A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: There was a time when Florida-Tennessee was the hottest college football ticket in the nation. In all but one year from 1992-2001, the winner of the Florida-Tennessee game represented the SEC East in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. During that 10-year span, the SEC East championship went to Florida seven times with the Gators winning the SEC championship five times. Florida played for the national championship in 1995 and won it in 1996. Tennessee, which won the SEC in 1997-98, played for the national title in 1997 and the national championship in 1998. This was a real rivalry in those days but no longer. The Gators had a 5-year pocket of championship level football from 2005-09, but from 2010-17 the Florida program fell on hard times. Since Dan Mullen arrived back in 2018, the Gators have been re-establishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with on the national scene, but the last SEC/national championship year was 2008. Still, that’s far superior to what has happened at Tennessee, which has had a revolving door of coaches (five) since Phil Fulmer was fired after the 2008 season. Against their three main rivals – Florida, Georgia and Alabama – the Vols are a combined 4-32 since 2008 (Alabama 0-12, Florida 1-11, Georgia 3-9). Since 2005, the Vols are 1-15 against the Gators. Tennessee’s lack of success against UF is no reason for the 11th-ranked Gators (2-1, 0-1 SEC) to take the Vols (2-1) lightly Saturday when they come to The Swamp (7 p.m., ESPN). Despite last week’s loss to No. 1 Alabama, every goal the Gators began the season with except one – an unbeaten season – is achievable. If the Gators win their next seven games, all against SEC opponents, they’ll be playing in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta in December. Lose to Tennessee or any other SEC team on the schedule and the Gators can all but kiss their dream of a league championship good-bye. The keys to a Florida win Saturday are quite simple: (1) Dominate the line of scrimmage; (2) play turnover free; and (3) play the entire game with the same kind of intensity the Gators played with in the final three quarters against Alabama. By dominating the line of scrimmage, the Gators not only control the football but they play a bit of defense with their offense. What we’ve seen in the first three games is a team that is very comfortable in ground and pound offense. The Gators can keep the chains moving and wear down opponents thanks to an offensive line that has bludgeoned three straight opponents, one of which was Alabama. The Crimson Tide gave up four scoring drives of 75 yards and one of 99 against Alabama with most of the yardage picked up with a running game that averaged 6.0 per carry. The Gators are running the ball so well with quarterback options and the three-headed running back monster of Dameon Pierce (110 yards, 6.1 per carry, 5 TDs), Malik Davis (212 yards, 6.84 per carry, 2 TDs) and Nay’Quan Wright (99 yards, 5.82 per carry) is keeping former 5-star backs Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkcus Bowman on the bench. When the Gators are driving the ball and keeping the clock moving, it keeps the defense off the field. The Vols aren’t going to score many points if they don’t possess the football. Tennessee’s defense is giving up only 54.33 yards per game on the ground (1.7 per carry) but they have yet to play a team that runs the ball well and certainly they haven’t played a team with an offensive line as physical as Florida’s or running backs this good. After a pair of 2-interception games in the first two, the Gators only had one turnover against Alabama, none in the final three quarters. Emory Jones (231 rushing yards, 5.5 per carry, 2 TDs; 459 passing yards, 63.6 percent completions) got into a rhythm against Alabama and began to show the kind of growth and maturity that it takes to be a winning quarterback in the SEC. If he protects the football against the Vols, it’s going to be hard for the Gators to lose this game. Finally, there can be no letup in intensity. Just because the Gators showed they can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Alabama is no reason to think Tennessee will be a walkover. The Vols are quite aware of their dismal record against UF so they will be playing with an edge. It’s up to Dan Mullen and his assistants to make sure the Gators are in a take no prisoners mood from start to finish. This is no time for the Gators to play down to their competition and to lose to Tennessee would mean playing at the Vols’ level, which isn’t very good. The Vols will try to go tempo on the Florida defense to wear them down and they’ll stack the box to force Emory Jones to throw the ball to beat them. The best way to blow that game plan apart is to keep the UT defense on the field by keeping the chains moving with quick, easy throws and option runs by Jones since it’s tough to account for the QB running in Dan Mullen’s offensive scheme. Florida is a 19-point favorite and the Gators should indeed win this game by three or more touchdowns. If the Gators can move out to a big lead with Jones at QB, it might be tempting for Mullen to give Anthony Richardson another week off to allow his tender hamstring to heal with Kentucky on the road next week. The Sayer says sooth: FLORIDA 41, Tennessee 14 THE SEC SOOTHSAYER Southern Miss (1-2) at No. 1 Alabama (3-0): The oddsmakers in Las Vegas must believe Nick Saban wasn’t happy with the Crimson Tide’s effort last week against Florida because they’re expecting Alabama to absolutely destroy Southern Miss. The line is 45 points. Saban has this habit of using practice the week after what he deems a disappointing effort to drive home a point. The final score will tell us if this was a lesson learned. The Sayer says sooth: Alabama 52, Southern Miss 3 No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (1-2): Figure there will be a sellout crowd at Vanderbilt Stadium although 60 percent of the fans will be clad in Georgia red. Georgia is favored to win this one by 35 points. What? Are the Vegas oddsmakers thinking Kirby Smart will feel sorry for the Commodores? Georgia will win big and will probably have JT Daniels in the game and throwing deep into the game to get ready for the 4-game gauntlet ahead of No. 16 Arkansas, (at) No. 23 Auburn, Kentucky and No. 11 Florida. The Sayer says sooth: Georgia 49, Vanderbilt 3 No. 7 Texas A&M (3-0) vs. No. 16 Arkansas (3-0) in Arlington, TX: The Aggies are a shaky 4.5-point favorite. Is that because no one trusts their offense with Zach Calzada at QB or does it have to do with Sam Pittman rebuilding the Arkansas program at a pace far faster than anyone anticipated. The Aggies have to run the football against a Barry Odom defense that has been surprisingly good. If Arkansas is to win, quarterback KJ Jefferson can’t throw interceptions and he’s going to have to pick up decent yardage with his feet when protection breaks down. This one has white knuckles written all over it. The Sayer says sooth: Texas A&M 24, Arkansas 21 Georgia State (1-2) at No. 23 Auburn (2-1): This is just what the doctor ordered for Auburn after losing a very winnable game last week at Penn State. With a roadie to LSU and a homer with Georgia the next two weeks, Bryan Harsin needs the Tigers to put Georgia State out of its misery early. Auburn is a 27-point favorite. If it isn’t worse than that, then the Tigers are overrated. The Sayer says sooth: Auburn 45, Georgia State 14 LSU (2-1) at Mississippi State (2-1): LSU found a way to lose to Mississippi State at Tiger Stadium last year. This year the Tigers will face the Wrath of the Cowbell in Starkvegas. Neither team can really run the ball, so we might see more than 100 passes launched. LSU has better athletes and more of them, which is probably why the Tigers are 2.5-point favorites. This one just feels like an upset. The Sayer says sooth: Mississippi State 34, LSU 31 Missouri (2-1, 0-1 SEC) at Boston College (3-0): Mizzou HBC Eli Drinkwitz has spent the last few weeks trying to walk back comments that the Boston College people took as disparaging. Now he has to face a BC team that runs the ball quite well (202.33 yards per game, 5.14 per carry). That would be a concern since Mizzou was gouged for 333 yards by Kentucky a couple of weeks ago except that BC hasn’t exactly played anyone decent (Colgate, UMass and Shirley Temple) and the Eagles are without their stud QB Phil Jurkovec who’s done for the year. Mizzou is a 1.5-point favorite. It should be worse than that. Much worse. The Sayer says sooth: Missouri 41, Boston College 24 Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Was Kentucky playing down to its competition last week (28-23 win over D1AA Chattanooga) or are the Wildcats just not that good? With Florida, LSU and Georgia their next three games, the Wildcats really need to put a complete game together. South Carolina isn’t very good but the Gamecocks are only a 5-point dog at home. Something just doesn’t feel right about this one although it’s hard to imagine Kentucky losing. The Sayer says sooth: Kentucky 30, South Carolina 21 ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Here is what bugs me the most about the Three Stooges (Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips), who have found it convenient to avoid talking about the fact that if Texas and Oklahoma had called them, they would have rushed to expand their conferences. Instead of admitting Greg Sankey only did what they had done if only they had been contacted, they’re trying to exact a measure of revenge with this silly three-conference alliance that isn’t going to prove anything and by forcing a delay in getting the College Football Playoff expanded. If these three actually had brains, they would probably take them out and play with them. At the heart of the matter, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have media contracts that are about to expire while the ACC wants its miserable deal with ESPN that is locked in until 2036 renegotiated. The fastest way to get ESPN, Fox and any other network to the negotiating table is to first get the playoff expanded to 12 teams, which will all but assure their conferences will have at least one team in the playoff every year. Sure, an expanded playoff will be dominated by the SEC that has added Texas and Oklahoma but the SEC dominates without them now when it’s only four teams. Once it is announced that the playoff has been expanded to 12 teams, Larry, Curley and Moe will have leverage that they don’t have now. They can say, “You want a slice or all of the playoff money pie? Then you better deal with us ESPN, Fox and whatever other network wants in on the playoff broadcasts. Treat us nice and we’ll be happy to throw some support behind your network.” Maybe they think they’re hurting Greg Sankey and the SEC by acting like the juveniles they are, but Sankey is perfectly content to play the waiting game. After all, he’s the one who got the SEC the 10-year contract from ESPN that will expand once Texas and Oklahoma become full-fledged members. They are the ones who need help, not Sankey and certainly not the SEC.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: DAN MULLEN’S THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION It was the night of October 15, 2005. After a miserable plane ride from Baton Rouge to Gainesville following Florida’s 19-17 loss to LSU, the offensive staff convened at Urban Meyer’s home and worked into the wee hours re-tooling the offense that wasn’t working with personnel that had been recruited to Florida by Ron Zook to run a pro-style attack. The spread option offense that was so dazzling at Utah with Alex Smith at quarterback just didn’t work with Chris Leak. “It didn’t quite fit the personnel that was here at this time, so you take a step back and say, hmmm, how do we adjust what we’re doing to make sure it fits the personnel that we have?” Dan Mullen said Monday. Mullen was Meyer’s offensive coordinator in those days. There was still some trial and error involved but by the time the season ended with a win over Iowa in the Outback Bowl, the Gators had won four of their last five games to finish the season 9-3. The offense was tweaked again for 2006. Leak was still a pocket passer, but Tim Tebow could run so a hybrid, two-quarterback system evolved and the Gators won a national championship. Consider what happened those two years as the beginning of Dan Mullen’s Theory of Natural Selection, which, like Darwin’s Theory has everything to do with adapting to your changing surroundings or die. Never has Mullen’s ability to adapt an offense been more evident than his time at Florida. The Gators have gone from an almost perfectly balanced attack (213.5 passing; 213.15 rushing) in 2018 to pass heavy in 2019-20 (300.8 in 2019; 378.6 in 2020) to the current offense that ranks second nationally in rushing (335.67 yards per game, 7.57 per carry). The 2018 team featured a quarterback in Feleipe Franks who offered the threat of the run while the 2019-20 teams took advantage of a deadly accurate passer in Kyle Trask and future NFL receivers such as Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney, Van Jefferson and Freddie Swain. With all those guys gone to the NFL, Mullen has adapted once again. A year ago, the Gators threw the ball 56 percent of the time. This year, with dual threat quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson plus a loaded running backs room that features Malik Davis, Dameon Pierce and Nay’Quan Wright, it’s a 60-40 ratio working well enough that the Gators bludgeoned Alabama for 258 yards on the ground (6.0 per carry) and four rushing TDs. “The worst thing I can say as a coach is I have a great system but it doesn’t fit the players that we have so I guess it won’t work,” Mullen said. “Ours is to always make sure it has enough adaptability within the system to make sure it fits whatever our personnel is at a given time.” The system has adapted to the personnel on hand so well that the No. 11 Gators (2-1, 0-1 SEC) are 19.5-point favorites for Saturday’s game (7 p.m., ESPN) with Tennessee (2-1) at The Swamp. This isn’t last year’s offense, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s the offense that best fits what Mullen has to work with this year. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Quandarrius Robinson, who was arrested for DUI in August, has returned from suspension. Arkansas (3-0): For the Razorbacks to go 4-0, QB KJ Jefferson (39-63 passing, 61.9 percent; 632 yards, 10.0 per attempt) will have to have a big game going against Texas A&M’s pass defense, which is No. 1 nationally. Auburn (2-1): For all the talk about how Bo Nix has improved, HBC Bryan Harsin admitted Tuesday that the downfield passing game is lacking. “You have to have more explosives,” Harsin said. Nix averaged 8.8 yards per completion against Penn State and is averaging just 11.3 per completion in three games. Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Brad Nessler, the play-by-play announcer for CBS, isn’t sold on Georgia or QB JT Daniels. “I’m not sure about Georgia yet,” Nessler said on the McElroy and Cubelic radio show. “I’m still in a wait-and-see deal … I’m more impressed with Florida.” Regarding Daniels, Nessler said, “Who did he beat?” Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Chris Rodriguez Jr. leads the SEC in rushing with 378 yards (6.41 per carry) and three touchdowns. As a team, the Wildcats rank 6th in the league in rushing (196 yards per game, 5.2 per carry). LSU (2-1): With edge rusher Andre Anthony out for the season with an ACL, LSU will go with Ali Gaye and Maason Smith at the position with some help from B.J. Ojulari. Mississippi State (2-1): The Bulldogs rank 7th nationally in passing offense (361 yards per game, 6.6 per attempt) but dead last (130th) in rushing offense (45.33 yards per game, 2.72 per carry). Missouri (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Missouri is third in the SEC (513.7 yards per game, 7.1 per play) in total offense (17th nationally) but dead last (456 yards per game, 6.61 per play) in total defense (115th nationally). Ole Miss (3-0): Much was made of Matt Corral throwing 11 of his 14 interceptions in two games last year. Obviously, he’s learned a couple of things since then. Corral hasn’t thrown a pick in 150 pass attempts. This year he’s 66-96 (68.8 percent) for 1,006 yards (10.5 per attempt) and nine TDs. South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Luke Doty will be the starting quarterback Saturday against Kentucky. Doty completed 13-26 passes for 153 yards and a TD with one pick last week against Georgia after missing the first two games due to a foot injury … Wide receiver Xavier Leggett is questionable Saturday after suffering minor injuries in a traffic accident. Tennessee (2-1): Outside linebacker Byron Young, who was ineligible for the Vols’ first two games, will Texas A&M (3-0): The Aggies are 9th nationally in total defense, giving up 239.3 yards per game (3.64 per play). The Aggies give up 162 yards per game on the ground, but so far teams have managed only 77.3 yards per game through the air (3.0 per attempt) with zero touchdown passes. Vanderbilt (1-2): Running back Re’Mahn Davis is out for the season with a toe injury that has required surgery. Davis was the team’s leading rusher with 211 yards. A COUPLE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES … There are 34 unbeaten teams remaining in Division I and nine that have yet to pick up a win. The number of unbeatens will be reduced by at least five this week as there are five matchups between 3-0 teams highlighted by No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 16 Arkansas in Arlington, Texas. Winless UConn has a chance to become the first 0-5 team in the country when unbeaten Wyoming (3-0) comes to Storrs. Wyoming is a 29.5-point favorite. Clemson (2-1) ranks 114th nationally in total offense at 322.7 yards per game (4.82 yards per play). The Tigers are 93rd in rushing (134 yards per game, 4.02 per carry) and 101st in passing (188.7 per game, 5.6 per attempt). The Tigers averaged 502.3 yards per game (6.69 per play) in 2020 and 528.7 per game in 2019 (7.38 per play). Ohio State (2-1) ranks 9th nationally in total offense (538.3 yards per game, 8.12 per play) but 118th in total defense (471.3 yards per game, 6.15 per play). It is amazing that the Associated Press has both of them (Clemson No. 9, Ohio State No. 10) ranked ahead of Florida. