A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT 1. JOHN HEVESY ISN’T GETTING NEAR ENOUGH CREDIT: Kyle Trask is having a Heisman-like season with six consecutive games of four or more touchdown passes while leading the Gators to a #6 national ranking and an almost certain SEC East title. One reason Kyle is having such a fabulous year is the fact he spends most of his time upright and very little time doing his feets don’t fail me now impersonation. Good quarterbacks who can put a football in places where only their receivers have a chance to catch it only do that when they have adequate time to throw and John Hevesy’s trench troops are giving Trask plenty of time to survey the field for an open receiver. All the proof you need is the fact Trask has hit 12 different receivers this season. The Gators have given up just six sacks all season, second only to Texas A&M in the SEC. A year ago, the Gators allowed 25, which wasn’t all that bad considering UF returned only one starter from 2018 and the other four combined for fewer than 20. This year, the improvement is substantial thanks to a starting five of center Brett Heggie, guards Richard Gouraige and Stewart Reese and tackles Stone Forsythe and Jean Delance. In addition to the pass protection, the Gators average 150.8 yards per game on the ground and 4.5 per carry, both numbers improvement over last year. Those numbers would be higher if more emphasis was placed on the running game, but Dan Mullen knows the golden goose of this offense is Trask’s arm. But, to prove a point, ask yourself how often the Gators fail to convert on third-and-two when they run the ball? Not very often. In its preseason magazine, Lindy’s ranked Florida’s O-line 8th in the SEC. Wrong. It’s time for credit to be given where credit is due. John Hevesy is getting the job done with the O-line. 2. MULLEN ON TEACHING QUARTERBACKS: “The first thing we always teach all the quarterbacks is you better understand protection. That’s self-preservation right there. You better know every protection, how we are going to protect you, where are your hots, where are your sights, how to check protections, are going to be. And then you are getting into and understanding how to read every type of defense. What are defensive indicators that are out there. And then how do you want to attack every defense. A lot of people understand – I’ll give you this one, on what to do – a lot of people just coach guys what to do. Well, that’s not going to develop a quarterback. That may get them to a limited extent. If you’re just coaching what to do and then you kind of coach them a little bit on how to do it, but it’s the why we do it is really how you develop a quarterback. They need to understand exactly why we’re doing what we’re doing and if when they do that, then they have a grasp of how the offense is supposed to work and what we’re trying to accomplish within the play. And then you set up your practice schedule and installation of everything you do around quarterback development… Within each game plan, within the big picture of the offense with understanding of how to attack defenses, and then how to use a specific game plan to attack defenses, then we set up practice to maximize their development.” 3. IF I’M SOUTH CAROLINA I’M HIRING: Billy Napier of Louisiana-Lafayette and it should be a no-brainer. Sure, Hugh Freeze is the coach all the pundits say is the right guy for South Carolina, but he is in no hurry to leave Liberty and seems intent to put another year of distance between himself and the problems he experienced at Ole Miss. Napier is the son of a high school coach who played QB at Furman, worked as a GA at Clemson, then as an assistant there under both Tommy Bowden and Dabo Swinney. He worked as an analyst for Nick Saban and then spent 2013-16 as Saban’s wide receivers coach. At Louisiana-Lafayette he’s 25-11 as a head coach, has the Rajin Cajuns (7-1) ranked 24th in the AP poll and owns a win over 17th-ranked Iowa State of the Big 12. He runs a balanced offense (201 rushing, 235 passing). Best of all, he’s 41 years old and he’s content being the first Billy Napier and not the next Nick Saban. Plus he works cheap ($875,000) which will come in handy considering Muschamp’s buyout and a South Carolina athletic department that is going to lose $50 million or more. Freeze will cost at least $5 million and will require a long-term contract complete with a buyout. 4. IF I’M WILL MUSCHAMP NEXT YEAR I WILL BE: Let’s start with the obvious. Money is not going to be a consideration. South Carolina owes him a bundle. Some reports have it at $13.2 million but The Athletic pegs the number at $15 million. So if you add up what he’s been paid the last five years at South Carolina, which is in the ball yard of $18 million and add that $15 million you have a tidy sum with which to squeeze by. Since money is not going to be a consideration, why not spend a year or two at St. Nick’s Rehab Clinic for Wayward Coaches? It got Mike Locksley a HBC job at Maryland, which is pretty amazing when you consider he was 2-26 at New Mexico with sexual harassment charges and 1-5 as an interim HBC at Maryland in 2015. There are worse gigs than Alabama as an assistant particularly since Saban assistants eventually get HBC jobs. Nick can’t be happy with DC Pete Golding. Will knows what Nick likes and wants, having been his DC at LSU, so it would be a rather good fit. If Will Muschamp wants to be a head coach again, working for Nick is the way to go. 5. IF I’M MICHIGAN I’M HIRING: Jim Harbaugh is a goner. Paul Finebaum reported two weeks ago that Michigan and Harbaugh have reached an agreement to part ways as buddies, which is a nice way of saying Michigan asked Harbaugh if he would be interested in leaving rather than a messy firing and Harbaugh said absolutely. So he’s outta there and none too soon if you happened to see clips of the Wolverines’ 48-11 poleaxing at the hands of Michigan. The guy they need is Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. All the proof you need is Mac Jones, the former Wing-T QB from Jacksonville Bolles who looks like the 5-star recruit he wasn’t. He was a 3-star and the only reason he got that high was because the folks who do rankings figured Nick Saban might know a little bit about football players. When Tua went down last year, Mac Jones came in and threw 14 TDPs. This year he’s showing everyone week in and week out that nobody throws a better deep ball. Sark doesn’t have midwestern ties but he does know how to coach up a QB and one of the chief reasons Michigan hasn’t challenged the mighty Buckeyes for the Big Ten (Plus Four) title is the quarterback position. Sark makes sense. That’s exactly why Michigan won’t hire him. 5. IF I’M TENNESSEE I’M FIRING: Phil Fulmer is the guy who staged a coup to get rid of athletic director John Currie (cost the school a $2.5 million buyout) and then hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt as the new HBC even though Pruitt had never been a head coach at any level. Not only that, Fulmer gave Pruitt a 6-year contract worth $3.8 million per year. Earlier this season, Fulmer gave Pruitt a raise to $4.2 million starting next year along with a contract extension that will take him through the 2025 season. Tennessee is 2-4 this season and in all likelihood will finish 3-7 (Vanderbilt win, losses to Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M). Vol fans want Pruitt gone. The one who should first be fired is Phattus Maximus. 6. IT WILL TAKE YEARS FOR FSU TO RECOVER: On paper, Mike Norvel looked like just the right guy in Tallahassee after Florida State decided to Free Willie in 2019, but here we are eight games into the 2020 season and the only way the Seminoles finish 3-8 is if Duke does a good impersonation of a dead skunk in the middle of the road in the final game. There are opt out problems but they are actually the least of Norvel’s concerns. The bigger issues are in a locker room that is absolute poison. Figure the transfer portal will be filled with Seminoles in the near future when Novel cleans house. Norvel has to rebuild the football culture and that won’t be easy when you consider the athletic department is just a few dollars shy of dead broke and that was before the virus put the kibosh on the finances. Go 152 miles southeast and the University of Florida is on sound financial footing so while UF will take a big financial hit due to the virus, there is SEC Network money that will ease the pain considerably. No such luck in Tallahassee. When everything gets back to normal, Florida will be raking in about $15-20 million a year MORE than FSU and will have that brand new football facility with which to impress recruits. There is no quick fix at FSU. It’s going to take years to recover from this mess. 7. WHEN IN DOUBT, SHIFT THE SCHEDULE: Greg Sankey has already done that once in the SEC and it’s likely he’s going to have to do it again now that Ole Miss at Texas A&M has been postponed. The 5th-ranked Aggies (5-1) are already scheduled to play Tennessee in a makeup game on December 12. If the Aggies aren’t playing in the SEC Championship Game on December 19, it’s probable they will play Ole Miss on that date. Expect some more shifting in the SEC so that both Alabama and Florida can play LSU and get a 10-game schedule in prior to the championship game. Meanwhile over in the ACC, they’re shifting schedules for Miami, which will miss the next two weeks due to contact tracing. Miami will play Wake Forest on December 5, North Carolina on December 12 and as long as the Hurricanes aren’t playing in the ACC Championship Game, they’ll play Georgia Tech on December 19. Take note Big Ten (Plus Four) and Pac-12. This is how conferences with real leaders with foresight handle issues on the fly. 8. YOU KNOW IT’S A BAD DAY WHEN … : Tiger Woods hits three balls into Rae’s Creek at Augusta National’s 12th hole, then winds up with a 10. I am familiar with shooting a 10 although not at Augusta National. I’m not familiar with Tiger shooting a 10 on any hole on any course in the world. He shot a 3 on that same hole in 2019 and that was the start of his comeback to win his fifth green jacket … The New Orleans Saints are leading the NFC South Division and may have to go a minimum of 2-3 weeks with Jameis Winston as their QB. Drew Brees has multiple rib fractures and a collapsed lung … You’re the Houston Rockets and you offer to make your star player James Harden the first $50 million a year player in NBA history and he turns you down … The Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot comes out and you see the names Shane Victorino, Dan Haren, Barry Zito and Torii Hunter on it. Isn’t the Hall of Fame supposed to be a special place for GREAT players and not pretty good ones?

Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen met with local media on Monday. He discussed the playoff hopes for his No. 6 Gators, the Heisman chances for quarterback Kyle Trask and how to keep the team focused facing a winless Vanderbilt Commodores team. As a valued subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. “Injury update. [Tight end Kyle] Pitts will not be available this week for us. [Receiver] Trent Whittemore had a broken rib and a punctured lung in the game Saturday, so he won’t be available for us this week. [Linebacker] James Houston is questionable. We’ll see how the week progresses with him. That’s about it. Everybody else should be good to go at this time.” You said last week that to become a great team you have to get better every week. Looks like you guys are on that trajectory right now. What’s the next hurdle? “It is. You just look at this week, this week’s game, it’s the same thing. I talked to the guys this week. Not only does our focus have to be on Vandy and preparation within the scheme and the game plan and everything we’re doing with Vandy. We can also focus on ourselves and how we’re getting better in different ways. You look at last week’s game, defensively, we can’t give up the big, explosive plays like we gave up. But you don’t give up those, you play pretty good defense. The last time we played an ultra-fast football team, I don’t think we got lined up as fast and lined up the right way in time. They were beating us back to the ball. That didn’t happen last Saturday. We were there, we just gave up some explosive plays. Offensively, the offense efficiency, seeing how teams are playing us, how they’re reacting to us. We went into Saturday’s game, played a whole lot of dime defense, dropped a lot of guys into coverage, how we react to that and execute against those type of teams in situations. So much there’s a lot on us. And then, create depth. It’s a long season, as guys go down. You’re playing 10 SEC games. You have to always have that next-man-up mentality. We’ve got to create depth. If I’m an older guy, I’ve got the leadership to help create depth. If I’m a younger guy, I’ve got to prepare for when my number is called to go execute and make plays. There’s a lot of little things we do. We do have to focus on ourselves, as well as making sure we’re ready for the game against Vanderbilt in every aspect in the scheme. That’s how you get better. Last week’s game, it was a lot, we came off an emotional win, let’s make sure we continue that motivation. We haven’t arrived yet. This week’s game is kind of, ‘OK, we showed we can get over an emotional game and come back and respond good, but are we focused enough on our personal improvement from one week to the next?’ The College Football Playoff is the ultimate goal, but that fourth spot has been interesting off and one over the years. Do style points matter? Are you guys really looking to put the hammer down? “That’s probably more of a question for [Athletic Director] Scott [Stricklin]* than me because I’m not in the room. I don’t know if style points matter. I’m not into that. I’m into how are we making our team better. I certainly don’t want to be somebody that. … we’re up five touchdowns and we’re in a two-minute situation to go up six touchdowns, or I’m faking a punt up four scores. You know what, hey, we scored to go up 28 in the fourth quarter and we’re going to go for two instead of one. That’s not who I am as a coach, that’s not the program we want to be, that’s not what I think the game of football is about. It devalues some of the game. It’s not really what, in my mind, what it stands for. So, we’re going to worry about are we getting better and are we improving more than just me trying to sit there and say, ‘OK, can I try to run the score up on somebody so I look better for a committee?’ That’s not what I’m all about. It’s not really what, in my mind, what it stands for. So we’re going to worry about are we getting better, and are we improving more than me just trying to sit there and say, ‘OK, can I try to run the score up on somebody so I look better for a committee vote?’ That’s not what I’m all about.” *Scott Stricklin serves on the College Football Playoff Committee Individual awards tied to team success. How much of you saying that is the team is focused on the team, and how much is the fact that the SEC will get plenty of exposure anyway? “I think this: I think there is a great reality to it, when you go back and look. You know what I mean? We had a great loss with Paul Hornung passing away this year. I think he was the last person to win the Heisman Trophy on a losing team. … Only one. You start looking at it. You look over the last couple of years, and a lot of what’s that done — is it always the best player? Is it kind of the best player on the best team combination, in a lot of these awards that go out? I don’t know. I’ve always kind of been focused on that. If we can focus on team success, you’re going to get a lot more individual accolades when your team does really well than if your team does average, no matter how well you perform. You’re going to get a lot more personal accolades when the team does better. And so if you just focus on that aspect of it, you’re going to have those opportunities to get those individual accolades.” Tebow won it without you all being super duper awesome. That an outlier? “Yea, I think it was a little bit. Now granted, it wasn’t like we had a terrible season. I think we won nine games that year, still. You know, I think that year, it was one of those – to be honest with you, I don’t remember. But I also think – he was doing some things that hadn’t been done before. I don’t know who his competition was that year, who finished second or third. Maybe you can look at that. But he also picked things. I think we went up to South Carolina, if I remember right. You’re getting close to the end of the season, and he put up a seven-touchdown performance. It was kind of on the edge of where everybody was getting ready for crunch time towards the Heisman, and he went up and put a seven-touchdown performance in that game. I think that really got people excited. And he was putting up, I think, 30-20 numbers, right? That year. I don’t know. I don’t remember all of it. But I do think he put up some numbers that were hard to ignore on a team that was still pretty good.” Darren McFadden and Colt Brennan were 2-3… “Yeah. I don’t think Darren – I don’t think they were on a championship team, either.” McFadden was runner-up, though. “I think maybe it was a little bit of an outlier year on the teams that played and won that year.” Playing in front of fewer than 1,000 people this weekend, need to bring your own juice— “Yeah we addressed that already. We had thought it was going to be even less than that. I think they came out today and said players families could go. We had a meeting last night with all the players families, a zoom call, our parent meeting to say, hey, the information we had last night was parents couldn’t even come to the game, it was that restrictive. Now they’re going to let some parents come to games. That’s a big benefit for the players and their families, just to have their families come. We’ll be able to do that. It’s something we’ve already talked about and addressed. Early morning kick, an 11 am kickoff. A very limited crowd. It’s kind of been a different year that way. We’ve gotta come out focused on our performance and focused on how we play.” Game two years ago up there, losing at halftime, is that when the team started buying in? “Could be. I’d have to go back and look at each game that season.” Well you lost the next two, so maybe the theory is wrong. “Yeah. I thought more South Carolina, when we came back to win the South Carolina game. Would have been that year, if I’m thinking back at it. I thought that gave us a belief of how to win a little bit but maybe turned the corner against South Carolina a couple weeks later. We’ve talked about that. I’ve talked about that with our team. The last time we went to Vanderbilt we were down 21-3 in that game and when you talk about our preparation, our performance, if you want to be great we have to play at an extremely high level if we want to have a great season. You can’t come out and start slow. No matter what the atmosphere, what is going on, you gotta come out and play at a certain level and play to our standard of what we’re doing. You can’t come out and start slow like we did two years ago up there. We addressed that today and we’ll see. You get a feel once you get through the week of practice how everybody’s doing.” You always say Trask gets the ball where it needs to go, how hard is that to do? “I don’t think it’s easy for quarterbacks to do. I try to say that about all our good quarterbacks because that means you’re doing a good job. You understand what the gameplan is. for us, which is we’re going to design things but I’m not going to force the ball to specific receivers. We’ll have ‘get it to’ plays to get them the ball but we’re going to call things and then we’re going to react to what the defense gives you. The great thing for him, and a big part of the quarterback position is how fast you can do that. How fast can you process that information because there’s a laundry list of things you’re doing and there’s times you have about 2.4 seconds to do all of those different things and you’ve gotta process things a little quicker. I think he’s done a really good job of understanding the offense, understanding how the defense is going to play, understanding how he’s going to attack that type of defense and processing it all really fast to get through all the different reads and get the ball to where it needs to go.” Is best part of Trask’s game the mental aspect compared to physical aspect? “No, I mean, he’s not the most dynamic runner out there, you know. The physical part of the game, he is an extremely accurate passer, he’s got unbelievable size and strength in the pocket. He is very athletic within the pocket in slight movements that I think get very overlooked. People look at an athletic quarterback and it’s got to be, ‘hey, how many people can he miss running the ball.’ But his athleticism has shown in his pocket movements, his slides and movement around the pocket, and he’s very accurate. I think if you’re accurate and if you’re smart and a good processor of information, you are going to be a really, really good quarterback.” **Conversation about Tebow losing to Ingram and Bradford in Heisman races** “Yeah, they were both teams that won, right? Well, [inaudible] to win national championship and we stopped that one. I will say this, and I know he [Tebow] probably doesn’t admit it, but that’s always a good question for him. There was some motivation there that he didn’t win it and the quarterback on the other team did in that 2008 game. I don’t know if Tim admits to that, but having somebody that spends quite a bit of time with him leading into that stuff, I think there was a little bit of extra drive inside of him.” What goes into developing a quarterback, not just Trask but in general? “I’ve got to whisper when I do this, right. Whisper or something like that. No, there’s a lot to be honest with you. One, you look for certain type of traits in recruiting of guys that have great mental and physical toughness. Guys that have great leadership capabilities, guys that can process information, guys that are intelligent, then you get into their physical abilities of throwing and running the football. You do that, and then you spend your time making sure they understand all the important things. The first thing we always teach all the quarterbacks is you better understand protection, that’s self-preservation right there. You better know every protection, how we are going to protect you, where are your hots, where are your sites, how to check protections, are going to be. And then you are getting into and understanding how to read every type of defense. What are defensive indicators that are out there. And then how do you want to attack every defense. A lot of people understand – I’ll give you this one, on what to do – a lot of people just coach guys what to do. Well, that’s not going to develop a quarterback. That may get them to a limited extent. If you’re just coaching what to do and then you kind of coach them a little bit on how to do it, but it’s the why we do it is really how you develop a quarterback. They need to understand exactly why we’re doing what we’re doing and if when they do that, then they have a grasp of how the offense is supposed to work and what we’re trying to accomplish within the play. And then you set up your practice schedule and installation of everything you do around quarterback development. And then, I think Brian does an unbelievable job of coaching them. I coach them well and, I don’t know, I think we do a pretty good job of coaching those guys. Within each game plan, within the big picture of the offense with understanding of how to attack defenses, and then how to use a specific game plan to attack defenses, then we set up practice to maximize their development. That’s it like in 30 seconds. I mean, I can’t give to you all. We’ll get together when I step down, Kassidy, and you can write the book. Dan Mullen on quarterback play.” What does it say about Kemore Gamble with his blocking? “He did, and we had 10 different guys have catches and he didn’t have one, which is kind of shocking. He played more plays than Zip and Zip had the two touchdowns. If you know us, that’s not on purpose. That’s unintentional. They were just rotating in, and as we rolled guys through, Zip’s series came up and he got the touchdown catches. The second one, they were both on the field for. That’s where the read took you, to go to Zip. I do think with our guys, you now, we had 10 different guys with catches. I would have loved to have him get one so we could said we had 11. But it shows his maturity, his development and our guys’ understanding of the offense, ‘Hey, I’m in there to do my role, do my job to the best of my ability.’ And if that’s making touchdown catches, make touchdown catches. If it’s to block, block, because at the end of the year, you’ll roll around and see everybody had the opportunity to have success and have stats. When you get to the end of the year, if you just kind of worry about doing the best you can be and what’s asked of you.” Tim Brewster’s role in developing those guys? “I think he’s done a really good job with those guys. I think you see it with Gamble and Zipperer coming into the game and those guys and how they’ve performed. It’s one thing in helping Kyle. Kyle’s a special athlete, and some of the stuff Kyle does, you’re like, ‘Wow, that.’ I’m not going to bash Brew, but he didn’t really coach him to leap over two guys and make this ridiculous catch. That’s God-given ability right there. When you watch the other guys come in and how they perform, you show what a good job he’s done in preparing the depth and the quality of depth of everybody in that room.” On Kyle Trask understanding the offense: “Well, I think there’s a lot. I think he does … there’s a of different ways. We’ll call multiple plays and he’s got to check into one. Check the play to whatever the best play’s going to be when we call multiple plays. He has, obviously, protection checks and ID checks within the run game. He’ll have some automatic kills, where if they give us certain looks, he’ll kill and just change a play to something else completely altogether. So he has the freedom to do a lot of that stuff out there on the field. He has freedom. I guess he can change the play to whatever he wanted to change it to at anytime in the course of the game. All I’m going to ask him is why he did it. If he doesn’t have a good reason, I’ll tell him don’t do it again. If he has a good reason, then I’ll tell him good idea. You have the freedom to go do that. It also gets to the why you want to do what you want to do. There will be times on the sideline you’ll see him getting up and checking to do things and Brian’s like, ‘I don’t know what he’s doing.’ We’ll figure out what he’s doing. And sometimes it’s for show, you know. Sometimes he’s doing all that stuff and it really doesn’t mean anything. So, I think he just shows his maturity and what he can handle. And, you know, and we put a lot on the quarterbacks, you know, within what we do. And so, but he, but he does—you know, I mean our question, you know, my question constantly to those guys are, 'Can you handle what we're putting on you and if something's too much let us know.' And then you have to have maturity to come to us and say 'hey, yeah, this, I don't, I don't have this', you know, and it's a big difference between 'I don't have it,' on Monday or Tuesday and 'I don't have it,' on Thursday and Friday. I mean there's stuff Monday and Tuesday, that he won't have yet and then I'll come back and check by Thursday and Friday, 'I'm good, I got it.’ You know, and then we monitor that and that's, you know, if there's something they're not comfortable with, we just take it out of the game plan." Your thoughts real quick on Todd Grantham, we've talked about this a lot over the year. He has a different kind of defense obviously maybe a little more gambling style. His goal is to knockout the quarterback and yet somehow some people don't seem to grasp what he's doing. I don't know why. Once again, can you reiterate the value of— “Yea, we have a very aggressive style defense and don't mistake aggressive style defense for we're just gonna blitz all over the place. We have an aggressive attacking style defense. I think we lead the SEC in sacks or maybe we're probably up there. We're going to get after quarterbacks, make life difficult for them. And, you know, and I mean I think Todd and the staff, you know, do an excellent job of making adjustments, of changing things during the course of the game of even this year, you know like I said early in the year, we had a lot of newer faces in the, in going into the season. You know, and you look at, you know, midway through last season, we were okay offensively and then we realized hey you know we've got these great receivers, we've got our quarterback can get them the ball, we can protect up front. We're gonna go a little bit more of a pass offense. You know, we kind of grew into who we are, I think we're finding that defensively and we've played a lot better. You know now that I think they have a good grasp of what our defensive and who we are, this year. And what we're gonna do that way. So you know I think Todd does a great job of, of having answers to questions that offenses are going to present. Yeah, if you look at the game last weekend. We gave up you know the with the ones in the game we gave up 21 points. With the twos, gave up 14 in the last, you know, 10 minutes of the game. You know, but but, and that's great. We're going to coach those guys really hard because we don't know, you could be a play away from being on the field, you gotta be ready to go. You know, I think that and also you have to look at, I think there’s—when we go into games we don't have, you know, everything's not completely separate at every game. You know it's not like 'hey offense you just do your thing. Defense you just do your thing.' There's a lot of discussion back and forth on how we need to get the game to go play out. You know, and you know that that was a—we do that so I mean I think people get—not always look at every aspect of how the game is playing out, and what our plan was going into the game." Would you mind speaking to the challenges of getting a team ready for an0-6 team. How do you sell them on the potential dangers of that if there are any. "Yeah, well I mean there are because they're, you know, an SEC team. They’re coming up. They’ve been, they've been, you see them continue to improve. You know, a team that, you know, I mean, almost beat Texas A&M to start off the year, a seven point game last week. Outgained Mississippi State, should probably, you know, have won that game. And the last time we went there we were down 21-3 so there’s a lot of different things you could point out within this team and the talent within this team and how they play hard. You have do that. So again, you have that aspect number one and then you have the aspect, number two is, if we want to be a great team we have to get better. So not only you know, is that focus on your opponent, that focus is on yourself as well. If not I guess I'll put on a cheerleading outfit and get on the sidelines and start trying to motivate us that way. But we only get 10 games this year, so you better be motivated for those opportunities and to get on the field and to go play and go make plays. Shouldn't need any more motivation than that." EVER FELT A TEAM WAS NOT TAKING AN OPPONENT SERIOUSLY ENOUGH BECAUSE THEY WERE OVERLOOKING THEM? "Absolutely. Multiple times. It's a tough challenge. It is a tough challenge to do. We've done it and lost games because of it." YOU CAN SENSE THAT DURING THE WEEK? "Absolutely. Absolutely. It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen." WHEN DO YOU KNOW WHEN A QB GETS THE WHY? WHAT SHOWS YOU? "Well when they can talk football. You know what I mean? You're just watching film, you're game-planning, you're doing different things. 