Mountain West … Former Oklahoma QB Tanner Mordecai leads the nation with 20 TDPs for unbeaten SMU … Little Terry Bowden has Louisiana-Monroe at 2-1. Who would have thought it? … Bowling Green’s Scot Loefler probably saved his job by knocking off Minnesota. Of course, Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck might lose his because of that loss. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The Southeastern Conference has fired a shot across the bow of the rest of Division I with its approval of $6,000 in educational benefits to athletes. That means each SEC school can pay for computers, internships, study abroad plans, travel to seminars that are directly related to coursework, etc. Since the Supreme Court ruled against the NCAA in the Alston vs. NCAA decision, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. It is also only a matter of time before every school that can afford it is going to add something similar. And how will they pay for the increased benefits? Easy answer. The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams and it will happen sooner than 2025. Count on it.

There was a slight Alabama hangover for the No. 11 Florida Gators (3-1, 1-1), as they stumbled in the first half, before clamping down to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers (2-2, 0-1) in dominating fashion, 38-14 on Saturday night. Even before the opening kickoff, there was a feeling how this one would go; it was just a matter of if the Gators were willing to do the work. There’s often a dip in intensity for teams after getting into a grudge match with the No. 1 Crimson Tide. But a week after falling 31-29 to Bama, the Gators came out swinging, ready to defend their SEC East title. With the Volunteers receiving the ball first, the Gators defense forced a three-and-out that got the crowd of 88,478 pumped and ready to roll. The offense kept things going with a 10 play, 60-yard drive that ended with Emory Jones hitting an uncovered Malik Davis for a five yard touchdown. It was the first receiving touchdown of the running back’s career, and gave the Gators an early 7-0 lead. Both sides of the ball stumbled on their ensuing drives. The defense was knocked on their heels as the Vols put their preferred tempo into play and crossed midfield in a blink. From the Gators 47-yard line, running back Tiyon Evans grabbed a screen and looked to be bottled up for a loss. Instead linebacker Amari Burney missed a tackle, the rest of the secondary took bad angles and Evans scampered for the open 47-yard touchdown, and the tie. The missed tackles were an issue versus Alabama as well, and are a serious concern for linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, who pulled aside his linebacker coach Christian Robinson after the game to discuss the problem. "I was kind of pissed off. I missed a tackle on the second drive so I was kind of pissed off about that. I don’t want that to happen again," admitted a brutally honest Diabate. “Personally, it’s something I just talked to Coach Robinson about. Obviously we’ve been getting at it as time has went on. But something we have to do is stay after practice and get extra work. Maybe call a few running backs over and make them make a couple of moves on you, you are gonna see if you can put can fit them up well, because like you said, we don’t get a lot of opportunities in practice to tackle full speed to the ground, so we have to put ourselves in situations that can simulate that.” The offense easily moved into the redzone, using off-tackle runs and screens, but faltered once there with back-to-back penalties and a Jones pass that should’ve been picked. Settling for the field goal, they regained the 10-7 lead. The defensive woes didn’t stop there though. After Florida was forced to punt, the defense had the Vols pinned deep in their own territory. But a blown coverage/miscommunication meant safety Mordecai McDaniel might as well have been in Ocala for as close as he was to JaVonta Payton. Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker took the wide open, 75-yard shot and UT took the 14-10 lead. The defense caused a bit of whiplash during the first half, forcing the Vols to punt four times deep from their own territory, but interspersed those stops with two touchdown drives of 80 plus yards. “I feel like we were playing real good in the first half, we just gave up a couple of big plays," explained Diabate. "That first touchdown we had a missed tackle, that second touchdown we had a missed assignment and big touchdown. But we felt like in between those plays we were playing really good defense. The message was just eliminate those big plays and play every single play with attention to details and just to execute. So we came out the second half and did that and you guys saw the results.” The offense, not to be outdone, caused enough whiplash of their own that those watching should’ve called a personal injury lawyer. With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, the Vols were forced to punt. Gators’ Xzavier Henderson was back to receive, and was nailed by Jimmy Holiday. The kick-catch interference also got tacked with a targeting call and as a result the Gators started on the UT-30 yard line. Facing a 4th and 1, Mullen elected to go for the conversion. At first the Gators had it…then they didn’t, as Jacob Copeland, with a reception well past the chains, fought for extra yardage. The officials had been letting plays run long all night, so instead of going down or hearing a forward progress whistle, Copeland, now in the redzone, kept fighting, and fighting, and fighting, until the ball was ripped from his hands for a fumble. "Just keep your head up," Jones told Copeland. "I was like, I said 'Imma hit you again. I mean, I'm gonna keep coming to you.' I mean, I just told him to keep his head up, keep his head in the game. So I mean, that's what I tell everybody who goes out there and makes any type of mistakes. I mean, I never want to see any my teammates down." Mullen was ok with Copeland's decision to fight for extra yardage, at least in theory. But will use the moment as a coaching lesson. "He's trying to make plays, you know, the problem is, he's physical, he's tough, he's strong. You know, if anything of that situation, the biggest coaching part, I don’t mind him doing that. He's trying to go play and make plays after the catch. Though you’re in a two-minute situation, so you can get out of bounds." Using their neck-breaking tempo, Tennessee ran downfield, looking to make something happen before half. Some suspect clock management from Vols’ head coach Josh Heupel meant the Vols were left only with time to kick a field goal for the tie. It went wide right and Florida escaped with the lead at half. The Gators got the ball to start the second half though, and took advantage. With an offensive drive that we’ve become more accustomed to seeing under Dan Mullen, Florida moved downfield with a six play, 78-yard drive that featured Jones’ scrambles, 33-yard downfield shots to Justin Shorter for highlight reel contested catch and a Mullen patented double pass for a touchdown. From the 13-yard line, Emory Jones swung a pass left to wide receiver Trent Whittemore. The Gainesville native set and delivered a perfect pass to tight end Kemore Gamble in the back of the endzone. The play is called Kodak and it’s the same call Mullen used to score the only touchdown in the 2018 win over Mississippi State. "That was Kodak," laughed Mullen, confirming it was the same play, "and executed really well, You call trick plays, it's a lot of them (are) about timing and execution. I thought it was good timing. We got them kind of, we were driving and they were kind of into like 'we're in the red zone, I'm in attack mode.' We then executed it very well." Not only was it executed perfectly, it was called perfectly. Emory Jones revealed it was an audible from Mullen. "Coach Mullen, he always has this little whistle thing he does on the sideline. I mean, he whistled and I heard him, and I mean, he checked to that play. Honestly, I mean, I told him after we scored, I said 'That was a hell of a play.' He said 'I know,'" laughed Jones. The Vols looked to answer, and even moved downfield with a fourth-down conversion. Feeling confident, they attempted to convert a second fourth-down in the same drive. But with the crowd pulsing, Tennessee lined up with players noticeably confused. A throw just behind the receiver fell harmless and Florida took back over. In total, the Gators defense pitched a shutout in the second half, a response to Mullen's halftime challenge. They held the Vols to 162 total yards after intermission and got huge play from Mohamoud Diabate (eight tackles and a quarterback hurry), Brenton Cox (two and a half tackles for loss), Zach Carter (sack and pressure) and Trey Dean (team high 11 tackles). "I think Todd and his staff did an amazing job tonight. Our guys played well, too. I challenged the defense at halftime that, you know, to do that, to our execution, and play to our standard," revealed Mullen. "You see we can play great and then miss a tackle and then have a blown coverage and all of a sudden, you know, it's a tight game. And I challenge them guys about doing it every play, every single play, playing at the high, high level, and we did that, all the way to the final play of the game.” From there, the nation’s No. 2 rushing attack just took over. Emory Jones rushed for 43 yards on three plays, and Dameon Pierce added 22 all purpose yards of his own. On 3rd and 1 from the Tennessee 9-yard line, Emory Jones went under center—a rarity—faked a pitch to Pierce and rolled out right, where he hit a wide open Rick Wells for the touchdown to go up 31-14. Hoping to mount a late comeback, Tennessee—who was held to a mere 5-13 on third down conversions—lined up for another fourth down try. The crowd forced a delay of game and any chance of a rally was effectively over. "The Gator Nation showing out, creating that environment for us here at the Swamp, getting the Swamp to where it is, what people think it is," bragged Mullen. "A stadium people are—tough place to come play, they're nervous about coming to play here and that's because of the fanbase and the environment they create, the energy they bring to our team for four quarters, the energy our student body and the fans bring is pretty special." Emory Jones picked up 48-yards on a run he read as an option the ensuing offensive drive, giving him 209 yard passing and 144 yards rushing, and making him the first Gator quarterback since Tim Tebow did it versus FSU in 2009. “That’s my dog. My dog balled. Quote me on that," requested Pierce, who finished with eight carries for 62 yards. “You’ve got more to come. They’re just scratching the surface with Emory. That’s a guy with a lot of potential and a lot of grit. He’s just getting comfortable out there, man. He’s still getting his feet wet. Expect more of that from Emory.” Another late touchdown, this one courtesy of Malik Davis (10 rushes, two receptions, 59 total yards and two touchdowns) put the Gators up 38-14. They finished with 505 total yards of offense, making it 14 straight games with 400 plus yards. They're also still in control of all they want to achieve. And with losses from Clemson and Texas A&M today, the Gators should move into the Top 10. They'll do so on the road next week, continuing their SEC East defense, taking on the Kentucky Wildcats. “The sky’s the limit," predicts Dameon Pierce. "Not only as an offense but the team in general. We have a lot of great guys. Coach said we just have to play together as a team. Once we find our little thing, we’re just missing one thing, we just gotta find it, bro, we’re trying to find it week to week. As soon as we mesh together we’re going to be a great team.”