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: WEEK THREE Extinct Species List Les Miles: Should we send out a team of St. Bernards on a search and rescue to see if he’s even alive? We haven’t heard a peep from him since he got fired. Randy Edsall: Not only has he been fired, but the athletic director is cleaning house and has told every UConn assistant there will be six months severance when the season is over. Clay Helton, Southern Cal: If he does go to Tuscaloosa for a couple of years in the recycling bin at St. Nick’s Rehab Center for Wayward Coaches, he will have to squeeze by on the more than $10 million Southern Cal had to spend to fire him. On Life Support Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: He’s 1-2 thanks to that win over D1AA Murray State. Now he takes a paycheck beating against Minnesota. He needs five wins in MAC play to remain gainfully employed. Scott Frost, Nebraska: They will be splendidly happy if he can find a way to eight wins this year which would save them the embarrassment of having to fire one of their living legends from his playing days. He scared the bejabbers out of Oklahoma in Norman last week. Could he pull off a win at Michigan State Saturday? Walt Bell, UMass: The Minutemen are 0-3 and a 36-point road dog at Coastal Carolina. Bell was Willie Taggart’s offensive coordinator at FSU for one year. Things must have really been bad to leave FSU for one of the ultimate dead end jobs in all of college football. Tom Arth, Akron: This is will take a beating for a paycheck week. The Mighty Zips play Ohio State in the Horseshoe where they are 49-point dogs. Last week the Zips made sure they won’t oh-fer the season when they beat something called Bryant, a Rhode Island powerhouse from the Northeast Conference. Endangered Species List Ed Orgeron, LSU: The Tigers lost to Mississippi State last year in Tiger Stadium and Saturday they’ll be in StarkVegas. Lose a second straight year and Coach Oeaux might start feeling a bit more heat. The NCAA and Title IX are making life rather uncomfortable. Dino Babers, Syracuse: The Orange are a surprising 2-1 but Saturday they play Liberty and Malik Willis. Dino needs six wins but the only remaining winnable game looks like Florida State. Chip Kelly, UCLA: The Chipster had them believing until Fresno State beat the Bruins in the final 14 seconds. He desperately needs to escape from Stanford with a win Saturday. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois: Northern Ill has given up 113 points in the last two weeks so getting a week off is what the doctor ordered. The Huskies get D1AA Maine next week so they’ll have a chance to even their record at 2-2 but Hammock needs 5-6 wins to survive. Dana Dimmel, UTEP: UTEP has had a week to work out the kinks after getting hosed by Boise State up on the Smurf Turf. They’re 2-1, which is a shock, and could go 3-1 this week if they can stick it to Los Lobos de Nuevo Mexico. If reality doesn’t set in, the Miners could actually get to 5-6 wins this year which would keep Dimmel employed. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: For three quarters Tulsa had Ohio State on the ropes at the Horseshoe. Then came the fourth quarter and everything collapsed. Can playing the Buckeyes tight on the road give the alums the warm and fuzzies about Phil? Steve Addazio, Colorado State: The bad news is the Fighting Addazios go to Iowa this weekend. The good news is Iowa is only 119th nationally in total offense so the final score might not be so bad. The Mountain West schedule can’t get here quick enough for Colorado State. Checking for a pulse Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are playing really great defense. The problem is the offense stinks. The schedule has maybe two winnable games remaining. Marcus Arroyo, UNLV: The Running Rebels are averaging 15.3 points per game. Opponents are averaging 40. There is a really good chance Tate Martell will be at QB this week. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The College Football Playoff Management Committee will meet today near Dallas to discuss expanding the playoff from four to 12 teams. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC commissioners have basically aligned themselves against the 12-team proposal because they are afraid of the big bad Southeastern Conference. They are dumb to oppose expanding the playoff because the SEC will dominate whether it’s four or 12 teams. The only difference is they’ll be cutting themselves out of millions in broadcast rights money to stay at four. What they need to do is go into this meeting determined to get the votes they need to include Fox Sports and other networks in the broadcast rights conversation. To sell out to ESPN without giving other networks a shot at forming some sort of broadcasting coalition (it works in the NCAA Basketball Tournament with CBS and Turner; the NBA with ESPN and Turner; in MLB with ESPN and Fox) could mean leaving millions of dollars on the table at a time when no one can afford it. The current 4-team model pays each Power Five conference $66 million a year. The 12-team expanded playoff is estimated to bring each of the power leagues somewhere between $200-300 million. So if they want to argue about including other networks in the discussion, fine, but if they want to survive financially, they better not walk away from expanding the playoff to 12 teams.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: THE GATORS, TENNESSEE AND OTHER THINGS Mullen wants the decibel level raised to seriously high levels again this week: The 11th-ranked Gators (2-1, 0-1 SEC) have been established as 20-point favorites for Saturday’s game (7 p.m., ESPN) with unranked Tennessee (2-1) in The Swamp, but even though the Vols are big underdogs, Dan Mullen is hoping for another sellout crowd and ear drum shattering atmosphere like the one with Alabama last Saturday. A near record crowd of 90,887 had The Swamp rocking last week and the noise level caused Alabama four false starts, a delay of game and a burned time out. With the Gators down a game to Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) in the SEC East race, Mullen knows the Gators can’t afford another defeat, so he’s imploring the crowd to show up in force Saturday. “All the Gator fans need to go maybe get some warm tea and lemon, make sure their throats are refreshed,” Mullen said at his Monday press conference. “We need an even more raucous environment to continue to give the home-field advantage. I think you saw the effect that had on the game last week.” Emory Jones said when the crowd gets into the game, the Gators feed off the energy. “The Swamp, it’s real,” Jones said. “That’s why a lot of guys come to the school to do. They come to the school to come play a top team in The Swamp. The fans definitely help us out a lot. It’s something we love and feed off of. We love to play in that environment.” Mullen answers the $64,000 question: What’s the status of Anthony Richardson? Dan Mullen offered an update on Monday. Mullen said, “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 percent but I can’t make the injury worse,’ and ‘I’m cleared to play in the game; I’m not 100 percent and this one- to two-week injury could turn into a six week injury and those are always big differences. “We’ll see how he responds this week. We did an MRI on Friday. It came back much better than we thought it would be but it’s still not at 100 percent. So, we wanted to be pretty precautious. In meeting with the medical staff there was a pretty solid feeling [that] if he didn’t play in the [Alabama] game that he would be 100 percent by this Saturday.” Florida’s offensive line is VERY good: I know this is going to raise the hackles on the John Hevesy haters, especially those who have had it in for Jean Delance for years, but the Florida offensive line is VERY, VERY GOOD. Alabama’s front seven is widely proclaimed as the best in the country. It’s the most experienced and supposedly the best front seven Nick Saban has had since 2016, which featured four NFL first rounders (Foster, Allen, Evans and Payne) and two second rounders (Tomlinson and Anderson). Saturday night at The Swamp, Florida beat them to a pulp. Consider Florida’s final three drives, all of which resulted in touchdowns. The Gators went 10 plays for 75 yards, consuming 4:40 of clock time, 11-99 taking up 4:04 and 12-75 using 6:20. Florida’s offensive line was the football equivalent of Jake LaMotta, delivering one body blow after another to Alabama’s midsection. When it was time to throw, it didn’t matter if Alabama was rushing three, four, five or even six, the protection held. Alabama got one sack that was clearly on Emory Jones, who held the ball way too long waiting for a receiver to break clear, missing out on an opportunity to tuck and run when there was a lane that could have given him 8-10 yards. Alabama was credited with only four quarterback hurries. Jean Delance had a false start but very few other mistakes. He spent much of the day brutalizing Phidarian Mathis and when Michael Tarquin came in while Delance was getting medical attention, he hit Mathis with a couple of blows that Ajax won’t take off. Essentially, the fears about Delance and the right tackle position in general seem a bit overblown. The Gators are second in the nation in rushing: 340.33 yards per game, 7.68 yards per carry, 11 rushing touchdowns. Through three games, they’ve allowed only two sacks for -10 yards and on both of those, it wasn’t for adequate time to throw. Through three games, opponents have been credited with exactly five quarterback hurries, four by Alabama. You win a lot of games when your O-line plays that well. The UF secondary has to tackle better: It’s actually hard to fault the coverage against Alabama because the Gators forced Bryce Young to basically dink and dunk all day. Of his 22 completions for 233 yards, only on three of his completions did the ball travel more than 10 yards (two on passes to Jameson Williams, one to Jahleel Billingsley). The coverage was there, the pressure from the Florida defense was there (two sacks, six quarterback hurries) and that forced Alabama to alter its typical throw it down the field game plan to more of a horizontal game. It is in the horizontal game that the Florida defense had its issues. The Gators had nine missed tackles in the secondary, five in the first quarter. If you’re looking for the real difference in the game, that’s it right there. The Gators would have won the game handily if they had put Alabama receivers on the ground. This is where the Gators have to improve defensively. Opponents are averaging only 97.33 yards per game and 3.07 yards per carry. The front seven is getting the job done against the run, but opponents are getting far too many yards after contact on pass plays because of poor tackling. Nobody is throwing deep on UF, but they will keep dinking and dunking until there is better tackling in the secondary. Paul Finebaum on a radio show with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic about the matchup of Dan Mullen calling plays vs. Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding: “Big picture, it’s about Alabama, but Greg, as you get deeper into the game, Dan Mullen vs. Pete Golding is not a fair fight.” Chris “Bear” Fallica of ESPN on Twitter about Mullen and the Gators: “I know Florida isn’t into moral victories, but Dan Mullen again showed why he’s one of the best game-planners around. To nearly upset Alabama with a QB that doesn’t offer much of a passing threat and dominate in run game. Cocktail party sure feels a lot more interesting this AM.” OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Nick Saban said that in the final 2-1/2 quarters against Florida the Crimson Tide “became an ordinary team.” Saturday: Alabama is a 45-point favorite against Southern Miss. Arkansas (3-0): A year ago, because of COVID-19, Arkansas had to play Texas A&M in College Station but there is no reciprocal visit by the Aggies to Fayette Nam. Arkansas will play the Aggies in a neutral site game in Arlington, Texas, which prompted HBC Sam Pittman to say, “I don’t feel great about it ... We’re in a contract. I get that.” Translation: He really likes his odds if the Aggies had to come to Fayette Nam, not as much at Jerry’s World. Saturday: The Hogs are 5.5-point underdogs to Texas A&M. Auburn (2-1): Paul Finebaum on with McElroy and Cubelic on Auburn having a good season: “The problem for Auburn now is the most obvious. It’s the schedule. They are just littered with extremely difficult games and I’m still not convinced this is going to be a great season. It can be a good season but they really needed that Penn State win, guys, to have something of significance.” Saturday: Auburn is a 27-point favorite over Georgia State. Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC): The media once again is ga-ga over JT Daniels, who threw for 311 yards with three TDs and one INT against a very bad South Carolina team. When is Daniels going to have a big game against a decent SEC defense? Last year he faced Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina. Saturday: Georgia is a 34.5-point favorite on the road at Vanderbilt. Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC): HBC Mark Stoops called the win over D1AA Chattanooga “aggravating” because it took a pick six and a late Kentucky drive to seal a 28-23 win. Saturday: Kentucky is a 5.5-point favorite on the road at South Carolina. LSU (2-1): Andre Anthony, LSU’s best pass rusher, is out for the season after tearing an ACL in the first quarter against Central Michigan. Saturday: LSU is a 2.5-point road favorite at Mississippi State. Mississippi State (2-1): On Saturday Down South, Matt Hayes talked about Mississippi State getting screwed by the SEC zebra crew: “Good officials stay; officials who consistently miss calls aren’t rehired. Does that make Mississippi State feel any better about a couple of calls that directly contributed to a loss at Memphis? Not even close.” Saturday: The Bulldogs are a 2.5-point underdog to LSU. Missouri (2-1, 0-1 SEC): Through three games running back Tyler Baddie has gained 345 yards (7.19 per carry) for three touchdowns and caught 15 passes for 142 yards and three more scores. Saturday: Missouri is a 2.5-point road favorite at Boston College. Ole Miss (3-0): Ole Miss leads the nation in total offense (638.3 yards per game, 7.69 per play) and scoring (52.7 points per game). The Rebels are sixth in rushing (298.67 per game) and 12th in passing (339.7 per game). Saturday: Open. South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC): HBC Shane Beamer says QB Zeb Noland is “struggling with getting feeling back” in a hand that was stepped on during South Carolina’s first possession of the game against Georgia. Noland was 1-2 passing for 61 yards and a TD. Saturday: The Gamecocks are 5.5-point underdogs to Kentucky. Tennessee (2-1): Through three games, the Vols have limited opponents to 163 rushing yards (54.33 per game), an average of 1.7 yards per carry. Saturday the Vols face Florida, which is averaging 340.33 yards per game on the ground, second in the nation. Saturday: The Vols are 20-point road dogs at Florida. Texas A&M (3-0): Injured against New Mexico and listed day-to-day as the Aggies prep for Saturday’s game with Arkansas are offensive lineman Luke Matthews, DB Keldrick Carper and wide receiver Ainias Smith. Saturday: The Aggies are 5.5-point favorites over Arkansas. Vanderbilt (1-2): A very telling stat for the ineptitude of the Vandy offense – the Commodores are averaging only 5.0 yards per pass attempt, which is the seventh worst per attempt nationally. Saturday: The Commodores are 34.5-point underdogs to Georgia. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For all the hype about Cincinnati as the potential College Football Playoff party crasher from the Group of Five, everybody seems to be overlooking BYU. Cincinnati is ranked 8th in the latest AP poll, 9th in the Coaches. The Bearcats own wins over Miami (Ohio), Murray State and a not so impressive win over an Indiana (Big Ten) team that is vastly overhyped. They’re off this week but when they resume play they will be at Notre Dame. The rest of the schedule will be against American Athletic Conference opponents and quite frankly, the league doesn’t look very strong. Meanwhile, BYU is 3-0 against Pac-12 opponents and has remaining games against Power Five opponents Baylor (Big 12), Virginia (ACC), Washington State (Pac-12) and Southern Cal (Pac-12). I’m far more impressed with BYU at this point than the Bearcats. College Football Playoff voters should be, also.