'What do you like here?' Just make sure they see it the way you see it. That they just understand the game of football. Some guys it happens faster than others. But it's, I don't know. You just kind of know. You get that feel. You can see it in their performance, too. It's ever-changing. It's not like one day they don't have it, the next day they've got it. It doesn't work that way. You just see it evolving more and more and more throughout it." CAN'T FAKE IT, THOUGH? "Yeah. I mean I could go on campus right now to go over to the physics department and I couldn't fake my way through that. They're not going to be able to fake their way through a quarterback conversation." FIRST TRUE ROAD TRIP SINCE A&M, WHAT CHANGES? HAVE CONCERNS? "Absolutely. The Jacksonville one, I think that was a little bit easier. You had a bus ride. You were spread out over, I think we took five or six buses, so we were really spread out. Obviously you have a regular locker room. The visiting locker room there is very similar to a home locker room, so that was different. So since the A&M game, first real road game. We've put a bunch of different things in place, we're looking at different things. Getting on a plane is getting on a plane. We've got to be really smart about how we do it. We try like we did before, we're very defined on where the seating plan is and where everybody is seating on the plane. Making sure everybody has their mask on at all times on the plane. Because some of the guys will fall asleep and take it off or one of those deals. Everyone has their mask on, make sure that is always happening in what we're doing on the plane. I think they're going to limit any sort of food or drinks on the plane to try to limit that as much so that people don't even take their masks off to do that. We're going to change our routine on gameday as it involves the locker room. Unfortunately I've been to Vanderbilt, so I know the visiting locker room situation. We're going to change our entire pregame routine to try to really limit the amount of time that we would ever spend in the locker room.” SEC schedule rule changes, prepared to switch gears for last-minute foe? “Like right this second? I look at it this way, LSU we were getting ready to play them and the game was postponed, so we have work in on them, and Kentucky and Tennessee were our first two games of the season, so you had offseason work on them. Could I tell you anything about gameplans right at this moment? No. But I have a notebook full of notes that we could try to turn it over to get prepared to play if we needed to.” Took until Week 7 with 2008 Gators and 2004 Utes to score 63? “There you go. I’m ahead of schedule.” Favorite plays, innovations as an offensive coach, play caller? “Boy, you know, it’s so cyclical, I would guess for us through the years, really kind of the empty passing game would be something that people would probably look back on and say, wow, they did an awful lot of that when nobody else was doing that stuff. Through the years, that, you’d love to say, hey, all the .. Bowling Green we put in this goal-line offense where we direct-snapped it to the quarterback with no running back in there and two tight ends and three wide receivers, and then that became known as the Wildcat a couple of years later. But that also was run back in the 1920s called the single-wing, too. So I don’t know if you get credit for all of that stuff, but I’m sure throughout different times you look and say, hey, Utah, a lot of people call shovel-option a Utah play. But I think Utah was running it way before we got there, we just kind of did it a lot more. You know, so I don’t know if there’s one type of deal that way, so … Pulling guards against Arkansas a la Packer Sweep? “Yeah, we pulled. You copy everybody, that’s why it’s hard to say. You’re watching what works, you’re watching other people, you’re always trying to evolve and see how you can be better. I mean, I remember going back, you’re sitting back and we’re running the zone-read stuff. If you go back to ‘08, we’re running zone read and I got Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps who both weight about a buck-80 running between the tackles. They collapse it down, and then 240-pound Tim Tebow runs around the outside. So, what if we just kind of instead of zone-reading this way, we zone-read this way so the quarterback runs inside and those guys run outside. So just a simple innovation on stuff. You’d be shocked how much … and I think Urban did something about it on TV one day … you’d be shocked how much you’re watching practice and you’re doing something and someone makes a mistake and you’re like, ooh, that looks pretty interesting. Boy, like that wasn’t what we were supposed to do, but let’s look at this because that’s interesting and how did that affect the defense and how did it affect what they’re doing? And even though that was a mistake how do we make that the normal way to do something. So we spend a lot of time on that. We’ve tried to be pretty innovative throughout the years. But I love the history of college football that way. Watching all the big games and all that stuff. I do love those sort of things.”

Florida Gators Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson met with local media on Monday to discuss the No. 6 Gators unstoppable offense, growth along the offensive line and if he'd be interested in the open South Carolina job. As a valued subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. WHEN DID YOU KNOW KYLE WAS REALLY COMFORTABLE ENOUGH IN THE OFFENSE TO KNOW WHY YOU GUYS WERE DOING CERTAIN THINGS WITHIN THE OFFENSE? "Yeah, I think the biggest deal is when you can really verbalize and ask questions about potential problems. 'What am I doing if this happens or that happens?' He's very diligent. He prepares his tail off. He understands the game. That's just really our teaching progression. We want to teach you what to do, how to do it. And then you see people start to really excel when they understand why we're doing what we're doing as an offense and you can anticipate what's coming next." DIFFERENCE IN BEING WELL-PREPARED, IS THAT NEXT STEP IN A PROGRESSION? "Yeah, I think so. Obviously you want to be prepared, but when you can basically understand what's happening before it happens and you can play with that type of confidence it really carries over to the entire team and you have a chance to play really, really well if that happens." HOW HARD TO CREATE ADVANTAGEOUS MATCHUPS WITHOUT KYLE PITTS? "Kyle is a tremendous player. He's one of the best players in college football. So any time you're missing him, it's obviously a huge loss. But at the same time we have some very talented players and they're all waiting and ready for their opportunity when their number is called. Can't say enough about Kemore and Zipp, those guys have done a tremendous job filling in. And the rest of our skill players as well on the offense. Just by design the way the offense is, you never know who's going to have the hot day. Just the way that Arkansas played defense in our particular gameplan, the ball went to our outside guys, the outside receivers, and those guys made a bunch of plays and had some big touchdown catches. The whole deal is just to be ready when your number's called. Who knows when that will be, but you have to be ready to go at all times. Any time the ball could come your way because we try to get it to the open guy." HAS O-LINE KIND OF QUIETLY BECOME A TEAM STRENGTH? "Those guys are playing really well. John does a great job getting ready to play. A lot of them have played a lot of football for us, and so they're playing with a ton of confidence and understanding the gameplan, understanding what we're trying to accomplish. Playing physical and knocking people off the ball and doing a great job in pass protection as well.” How big has the Heggie move to center been? “It’s been huge. He does a great job directing traffic and getting things set at the line of scrimmage. He just brings that experience. He can talk to both sides of the offensive line pre-snap and really just direct traffic and make sure we’re on the right guys.” Vanderbilt is a team that hasn’t won a game and given up a ton of points. Also held A&M to just 17 points. Going against a team like that, how do you make sure the game plan and preparation stay the same? “I think the biggest thing is regardless of who’s out there, you have to play to your standard. The challenge is to play to the best of your ability each and every play. I tell the quarterbacks about that all the time. Regardless whether you’re playing a middle school team or the Detroit Lions, it really doesn’t matter. Your team has to remain consistent in how you prepare. And you have to hold yourself to a really,really high standard in how you practice and get yourself ready for that game.” It seems like every week when we ask Dan about Trask, he says he did a really good job managing the game. How hard is it to do and execute at the level he’s doing that? “Well, it’s very difficult to do. And often times when we hear people use that term in reference to quarterbacks, in terms of managing, sometimes it has a negative connotation to it. But we don’t view it that way at all. It’s our job at that position to manage the offense. That can mean a variety of different things -- making the right play at the right time, understanding what the team needs at that moment, putting us in position to be successful, move the ball and score points. We always take that as a compliment and it’s something he’s done a fantastic job of understanding the flow of the game, understanding how to play complementary football and putting in position to be successful on offense.” Taking away the negative connotation, what allows him to do that so well, how much is it physical and how much is it mental? “It’s both. He actually has the ability to make all the necessary plays out there on the field. He has a great mental capacity as well to understand different checks and what we’re doing to put us in position to create match-ups and take advantage of those match-ups as well.” Could you talk about the end of the first half, Trask threw his fifth touchdown pass and Dan is getting on his case and how that speaks to you holding them to a high standard? “That is always room for improvement. I’ve been around football for a really long time and I don’t know if anybody has played a completely perfect game. We’re constantly coaching and he’s obviously very, very receptive and he loves to be coached. And he was playing really, really well, but we still had some stuff we could continue to clean up and get better at. And it’s just a constant reminder that we’re going to hold each other accountable to a really, really high standard by our performance and our preparation.” Do you approach Kyle differently than Mullen? Not as hard? “I wouldn’t say that. I think we do a great job of playing off each other. Sometimes there’s some good cop-bad cop. For us, the destination is the same, of what we want to accomplish and what we want to get to. And then it’ll flip. Sometimes I’m the bad cop, and sometimes he’s the good cop. I think we have a great chemistry and connection of what we’re trying to get accomplished, and Kyle’s done a great job putting himself in position to go out there and make plays. But mostly between series, I think we’re very dialed into what’s next and what are we calling next, what are the looks we’re getting? We obviously want to go over the previous drive and make any necessary adjustments with what you’ve got coming up next drive. What’s it say about Kyle who wants to be coached up and get better? “For sure. He has a great demeanor and attitude. He carries himself in such a poised manner. It’s really no surprise he really enjoys being coached. He loves football. He wants to be a great player. And he put sin all the work necessary to accomplish those goals.” What has Stone done to take a big jump from year to year? “I think just his natural understanding of defense and giving yourself a chance before the ball is even snapped, understanding what moves you’re going to get. Where’s your help? Where’s your leverage? Just really studying your opponent and your guys and what they like to do and how can you use your technique to defend what they’re trying to do to you. He’s done a great job. Actually we’ve done a lot of guys in this offense that have been in this system now for three years, and they really understand where a lot of these guys are a graduate level in terms of understanding the offense. And so now you’ve learned some tricks of the trade. He’s done a great job. He’s had a fantastic year, and the challenge is to make sure you keep going.” How much of a luxury is it as a play caller to have a left tackle like that? “For sure, especially in this league because you have so many dynamic pass rushers, and when you have a guy that you’re not concerned about leaving one on one on the line for as much as we throw the football, it’s definitely a huge positive.” Good for Anthony to get that first pick out of the way? “Yeah, for sure, good to get all those guys in the game. They had a great week off practice and prepared really well. It was good to see those guys get some game action. I was really excited to get Emory in for like a series and he played within the normal flow of the game, but just to kind of let him loose and run the entire offense for a series. Drove us down, made some spectacular throws. The throw to Xzavier was really, really good on the touchdown throw. He had some really nice throws and he brings that really dynamic presence in the natural flow of the game and his scrambling ability and his ability to extend plays and make different things happen.” South Carolina job is open, you're name came up. Are you ready to take a head coaching job? “Good question. All that stuff is really flattering, but obviously you’ve got a job to do and our focus is on getting ready to play Vanderbilt and go out there and continue to play well on offense and play at a really high level.” Has been there been one play from Trask that separates him from other QBs? “Yeah, there was really two in the last game. To me, the great throws are easy to point out. It’s somewhat low-hanging fruit. He’s made some spectacular throws throughout the course of the season. Two plays from Saturday that I really appreciate as his coach is we called a couple of plays where we had an out cut and he checked it down to Malik Davis for 12 yards. Just talking about him really taking what we talk about in the meeting room and applying it to the practice field and then going out and executing it on game day and having him do that at a high level is obviously really, really good. He’s done some things where he’s gotten us in the right plays. He’s checked the ball down appropriately. We talked about just having patience both from my standpoint in terms of calling stuff and his standpoint of not putting us into a situation where we behind the sticks against this team. Just with the particular style off defense that Arkansas played, we knew going into the game that there might be drives where we have to go on a 12-play, 14-play drive and be really patient, take what the defense is giving you and move the ball down the field 5 to 6 yards at a time and there wasn’t going to the massive, explosive 30-yard plays just because of how the defense was structured. Him being able to take all that in, digest in and then execute has been a huge positive.” Teams taking away Kadarius Toney? “He’s had catches. It’s just like we said: How the offense is designed, the structure of the defense really dictates where the ball goes. The last two teams that we have faces have obviously had quite the focus on him in the middle of the field. It’s allowed some of our outside guys to make plays one on one. He’s done a fantastic job of doing what we ask him to do. He understands coverage, he understands leverages. He’s having a great year. So I think it’s continuing to find different matchups for him so he can take advantage of them.” What say about defenses focusing so much on Toney? “Yeah, it shows that they watch tape. He’s made some unbelievable, spectacular players this year. He’s a nightmare in terms of his quickness, his agility, his ability to break tackles and his discipline as a route runner. So he’s had some big-time plays for us. They might not have been crazy, highlight-reel, explosive plays. But third-and-10 catch at the end of the game against Georgia is as big of a play as he’ll have all season. To win on that option route versus two-man. He had a huge third-down catch the other night; he ran a great route on third and, I think it was third-and-11, a little stop route he ran. He’s made plays to keep the drives moving and he’s been a huge weapon for us all year.” Coaching on the field during the final five, six minutes against Arkansas, job done? “Coach told me I could come on down. So we hustled down and got a chance to see the guys on the field. You rarely get that experience, there’s been a couple of times here where we’ve been able to do that. But it was good. We got a chance to get around the guys and it’s such a different energy on the field as opposed to being up in the box. So it was good to see everybody’s smiling faces and get a chance to look people in the eye.” Did you get to soak in the energy? “Definitely, definitely.” Roll Kyle Trask is on when reflect on your playing days? “He’s playing at a really, really high level. He’s having a great year. It’s really no surprise when you’re around him every day and see the work effort. You see how much time and effort he puts into being a great player. He takes care of his body. He does everything exactly how you want it done. It’s really no surprise that he’s had such a tremendous year.” Two six-TD games, your best if five, pretty amazing given you played the position? “For sure, just those opportunities, to continue to get opportunities like that and take advantage of it and make plays. He’s been exceptional in every part of the game in terms of third-down, red-zone and guys have done a great job making plays and scoring touchdowns. Yes, it’s been really fun to be a part of. Actually still got a long way to go but he’s definitely off to a great start.” Is this offense up there with your Utah offense? “It’s so unique you bring up that offense in Utah. It was in the infancy stages of spread offense and I think as the system has evolved we’ve developed a little bit more diversity in what we’re doing and how to exploit defense and create matchups in different ways. You go back and watch some of that stuff now, turn on the film from back in those days we weren’t getting the variety of defense that we’re getting now as well. So, the game has changed a little bit but no doubt both offenses were operating at a really high level and the quarterback played great.” Mullen is pumping you for the South Carolina job. “Who’s that?” Mullen is pumping you for the job, he retweeted Jordan Rodgers. Maybe he’s trying to get rid of you? “He probably is.” Did your five touchdown game, were they all in the first half? “Yes they did! Absolutely they did. I’ve got beef with coach Lud (Andy Ludwig) about that. It was San Diego State, 2008. All five in the first half. I don’t think I threw a pass in the second half. I’m still a little bitter about that if you can’t tell.” Justin Shorter hasn’t gotten volume of other guys but 3 weeks with a TD “He has unbelievable physical talents and gifts. He’s got great range, a great catch radius as well. He’s done a great job of making plays. When he’s in he takes advantage of his opportunity. That’s the beauty of our offense. Him and Tre Grimes play the same position. When you look at it in totality of the production that that position is producing, it might not be, individually it might not look great but if you combine, just like our running backs last week, if you combine those guys 10 catches for 212 yards, if it was one guy doing all that it would be unbelievable. The unselfishness that they play with and the unselfishness that Coach Mullen has instilling in the program I think is something that is very, very special.” Ever have four 6’4” or taller receivers to throw to? “I don’t think so.” Back up QBs, would it be nice to get them a whole quarter? “For sure. You want guys to try and gain as much experience as possible. Obviously you never know how the game is going to turn out or what’s going to dictate that. We talk a lot about controlling what you can control and making sure you’re practicing well and putting yourself in position when you do go in the game that you can operate at a high level.”