If you were expecting a football Van Gogh at The Swamp Saturday night, then you were certainly disappointed. Florida’s 38-14 win over the Tennessee Vols was anything but a masterpiece, but it should be noted that there is no such thing as an ugly win in the Southeastern Conference. Aesthetically pleasing wins count just the same as the ones like the 11th-ranked Gators (3-1, 1-1 SEC) scored over the unranked Vols (2-2, 0-1 SEC). Perhaps this was just one of those unexplainable days that seem to pop up every football season. Fourth-ranked Iowa was pushed to the limit by the same Colorado State team that lost to Vanderbilt, the same Vanderbilt team that No. 2 Georgia crushed, 62-0. Third-ranked Oklahoma barely got past unranked West Virginia. Texas A&M, ranked fifth and considered a legitimate challenger to No. 1 Alabama in the SEC West, lost to Arkansas. Ninth-ranked Clemson, which hasn’t lost two regular season games since 2014, dropped to 2-2 with a double overtime loss to unranked North Carolina State. On a day when the upset bug was spreading like a virus, you count your blessings that you score a win even if it was so chock full of physical mistakes and mental errors that Dan Mullen might be tempted to burn the film once he and his staff have had a chance to go through it frame-by-frame. The good news is that even though the Gators gave up 423 yards – the first game this season in which they’ve allowed an opponent that kind of production – they kept the Vols out of the end zone after allowing a 75-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter in which the Florida secondary looked dazed and confused. When you give up scoring passes of 47 and 75 yards, seven running plays of 10 or more yards, 141 yards after contact in the passing game and then hold your opponent scoreless in the final 40 minutes of the game either you’re very fortunate or your defense made just enough adjustments. “You look in the first half, we had a couple of missed tackles, which allowed them to keep the drive alive, and then that one touchdown was a missed tackle,” Mullen said. “And then, you know, we had a blown coverage – in your man coverage, cover your man. You know, it's not like we're being real complex with at all. And just kind of had a missed assignment there, but I think you saw what Todd (Grantham) and his guys are able to do. “You know, the adjustments they made at halftime, for us to come in and pitch the shutout in the second half and really since you know, they didn't, they hit whatever it was, a 75-yard-long coverage bomb and they don't score again. So I think Todd and his staff did an amazing job tonight.” Offensively, the Gators endured their second straight week of a slow start. It wasn’t as bad as Alabama when they trailed, 21-3, but the 10-7 lead after one quarter was anything but sharp. Mullen couldn’t be pleased with a scoring drive that ended with a 47-yard Jace Christmann field goal that gave the Gators a 10-7 lead with 1:07 left. UF had to settle for a field goal because the Gators committed consecutive penalties – a false start followed by a delay of game – for the first time this year and that was followed by an incomplete pass when Emory Jones misfired over the middle when Rick Wells was wide open. Then came the second quarter. Whatever switches needed to be flipped, Jones and Mullen found and flipped them because after 24 minutes of barely better than mediocre, Jones went beast mode. It was like that against Alabama last week when the Crimson Tide had his number early on only to see him figure out how to attack and destroy. In the first quarter, Jones was 6-36 yards rushing and a pedestrian 5-7 for 39 yards passing. The Vols were loading up the box, practically daring him to throw, but once he got into a rhythm they didn’t have answers. From the second quarter onward, Jones was 16-20 passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns; 9-111 rushing to become the first Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009 to post a 200 passing/100 rushing game. Jones was 21-27 passing for 209 yards and 15-144 rushing and this was against a Southeastern Conference opponent. Tebow’s threw for 215 and ran for 102 against Florida International in 2009, his third and final 200/100 game. Jones is the only other quarterback in Florida history to go 200/100. “You look at what he had, 15 carries, that's probably a little much but I think a bunch were like scrambles too and improvising,” Mullen said. “I don't know if we called many direct quarterback runs in the game tonight. So I think he had some runs and scrambles and reads, some explosive plays.” It was on a 5-play, 59-yard scoring drive that put the Gators ahead for good at 17-14 with 4:15 left in the half when Jones really got it going. Nay’Quan Wright did the damage on the ground with three carries for 28 yards including the go-ahead score from 23 yards out, but Jones had two quality throws. The first was a 6-yarder to Wells on a third-and-5 that kept the drive alive. The second was a back-shoulder throw to Xzavier Henderson good for 20 yards to the UT 28. He also had a big throw later in the half to convert a fourth-and-2, 17 yards to Jacob Copeland, who had the ball wrestled away at the UT 15, Florida’s only turnover of the game. Whatever Mullen said to the Gators at halftime lit a fire under them. They played better on both sides of the football, not mistake-free mind you, but well enough to take total control of the game and turn what promised to be white knuckles at the intermission into a three-touchdown victory. “In the first half, I thought couple mistakes here and there, we went in and challenged guys at halftime,” Mullen said. “Wasn't big challenge. It was a challenge if we want to be a great team we've got to play great every snap. We've got to execute, have attention to detail, do every small thing the right way. I thought the second half for the most part we really did that. We came out and played really well in the second half." It was indeed a crisper offensive performance thanks, in large part, to Jones once again showing the kind of growth you expect of a Mullen-coached quarterback. The defense was gouged a few times in the running game for 10-plus yards, but the secondary did a better job and the pass rush took its toll. The Gators established themselves immediately after halftime with a 6-play, 78-yard drive in which they dusted off a double pass that hadn’t been used since Kadarius Toney threw for the game-winning touchdown at Mississippi State in 2018. Following three consecutive completions by Jones – a 33-yarder to Justin Shorter, a 13-yarder to Kemore Gamble, and a 4-yarder to Copeland – Jones threw what appeared to be a screen on the left side to Trent Whittemore. That sucked in the UT defense which was caught flatfooted when Whittemore, a former high school quarterback at Gainesville Buchholz, fired to Gamble wide open in the end zone. Florida’s next scoring drive was all about Jones, who ran three times for 43 yards and completed both his passes, a 13-yarder to Wells to start the drive and a 9-yarder for a touchdown to end it with 2:04 left in the third quarter to make it 31-14. The final scoring drive required 12 plays to go 80 yards, consuming 6:20 off the clock. Malik Davis ran four times for 24 yards and caught a 10-yard pass from Jones on the drive and Dameon Pierce ran three times for 29 yards. Davis got the TD on a 9-yard run with 1:02 remaining. Again, this was not an aesthetically pleasing game, but the Gators did avoid the upset and they did overcome whatever hangover they had from the emotionally draining loss to Alabama last week. There were too many mistakes, but the positives of scoring a win in a letdown type situation completely outweigh the negatives. Plus, it was a game in which Mullen got to rest Anthony Richardson a second straight week. Mullen admitted post game that Richardson could have played but the hamstring was “a bit tight” so the decision was made to hold him out another week. That actually works quite well because Kentucky won't have a chance to get a real handle on his tendencies. The Wildcats already know from what they’ve seen the last two games that they have their hands full with Emory Jones. They can only guess with Richardson. So, chalk it for what it was – a Southeastern Conference win – and don’t lose sight of the fact that there is no such thing as an ugly SEC win. There might be SEC wins that involve fewer mistakes, both the physical and mental kind, but any win in the SEC is a good one. The Gators finish the September portion of their schedule 3-1, which is where most experts had them when the season began although none of the experts thought the Gators could hang with Alabama. This isn’t a bad place to be, particularly with a quarterback who is making huge growth strides and a defense that could be quite good if it ever finds some consistency. As seasons go, you measure by progress not by masterpieces -- Florida has yet to play a masterpiece of a game -- but in all four games so far, there has been progress and there is something to be said about that.