"From 7:25 for the next 37:25, Dan Mullen’s team played its best football maybe ever." You could feel it in the tremors of Ben Hill Griffin, the fifth largest crowd in history (90,877). You could sense it in the pre-game tingle, just like the old days. Except in Alabama, whose fans expected a Tide rout with no regard for the hostile environment that once resided in The Swamp. Or in Las Vegas, where for the first time in almost two decades, a ranked team was more than a two-touchdown underdog at home. Almost nobody gave them a chance of covering the 15-point spread, let alone winning the game. The former happened. The latter could have. Before the game vs. Alabama, some of us were discussing the significance of the outcome for Florida. “Not a program breaker,” said somebody. “But maybe a program maker.” Who would make such a statement? OK, it was me! Turns out I was wrong. It was neither. They were expecting to see Anthony Richardson, instead they got all Emory Jones. Right there some of the fans were disgruntled. Then when Alabama spurted ahead quickly 21-3, “covering the spread” before the first quarter ended, the seeds of discontent grew. Some of us were on the record as saying if Florida had any shot, they needed chunk plays with Richardson. Halfway through the second quarter, the Tide turned. Not long after the loudest boos crescendoed with 7:25 left in the second period, Jones finally got a 30-yard completion to Keon Zipperer, followed by an interference call on Josh Jobe, during a day of when the Gators had already been hit some suspect pass interference calls. Then Malik Davis’s inspirational 30-yard scoring scamper seemed to light up the Swamp, as the fans pivoted. “They’ve gone from booing to ‘we’ve got a game!’” CBS announcer Brad Nessler said. Except when the missed PAT made it 21-9 at the half, yes, we had a game. From 7:25 for the next 37:25, Dan Mullen’s team played its best football maybe ever. Who could have ever guessed that when ‘Bama’s kickoff was muffed on a bizarre fair-catch-fumble out of bounds at the Gators’ own 1, that their offense could mount a 99-yard scoring drive against Nick Saban’s mighty defense. With either Nay'Quan Wright or Emory Jones running or Jones throwing every one of the 11 plays to cover virtually the entirely length of the field, Emory scored on a 5-yard run and closed the gap to 28-23. Could this really be happening? For the last three periods the Gators outplayed the Tide – out rushed, out passed, out defended, out-everythinged. Except out-kicking and out-two-point playing. However, it was a respect-earner for Dan Mullen. For his players, especially his quarterback. And for The Swamp, whose patrons came alive with a vengeance. Does that mean they’re back? Maybe the renewed spirit wasn’t transformational but once the culprits stopped booing and echoes were awakened, the affirmation was felt – especially by Emory Jones. They may have been booing him in the second quarter, but hey were singing his praises in the end. You could see it in the AP poll where, after the 31-29 loss, Florida didn’t budge from No. 11. And in the tweet lovefest that ensued. And so I tweeted: “There are no moral victories, so the Tide wins, 31-29. But in the universe of measuring sticks, the Gators proved they could measure up to the National Champions. And they are coming.” “We owe you an apology,” somebody with the handle of Maryann tweeted to Jones. You know what? Maryann has a good point there.

In the three quarters following a rush to judgment first quarter that saw the Florida Gators fall behind mighty Alabama, 21-3, perhaps we learned that Dan Mullen not only knows how to coach football, but his trust in Emory Jones just might be warranted. Sure, the Gators lost the game, 31-29, and when Mullen and his staff watch the film they will be kicking themselves for the number of mental breakdowns that gave Alabama an 18-point cushion after the first 15 minutes; but this was a winnable game. It was winnable particularly because Mullen never panicked, and he never lost faith that Jones could get the job done even if it was his first Southeastern Conference start against a team that many in the national media have already handed one of the two spots in the national championship game. Consider this: In the first quarter, Alabama outgained the Gators 172-81, scoring on all three possessions. The Crimson Tide made it look easy the way they marched down the field on scoring drives of 75, 75 and 38 yards. With the exception of a drive that ended in a field goal to answer Alabama’s first touchdown, the Gators were the proverbial lost ball in the tall grass whether it was on defense or with Jones holding the ball forever in the pocket instead of taking off. The Gators were down 14-3 when Jones was hit as he threw on a third-and-10 at the UF 25, causing him to overshoot Xzavier Henderson along the sideline. Alabama’s Jalyn Armour-Davis intercepted at the Florida 38, leading to a six play, 38-yard touchdown drive that was as easy as a hot knife through room temperature butter. The once-raucous Gator Nation became as quiet as the invocation at a funeral. When Florida’s ensuing drive stalled at the Bama 37 when Jones’ fourth-and-four pass was batted in the air by Alabama’s Brian Branch, fans on the West Side let out a cascade of boos. They sensed a blowout was coming and let it be known they were fed up with Mullen and fed up with Jones. They wanted Anthony Richardson in the worst way, but Mullen wasn’t about to risk his electric redshirt freshman with the tender hamstring. This, after all, is just one game and there are seven consecutive SEC games to go including one next weekend in The Swamp with Tennessee (2-1), a 56-7 winner over D1AA Tennessee Tech on Saturday. “Today, he [Richardson] wasn’t going to be 100 percent, but if he played, he could have definitely made it worse,” Mullen said. Translation: It’s a long season and further injury to a hamstring damages the Gators’ chances to stay in the race for the SEC East Division championship. While the fans were all but begging for Anthony Richardson and the Gators were waiting on the fork that would officially pronounce them done, Dan Mullen must have found his worn out copy of “Football Coaching for Dummies” and Emory Jones found his sea legs. How else can you explain the turnaround in the next three quarters? How else can you explain why the Gators outgained Alabama 358-152 and outscored the Crimson Tide 26-10 the rest of the way? Florida outgained Alabama 439-324. The Gators ran for 258 yards for the game, 213 in the final three quarters. Jones, who was 4-7 for 36 yards with a pick in the first quarter, was 13-20 for 145 yards the rest of the way. Sure, games are four quarters so what happened in the first quarter does count and it has everything to do with why Florida lost but those final three quarters tell us why it’s way too early to give up on this team. You may have rushed to judgment after the first quarter, but you shouldn’t do a repeat by giving up on the Gators after losing to Alabama by two points. Jones is the poster child of the turnaround because he went from an indecisive passer even with plenty of protection to one who found receivers and delivered timely passes at critical points in the game. The Gators gave up only one sack and that was on Jones, who should have improvised and run. He was indecisive and that’s why Alabama got to him, but for the most part, Jones knew exactly what he was doing, where he wanted to go with the football and did a good job of getting it there. He still needs his mental alarm to go off, telling him it’s time to tuck and run since no one is open, but we used to say the same thing about Trask in his first year as a starter. Jones ran the option well enough to keep the Alabama defense off balance. Once he got outside the tackles on the option, he picked up nice chunks of yardage (he was 19-80 rushing for a touchdown) when he cut upfield. When he pitched instead of ran, he hit the running backs in the hands. There was nothing close to a bad pitch. He really only had to scramble one time and that was for 14 yards on Florida’s final scoring drive. That’s not to say he didn’t make mistakes in the final three quarters. He did. The most blatant was on the two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game at 31-21 with 3:10 to go in the game. It was an option play that Jones rode Malik Davis into the line instead of pulling it out and trying to swing wide. Option plays are tricky, and some of the blame might fall on Davis, who seemed to hold onto the ball when Jones put it on his belly. Even after the first quarter there were a couple of passes that Jones completed when there was an open receiver farther down the field. “I still made a couple of mistakes out there that I wish I could get back and I missed on a couple o throws that I don’t usually miss,” Jones said. “Those are the type of things I am trying to eliminate every week. I am getting better and I saw a lot of improvement.” In many ways, it was like watching Jones grow up before our very eyes. The quarterback of the first quarter can get you beat. The quarterback in the last three will win a lot of games for you. Overall, however, this was the kind of performance that Mullen has been expecting out of Jones. He’s said all along that Jones extremely talented, the kind of quarterback who can play at the highest level. Because of four interceptions in those first two games against inferior opponents while Richardson was putting up Star Wars numbers, everything but Mullen’s sanity has been questioned. How in the world, they ask, can Dan Mullen be so blind when everyone in the world can see clearly that Emory Jones can’t play quarterback very well and Anthony Richardson is like Tebow with speed and more zip on his passes? In the week leading up to Saturday’s game, more than one prominent member of the national media let it be known that Florida had absolutely zero chance against that vaunted Alabama defense if Anthony Richardson wasn’t the starting quarterback. Considering Richardson not only didn’t start but didn’t play, maybe the proper question at this point is how’d that prediction work out? For some reason, Dan Mullen gets doubted a lot. People doubted him in 2006 when he turned a hybrid offense of Chris Leak the thrower and Tim Tebow the runner into one good enough to win a national championship. As the head coach at Mississippi State, he signed Dak Prescott as a quarterback when Nick Saban thought he would make a dandy linebacker. When Prescott turned out better than anyone expected, the fans wanted him to become the full-time starter, but Mullen held off until his fourth year in the offense. That turned out okay. Fourth year in the offense? Does that sound like Kyle Trask? Does that sound at all like Emory Jones? We were on the verge of nuclear winter in the eyes of a whole lot of Florida fans when Mullen figured out how to coach again (sarcasm here). That’s about the same time his faith in Emory Jones began to pay off in a very big way. Can you imagine what might have happened if Mullen had spent the previous two weeks trashing Jones for his indecision and interceptions while pumping up Richardson? Do you think for even a second that Jones could have performed at the level he did against Alabama if he wasn’t 100 percent sure Dan Mullen had his back? When you come back from almost down 21-3, which is all but belly up, and make Nick Saban sweat, you obviously know how to coach and you obviously have a quarterback who knows how to play the game. Dan Mullen definitely knows how to coach. Emory Jones definitely has skills. And while on the subject of knowing how to coach, perhaps it’s time for some folks to get off the John Hevesy is clueless wagon. Florida’s offensive line, which is supposed to be a true weak link, was downright nasty against what is considered the best front seven in all of college football. Florida AVERAGED 6.0 per carry while running for 258 yards on a defense that was giving up just 79 yards per game for an average of 2.31 per carry. Florida ran for four touchdowns. In the first two games, no one had scored on the ground against Bama. The Gators allowed one sack, which happened when Jones had enough time to order pizza. He should have taken off running because he could have gained at least six or seven yards. Alabama was credited with only four quarterback hurries, which is to say the Crimson Tide rarely got pressure and they tried with three, four, five and sometimes six pass rushers. There will be Florida fans who will spend way too much time criticizing Mullen for what happened in the first quarter and they’ll insist that if Emory Jones continues to start at quarterback it is because he’s way too loyal. They aren’t at practice every day. They aren’t in the meeting rooms. They don’t know how much of the playbook Anthony Richardson knows. They don’t know how many of the checkdowns at the line of scrimmage Richardson can go to on a split second. Mullen knows what Emory Jones can do, and right now, he’s the quarterback who gives the Gators the best chance to win. That could change in the future, but having a very competent Jones and an electric Anthony Richardson is a fine problem to have. This was not the outcome either the Florida fans or the Gators wanted, but once they got past that first quarter, they showed they not only belonged on the same field with Alabama, but they are certainly capable of playing with and beating the Crimson Tide. Close, they say, counts only in horseshoes and hand grenades, but on this night close was important. It was important because close meant that rather than hang their heads when a blowout seemed inevitable, the Gators fought back and made Nick Saban and Alabama sweat it out. “We didn’t pay out best game the first two games, and today we came out there and we still didn’t play our best game, but I think we showed that we have a lot of fight in this team,” Jones said. The Gators do have a lot of fight in them, and they have seven more SEC games, all of which, including Georgia, are winnable. Dan Mullen, Emory Jones and the Gators lost a battle Saturday evening but they didn’t lose the war.