"The Gators have had some great quarterbacks, and I’ve loved them all. If Kyle Trask continues to perform like this, we are watching the greatest quarterback in Gator history.” What if there were a fourth statue? (Courtesy of PodUp with Matthews) If Covid-19 stopped college football today, God forbid, based on what we’ve seen so far they’d have to award the Heisman Trophy to Kyle Trask. Don’t tell me about potential and what the other guys can do, or what championships they’ll win, or how high they’ll go in the NFL draft. I’m talking about what we have right here in front of our faces – right now! These days it’s tough to find anything much to believe in. Our minds have been assaulted and maimed by so much political rhetoric that some can’t distinguish between Pandora and Pandemic. But mine eyes have seen the coming of the next great Florida Gator football player. And now the nation has as well. Thanks to some kind of divine intervention, The Swamp parted like the Orange and Blue sea so that a national TV audience could witness the magnificence of yet another No. 11. Americans now know Trask is a legitimate superstar work in progress. Realizing it’s taboo to talk about Heismans in mid-season -- and all that CoachSpeak– I am exercising my right as a stupid media guy and willing to risk the Rat Poison label to go ahead and say it. Just like backup quarterback Anthony Richardson did in his contraband tweet during the game Saturday night: “Aye, I’m not supposed to be on my phone right now, but somebody tell them to go ahead and give Kyle the Heisman Trophy already.” I’ve seen enough. Six touchdown passes, 28 total (beating Tua Tagovailoa’s record), first SEC quarterback to post those kind of numbers … There is no doubt that if you froze this moment in time, the New York Athletic Club would be forced to Fed Ex that big hunk of copper to Gainesville. And AD Scott Stricklin might ought to consider hunting up that contact information for the statue sculptor. Over the years since Steve Spurrier played, I’ve voted in the Heisman almost every year, putting a Gator player No. 1 only four times. The other one beside Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow was Rex Grossman, who was pretty much screwed and finished second to a tepid Eric Crouch of Nebraska. Today I would be adding a fifth. About the same time that I tweeted this Saturday night: “…These are video game numbers (Trask) the likes of which we’ve never seen and may never see again…” …Lee McGriff of the Gator IMG Radio Network was preparing to say something like this: “I hope Gator fans are fully appreciating the extraordinary play of Kyle Trask every game this season. Kyle is doing this against SEC teams every game. What they’re seeing – the likes of which we may never see again …” (more later on this). Remember the long dry spell of skill players from 2011 to 2018? So let’s just savor this moment and let that marinate on our football taste buds. I’ve seen enough. Ballot please! I realize that I’m going to get shouted down as a heretic and a homer by my journalistic colleagues, but I don’t care. I’ve been voting on the Heisman for the better part of 54 years. And what I’m seeing from Kyle Trask in 2020 is equal in greatness to anything I’ve ever seen. And perhaps statue worthy. I saw the guile and grit and craftiness of Steve Spurrier, pulling off fourth-quarter rallies, doing whatever it took, including kicking the field goal to win the game against Auburn and win the Heisman with it. I saw it from Florida Field press box with my own eyes. I saw the courage and precision and durability and deft touch of Danny Wuerffel, his brain wired into Coach Spurrier’s mind like a Spurffel Computer, able to audible at the last second and get the ball to Ike Hilliard or Reidel Anthony or Jacquez Green (or somebody) for a school record 39 touchdown passes in a season. I was there and a saw it. Remember the toughness and talent of Tim Tebow, The Jump Pass, The Promise, The Braveheart Game in Tallahassee and the dime he dropped on Riley Cooper in the SEC Championship win over Alabama, and of course, his two touchdown passes in the 2008 national title win over Oklahoma, 24-14, and outplaying Heisman winner Sam Bradford? That night, at a local greasy spoon in Miami Gardens at 2 a.m. over breakfast with my colleagues Franz Beard and Tim Casey we were reflecting on what we had just seen. We all agreed: “Enjoy and relish it, because we might not ever see this kind of thing again.” Two warrior buddies after the battle: Trask and Franks hug (ESPN TV) Eleven years later we still haven’t seen it. But maybe again Saturday night we got a tiny glimpse of what greatness looks like, and how it could even grow greater. Now, Part 2 of what McGriff said, or as Paul Harvey called it, The Rest of the Story: “The Gators have had some great quarterbacks, and I’ve loved them all. If Kyle Trask continues to perform like this, we are watching the greatest quarterback in Gator history.” (Follow the Gators at GatorBaitMedia.com)

I still have picture in my mind: As teammates encircle their maimed quarterback like pallbearers, some on bended knee, Kyle Trask is standing right next to the portable elevated stretcher as his good friend Feleipe Franks is being transported off Kroger Field, weeping, grimacing in pain and badly injured. Florida trailed, 21-10, with a little over three minutes to play in the third quarter, Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen having chosen to go for it on fourth down. Franks rolled out to run the ball and as he was tackled, was bent backwards. He was severely injured with a broken leg and his teammates appeared in semi-shock. Next up was the little used quarterback from Manvel, Texas, but was he ready for this scenario? That next-up quarterback tonight – and likely for the next 20-something games – looked almost grief-stricken, consumed with empathetic pain for his good friend Feleipe that he didn’t appear to have a clue about the difficulty of the task ahead. Could he even overcome this emotional moment? Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to your new Gator quarterback. And goodbye to Feleipe. It was quick and unorthodox. And painful. But fortuitous. Prior to Trask’s takeover vs Kentucky, Franks had struggled a bit, completing 12x17 passes for 174 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The numbers Trask posted were not impressive, 9x11 for 126 yards and no TDs, but he did score the go-ahead TD on a perfectly executed 4-yard keeper. Posting 19 unanswered points, the Gators prevailed 29-21. Quite frankly we weren’t aware of what we were seeing: The debut of an elite quarterback who would lead Florida back to a championship aura. When you’ve never taken a meaningful snap in your college football career – and you’re going into your third season without having started a game since you were in ninth grade -- heroic antics are not likely expected of you. That’s the first time we underestimated Kyle Trask. And it’s been that way ever since that moment. Boy, were we wrong. My smart friends like Bubba Ennis and Lee McGriff were always strong on Trask and had been advocating for “the guy behind Franks who was a better passer.” I made a mental note: Balderdash! Franks was the experienced guy with a strong arm and amped up competitive juices who once put his index finger to his lips and shssshed the home crowd. He fought to win that game and for his team and his job. And yet it seemed Feleipe was always precariously teetering on the brink of a benching. How you gonna bench him? Mullen almost did that after Franks laid an egg against Missouri in 2018, Florida’s second double-digit loss in a row. Instead, Franks got a reprieve, maybe because of an injury to Trask. Fate conspired in favor of these two young men as Franks stayed true to his teammates after his injury, cheering them on in an air cast and on a scooter, watching Trask grow into the job, then quietly exiting out the back door transfer portal with class and dignity. No bitterness or vocally expressed regrets, just a guy with a degree in his satchel , a strong arm and a strong desire to compete again with hopes of pursuing a next-level career in the NFL. At the same time, graciously stepping aside without whimpering to allow his friend Trask to slide into his old role and avoiding having to put his coaches in the unenviable task of choosing one over the other. Kyle won the job by default, but would have won it in head-to-head competition anyway because it was now his team. Feleipe, still good enough to play and start in the SEC, found a home in Fayetteville. Good on everybody. Trask has been nothing short of phenomenal in the 4-1 run, with his crowning achievement of beating old nemesis Georgia and posting a career high 474 yards and four touchdowns on a string of 5 straight games with four of more TDs. Suddenly the guy who came out of moth balls and off the bench to an obscure beginning is right up there in the Heisman Trophy conversation with Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. And you wonder how he could have been missed by coaches all these years, or if he just improved expeditiously with good training. I am sure that Coach Brian Johnson’s concept of having all three quarterbacks take an equal number of snaps daily in practice with the No. 1 unit contributed mightily to his improvement. Not to launch into a stats comparison here between Trask and Franks, because it would be disrespectful of what Feleipe has done. It’s no small matter that Franks has already thrown as many touchdown passes (14) as Arkansas did all last season. He has helped Sam Pittman resurrect Arkansas to a 3-3 record – and if they don’t get hosed by officials in a loss to Auburn it would be 4-2 – which is impressive enough that it makes Pittman a strong SEC Coach of the Year candidate, even if he is missing this game in Covid quarantine. Trask’s 1,815 yards and 22 touchdowns with just three picks is in a class by itself. And the 14 TDs and 1,428 yards with three interceptions by Franks is nothing to sneeze at. He comes back home with a fair set of credentials. "I think Feleipe's a great quarterback," Mullen said of Franks' performance this season thus far. "We had him for quite a long time, so, I'm seeing what you see out of him. A guy that has a high touchdown-to-interception ratio, really strong arm, you know. I mean, he's a veteran player now, played in the league, so the games and moments aren't too much for him. I know he's playing kind of a newer offense to learn, but when you're an older, veteran guy, I think you understand concepts, you understand coverages, you understand what's going on out there on the field. He's picked it up really fast, and I think he's having a great year. But I wouldn't have expected anything less than that from him, and, you know, the Feleipe I know." All week long players and coaches have been answering questions about their relationship with Franks and while I wouldn’t call it a love-fest, I must say to almost a man they expressed great respect and were happy to see his success elsewhere. Everybody from his quarterback room buddy Trask, to his former roommate Brett Heggie, to Mullen, his wife Megan (“she’s more in touch with him than me,” said Dan) to position coach Johnson talked of Feleipe in glowing terms. Said Trask: “I think we had a very beneficial relationship while we were both playing here because we were great friends off the field, but at the same time, we were both competitors, and we competed with each other every day, and I think we made each other better in the end.” What about the way he’s been playing? “Yeah,” said Kyle. “I mean, he’s always had big-play potential, and he’s always been a great quarterback, and I’m happy for him, and he’s playing well over there. Arkansas definitely got a good quarterback in Feleipe.” “That's my brother," running back Malik Davis said. "When he left it was definitely hard, but he was just making the right decision for himself.” As for Franks, he has plenty of gratitude for his old team and his new team. “Just being at the University of Arkansas has been a blessing for me,” Franks told reporters after beating Tennessee, 24-13. “These guys had my back every game throughout the season making plays for me. That’s all I can ask for.” It’s a feel-good story all the way around, but if Franks comes in The Swamp and torches the Gator secondary for an upset by a 17 ½ underdog, I don’t imagine he’d be welcomed back. For Feleipe it would be the ultimate revenge. For his quarterback room it would be a nightmare. And he’d better plan to move to the Ozarks when he retires.