"I do believe maybe somebody should send those ‘Bama folks new road map and make sure they aren’t mixing up their destinations. This week’s game is not in Miami, nor against the Hurricanes. So happy motoring." Get the women and children off the streets! Godzilla is coming to The Swamp, pillaging, and plundering everything in its path from Tuscaloosa to Gainesville. It must be Godzilla, because otherwise how could Dan Mullen’s No. 10/11 ranked team be more than a two-touchdown underdog to another SEC team in its own stadium? Have the once mighty Gators lost their advantage on their home turf and been suddenly reduced to the Washington Generals on Meadowlark Lemon’s outdoor court? This is downright embarrassing! Especially since Florida was only a 16-point underdog in the 2020 SEC Championship Game on the neutral turf of Mercedes Benz Stadium. And the Gators lost by just six points, 52-46, in the Tide’s most tightly contested game of the year. Remember? One of Alabama’s greatest defenses was gashed for 462 yards by the Gators, 408 of it by Air Trask. I’m trying to do the calculus. (Hey, who am I kidding? I couldn’t even do algebra.) Even the geeks are noodling the math. One of them ran a computer model of Alabama’s 2020 team vs. Alabama’s 2021 team and he said the 2020 Tide was better than the 2021 version by 11 ½ points. So exactly how could all those numbers add up to Florida being a 15-point home underdog? Perhaps that casts a different light on Saturday’s game between the two teams which have won more SEC titles and national titles than all the rest combined. Perhaps not. Up in Alabama, according to one media report, this is just another weekend excursion for Nick Saban. Silly me, I was thinking it was maybe one of the biggest games ever played in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Steve Spurrier-Florida Field. Now I don’t intend to extrapolate that as exhibit No. 1 on how Florida can beat Alabama Saturday. Speaking of which, I was a little surprised to hear John Talty of AL.com, one of the most respected media outlets that covers Nick Saban’s team, say last week that there was “no buzz” in his state about this game and that his readership pretty much felt like if ‘Bama rolled the footballs out on the field they could win and go home to focus on big games like Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Sounded like Alabama Arrogance and “Rat Poison” to me. So I found myself going on Paul Finebaum’s Show to address the incredulity of such a statement. And later texting with John Talty. It was a friendly convo and I was not attempting to discredit Mr. Talty. In fact I could not even dispute his column saying Florida’s chances would be better if Anthony Richardson started and played most of the game. I just thought his readership was guilty of disrespecting what has been a worthy opponent over the years. I do believe maybe somebody should send those ‘Bama folks new road map and make sure they aren’t mixing up their destinations. This week’s game is not in Miami, nor against the Hurricanes. So happy motoring. It was Steve Spurrier who may or may not have said the Crimson Tide wouldn’t make it to The Swamp because “they can’t read the road signs,” and we know everything on the Internet is true. But if he didn’t say it, he should have. The Internet loves almost every one of his quotes and when I read that, it sounded very much in character for the Head Ball Coach. Sort of like the one about Auburn on the alleged fire at the Auburn library that destroyed 20 books: “The real tragedy was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet.” It’s tough to find anything funny about Godzilla. This will mark the 89th time that the Crimson Tide has played as the No. 1 team under Nick Saban, who is 81-8 in those games. Alabama, you see, hasn’t been a long-time rival for Florida and vice-versa. Easy to see why Florida wouldn’t be on the Crimson Tide’s Rivalry Radar. After winning seven straight and Dan Mullen being 0-10. vs. Saban, no wonder fans might take this one for granted. Saban is doing his best to pump up his squad, fearing Rat Poison. And his scouting report reflects concern for Mullen’s offense. “I think both quarterbacks have played extremely well for them,” he said. “Emory Jones is a very capable guy. He’s a good runner, he’s a good passer. Both are very athletic. Anthony Richardson has made some phenomenal plays when he’s played running and passing. He’s a big, strong running back-type guy when he does carry the ball, and they’ve got some really good quarterback runs to feature that talent. But he’s also showed a lot of poise and presence in the passing game. So I think both guys are unique in their ability to play the position, and both have been very productive when they’ve had opportunities to play.” Was that Saban’s Rat Poison for Mullen? The guy who was 3-1 against Saban does think his Gators have a real shot. It’s important to remember that back when Godzilla was just a gleam in his daddy’s eye, the HBC was feasting on some Tide meat. But to his point: “If you want to change, you’d better find a way to beat Alabama.” What I’m hearing out of Alabama: No chance! “I’ll tell you what’s sort of interesting,” Spurrier said, reflecting his previous campaigns. “When I was hired here in 1990, at the press conference I was talking about how we had to try and keep up with FSU and Miami. They were in the Top Five in the country every year back then. We didn’t really talk about Alabama and Georgia at first. “Then I got to talking about Georgia, since they were the thorn in our side – ‘We’ve got to beat Georgia if we’re ever going to win the SEC.’ As it turned out, we had to beat Alabama once they started the championship games.” In fact, he did just that. In the first seven years Spurrier’s teams won the SEC six times. “And we had to beat Alabama five of the six times to do it.” Ironically, his first SEC game as Gator coach was at Alabama, “and somehow we eked out the win, 17-13.” “Eked out” is a good phrase. That would be more than enough for Gator fans, who unlike the entitled, sleep-walking Alabama fans, feel fired up. They will show up and make themselves known, seen and heard Saturday in what used to be one of the SEC’s most hostile environments. Hey, even the Washington Generals beat Godzilla once.

What happened on the night of October 12, 1963, when the charter plane carrying the University of Florida football team arrived back in Gainesville, obscures what happened earlier that afternoon for Jack Thompson. “We were approaching Gainesville when the pilot told us he was going to circle Gainesville and dip the wings so we could look out the window and see what was going on,” Thompson recalls. “There was a mob of people at the airport … must have been several thousand of them. They were waiting for us. We had never seen anything like it.” The fans were there because earlier that day the Gators had done the unthinkable by taking out 3rd-ranked Alabama, 10-6, in Tuscaloosa. Contrasting the way the two teams started the season, an Alabama blowout had been predicted. Alabama was 3-0, having outscored Georgia, Tulane and Vanderbilt 81-13. Florida, on the other hand, started the season with a 9-0 loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta in which the Gators wound up with negative yardage. That was followed by a 9-9 tie with Mississippi State and a 35-28 squeaker of a win over Richmond, a game the Gators probably should have lost. The Gators were 1-1-1, but everyone realized just how close they were to 0-3, therefore no one in their right mind gave them a chance to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Alabama was coached by Bear Bryant and quarterbacked by Joe Namath. The Crimson Tide won the 1961 national championship, lost only one game in 1962, and was one of the favorites to win another national title in 1963. Ray Graves was the Florida coach, who had taken the Gators to Gator Bowl wins over Baylor (1960) and Penn State (1962) in his first three years on the job. Tommy Shannon was the quarterback but the star of the team was running back Larry Dupree. This was the next-to-last year of single platoon football so Thompson, a senior from Savannah and all of 5-8 and 180 pounds, played guard when the Gators had the ball, linebacker when they were trying to stop the other team. This was supposed to be a mismatch, particularly since Alabama had not lost a home game since Bear Bryant answered mama’s call and came home to stop the Crimson Tide from plunging into obscurity in 1958. Obviously, someone forgot to drop off the script to the Florida Gators. Thompson remembers the Florida locker room. “Hot … stifling hot,” he remembers. “I don’t know what their locker room was like, but all we had was this room with some benches. No windows. No air. We had the door open just to let some air in. I don’t know what the temperature was in our locker room.” In that locker room where sweating Gators sat on benches while hoping to get back on the field where it was actually cooler that the seeds of victory were planted. After head coach Ray Graves gave a short talk, defensive coordinator Gene Ellenson gave one of his already famous pregame speeches. No one before and no one since has been able to fire up a Florida football team like the legendary Ellenson, a true hero of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II where he won two silver stars. Ellenson was a master psychologist who knew how to push the Gators’ buttons, particularly in games where they were considered underdogs. Prior to Florida’s 1968 game against Florida State in Tallahassee, Ellenson had a box delivered to the team meeting at the team hotel on Friday night. Inside was a Florida helmet with a hatchet buried in the crown. There was an attached note that read, “We’re going to kill your quarterback.” The Gators didn’t know that this was all Gene Ellenson’s idea. All they did was dominate Florida State, 9-3, the only game all season in which the Seminoles failed to score three touchdowns. There at Alabama, Ellenson was fire and brimstone bringing up references to his time on the battlefield. When his pre-game speech ended, team captain Jack Katz (you know him now as Panama Jack … you might use his suntan products!) leapt to his feet and shouted, “If you aren’t ready to play now, you never will be ready!” He put on his helmet, turned to the blackboard that Coach Graves had used, and shattered it with a head butt to the roar of the Gators. That created an almost cartoon-like scene as the Gators rushed almost in unison to the locker room door. There was just one teensy little problem. It was a single wide door, wide enough for one person at a time to pass through. There were probably 50 players in uniform rushing the door and trying to get out. The chaos of getting out of the locker room gave way to the reality of Homecoming weekend in Tuscaloosa and the imposing Alabama Crimson Tide, whose coaching staff included future University of Florida head coach Charley Pell and future Division I head coaches Howard Schnellenberger, Gene Stallings and Jimmy Sharpe. Alabama’s roster included numerous players who would make All-America during their careers: Namath, Paul Crane, Wayne Freeman, Dan Kearly, David Ray and Steve Sloan. The adrenaline rush of the locker room carried over to the opening kickoff, where Bama’s All-SEC halfback Benny Nelson caught the ball around the three. Nelson took two steps, lost the ball momentarily, and once he scooped it back up, tried to run laterally across the field. The fired up Gators blew through Alabama’s blockers. Hagood Clark was the first one down the field. He sliced through the Bama blockers like they weren’t even there and knocked Nelson to the ground at the six. After a first down run netted one yard, Namath dropped back to throw a 12-yard out pattern, but a high throw and tight coverage forced an incompletion and a most conservative decision. Bryant sent in the punt team on third down and it was a near disaster because Buddy French fumbled the snap in the face of an all-out Florida rush. He scooped up the ball and barely made it out of the end zone to avoid a safety. On fourth down, punting from the back of the end zone, French hit a line drive out to the 40 that Bruce Bennett returned to the Alabama 28. Florida picked up six yards on its first two plays from scrimmage but a missed assignment on third down resulted in Tommy Shannon getting swarmed under for a three-yard loss. Graves sent in Bobby Lyle who launched what was, at the time, a lengthy field goal from 43 yards out for a 3-0 Florida lead. Later in the quarter, Alabama got possession after a Florida fumble at the Gator 30. On second-and-one at the UF 21, Namath rolled right and tried to hit Ray Ogden in the end zone, but the combination of Florida pursuit and a three-deep zone forced an overthrow. Third-and-one turned into fourth-and-two when linebacker Jimmy Morgan got a clean shot at Mike Fracchia, nailing the big Alabama fullback for a 1-yard loss. On fourth down Alabama went for it, but the Gators swarmed Nelson, who fumbled, the first of three Crimson Tide turnovers. Florida blew a couple of scoring opportunities in the second and third quarters so the score remained 3-0 until the fourth quarter. That’s when the Gators stunned Alabama with a 75-yard scoring drive that was saved by a procedure penalty. On third-and-five at the UF 45, Shannon fumbled and Alabama apparently recovered, but the zebras had thrown a flag just prior to the ball being snapped. The fumble nullified, the Gators got a do-over from their own 40. On