GAINESVILLE, FL—The No. 11 Florida Gators pulled away in the second half to cruise to a 38-14 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. And they did so without arguably two of their most dynamic playmakers. Redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson and junior corner Kaiir Elam were both held out of the Saturday night win. Richardson has now been sidelined for two straight weeks, the result of a tightened hamstring he suffered running in an 80-yard touchdown versus USF in a week two win. Like last week versus Alabama, Gators head coach Dan Mullen says Richardson as available tonight against the Vols, but only in an emergency scenario. "What happened with that is, again, with a hamstring deal... he was much improved, they looked. We got him, we built him up to speed. Got him going full speed on Friday with his MRI. Talking to the trainers and then got him full speed, he was fine. Some acceleration, deceleration stuff he started; he was a little bit tight with still. "So we kind of met with the medical staff, went in with the plan, which was, again, 'we think he's definitely cleared to play, you know. If we can get through this week with him in a backup role, he could be, we think it's 100% moving forward.' And so I think we're 100% now." For the past two Friday's, the Gators have gotten MRI's done on their electric young passer, before making the decision to keep him relegated to a backup only role. Having been able to now go two weeks without running him, allowing him two weeks of healing time, Mullen says there is no plan to wait and get another MRI next Friday. "I mean [he's] 100% starting on Monday's practice." Redshirt junior Emory Jones is the Gators starter, but he had been rotating in and out with Richardson through the first two games. Receiving all of the quarterback snaps the past two games, Jones has flourished, going 39-55 (71%) for 404 yards, two touchdowns and one interception through the air, as well as 34 carries for 221 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Still, having Richardson available too allows the Gators to keep defenses on their heels with two duel threat quarterbacks. Through his only two games, he went 6-11 for 192 yards and two touchdowns through the air, along with 275 yards and two touchdowns on 11 rushes. "I think he understands," Mullen said of Richardson accepting the time off. "One of the things, and give Garrick credit, [passing game coordinator] Garrick McGee credit with those guys, just their maturity and how to understand the position, how to handle the game. Of be happy for each other, know the situations that we're in. Know when I'm ready to play, how to prepare myself. "I mean, Anthony, he wants to be out there playing. But I think also having the maturity of understanding, 'Hey, I'm dangerous when this, these are some things that make me dangerous, and if I'm not doing those things, better get myself to be 100% so I can go do those things.' "Because any time you deal with that, like I keep saying, all the sudden I'm with the trainers, if we go from, 'Hey, he can back up for us and really not miss a game as a backup' to 'if we had pressed it he could have been out for six weeks.' Now we're looking at we lose our backup. We lose everything about it. So we were very fortunate he didn't have to go in the games the last two weeks and he'll be ready to go." On the other side of the ball, the Gators were without top corner Kaiir Elam. He suffered a lower body injury versus Alabama and was held out primarily as a precaution. In his absence, young defensive backs Jason Marshall and Elijah Blades received more playing time, with Marshall starting opposite Avery Helm. With the Gators gearing up for a road trip to the Kentucky Wildcats and an offense averaging 284 passing yards per game, having Elam back will be crucial. "Hopefully Kaiir should be back this week," predicted Mullen Saturday after the Tennessee game. "He'll be, what do they say, like, probable this week. And talking to him, hoping he's probable for this coming weekend, you know, so that was a tricky deal, you know. I mean, you're playing with like, a hole. "I mean you're looking out there, and I mean, you're talking about playing with a secondary, I mean a lot of the guys, a bunch of them weren’t even on the roster last year, out there playing. You know, that was a position where we're now paper thin, you know, we've already lost two guys, a couple guys, two guys for the year. Pat Moorer is gonna be out for another two weeks, you know, so that's a third guy, and then Kaiir down, so I mean you're just, you're down big numbers there, but hopefully Kaiir gets back healthy this week, add some depth to the secondary for us.”

This post will be updated from now till the 7pm EST kickoff with observations, notes and more. The No. 11 Florida Gators (2-1) are set to take on the Tennessee Volunteers tonight at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators have owned the series in recent years, winning 15 of the last 16 games. Still, this is a rivalry game and the Gators first in the SEC East. Despite a loss to No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide last week, if UF runs the table in the East, they will make it back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. "Quick turnaround, huge rivalry game against Tennessee coming up this weekend here at the Swamp. When you go into a big games like [Alabama], you come out with the physical wear and tear and the mental wear and tear of a big game. But we’ve got to turn that around quickly for even a bigger game this week," noted Head Coach Dan Mullen this week. Before the game, read up on all of our coverage this week: No. 11 Florida Gators Using Anger Over Alabama Loss To Prepare For Tennessee Volunteers Greg Sankey: "I Believe We Handled Things the Right Way" Gators vs Vols: Doesn’t This Feel Like A Trap? Buddy Martin Blog: Why They Don’t Fear The Swamp Anymore —Maybe Because We Don’t Remind Them Enough The Gators kickoff versus the Vols at 7pm EST on ESPN. Live Updates: The Gators announced their starting corners as Avery Helm and Jason Marshall Jr., confirming Kaiir Elam will be out tonight. This will be Marshall's first start, but he received ample snaps versus Alabama last week, finishing with two tackles. Injury Updates Anthony Richardson: Mullen said much of the same as last week in reference to redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson. The dynamic duel threat was medically cleared to face Alabama, but coaches elected to only use him in an emergency role. The reasoning being, the hamstring he tightened versus USF was still not back to 100% and he had the possibility of injuring it more on a running play. As Emory Jones put together arguably his best performance of the season, there was no need for Richardson to play. As for his availability against the Vols, Mullen said on Monday he was on track. "We're going to test everything out again this week. You know, through the week, [it will] be a very similar approach, you know, he'll probably do a little bit more practice. He practiced all week, you know, and that's what gets into it. Like, he was cleared to play in the game but there's a big difference between, 'I'm cleared to play in the game, I'm not going to be 100% but I can't make the injury worse,' and, 'I'm cleared to play in the game, I'm not 100%, and this one to two week injury could turn into a six week injury,' and those are always big differences. "And so, you know, for us, we'll see how he responds this week and hopefully, with the type of, you know, when you're looking at a hamstring issue, we did an MRI on Friday, it came back much better than we thought it would be. But, you know, not still at 100%. So we wanted to be pretty precautious to, you know, in meeting with the medical staff, there was a pretty solid feeling [that] if he didn't play in the game, we continue, we're ahead of where we were that he would be 100% by this Saturday." Kaiir Elam: The Tide targeted Elam all game last week, often to their detriment—unless it was resulting in phantom DPI calls. The physical game banged up the game's top corner though and it is reportedly being considered having Elam sit out today. If that's the case, Avery Helm would continue to start on one side, with a rotation on the other side to likely include Jason Marshall (who played a ton versus Bama), Elijah Blades and Ethan Pouncey. Tre'Vez Johnson and Jadarrius Perkins would rotate at STAR. Vols QB Questions: As of Wednesday, the Vols had not decided on who would be lining up at quarterback versus Florida. Starter Joe Milton was still recovering from a lower body injury suffered in Tennessee's week two loss to Pittsburgh. Grad transfer Hendon Hooker—who has thrown for five touchdowns, 392 yards and a 70% completion rate through three games—would be the starter in Miltons absence. Another Saturday Night In the Swamp The Swamp is sold out for the second week in a row and Mullen—who had made it his mission since arriving four years ago to return the Swamp to its former glory—calls that a difference maker. "All the Gator fans need to go maybe get some warm tea and lemon, make sure their throats are refreshed because we need an even more raucous environment this Saturday night to continue to give the home-field advantage. I think you saw the effect that had on the game last week and how it lifted our team up and we need the Gator Nation back out to show out this week.” The race to Atlanta starts today, with these keys to the game. Keys To the Game Control the Emotions: Mullen identified one of the issues in the first quarter against Bama—and other rivalry games as well—as the defense being almost too hyped up at kickoff. That could be the case again versus the Vols. A rivalry game in primetime, looking to show they don't have a Bama hangover? That's a recipe for a trap. So Mullen wants to see calm heads and open ears. "I think some of it for us is getting in the flow of the game and making sure we get caught up to the speed of the game and the noise of everything that’s happening. We had a couple communication issues in the beginning of the [Alabama] game. We talked about our guys all week, it is a big game where there’s going to be a lot of emotion. "Our guys are fired up, and there’s a tremendous amount of physical noise in the stadium, and making sure we are just focused, not just the emotion and the fired up part of it all. Just the complete focus on our execution and doing what we’re going to do. I think we’ve just got to be a little bit cleaner that way.” Control the Tempo: Tennessee looks to still be in rebuilding mode, but they've found a rhythm on offense with tempo. Moving fast, they've had 15 different guys notch a reception. They were able to use that to their advantage in week three (albeit against an overmatched opponent) in route to a 56-0 win over Tennessee Tech, with 417 yards of offense. So while the Gators will be looking to stay calm in a raucous environment, they can also channel that energy into stymying what will look to be a fast attack. "Offensively, they do a good job of getting the ball to playmakers in space, of spreading you out and playing with tempo and spreading the ball around," explained Mullen. "You know, a lot of different guys with catches on the team. They are going to spread it to a lot of different people. It’s going to be a big challenge for us to make sure we are playing at an extremely high level.” Added defensive back Rashad Torrence, "they move the ball really fast and they get lined up really fast. That’s just something that we’ll practice at all week and that’s something that we shouldn’t have an issue with come Saturday.” Run the Dang Ball: The Vols have not made it easy for opponents on the ground. Through three games, they're only giving up an average of 54.3 yards per game, and a mere 1.7 yards per carry. On the flip side, Florida has averaged 335.7 yards per game on the ground, and a whopping 7.7 yards per carry. Something's gotta give. "Defensively they’re certainly playing hard," noted Mullen. "I watched their guys, their guys play hard. They’re very physical up front, play really fast, get off the ball on the defensive front. Guys running to the ball. The energy they are playing with defensively—you look at two of the games, they held the opponent to under six points and guys flying around."