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: Another day at the office for the 6th-ranked Florida Gators (5-1) means Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey needs to come up with a practical solution to December 12 and the sooner, the better. With Kyle Trask throwing for 356 yards and six touchdowns in their 63-35 win over Arkansas at The Swamp Saturday night, the Gators looked more and more like a team that not only belongs in the College Football Playoff, but one very capable of winning the national championship. Florida’s defense may have taken a step back from the two previous games, but the offense was in a full-blown wowser mode. Not only was Trask flinging it all over the ball yard, but he had extraordinary protection and when the Gators elected to run the ball, John Hevesy’s big uglies looked the part of one of the better O-lines in the country. It was enough that experts all over the country such as CBSSports.com’s Dennis Dodd moved Trask to the head of the potential Heisman Trophy class. Dodd went so far to proclaim the Gators as legitimate playoff contenders. And this is where it becomes a dilemma for Sankey and the SEC. Florida is supposed to finish its regular season on December 12 against LSU, a makeup game for a Covid-19 postponement back on October 17. Top-ranked Alabama (6-0) had its game with LSU in Baton Rouge postponed just this past weekend and with December 12 already booked for Florida-LSU what does Sankey do? At the moment, it appears there are four options: (1) Either Florida or Alabama plays LSU on December 12 while the other gets an open date; (2) Sankey gets creative, allowing Florida-LSU or Alabama-LSU to take place while arranging the schedule so whichever team doesn’t play LSU plays someone on December 12; (3) he gives Florida and Alabama the week off prior to the SEC Championship Game (December 19); or (4) he does more creative scheduling so that both Florida and Alabama play LSU albeit on different dates. There has been a suggestion that Sankey could move the SEC Championship Game back to the Saturday after Christmas (December 26), but that isn’t palatable since the College Football Playoff semifinals are scheduled for January 1. The likely decision will be a combination of reshuffling of schedules and an outside shot of giving Florida and Alabama a week off prior to the SEC Championship Game if both have clinched their divisions. In an appearance on College Game Day Saturday, Sankey said, "What we’re not going to do is have people play repeat opponents or grab opponents out of the air. What we have to do is look and see if there are two games that are postponed, can we match up a future game that’s scheduled and make it happen sooner, even on short notice. That’s the mentality, just to maximize flexibility.” In other words, buckle your seatbelts because right now Sankey has a lot of options and hasn’t reached an effective conclusion. Plus if there are more postponements due to the virus, you can throw all plans and theories out the window. ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL (1) Alabama 6-0; (2) Notre Dame 8-0; (3) Ohio State 3-0; (4) Clemson 7-1; (5) Texas A&M 5-1; (6) FLORIDA 5-1; (7) Cincinnati 7-0; (8) BYU 8-0; (9) Indiana 4-0; (10) Wisconsin 2-0; (11) Oregon 2-0; (12) Miami 7-1; (13) Georgia 4-2; (14) Oklahoma State 5-1; (15, TIE) Marshall 7-0; Coastal Carolina 7-0; (17) Iowa State 5-2; (18) Oklahoma 5-2; (19) Northwestern 4-0; (20) Southern Cal 2-0; (21) Liberty 8-0; (22) Texas 5-2; (23) Auburn 4-2; (24) Louisiana-Lafayette 7-1; (25) Tulsa 4-1 COACHES TOP 25 POLL (1) Alabama 6-0; (2) Notre Dame 8-0; (3) Ohio State 3-0; (4) Clemson 7-1; (5) FLORIDA 5-1; (6) Texas A&M 5-1; (7) Cincinnati 7-0; (8) BYU 8-0; (9) Miami 7-1; (10) Indiana 4-0; (11) Georgia 4-2; (12) Wisconsin 2-0; (13) Oregon 2-0; (14) Oklahoma State 5-1; (15) Marshall 7-0; (16) Iowa State 5-2; (17) Oklahoma 5-2; (18) Coastal Carolina 7-0; (19) Southern Cal 2-0; (20) Northwestern 4-0; (21) Auburn 4-2; (22) Liberty 8-0; (23) Texas 5-2; (24) North Carolina 6-2; (25) Louisiana-Lafayette 7-1 RUMBLING, STUMBLING, BUMBLING IN THE SEC #1 ALABAMA (6-0): Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who fractured his ankle against Tennessee, is set to have the cast removed from his ankle this week. While Waddle won’t see the field as the regular season concludes, he could very well be back in time for the College Football Playoff. At the time of his injury, Waddle had caught 25 passes for 557 yards and four touchdowns. Next week: vs. Kentucky (3-4) ARKANSAS (3-4): Feleipe Franks threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns against the Gators, bringing his season totals to 2,171 yards (8.3 per attempt) and 16 touchdowns (three interceptions). Counting his time at Florida, Franks has now thrown for 6,271 yards and 54 touchdowns in his collegiate career. Next week: vs. LSU (2-3) #23 AUBURN (4-2): Should Auburn be able to tee it up against Tennessee Saturday, it will have been 21 days since the last time the Tigers played a game. Auburn had a regularly scheduled bye week and then last week’s game at Mississippi State was postponed and rescheduled for December 12. Next week: vs. Tennessee (2-4) #13 GEORGIA (4-2): It will be interesting to see who Kirby Smart goes with at QB this week. It’s highly unlikely Georgia will lose to Mississippi State so it might be an ideal time for Kirby Smart to replace ineffective Stetson Bennett IV with either D’Wan Mathis, Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels or true freshman Carson Beck. Next week: vs. Mississippi State (2-4) KENTUCKY (3-4): Despite a 458-yard output in the win over Vanderbilt, Kentucky ranks dead last in the SEC in total offense at 318 yards per game. The Wildcats rank second in the league in rushing at 195.4 per game but they’re the worst pass offense in the league by a good 50 yards at 122.6 per game. Next week: at #1 Alabama (6-0) LSU (2-3): Barring what Coach O says is “something miraculous,” QB Myles Brennan is done for the year. Brennan, who suffered an abdominal injury in the first half against Missouri a few weeks back, will see several doctors to determine if he needs surgery or if the injury will heal with rehabilitation. Next week: at Arkansas (3-4) MISSISSIPPI STATE (2-4): With the decision of DB Marcus Murphy to opt out the rest of the season, Mississippi state is down to 65 scholarship players. The SEC requires at least 53 players available to play a game. Next week: at #13 Georgia (4-2) MISSOURI (2-4): Missouri was already a 4.5-point favorite over South Carolina even before Will Muschamp was fired. The spread should widen by at least 4-5 more points in the next couple of days. Next week: at South Carolina (2-5) OLE MISS (3-4): Nobody in the SEC is having more fun than Lane Kiffin, whose offense just keeps lighting people up. The Rebels are averaging 41 points and 564.9 yards per game. Matt Corral has thrown for 2,359 yards and 22 touchdowns, Jerrion Early has run for 608 yards and eight TDs, and Elijah Moore has 74 catches for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns following his 13-catch, 225-yard game against South Carolina. Next week: at #5 Texas A&M (5-1) SOUTH CAROLINA (2-5): South Carolina has fired Will Muschamp after a third straight loss in which the Gamecocks gave up a combined 159 points. Muschamp will have to squeeze by on a buyout in the $13.2-13.8 million range. South Carolina named offensive coordinator Mike Bobo as the interim head coach. Next week: vs. Missouri (2-4) TENNESSEE (2-4): The Vols have lost four straight and won’t be favored in three of their four remaining games. It may come down to beating Vanderbilt in two weeks to avoid an 8-game losing skid. In a normal year – yes, I know it’s hard to use the word normal in the same sentence with Tennessee – Jeremy Pruitt would be walking the plank, but this isn’t a normal year and Pruitt, for reasons completely unknown, was given a raise and a contract extension. Next week: at #23 Auburn (4-2) #5 TEXAS A&M (5-1): The Aggies rank #1 in the SEC in total defense, allowing 338.2 yards per game. Saturday they take on the league’s number one offense in Ole Miss, which averages 564.9 yards per game including a league-best 212.7 rushing yards per game. Next week: vs. Ole Miss (3-4) VANDERBILT (0-6): Vanderbilt’s running game has improved dramatically the last two games thanks to sophomore Keyon Henry-Brooks. Brooks followed up a 115-yard performance against Mississippi State with 121 yards in the loss to Kentucky. The Commodores have posted at least 400 yards of offense in each of the last three games (421 vs. Ole Miss, 478 vs. Mississippi State and 407 vs. Kentucky. Next week: vs. #6 FLORIDA (5-1) THE TACKLE FOOTBALL PLAYING WORLD OUTSIDE THE SEC With the firing of Will Muschamp at South Carolina, here are a few names that might come into play as Ray Tanner begins his search for a new head coach: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Billy Napier, Louisiana-Lafayette; Josh Heupel, UCF; Bill Clark, UAB; Rhett Lashlee, offensive coordinator Miami; and Brent Venables, defensive coordinator Clemson. Hugh Freeze is said to be atop the South Carolina wish list but he just signed a contract extension at Liberty with nice annual raises that keeps him in Lynchburg through 2026. Barring something extraordinary happening, he’s not going anywhere. Smart money is on Napier (age 41), who played QB at Furman, worked on the Clemson staff and is 25-11 as a head coach. D’Eriq King, the guy who started for three years at Manvel (TX) High School while Kyle Trask did mop up duty, is putting together a seriously good season for 12th-ranked Miami (7-1). Through eight games, King is 167-262 passing (63.7%) for 2,086 yards (8.0 per attempt) with 17 TDPs and only four interceptions. He had also run for 421 yards (4.21 per carry) and three touchdowns. He’s the chief reason Miami is ranked in the top ten and should play in a New Years Six bowl game. Here is Paul Finebaum’s take on Jim Harbaugh following Michigan’s 48-11 loss to Wisconsin: “This was once a coach that was respected and now, sadly, Jim Harbaugh has become a punch line in college football. It’s almost impossible to watch this guy. He makes $8 million per year. He was the talk of the sport a couple of years ago. Now, no one really knows that the future looks like. It looks pretty grim if Michigan decides to fire him. A lot of people up there are saying, ‘We want to keep him.’ For what reason? I have no idea.” I’M FEELING PITHY; IT MUST BE MONDAY: Dustin Johnson won the Masters in record fashion at 20-under par, five shots better than his nearest competitor and a mere 10 shots better than Brooks Koepka and 18 better than Bryson DeChambeau. Koepka earlier in the year ripped Johnson for never having won a major, but he won the US Open and now has the Masters. DeChambeau said he would be playing Augusta National like a par 67. That means his best round (69) was two over par. DJ’s payday was $2,070,000, which is rather nice work if you can get it … When Drew Brees went down with an injury in the New Orleans Saints’ 27-13 win over San Francisco, Jameis Winston got into a game for just the second time this season. Winston completed 6-10 passes for 63 yards. The good news for the Saints is he didn’t complete a single pass to the other team … Tua Tagovailoa is 3-0 as the starting QB for the Miami Dolphins. I wonder what the folks who let him slide down to the #6 pick in the draft back in April are thinking now?