third-and-10, Shannon rolled to his right and sidearmed a throw to tight end Barry Brown, who made a leaping catch at the Alabama 42, holding onto the ball as he took a hard shot from the Alabama safety. On the next play, running out of a three-back, power-I formation, Dick Kirk took a handoff and made a nifty move that caused an Alabama tackler to miss what could have been a 3-yard loss. At the line of scrimmage, Kirk broke a tackle. Two steps later, he wormed his way through a small crease that got him into open space at the second level. Cutting back to his left, Kirk needed a block to pick off the Alabama safety. Almost out of nowhere, split end Charlie Casey arrived to deliver a crushing block that pancaked the Alabama safety at the 24. From there it was a footrace to the end zone that Kirk won as two Bama defenders gave chase. With the extra point, the Gators led 10-0. Denny Stadium was eerily silent. Alabama wasn’t done. On the ensuing drive, the Crimson Tide converted a fourth-and-three on a pitch play to Nelson and a third-and-15 on laser strike from Namath. A 66-yard scoring drive culminated with a 1-yard sneak by Namath to cut the lead to 10-6. Bryant wasn’t going to settle for a tie so he went for two but the Florida defense came up big once again, pressuring a bad throw. When the Gators got the ball back, they were able to run out the clock for what was the win over the highest-ranked opponent in history at that time. The Gators celebrated by carrying Graves off the field on their shoulders. On the buses as they waited to depart for the airport, Namath climbed aboard and congratulated the Gators on a hard fought win. “What a classy gesture,” Dick Kirk would say years later while recalling the aftermath. “He was an All-American who had just gotten beat and it was at home where they never lose. And he took the time to congratulate us that way.” This game was not televised so everyone in Gainesville had listened to Otis Boggs calling the game on WRUF. From the moment Otis signed off, Gainesville was abuzz with excitement. Several bonfires were set, the most prominent of which was the one on the corner of 13th Street and University Avenue, fueled by furniture from the SAE and Pike fraternity houses. All up and down University Avenue you would have thought the Gators had won the national championship judging by the celebration that seemed to grow larger by the minute. There were traffic jams on Waldo Road where fans drove to meet the UF charter at the airport. This was before there was a terminal with assigned gates. There were no fences or no restraints to prevent thousands of fans from swelling onto the tarmac and lining the runway. In the hour before the UF charter landed, the crowd continued to swell. Some of the conservative estimates say somewhere between 8,000-10,000 fans were there to greet the Gators. Folks who were actually there swear it might have been double that. The party that was taking place both at the airport and throughout the city was visible in the sky where the Florida charter approached. The pilot circled Gainesville so the players and coaches could see what a city-wide celebration looked like. He had to buzz the runway to clear people so he could even land the plane. “There were no gates at the airport and since there was no fence to keep the crowd away, soon as the planed landed and stopped, they just rolled the stairway up to the plane,” Thompson said. “The crowd just surrounded us and just pushed forward. When we were going down the stairs we were holding our bags real tight, close to us, because the people were reaching out to touch us and to grab us. None of us had ever seen anything or been a part of anything like it.” The next week the Gators shut out Vanderbilt, 21-0, but in the two weeks after, UF lost to LSU, 14-0, at Homecoming and 19-0 at 5th-ranked Auburn. The listing ship was righted a week later when the Gators knocked off Georgia, 21-14, a game made famous because Larry Dupree played the game a day after his child was stillborn. The Gators would finish their season 6-3-1 with a win over Miami, 27-21, at the Orange Bowl and a 7-0 win over Florida State, which featured future NFL quarterback Steve Tensi and Hall of Fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff. In these days and times, a 6-3-1 record would have earned a bowl bid for the Gators but there were only nine bowl games at the time. Despite no postseason game, it was still a memorable year for Thompson, who exhausted his eligibility. “In my three years (freshmen weren’t eligible), we never lost a game to Georgia,” the Savannah-native Thompson said. “Savannah’s a big Georgia town so that was one of the real highlights of my time at Florida, but that win over Alabama … that was really, really big.” For years, Bear Bryant had called Florida “the sleeping giant” of the Southeastern Conference. It would be 28 years after that 10-6 win over Alabama before the Gators ever won a Southeastern Conference championship that counted – the Gators won it on the field in 1984 only to have the SEC strip UF of the title because of NCAA sanctions – but beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa was indeed impactful. Thompson spent the 1964-65 seasons as a graduate assistant before joining the Florida staff full time as one of the freshman team coaches in 1966. Steve Spurrier led the Gators to a 23-9 record from 1964-66 but more important, three straight top three finishes in the Southeastern Conference. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1966 when he led the Gators to a 9-2 record and a win over Georgia Tech in Bobby Dodd’s final game as a head coach in the Orange Bowl. “I wouldn’t necessarily say the win over Alabama was when the sleeping giant woke up, but it was a big moment,” Thompson said. “Bob Woodruff got things started in a way because the Gators were competitive and they went to their first two bowl games (Gator Bowl in 1952 and 1958). Coach Graves pushed things along and I think made us realize what could happen here. Coach (Doug) Dickey had us two or three years within a play or two of winning the SEC before things fell apart. You know about Coach Pell and Coach Hall and what happened in the 1980s. Then Coach Spurrier arrived and you could really say the sleeping giant woke up.” Maybe it took until 1991 before the giant was fully awake, but on October 12, 1963 the giant had both eyes open and was starting to stretch.

Anyone who works in sports can tell you, once you begin your career, family and friends suddenly believe you can see into the future, and they love to interrogate you about what’s going to happen during the game. What they fail to realize is that no one tells us who is going to win (if they did, we’d all be cashing in at Vegas). When Florida is playing a team like Florida Atlantic or South Florida, sure. I can make predictions and feel pretty good about them. But once we approach conference play in the SEC, let alone approach a game like Saturday’s, I tend to get pretty tight-lipped so as not to look dumber than I already do. But naturally, due to the game’s magnitude, the questions and requests for my predictions have been hurled at me. And the best I’ve been able to come up with is this: The Gators were within six points of the Crimson Tide during last season’s SEC Championship game. And on paper, it appears as though Florida has improved in 2021, while Alabama has taken an uncharacteristic step backwards. But there hasn’t been much buzz about that. Until I finally saw a tidbit on it on Thursday. I’ll admit, I wasn’t familiar with 247Sports’ Josh Pate before Thursday afternoon. But after he echoed my thoughts on the Florida-Alabama game this Saturday, he’s made a fan out of me. “If I were to ask you what’s the biggest storyline, if you will, of this, you would say the Florida quarterback situation,” Pate said. “And I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I think that’s vastly overshadowing something else that matters here. “And that’s for two weeks now, Nick Saban has been telegraphing to you that he is not totally thrilled with where his team is. You’re ignoring it, as you’re prone to do when they’re blowing folks out.” Following Alabama’s 48-14 thumping of Mercer last Saturday came a tense press conference with a noticeably frustrated Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide offense opened the game with a three-and-out. “I mean if it stinks, it stinks. It smells bad for everybody. Did it smell bad for you? Yeah. I mean, what do you want me to do, make excuses for them? We did a poor job of blocking. They did some movements up front and we didn't sustain blocks. So we didn't have much success running the ball,” Saban said of the Alabama offense. “It stopped ourselves four times in the first half with a dropped pass on third down, a dropped pass that would have been a big-play pass, and two penalties. One penalty brought back a touchdown. One penalty stopped a drive. So, I don't know how many possessions we had the first half, but that's four right there where we stopped ourselves.” The Crimson Tide struggled mightily with penalties in last Saturday’s win in Tuscaloosa. Through the first half of football, Alabama committed six penalties for 70 yards. By game’s end, the Tide had totaled nine penalties for 95 yards. Which, in Saban’s book, nearly directly translates to a score. “I don't care how you cut the mustard in a football game, a hundred yards usually equals seven points. So if you just had 100 yards in penalties you just gave the other team seven points because you gave up that much field position,” Saban said. “So when you have a 25-yard return and you have a 10-yard penalty, that's a 35-yard penalty. You just keep adding those up and you see what you're giving up." According to Pate, Saban’s frustration is practically a cry-out for others to take notice that the Crimson Tide isn’t invincible. “There have been times before where they have been blowing folks out and Nick Saban cannot get anyone’s attention, tries as he might, because it might take a loss, unfortunately, sometimes to get his team’s attention. “He is doing that again. He is telling you even though they’re good… I think they’re the number one team in the country right now. But number one is relative.” According to Pate, he and 247Sports ran the 2021 Alabama team through a model and algorithm and simulated a game against the 2020 Alabama team. And this year’s team came up as 11.5-point underdogs. “This team trails significantly where that last year’s team left off,” Pate said. And so they’re vulnerable is what I’m telling you. “But, as has been the case with Bama in years past, it takes them tasting their own blood and you seeing them taste their own blood in a lot of cases, for you to believe they’re anything other than this death star that’s marching towards another national championship in which they’d just beat everyone by four touchdowns.”

By CARLTON REESE The Real Carlton Carlton the Doorman explained to me this week that a doorman’s salary is not enough to offset losses incurred while betting on college football. On this, I say there is not much more annoying than a doorman with an open palm. In week two, Toledo and Tulsa beat spreads at Notre Dame and Oklahoma State, respectively, but that was not enough to offset the bets made on home underdogs who all failed to cover. I asked Carlton the Doorman if he is giving up on his “Guy” with the computer formula and he assures me he is in for the long haul and staying the course he’s trod the last decade. With that, week 3 shows only three underdogs trending properly for betting purposes, and among them is not the Florida Gators (point spread losers in the first two games). As for Florida, it has been fun the last two weeks hearing how Alabama fans don’t seem that interested in this game and quite frankly the pundits don’t seem too excited, either. Let’s check out those comments: Paul Finebaum (ESPN): “Alabama’s not going down this weekend. They are that good and Florida has some issues.” Heather Dinich (ESPN): “This is not (going to be a Florida win). I have questions about Florida’s quarterback situation.” Cody Williams (fansided.com): “Without (Anthony) Richardson installed as the starter, this is going to be an Alabama win and pretty decisively so.” Josh Pate (247Sports): “Alabama is ripe to be had. Nick Saban is telegraphing that they’re vulnerable. This will be a struggle, then an Alabama pull-away to a win and a cover (laying 14.5 points.” The list goes on and on with zero national pundits thinking Florida will compete. I have always maintained that these so-called experts and pundits never make predictions of future events – they merely spew predictions of the past. Because Alabama has dominated, it will dominate again. Because Alabama has won seven straight against Florida, it will do so again. Because Dan Mullen has never beaten Nick Saban, he never will. All telling us about the past, but no one with the guts to make a real prognostication – there are no seers at Delphi anymore, just historians spewing out numbers and trivial facts. Of course, Nick Saban has been saying all year (at least up to mid-week) in so many words that his team is not where it should be even though they’ve blown out two opponents. Sound familiar, doesn’t it? For some reason, when the fans are complacent and the pundits pile on, that overconfidence seems to drip into a team’s locker room. This gives Florida a chance to shock Alabama, which is a juggernaut but by no means invincible. Here is what the fans and pundits see: Alabama seven straight wins against Florida; Dan Mullen 0-10 in his career against Nick Saban; Emory Jones has four interceptions against vastly inferior athletes; Alabama has 5-star recruits currently on the bench. I’m not predicting a Florida win and neither is Carlton the Doorman, but would it really be a shock to see the Gators win Saturday? Only if Emory Jones throws two picks in the process. This is Alabama’s world and the rest of us are just paying rent to the Tide. Don’t think so? Just ask any Bama fan. This week’s selections by Carlton the Doorman: Road Underdogs: Tulsa plus 26.5 over Ohio State Ball State plus 7 over Wyoming C. Michigan plus 19.5 over LSU Road Favorites: Wake Forest minus 5.5 over Florida State System spreads of this week’s games of note: Alabama by 22.5 over Florida Georgia by 36.5 over South Carolina Penn State by 4.5 over Auburn Ole Miss by 9 over Tulane Stanford by 20 over Vanderbilt C. Florida by 6 over Louisville Miami by 17.5 over Michigan State Wake Forest by 31.5 over Florida State North Carolina by 9 over Virginia Oklahoma by 28.5 over Nebraska Notre Dame by 3 over Purdue Current system top-10: 1. Alabama (109.5) 2. Iowa (102.5) 3. Oklahoma (102.5) 4. Georgia (100) 5. Penn State (88.5) 6. Liberty (87) 7. Texas A&M (85.5) 8. Auburn (85.5) 9. UCLA (85) 10. Cincinnati (85)