Alas, the Gators go home with a loss. Period. Zero satisfaction in a loss, no matter at whose hands. By CARLTON REESE To have heroically saved five of six people from a burning building is not a victory – it is a time to mourn. In the end, the 31-29 loss Saturday cannot be blamed on a superior team bullying the Gators around for four quarters, but on a couple costly offensive mistakes, a questionable 2-point conversion play, a missed PAT kick and… ahem (cue the violins), a fairly bad whistle when the Gators could least afford it. Had Florida State come within a score of Wake Forest Saturday, THAT would have been a moral victory for a program sinking to the depths of the Darrel Mudra era. Close losses to Alabama that likely should be victories signal only one thing if you’re happy about it: You are content to be merely good and not among the college football elite. The elites? They would be Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State (a few weeks ago) which seem to pour everything including the schools’ endowments into football. None of those three are exactly climbing the U.S. News’ list of top academic universities, so choose your battles wisely. And all three right now show signs of vulnerability on the field, as well. The energy exuded Saturday in The Swamp did signal that Florida is at least in the conversation with the elites. That is, until next Saturday night if Mullen’s boys bring no emotion and prove that a miserable Vols team actually belongs in a conversation with the Gators. Thus, the importance of trouncing Tennessee and pinning them in their rightful class along with programs such as Miami, Nebraska and FSU. Just as now is not the time to start congratulating players who fought valiantly in defeat, neither is it the time to sulk, mired in self-pity; so here is a look at the bright side: Emory Jones is a very good, confident quarterback. He is good enough to beat Alabama and absolutely no one thought this before the game or when Florida trailed 21-3 in the second quarter. Everyone in the The Swamp waited with breathless anticipation Florida’s third series of the game so they could see their new superhero, Anthony Richardson. When No. 5 trotted out onto the field, you would have thought the theatre announcer had announced Bette Midler was being replaced by a stand-in for the evening’s Broadway show. Jones likely won back many of the doubters with his play Saturday despite several moments in the first half that drew gasps from the home crowd, all knowing his thrown ball was headed for the confines of a crimson jersey. But on 3rd-and-9 with the Gators down 28-16, Jones’ beautiful back-shoulder throw to Xzavier Henderson for a first down at the Bama 5 smelled like Tom Brady. That play was crucial during an astounding 99-yard drive for a score. Also of note was Florida’s offensive line, which many saw as a question mark before the season. After giving Jones enough time to complete his calculus homework every time he dropped back and opening holes for running backs that could have made a star of Shane Wabberson, this looks like the sort of line every championship team requires. Defensively, the Gators held Alabama in check about as well as any team could be asked. After Bama’s first three drives that looked eerily similar to the last two times these teams met in the SEC Championship game, the Gators actually looked like a championship-caliber defense. This included forcing the Alabama offense into three straight 3-and-out possessions at one point that would have been four of five possessions if not for a head-scratching pass interference call on the Tide’s second offensive series of the game. Nice quarterback play, a stout offensive line, a stingy defense – so why a loss? Here’s why: 21-3. At that point, everyone braced for the blowout and an entire week of “I told you so” from obnoxious Tide fans on the Paul Finebaum Show. Then, Florida outscored Alabama 26-10 and finished the game with 440 yards compared to the Tide’s 331. These weren’t numbers rolled up in a late comeback against a defense playing soft – the numbers were an accurate reflection of which team dominated in the trenches. Still, it was 21-3. Down by 18 points against the No.1 team in the nation several things absolutely cannot happen in order to pull out a victory. Among them are missing a PAT kick, the same thing that cost UF a win over Alabama in 1999 in Gainesville. Another is a holding call after pushing into Alabama territory and spoiling critical offensive momentum. Another is dropping a sure interception over the middle, keeping a drive alive and allowing Alabama to hold serve with another touchdown a few plays later. Another is a pass interference call on a big third down when it seems an Alabama drive has stalled. For the University of Florida football program, there are no moral victories, only losses that hurt more than the previous one. Aside from a few wearing jorts and orange tank-tops Saturday, no one in the world believed the Gators belonged on the field with Alabama. Not only did they belong on the field with the Tide, they belonged in the win column as well. Alas, the Gators go home with a loss. Period. Zero satisfaction in a loss, no matter at whose hands. So no, there should be no rejoicing in a close loss to Alabama. This should have been a win and should be sticking in the craw of all Gator players, hungry to come out next weekend and spit this bad taste out of their collective mouths. At the same time, it feels nice to know you belong. It’s nice to know your team isn’t in Coral Gables, Lincoln or Tallahassee.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: CONSIDER IT A SPEED BUMP ON THE ROAD TO ATLANTA As disappointing as Florida’s 31-29 loss to Alabama is, it’s only a speed bump on the road to Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. There are seven remaining SEC games and if the Gators go 7-0 the rest of the way in league play, they’ll be in Atlanta, perhaps getting a second shot at Alabama. The Gators are almost certain to be favored in all but two games – October 16 at LSU and October 30 against Georgia in Jacksonville. If the game were played right now, the Gators would be favored to beat LSU even though that game is in Baton Rouge, but the Tigers could put it all together and they can be formidable at home. It is expected the Gators will go into the Georgia game with that one SEC loss, so this could be a de facto championship game for the SEC East championship. Before the season began, I said that to win the SEC East, Florida had to win two games out of the three with Alabama, LSU and Georgia as long as one of the wins was Georgia. I think that will prove true. *** This is the fastest the Gators have reached 1,000 rushing yards in at least 40 years. Through three games the Gators have run for 1,021 yards, an average of 340.33 yards per game and 7.68 yards per carry with 11 rushing touchdowns. To put things in proper focus, a year ago the Gators ran for 1,575 yards (4.29 yards per carry) for 12 touchdowns in TWELVE games. In THIRTEEN games in 2019, the Gators ran for 1,687 yards (4.24 per carry) for 21 touchdowns. Against Alabama, the Gators ran for 258 yards on 43 carries, an average of 6.0 per carry and they scored four TDs on the ground. Coming into the game, Alabama had given up 158 yards on the ground, an average of 2.31 per carry. Back in December in the SEC Championship Game, the Gators had 54 net yards on 26 carries (2.08 per carry). Here is what Paul Finebaum had to say about Florida’s running game after seeing it up close and personal Saturday: “We have been told prior to the season that this may be the most elite defense in Nick Saban’s tenure, and that defense in the final 2.5 quarters yesterday was anything but elite. They got gashed constantly. The Florida offensive line just went right through the defensive line of Alabama and nobody thought that was even possible. Alabama could barely stop anything.” The SEC Office should review … And this is just from one series, Alabama’s second touchdown drive to go ahead 14-3. There were a couple other dubious calls but these three should be reported to the SEC office: On third-and-7 at the Alabama 28: Bryce Young throws behind John Metchie III, misses his receiver by a good two yards. Completely uncatchable. Kaiir Elam called for pass interference. Metchie grabbed the jersey of Elam. If there was a penalty it should have been holding on Metchie. Later on the same drive, third-and-1 at the Alabama 48: A complete pass to Jase McClellan who clearly grabs the face mask of Mohamoud Diabate. Four yards later he goes out of bounds at the UF 34. Should have been a 10-yard penalty from the spot, which would have put the ball back at the 48. Repeat third down. On the same drive, the TD pass to Jahlil Billingsley from the UF 26: Billingsley was wide open because John Metchie III ran into the DB covering him. Should have been offensive pass interference for an illegal pick. The Coaches Top 25 Poll: 1. Alabama 3-0; 2. Georgia 3-0; 3. Oklahoma 3-0; 4. Oregon 3-0; 5. Texas A&M 3-0; 6. Iowa 3-0; 7. Clemson 2-1; 8. Penn State 3-0; 9. Cincinnati 3-0; 10. Notre Dame 3-0; 11. FLORIDA 2-1; 12. Ohio State 2-1; 13. Ole Miss 3-0; 14. Iowa State 2-1; 15. Wisconsin 1-1; 16. BYU 3-0; 17. Coastal Carolina 3-0; 18. Arkansas 3-0; 19. Michigan 3-0; 20. North Carolina 2-1; 21. Michigan State 3-0; 22. Oklahoma State 3-0; 23. Auburn 2-1; 24. UCLA 2-1; 25. Fresno State The Associated Press Top 25 Poll: 1. Alabama 3-0; 2. Georgia 3-0; 3. Oregon 3-0; 4. Oklahoma 3-0; 5. Iowa 3-0; 6. Penn State 3-0; 7. Texas A&M 3-0; 8. Cincinnati 3-0; 9. Clemson 2-1; 10. Ohio State 2-1; 11. FLORIDA 2-1; 12. Notre Dame 3-0; 13. Ole Miss 3-0; 14. Iowa State 2-1; 15. BYU 3-0; 16. Arkansas 3-0; 17. Coastal Carolina 3-0; 18. Wisconsin 1-1; 19. Michigan 3-0; 20. Michigan State 3-0; 21. North Carolina 2-1; 22. Fresno State 3-1; 24. UCLF 2-1; 25. Kansas State 3-0 MIKE WHITE GETS A COMMITMENT FROM DENZEL ABERDEEN Denzel Aberdeen (6-4, 175, Orlando, FL Dr. Phillips), a highly regarded combo guard for one of the top prep basketball programs in the state of Florida, is the second commitment for the 2022 recruiting class for Florida coach Mike White. Aberdeen joins 4-star power forward Malik Reneau (6-9, 220, Hialeah, FL/Montverde, FL Montverde, Academy) in the Florida recruiting class. Rated three stars by both 247Sports and Rivals, Aberdeen had more than 24 scholarship offers with a list that included Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, VCU, Illinois, Minnesota and Georgia Tech. THE SEC AFTER THREE WEEKS Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Through three games, Alabama’s running game has to be a concern for Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide is averaging just 4.0 per carry after gaining a mere 399 yard and that includes games with a Miami team that was constantly gouged by Michigan State and D1AA Mercer with its 280-pound defensive tackles. Against Florida, Alabama gained 91 yards on 27 carries. Next week: vs. Southern Miss (1-2) Arkansas (3-0): KJ Jefferson threw for 366 yard and three touchdowns and Treylon Burks caught three passes for 127 yards and a touchdown on a 91-yard pass from Jefferson in the Hogs’ 45-10 win over Georgia Southern. Arkansas finished with 633 yards of offense. Next week: vs. Texas A&M (3-0) in Arlington, TX Auburn (2-1): Tank Bigsby carried 23 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns in Auburn’s 28-20 loss to Penn State. Next week: vs. Georgia State (1-2) Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC): JT Daniels returned from his strained oblique to throw for 303 yards and three touchdowns (1 INT) against a bad South Carolina defense. Next week: at Vanderbilt (1-2) Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC): A week after running for 330 yards on SEC Missouri, Kentucky managed only 102 against D1AA Chattanooga. Will Levis did throw for 254 yards and two TDs but he was picked off twice in the Wildcats 28-23 win. Next week: at South Carolina (2-1) LSU (2-1): The Tigers scored a 49-21 behind five touchdown passes and 372 yards from Max Johnson, but they still can’t run the ball. LSU managed only 84 yards on 24 carries. Next week: at Mississippi State (2-1) Mississippi State (2-1): The SEC has called out its officiating crew for not blowing a punt dead after it touched multiple Mississippi State players. When there was no whistle Calvin Austin III picked it up and raced 94 yards for a Memphis touchdown. Also on the play, Memphis had two number fours in the game, a penalty that should have nullified the play. Memphis won the game, 31-29. Next week: vs. LSU (2-1) Missouri (2-1, 0-1 SEC): The Tigers threw for 440 yards and ran for 235 in their 59-28 win over D1AA Southeast Missouri State. Connor Bazelac threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns while Tyler Badie ran for two touchdowns and caught a pass for a third. Next week: at Boston College (3-0) Ole Miss (3-0): If you want to know who should be the leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy, look no further than Matt Corral, who threw for 335 yards and three TDs while running for 68 yards for four more TDs in the Rebels 61-21 win over Tulane. Corral was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week … The Rebels, who had 707 yards of offense, have an open date before playing host to Alabama on October 2. Next week: Open South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC): After missing the first two games because of a foot injury, quarterback Luke Doty returned to the lineup, throwing for 153 yards with one TD and one INT against Georgia. Zeb Noland, who started the first two weeks was 1-2 with a 61-yards TDP. Next week: vs. Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC) Tennessee (2-1): Hendon Hooker threw for three touchdowns and ran for one as Tennessee totally outclassed winless D1AA Tennessee Tech. Next week: at Florida (2-1, 0-1 SEC) Texas A&M (3-0): Making his first career start, Zach Calzada threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns while Isaiah Spiller was 15-117 rushing for two touchdowns in the Aggies’ 34-0 win over New Mexico. The Aggies held New Mexico to 122 yards of offense. Next week: vs. Arkansas (3-0) in Arlington, TX Vanderbilt (1-2): The bright spot in the Commodores’ 41-23 loss to Stanford was 247 rushing yards led by Rocko Griffin, who gained 107 on 19 carries. Quarterback Ken Seals threw for 120 yards, averaging a pitiful 3.2 yards per attempt. Next week: vs. Georgia (3-0) ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL In the ACC: Clemson (2-1) was outgained 309-284 and barely beat a bad Georgia Tech team 14-9 … Then 15th-ranked Virginia Tech (2-1) was throttled by West Virginia, 27-21 … Then 24th-ranked Miami (1-2) got hosed by Michigan State, 38-17 … Florida State (0-3) is off to its first 0-3 start since 1976 after getting poleaxed by Wake Forest Gump, 45-14 ... Pitt (2-1), which last week beat Tennessee in Neyland, was shocked by Western Michigan of the MAC (and Cheese), 44-41. In the Pac-12: Oregon (3-0), which took it easy on D1AA Stony Brook, 48-17, is the only team in the league that hasn’t lost a game so far … Well, the only team unless you consider the fact that independent BYU is 3-0 against the Pac-12 South after whacking Arizona State (2-1) … The UCLA (2-1) bubble burst when Fresno State scored on a 75-yard drive in the final two minutes, getting a touchdown with 14 seconds left for a 40-37 win … Utah (1-2) lost to San Diego State of the Mountain West, Colorado (1-2) was slapped silly by Minnesota, 30-0, and D1AA Northern Arizona beat Arizona (0-3), 21-19. The Big 12: The Big 12 was 7-0 against outside competition Saturday with both its ranked teams winning. No. 3 Oklahoma had a surprisingly tough 23-16 win over Nebraska and No. 14 Iowa State (2-1) cruised past UNLV, 21-20 … West Virginia (2-1) beat No. 15 Virginia Tech … Oklahoma State is 3-0 after a 21-20 win on the Smurf Turf at Boise State and Kansas State moved to 3-0 with a relatively easy 38-17 win over Nevada. The Big Ten: With Ohio State (2-1) looking anything like a playoff team, Iowa (3-0) looking like a team that needs an offense, and Penn State (3-0) looking good but not great, Michigan (3-0) suddenly looks like the best team in the Big Ten. Could this possibly be the year Jim Harbaugh finally beats Ohio State and wins the Big Ten title? Everybody else: Malik Willis accounted for six touchdowns – four passing, two running – to lead Liberty (3-0) past Old Dominion, 45-17 … Jake Haener of Fresno State (3-1) threw for 455 yards and two touchdowns … SMU (3-0) remained unbeaten when Tanner Mordecai’s Hail Mary to the end zone was deflected to one of his receivers for a touchdown on the last play of the game for a 39-37 win over Louisiana Tech. Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, threw for five touchdowns, while Oklahoma tight end transfer Grant Calcaterra caught seven passes for 138 yards. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Tennessee comes to Gainesville Saturday to face the Gators, who have won 15 of the last 16 games against the Vols, the only loss coming in 2016. Given the way the Gators have dominated the series, it’s hard to imagine that this was once the single most important early season game in the country. In all but one season (1997) between 1992 and 2001, the winner of the Florida-Tennessee game won the SEC East. Only one year (2000) was neither of the two ranked in the top five. Three times both teams were top ten and four times both were ranked among the top five. I love it when the Gators win, but I do miss the intensity of this rivalry.