Three straight losses in which the defense gave up a combined 159 points apparently was the tipping point at South Carolina, which fired head coach Will Muschamp Sunday evening. The former Florida head coach seemed to have his team heading in the right direction after a 30-22 win over Auburn, but the wheels fell off in losses to LSU, Texas A&M and Mississippi in which the Gamecocks were outscored 159-69. Muschamp departs South Carolina with a 28-30 record (he was 28-21 at Florida). The high point of his tenure in Columbia was a 9-4 record in 2017 which included a 28-19 win over Michigan in the Outback Bowl. Since then, however, the Gamecocks are 13-19 including this season's 2-5 mark. Although he would like to remain a head coach, it's more likely that Muschamp's next job will be as somebody's defensive coordinator. Prior to taking the Florida job back in 2011, Muschamp had been the defensive coordinator for Nick Saban's 2003 national championship team at LSU, at Auburn for Tommy Tuberville and at Texas for Mac Brown. In 2015, the year after he was fired by Florida, Muschamp worked as the defensive coordinator for Gus Malzahn at Auburn. Keep an eye on Alabama. The Crimson Tide is allowing an un-Nick Saban-like 22 points and 389.2 yards per game under defensive coordinator Pete Golding. In the most critical losses of the 2019 season with Golding in charge of the defense, Alabama gave up 46 points to LSU and 48 to Auburn. If Saban elects to part ways with Golding, he might look no further than to Muschamp. If he wants to be a head coach again, Muschamp might want to work with his old boss again, particularly given that Alabama has become a high-level coaching rehabilitation facility. Muschamp's buyout at South Carolina is reportedly in the range of $13.8 million a year so he won't be starving even if he takes a year or so off from coaching. Athletic director Ray Tanner named offensive coordinator Mike Bobo as the interim head coach, which is interesting in that Bobo's erratic offense played heavily into Muschamp losing his job. South Carolina is averaging 27.3 points and 370.1 yards per game, both numbers helped considerably by a 42-point, 548-yard output against Ole Miss, the worst defense in the SEC and one of the five worst in all of college football. Bobo came to South Carolina after being fired as the head coach at Colorado State.

On a night Kyle Trask demanded to be considered a Heisman finalist, there was one play in particular that encapsulated the No. 6 Florida Gators (5-1) huge 63-35 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-4). From the Florida 36 yard line, Trask handed the ball off to Dameon Pierce who turned back for the pitch. It was a flea flicker, something Florida has run sparingly under Head Coach Dan Mullen, despite his penchant for trick plays. For half a second, disaster loomed. Trask dropped the pitch and while bending down to pick it up, an Arkansas rusher got around the line and was baring down. But Trask, showing the poise that has become legendary to his game this season, simply picked up the ball, ignored the rusher and delivered a strike down the left sideline. On the other end was waiting Xzavier Henderson. “They were bringing a blitz off the edge and kind of pushed the pocket back, and we kind had a little… it wasn’t the greatest exchange between us,” explained Trask. “We have to clean that up, obviously, but I picked it up and I saw Xzaiver Henderson had a step on. I threw it as far I could, flat-footed and see if he could make a play, and he did a great job.” The true freshman had recognized the change to Trask’s timing following the dropped pitch when he looked back for the ball. To accommodate, he pushed off his man and turned around. Now running backwards, Henderson faced the ball and adjusted his speed. By the time he hauled in the rainbow pass, the Gators had moved 43-yards down the field. Head Coach Dan Mullen didn’t see the bobbled pitch, but isn’t surprised his quarterback didn’t flinch. “You have a flea-flicker, ‘I got a little bit of time. I know what routes guys running. I know what time they're going to develop, so you know all of a sudden it comes back and I got to scoop it up and slowed the timing down, but it's a slower timing play so I don't have to panic in that situation.' So he, I thought did an excellent job managing that situation.” After putting the Razorbacks defense on their heels, Florida rushed to the line for a quick snap from the 21-yard line. Trask dropped back, looked right and arced one up for Justin Shorter. The Nittany Lions transfer bullied his body around the defenders and came down with the score to make it 21-7. “I know Shorter, he works really, really hard,” said Trask of his receiver. “He’s got great hands, he's got great range, you know, go up and get anything. And I saw that guy covering him, he was trailing him with his back turned, so I knew if I put it up there for him that he would be able to make a play on it and he did a great job at that.” The score was indicative of many things, the smallest of which not being that Penn State is winless and let one of their best former 5-star receivers leave and he’s doing things like make ridiculous physical touchdown catches while down the depth chart because that’s just how many talented weapons Florida now has on this offense. The catch was so ridiculous in fact that receiver Tre Grimes—on the sidelines taking a breather—bolted off the bench, around the official and into the endzone to maul his teammate in celebration. It drew a flag but no one seemed to care. That’s just the type of night it was for Florida, one in a long line of what is become the type of season it is for Florida. In total, 593 yards of offense, 36 first downs and eight offensive touchdowns plus a defensive touchdown. But the flea flicker to Henderson and subsequent touchdown to Shorter was just one snapshot of what this Florida team has been doing to tear defenses apart this season. Even without the nation’s top tight end and future first rounder Kyle Pitts (he’ll miss next week as well while recovering from nose surgery), the Gators spread it around to 10 different receivers for the second week in a row. “It’s awesome,” states Trask, who had just as many touchdowns as incompletions (6). “We’ve known this ever since fall camp about how many different weapons we have. Even when we had Pitts in there, a lot of people like to double team and try to shut him down and leave other guys one-on-one but this week everybody did a great job stepping up, beating their matchups, and making plays on the ball.” Kyle Trask broke several in a long line of Florida and SEC records, now owning so many, the rundown will need to be its own separate article. But the one that stands out is the redshirt senior has now thrown for 28 touchdowns this season, the most in SEC history through six games. And he’s done it in all league games. Saturday night, he threw for six touchdowns against a Razorbacks defense that had entered the day as the second best pass defense in the league, giving up 222 yards per game through the air. Trask and Emory Jones combined for 385 passing yards (Trask, 356; Jones 29). Even after Trask had thrown his fifth touchdown, Head Coach Dan Mullen was coaching him on the sideline after a missed read. Recalled Mullen, “I’m trying to remember what the missed read was, he missed a read. So, I’m not the greatest pat-on-the-back guy all the time, especially in games. I’m coaching up. I’m kind of a perfectionist: Hey, these are things, I want us to be exact in everything that we’re doing. I do, I’m encouraging, hey, this was really good, but this something you missed or we’re going to fix this or you could have done this in this situation.” It’s the attitude that will help shape the passer into a potential Heisman candidate. As will plays like the deep ball down the sideline into tight coverage to Tre Grimes or when he recognized a break in the defense and found Grimes wide open just outside the endzone. Arguably the most physical of the Gator receivers, Grimes picked up the baton as the Razorbacks focused on shutting down Kadarius Toney and accounted for six receptions, two touchdowns and 109 yards. "Tre is just such an explosive receiver with very strong hands. Similar to Kyle Pitts and some 50/50 ability, he can go up there and snag any ball,” explained Trask. “So, I have complete trust in him and not only him, but the rest of our receiving corps 'cause I see how hard they work throughout the week, and what kind of plays they can make and the speed they've got. So, when I'm dropping back I've got complete trust in my guys.” Or the three passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Keon Zipperer who stepped in for the injured Pitts. Or the throw from the Arkansas 33-yard line when he moved the pocket to buy time and direct traffic, seeing a break in the coverage and hitting Jacob Copeland in the back of the endzone for the score. Or the fact that Arkansas had been leading the league with 12 interceptions and Trask threw none. The Razorbacks did notch one at the end of the game when third string freshman Anthony Richardson received a few snaps. As Trask will tell to anyone that listens, the credit goes to the weapons around him…but facts are facts. He’s the common denominator. Even on a day when the offense put up 56 points on their own, the defense worked into a groove that can be built off of and sustainable. However following the win, they were understandably concerned with the explosive moments given up. Of the 458 yards the Razorbacks racked up, 313 came on explosive plays (pass of 15 plus yards, run of 10 plus yards). Two plays alone accounted for 165 yards, both touchdowns. “We were happy we got the win but obviously we know there’s some things we have to clean up,” admitted defensive end Zach Carter. “Our guys, especially on defense, we take a lot of pride. I feel like we gave up too many points. They shouldn’t be able to score that many points, so we gotta go back as a defense and fix some things.” Added safety Donovan Stiner, “I think we just need to clean up a few things. Little things that can make big plays. I think we need to stay consistent, no missed assignments and things like that, because as you see, one missed assignment can result in a big play.” But Todd Grantham’s group also held the Razorbacks to 3-9 on 3rd down, meaning the past two weeks, Florida has held opponents to 5-22 on the money down. “As people know, earlier in the year we were really struggling on third down,” said Carter. “We just seen how, as a defense we just started to see how important third downs are and we can get off the field. We can get our offense back the ball and they can score points. I think we’ve been doing a great job. It starts in practice. We been doing a great job emphasizing three and outs…let’s get off the field on third down because we know we have an offense that can put up some points.” The defense did their part to add points as well though, when linebacker Mahomoud Diabate hit running back Rakeem Boyd to force a fumble. Carter scooped up the turnover and lumbered 35-yards for the touchdown. It was his first score since little league. “I always wanted to do that in the Swamp and I finally got to do it.” The pass rush also landed home often, with three quarterback hurries and four sacks with a total of eight tackles for loss for 34-yards. “With Feleipe being 15-of-19, you know, I mean he was on tonight. So, but one of the things we want to do is kind of get after him. You know not only were we able to knock him off rhythm but we were able to keep them behind the chains tonight with our pass rush,” pointed out Mullen. And that was the extra piece of motivation needed to not fall victim to the Georgia hangover. Facing former Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks, who transferred to Arkansas this past offseason, meant that after four years of being told not to touch Franks in practice, they now saw red. And they didn’t let up. Carter got to mark a few things off his Swamp bucket list on Saturday night, taking the chance to sack Franks. “I always wanted to do that. I finally got to do it,” the defensive end joked after the win. On one play, Franks pulled the snap and angled left with a keeper. Seeing linebacker Ventrell Miller and safety Shawn Davis both post up and show containment, Franks elected to slide. As he laid on the ground, Davis leaned over and yelled something into Frank’s helmet, until an official pulled the safety away. But after the game, Davis was the last player to speak with Franks, biding his time to spend some time with his old teammate. When Franks turned and saw Davis standing there, the passer busted out laughing and slapped hands with the safety, a greeting of brotherhood and respect that mimicked the moment Franks had shared with nearly every member of the team after the clock hit zero. For four years, Franks was outspoken face of the team while Trask learned behind him. The humble nature of Trask meant his praises often came from Franks, who reminded fans and media of the talent of Kyle Trask. The yin and yang personalities worked in the quarterback room, with the two balancing each other out and helping each strengthen the others weaknesses. So it was little surprise that when Franks made his way through the crowd of players on the field, he sought out Trask. After finding him, the Razorbacks quarterback wrapped Trask up in a hug that he would’t let go of while once again being the voice for the duo, taking care of the words in the exchange and as always, encouraging his friend because he knew Trask would normally push away the compliments. "It’s just awesome getting a chance to go out there," said Feleipe Franks. "Coach Mullen is a wonderful coach and a great coach at what he does. Obviously, Kyle as well. Being able to go out there, I mean I spent so many years with both of those guys, and to see Kyle flourishing and Coach Mullen flourishing and him giving me words of encouragement, that was awesome. To have that, you know, makes me feel good. "That relationship is lifelong. It’s not something that’s there two to three years. You create those bonds, and it’s there lifelong. The ability to be able to go back and communicate with them, stuff like that is awesome, to have that relationship with Coach Mullen and Kyle." That friend heard it from more than just Feleipe Franks though. The last player off the field, Trask left to peppered chants of “Trask For Heisman,” the three words echoing the same chant that broke out during the game. On another recored breaking night, Kyle Trask continued to make his case to be a Heisman finalist. He also helped the No. 6 Gators make a case to be a College Football Playoff team…and that’s what will put a smile on his face. Says Trask, “Stats are cool, but we’re here to win games. Whatever’s going to help us win games. That’s all I’m focused on. We’re here to win a national championship.t hats the team’s goal, just like a lot of other teams’ goal, is a national championship. To do that, you have to do a great job at winning games. That’s all I’m focused on right now.”