Pardon our absence of decorum for lack of a better term, but Kaiir Elam is pissed. The Florida Gators pre-season All-SEC corner had a monster day versus the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, with a game high three pass-breakups. He would've had five if not for two questionable pass-interference calls. His ability to shut down receivers on the edge is so stifling, he's outperforming a slew of iconic Florida defensive backs—and college defensive backs—who came before him. Elam has allowed a career completion percentage of 42.5%, per Pro Football Focus. Better than CJ Henderson, Vernon Hargreaves, Jalen Ramsey, Jaycee Horn, and others. But the Gators lost, 31-29. It doesn't matter to Elam that Florida came closer than any team has in years to taking down the mighty Tide (since LSU defeated them in route to a national title in 2019). It doesn't matter to Elam that the Gators defense helped stymy and stop two streaks that had been the nation's best: games of 400 plus yards and 35 points. He doesn't care that the offensive side put up over 400 yards for the 13th straight game or put up a 99-yard drive against a vaulted Nick Saban defense. Sure, all of those things can be used off which to build...but he doesn't care. Why? Because Florida lost the game. And after a few days of hearing fans and pundits and even Alabama fans alike all prop up the Gators for their noble showing, he'd had enough. The typically quiet Elam—at least in public—opened up his phone and sent a rare personal tweet. "Losing NOT acceptable, especially in the Swamp! I have to step it up as a leader," he typed, "but I still love this team over Anybody Every Saturday." Later that day, Elam met with local media and expounded on his challenge to his teammates. "I feel like we shouldn't have any sympathy just because we lost by fewer points. Even though we were projected to get mopped or whatever, but I feel like, I'm just telling the guys, like ‘listen, like what we did last week is over with, like, we have to play a lot better.’ I feel like, our next game, our biggest game is our next game, and I feel like Tennessee's coming in here and it's always a big rivalry game against Tennessee and I feel like our main focus should be improving and dominating, honestly.” Defensive back Rashad Torrence revealed Elam is known for speaking up in the locker room, he just typically stays purposely silent in public. So it should be noted, while Elam isn't the clam that CJ Henderson was, he also isn't the open book we knew with Vernon Hargreaves or Marco Wilson. If he took to Twitter with a challenge that was essentially meant for his teammates, he felt it was an issue and needed to be addressed. His teammates listened. “I mean if you’re an athlete or any type of competitor at any level you just don’t like to lose so the outcome of that game wasn’t really satisfying to us," said Torrence. "There’s a lot of positives you can take out of the game, but in total it’s just not something that we woke up [Sunday] morning and said “ok, we’re gong to be ok with the loss”. That’s not ok at all, that’s not acceptable." Even the fact that the Gators held Bama to a scoreless quarter in the second—and are one of only two teams who have held Bama scoreless in their past 80 quarters of football, and have now done it twice during that span, thanks to a third quarter in the SEC Championship as well—is a building block not a bragging point, as Torrence goes on to say. "That’s a great stat, but at the end of the day we still lost. So, I feel like that stat is only something we can put in our back pocket and say, ‘OK, we did it once. There’s no reason why we can’t do it for the remainder of the season.” It was the exact response Mullen asked to see from his players after the loss. On Saturday night, after the Alabama loss, Mullen commented, "I like the effort this team has. I think it’s going to be really interesting to see our response in practice this week, I really do. Because I never doubted the effort that our team was going to give or the attitude our guys had. Our guys expected to win the game today coming into it. I know they’re disappointed. "You play in championship level game the margin for error is going to get extremely small. I hope our guys and coaches, everybody we have to point those out and embrace that at practice this week. We have to come together as a team that way and that positive energy of eliminating every little error at practice within our preparation and have it show out in our performance next week against Tennessee.” This week, after Elam's tweet and response, Mullen saw the beginnings of what he wanted his leaders to do to keep this team focused. "When you get in these situations and you want all the guys sitting there and are we looking and saying, ‘Hey, our attention to detail, the exactness that we have, are we making sure we’re holding each other accountable?’ but doing that in a positive, lifting guys up manner to get the results that we need and the improvement we need in our production and performance on Saturdays." According to Torrence, the team has answered their coach's call. "The foot’s been on the gas ever since we stepped out on the field today. We knew that we had to keep that intensity up because this week is no easy week. It’s just like any other week, so we knew we had to come out and play with that same intensity and that same fire that we brought on Saturday.” Tennessee, while 2-1 and having won their last game 56-0, aren't exactly the world beaters they once were. They haven't been for a while, especially when it comes to the Gators, who have beaten their rival 15 of the last 16 games. But under new head coach Josh Heupel, the Vols have taken their offense up tempo...and they're hungry for a win over UF...and they are banking on the Gators coming out flat with the notorious Bama hangover. Kaiir Elam will be ready. "They go fast and they like to throw the ball deep a lot, so I feel like I mentally need to be prepared on that, and just, like I said, making sure we open-field tackle. I feel like that’s another thing we can improve on from last weekend, just executing Coach Grantham’s play call, but I feel like we should be, I expect to dominate that game.” He'll be ready because, frankly—and again, for lack of a better term—Alabama pissed him off, personally. One of the reasons Elam's numbers were so good in that game is because the Tide kept throwing at him. While a corner relishes a chance to make a play and ruin a pass, it's considered a sign of disrespect as well, to keep throwing at him. Elam, as mentioned above, has allowed a failing passer rating in his career. Quarterbacks should want to avoid him. Bryce Young didn't. And Elam's holding on to that. "I get angry every time they try to throw at me, so I was pretty mad...I was definitely happy I got a lot of action, but I just feel like it's disrespectful every time a team throws at me though.” Now Kaiir Elam—an unquestioned leader of this defense and the Florida Gators as a whole–will take it out on the Vols, and he'll make sure his teammates do as well. "I just really wanted to make a statement to not only Gator Nation, but my team that a loss is unacceptable. I feel like I just didn't feel good about us just being proud of that, I just felt like we just need to focus on winning. I just, that's all I want to do, I just want to win and help my team win, so whatever we have to do to do that. That’s all I want to do.”