The No. 11 Florida Gators fell 31-29 to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. After the game, Head Coach Dan Mullen met with local media to review the loss, share what he learned about his team and where they go from here. As a valued GatorBait subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. INTRO "I want to thank all the Gator Nation. Hopefully eveyone travels home safe. The rain held off until postgame so … but it was to see the Swamp alive, unbelievable atmosphere. The fan, they certainly did their part. The margin for error in this game is so small. The Gator Nation certainly showed up today and did their part. I thank them for what they did today. "It was a fun game to be a part of. You love these games, been 10 years since you’re had that game here in the Swamp. I’ve talked about it moving forward we want to play them more often. Be honest with you, I hope we play them really soon, like later this season. I want that opportunity. Our fans, it was great SEC football. Main takeaway? “When you play in big games, the margin for error is going to be so small. You look at the turnover margin, we had one they had none. We gave up some first downs on penalties, pass interference calls, they’re judgment calls that can go either way. But we gave up too many first downs penalty-wise to allow them to keep some drives alive, especially early on a couple of errors weren’t good. As you said, missed extra point, we had a missed assignment on the two-point play. You’re going to go back and watch you’re going to see little things. But our guys, I like the attitude of this team. 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.” Down 21-3, look liked game over? “I think early on they kind of came out, hit some plays on us, a couple of mistakes, but once we settled into the game. As I told you, our guys expected to win the game. We just dug ourselves an early hole we had to dig ourselves out of. We did, just came up a play … there’s just so many things you could point to during the course of the game that could flip it one way or the other. We have to find a way to make those plays to always flip it in our direction.” How close AR15 playing? “It’s one of those deals, when you have a hamstring it’s not like a sprained ankle. When you look at injuries that hey he can go on, it’s not going to get worse, he might not be 100 percent but he’s not going to make it worse during the course of the game. His is he’s not going to be 100 percent and if he plays he definitely can make it worse. That was one we talked about going into the game. We did an MRI yesterday. He was actually ahead of where we thought he would be, which was really positive for next week with him. But it’s one, going into the game we talked about, I don’t share the plan with you, but he knew he was going to go in back-up mode only and be a dropback passer, stand in the pocket only, not running around, hand the ball off to quarterback. Fortunately Emroy stayed healthy. I thought Emory stepped up his game this week, had a pretty good darn game. It will be great hopefully as this week goes get Anthony back 100 percent as well.” YOU TOUCHED ON EMORY, BUT HOW CRUCIAL WAS LAST DRIVE? "Huge. I mean just, you look at the team and the attitude of the team to just take us -- last couple drives -- the 99-yard drive. I mean you just can't flinch in game situations. These guys didn't flinch today. They just kept battling, kept battling, kept battling, put us in a position to we were right there with an opportunity to be within two points there at the end of the game." TAKE US THROUGH TWO-POINT PLAY... YOU SAY MISSED ASSIGNMENT? "Yeah, a couple. There was two. I'm not going to get into specifics of the play, but we had a guy line up wrong and then a guy go the wrong way." GOING TO BE RUNNING PLAY, THOUGH? "Possibly. Well there was a couple options within the play, so. Yeah, I'm not going to get into the specifics of what the actual play call was and what our design on that play was and draw it up for you." PLAYED THESE GUYS AS CLOSE AS ANYBODY LAST TWO TIMES WITH TWO REALLY DIFFERENT OFFENSIVE APPROACHES... WHY IS THAT? WHY YOU SO MUCH TROUBLE FOR THESE GUYS? "I don't know. I think one thing a lot of teams play Alabama and I think they sometimes don't think they're going to win the game, maybe? I mean our guys certainly expected to win the game. Played that way. We did last year, we did this year. I think that's maybe a big part of it. Where we're headed as a program I think, I talked about it when I got here: I want a team that can compete for championships on a consistent basis. And to do that you're going to have to go; to compete for championships you're going to have to go beat Alabama. As everybody said last year, 'What's the margin?' Last year it was six points, this year it was two. And hopefully we get one more shot at them and get an opportunity to compete for another championship as we move forward. But you know, that's what we want to be as a program and that's what our guys, how we prepare and we expect heading out there on the field." NO MORAL VICTORIES, BUT IN GAME LIKE THIS, CAN YOU PROVE WHAT YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT? YOU COME HERE TO COMPETE, WIN, PLAY FOR TITLES? "Absolutely. I do think, you know, you come into the game, I don't know if they knew where they were at and we knew where we were at coming into this game sometimes after the first two games of the season. You've got Game 1, you're learning new things. They're certainly a very different team than they were last year. We're a very different team than we were last year, even though we played nine months earlier or whatever it was. Two different kind of teams lining up against each other today. After the first two games you still have some questions. I think we have the opportunity to be a pretty good team this year. There's a lot of things we've got to fix up and we've got to get better at, but I think we have an opportunity to be a pretty good football team. I mean give them credit, they're an excellent football team. Obviously Nick does a great job within the program and continuing to have guys play at an extremely high level. But I thought, you know what? I thought we had a good plan offensively and defensively and I thought our guys executed really well, for the most part." NO POINTS GIVEN UP IN SECOND QUARTER, WHAT DID YOU TALK TO DEFENSE ABOUT AFTER FIRST QUARTER? "Just to relax. Just make tackles, do your job, don't try to make plays. I think sometimes guys, you know, you get in big environments, guys try to make plays. What you have to understand; and explain this the right way, because I know what my thought is, I've got to make sure I explain it to you the right way. Is do your job within the scheme call, whether it's offense, defense, even defensively. Go out there. We make the call. Execute the defensive call. And if you do that within that scheme you're going to have the opportunity to make plays if you do what you're supposed to do. Just don't get out of it and say, 'OK, I'm going to try to do something different and make a great play over here.' The plays will come to you. I think our guys, we got them to relax a little bit and just go out there and execute. And they did. I think we really executed clean moving forward in the game." (What can be taken from this game defensively) “Yeah I think the guys believing in what we’re doing defensively. I thought Todd and his staff had a great scheme today. They really did a good job putting the guys out there in position to make plays on the field. I thought on the back end we have a very young secondary going against a bunch of talented guys. I thought those guys really stepped up and got up there and played well. A couple of penalties here and there, bang-bang plays. I liked the aggressiveness and I liked the confidence our guys played with.” (Offensively what changed after the first quarter?) “I don’t know, why? Were we much better after that? Probably better play calls. No. I think getting into the flow of the game. Our guys settled down. I thought we were moving the ball. I thought we moved the ball, we had a three-and-out there early but I think our guys settling down and making plays, being comfortable and making plays and the trust, executing and doing their job. I think coming into the game, one of the big things, you wanted to be able to run the ball. We were able to run the ball. Very rarely do you see that big a disparity when you play Alabama in the rushing attack. We came out, had more than 100 yards more than they did. There’s little things we gotta fix. We gotta finish drives and get points at the end of drives there, put ourselves in the lead. I would have loved to get that lead and heard the Gator crowd with the lead.” (What does UF need to do better on 3rd down defensively?) “You’re gonna look at it and there’s gonna be a bunch of things. We had a missed tackle or two in there. We had a penalty or two in there. I think those things. Let’s give them credit. They have some pretty talented players too, offensively. In that type of game it’s all the little things like that that it comes down to. We were 7-of-13, we need to be a little better on third down but four of them, I think, were penalties. Just little things like that that we need to get cleaned up.” (What can this game do for Emory?) “I think, for him, I think it gets him just relaxed. In the first couple games you learn a lot. I mean, I haven’t called plays with Emory as the primary quarterback before. He hasn’t been out there on the field. He’s come in in situations but he came in, when you’re the started you’ve gotta come in and manage everything. There’s a lot on your plate. I think him getting comfortable now. Kind of surprisingly he was just relaxed and comfortable with everything happening out there on the field, way more than he was the last two weeks. Which, you know, hey, you’re playing Alabama’s defense and I’m kind of relaxed and comfortable. I think he’s just kind of now getting into the flow of this is how we gameplan, this is what we do, this is how I apply the gameplan to who we’re playing. I think you saw him being a much more comfortable guy out there. Even his interception, his interception was a great read. He’s getting hit. He’s trying to get it out right on time. He made the perfect read going to the guy as he’s getting hit the ball sealed on him as he got hit right as he was releasing. I’m going back in the game and I didn't see many … if you look over the first couple weeks I thought he played pretty good with some drastic errors. I think everybody freaks out because some of his errors the first couple weeks were, like, bad. It was, ‘I played really good and then a couple mistakes’ it was like ‘I played really good and then what was that?’ I don’t think of, maybe one big error. I can’t think of an error he made today, like a bad one, that he made over the course of the game.” (Fair to say you’re still learning how to call plays for him in game?) “Yeah, you get into that. You get that feeling, that comfort level of what guys … when you practice against each other, practice is great but there is a little bit of difference of being out there on the field in those atmospheres playing great teams. It’s getting everybody on the same page and that comfort level. Not just the quarterback position, everybody. When we’re out there on game day what are guys doing at a really high level that we need to continue to focus and put them in a situation to do things well.” (On if he feels like he's closer to having a team that can play for and win championships) "We're getting there. You know, we had the opportunity last year to play for the SEC Championship, fell six points short, the No. 1 team in the country, we're two points short today. So I think we're getting there. I think we're at the point where we can compete, but we gotta get there to the point right now where we're gonna go win, and I think that's the hunger in the locker room. I mean, you see our guys in the locker room, they wanna win that game. It wasn't like, 'hey, we played a great game.' I think there's legitimately some disappointment that we didn't win the game because we expected to. But, we gotta keep building, gotta keep recruiting, keep coaching, keep developing here. And I think, certainly, everybody's onboard making that happen right now. We have unbelievable support from our administration. Within the next nine months, we're opening up an unbelievable football facility for the future for our guys, not just for recruiting purposes, but for the training and everyday purpose for our players. You go out there in The Swamp, there's no atmosphere like gameday in The Swamp when it's rockin'. Our fanbase, our student body, the Gator Nation, bought into what we're doing in creating that environment, so, you know, we gotta get it back where the Gators are competing, and our recruiting, we gotta continue to recruit well, get it back where we're competing for championships every year." (On the trenches being the area to improve following SEC Championship game against Alabama, and if there's one specific area following this game to take away, closer to being equal) "Well, yeah, you could flip a couple of plays in that game and it'll change the course of the outcome in that game, but I do think we played much better