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: ALL THE ATTENTION ON AR15 MIGHT TURN OUT TO BE A GOOD THING Okay, let’s first address the question of the week: What is the latest on Anthony Richardson and that tender, troublesome hamstring? Here is what Dan Mullen said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference: “He’s practiced every day. He’s getting treatment, making sure that he’s healthy, ready to go, but he’s had a pretty good week of practice.” So, there you go. Mullen also indicated on the weekly call that barring an injury, he’s going to play both Emory Jones and Richardson at quarterback Saturday afternoon (3:30, CBS) when the No. 9 Gators (2-0) take on No. 1 Alabama (2-0) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. “That’s all set within the game plan unless something happens during the course of the game with an injury during the game or one of those deals,” Mullen said. See, he’s got this planned out. What a concept. Perhaps it wasn’t part of the plan, but the combination of Emory Jones struggling in the passing game, the spectacular play of Richardson and the hamstring injury seems to have absorbed all the energy for a game which the Las Vegas oddsmakers give a huge (14.5 points) advantage to Alabama. Instead of reams of analysis on why Alabama, with its personnel advantage at every position based on old recruiting rankings and NFL Draft ratings, should blow out the Gators everyone but the quarterbacks and Mullen have pretty much gotten a pass. In some respects it’s like déjà vu of Steve Spurrier soaking up all the criticism by talking about all the late hits on Danny Wuerffel in the days ahead of Florida’s 52-20 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the 1996 national championship. Or, how about the way Urban Meyer seemed to egg the national media on in the days ahead of Florida’s 41-14 win over Ohio State in the 2006 national championship game in Glendale, Arizona? Every time the national media proclaimed the Buckeyes one of the greatest – if not THE greatest – team in the history of college football, Meyer made sure every Gator saw those gushing reports. Not once did Meyer give us a “we’ll see” or a “that’s why we play the game on the field” retorts. He fueled the fire. Mullen hasn’t had to answer a lot of questions about his O-line or his defense this week because he’s been busy telling everyone that in his mind, at least, there is no quarterback controversy at UF because he has full confidence in Emory Jones. https://www.gatorbaitmedia.com/post/florida-gators-mid-week-injury-update-ahead-of-saturday-s-showdown-with-no-1-alabama-crimson-tide Meanwhile, no one has been asking how tackles Richard Gouraige or Jean Delance will handle those Bama edge rushers. No one has been asking how anyone other than Jones or Richardson is going to run the ball against the Bama defense. No one has been asking how Jacob Copeland and the rest of the Florida receivers plan to get open against the Alabama secondary. And, no one has been asking how the Gators are going to defend Alabama redshirt freshman QB Bryce Young, who some national experts have proclaimed is the Heisman heir-apparent after he lit up mediocre Miami and D1AA Mercer. This wasn’t by design on Mullen’s part, but it has indeed worked out nicely. His guys will feel plenty of pressure once foot hits football Saturday. With the exception of Jones, Richardson and Mullen, the Gators have been flying under the radar. This is no guarantee of an upset, but less pressure can’t hurt. https://www.gatorbaitmedia.com/post/transcript-dan-mullen-on-his-2-qb-system-an-anthony-richardson-hamstring-update-and-facing-bama OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (2-0): Linebacker Will Anderson, who strained a knee against Mercer, is now listed day-to-day for Saturday’s game at Florida. “Will did practice yesterday,” Nick Saban said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday morning. “We’re taking it by day-by-day. If he continues to make improvement through the rest of the week, he certainly could play in the game.” Saturday: Alabama is a 14.5-point favorite at Florida. Arkansas (2-0): Getting the Razorbacks re-focused after their stunning 40-21 win over Texas has been the issue for HBC Sam Pittman, who says Tuesday was a bad practice day as the Hogs prep for Saturday’s game with Georgia Southern. “We probably haven’t been in this spot for awhile, but we know how to get then ready and they’ll be ready,” Pittman said Wednesday on the teleconference. Saturday: Arkansas is a 23.5-point favorite at home against Georgia Southern. Auburn (2-0): Quarterback Bo Nix has looked much improved through two games. HBC Bryan Harsin attributes the new and improved Nix to better “footwork, mechanics, maturity” and adds that Nix “and Coach (Mike) Bobo work well together.” Through two games, Nix is 29-39 passing for 383 yards (9.8 per attempt) and five touchdowns. Saturday: Auburn is a 5-point road dog at Penn State. Georgia (2-0): Stetson Bennett IV might be unavailable to play against South Carolina on Saturday due to some lower back issues. With JT Daniels still recovering from an oblique strain, if Bennett can’t go, redshirt freshman Carson Beck will be Georgia’s starting QB. Saturday: Georgia is a whopping 31.5-point favorite at home against South Carolina. Kentucky (2-0): On the coaches teleconference, HBC Mark Stoops reacted to UK being called one of the top jobs in college football by saying, “I guess I take that as a compliment because when I got here I can guarantee it was a Bottom Ten job.” Saturday: There is no line for UK’s game with D1AA Chattanooga. LSU (1-1): Asked about the academic suspension of running back John Emery on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Coach Ed Orgeron said, “He’s unavailable right now for the year, unless things change and they could change. If they do change I’ll play him, but right now he’s unavailable for the year.” Saturday: LSU is a 19.5-point favorite at home against Central Michigan. Mississippi State (2-0): Lideatrick Griffin leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 48.8 yards per return including a 100-yarder for a touchdown last week against North Carolina State. Saturday: Mississippi State is a 3-point favorite on the road at Memphis. Missouri (1-1): In addition to giving up 340 rushing yards to Kentucky last week, HBC Eli Drinkwitz says the penalties were a serious problem. “I think we had between nine and 11 penalties,” Drinkwitz said on the coaches teleconference. “Those are free. Yards given away with no reason for it.” Saturday: There is no line for Missouri’s game with D1AA Southeast Missouri State. Ole Miss (2-0): Reacting to the perception that the Rebels are strictly a passing team, Lane Kiffin said on the coaches teleconference, “I don’t know why that’s the case … We led the SEC in rushing last year.” The Rebels are throwing for 337.5 yards per game this year but they’re also running at a 262 yards per game clip. Saturday: Ole Miss is a 14-point favorite at home against Tulane. South Carolina (2-0): For the next two home games, at least, fans at Williams-Brice Stadium will be required to wear a mask due to a new city ordinance in Columbia. The Gamecocks will be on the road Saturday in Athens where fans will be mask-less. Saturday: South Carolina is a 31.5 road dog at Georgia. Tennessee (1-1): Saturday: HBC Josh Heupel was non-commital about his starting quarterback for Saturday’s game – Joe Milton or Hendon Hooker – when he spoke on the coaches teleconference. “We do not have a starter yet,” he said. “[Milton] was out there on the practice field today. I don’t know if he’ll be available on Saturday. We’ll see where we’re at as we get closer to kickoff.” There is no line for Tennessee’s game with D1AA Tennessee Tech. Texas A&M (2-0): Zach Calzada, who replaced Haynes King when he was injured at Colorado, is the starting QB. He’s a good runner but was erratic throwing the ball last week. HBC Jimbo Fisher said Calzada can “reach all parts of the field with his arm.” Saturday: The Aggies are 29.5-point home favorites against New Mexico. Vanderbilt (1-1): Tight end Ben Bresnahan and center Michael Warden are uncertain for Saturday’s game with Stanford. Saturday: The Commodores are 12-point home underdogs against Stanford. NON-SEC GAMES TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS WEEK UCF (2-0) at Louisville (1-1): Seeing the way Matt Corral lit up Louisville, Dillon Gabriel has to be drooling. UCF is going to score but can the Knights get the stops to win on the road? Win this one and UCF probably goes to Cincinnati on October 16 unbeaten. UCF is a 7-point favorite. Nebraska (2-1) at No. 3 Oklahoma (2-0): It’s the 50th anniversary of a game that was for years called “The Game of the Century,” only this time Oklahoma is the highly ranked team and Nebraska is trying to figure out a way to salvage a winning season. Oklahoma is a 22-point favorite. If it’s worse than three touchdowns, will Scott Frost be gainfully employed Monday morning? No. 8 Cincinnati (2-0) at Indiana (1-1): Right now the Bearcats are carrying the torch for all of the Group of Five teams so this is a big game. The Bearcats have been good but not spectacular in going 2-0. Indiana needs to prove it isn’t nearly as bad as that opening game loss to Iowa would indicate. If Cincinnati loses its playoff chances are over and done with. Cincinnati is a shaky 4-point favorite. Purdue (2-0) at No. 12 Notre Dame (2-0): How is Notre Dame even in the top 20? That win over Florida State is looking very bad. The Irish should have lost to Holy Toledo, too. They should be 0-2, not 2-0. Meanwhile Purdue needs a win over a ranked opponent and has a QB capable of lighting up the Irish. Notre Dame is a 7-point favorite. No. 15 Virginia Tech (2-0) at West Virginia (1-1): West Virginia is a 3-point favorite which tells you the people in Las Vegas aren’t nearly as impressed with Virginia Tech as the people who vote in the polls. If WVU scores the win, it’s a real blow to the Always Climpson Conference, which is probably No. 5 of the Power 5 conferences. Virginia (2-0) at No. 21 North Carolina (1-1): The last thing the ACC needs is for any ranked team to go down in flames. This one feels like a bad day for the Tar Heels and for Sam Howell. If the Heels lose they’re 0-2 in ACC play so you can stick a fork in their chances to win the Coastal Division. Another loss for Howell and he can all but kiss his Heisman chances good-bye. UNC is a shaky 8-point favorite. Michigan State (2-0) at No. 24 Miami (1-1): It’s a little early in the season for must win games, but that’s what this feels like for Miami. Blown out by Alabama followed by a fortunate win against Appalachian State doesn’t give fans of The Ewe the warm and fuzzies. Michigan State probably gets ranked if it wins. Miami is a 6-point favorite. Florida State (0-2) at Wake Forest (2-0): This is a season on the brink game for the Seminoles. After that disastrous loss to D1AA Jacksonville State, former FSU wide receiver PK Sam was tweeting that HBC Mike Norvel is in danger of losing the locker room. Start the season 0-3 and that seems highly likely. The Seminoles are going to have all sorts of problems stopping Wake Forest Gump QB Sam Hartman. Wake Forest is a 5-point favorite. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The Knight Commission means well. Sometimes when it tackles big problems such as the health and safety of college football players it is a needed voice, but there are times – like yesterday – when the Knight Commission leaves you shaking your head. In its most recent proposal, the Knight Commission is calling for revenue reforms, wealth redistribution and perhaps even a luxury tax on schools that pay their coaches too much money. It is true that college football’s rich are getting richer, but it’s also true that there are way too many schools that have no business in Division I are spending well beyond their means. The reform that needs to take place isn’t parity legislation like the Knight Commission just proposed but a realignment of the divisions. We should have fewer teams in Division I and more in D1AA and Division II. If you don’t have a 30,000-seat stadium and can’t fill it, then you have no business trying to compete with schools that can.