For the record, Carlton the Doorman’s system this year is 13-5 betting home underdogs and 2-0 betting large home favorites By CARLTON REESE The Real Carlton, not The Doorman Looking for trends in his system, Carlton the Doorman informs that road underdogs have been a very bad play this year, but home dogs seem to be flourishing. In 2020, the opposite seemed to hold true, but the Doorman insists that this early trend seems to be one to follow the rest of the way. Knowing this, the normal bets of road underdogs trending the way of the computer may not be so reliable. This week, those would be Middle Tennessee (plus 3 over Charlotte), San Jose State (plus 3 over W. Michigan), FAU (plus 5.5 over Air Force) and Rutgers (plus 20 over Michigan). It’s too bad, because I personally like those in spite of Carlton the Doorman’s fears. The home dogs he likes this week are South Carolina (plus 5 over Kentucky), Ball State (plus 4.5 over Toledo), N.C. State (plus 10 over Clemson) and Arkansas (plus 5.5 over Texas A&M). He also likes the following home favorites: Oregon (minus 28.5 over Arizona) and Iowa (minus 23 over Colorado State). For the record, Carlton the Doorman’s system this year is 13-5 betting home underdogs and 2-0 betting large home favorites. The road dog bets this year have kept Carlton the Doorman from quitting his job. And what of the Florida Gators this week? For the first three weeks, UF has not been part of any betting trend flagged by Carlton the Doorman’s system, and that holds true again this week against Tennessee. The system calls Tennessee a road underdog selection, but not trending (the difference in the system’s margin and the Vegas line is too small to warrant it as a pick). If it makes Gator fans feel better, the non-trending road dog picks (of which the Vols would be) are 5-14 this year. For the game itself, this feels a bit like a trap. An emotional loss that somehow has everyone feeling great about the program could turn out to be fool’s gold if the Gators are not careful. I’m reminded of Florida State’s overtime loss to Notre Dame in the season opener where the Noles finally believed they were back, only to take the week off against Jacksonville State and now their season is effectively over. If UF takes Tennessee lightly (and the Vols feel pretty confident in their offense right now), the season could be ruined and any goodwill established for the program in last week’s thriller will go right down the drain. Remember 1982? Wins over Miami and Southern Cal had vaulted Florida into the top-5 and there was never a more positive vibe around Florida football. In the fourth game, the 4th-ranked Gators laid an egg at home against an unranked LSU team. The season and all that goodwill evaporated the following week in a stunning loss at Vanderbilt – those first two wins became distant memories and Georgia’s 44-0 thrashing of the Gators turned 1982 into one big disappointment. Perhaps losing to Alabama will turn out to be a good thing for Florida. The fire should still be burning as with one conference loss there is absolutely no room for a letdown from here on. If you can’t be properly prepared and motivated for the team that runs out of the tunnel with that big ‘T’ on the helmet, then you don’t belong in any championship conversations. Still, this feels strange, as though Tennessee is sneaking into Gainesville way under the radar while Florida is basking in the glow of exposing Alabama. It feels like one of those games where the Gators could come out flat, and if that is the case then there is trouble ahead. The good news is that the game is at night, and this always means a raucous crowd no matter who the opponent. A raucous crowd should mean an energized team. An energized team should mean the inevitable destruction of Tennessee. Just don’t sleep on it, please. Carlton the Doorman’s games of note: SEC Georgia by 49 over Vanderbilt LSU by 4 over Mississippi State Boston College by 14 over Missouri Texas A&M by 3.5 over Arkansas Auburn by 31 over Georgia State Florida by 15.5 over Tennessee South Carolina by 3.5 over Kentucky Alabama by 48 over Southern Miss Others: Liberty by 12.5 over Syracuse Clemson by 6.5 over N.C. State Louisville by 22 over Florida State Wisconsin by 11 over Notre Dame Michigan by 1 over Rutgers Michigan State by 3 over Nebraska Oklahoma by 18.5 over West Virginia UCLA by 10 over Stanford BYU by 36.5 over South Florida FAU by 9 over Air Force C. Michigan by 23 over FIU Carlton the Doorman’s Top 10 (with power rating): 1. Alabama (106) 2. Iowa (105.5) 3. Georgia (101) 4. Oklahoma (98.5) 5. Ole Miss (98) 6. Penn State (96) 7. Cincinnati (95) 8. North Carolina (92) 9. Texas A&M (86.5) 10. Liberty (86)

In a matter of five weeks Greg Sankey went from the superhero whose plan to expand the College Football Playoff had the makings of the financial answer that can save the sport from itself, to Darth Vader, the arch-villain sent to destroy all that is good, decent and wonderful about the game. Having saved the 2020 college football season with his brilliant plan that saw the Southeastern Conference play 69 of the 70 games on its schedule, Sankey was already viewed as the single most powerful player in the college athletics arena. When Sankey and his working group quietly put together a plan to expand the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams, Sankey was once again viewed as a forward thinker with insight while the rest of the administrators wore bifocals. Five weeks after the playoff proposal, when it leaked out that Texas and Oklahoma were seeking to leave the Big 12 for membership in the Southeastern Conference, the commissioners of the Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast and Pac-12 conferences and some in the national media were firing slings and arrows at Sankey. How dare he sit in the same room with Bob Bowlsby (Big 12 commissioner) while listening to Texas and Oklahoma they decried? How dare he stab Bob Bowlsby in the back? Sankey sees it a bit differently. While attending last Saturday’s Florida-Alabama game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Sankey pointed out once again that it was Texas and Oklahoma that sought to join the SEC and not the other way around. What was he to do when the inquiries came in: Call up Bowlsby to tell him that two schools from his league that had asked for confidentiality were seeking to bolt his conference to join the SEC? “I hold Bob Bowlsby in high regard,” Sankey said. “You hurt in that relationship that these opportunities are presented but when those phone calls and inquiries are made it’s a compliment. We responded accordingly. I’m going to be criticized no matter what I do in the chair [as Southeastern Conference commissioner]. Literally, what would people be saying if they had gone someplace else? But they didn’t so I look forward to our future.” Texas and Oklahoma didn’t go someplace else because they felt it was in their best interests to leave a league with an uncertain future to join what is arguably the best and most powerful league in the country, led by a visionary of a commissioner. Within a matter of days after the story leaked, Texas and Oklahoma not only applied for membership in the SEC but were accepted unanimously by the league’s 14 presidents and athletic directors. If the SEC had rejected Texas and Oklahoma, the two almost certainly would have turned to the Big Ten, which would have moved every bit as quickly as the SEC to issue an invitation and accept them as members. The Pac-12 and ACC would have done the exact same thing had they been afforded the opportunity so the argument that Sankey was out to help the SEC while trying to destroy the rest of college sports is hypocritical at best. Yet, because it is Sankey, because it is the SEC and because football is the engine that drives all of college athletics, Sankey has been the target of almost constant slings and arrows, particularly from the commissioners of the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC. He’s heard all their snarky comments. If their animosity bothers him, he certainly isn’t showing it. If anything Sankey just raises an eyebrow and moves on to the next subject. “I’m unapologetic,” Sankey said. “I believe we handled things the right way.” The commissioners of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC acted like they were seriously wounded. It didn’t take them long to band together, forming what can only be viewed as a “we’ll show you just how tough we are” response – a scheduling alliance and a vow to level the playing field with the SEC. The alliance is shaky, at best. Their attempt to intimidate Sankey didn’t work. Perhaps they have spent too much time basking in the glow of their own self-importance. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, if you recall, tried to X out the entire 2020 fall football season as his response to COVID-19 only to reverse course comically when Sankey and the SEC forged ahead with a 10-game, conference-only schedule. The Pac-12 and ACC are headed by rookie commissioners whose inexperience has been exposed. This is the first foray into college sports for Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips was the athletic director at that noted college sports powerhouse Northwestern. About the only thing accomplished so far by Warren, Kliavkoff and Phillips is a show of unity that did manage to get the vote to expand the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams tabled for the time being. Perhaps Sankey was annoyed by their efforts, but he wasn’t caught by surprise. Almost in anticipation of their effort to slow down the expansion process, Sankey offered this nugget Saturday at The Swamp: “Four teams [in the playoff] has worked just as it was intended to work. We’re good with four. We haven’t been the ones asking for expansion.” The SEC has every good reason to be happy with the current 4-team format that is under contract to run through 2025. Since the inception of the playoff in 2014, the SEC has won the national championship four times including the last two. The SEC has had at least one team in the playoff all seven years and in 2017, Alabama and Georgia played for the championship. If the playoff were to be held today, the SEC would command the top two seeds in Alabama and Georgia. The ACC and Big Ten would be shut out. It would take an unmitigated disaster for the SEC to go unrepresented in the playoff. Clemson from the ACC has been in the playoff all but the first year. Twice (2017-18) the Big Ten has been shut out while the Big 12 (2014, 2017, 2020) has missed three times. The Pac-12 has only had a team in twice (2014, 2016). As long as it remains a 4-team model, at least one of the Power Five conference will see its champion on the outside looking in at playoff time, which is better odds than the Group of Five. The system is weighted in such a way that it is nearly impossible for any team from the Group of Five to make the final four, which eliminates the possibility of the Cinderella story that makes the NCAA Basketball Tournament so popular. The 12-team format would resolve that problem and could provide a boost to ratings that have continued to sag because nearly the same exact teams make the final four every year. The proposal that Sankey and the working group came up with assures the six highest rated conference champions an automatic playoff bid with six at-large teams to fill out the bracket. This would assure at least one Group of Five team would be in the playoff field. “We shouldn’t forget they play football, too, and their fans watch the playoff on television,” Sankey said. From a financial standpoint, it is in the best interests of all 10 conferences and the independents that make up the 130 schools in Division I for the playoff to expand. At a time when every college athletic program is still reeling from the financial disaster caused by COVID-19 – enough that even heavyweights such as Texas and Stanford and Texas have eliminated non-revenue sports – one of the few places to find new money to keep entire athletic programs afloat is the playoff. The 4-team playoff can only do so much so expansion is the only option that makes sense. Under the current playoff format, each of the five power conferences receives a $66 million slice of the annual $475 million pie that ESPN antes up in exchange for exclusive broadcast