*This post will be updated throughout pregame and after kickoff with any breaking news or updates. GAINESVILLE, FL—The No. 6 Florida Gators are preparing to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7pm on ESPN. GatorBait is on the scene to provide full post-game analysis along with pregame notes and observations. -The nation's top tight end, Kyle Pitts (84) will not play today while he remains in concussion protocol. Pitts exited last Saturday's win against the Georgia Bulldogs after being hammered on a hit by Lewis Cine. -Linebacker David Reese (4) will not be available today. GatorBait can report he was seen walking into the stadium before the game with his right arm in a sling. -Running back Iverson Clement (24) tweeted before he game that he would not be playing today with a tightened hamstring. -The Leo statue in front of the SAE fraternity house has been updated to take part in the "Trask for Heisman" campaign. -Former Gator, current Razorbacks quarterback Feleipe Franks couldn't stop himself from a personal moment after taking the field. After jogging directly to the Arky warm-up area, he caught sight of Gator long-snapper and Franks former roommate, Brett DioGuardi. Franks peeled off and tackled his former teammate in a hug. -The Franks family, in the front row of the visitors section, got visits and hugs from some of Franks former Gator teammates as well during warm-ups. Gators Unavailable List Vs. Arkansas: 4 David Reese 7 Jeremiah Moon 21 Ethan Pouncey 24 Iverson Clement 26 Kamar Wilcoxson 38 Nick Oelrich 41 James Houston 54 Lamar Goods 66 Jaelin Humphries 75 T.J. Moore 84 Kyle Pitts

Where to start with Feleipe Franks? How to tell a story that everyone knows yet no one really knows? What words does a person use to inevitably fail at describing the indescribable emotions which will arise in the quarterback and the former teammates but forever brothers when both face off on Saturday night? Let’s start with simple facts. The No. 6 Florida Gators (4-1) will play the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-3) on Saturday night in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators are led by the quarterback who is quickly becoming a Heisman favorite, Kyle Trask. The Razorbacks are led by the quarterback who played for the Gators from 2017-2019, Feleipe Franks. Florida has faced former quarterbacks before. Brock Berlin transferred from the University of Florida to the University of Miami at the turn of the century. In his first action as a Hurricane in 2003, he faced his former team and led the Canes to a come-from-behind 38-33 win. There will be a difference on Saturday though, beyond just nearly 20 years and the fact that Franks didn’t go to a bitter rival. Brock Berlin played a team that had only used him sparingly behind Rex Grossman. Feleipe Franks is returning to a team he shaped, a locker room he built and a culture he created. When Dan Mullen and staff first arrived in Gainesville, they set up individual meetings with each player. Running back Malik Davis, a sophomore at the time, was leaving the office after his time with Mullen, when he passed Franks. "I was coming down, I just finished my meeting with coach Mullen, and Feleipe came, and he had a suit on,” recalled Davis earlier this week. “I was like 'Why you got a suit on?' He's like, 'I'm going on a business meeting,' and he was just next with his meeting with Coach Mullen. That was just the type of guy he was, always ready, competitor, great love for the game.” Every player, on some level, is a competitor. It’d be pointless to play if not. But when Mullen arrived, he inherited a team that had forgotten what it felt like to win, much less even try. They had pulled out enough games to make some trips to Atlanta. Still there was a missing aura of winning. Dan Mullen didn’t ask for it to be adapted under his regime. He demanded it. But for it to work, he had to have some help. As Kyle Trask continues to put up video game numbers, the question inevitably arises again and again. Why did coaches start Franks over Trask for so long? The two both have incredible talent, albeit different strengths and weaknesses. What each can do in different ways sort of even out. The difference when Mullen arrived was that up to that point, Trask had famously not started a game since ninth grade and frankly was still learning how to lead a team…something he has since taken on, but more on that later. Franks always possessed the quality innately. Mullen and his staff could yell and scream and coach hard till the Florida sky gave way to a snow storm. But unless players were willing to demand competition from one another as well, the entire coaching change would be a pointless project. Franks demanded that competition from one other. During an early morning spring practice, early in the Mullen reign, players were making the short shuffle from the locker room, up the stairs on the south side of the stadium and across Gale Lemerand Drive to the practice facility. Feleipe, like every day, was at the front of the group, the first one through the door of the indoor practice complex. This particular day, Kyle Trask and Emory Jones were near the back of the group. As they arrived, Strength and Conditioning Coach Nick Savage made it explicitly clear to them that the quarterbacks were leaders and were never to be the last one’s to practice. The next morning Trask and Jones came walking down the sidewalk, helmets in hand, chit-chatting as they headed towards the practice facility. Not another player was in sight. They had heeded Savage’s message and left well ahead of the rest of the team so as to set the tone for the day. Around 50 yards from the gate, the clicking of cleats on concrete rang out behind them. It sounded like a herd. But only one blur of movement was approaching. Around 25 yards from the gate, the lanky figure passed Trask and Jones in a full sprint. As Franks rounded the corner, he cut his eyes back through his helmet, making sure he’d overtaken the other quarterbacks and kept up his speed down the incline and into the practice facility. He absolutely refused to be outdone in something he knew he could win. It was exactly the attitude Mullen was asking for from his team. Every campus run before the sun, every Oklahoma drill, every practice rep, every shush of the crowd, every hard earned touchdown, every come from behind win and domination over the best defense in the country (looking at you 2018 Michigan) all came from the top. And it filtered through Feleipe. During a fall camp before the 2019 season, Franks—in a red non-contact jersey—pulled the snap for a keeper and lowered his shoulder on the rushing defensive end, Zach Carter. The 6-6, 240lb quarterback—who technically wasn’t allowed to be hit back, remember—had the advantage in every way. He ran over Carter and trotted back to the line. Then he did it again. On the third snap, he dropped back and Carter flew through the line and pushed him down. It wasn’t a full-blown game sack. But it was definitely more than was allowed. Franks hopped up from where he’d been put on his butt and smiled. Reminded of the practice earlier this week, Carter smiled in much the same way. “Oh, man,” he smirked. “It was always fun going at it with Feleipe in practice. He was a vocal guy, so you chirp at him, he’s definitely going to chirp back. And we had a couple of altercations at practice, but it’s exciting that you’ve been going against somebody for so long but you finally have the opportunity to play them in a real game, so that will be interesting.” Coaches didn’t chastise either guy that day at practice. They knew that when you ask for full throttled competitiveness in a team, you will have those moments dust up ever now and then. It’s also why no matter what happens Saturday, the Gators coach will look across the field and respect what he’s trying to defeat. Said Mullen, “Obviously it’s tough, but as competitors, I mean, we love to compete. And I know Feleipe’s a great competitor. He wants to come in here and beat my butt, beat everybody on the team’s butt, you know what I mean, and that’s what competitors want to do - and he’s a competitor, so he’s going to want to do it. "But it’s not going to change the relationships or how you feel about each other when you’re out there on the field you get that competitive edge to you that you want to win. He’s that type of deal. I’m happy for him.” Franks, for whatever was said or expressed or tweeted during his time in Gainesville, will be welcomed back warmly, at the very least by his former coaches and teammates. “That's my boy man, you know it's all love with us. I actually still talk to him almost three, four times a week. That's my boy, wish him the best and I can't wait to see him,” expressed receiver Tre Grimes. When Franks was in Gainesville, he was consistently referred to as everyone’s favorite teammate in the locker room. He made it a point to know everyone and everyone knew him. On a roster that had been fractured and the home to intra-team fights just a year before (and not the good kind like between Franks and Carter on the field), the Crawfordville, Florida native placed himself at the center and became the heartbeat of the locker room. He did so by wearing his heart on his sleeve and intentionally loving each of his teammates. No where was this more evident than at the Peach Bowl game night. Traditionally three days or so before a New Year’s Six bowl game, the bowl host will put on a game night between the two teams. It allows time for the guys to relax and cut loose…and get incredibly invested in cheesy games to win a plastic Championship belt. As the Gators raced back on Michigan’s lead, Franks began hyping up teammates from just below the stage at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. He began a one-man cheering corner, his mood eventually rubbing off on others who joined him. As the Gators and Wolverines went to a sudden-death tie breaking round, redshirt sophomore Brett DioGuardi was the last man standing for Florida. The rules of the game fade, the question on which the Gators lost has long since become insignificant. But what remains vivid is how Franks pushed forward through his teammates as they shuffled dejected back to their seats and waited at the stairwell for DioGuardi. As the long snapper sulked off the stage, Franks grabbed him. Congratulated him on a good effort and expressed how proud he was of the job DioGuardi had done to make it to the end. Guys cared for Franks because he cared for them. Knowing that above all else, they began to care for each other. “It was very hard [when he left] because he was a big part of the team,” admitted Malik Davis. "And not just on the field—like everyone said, everyone's close to him. He was a great teammate and a great brother, you know, easy to talk to, outgoing person. So when he left it was definitely hard, but he was just making the right decision for himself." So why did he leave? As Davis said, Franks was making the right decision for himself. And it’s clearly paid off. In six games, he’s matched the Razorbacks touchdown total (14) from all of last season. He’s thrown for more yards (1,428) than any Arkansas quarterback did last season and is 157 yards away from passing what Ty Story did in 10 games during the 2018 season. One could argue that from the night Franks sat in the tunnel at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky watching with Megan Mullen as Kyle Trask led the Gators in a comeback win over the Kentucky Wildcats, he knew it was over. But he’d done too much to get that team to that point to accept that just yet. He stayed, showing up to meetings and practices, leading as much as he could from crutches while recovering from his season ending leg injury. He spent Saturday pregame’s sitting on his scooter, tossing balls to Trask so the passer could warm-up. He stayed on the sidelines, becoming a coach and led postgame speeches and took pictures with fans as they left the stadium. He stoically accepted their well wishes and the emotions he had so often let flow, he kept at bay, not wanting to consider just yet what it would mean to say goodbye. After the Gators defeated Florida State in the Swamp for the first time in a decade, Franks was quieter then normal. He hung back and watched his teammates celebrate and sing the alma mater, content to be a spectator that night. And he watched Kyle. For four years, the two had been the fiercest of competitors. They took their lumps as low men on the totem pole and stuck it out through Jim McElwain’s rotating carousal of quarterbacks. They fought through a coaching change together and both did their part to help this team make a turn back towards being a winning program. It created a bond that no other relationship can mimic. Franks reflected on the friendship with Trask for Razorback reporters this week. “We did get along pretty well. I thought that we always competed. I mean we were there four years together, always competed. He drove me to get better and I hopefully drove him to get better. He’s playing really well, as well as their team. I’m excited to get down there and play, it’ll be my first time playing against them, which will be fun…we have a really good relationship.” Trask did the same for media in Gainesville. “I think we had a very beneficial relationship while we were both playing here because we were great friends off the field, but at the same time, we were both competitors, and we competed with each other every day and I think we made each other better in the end.” The morning after the FSU game, Franks and his mother returned to the quiet and empty stadium. They walked around and reminisced on his time there. His big plays and low moments. How he’d grown. What the place and team meant to him. That’s when he made the decision. It was time to say goodbye. While he’s never said as much, years of studying what makes the quarterback tick leads this reporter to believe it came down to one overarching truth. He knew he could trust Kyle Trask to take care of what he’d built. Nothing in Franks’ past or demeanor indicated he’d be afraid of competition in the offseason for the 2020 season. And there would have been a competition. No matter how well Trask played to close out the 2019 season, Franks had earned the right to fight for the job. But he loved the locker room and he loved Kyle. Neither had anything left to prove in terms of earning the right to lead the team and he couldn’t put his friend, himself or his team through that again. They had a leader and Feleipe Franks knew he could slip away, put together tape for NFL scouts and assuredly hand over the Florida Gators to Kyle Trask. Asked to sum up Feleipe Franks impact on the Florida Gators program, Dan Mullen paid ode to the boy who’d become a man and a cornerstone for what is now one of the top teams in the country. "Before we got here and everything, he had a rough go of it, with the fan base, with everything going on. He came in and took a four-win team and led ‘em to a New Year’s Six bowl victory and a top-10 finish and he helped the turnaround of the program to make that happen. I think, you know, it’s a foundation of a guy that came in and took a bad situation and turned it into a really good one and helped build a foundation and put Florida back to where everyone expects Florida to be as a top-10, national program.” Franks and the Gators will each be focused on their game plan and defeating the other on Saturday night, but as soon as the clock hits zero, Franks is likely to be mobbed, starting with Tre Grimes. “I'm rooting for him all the time but not [this] week,” joked the receiver. “But after the game hits zero, we come out victorious, then I'm gonna go running, give him a hug and tell him good game, keep it going.” So much of who the Florida Gators and Feleipe Franks have become, they owe to each other. It’s why there will be a moment this weekend the redshirt senior quarterback will be able to look around at both teams—the No. 6 Gators and the Cinderella Razorbacks—and see his fingerprints on each program. “I don’t know how to explain it,” admitted Franks this week. "Just being the competitor I am, being able to be apart of those stories is awesome. I try to live and do my work day-by-day. Right now just being a part of this journey with this team, finishing out the season strong and to go out there and change things around here, the culture around here is important for me right this second. That’s what my main focus is on, to win games. That’s always been my focus, ever since I’ve been playing. That’s just me being the ultimate competitor. Being a part of both stories is awesome. It’s a blessing at the end of the day.” It’s quite a legacy.