The No. 11 Florida Gators are 15.5 point underdogs to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, despite it being a home game for the Gators in the hostile Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. As such, they’re going to need every bit of talent and personnel to outwit and outmatch the mighty Tide. Head Coach Dan Mullen met with local media twice this week, to provide injury updates ahead of the showdown. "He's had a pretty good week of practice." - Mullen on Richardson Anthony Richardson During the Gators 42-20 win over USF on Saturday, quarterback Anthony Richardson took off for a mesmerizing 80-yard touchdown ran. Around the 50-yard line (according to Richardson on his social media accounts) he felt his hamstring starting to tighten up, but he kept up his speed and scored with ease. He didn’t return to the game, receiving an ice treatment on the sidelines, but walked off the field at the end of the game with nothing more than a slight limp. On Monday, Mullen revealed the injury was a tightened hamstring, which is much more treatable than one that’s pulled. The latter can cause a player to be sidelined for a week or even more, with fear of making it worse. On Wednesday, Mullen offered a further update, indicating Richardson’s progress, saying, “he's looked fine. He's still practiced every day. He's getting treatment, making sure that he's healthy, ready to go. But he's had a pretty good week of practice.” If Richardson can play, he can help provide the spark that’s led to him being responsible for five touchdowns through two games, and currently sitting as the team’s leading rusher. Richardson splits time with redshirt junior starter, Emory Jones. Mullen says the key to the two working so well within the tandem is communication. "It's pretty simple. They know the plan, very much like our running backs know the plan, our receivers know the plan, our D-line rotation, our linebacker rotation. They know the plan. They prepare to the plan. They kind of know what we have scheduled going into the game." Ventrell Miller Middle linebacker Ventrell Miller was only on the field for seven snaps in the win versus USF, before leaving the game with one tackle. According to multiple reports, Miller underwent surgery on Monday, although the exact reason was not known until Wednesday, when Allan Taylor of The Athletic reported it was to repair a torn bicep tendon. His exact return time is unknown, but the timeline for such an injury usually requires three to four months. That would place him returning for postseason play. In his place, the Gators used a rotation of Jeremiah Moon, Mohamoud Diabate and Ty’Ron Hopper, along with Amari Burney who has played alongside Miller for the past two years. Moon was moved to inside linebacker this offseason, and Ty’Ron Hopper has come along quickly. Diabate, Hooper and Moon all finished in three of the top four in tackles versus USF. Of course the hardest part of replacing Miller is his leadership and experience as the defensive play caller in the middle of the field. Miller has started 23 of the 25 games in which he’s appeared since 2019. “Ventrell, he's a great guy and a great teammate, great leader, but I feel like we shouldn't have an issue picking up with that leadership role. Guys just have to, you know, they have to step up,” said outside linebacker Zach Carter. Jean Delance During Saturday’s game versus USF, right tackle Jean Delance was seen nursing a knee and needing some assistance to walk. However, Mullen didn’t seem incredibly concerned when addressing the injury this week. “Jean was just a bruise. We expect him to be back out there today or tomorrow practicing,” admitted Mullen. Delance has shown vast improvement this season, specifically in protection and blocking in the run game. Elijiah Blades The Texas A&M transfer has been an exciting possibility at corner. He recorded no defensive stats against the FAU Owls, but played sparingly in the season opening blowout. However he did not play at all versus USF, a decision Mullen said was made before the game out of precaution. “Blades had a sore hamstring and just didn’t feel like he could go on it to play at the level he needed, wanted to play at,” Mullen explained. Given Alabama’s speed on the edge, any and all help there will be needed on Saturday.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: WHO WILL BE ABLE TO RUN THE FOOTBALL SATURDAY? Three games into the 2020 season in which Alabama ran the table and won the national championship, Ole Miss ran on 57 snaps for 268 yards in a game that seemed a lot closer than the final 63-48 score would indicate. Take away the sacks (2 for -13 yards) and Ole Miss QB Matt Corral ran 12 times for 53 yards but he wasn’t the only one to put a dent in the Alabama defense. Both Snoop Conner (128) and Jerrion Ealy (120) ran for more than 100 yards. And yet it wasn’t enough. Why? Because the Ole Miss defense, which did a marvelous impression of a sieve, gave up 723 yards, 417 through the air and 306 on the ground. When the Gators faced Alabama in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta later on in 2020, the Gators managed only 54 yards on 26 rushing attempts, but that, too, is slightly deceptive. There were five sacks in the game for -19 yards, so the adjusted run stats were more like 21-73 and three TDs, better but still not exactly the kind of stats you associate with winning football. The Gators weren’t really out to fool anyone with their offense last year. The Gators essentially lined up against Alabama and sent everyone out for a pass. Kyle Trask threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns as Florida came the closest to beating Alabama, going down 52-46. Through two games against outmatched opponents, Alabama has run for 152.5 yards per game, averaging just 4.24 yards per carry, which is actually less than the Gators averaged per carry (4.29) last season. Defensively, neither Miami nor Mercer has been able to move the ball consistently on the ground, averaging 79.5 yards per game and 2.37 yards per carry. Alabama got seven sacks for -37 yards in the two games. Florida, meanwhile, has changed its offense dramatically. Kyle Trask could make all the throws but he wasn’t going to wow anyone with his feet. Quarterbacks Emory Jones (23-155, 1 TD) and Anthony Richardson (11-275, 2 TDs) have changed the dynamic of the UF offense with their ability to take off for big yardage. The Gators, who lead the nation, averaging 381.5 yards per game on the ground and a whopping 8.48 per carry, are a run first team this year. While so much attention is being paid to the quarterbacks, it should be noted that the running back quintet of Malik Davis, Dameon Pierce, Demarkcus Bowman, Nay’Quan Wright and Lorenzo Lingard have combined for 333 yards (5.9 per carry) and four touchdowns. RELATED: DAN MULLEN'S TRANSCRIPT FROM ALABAMA WEEK Defensively, the Gators are giving up 100.5 yards per game on the ground, an average of 2.58 per carry, supplemented by seven sacks for -41 yards. Typically in SEC games, the team that runs the ball best wins, so who is going to get the job done on the ground for Saturday’s game at The Swamp (3:30 p.m., CBS) between the No. 1 Crimson Tide and the 9th-ranked Gators? In his preseason rankings, Phil Steele rated Alabama’s O-line best in the SEC and 6thnationally. Florida? Try 37th nationally and 7th in the SEC. Through two games, Florida’s offensive line has actually been more consistent but can the Gators rise to the occasion and turn in a strong game against Alabama’s vaunted front seven? Expectations in the national media are that Alabama’s big offensive line will be able to grind it out between the tackles, particularly since Florida’s best tackler, linebacker Ventrell Miller will miss the game after surgery on Tuesday. Can Florida at least neutralize the Tide and hold them closer to 100 yards than their typical 150? And, can the Gators get the quarterbacks outside the tackles? For Florida to have a chance at the upset, the Gators will have to play some defense with the offense by running the ball with some consistency to keep Alabama off the field. The best way to keep Alabama from grinding is to keep the ball away by keeping the chains moving. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: THE GATORS (National/SEC ranking) Scoring offense (36/6): 38.5 points per game Rushing offense (1/1): 381.5 yards per game (8.48 per carry) Passing offense (66/12): 228.0 yards per game (7.6 per attempt) Total offense (3/1): 609.5 yards per game (8.13 per play) Third down conversions (Tie 29/Tie 4): 14-28 (50%) Sacks allowed (Tie 5/Tie 1): 1 for -8 yards Scoring defense (40/6): 17 points per game Rushing defense (40/6): 100.5 yards per game (2.58 per carry) Passing defense (79/10): 224.5 yards per game (7.1 per attempt) Total defense (56/7): 325 yards per game (4.61 per play) Third down conversion defense (Tie 52/Tie 7): 10-29 (34.48%) Sacks (Tie 18/Tie 5): 7 for -41 yards OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (2-0): Nick Saban says his players need to play better for redshirt freshman quarterback Bryce Young: “I keep saying this: how did the players around him play? That’s what I think we need to continue to improve on.” Arkansas (2-0): Kirk Herbstreit on Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom following the Razorbacks’ 40-21 win over Texas: “I think Barry Odom is one of the best defensive coordinators, not just in the conference but in the country. They showed up in a bad mood and had them ready to go.” Auburn (2-0): The challenge for the Auburn defense Saturday when the Tigers travel to Penn State is neutralizing quarterback Sean Clifford, who has thrown for more than 5,000 yards in his career including 39-62 for 477 yards and two touchdowns this year. Georgia (2-0): Wide receiver Arian Smith, who left the UAB game with an injury in the third quarter, is expected to play against South Carolina Saturday … Wide receiver Dominick Blaylock, who is trying to come back from an ACL, has a hamstring injury which has set him back a bit … Kirby Smart says that LSU transfer tight end Arik Gilbert continues to work through personal issues and it is not known if he will be able to play this year. Kentucky (2-0, 1-0 SEC): UK running back Kavosiey Smoke on the Wildcats feeling disrespected because they aren’t ranked: “It’s politics … if they don’t want to give us our respect now, we’re going to make them respect us later.” LSU (1-1): Coach Oeaux on why LSU has to start getting its plays signaled in from the sideline faster: “We’re taking too long. We’re giving too much time for defenses to change, and we’re changing the play and they’re changing the play, so obviously that has to be re-tooled. That has to be re-thought how we’re doing things.” Mississippi State (2-0): Through Mississippi State’s first two games, quarterback Will Rogers is 72-96 passing (75 percent) for 664 yards (6.9 per attempt) with five touchdowns and only one pick. Nine different receivers have already caught at least two passes. Missouri (1-1, 0-1 SEC): Mizzou defensive coordinator on the Tigers’ allowing 519 yards in a 35-28 loss to Kentucky last Saturday: “I take full responsibility for the performance last week … wasn’t up to our standard. Not even close. I’ve got to do a better job.” Ole Miss (2-0): The Ole Miss defense ranks 12th in the SEC and 76th nationally, but the stats show plenty of improvement. Last year when the Rebels gave up 519 yards per game, they allowed 6.67 yards per snap. This year, they’re giving up 364.5 yards per game and 4.58 per play. South Carolina (2-0): The Gamecocks travel to Georgia Saturday night. HBC Shane Beamer on the roster Georgia’s Kirby Smart has assembled: “He may have, probably does have, the most talented football team in the history of Georgia football.” Tennessee (1-1): There is a large statistical discrepancy between quarterbacks Joe Milton III and Hendon Hooker. Milton, who has started both games, is 18-35 (51.4 percent) for 189 yards (5.4 per attempt) with one TD. Hooker is 16-22 (72.7 percent) for 193 yards (8.8 per attempt) with two touchdowns and one interception. Texas A&M (2-0): Defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, who missed was suspended the first two games after an offseason arrest, will be back this weekend when the Aggies face New Mexico in a non-conference game. Vanderbilt (1-1): The Commodores are dead last in the SEC in total offense (331.5 yards per game) and next to last in total defense (379.5 per game). WHO SUCCEEDS CLAY HELTON AT SOUTHERN CAL? Now that Clay Helton is no longer gainfully employed by Southern Cal, there is a ton of speculation who will be the successor. Probably the best list I’ve seen was compiled by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports: (1) James Franklin, Penn State; (2) Bill O’Brien, Alabama (offensive coordinator); (3) Matt Campbell, Iowa State; (4) Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; (5) Mario Cristobal, Oregon; (6) P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; (7) Greg Schiano, Rutgers; (8) Tony Elliott, Clemson (offensive coordinator). I like this list because of numbers one through four. I think James Franklin would definitely leave Penn State for Southern Cal. For all their success throughout the years, Penn State will always be considered the redheaded stepchild of the Big Ten because the Nittany Lions aren’t Big Ten originals and bluebloods like Ohio State and Michigan. Winning a national championship in the Big Ten is going to go through Columbus and Ann Arbor. He can win national championships at Southern Cal. If Alabama wins a national championship with a dynamic offense then O’Brien’s stock will be off the charts. He’s worked for Bellichick, navigated Penn State through NCAA sanctions, been an NFL head coach and how he’s being power washed squeaky clean at St. Nick’s Rehab Center for Wayward Coaches. He might be seen as someone who can stop the prep quarterback exodus from California to points east. Campbell might be too Midwest but if you can win at Iowa State you should be able to win big at Southern Cal. Fickell is the kind of coach who could make USC Tailback U once again. As attractive as Mario Cristobal is to a school like Southern Cal, I can’t see Uncle Phil (Knight) losing him to a Pac-12 school. I think Uncle Phil gives Mario the full Nike treatment to keep him in Eugene. There are only two places I think Mario Cristobal would leave Oregon for – Miami (alma mater and home) and Alabama (Saban’s replacement; Mario was Nick’s O-line coach for several years). More from the coaching front: Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reports that Nebraska coach Scott Frost might not make it through December. “He won 12 games in his first three seasons, is now under NCAA investigation and, many feel, is likely to be fired by Christmas.” Nebraska is 2-1 this year but the Cornhuskers travel to No. 3 Oklahoma this weekend and still have games remaining with Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa. There are reports that Deon Sanders is already being mentioned as a potential Division I HBC for next season after leading Jackson State to a 2-0 start. Could he be on the Florida State radar? Former FSU wide receiver P.K. Sam tweeted out that an exceptional source told him the FSU locker room is “in shambles” following the Seminoles’ 20-17 loss to D1AA Jacksonville State on a last play Hail Mary. It was the first loss to a D1AA team in school history. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA is expected to pass a temporary waiver next month that will allow Division I football programs to replenish up to seven scholarships each year lost through the transfer portal. This is in response to a rules change that allows players a one-time transfer without having to sit a year, something that led to a dramatic change in the number of players seeking a fresh start. The NCAA still hasn’t enacted any sort of roster management legislation since players who played in the COVID-19 season of 2020 were given an extra year of eligibility. Many schools are carrying close to or more than 100 scholarship players this year but coaches assume the roster max will revert back to 85 in 2022 unless some new legislation is enacted. The transfer waiver is expected to be permanent. Scholarship limits for Division I might be a thing of the past as the NCAA is expected to give Division I football a strong measure of autonomy in the future. So brace yourself. This is just the beginning of wholesale changes that are coming to college football. You may not recognize it in five years.