rights. Independents, the Group of Five and to a lesser extent Divisions II and III divvy up shares of what’s left. With expansion to 12 teams, numerous sports economists believe the broadcast rights could command three or four times what the current contract brings. The Pac-12, ACC and Big 12 should especially be pushing for expansion. Big 12 revenues will dip considerably from their current $38 million per year level when Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC and their media contract with ESPN and Fox expires in 2025. The Pac-12, which distributed $33.6 million, and the ACC, which distributed $32.3 million, are bottom feeders. The Pac-12’s media contract with Fox and ESPN expires in 2023. The Big 12’s agreement with ESPN and Fox expires in 2025. The ACC contract with ESPN is rock solid and locked in until 2036. The Big Ten, which sees its media contracts with ESPN and Fox expire in 2023, distributed 54.3 million. What the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 truly need is for a new playoff contract to be negotiated, agreed upon and in place no later than 2023. Since all three have ties with Fox, it is in their best interests if somehow Fox gets involved in the playoff negotiation, but this is where things get tricky. Why would Fox be willing to spend big bucks increasing the level of its participation in college football broadcasts if it has no shot at the playoff. As one radio talking head put it earlier in the week, why pay for the gas if you don’t get to drive the car? The Big Ten has a far better chance to bring Fox and ESPN to the negotiating table than the Pac-12 or Big 12. Thanks to its wide coverage area and overall success of the Big Ten Network, the Big Ten pulls in good ratings. Games that people are actually willing to watch has a lot to do with that. That can’t be said about either the Pac-12 or the Big 12. ESPN and Fox can afford to play it cool, forcing the Pac-12 and Big 12 to arrive hats in hand, begging for a deal. As for the ACC, as much as it would like a renegotiated deal with ESPN, the only way that happens is if somehow the ACC is a deciding vote in who gets the contract for an expanded playoff. Right now, that doesn’t seem so likely. Meanwhile, Sankey and the SEC can sit back and let everyone else do the sweating. The SEC finished second in money distribution last year ($45.5 million). It would be more except for the low return from the football broadcast contract with CBS that expires after the 2023 season. Sankey negotiated a 10-year contract with ESPN that kicks in once CBS is out of the picture. The $300 million a year contract with ESPN will increase revenue distribution to the 14 current SEC schools by $20 million each. If Texas and Oklahoma remain in the Big 12 until their contractual obligations expire, the ESPN contract will stay in its current form until 2024, but if they are able to leave the Big 12 sooner prior to 2025 then a new contract will be drawn up and will likely result in added revenue for all SEC schools. There are economists who are already predicting SEC payouts will increase to $72-80 million once Texas and Oklahoma join the league. Sankey is perfectly willing to wait things out until 2025. He should be willing to show some patience since the SEC is the only Power Five league whose finances are guaranteed over the long haul. It might take ESPN doing a deal with the Big 12 for the early release of Texas and Oklahoma and buying out the final year of the CBS contract for the SEC to expand prior to 2025. What the Big 12 needs is a broadcast contract to provide stability and some financial assistance to help its four new members (BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston) out of their contracts with the American Athletic Conference. A new broadcast contract won‘t come anything close to what the Big 12 gets now, but it will prevent a total financial collapse. All that is speculation, however, and Sankey isn’t about to tip his hand one way or the other whether he has had discussions with ESPN regarding Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 prior to 2025. “Our focus is entirely on 2025,” Sankey said. “There are existing membership commitments between Oklahoma and Texas with the Big 12. That’s one. Two, we made a decision and I announced it last December to migrate to ABC/ESPN. We’re fully prepared to fulfill our agreement with CBS and that’s a focus.” Whether Texas and Oklahoma join prior to 2025 or wait it out as members of the Big 12, Sankey is well aware of what the two new schools will bring to the SEC. The SEC is already the strongest sports league in the country with powerhouse programs on both the men’s and women’s side of the ledger. While most of the talk about Texas and Oklahoma has centered around what they bring to the table for football, adding them will make the SEC even more dominant in a number of sports. In the 2020-21 sports year, the SEC brought home national championships in football (Alabama), baseball (Mississippi State), men’s tennis (Florida), men’s outdoor track (LSU), women’s golf (Ole Miss), women’s indoor track (Arkansas) and women’s volleyball (Kentucky). The SEC had the No. 2 team in the nation in baseball (Vanderbilt), men’s indoor track (Florida), women’s indoor track (Texas A&M) and women’s outdoor track (Texas A&M). Texas and Oklahoma brought home national championships in men’s swimming (Texas), women’s rowing (Texas) and softball (Oklahoma) plus the runner-up in men’s golf (Oklahoma), women’s gymnastics (Oklahoma), women’s swimming (Texas) and women’s volleyball (Texas). Sankey was invited to speak recently to the Kentucky volleyball team, which beat Texas in the national championship match. “I said that when this [expanding the SEC to 16 teams by adding Texas and Oklahoma] happens, the SEC will be the strongest volleyball conference in the country,” Sankey said. “Mary Wise (Florida volleyball coach with 24 SEC championships and four Final Four appearances) would tell you, ‘I never saw a day when that statement would be true.’ “Just look at the work that’s been done by our 14 existing schools. We were watching the Olympics with all the SEC athletes and I said we’ll have the Olympics twice a year in the SEC with both indoor and outdoor track and field. Swimming, baseball, softball, gymnastics, tennis … we trail in soccer as a group, but I’m confident that we’re going to address that in the future.” Sankey ignores those in the media speculating that the additions of Texas and Oklahoma are just the first moves that will spur expansion and realignment to form four super conferences. “As far as I am concerned, there is only one super conference and that’s us,” he said. “I’m focused completely on our [SEC] future. What other decisions are made, they’re not on my agenda. I don’t know what decisions others may have. We’ll just have to pay attention to what others talk about, but I don’t over-predict other decisions around about super conferences. My focus is completely on doing what’s right for the SEC.”

As I slid into my spot in what is loosely known as the Norm Carlson Press Deck where I’ve been hundreds of times before -- this time in seat #130 -- it was both nostalgic and a bit disparaging. This is not your father’s press box, given the lofty privilege it was once accorded. When I started it was just called Florida Field, with no other names, and we could actually see the scoreboard from the middle of the field. Honestly, as a young’un though, it felt like I was walking into the Sistine Chapel back then. It has gone from being hallowed ground where the gods of sports writing once roamed, crafting Grantland Rice-like leads or channeling Dan Jenkins verbiage, to an atmosphere not unlike a Sonny’s takeout cubicle or a Walmart waiting room. The people in the press box are not that influential anymore and sometimes I wonder if we are even wanted or needed. I’m aware that most people don’t care and many think the press should pay for their seat, which I’m willing to do – only we’d have to cut our coverage in half. The purpose of this blog is not to whine about working conditions, or the logistical nightmare of just getting to and from the now-almost remote media parking lot in East Archer or East Afghanistan (they feel about equidistant). I just want to acknowledge the issues of all college football fans who are just tired of the expending time, money and energy for the right to sit in 100-degree heat, wait in line to take a whiz, pay Ritz Carlton prices for beverages and snacks, followed by 90 minutes to get out of the parking lot. It’s probably better for some of us to stay home and watch it on our 85-inch TV where you can flip around, see replay, hear Mick and Lee on a seven-second delay and take a 10-minute snooze at halftime after a couple of cold ones. And then hook up for the Zoom press conference. Unless, of course, your rich friend has a skybox. And I’m afraid that one day it will only be available for the wealthy. That said, I also firmly believe that almost like beach erosion, the years are eating away at some of our most treasured and beloved traditions of college football because the stories of not being passed along to next generation. And sometimes it just ain’t fun. Granted, there are many excellent new things worth encountering since 1990 which have been added for diehard Gator fans. Who doesn’t relish the rewind traditions like being led in cheer by a Mr. Two Bits lookalike, singing Won’t Back Down with the late Tom Petty, mingling around during the Gator Walk and tailgating with friends who were lucky enough to get within a couple of miles of the stadium? I do love the three Heisman statues and look forward to the day when Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow can be joined by a fourth, so they can have a foursome for golf and bridge. Who knows? Maybe one day it will be Anthony Richardson’s turn. Covering Florida football all these years, however, has been among the most rewarding beats for me both in the Spurrier and Meyer eras. The 90s will always be special because they bore the first SEC titles and first national championship, which should always be celebrated, and produced two of those statues. As Ike Hilliard said, "At the end of the day, we ruled the SEC those three or four seasons." Meanwhile, over the years I’ve dropped by to visit the statues, as I recently did for this simulated conversation on The Swamp’s lack of respect and perhaps seeds of revival: Me: Coach Spurrier, you named it The Swamp, but we haven’t heard much about that home field advantage anymore. Maybe that game vs. Alabama was a bit of comeback? Spurrier: Yeah, we tried to turn it into a big advantage for us in the early 1990s. Sort of like LSU did when I played – loud, boisterous fans, Mike The Tiger roaring, those crazy Cajuns on a Saturday night after getting juiced all day. We did pretty good at making The Swamp hostile. And I hope the Gator crowds will continue to be hostile in the hot, sticky Swamp atmosphere. Me: Pretty good? Your teams were a remarkable 68-5 at home over 12 seasons. And after you left, Urban Meyer went 38-5 in six years. That’s only 10 home losses in 18 seasons! Fear The Swamp! Other than not winning as much, how come it went away after that?op Wuerffel: I’ll tell you why. Kids today tend not to embrace history as much. And frankly they don’t want to hear about it. For one thing there aren’t many conversations at the dinner table. These kid are very much about the present – or the future, if they’re NFL material. But they knew about it when Timmy here was playing for Coach Meyer. Tebow: How could I not know about it Danny? I grew up with you as my idol, and my admiration got even stronger watching you and Coach Spurrier winning all those championships. So we knew all about The Swamp.m Spurrier: That’s why I say you should always celebrate championships and make them come alive. We’re having reunions for some of our teams at the Tennessee game (celebrating the 1995 and 1996 anniversaries of winning conference or national titles) and I’m excited to celebrate it with them. Me: Seems we need to do a better job of storytelling for the next generation. Maybe the reason that Alabama fans and others don’t Fear The Swamp anymore is they don’t know about it. Those stories need to be told over and over. Spurrier: Isn’t that the job of the sportswriters? Me: Do they have those anymore?