up front today. But, that's a little focus on this year's team, you know, of where we're at. We're a little bit more veteran in our front sevens on both sides of the ball than we were last year. Last year, you know, you kinda - all the superstars were out on the perimeter, and taking the snap and throwing the ball down the field. In the interior part, we're a little bit more veteran, a little bit more experienced this year. Our backs run the ball really hard, you know, our quarterbacks are athletic and can beat you with the run game a little bit. So, we're gonna be a little bit of a different team. Our wideouts on the outside, I thought did a heck of a job today. I don't know, you know, one of the things that gets - look at Jacob Copeland, 1 catch for 10 years, you know ... and two pass interference penalties for 30 yards that they had to tackle him or he would have been an explosive play type of deal. So, the guys on the outside, maybe not on the stat sheet getting the credit, but now they're loading the box to stop the run, we're getting one-on-one shots on the outside, and those guys are winning. We wanna make those plays become more explosive and actual catches, but I think those guys did a pretty good job down the field." Holding Alabama scoreless in a quarter twice now, what can you build off of this defensive performance? "Well, like I said, I'm really excited to see how we come out on Monday, because we need to build off of this, you know? I know people think this is crazy but next week becomes an even bigger game. You know, you're talking Florida-Tennessee on Saturday night in The Swamp, eastern division rivalry. I mean, it's, this game has no effect on our eastern conference record right now. And, you know, I mean, we completely control everything we want to do still for the rest of the season. And hopefully our guys, that's why I want to see that attitude that when we show up on Monday, that kind of hunger. You know, after the SEC championship game, in the locker room, I saw a little bit of a hunger from our guys about next season and we want to put ourselves back in a position to go win and get back to Atlanta. And even in January [when we] came back, our guys, that desire to get back and compete for a championship. I want to see that on Monday, that hunger to go sit there and say 'Hey, we're going to fix those couple things.' That attention to detail, I mean the laser focus on guys communicating and picking each other up. You know, it can, it's a really fine line between, hey, I'm yelling at guys and pointing fingers and you need to do this and you need to do that instead of picking each other up and say, 'Hey, here's the call, here's what it is. Let's do this.' And I want to see that attitude from our guys of everybody kind of coming together to make those plays and correct. You know, erase that little, that two point margin." Is some of that maybe finding a voice to replace Ventrell Miller? "Yeah but Ventrell, here's a great thing, Ventrell is out there. His voice is still out there. You know, I mean, he might not be out there on Saturday on the field with the 11 guys that are making the call, but his voice is still present every day as a captain. You know, and that shows why he was voted Captain by his teammates, and it shows his character and the type of person he is that that voice is still very much strongly within our team and at every single practice."

This game was billed by both sides as a measuring stick; an early season opportunity to figure out who you are as a team and where you’re going. It had all the makings of a classic. No. 1 Alabama, coming to Gainesville for the first time since 2011, to face No. 11 Florida Gators. And as both teams left the field on Saturday evening, they walked away knowing they had found out each was capable of making this game a rematch in Atlanta in three months. Gunmetal clouds in the distance threatened a stormy afternoon, but stayed just far enough east to provide an overcast sky in the muggy Swamp. Despite rain possibly benefiting the Gators run game, there was no need for a storm. All the thunder and lightening one college football fan could need was inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, as the Gators fell, 31-29, to Bama. There are no such things as moral victories in football. But if this game was a measuring stick, then the Gators can be confident they’re moving forward knowing they measure up as one of the best teams in the country. “It was a fun game to be a part of,” said Head Coach Dan Mullen after the game. “You love these games, been 10 years since you’re had that game here in the Swamp. I’ve talked about it moving forward we want to play them more often. Be honest with you, I hope we play them really soon, like later this season. I want that opportunity. Our fans, it was great SEC football." The Swamp was positively vibrating, even as a large number of fans were still stuck outside, held up by a slow ticket taking process. Despite the pockets of missing spectators, and 10 minutes to kick-off, Gator fans were pulsing with an energy that only comes around for certain games, once every couple of years. This was that game; the one circled for months. The one that inspired pilgrimages to Gainesville and pre-game promises made in desperate hope. For the first time since 2011, the Alabama Crimson Tide was visiting the Swamp, with a quarterback making his first road start to boot. Florida won the toss and elected to defer. It allowed the crowd to stay hyped up, as the defense took the field. And initially, the crowd of 90,887 did their job to perfection, forcing a delay of game on the Tide’s opening drive. But a questionable defensive pass interference call on Trey Dean allowed the Tide to keep moving. Then Bryce Young worked around the crowd for the remainder of the first quarter, taking the first drive downfield with gashes on the edge, tearing up the Gators defense in the flats. The did it again on the second drive, and then after grabbing a floating interception off Emory Jones, made quick work of a short field, going up 21-3 before the opening quarter could come to a close. “I think early on they kind of came out, hit some plays on us, a couple of mistakes,” recapped Mullen of the first quarter, “but once we settled into the game, as I told you, our guys expected to win the game. We just dug ourselves an early hole we had to dig ourselves out of.” They proceeded to do just that, putting together a second quarter that broke records. For starters, the defense came alive, forcing three straight three-and-outs. The second drive ended after Kaiir Elam, the projected Top 10 pick in next year’s NFL Draft, put his hand in for a textbook pass break-up, negating what would have likely been a touchdown. Gator fans breathed a sigh of relief when the ball was called incomplete and nothing else. Elam, Avery Helm and Trey Dean all received a defensive pass interference call on the day, with Elam receiving two, and each seemingly questionable. Three of the four DPI flags were thrown on third down, giving Bama the fresh set of downs which they turned into touchdowns. "Well you know you just gotta control what you can control,” remarked Trey Dean of the calls after the game. “We've got to go out there, you know, if they call it, we play the next play. But you know it's, we gonna correct—we gotta correct what we can correct and the others, we just go out there and play to the best of our ability." Working to control what they could control worked out well for the defense the rest of the day. Alabama came into the game with a 21-game streak of 400 plus yards. Florida held them 324 total, and only 91 yards on the ground. Over Bama’s last 80 quarters of football (going back to October 2019), they’ve been held scoreless in a quarter only three times. One of them was a quarter in an otherwise blowout against Mississippi State in 2020. The other two quarters? The third quarter in the SEC Championship Game against the Gators, a six point Bama win, in 2020; and then the second quarter on Saturday. After a first quarter that was riddled with missed tackles and bad angles, the defense settling down to make this a close game was one of the more encouraging signs of growth with this Gator team. It came, said Mullen, from a simple message between the first and second quarter. “Just to relax. Just make tackles, do your job, don't try to make plays. I think sometimes guys, you know, you get in big environments, guys try to make plays. What you have to understand; and…I’ve got to make sure I explain it to you the right way—is do your job within the scheme call, whether it's offense, defense, even defensively. “We make the call. Execute the defensive call. And if you do that within that scheme you're going to have the opportunity to make plays if you do what you're supposed to do. Just don't get out of it and say, 'OK, I'm going to try to do something different and make a great play over here.' The plays will come to you. I think our guys, we got them to relax a little bit and just go out there and execute. And they did. I think we really executed clean moving forward in the game.” The missed tackles are indicative typically of a correct defensive call (the player being in the right spot for the play) but poor execution. Realizing how many times defensive coordinator Todd Grantham had them in the right scheme but execution wasn’t there, can be a positive in the long run. At least according to Dean, who believes the defense came away from this game with a better understanding of their individual roles. “Coach Grantham gonna call the right plays, gonna put us in the right position. We just have to go out there and execute. So, we're gonna take this and continue to build on it. You know, ultimate goal is to win a National Championship, first win the East.” As the defense began to put together a plan and performance—with the young secondary growing up before our eyes—that very well could carry them to the SEC Championship for the second year in a row, the offense took advantage of the breathing room. So much went Florida’s way before kickoff, including young superstar Anthony Richardson performing what has now become his famous front flip while leaving the field for warm-ups. But then Head Coach Dan Mullen—who’s been teasing a two-quarterback system—revealed Richardson would only appear in a true-backup role; i.e. if Jones was hurt. This after Richardson pulled up with a tightened hamstring on a touchdown run last week, in the win over USF. According to Mullen, doctors explained the risk to him as, “he’s not going to be 100 percent and if he plays he definitely can make it worse. That was one we talked about going into the game. We did an MRI yesterday. He was actually ahead of where we thought he would be, which was really positive for next week with him.” Still, the Gators weren’t lost without their little firecracker, thanks to a performance from Emory Jones that sets the Gators up for a potential SEC East run. After two weeks in which he was publicly maligned, taunted and even booed by Gator fans, Jones came out and accumulated 261 total yards and a touchdown on the ground. “I definitely felt more comfortable,” said Jones. “I got in a groove out there and we got the offense rolling. Our offensive line did a great job up front and our running backs made a lot of plays for us. They definitely made me feel more comfortable as a team.” The running backs, along with Jones, thrashed Bama on the ground to the tune of 258 yards. The second best rushing offense in the country (averaging 340.33 yards per game on the ground) helped the Gators keep up their streak of games with 400 plus yards (439), now extended to 13 games. It’s the best active streak in the country. "Coming into the game, one of the big things, you wanted to be able to run the ball. We were able to run the ball. Very rarely do you see that big a disparity when you play Alabama in the rushing attack. We came out, had more than 100 yards more than they did. There’s little things we gotta fix. We gotta finish drives and get points at the end of drives there, put ourselves in the lead.” Nearly a quarter of Florida’s yardage—and a great example of finishing a drive like Mullen mentioned—came when the Gators started with literally the worst field position possible; at their own 1-yard line. Led primarily by Jones and Nay’Quan Wright, the Gators drove 99-yards on 11 plays. Wright had 75 of the yards himself on four plays. The running back told the offense on the sideline before they took the field that they were about to go 99-yards, and he was right. And until someone stops them, the Gators will continue to lean on their seven-headed rushing attack (Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis, Wright, Lorenzo Lingard, Demarcus Bowman, Jones and Richardson). “We did it the first two weeks, we just go continue to do it,” predicted Wright. “Whether it's Bama, Tennessee, LSU, whoever it is, we gonna continue to run the ball. It doesn’t matter who’s out there, we’re just gonna put the ball down and run the ball. We did it the first two weeks, we was really efficient, so we're just gonna keep it going.” After a touchdown by Dameon Pierce (his second of the day) the Gators were within two with three minutes left to play. They were down two due to a missed point after touchdown early in the game. So Mullen dialed up a two-point conversion play…that didn’t work. It looked clunky from the beginning, as Jones stayed with his running back at the mesh point the entire way, never pulling up but wanting to. There were two options on the play, according to Mullen, with neither being where Jones could find them. “We had a guy line up wrong and then a guy go the wrong way.” Added Jones, “it was a miscommunication on the whole play. I mean, we had the back lined up on the wrong side, and we didn’t really want to use a timeout at that time, and I mean, it was just a miscommunication on the whole play, and it didn’t go our way right there.” Instead of tying the game, Florida fell by two. When facing the best team in the country, those are the mistakes that can’t be made. It’s the difference between a win and a loss and for the Gators on Saturday—despite playing one of the best games in a long while—it meant a loss. It was Florida’s eighth loss in a row to the Tide, and Mullen is now 0-11 against Nick Saban as a head coach. Each loss though—while never to be billed as the unacceptable “moral victory”—has seen the Gators chip away at the chasm that separates Bama from the rest of college football. Last December, when these two faced off in the SEC Championship, the differential was six points. Saturday, it was two. The score is indicative of the gap Head Coach Dan Mullen seems to be closing with the Almighty Bama. He’s preached inching up on teams before. With Georgia, it was “seven points” separating the two teams. The ensuing season, Florida whooped their rival, 44-28. “I think we have the opportunity to be a pretty good team this year,” noted Mullen. “There’s a lot of things we've got to fix up and we've got to get better at, but I think we have an opportunity to be a pretty good football team. “Give [Alabama] credit, they're an excellent football team. Obviously Nick [Saban] does a great job within the program and continuing to have guys play at an extremely high level. But I thought, you know what? I thought we had a good plan offensively and defensively and I thought our guys executed really well, for the most part."