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen met with local media on Monday to recap the USF win, preview the upcoming game against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and tease his two-quarterback system with Anthony Richardson and Emory Jones. As a valued GatorBait subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. Opening statement: “I want to start off with the new college rankings coming out and the University of Florida being a top-five public university academically in America is something that is very special. I don't know that people around the country we get enough credit or understand that or see that enough and then we even publicized that enough. But when you look here and say all the athletic success we've had here sometimes overshadows the fact on the national stage maybe of people looking and looking at Florida on the outside and saying, ‘Boy, you know, a lot of success on the field.’ But to be a top-five public university academically and be one of the absolute elite academic schools in the nation is very, very special and great for the university, great for the Gator Nation everywhere. That's really exciting for us and for all our large student athletes and it shows the credit and the type of student athletes that come here to the University of Florida. “Excited about this week's game, obviously going to start conference play. So things really start to ramp up with conference play now and going to be back in the Swamp. It’ll be an exciting atmosphere. I think with how the SEC schedule’s set up, you don't get all these crossover games that often. I think the opportunity to have the Florida-Alabama game and to have it here in the Swamp. I don't know the last time they've been here, but I think it's been quite a while. It’s going to be really exciting and should be a great atmosphere so we're excited and going to have a great week of practice and get ready of the go.” How’s Anthony Richardson: “I think he’s doing good. Saw him today watching the film. He kind of had some tightness in his hamstring. He'll do treatment and we'll see how, how he'll be this week. We expect him to practice and we'll see how he comes along at practice and deals with it during the week.” On the opportunity for the program: “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.” HAS TEAM PLAYED UP TO YOUR STANDARDS? "Ah, I mean I have pretty high standards, so I think we can get a lot better. And you look, you look and I don't want to downplay it, you look at that last week's game, we had a bunch of yards, put up a bunch of explosive plays. I think we left a lot on the field, though. There was a lot of opportunities for us to play better fotball as a team all around. You look at 17 of their points came on drives that started on the plus side of the field; two as a result of the offense and one as a result of special teams. You know? So 17 of their points came off of; now the defense has got to go stop them, but the offense/special teams put our defense in a bad situation. We didn't have the ball to start one time on the plus side of the field in that last game. So you look, there's a lot of little things we've got to improve on to play high-level football, not just count on making big play after big play, offensively and defensively." HOW DO YOU DECIDE THIRD SERIES FOR RICHARDSON, HAS HE EARNED RIGHT TO GO IN SOONER? "Well we'll see. We kind of go in with a plan depending on the game, and we kind of schedule the plan off of each deal. There are some circumstances maybe that would change that, but I mean everybody is kind of on plan going into the game that, 'Hey, you're going to play the third series.' You know, we have that going in and we know what we're going to do. Now there are circumstances that could affect that, and there were Saturday circumstances that would affect if he went in and when he went in. So that's always up there changing." HOW DO YOU EXPECT SWAMP TO BE? NOT A LOT OF SELLOUTS HERE IN YOUR TIME. CAN IT BE DIFFERENCE-MAKER? "Well I think home-field advantage in the SEC, obviously last year nobody had it. We didn't have any sell-outs last year. I think home-field advantage is a huge deal, especially now with fans back in the stadiums. That's one of the things that makes the SEC tough, that you get that extra support from the fanbase and that energy and the fans making it difficult. Like I said, it's fun to play this game. As you mentioned, last time was Auburn, which was the last, you know, non-regular crossover that we kind of played here. So it's something that is really exciting. Hopefully the league with this expansion looks at maybe having a lot more rotating games and get rid of whether it's permanent crossovers or permanent teams that you're playing or however they want to do it to create this excitement for the fanbase because I think it's going to be a great atmosphere on Saturday here in the Swamp. Probably the best environment in college football this Saturday." CAN YOU EXPLAIN PROCESS OF PICKING QUARTERBACKS? (LENGTHY EXPLANATION OF QUESTION HERE) "I mean it's so flexible in so many different scenarios and situations that you get into depending on your roster, your team, the makeup, the experience of the players that you have. There's so much that goes into that, of, and it's not just at the quarterback position, it's the team as a whole of who's going to give you the best opportunity to win this game? Are we developing guys? Who's the best decision-maker out there leading the team? There's so many different little things that go into it and each scenario is unique. You know, I've been through it. I've been either a quarterback coach or an offensive coordinator or head coach now for a long time with a lot of different situations and different scenarios that you look at. Some cause you to have one quarterback and another one come in to run a certain package. Other situations cause you to rotate them a little bit more. Some you kind of, like you're set, this is the guy that's going to help us because both guys have experience. I don’t have to roll them in to get them experience, to get them prepared to play. I think there’s so much that goes into that with every situation is very, very unique. I’ve had so many of them. I probably could sit here for two hours if you give me the year and the quarterbacks I could take you through the scenario and situation. But it all gets very unique. It’s all on a very unique basis.” Thoughts on outside noise about QBs? “Uhh, yeah, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t listen to many suggestions. If you’re in our staff meeting I’m going to listen to your suggestion. I don’t know, I don’t run down to Shands Hospital and say, ‘Boy, I think you should really do that procedure this way.’ I think those guys probably got that under control, you know? So, they’re the people, they’re the experts who are doing it.” Megan input? “I get a lot of suggestions from her, but not many about the scheme or what we’re calling on third down.” 11th time UF host Alabama, and you’re going for first win in 11 tries, what makes a Nick Saban team so difficult to play? “No. 1, they got a ton of talent. They do a great job recruiting. They have depth. They have talent at every position. I think he does a great job with his program in keeping the guys focused. I think they play at a very high level ... Not just having tremendous talent. He gets the guys and they play at a very high level and execute at a very high level. And then obviously they have a good scheme and have very good football coaches on both sides of the football, running good schemes. They put those guys in good position to make plays. When you combine all those things it makes them an excellent team.” Conversation with Todd G on stopping Bama attack? “Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll find out on Saturday. That will be a good matchup for us. We have to play hard, we have to be sound, 11 guys running to the ball as hard as they can and finish and do a great job of being sound and playing great defense.” Jeremiah Moon at LB, Jadarrius Perkins at STAR roles to be expanded? “Yeah, I think you see with Moon, that move we played him to play inside ‘backer this year I think coming back and it shows the comfort that he has here, creates some flexibility on the defensive side of the ball. Perk, really pleased. Came in and a guy that came in, transferred in, got here had to pick up the system fast. Started him at corner, now also playing some STAR. He’s done a good job of working his tail off, mentally. Obviously, he has some great physical tools, but mentally to learn the system, learn the defense, get ready to get out there on the field. He’s done a good job making plays.” Last year in Atlanta main difference was along the OL/DL, how much growth have you seen? “We’re getting there. We’re getting there. Again, we’ll find out. It’s hard to say sometimes early in the season. I don’t know who they’ve played yet and I don’t know who we’ve played yet. At the end of the year you can come out and say, hey we played two top-25 teams by the end of the season and they’ve played two teams that weren’t very good or could be flipped vice versa. I think it will be a good test for both teams up there. I think we’ve played solid up front defensively. I think our front seven has been solid defensively through the first two games. Offensively I think we’ve been solid and been able to run the ball and protect the quarterback for the most part. It will be interesting to see. It’ll be a good test and a good matchup to see where we’re at and where both teams are at. I’m sure they feel the same way.” Anthony needs to make right reads? “They always do. Both our guys do. I thought in the first half both quarterbacks played really well, made good decisions and I thought in the second half we made a couple poor decisions, missed reads, missed checks, you know, things that you gotta do. Taking care of the mental part of the game for both our quarterbacks. I think that’s a big part of it as they continue to grow.” Is there one read maybe that Anthony didn’t make that you know he would want back? An example? “An easy one would be if you go back a couple games he drops back, misses a protection check, then misses the hot throw, then misses the primary read, and then scrambles around and runs and everybody thinks, ‘what a spectacular play!’” Do you coach differently in the world of the transfer portal than maybe you used to? “No. I’ve never thought about it, to be honest with you. You’re probably thinking about it at transfer portal times, at the end of a season and just helping guys and helping guys guide through their careers. I’ve always been somebody that plays a lot of players. You look at our responsibility is to develop guys within the program and develop them to get better we end up playing a lot of players that way. I’ve never done it for any other reason than player development. I think that’s why we do what we do. That’s why we roll guys through a lot of times. Maybe statistically it doesn’t always look the best for us at the end of a game where hey boy we rolled a lot of guys through to get people experience and to get guys developed but in the big picture of the program it helps us.” Ventrell Miller hurt, Jean Delance and Elijah Blades? “Yeah, we’ll see. We gotta check with them. I’ll find out more with Ventrell today. The other two, uh, Blades had a sore hamstring and just didn’t feel like he could go on it to play at the level he needed, wanted to play at. Jean was just a bruise. We expect him to be back out there today or tomorrow practicing.” Jadarrius Perkins being a unicorn, when’d you see that as a possibility? “Well I think it's one of those where we’re trying to find guys that create the depth at different positions, you know, and you look at that spot as somebody that we got to do some different things with, and, you know, so you try guys out, and I thought you know, I mean, he picked it up pretty quickly, and did a good job with it and they, you know, and Tre’Vez Johnson does a great job with it, too. But those guys bring a little something different, and create more flexibility within the defense and creates more depth within the defense.” Does rotation shrink in SEC play? “Well, I mean everything shrinks. You can't dress as many guys. We had a lot more guys dressed the first two games, we can't even dress that many and, within the conference rules for the games. You know, so they'll be, you know a lot more guys put jersey on the sidelines a lot less guys available within the course of the game for us to roll through and to play, you know, and you probably do, you're probably gonna, you know, the guys that we were trying to roll equal reps, get a lot of guys experience, some of the more veteran guys are probably getting more reps in this game than they have in the previous games.” Thoughts on D-line after 2 games? “Oh yeah, they're getting there, for sure. Obviously, we had a bunch of injuries at that position in training camp. Hopefully get some of those guys back this week, but the, you know, so I think that set us back a little bit, but I like the mindset. I like where we're at. The older guys that are coming in that are transferred in – obviously Trues(dell) is still trying to pick it up, he got here late – but the other two guys, the transfers, I think have picked it up. I believe have bought in and understand now what we're trying to do and what we're trying to accomplish, and you got to have that depth to be able to roll through, to play a full conference schedule. So, you know, we worked last week rotating a bunch of those guys in, getting a lot of guys reps and trying to create that depth with the older veteran guys mixed in with the, with, you know some of the younger guys experience getting ready to play.” Obviously these are two different teams now, but how much do you sort of look back at that SEC title game in terms of your preparation this week, and what have you guys as coaches, sort of can glean from that game? “Um, you know, I think that you know, it just, it was a one score game and it came right down to the wire, I imagine this game should probably play out differently. They have a bunch of new faces, we have a bunch of new faces out there, and you know they're a very good coaching staff and so they're probably similar to us – they're gonna do what their guys can do well, you know, and they'll have a little bit different personnel and do some different things on offense that suits the personnel that they have, the same that we do, you know. And then the same thing defensively of trying to, you know, to make sure they're putting their personnel in, and get the, get the schemes, like we have to adjust our defense to what their offense is going to be this year, we have to adjust our offense to what their defense is going to be, and vice versa, you know how to go play those and match it up with, you know the slight changes that you've made schematically, with the personnel with this year compared to last year.” A lot of flexibility with your personnel…how much of this year’s offense have we still not seen? “A lot. We’ve kept it pretty simple the first two weeks. I think as you go, the different personnel and utilizing different personnel in different ways is something we’ll look at throughout the course of the year that we get into.” 2008 – loss to UGA was a motivation in offseason. Was this Bama matchup a similar motivating factor in offseason? Talk about six points? “I don’t think we used that. I think it was motivating in that what is – hey, we had the opportunity to win an SEC championship and fell six points short. We’re right there. We want to get the opportunity to get to go win that this year, put ourselves back in that situation. I think once your guys have a little taste of that success, they want to get that back. So it wasn’t purely that. I don’t know it’s just the loss to Alabama. It was the loss in the championship game more than just the opponent, if that makes sense. And the drive to want to get back there and go compete and win a championship.” Where does this game rank for you in how big it is, implications, etc? What tell the guys about it? “You know, I tell you one thing: You don’t need a lot of motivation. If you need me to motivate you to play in this game, you’re a little messed up. This is a big game. This is why you come to Florida, to play in big games and play in these top matchups. Motivationally wise, that’s what it is. 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 (trails off) both teams want to play this team again at some point. I think it’s probably a little bit different that way than maybe in some of the other years.” Bama reloads, so it’s more schemes than players…what are those schemes? What is different? “They do a really good job of mixing things up. I think they’ve grown offensively throughout the years of spreading people out, throwing the ball, being a little bit more spread-based offense from your old, traditional, they used to play more i-formation that they used to do. Then defensively, they do a good job mixing it up, mixing up all their coverages, mixing up some of the pressures, playing multiple fronts. They’re going to play you in multiple fronts and not give you a lot of the same look over and over again. I think they’re very multiple that way. When you’re multiple of showing all the different looks, but then when you combine that with great players, like you said, they have depth at every position, and they’re very veteran group. Someone asked about the transfer portal earlier. They have guys that are older guys on the roster that are backups that don’t play a ton. They get limited opportunities, but they’re still there, and it creates great depth for them on their roster. They do a good job of that, too.” Jimbo got a little offended earlier this offseason when Saban signed his new contract and the narrative was everybody's got to wait until Saban retired to win championships and SEC championships. Ss that offensive to you when you hear that narrative? "Um, I don't know, I mean I don't put, I never even thought about it or thought about it in that way, to be perfectly honest with you. I think he's done a good job with his program. They do a really good job. I mean he hasn't won all the national championships so that's obviously not the case. And a bunch of other people that won them over the last couple of years so never really thought of it in that terms." Emory Jones, I don't know if you heard his comments about Anthony after the game the other day. He talked about, first off, how much he's enjoying—he's like 'I'm like y'all I'm waiting to see what this kid does next.' And then he talked about just the relationship they built with all the time and support and the late nights and what does that say to you about just those two guys and how they're going to handle this? "Oh I think it shows you know, I mean the perception maybe of—the difference in perception and reality and everybody's perception on the outside. And the reality of what's going on on the inside. You know, you have two young guys that are both trying to get better, both trying to learn; they learn and help each other, they appreciate each other and they help each other. You know, and they're good friends and you want to see people, people succeed that way. And you know when you have good friends that way. And, you know, I think that's one of the things that makes college football pretty unique is the reality of what goes on inside the building. Maybe compared to everybody what everybody—a lot of the perception on the outside, I mean I, meeting with Emory yesterday, just going through things and he's like 'yeah, I mean hey, it's amazing, I mean I'm so happy, I see him do all these great things and, and it's exciting. I love watching him out there on the field, that's exciting you know.' But Emory's, you know, but Emory's focus is 'how do I get better and how do I help Anthony get better?' And Anthony's the same, gotta be, their the same way, you know. I think that's, that's so important and that's the reality of what goes on inside of how are they improving." It's not Aaron Rodgers Brett Farve, for sure, But you might be buddies with Nick but it's a little different this week. How exciting is this challenge for you personally just a play caller going against such a great defensive mind. And given that you've been in this league a long time now? "It's always fun, it's always, you know, I mean you always want to challenge yourself against the best and and you know, I mean this is a great opportunity for us to go challenge against the number one team in the country, and see where we're at right now as a team this year. And you know that I love these. These games are fun for me. You know, I mean, you get the opportunity to go out there, you know, and go play in an unbelievable environment against an unbelievable team, the crowd going crazy. I mean this is what it's all about. This is why we do this."