Former Florida Gators linebacker James Bates had growing suspicions when he ran into Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky on one of his flights back to Gainesville. “Don’t ever tell my husband a secret,” former Florida Gators swimmer and wife to James Bates, Tina Bates laughed. “It’s like a running joke in our family. He can’t keep a secret.” So when James Bates texted his wife asking if there was a reason Ledecky might be on his flight, she had trouble tiptoeing around the answer. Together, the couple has two daughters in the Florida Gators swim program. And as if that’s not enough to be plugged into the program, Tina Bates’ past as a Florida Gators swimmer and award-winning high school coach in the Gainesville area meant that she had heard the whispers of Ledecky coming to Gainesville to train and join the staff as a volunteer coach. “I was trying to text and say, ‘Yeah, but don’t say anything, don’t say anything!’,” Tina Bates said of trying to keep her husband from prematurely spilling the beans that shook the swimming world on Wednesday afternoon. After spending her college swimming career at Stanford, Ledecky, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, announced that she’d be picking up shop, and moving her training base from Stanford to the University of Florida. Ledecky’s move to Gainesville, which puts her closer to her family in Washington D.C., comes just weeks after she bagged four medals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Ledecky, who stands as one of the most decorated swimmers in the world, specializes in mid-distance and long-distance freestyle swims. The former Stanford Cardinal swimmer holds the fastest-ever times in the 500-, 1000-, 1500- and 1650-yard freestyle events. The 24-year-old swimmer has also broken 14 world records. So why move now? What happened to, “if it’s broke, don’t fix it?” As Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde (who has a daughter that swims at Stanford) reported, Ledecky hinted at a move last May. “I think each [Olympic] cycle feels different,” Ledecky said then. “Different circumstances, different approach. I kind of like it that way, though. You don’t want to go eight or nine years with everything the same.” And as Forde mentioned, had Ledecky stayed in Palo Alto, she would have done just what she said she didn’t want to do -- stayed eight or nine years with everything the same. “I think everyone knew that there was a possibility that she’d look here,” Tina Bates said. “I think for her, it’s like a no-brainer. I don’t think there’s a better place in the world for her to train up until the next Olympics or even after that.” There’s a number of reason’s Ledecky’s move to Gainesville makes sense. Sure, the facilities are great. And the proximity to Ledecky’s family is much closer than what it was when she was on the west coach. But what it boils down to is Florida’s personnel -- both on the pool deck and in the water. The Florida Gators swimming programs went from a separate women’s program and a separate men’s program to a combined program late in the spring with Florida’s former women’s coach Jeff Poppell left to lead the South Carolina programs. And according to Tina Bates, the decision to combine the two programs under Anthony Nesty couldn’t have been a better choice. Not only was it good for the university’s programs as a whole, but Bates believes it likely played a major role in Ledecky’s decision to come to Gainesville. “I think people are saying that maybe he might be the front-runner, and you never know of course, but for the next head Olympic coach come 2024,” Tina Bates said of Nesty. And if what people are saying comes to fruition, no one can say they’d be shocked. As many recall, the Florida Gators had quite the showing in the 2020 Olympic games. Four swimmers tied to the University of Florida, whether as current student-athletes or former student-athletes, brought home Olympic medals from their performances in Tokyo. As former Florida Gator Caeleb Dressel left Tokyo with five medals in tow, the three others in Bobby Finke, Kieran Smith and Natalie Hinds added to Florida’s total with Finke’s two gold medal being the biggest surprise and perhaps the biggest testament to the impact Anthony Nesty can have as a coach. “It’s funny because if you watch those races, you can see Ledecky up in the stands going crazy over that race,” Tine Bates said. “It’s cool. You can say that she was inspired. “I think it comes at a neat time in her career. She graduated after a special career at Stanford and obviously did well. And it’s kind of a neat change of pace for her and Florida, just the success that Florida has had top to bottom in freestyle, the event that she really specializes in, is really tremendous.” The Florida Gators currently have three men’s swimmers that are on the national team roster that are freestylers in Bobby Finke, Brennan Gravely and Kieran Smith. “That doesn’t even come close to the depth that she's going to be swimming with,” Tina Bates said. “I guess what I’m saying is that they’re stacked in talent in the events that she swims. And not just men, but they have some really good up-and-coming women that really show some good promise.” The Bates’ eldest daughter, Talia Bates, is one of those swimmers on the women’s team that could bridge the gap this coming swim season. Last year, as a junior, Talia Bates took second place at the NCAA swimming championships in the 200 freestyle. And as fate would have it, Ledecky is America’s top 200 freestyle swimmer. “How neat is that?,” Tina Bates said. “I mean what a neat, neat inspirational opportunity for Talia to know that she’s training against the best 200 freestyler in the country right there.” When the University of Florida announced the addition of Ledecky as a volunteer assistant coach, Bates says there was some backlash on social media as people questioned why the athletic department “couldn’t afford to pay her”. But those naysayers come from those unfamiliar with the dynamic Ledecky is about about take on. “I just think it speaks volumes. It speaks volumes about the coaching staff. And if not just the coaches, but everyone around the coaches… the support staff. So that is what, being a volunteer assistant, she will be taking advantage of,” Bates said. “She’s going to be training. Let’s face it. She is there for training. She is there to prepare for the Olympics. "Will she support the program? Absolutely. Just by being there she’s going to support the program because she's so accomplished… You can imagine. That’s just going to rub off and hopefully the girls will just be sponges. And not just the girls… the girls and boys.” Secret is out, Batesy. We know it was a hard one to keep.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: WHEN FIVE PLAY AS ONE, GOOD THINGS HAPPEN “If one guy’s wrong and four guys are right, then we’re all wrong” – John Hevesy Florida’s shift from everybody out for a pass to ground and pound has everything to do with an offensive line that has five guys playing together as one. Through three games, the Gators are averaging 552.7 yards per game (8th nationally) and 7.5 yards per play. The Gators are 2nd in the country in rushing at 335.67 yards per game, 7.57 per carry (also 2nd). The Gators have allowed just two sacks for -10 yards, neither of which are the fault of Hevesy’s big guys up front. Further evidence is the fact the UF O-line has been guilty of only a single holding call on Ethan White and just two false starts, one on Richard Gouraige and the other on Jean Delance. Good coaching has plenty to do with the lack of penalties, but so does communication up and down the line that has its beginning with first year starting center Kingsley Eguakun. When Eguakun gets it right, guards White and Stewart Reese and tackles Gouraige and Delance carry out their assignments. When Delance and Reese had to exit the Alabama game due to injury, Josh Braun and Michael Tarquin stepped in and the Gators didn’t miss a beat. A year ago, when Kyle Trask was the QB and the Gators were throwing nearly every down, the O-line was considered a weak link. Some of that can be traced to no spring practice and organized summer conditioning due to COVID-19. Much of their success can be credited to working together during the spring and an offseason directed by Nick Savage. “They are probably the most accountable players on the team,” Emory Jones said. Jones passed for 195 yards and ran for 80 against Alabama last Saturday. “They’re always the first ones in the building together, really getting the things they need done and handling their business.” Saturday, the Gators will be going against a Tennessee front seven that is limiting opponents to 54.33 yards per game on the ground and 1.7 yards per carry. The Vols have eight sacks for -58 yards. For the Gators to make it 16 wins in the last 17 against the Vols, it will take another big effort from five guys who understand that they’re at their best when they work as one. COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF EXPANSION DELAYED FOR NOW The Board of Managers for the College Football Playoff will not be voting on a proposal to expand the playoff from four to 12 teams next week. Explained Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick to ESPN, “We thought there remained some issues to be addressed and it would be important for us to address them before we make a recommendation or ask