I’ve been thinking a lot about Johnnie Brantley this week. The former Florida legacy quarterbacked the No. 12 Gators to a 4-0 start in the 2011 season, before welcoming the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide to Gainesville. On the opening play of the game, he connected with Andre Debose for a 65-yard touchdown, giving the Gators an early 7-0 lead. Then, he threw a pick-six to Courtney Upshaw early in the second quarter, giving Bama the 17-10 lead. Just before halftime, a sack caused the former Gatorade Player of the Year to twist his ankle. He left the game, forcing freshman Jeff Driskel into the spotlight, and Alabama ran rampant, winning 38-10. It was the last time Alabama played in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium; until today that is. So, I’ve been thinking a lot about Johnnie Brantley this week. I thought about calling him, seeing if he’d be willing to take a trip back to 2011 and talk about the game that disrupted his career and arguably changed the trajectory of two programs. A few times, I even picked up the phone, even pulling up his number a time or two, finger hovering there, debating whether or not to call. I know he still lives here near Gainesville and he and his wife just had a baby. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t bring myself to make the call; to say “would you mind taking a break from a busy life with a new baby to recap what I imagine is one of the more miserable days of your life?” So I didn’t. But I’ve thought about Brantley and Driskel and Upshaw and Trent Richardson and Nick Saban and that game all week. I was a student at Alabama at the time. The Tide was the No. 3 team, yes. They had won a more recent National Championship, taking home the crystal ball for the 2009 BCS National Championship, after defeating the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship. But we still weren’t quite sure if Saban’s early success was sustainable. For that matter, there was no indication Will Muschamp would be successful at Florida either, but the program as a whole had put together more consistent stretches of winning in recent years than Alabama had. That 2011 game could’ve gone Florida’s way and it wouldn’t have been surprising. A 24-10 deficit at halftime was significant but not insurmountable and if Brantley and been back in the game, it’s much easier to imagine the Gators mounting a comeback in the second half. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the same coach who brought LSU into the Swamp in 2002 and kicked off the Ron Zook era with a 36-7 loss, did it again in 2011. Saban marched into that hostile arena, looked across the field at a new Florida coach looking to build on the championship’s of the previous coach, and proceeded to kick his teeth in, over and over. A year after winning the 2002 game, Saban won a championship with LSU. Nearly a decade later, in the same season he defeated Muschamp and Brantley in 2011, the Tide won a second championship under Saban. It was the front end of a back-to-back stretch, and the title that really demanded Alabama and Saban be feared each and every year thereafter. It’s hard not to draw similarities to this game. A sell-out crowd (the 2011 game hosted the second-largest crowd ever at the time—90,888), two teams dreaming of a championship. A coach looking to build off past championships and chase his own. Another coach with the ability to stop that dream in its path. And the chance, at least the chance, of the Gators pulling off the upset. Related: No. 11 Florida's Keys To Beat No. 1 Alabama; Breakdowns From Emory Jones, Zach Carter and Tim Tebow More than anything though, this game is a measuring stick. As Nick Saban said this week (according to Marty Smith of ESPN), this game will determine, “who you are, where you’re going and what you have to do to get there.” Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen said much the same earlier in this week. “Anytime you get the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country is a great, great deal. I think it'll be great for this team to see where we're at at this point of the season. Obviously it's a long year. The outcome of this game certainly is not going to define the season on either way. There's a lot of football to still be played throughout the course of the year, but it'll be a good measuring stick to where we're at at this point of the season with this team. “I think early in the year, things are a little different. We’ve had some big ones against them, and big ones later in the year. Obviously last year’s probably had more implications than this game does this year. I’m sure – whatever the result of the game is, I’m sure both teams are viewing it as hope we have another opportunity—both teams want to play this team again at some point.” In other words, whichever team loses can walk away and say, “Ok what did we do wrong? Let’s fix it to get back to Atlanta…with a likely chance of facing this same team again.” So for the Gators, who are a 14.5 underdog, even a close loss allows them to walk away with a smile. Related: Thoughts of the Day: September 17, 2021 Of course, that’s not why they’re here. That’s not why they play. It’s a comfort in a loss, but it’s the last thought while on the field. On the field, the only goal is to win; to say, this is who we are as a program—winners and contenders. I’ve been thinking a lot about Johnnie Brantley this week. About how his injury well and truly let the 2011 game slip out of control. How that game in turn sent two programs on different trajectories; Florida flashing with empty promises until Mullen brought consistency. How it seems once every 10 years or so, Nick Saban comes to the Swamp and determines the fate of the next few years for the Gators program; from sending the Zook era slumbering along until Meyer, then Muschamp behind the eight-ball on big games and never able to overcome the deficit. So what will the future—both near and far—look like for the Florida Gators? If history is any indication, win or lose, close or blowout, this game will tell us.

Let’s just examine the logistics first and get them out of the way. The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide are a 15-point favorite over the No. 11 Florida Gators tomorrow. This despite Florida winning their first two games with ease (so did Bama). This despite the Gators posting 12 straight games of 400 plus yards of offense (Bama has 21 straight). All of this despite the game being in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, The Swamp, which will be hosting a sold out crowd in one of the notoriously toughest places to play in the country. But Alabama is too fast, too strong, too deep and taking them down takes a Herculean, flawless effort. Even Gator great Tim Tebow, speaking with local media on Friday ahead of the marquee matchup, admitted it would take talent, skill and little bit of luck for his Gators to pull of an unlikely win. “I think Florida absolutely has a chance in this game. Do I think they’re as good as Alabama? No. I don't think they’re as deep as Alabama…Do they have the experience in these games like Bama? No. Do they probably have the depth of Bama? No. “But from a playmakers, from a talent standpoint, from a top 22, if they get some of the breaks—when Ole Miss beat Bama in the back-to-back years, that Ole Miss team wasn’t better than Bama. They got the breaks. They were aggressive. They hit their shots. Bama turned it over a few times and it started to roll. When you look at a recipe for Florida to win, is there a recipe? Yes. Is it a harder recipe to get all the ingredients? Yeah. Is that possible? Absolutely. But I think so much of it has to do with getting momentum early and getting your shot off first.” With that in mind, getting momentum early and getting a shot off first, top our list of four keys to a Florida win that’ll shock the college football world. Explosive Plays Whether through the run or the pass, the Gators have to take a chance with explosive plays. Alabama hasn’t given up many explosive plays—just 15 through two games, plays counting foe 10 yards or more—but of those 15 plays, the typically stout Tide defense let one get past them for 60 plus yards. Florida leads the country with three plays of 70 or more yards. They’re one of 14 teams—admittedly Alabama among them—that has posted a play of 80 or more yards. That 80-yard play was courtesy of quarterback Anthony Richardson on a run for a touchdown against USF. Emerging reports and Head Coach Dan Mullen’s latest comments seem encouraging Richardson will play. This after suffering a tightened hamstring on said 80-yard touchdown run. Florida has to believe they can hang with the Tide, and having done so in Atlanta is a good boost. In that game, the Gators willingly took shots downfield. Even though they don’t posses the same downfield personnel this season—with a roster sans Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Tre Grimes—we’ve seen Xzavier Henderson, Justin Shorter and Jacob Copeland all get downfield for explosive plays through the air this season. Getting the receivers downfield early with big shots will stretch the linebackers. That unit is arguably Alabama’s strongest, so neutralizing them is key. Once that’s done, the space will be there for the Gators seven-headed rushing attack to do some damage. When it comes to Alabama, too many teams let the intimidation factor decide the game before it’s even started. The last Florida quarterback to beat Alabama was Tebow, in the 2008 SEC Championship. He knows what it takes. And as such, he wants to see the Gators looking for those explosive plays early. "To beat Bama, first of all, you have to be willing to stand up to them, you know? And then you have to be willing to be aggressive with them. And I think that’s how you have to play. You have to be willing to take your shots and hit them like Florida did last year in the SEC championship, like Ohio State did at certain times in the national championship, like Ole Miss has when they’ve played them, like we when we played against them. “I just think you can’t look and say, ‘Oh, Bama, we’re going to be scared. We’re going to be a little bit tentative. You can’t make a mistake.’ I think you have to shoot your shot early and keep shooting. If you do that, I think you have a much better shot at beating Bama Front Seven Pressure “We can talk about how good Bryce Young has been, but he still has to play the game.” That was how Roman Harper—former Alabama safety and current SEC Network analyst—described the challenge the Alabama redshirt freshman quarterback will be facing come game time. “He has to go out and perform at the highest level. All it takes is one interception and all the sudden the crowd is really into it and now they’re feeding off of their own energy. Now it’s a really tough game because now you have a ball game.” Getting after Young quick and hard is a large part of the Gators game plan. This will be the first true road start Young is making, having opened the season in a neutral site game that featured primarily Alabama fans. Even as the backup in 2020, he played in stadiums that never topped out at more than 20% full, with COVID-19 restrictions. But the best way to rattle him is to get in his face. Harper goes on to say he doesn’t see Young being affected by many blitzes, which is always a pillar of a Todd Grantham defense. But the Gators can still get in the young quarterback’s face and keep the ball in his hands thank to rush coverage. Florida lineman Daquan Newkirk faced Alabama for a couple of years while with the Auburn Tigers (before he transferred to Florida) so he has even more familiarity with the Tide’s scheme. “I know a few things, kind of a few things up my sleeve. I mean, definitely from playing them each and every year. I mean, I talk to the guys a lot. Definitely from facing them last year, they’re pretty similar. They lost a few guys up front, but they’re pretty similar as the guys from last year, so that’s a big plus I guess for us.” Of course this all becomes much more difficult without middle linebacker Ventrell Miller. Losing the quarterback of the defense hurts, possibly more than any other position on the defense. He made the calls, put guys into position, and was the Gators leading tackler before exiting early versus USF. Zach Carter, who has three sacks so far, feels he can keep the count going, but knows it will take extra care to contain Young’s talent. “What I've seen from Bryce Young, he's a pretty elusive quarterback and from the film that I've studied so far,” Carter told local media this week. “I see how relaxed he is in the pocket and he has good pocket presence and awareness, so I feel like this week we had to do a good job with our rush lanes and just keeping in mind, trying to cage him in the pocket, because he's a pretty elusive guy." “For a young guy he's, he's really developed and probably ahead of his age, per se, and he's really talented, so we know we're going to have to play well and he's got talented guys outside that can make plays when he gets them involved,” agreed defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. “I think anytime you can affect the quarterback, you're, you know, you're going to be successful so obviously you've got to be able to first of all stop the run, to where you put it in his hands, you know, from that standpoint. But, anytime you can affect the quarterback and, and get after him a little bit, and make him a little nerve racked, that's got a chance to be in your favor. So yeah I mean that's obviously something we'll try to do.” Protect the Ball In the first two games, Emory Jones threw four interceptions. They were a combination of bad decisions and bad throws and indicative of problems so obvious that Jones himself was able to address them with pinpoint accuracy. Explaining the turnovers after the USF win, Jones said, “First one was just bad read, bad decision from me. I didn't think the guy was going to run out that fast, but he did. I was trying to get it out of my hands quick before he could make a decision, but I mean he made a great play and I made a bad decision right there. “The second one, that was another bad decision out of me. I was waiting for another guy to come open and I was late getting back to Trent, so I mean I shouldn't have thrown that ball. That was a terrible decision.” These aren’t one-off “terrible decisions” though. According to Tebow, they come in certain moments. But Jones’ upside is still too high to be completely offset by the bad decisions, in Tebow’s mind. “At times, [Emory] can make throws…and it's almost as good as you'll see in the country on certain throws, especially against man coverage. Then, sometimes he could be a little hesitant with some things. Almost every one of those has been a zone against a drop eight, right, which is partly being