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: PERHAPS THERE IS A METHOD TO DAN MULLEN’S MADNESS At his Monday press conference, Dan Mullen didn’t seem fazed in the slightest by calls from the Florida fan base and national media to turn his offense over to redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson. “I’ll be honest with you; I don’t listen to many suggestions,” Mullen said. “If you’re in our staff meeting, I’m going to listen to your suggestion. I don’t run down to Shands Hospital and say, ‘Boy, I think you should really do that procedure this way.’ I think those guys probably got that under control, you know? So, they’re the people, they’re the experts who are doing it.” Some might consider this Mullen digging in his heels when it comes to starting quarterback Emory Jones, almost an ‘I’ll show you’ moment. But, if you’ve followed Mullen’s career from the time he was the offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer through the nine years at Mississippi State and now the 40 games he’s been the HBC at Florida, then you have to know there is usually method to his madness. That might be the case right now. Consider these three points: First, in the event that Richardson’s hamstring is slow to heal, does Mullen really want to wreck the confidence of Emory Jones with Alabama coming to town Saturday? If Richardson is limited or unable to play, the last thing Mullen needs is for EJ to think his coach doesn’t believe in him. We’ve seen Jones plagued by indecision when it comes to throwing the football. Perhaps that’s a lack of confidence on his part and if it is, he needs his head coach pumping him up and making him believe. A quarterback who lacks confidence isn’t going to beat Alabama. Second, does Mullen want to throw a redshirt freshman quarterback to the wolves by sending him out for his first start against the No. 1 team in the country? Seeing how electric AR15 has been in the last two games, there is also that possibility that Mullen wants the jolt of energy that will consume the stadium the moment Richardson trots out to take charge of the huddle. And third, is it possible that maybe, just maybe, Mullen has intentionally limited Richardson’s snaps in the first two games? Mullen knows what AR15 can do. He sees him every day in practice and from all accounts, Richardson routinely lights up the defense. Does Mullen really want to show Nick Saban and his bazillion analysts any more than he has to? There is that possibility that Anthony Richardson is Dan Mullen’s special surprise for Alabama. Just a few things to think about, boys and girls. MATT HAYES ON FLORIDA’S FUTURE WITH ANTHONY RICHARDSON In his Monday column at Saturday Down South, Matt Hayes offered the following comments: “Let’s be clear about one thing: Florida will win a national championship with Anthony Richardson … It may not be this season, and it more than likely will take a few games before he wins the starting quarterback job for the Gators. But once he does, the dynamic will change in the SEC and national championship races.” And this … “The only player who compares to his skill set is Cam Newton, who began his career at Florida before transferring to junior college and eventually leading Auburn to the 2010 national championship. Newton won the Heisman Trophy that season with one of the greatest single seasons in NCAA history.” OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (2-0): Linebacker Will Anderson is listed day-to-day for the Florida game after suffering a knee injury against Mercer. If Anderson can’t go his place in the lineup will be taken by Chris Braswell. Arkansas (2-0): Linebacker Hayden Henry, who had 15 tackles against Texas, was named the Walter Camp Defensive National Defensive Player of the Week … The SEC fined Arkansas $100,000 because Hog fans stormed the field after their dominating 40-21 win over then 15th-ranked Texas. Judging by their reaction on Twitter, Arkansas fans seem to think it was worth every single dollar. Auburn (2-0): The Tigers, who travel to Penn State this weekend, are the No. 1 scoring offense in the country (61 points per game) and tied with Georgia as the No. 1 scoring defense (5.0 per game). Georgia (2-0): Kirby Smart says that defensive back Tykee Smith and tight end Darnell Washington are both out of their boots and putting weight on their surgically repaired feet. Neither are expected to play this week against South Carolina. Kentucky (2-0, 1-0 SEC): Although Kentucky can practice indoors in the field house that it shares with the track team, it’s one of only two SEC teams (Vandy is the other) without a 100-yard indoor practice field. “We need an indoor,” HBC Mark Stoops said Monday. “You can do the research on how many teams don’t have an indoor.” LSU (1-1): Running back John Emery is academically ineligible for 2021. Emery’s family says they will pursue every legal option available to try to rectify the situation. Without Emery, LSU’s running game is hurting. The Tigers are averaging just 86.5 yards per game on the ground. Mississippi State (2-0): Liberty Bowl Stadium will not allow Mississippi State fans to bring in their cowbells for Saturday’s game with Memphis. Missouri (1-1, 0-1 SEC): Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz says the defense got its “butt whupped up front” against Kentucky. Kentucky ran for 341 yards on 52 running plays against Missouri last Saturday night. Ole Miss (2-0): Matt Corral was selected the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 285 yards and five touchdowns against Austin Peay. South Carolina (2-0): Quarterback Luke Doty, who has missed the first two South Carolina games with a foot injury, is expected to be 100 percent Saturday night against Georgia. Tennessee (1-1): HBC Josh Heupel wouldn’t elaborate on Joe Milton’s injury or whether Hendon Hooker has earned the starting QB job after he played so well in relief of Milton against Pitt. “We’ll find out where [Milton] is at during the course of the week,” Heupel said Monday. “… there’s multiple factors that play in [who is] going to be taking the snaps.” Texas A&M (2-0): Redshirt freshman quarterback Haynes King had surgery to repair what Jimbo Fisher said is a “crack in his lower leg.” Zach Calzada will be the No. 1 QB moving forward with Eli Stowers as the backup. Vanderbilt (1-1): Quarterback Ken Seals threw for 238 yards and two TDs without throwing an interception in the win over Colorado State. Seals threw two picks in the loss to East Tennessee State two weeks ago. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: WEEK TWO Extinct Species List Les Miles: I wonder if he’s still married after his dalliances with cheerleaders have been made public? Randy Edsall: And to think there was a time when Jeremy Foley had him on his short list of coaches to hire at Florida. Clay Helton, Southern Cal: Believe it or not, he’s probably the most relieved man in the entire state of California. Considering the previous two coaches fired by Southern Cal – Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian – wound up as offensive coordinators at St. Nick’s Rehab Center for Wayward Coaches, expect Helton to find his way to Tuscaloosa, maybe before the ink dries on the severance contract. The buyout money from USC will go a lot further in Tuscaloosa. On Life Support Scot Loeffler, Bowling Green: The Fighting Falcons almost won a game. They lost, of course, to South Alabama, but it was close. That’s what counts. This week BG plays one of those will work for beer and a big paycheck games at Many Sodas. Scott Frost, Nebraska: He’s 2-1 after beating Buffalo. This week he goes to Norman for what should be a beatdown. If he goes 6-6 this year he should win the Annie Sullivan Award as the 2021 miracle worker (see Helen Keller if that went right over your head). Walt Bell, UMass: UMass was a 37.5 point road dog at Boston College last week. The Minutemen only lost by 14. That’s progress! UMass is also a 17-point home dog to Eastern Michigan. Maybe they’ll make it close again. Tom Arth, Akron: Circle this week’s game with something called Bryant. Is it Bear Bryant? Or maybe Bryant Gumble? Bryant is on a 1-game (count ‘em) win streak having beaten Sacred Heart (Convent? Homeless Shelter? University?) last week. It’s Akron’s one shot at a win and the Mighty Zips better make the best of it. Endangered Species List Ed Orgeron, LSU: The Tigers beat McNeese State, abusing Coach Oeaux’s son Cody Oeaux, who was the McNeese QB to the tune of eight sacks. That was the only thing impressive LSU did. The Tigers are looking like a 6-6 team. They get Old Yeller and the Central Michigan Tortilla Chips this week. Dino Babers, Syracuse: It must have been Big East déjà vu all over again last week when Rutgers came to the Carrier Dome. Syracuse lost, of course. Albany State comes to Syracuse this week. There is hope for another win this year, too. Florida State is on the schedule. Chip Kelly, UCLA: They’re loving on the Chipster in Westwood right now, but will they Saturday night? Fresno State is just pesky enough to win and the Fire Chip Kelly folks will be out in full force if that happens. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois: Northern Ill is 1-1 with a paycheck win over Georgia Tech. They go to the Big House Saturday for another paycheck. Michigan won’t be as generous as the boys from the North Avenue Trade School. Dana Dimmel, UTEP: He got clocked by Boise State on the Smurf Turf last week but that happens to a lot of folks. UTEP is 2-1 baby! And maybe 3-1 after Saturday because they get Los Lobos (New Mexico), a winnable game. Three wins at UTEP? Almost unheard of. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: There’s nothing like an 0-2 start to erase all the good will earned by last year’s unexpected bowl team. Tulsa Time has to go to the Horseshoe this week. Ohio State will score 60. Steve Addazio, Colorado State: He’s 0-2, having lost to a D1AA team and even worse, Vandy. Holy Toledo and Iowa on the road the next two weeks has the feel of an 0-4 start that could put Vitamin A On Life Support. Checking for a pulse Dana Holgorsen, Houston: What a week for Houston. On Friday, the Cougars joined the Big 12. Saturday they beat (Beans and) Rice, 44-7. Grambling’s in town to win halftime this week and then it’s Navy Beans and Tulsa Time. There are also games with USF, Shirley Temple and UConn. Holgorsen really needs nine wins to make admin feel good about him. Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: Climpson and the Tar Heels are the next two games. Patience is wearing thin on North Avenue. Marcus Arroyo, UNLV: Things are so bad that Tate Martell might be the QB this week when the Running Rebs take a beating at the hands of Iowa State. Jimmy Lake, Washington: He’s 0-2 with one of the losses to a D1AA team. In two games, the Huskies have run for 115 yards. They’re inept. He probably doesn’t get fired this year, unless he does a reverse run of the table. Anything is possible. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: With wins over California and arch-rival Utah, soon to be Big 12 member BYU is now 2-0 against the Pac-12. With Arizona State this week and Washington State and Southern Cal later in the season, the Cougars have a very good chance to finish the season unbeaten against the league. It’s worth mentioning BYU because (a) the Pac-12 has rejected BYU for membership at least three times and (b) other than Oregon, the Pac-12 is woefully inept. The Pac-12 would have been smart to add BYU when it had the chance. The Big 12 won’t have a team with the same clout as departing Oklahoma or Texas, but adding BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati is going to make it as good or better top to bottom than the Pac-12.