them to act.” There is no question that the playoff will expand and while there are still some who would prefer an 8-team playoff, it is probable that the 12-team model will be approved although there will likely be a few tweaks to the current proposal. For all the talk about academics, a longer season, health of the players and the Rose Bowl digging in its heels and insisting it keep the game on January 1, the real issue has everything to do with broadcast rights and the amount of money an expanded playoff will bring in. Under the current 4-team format, each of the Power Five conferences receives $66 million in addition to whatever money is earned by having a team in the semifinals or championship game. Conservative estimates are that a 12-team playoff would at least triple that payout to the power conferences plus provide needed millions to the Group of Five conferences. Leagues such as the Pac-12, ACC and Big 12, whose payouts to each team in their leagues pale in comparison to what the SEC and Big Ten pay, desperately need the extra money. For example, the 14 teams in the ACC all were paid $32 million and change this past year, which included a little more than $4 million from the playoff money. A $12 million payout certainly works better. Now to the nuts and bolts of broadcast money and why this is an issue. ESPN has the exclusive rights to the playoff broadcasts through the end of the current contract in 2025. ESPN would probably be very happy to tear up the existing contract to accommodate expansion to 12 teams prior to 2025 rather than bidding against other networks. Bidding, it seems, would substantially up the ante. One of the real reasons why the Big Ten and Pac-12 seem so adamant about getting this to a competitive bid is because their current media contracts Fox are due to expire soon. The Big Ten’s contract with ESPN, Fox and CBS expires in 2023. The Pac-12 contract with ESPN and Fox expires in 2024. The ACC is tied to ESPN through 2036, so it would like to renegotiate, but the ACC is back burner compared to the Big Ten and Pac-12. The CBS contract with the SEC will expire in 2023 and the network needs all its resources to ensure it will keep the NFL, so it’s pretty much ESPN and Fox that have to be dealt with. ESPN has the plum of plums with its SEC contract especially since Texas and Oklahoma are going to join the league. The $300 million a year contract that is set to begin in 2024, will certainly be renegotiated due to the increased revenue possibilities of the 16-team SEC. In light of that, is ESPN willing to spend more money to keep its share of the Pac-12 and Big Ten broadcasts? Fox is cautious because why spend more money on the Big Ten and Pac-12 regular season broadcasts if it’s not going to be included in the playoff? The ACC figures it can be the wild card in this, offering a vote for ESPN to keep the playoff exclusive in exchange for a renegotiated deal instead of the dumb one the league is stuck with until 2036. Then there is the Big 12, which is absolutely desperate for money. It needs ESPN to offer up cash in exchange for letting Oklahoma and Texas out of their contract that keeps them in the Big 12 until 2025. The elephant in the room is SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who pointed out when I talked to him last Saturday, “Four teams has worked just as it was intended to work. We’re good with four. We haven’t been the ones asking for expansion.” But Sankey does want the playoff expanded to 12 teams because it will include the Group of Five. “We shouldn’t forget they play football, too, and their fans watch the playoff on television,” he said. In the end, the playoff will expand to 12 teams and the model is unlikely to be significantly different than the one that was presented back in the summer. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Penalties have been a problem for the Crimson Tide through their first three games. Alabama has committed 28 penalties resulting in 254 yards lost including 11 against Florida for 75 yards in losses. On the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Nick Saban said, “If you can but out the lack-of-discipline penalties, that would cut out about half our penalties.” Arkansas (3-0): Former Georgia All-American and current ESPN analyst and Game Day personality, doesn’t think much of the Razorbacks’ chances to get to nine wins this year. On “College Football Live,” Pollock said “… ain’t no way in heck they’re getting to 9.” Auburn (2-1): Running back Shaun Shivers, who has missed the last two games due to an undisclosed injury, is practicing and should be available to play Saturday against Georgia State. Linebacker Owen Pappoe, who injured a leg against Penn State, is listed day-to-day. Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Kirby Smart says he’s looking for more consistency from his defensive line. The Bulldogs rank third nationally in total defense (221.3 yards per game) and they’re only giving up 75 per game on the ground, but Smart says, “… UAB ran the ball on us very well. We have to be able to play with more consistency in what we’re doing.” Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC): HBC Mark Stoops expects the Wildcats to have a tough time defending against South Carolina QB Luke Doty, who saw his first action of the season against Georgia after missing the first two weeks with an injury. “He’s a strong guy who can run the ball when necessary and make some really tough throws,” Stoops said on the SEC Teleconference. LSU (2-1): Left tackle Cam Wire continues to be day-to-day. Safety Jay Ward is expected to return for Saturday’s game at Mississippi State. Mississippi State (2-1): When Mike Leach looks at Saturday opponent LSU, he sees a team that is capable of playing with and beating just about anybody they play. “They’re big and fast and explosive,” Leach said on the SEC Teleconference. “I think they look pretty good in all phases.” Missouri (2-1, 0-1 SEC): On the SEC Teleconference, HBC Eli Drinkwitz tried to clarify what Boston College took as disparaging remarks about Saturday’s game at Alumni Stadium. “We’re excited about this game,” Drinkwitz said. “I was just making the comment that I would prefer to play regional games, but I didn’t have any say in this game from a scheduling standpoint … but I’m excited to play BC.” Ole Miss (3-0): Southern Cal fired Lane Kiffin as its head coach in 2013. Now that the job is open once again, Paul Finebaum thinks Kiffin would be a dandy replacement. “It’s hard for me to believe he would be a serious candidate based on what’s happened, but he should be a serious candidate,” Finebaum said. “As good as James Franklin is – and I think James Franklin would be an excellent person to look at – I think Kiffin, in some ways would be better.” South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Defensive coordinator Clayton White expects Kentucky to try to dominate Saturday by running the ball behind its massive offensive line. “Just their size and mentality, who they want to be as a football program,” White said. “It’s always been a running program so you’ve got to stop the run first.” Tennessee (2-1): HBC Josh Heupel says no matter who plays quarterback against Florida, he has to eliminate the turnovers. “First and foremost, we have to take better care of the ball at that position,” Heupel said on the SEC Teleconference. “That’s where our turnovers have come on that said of the ball.” Texas A&M (3-0): Since joining the Southeastern Conference, Texas A&M is 9-0 against Arkansas. The Aggies are 5.5-point favorites to win Saturday’s game against Arkansas in Arlington, Texas. Vanderbilt (1-2): HBC Clark Lea talked about the challenges Georgia’s defense presents on the SEC Teleconference Wednesday. “I think finding ways to neutralize their front, finding ways to separate the first level with the second level, and trying to design some space for us to get the ball to playmakers will all be part of the formula.” KEEP AN EYE ON THESE FIVE GAMES No. 12 Notre Dame (3-0) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (1-1) in Chicago: Notre Dame isn’t as impressive as we thought they were when they beat FSU. Wisconsin would hate to lose to the Irish, since the ND quarterback is the guy they ran off. No. 9 Clemson (2-1) at North Carolina State (2-1): Clemson’s defense is just fine but the offense stinks (114th nationally). The defense will have to win this one. Upset alert here. Nebraska (2-2) at No. 20 Michigan State (3-0): Are you sold on Michigan State? Las Vegas certainly isn’t, otherwise the Spartans would be more than 5-point faves over the Fighting Frosts. SMU (3-0) at TCU (2-0): These guys absolutely hate each other, so much so that TCU has blocked SMU from joining the Big 12 twice. Paybacks are hell. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (Oklahoma transfer) is the real deal with 16 TDPs already. Louisville (2-1) at Florida State (0-3): Is it possible the Seminoles start the season 0-4? You betcha. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Prior to last Saturday’s home opener with Western Oregon, Portland State HBC Bruce Barnum offered free beer for fans to attend the game. The fans came, drank beer and Barnum paid the tab: $14,448 for 786 Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPAs and 1,260 Coors Lights. Barnum said, “I’m not buying your ticket, but I’ll buy your beer.” Maybe Clark Lea should try that at Vanderbilt.