confident, seeing those looks. I think the more he sees him, the more he'll be able to, to just play with confidence and rip it like he does when he sees man coverage.” All of this to say, whatever game plan Florida brings into this game, it must include fail safes to help Jones protect the football. Those are the little details that decide a game against teams this strong. As Mullen noted this week, if you change three plays in the SEC Championship, Florida wins the game. But just one play against the Tide—who has nabbed five turnovers in two games—can ruin your chances of winning. To beat the best, you have to be better. That means no mistakes, the most important of those being turnovers. The Swamp and the Atmosphere As Gators Athletic Director Scott Stricklin tweeted on Friday of the Saturday, game time weather report, “Tomorrow is going to be hot, steamy, maybe wet … basically perfect weather for The Swamp.” As of print, the forecast calls for a 50% chance of rain at kickoff and for the entire game. Rain benefits a ground game, of which the Gators have a nice one. In fact, Florida’s rushing offense currently leads the nation, picking up an average of 381.5 yards per game on the ground. Alabama’s rushing defense is 23rd in FBS, only allowing 77.5 yards per game. Still, as Stricklin mentioned, the combination of the rain and humidity should benefit a Florida team that can operate in both. The biggest advantage Florida has in this game though? The fans. The crowd is such a difference maker, that it’s swaying even the staunchest of those who typically believe the game is only decided on the field. One of those is Florida alum and SEC Nation host, Laura Rutledge. “It seems to me like Bryce, in getting to talk to him a little bit and watching him handle himself, is very good about any sort of adversity or complicated situation, but when you're in the heat of the moment there you do think that'll be a big factor. “I think for Florida if they can get off to a fast start and the crowd's really in it and the crowd can stay in it, that's a much tougher day for Alabama than if the opposite happens. I think the crowd; I'm not usually a big, 'Oh, the crowd's a big factor' person. I think in this particular game the crowd can win this game for Florida and maybe also lose it. If they're not involved, that gives Alabama a real nice day.” Zach Carter needs the crowd to stay in the game if the Gators want to pull off the upset. “Whenever any team is coming into The Swamp, especially as big of a game as this is - I know it's a sell-out crowd, 90,000 -that could probably rattle anybody, you know, veteran or young player. So, I'm expecting the crowd to really help, juice up, energize the defense this weekend, and we definitely feed off the crowd and The Swamp." Final Prediction I think Florida has a lot going in their favor: the weather, the run game, the atmosphere, the defensive line, Anthony Richardson, a Dan Mullen game plan that I think will be one of the best we've seen...which will be enough to keep it close. Since this game shouldn't technically keep the Gators out of Atlanta, a close loss would still allow them to measure where they're at and where they need to be, then prepare to meet Alabama again in the championship game. The spread is 14.5 and I think the game is decided by less. But in the end, Alabama is too deep, to disciplined, too talented, too fast. They'll pull away and win by somewhere in the 10-13 point range.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: CAN THE GATORS SHOCK THE WORLD SATURDAY? Shane Matthews knows just how much an advantage the Florida Gators have when The Swamp is a rocking place. Never was it more evident than in 1991 when the Gators won their first SEC championship that counted. In their march to the SEC title, the Gators beat 17th-ranked Alabama, 35-0, 4th-ranked Tennessee, 35-19, and 3rd-ranked Florida State, 14-9, at home in front of crowds so loud that fans claimed that even with their hands held tight over their ears, the noise still hurt their ear drums. The win over Alabama was a precursor of things to come. “We beat them in Tuscaloosa (17-13) the year before,” Matthews recalls. “I look back on that as the most important game of the Steve Spurrier years at Florida because it was our first SEC game and it was on the road but 1991 was important too because we had never won the SEC. They (Alabama) thought they should have beaten us the year before and they really believed they would beat us.” There was good reason why Alabama thought it had the team to win in Gainesville. Gene Stallings had just about the entire defense back from a 1990 team that allowed only 13.4 points and 229.3 yards per game. They had stifled the Florida offense the year before but the Gators won on a blocked punt and a defense led by Will White (three interceptions). What they didn’t count on was the Florida offense was significantly better in year two of Spurrier’s Fun ‘n Gun and a Florida crowd that was as loud as it had ever been. Matthews threw for 251 yards that day with three touchdown passes, two to Willie Jackson, and 173 rushing yards by Errict Rhett. Matthews operated behind solid protection, helped enormously by play action fakes to Rhett. Any time the Gators had third-and-two or third-and-three, Rhett got whatever was necessary and then some. Florida had an excellent defensive team in 1991, but the Gators got plenty of help from the crowd, which rendered Alabama snap counts useless. “We dominated them,” Matthews said. “Any time you can beat a team with the tradition and talent of Alabama, 35-0, it’s total domination. The Swamp was rocking. You could feed off the energy of the crowd that night. “And this was a really great Alabama, team, too. This was the only game they lost that year and they didn’t lose again until whoever knows when (31 games later). They beat us in the first SEC Championship Game in 1992 when they won the national championship.” Florida played in the next four SEC Championship Games, winning all four, three against Alabama (1993-94, 1996). During that 1991 season and the subsequent championship run, The Swamp became the single most feared venue for opposing teams, something that it needs to become again, starting with Saturday’s game against No. 1 Alabama. Alabama is on an unprecedented roll, the likes of which have never been seen in college football. Since Nick Saban took over as the head coach in 2007, Alabama has won six national championships including last year when the Crimson Tide beat Florida in the SEC title game on its way to an unbeaten season. When Alabama comes to The Swamp Saturday, it will be as a prohibitive favorite. Las Vegas has the Crimson Tide favored to win by 14.5 points, which seems a bit high considering The Swamp is going to be rocking again with decibel levels that are equal or greater than a 747 at takeoff. Can the Florida crowd energize the Gators? Can they make it next to impossible for Alabama redshirt freshman quarterback Bryce Young to think straight much less check a play at the line of scrimmage. Can those newbies on Alabama’s offensive line avoid critical false starts when the crowd noise is peaking? And will that energy from the crowd give Florida’s offense a boost as well? Can they get behind embattled Emory Jones and make him feel like he’s King Kong by roaring approval every time he makes a solid play? Can they add a jolt of electricity in the stadium when Anthony Richardson takes the field the first time? Although the odds are stacked against the Gators, this is a game UF can win but only if critical mistakes are avoided on both sides of the ball. The Gators have to stuff the Alabama running game and make the Crimson Tide one-dimensional. If Young can’t rely on his running game and has to throw every down, the crowd is going to be a huge factor. Over on offense, the Gators can’t turn the ball over and both Jones and Young have to be able to get outside the tackles. That’s the key to attacking this Alabama defense. A running quarterback who can get outside the tackles and remember to complete passes to his guys, not the defense, can turn this into a white knuckles game. Just as that 1991 game ushered in an era when Florida football became beastly, beating Alabama Saturday can be just what Dan Mullen needs to get the Gators back into the championship groove they once enjoyed. THE SAYER SAYS SOOTH: My instincts tell me the Gators are capable of winning this game, but I’m hesitant to pick UF for two reasons. I’m not sure how well Richardson has recovered from his hamstring and no Ventrell Miller in the middle of the defense. I think it’s close to the bitter end, however. Alabama 30, Florida 27 THE SEC SOOTHSAYER South Carolina (2-0) at No. 2 Georgia (2-0): Luke Doty could be South Carolina’s starting quarterback. It wouldn’t matter if Aaron Rodgers was the South Carolina starter because the players at the other 21 positions aren’t as good as the ones Georgia will put on the field. And, speaking of quarterbacks, Georgia isn’t really sure who will get the start. Stetson Bennett IV has some issues with his back and JT Daniels is feeling better but probably won’t play. So does that mean Carson Beck finally gets to start a game? Really, does it matter? The Sayer says sooth: Georgia 38, South Carolina 10 New Mexico (2-0) at No. 7 Texas A&M (2-0): New Mexico is probably the worst 2-0 team in the country. The Aggies might not be as good as their 2-0 record might indicate but even if they started their entire second unit on both side of the ball, they would still blow the doors off Los Lobos de Nuevo Mexico are going to take a beating. The Sayer says sooth: Texas A&M 35, New Mexico 7 Tulane (1-1) at No. 17 Ole Miss (2-0): People are still talking about the way Tulane had Oklahoma on the ropes in the season opener, which is why some people have put Ole Miss on upset alert. The alert will last about 20 minutes after which Matt Corral will have padded his Heisman candidate stats. Ole Miss is going to score plenty of points. The only question is can the Ole Miss defense continue to improve or will it revert back to the errors of seasons past? The Sayer says sooth: Ole Miss 45, Tulane 27 Georgia Southern (1-1) at No. 20 Arkansas (2-0): It’s been a long time since Arkansas has been ranked, but here the Hogs are, unbeaten and ranked 20th after stomping Texas last week. If Sam Pittman got the Hogs feet back on the ground then they’ll be 3-0 after this weekend. If they’re still basking in the glow of the win over Texas it could be closer than expected. The Sayer says sooth: Arkansas 31, Georgia Southern 14 No. 22 Auburn (2-0) at No. 10 Penn State (2-0): The last time Auburn went on the road to face a Big Ten team was 1931. The SEC hadn’t even been invented in 1931. Of course, back in 1931 Penn State wasn’t in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions were an independent who counted among their rivals Waynesburg, Lebanon Valley and Dickinson. Needless to say, a lot has changed since 1931. It will be a White Out in Happy Valley, which is to say all the Penn State fans will show up in white. Penn State is 6-6 in White Out games. The Lions are 5-point favorites which is to say they’d be a dog on the road or at a neutral site. The Sayer says sooth: Penn State 21, Auburn 20 Chattanooga (1-1) at Kentucky (2-0): By the time the dust settles on Kroger Field Saturday, Kentucky will be halfway home in its quest for a school-record sixth straight bowl game. Saturday’s game is nothing more than a scrimmage that should be over before halftime, at which time UK fans will be asking around to see if anyone has extra tickets for Midnight Madness at Rupp Arena next month. The Sayer says sooth: Kentucky 42, Chattanooga 7 Mississippi State (2-0) at Memphis (2-0): This is actually a very important game for both teams. Mississippi State isn’t going to challenge for the SEC West title but to get a decent bowl game, the Bulldogs have to win their non-conference games. Memphis wants the Big 12 to realize it made a big mistake when three American Athletic Conference teams not named Memphis were invited to join. Mississippi State wins this game if its defense can stuff Brandon Thomas in the running game. If Thomas goes for 100 yards, Memphis wins. The Sayer says sooth: Mississippi State 24, Memphis 17 Central Michigan (1-1) at LSU (1-1): LSU is favored by 19 points, which seems odd considering how poorly the Tigers have played offensively. If this one is white knuckles going into the fourth quarter, buzzards might be debating whether to start circling over the LSU football complex Monday morning. Coach Oeaux’s feet are not exactly standing on firm ground these days. He needs a really big win Saturday over Chief Yellow Tooth of the Central Michigan Tribe of Chippewas. If LSU throws the ball early and often to Kayshon Boutte it shouldn’t be close. The Sayer says sooth: LSU 35, Central Michigan 21 Southeast Missouri State (0-2) at Missouri (1-1): One of the better ways to wash the taste of a bad loss out of your mouth from the previous week is to face an outmatched D1AA team the next week. SEMO State is just what the doctor ordered for the Tigers. This will be dial-a-score. The Sayer says sooth: Missouri 56, Southeast Missouri State 10 Tennessee Tech (0-2) at Tennessee (1-1): Even though it’s an outmatched D1AA Tennessee Tech team coming to Neyland Stadium Saturday, UT fans will let out a collective groan if HBC Josh Heupel trots Joe Milton III out with the starting offense Saturday. UT fans don’t think Milton can hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle at close range. They saw for themselves that Hendon Hooker can actually complete something other than a 2-inch pass last week and that’s who they want to see. The Sayer says sooth: Tennessee 40, Tennessee Tech 14 Stanford (1-1) at Vanderbilt (1-1): Vanderbilt shocked the world last week by winning a game on the road. Okay, so it was a bad Colorado State team. It was still a win which was huge after the Commodores got hosed by D1AA East Tennessee State the week before. Back to reality this week. Stanford comes to town and won’t take prisoners. The Sayer says sooth: Stanford 35, Vanderbilt 13 ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: It’s rare when a college football coach gets pink-slipped after two games, but Southern Cal gave Clay Helton the heave-ho because the prevailing fear was that he might still win nine or ten games and they’d be stuck with him for another year. They wanted him gone and gone he is, but no matter the reason, it’s a terrible precedent to be firing coaches this early. Will Nebraska, for example, fire Scott Frost Saturday if Oklahoma lights up the Cornhuskers for 50 or more? Some people think it could happen. I have to wonder if the folks at Southern Cal or possibly Nebraska think they’re going to inspire confidence in that next coach by pulling the plug this early?