It will be a marquee showdown in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night, as the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide come to town to face the hometown No. 11 Florida Gators. Alabama head coach Nick Saban met with local Tuscaloosa media on Monday to preview the matchup. As a valued GatorBait subscriber, we are offering you everything Nick Saban said about facing Mullen, Florida's strengths and preparing for the Gators two-QB system. Nick Saban On what challenges Florida will present for Bama in their SEC opener: "First SEC game, facing a very good, you know, top 10 Florida team*, who we have a tremendous amount of respect for. Obviously looking forward to that challenge, playing on the road, you know, in a difficult place to play. But from an injury standpoint, [linebacker] Will Anderson has been very encouraging. Probably take a day off today, is kind of day to day, but we feel a little a little more encouraged than maybe after the game. So we'll see how, you know, he progresses through the course of the week. "Dan Mullen has done an outstanding job wherever he's been the coach. He did a great job at Mississippi State. Obviously, they won the SEC East last year. You know, excellent coach, does a great job of utilizing the personnel that he has; has some really talented guys on offense, really good running backs. Both quarterbacks—using the two quarterback system—are very capable passers, as well as making plays with their feet, whether it's quarterback runs, play action passes, whatever. "And they have, you know, they just got good players. They're offensive line is, you know, improved and better this year, playing better in my opinion. That's why they're, like second in the nation in rushing**, which is going to be a real challenge for us. And then not allowing big plays when you're trying to stop the run, defensively. "[Defensive coordinator] Todd [Grantham] always presents challenges. He's a really good defensive coordinator. They've got good players, they play hard, they play together. So we have to do a good job of executing, you know, offensively as well. They've always got great team speed. So they're special teams are good, they have good specialists. I think the punter is one of the top guys in the country***. So all around, this is a very good team. They are very challenging game for us. And you know, so we need to have great focus this weekend. Great preparation." *Florida is ranked No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the AP Top 25 Poll. **The Gators are actually FIRST in the nation in rushing, averaging 381.5 rushing yards per game ***Crenshaw would be tied for the 16th best yards per punt in the country, but he hasn't punted enough times to qualify to be ranked. On preparing for the Gators 2-QB system with Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson: "I don't think you prepare differently. You know, both guys have ability to make plays passing and they run the same sort of quarterback runs with both guys and both guys are very talented in both areas. So you know, when the quarterback can run and they run quarterback runs, that's almost like playing as Wildcat so they've got an extra blocker. But they also have the ability to make big plays in the passing game, which they've made and been pretty efficient in the passing game. So it's more challenging when you play against, you know, guys, and both guys are very efficient, effective passers as well as runners." *Emory Jones is averaging 132 passing yards per game and Anthony Richardson is averaging 96 passing yards per game. On the ground, Jones is averaging 77.5 yards per game and Richardson is averaging 137.5 yards per game. The duo leads the team in both categories. On Bama's sophomore quarterback Bryce Young making his first true road start in a hostile environment: "I think we got a little taste of that playing in Atlanta, even though it wasn't the crowd noise, probably there that will have this week. Just got to play with poise. And that's one thing that Bryce has done in both games, is he's been able to keep his poise. He's able to stay focused on doing things that we need to do. But I think it's the entire offense that has to be able to keep their poise in these situations, whether it's silence, snap count, or whatever we have to do to be able to operate. I think we have to do it as a unit. And I think it starts with the quarterback. But he has shown really good poise so far this year." On facing a Dan Mullen run offense and how it's changed over the years: "It changes relative to the personnel that he has; I think that's what he does really, really well. They obviously didn't run a whole lot of quarterback runs last year, you know, with the quarterback that they had, he was a really good passer. They had really good skill guys, and they were great passing team. "This year, they're still a really good passing team, but they have the added element of quarterback runs, which, when [Mullen] was at Mississippi State, you know, it was sort of the same, kind of, you know, 'what players do I have, what can they do, and I'm going to make sure that these guys are doing the things that they do well.' And I think that what makes him a great offensive coach is he does a great job of utilizing the personnel that he has, getting the ball to playmakers and if the quarterback has running ability, they'll they'll use them in the running game as well." *Mullen and Saban have faced each other 10 times over the years, with Saban going 10-0 during that time On facing Florida for the first time in the regular season since 2014 and first time in Gainesville since 2011 and if he'd like the SEC to change the format so these games happen more often: "We played them in the SEC Championship game last year and, obviously, they had an outstanding team. So, look, I don't want to get into the whole scheduling thing. But, you know, we played 10 SEC games last year. I thought it was great for fans, I thought it was great for the matchups. You know I've always been one that advocated playing more SEC games in the regular season so that every player in every program would have the opportunity to play every team in the SEC. So, you know, to answer your question, yeah." Bryce Young On what he's seen in film study from the Gators defense: "It's a really good group, they have a really good group defensively, you know, really top to bottom, extremely talented. They do a good job defensively schematically. And they make make good adjustments. I've seen them communicate well, but really top to bottom, just from watching them on film, they're a group that we know we have to prepare for, a group that we know we have to go out and practice for. Again, we're going to a hostile environment, playing a really good team. And defensively, they're really good. So you know, we know that as a unit, and we know that it's going to take everything and all the preparation and, you know, we're gonna have to attack this week in able to, in order to, you know, go out and perform on Saturday." On what he learned about Florida while watching from the sidelines during last year's SEC Championship game: "I think it was great for me to be able to watch that, you know, be there and be able to learn. You know, two quarterbacks [Kyle Trask and Mac Jones] playing really well, two teams playing really well. Last year, you know, I felt like it was just, you know, it was a back and forth battle. You can definitely see the heart they showed, the resiliency they showed, they fought to the end, you know. They were a team that was that was really, really good last year. And again, a team that is really, really good this year. So for me, you know, being able to see that, it was a really good learning experience for me.

TAMPA, FL—The No. 13 Florida Gators (2-0) defeated the USF Bulls (0-2) by a score of 42-20, giving Head Coach Dan Mullen his 100th win as a head coach. On a gloomy Saturday afternoon in Raymond James Stadium—in front of a Bulls home crowd that skewed towards more orange and blue, Florida set themselves up for a high ranking showdown with No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide next week. The Gators—favored by 28—were always going to win this game. Instead the day became more about a different competition; one between quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson. The starter Jones, went 14-22 for 151 yards, one passing touchdown and two interceptions, as well as 82 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Richardson finished 3-3 for 152 yards and two touchdowns through the air, as well as four rushes for 115-yards and a touchdown (which led the Gators on the ground). The first half saw the quarterbacks play a game of "anything you can do, I can do better," combining for four touchdowns that went down in a dueling banjo's fashion. But in the second half, Jones struggled, even coming on the field in a rain of boo's from Gator fans, while Richardson shined. After the Gators opening week win, in which Jones and Richardson faced off as well, Head Coach Dan Mullen reiterated Jones was the starter. After two games, with Bama on the docket, he's sticking with Jones as the starter, but plans on featuring both. "We have two really good quarterbacks. You’ll see both of them play every single game," Mullen told local media following the win. "I mean we're pretty lucky. We have two quarterbacks that are pretty talented guys, can make plays happen out there on the field." Richardson, following his third touchdown of the day, seemed to pull up in the endzone. Mullen updated his status, saying, "hamstring tightened up on him." Florida received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out. The defense made sure the Bulls did the same though, as back-to-back sacks from Zach Carter and Jeremiah Moon pushed the Bulls deep into their own territory. After a shank punt, the Gators took over with favorable spot at their own 37-yard line. Flexing Emory Jones out on a naked bootleg set up a quick 20-yard shot to Rick Wells, then Dameon Pierce took over from there. Three straight carries picked up a total of 43 yards. The final run saw the senior back roll over a defender and bounce off multiple hits to push his way into the endzone, giving the Gators the early 7-0 lead. "I mean you saw the spectacular touchdown run that he made, I mean unbelievable run," Mullen raved on Pierce's score. After a stout first defensive drive though, Florida slipped as the Bulls took the ball back. A lucky drop by a USF receiver who’d beaten Rashad Torrence kept the Bulls from a quick answer. But with Cade Fortin under center, USF worked downfield with quick throws and screens. A missed tackle allowed them into the redzone; facing 3rd and goal from the 8-yard line, Felix took a shot to the endzone but tight coverage from Mohamoud Diabate kept the touchdown off the board. After settling for the 25-yard field goal, the Bulls had cut the lead to 7-3. Freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson entered the game for his requisite package in the third series, and the running threat let loose a 75-yard bomb to Jacob Copeland, who waltzed in untouched for the touchdown, making it 14-3 on the one play drive. The following offensive drive, hearing there was a quarterback controversy, Emory Jones said “not so fast my friend,” delivering an absolute dime to Xzavier Henderson, who pulled down the contested catch for a 35-yard touchdown. The Gators were up 21-3 and rolling. From that point, it became not so much about Florida vs. USF but Jones and Richardson, dueling quarterbacks that both benefitted the Gators. Anthony Richardson executed a rocker-step to set up a 41-yard touchdown to Copeland—the second link up the duo had on the day—to make it 28-3. Then—after linebacker Jeremiah Moon pushed Fortin into an errant throw that corner Kaiir Elam picked off—Jones took over in good field position and quickly answered, bouncing off initial contact before turning on the burners for the 33-yard touchdown run that gave the Gators a 35-3 lead. The dueling quarterbacks are just as random and fun for the guys in the situation according to Jones. "It’s crazy because we both didn’t know that that was going to happen. We just go with the flow every week and every drive, we go with the flow. He might call me in. You’ve just got to be ready to go out there and take advantage of the opportunity.” On Florida’s first offensive possession of the second half, Jones was at midfield, with an empty set on 1st and 10 from the USF 45-yard line...so there were few bodies in the area to stop Mekhi LaPointe from a 50-yard big return, after the safety nabbed the easy interception. Wide receiver Justin Shorter eventually chased him down, bringing him down at the 10-yard line to stop the touchdown. After the turnover, the Gators defense stood the Bulls up at the goal line. A bad snap on third down (which the Gators almost recovered) pushed USF back even farther, and they settled for a field goal, only netting three points off the turnover, cutting the lead to 35-6. However, the next drive didn’t show an improvement. After putting the ball on the money in the first half, Jones under threw his guys in the second. Looking for Whittemore in the flat, Jones’ ball didn’t have enough air and Bulls safety Brock Nichols was able to jump the route and return the pick 38 yards. This time, the Bulls punched it in; after switching to quarterback Timmy McClain at halftime, the freshman went 2-3 for 34 yards, moving the Bulls to the 1-yard line where Jaren Mangham scored, making it 35-13. The Bulls did not score a touchdown against the last Power 5 team they played, Notre Dame, in 2020. "The guy who picked the ball, he didn't buzz out," described Jones of his turnovers after the win. "I was looking for that to happen, but he didn't. I should have just kept on my reads, but I tried to just get the ball out of my hands fast. I mean [Coach Mullen] basically just told me that that was a bad decision, I just need to read it out. The second one he told me the same thing" After Florida’s defense held USF to a quick three-and-out, Anthony Richardson returned at quarterback. The game rolled into the fourth quarter and Richardson—under duress—escaped the pocket and delivered a deep 36-yard shot to Jacob Copeland. His helmet came off and he had to leave the field, bringing Jones back on at quarterback. He was almost picked, yet again, in the endzone, but it was dropped. Jones stayed in and on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, Jones threw to tight end Nick Elksnis out of the back of the endzone. Florida came away with no points, and USF took over on downs. From their own 1-yard line, McClain threw out of the back of the endzone and found Xavier Weaver downfield for a 44-yard completion. The Bulls were kept out of the endzone, but the completion was a reminder of the biggest issue as the Gators head into Week 3. With no disrespect to USF, much of this week was about working out kinks before big bad Bama comes to town next week. In reference to every part of the offense and the run defense on the other side of the ball, the Gators did just that in the first half; and for that matter, the run defense continued to stay strong in the second half, holding the Bulls to STAT rushing yards for the entire game. If there is an area of concern after leaving Tampa though, it’s the slip-ups in the secondary. The unit was admittedly Dan Mullen’s biggest concern coming into the season. They glowingly struggled in the first half, and were the beneficiaries of overthrown balls. To corner Avery Helm’s credit, after having prayers answered on some overthrown passes on which he’d been beat, the first on the mark pass thrown his way of the day, he stuck his arm in for a textbook pass breakup. And on the first drive of the second half, Jason Marshall—who had been beat as well during the first half—broke up a would be touchdown pass and the Bulls eventually had to punt. It's the risk and reward of playing young players, according to Mullen, especially where Helm and Marshall are concerned. "I mean, good and bad. But you know what, they’re young guys getting thrown out there, getting thrown into that situation. Obviously the injury that we had did not help us, with where we’re at there. But those two guys are gaining valuable experience and are getting a little bit better from one week to the next. I thought their performance was much better today than it was last week, which is a real positive and hopefully we take another big step next week.” Following the aforementioned Bulls drive, the Gators offense retook the field and Richardson trotted out at quarterback to cheers. He took the first snap of the drive, broke several tackles and outraced everyone for the 80-yard touchdown. The Bulls added a late touchdown that was significant to some and Mullen left with the game ball for his centennial win, and a notebook of things to work on before Bama. The latter is proof Florida has become a victim of their own success, as the head coach is addressing problems, after putting up 663 yards of total offense, while holding the Bulls to 297 total yards. This is the identity Florida wants to play with though, so continuing it next week in the early season showdown will require fixing what Mullen saw wrong today. "We can improve on everything. We played pretty solid defense in the first half. We had the one drive that I wasn’t real pleased with in the first half. Second half we came out in some situations, made some stops, made some mistakes defensively at the end of the game. Offensively, we came out and we made a bunch of explosive plays and kind of really did well in the first half even though we were not as clean and efficient as I wanted to be. "In the second half, we came out we weren’t as efficient as we wanted to be, made some mistakes as the game wore on and we got to be better that way. Kicking game, made some mistakes, obviously gave up a huge return, made a poor judgment in fielding a kick and trying to run it out. Our kickoffs need to get better. I mean, overall, do I like our attitude, our energy, our effort of what we played with? Yes. Did our guys take care of what they needed to to win the game? Yes. Do we need to get a lot better? Yes.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: PATIENCE, GRASSHOPPER: THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY MIGHT SEEM I find myself reminded of the 1970s television series “Kung Fu” in which Master Po at the Shaolin monastery would teach a lesson to young Kwai Chang Caine, encouraging him to look beyond the obvious. “Patience, Grasshopper!” he would tell Caine, who would flash back to those moments any time he encountered difficulty as an adult wandering in the US. When it comes to the quarterback situation at the University of Florida, I will state the obvious: Things are not always as they seem. Dan Mullen is well aware that Emory Jones hasn’t exactly set the world on fire through the Gators’ first two wins. He also knows fully well that he has lightning in a bottle in redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson. If we go strictly by what we’ve seen either in person or on television in Florida’s two games, then it’s clear as a bell that Emory Jones is still playing like he’s the backup quarterback, and not the starter. While Jones has yet to make a mistake that has cost the Gators a football game, it’s painful watching him when he is indecisive and it’s easy to forget that perhaps moments before he made an outstanding play. We measure Jones against Richardson, who, in just two games has shown an almost Percy-like propensity for the sensational. When it comes to making big plays, Jones just doesn’t measure up. Fans see Jones making mistakes. They only see Richardson electrifying the crowd. Obviously, fans want more Richardson, less Jones and they wonder why Dan Mullen doesn’t see the same thing. Well, Mullen does, but he also sees a far bigger picture. He’s at practice every day. He’s in the quarterback room. He knows just how far Richardson has come and just how far he needs to go before he can turn him loose with the entire offense. Don’t forget, this is a coach whose success in developing quarterbacks is almost unparalleled. It’s not a case of if but a matter of when Anthony Richardson will take the reins of the Florida offense as the starting QB. When Mullen is comfortable that he can see something from the sideline and signal it to Richardson to change from a bad play into one that will work against whatever look the defense is giving, then Anthony Richardson is going to be THE guy. You might find that overly simplistic, but it’s true. Right now, Emory Jones has the best overall grasp of the offense but Anthony Richardson has the most talent. That part is obvious. When Richardson has a firm enough grasp of what Mullen wants, then he will be unleashed on the SEC and it will be righteous. But until Mullen reaches that comfort level, it’s going to be a two-quarterback system. So until we get to that point in time, here is what I say to you: Patience, Grasshopper! The Coaches Top 25 Poll: 1. Alabama 2-0; 2. Georgia 2-0; 3. Oklahoma 2-0; 4. Oregon 2-0; 5. Texas A&M 2-0; 6. Clemson 1-1; 7. Iowa 2-0; 8. Cincinnati 2-0; 9. FLORIDA 2-0; 10. Notre Dame 2-0; 11. Ohio State 1-1; 12. Penn State 2-0; 13. UCLA 2-0; 14. Iowa State 1-1; 15. Virginia Tech 2-0; 16. Ole Miss 2-0; 17. Wisconsin 1-1; 18. Coastal Carolina 2-0; 19. North Carolina 1-1; 20. Auburn 2-0; 21. Arizona State 2-0; 22. Oklahoma State 2-0; 23. BYU 2-0; 24. Arkansas 2-0; 25. Michigan 2-0 The Associated Press Top 25 Poll: 1. Alabama 2-0; 2. Georgia 2-0; 3. Oklahoma 2-0; 4. Oregon 2-0; 5. Iowa 2-0; 6. Clemson 1-1; 7. Texas A&M 2-0; 8. Cincinnati 2-0; 9. Ohio State 1-1; 10. Penn State 2-0; 11. FLORIDA 2-0; 12. Notre Dame 2-0; 13. UCLA 2-0; 14. Iowa State 1-1; 15. Virginia Tech 2-0; 16. Coastal Carolina 2-0; 17. Ole Miss 2-0; 18. Wisconsin 1-1; 19. Arizona State 2-0; 20. Arkansas 2-0; 21. North Carolina 1-1; 22. Auburn 2-0; 23. BYU 2-0; 24. Miami 1-1; 25. Michigan 2-0 OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama (2-0): Alabama might be without its best pass rusher, outside linebacker Will Anderson, for the game with Florida. Anderson took a helmet to the knee against Mercer and is considered questionable for the Gators. Alabama lost linebacker Christopher Allen for 10-12 weeks when he fractured his foot in the Miami game. Next week: at Florida (2-0) Arkansas (1-0): In blowing the doors off 15th-ranked Texas, 40-21, Arkansas ran for 333 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. The Arkansas defense allowed Texas just 118 passing yards and 138 on the ground. Next week: Georgia Southern (1-1) Auburn (2-0): Former Georgia wide receiver Demetris Robertson accounted for three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) and 120 all-purpose yards (receiving, rushing, punt returns) in the 62-0 win over Alabama State. Next week: at Penn State (2-0) Georgia (2-0): Stetson Bennett IV was the surprise starter at QB. He completed 10-12 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns in Georgia’s 56-7 win over UAB. The Georgia defense allowed only 174 total yards. Next week: South Carolina (2-0) Kentucky (1-0): Will Levis might give the Wildcats a far better passing option than they had with Terry Wilson, but there is no doubt the Wildcats aren’t going to stray too far from ground and pound. To beat Missouri, 35-28, the Wildcats ran the ball 52 times for 340 yards with Chris Rodriguez going 27-206 and three touchdowns. Next week: Chattanooga (1-1) LSU (1-1): The Tigers sacked Coach O’s son Cody eight times for 64 yards in losses in LSU’s 34-7 win over D1AA McNeese State. That’s the good news. The bad news is the offense, minus both starting tackles, generated only 305 yards and just 4.18 yards per snap. Next week: Central Michigan (1-1) Mississippi State (2-0): The Bulldogs moved to 2-0 thanks to a defense that got four sacks and created three turnovers in a 24-10 win over North Carolina State. Next week: at Memphis (2-0) Missouri (0-1): Mizzou QB Connor Bazelac threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns but only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt going against a Kentucky zone that kept dropping seven into coverage. Meanwhile, the Tigers couldn’t get Kentucky’s offense off the field as the Wildcats ran for 340 yards. Next week: Southeast Missouri State (0-2) Ole Miss (2-0): Ole Miss racked up 630 offensive yards in its 54-17 win over Austin Peay, 336 on the ground and 294 through the air. Matt Corral threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns with Dontario Drummond and Jonathan Mingo each on the receiving end of two TDPs. Next week: Tulane (1-1) South Carolina (2-0): South Carolina is 2-0 with former grad assistant Zeb Noland at quarterback, but will probably need Luke Doty to return from injury if there is any hope whatsoever in knocking off Georgia in Athens. Answering a question about Doty in his remarks after the 20-17 win over East Carolina, HBC Shane Beamer said, “We feel fully confident he’ll be 100 percent next week.” Next week: at Georgia (2-0) Tennessee (1-1): The Vols have a quarterback controversy on their hands. When Joe Milton went down with an injury, he was replaced by Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker, who threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns while running for 49 on nine carries. Hooker averaged 9.0 yards per pass attempt while Milton averaged 4.2. Next week: Tennessee Tech (0-2) Texas A&M (2-0): Starting quarterback Haynes King was injured in the first half of the Aggies’ 10-7 win over Colorado. He spent the entire second half on the sideline in a walking boot and on crutches. Zach Calzada, who threw the game-winning touchdown pass, with 2:41 left in the game, will be the starter for the foreseeable future. Next week: New Mexico (2-0) Vanderbilt (1-1): Vanderbilt’s 11-game losing streak came to an end Saturday night when former Alabama placekicker Joseph Bulovas hit a 38-yard field goal with 0:19 left in the game to give the Commodores a 24-21 win over Colorado State. Next week: Stanford ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL The alliance of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC is looking pretty feeble about now. The alliance was formed to counter the strength of the Southeastern Conference but you can’t counter strength with weakness which is exactly what you get from those three leagues. Did you see the way Oregon absolutely bludgeoned the Ohio State defense? Of their 505 yards, 269 were on the ground. Don’t let the Associated Press rankings fool you. Iowa is NOT a top five team and Penn State would be a 6-6 team against an SEC schedule. Clemson (1-1) is still the only thing close to a decent team in the ACC. Did you happen to catch the way Florida State (0-2) lost on the last play of the game against D1AA Jacksonville State? Miami had to hang on by a thread to beat App State from the Fun Belt at home. You know your league is in trouble when Wake Forest Gump looks like a contender. The Pac-12 is nothing to get excited about. It’s Oregon (2-0) and a bunch of bad teams. Oregon probably runs the table. If the College Football Playoff were held today, both the Big Ten and ACC would be shut out. The semifinals would be No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Oklahoma. *** Notre Dame (2-0) has no business anywhere near the top ten. The two Irish victories are over a rotten Florida State team and Holy Toledo from the MAC and Cheese. Don’t be the least bit surprised if the Irish drop two out of three to Wisconsin, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech. *** The five best quarterbacks I’ve seen so far are Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Malik Willis (Liberty), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), Bryce Young (Alabama) and Demond Ridder (Cincinnati). Of those five, Matt Corral is in a league all by himself. In two games he’s 43-65 for 662 yards (10.2 per attempt) and six touchdowns. He’s 20-90 running the ball for another TD. He is the reason why I believe Ole Miss might have the best chance of any team in the SEC West to knock off Alabama. *** The Fire Clay Helton movement at Southern Cal picked up steam when the Trojans were whacked 42-28 by Stanford. About the only way he’s going to be gainfully employed at USC next year is to finish the regular season 11-1 and then beat Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That is not as difficult as it seems. The Trojans play at Notre Dame in October so the weather is probably going to be decent. The last two games will be the toughest – UCLA and BYU, both in the Coliseum. *** Apparently, the Big 12 will expand again but probably not until the situation with Texas and Oklahoma is resolved. Memphis, almost certainly, will be one of the teams since it has a very good football team and a basketball team that could make the Final Four this year. There is talk that Boise State will be considered, but the geographics aren’t good there. South Florida would be a better fit as it would solidify the I-4 corridor with its 10 million people. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Did any college football coach have a worse week than Florida State’s Mike Norvel? First, he iced his own kicker against Notre Dame. Ryan Fitzgerald drilled a 50-yard field goal only to have it waved off because Norvel challenged a replay. Fitzgerald ended up missing 36-yarder. Then, Saturday, Norvel didn’t go into a prevent defense, which allowed D1AA Jacksonville State to throw a Hail Mary that won the game. Norvel said he knew the Gamecocks had one more time out. Uh, excuse me. Jax State was 59 yards away from the goal line and there were only six seconds left and Norvel was worried that they had a time out remaining?