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: Feleipe Franks returns to The Swamp Saturday. Although it won’t be a full house due to the virus restrictions on attendance at all SEC games, Franks should still get a warm welcome from a Florida crowd of some 17,000 or so fans who remember his time at UF fondly. His greeting from a Florida defense that is starting to come into their own might not be quite so pleasant. The 6th-ranked Gators (4-1) have an offense that can light up any team in the country even without All-Interplanetary tight end Kyle Pitts, who is about 99% certain to miss the game due to concussion protocols. The Gators will score some points Saturday against the Razorbacks although they might choose to spend a bit more time working on their running game against an Arkansas defense that has given up an average of 217 yards per game and 4.8 per carry in the last four. It is the Florida defense that has not only come to life but is starting to play up to its potential. Starting with the Gators’ 41-17 win over Missouri and then followed up with a 44-28 win over then 5th-ranked Georgia, the Gators have begun to look like the type of unit that can get the job done on a consistent basis. Missouri managed only 248 total yards in 40 plays against the Gators. Georgia gained 277 on 58 snaps, but take away the 136 gained on seven plays in the first two possessions and it was a rather miserable effort. Now Franks is certainly a better QB than either of the two the Gators saw last week against Georgia (1,428 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes) and he has thrown only one interception since the season opening loss to Georgia. Still, he’s been sacked a bunch (19 times) and though he’s quite mobile, he will get a relentless dose of pass rush from Brenton Cox Jr. and Zachary Carter. What the Florida defense has to do is stuff the run first because the Razorbacks have run for 420 yards in their last two outings and force the Razorbacks to rely on Franks throwing it. Stuff the run and put the pass rush on Franks. That’s what it will take for the Gators to make this a not so pleasant homecoming for Feleipe Franks. The Sayer Says Sooth: Even if Arkansas elects to drop eight into coverage and take its chances that the Gators can’t or won’t run the ball, UF is going to score a bunch of points. Kyle Trask is going to find people to throw the ball to and that three-headed tailback of Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis and Nay’Quan Wright will get their yards. This should be Florida’s first 200-yard rushing game of the season. FLORIDA 41, ARKANSAS 20 THE SEC SOOTHSAYER Vanderbilt (0-5) at Kentucky (2-4): The season is already a disaster for Vanderbilt and now the Commodores have to play on the road against a Kentucky team that is going to be fired up to win one for offensive line coach John Schlarman, who died at the age of 45 on Thursday. Kentucky can’t throw the ball a lick but that won’t matter against Vandy, which can’t stop anyone on the ground. Oh, it’s true Mississippi State only ran for -22 yards on the Commodores, but MSU has trouble running the ball for more than a couple of yards in skeleton drills in practice. Kentucky has QB issues but that won’t matter much in this one. The Sayer Says Sooth: Kentucky is a 17-point favorite to win this one, which might be the last chance the Wildcats have to score a win this season. It only gets worse from here on out for Vandy. It will be an upset if the Commodores don’t do a reverse run of the table. Kentucky 30, Vanderbilt 14 South Carolina (2-4) at Ole Miss (2-4): It is being reported that South Carolina has no plans to fire HBC Will Muschamp at the end of the season. Fans might be screaming for it especially if Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral remembers he’s supposed to throw the ball to the guys wearing the same color shirt he’s wearing. Good Matt Corral remembers. Evil Twin Skippy Corral does things like chunk it to the other team (see Arkansas) six times in a single game. There is a really good chance Good Matt Corral shows up Saturday, which is not good news for South Carolina, which desperately needs to make a QB change. If Ryan Hilinski starts Saturday, the Gamecocks might have a chance to keep this one close. If Muschamp starts Collin Hill this one gets ugly early. The Sayer Says Sooth: Ole Miss is an 11-point favorite but this one could go ugly early. The Gamecocks have given up 100 points in their last two games to offenses not nearly as skilled as the one they will be facing against Ole Miss. Hill could make even the Ole Miss defense look respectable. Ole Miss 41, South Carolina 27 MORE SEC FOOTBALL STUFF Kentucky offensive line coach John Schlarman died Thursday after a 2-year battle with cholangiocardinoma, one of the rarer forms of the dreaded disease. One of the better O-line coaches in the country, Shlarman was at his best in 2019 after Terry Wilson went down with a season-ending injury and Sawyer Smith proved ineffective. Kentucky moved Lynn Bowden Jr. from wide receiver to quarterback and essentially abandoned the pass. Even with everyone in the ball yard knowing Kentucky wasn’t going to throw, Bowden wound up running for 1,468 yards and 13 touchdowns, UK averaged 278.77 yards rushing per game and the Wildcats ended up a surprising 8-5 which included a win over Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl. Texas A&M (5-1), which saw its road trip to Tennessee postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak, is ranked 5th nationally. This is the sixth time in the last nine years the Aggies have been ranked in the top 10 during the season but they haven’t finished with a top 10 ranking at any point during the 21st century. You have to wonder how long freshman QB Carson Beck intends to stay at Georgia. HBC Kirby Smart says Beck “has not gotten a ton of reps since the season started.” He can’t be worse than Stetson Bennett IV or D’Wan Mathis, both of whom have taken all the QB snaps in Georgia’s six games. Additionally, Southern Cal transfer QB JT Daniels, a former 5-star recruit, didn’t transfer to Georgia to sit so the handwriting is on the wall for Beck. I wonder if he can read it or if he’s bought the Kool-Aid? If you caught the ending of Western Michigan’s 41-38 win over Toledo Wednesday night then you got to see one of the great trick plays ever with 15 seconds to go for the game-winning touchdown. WMU had no time outs remaining with first and goal at the Toledo nine when QB Kaleb Eleby took the snap under center, retreated a couple of steps and then faked clocking the ball. Everyone on the Toledo defense thought the ball had been clocked so imagine their surprise when Eleby lofted an easy pass into the end zone to wide receiver Jaylen Hall for the game-winning touchdown. MEDIA PICKS VOLS TO WIN SEC HOOPS; KEYONTAE SEC POY This is an oddity. In a preseason poll of the SEC media, someone other than Kentucky was chosen to win the league championship. In the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll, Kentucky was ranked 10th while Tennessee was ranked 12th. The media members voted LSU to take third with Florida coming in fourth. Florida’s Keyontae Johnson, an All-SEC first team performer last year as a sophomore, was the preseason choice to win SEC Player of the Year honors. SEC Preseason Poll (1) Tennessee; (2) Kentucky; (3) LSU; (4) FLORIDA; (5) Alabama; (6) Arkansas; (7) Auburn; (8) South Carolina; (9) Ole Miss; (10) Missouri; (11) Texas A&M; (12) Mississippi State; (13) Georgia; (14) Vanderbilt All-SEC First Team: John Petty Jr., Alabama; KEYONTAE JOHNSON, FLORIDA; Brandon Boston Jr., Kentucky; Trendon Watford, LSU; John Fulkerson, Tennessee All-SEC Second Team: Olivier Starr, Kentucky; Javonte Smart, LSU; Dru Smith, Missouri; AJ Lawson, South Carolina; Yves Pons, Tennessee; Savion Flagg, Texas A&M SEC WOMEN’S HOOPS SHOCKER Matt Mitchell, the winningest women’s basketball coach in Kentucky history, resigned unexpectedly Thursday citing health reasons. Mitchell, who had surgery during the summer for blood on the brain, said his recovery has gone slower than expected. Mitchell won 303 games at Kentucky and had an overall career record of 333-162. Kentucky immediately made associate head coach Kyra Elzy the interim head coach. NON-SEC SPORTS STUFF FROM ACROSS THE U.S. OF A Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said on Sirius XM Radio Thursday that it is possible Covid-19 may cause the postponement of the College Football Playoff as well as the New Years Six bowl games. Bowlsby said, “I don’t know if I see us playing a championship game in February but you just never know. These are unusual times and things that might not otherwise be acceptable have to be considered I this kind of circumstance.” Former Florida State wide receiver/corner Isaiah Bolden, who was one of the first Seminoles to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, is Jackson State bound to play for former Seminole Deion Sanders. Bolden played corner in 2019 then switched to wide receiver before bolting. How many more Seminoles – current and opted out – will leave for Jackson State and how soon before FSU declares Deion persona non grata? The Ivy League has canceled winter sports for 2020-21 and won’t allow spring sports to begin at least until the end of February due to concerns of Covid-19. Does this mean the league will forfeit its share of NCAA Basketball Tournament money, which is substantial? Saturday’s ACC matchup between Pittsburgh (4-4) and Georgia Tech (2-5) in Atlanta has been postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak at both schools. The game has been rescheduled for December 12. Virginia Tech (4-3) is a 2-point home favorite over 9th-ranked Miami (6-1), Florida State (2-5) is a 9.5-point road dog at North Carolina State (4-3), UCF (4-2) is a 25.5-point home favorite over Shirley Temple, South Florida (1-6) is a 14-point road dog at Houston (2-3) and Florida Atlantic (3-1) is a 9-point favorite on the road at Florida International (0-3). Even down 14 players due to Covid-19, Boise State still hammered out a 52-21 win over Colorado State Thursday night. COMMENTING PITHILY ON FRIDAY: Maybe this playing a lot of golf thing is overrated. Tiger Woods, who hasn’t exactly been wearing out the PGA Tour with his presence lately, shot a first round 4-under par 68 Thursday at The Masters, three shots behind first round leader Paul Casey. In second place, two shots back are Webb Simpson and Xander Schauffele. Those three guys play nearly every week. Also at -4 is Lee Westwood. If we’re lucky, the announcers at ESPN and CBS will only tell us about 153 times this weekend that he’s the best player in the world to have never won a major. Also notable is Bernhard Langer, who was -3 after 11 holes when play was suspended. It only seems Langer is 90 years old. He’s really a spritely 63 … If they’re unable to play in Canada when the NBA season opens due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, the Toronto Ruptures have their eye on Tampa as a temporary home. If that happens will there be a requirement to play “Oh Canada” prior to each game? … Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves was voted National League MVP and Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox won the American League MVP. I’m sure you were all sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting those announcements.

History tells us don’t worry, Dan Mullen has everything completely under control. History tells us that Mullen’s Florida teams react well to adversity (see the four-game winning streak at the end of 2018; see what happened when Kyle Trask came in cold off the bench when Feleipe Franks broke his ankle in 2019) and they handle success rather well. The Gators went from 10-3 in 2018 to 11-2 in 2019 and with even higher expectations in 2020 they’re on the verge of Florida’s first divisional championship since 2016. So the Gators are right where they should be in 2020. The previous two years have been stepping stones to re-strengthen the foundation of a program that had gotten wobbly under the previous coach and was on the verge of becoming another Tennessee. With the foundation sturdied by two straight New Years Six bowl wins (over Michigan in the Peach Bowl in 2018; over Virginia in the Orange Bowl in 2019), the Gators find themselves ranked sixth in the AP poll, fifth in the Coaches, and favored to run the table in the final five games to sign, seal and deliver a trip to Atlanta to play for the Southeastern Conference title. Should everything fall into place for an SEC East championship, we will probably look back to the two week stretch of inactivity that began immediately after Florida’s 41-38 loss to Texas A&M in College Station on October 10 as one of those times when Mullen dealt with adversity head on to turn the Gators into a complete team. In many respects, the Covid-19 enforced two weeks off following the loss to the Aggies provided Mullen with a chance to do a reboot similar to the one he was part of in 2005 when he was Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator. Following a 19-17 loss at LSU that year – Meyer’s first year as the Florida head coach – there was a Come to Jesus meeting at Meyer’s house when the plane got back to Gainesville. Florida’s offense wasn’t working. The spread that had worked so well at Utah was too easily defended and the Gators were spinning their wheels. It was a combination of personnel and scheme. The Gators lacked the personnel to run a spread option offense. All the players Meyer and Mullen had at their disposal had been recruited to run a pro set, pocket-based offense that fit the skill set of Chris Leak. Leak threw the most beautiful spirals you’ve ever seen. A runner he was not. Something had to give. “Dan Mullen, Steve Addazio and I went to my house and made some changes to the offense the night after the LSU loss,” Meyer recalls. “We added a fullback (Billy Latsko) and more physical run game (power and counter). We had a bye week then kayoed Georgia.” The Gators’ path after that Georgia game wasn’t the smoothest, but it set the stage for a 2006 national championship run. It couldn’t have happened without a willingness to shake things up in the middle of the season. Most coaches would have stuck with what they had and then waited until the offseason to make changes. Not Meyer and that is from whom Mullen learned how to be a head coach. Following the loss to the Aggies, it wasn’t the offense that needed a reboot. Scoring points and moving the football was the least of Mullen’s problems, particularly with Kyle Trask throwing to Kyle Pitts and 10 other willing and ready receivers. The problem was all on the defense and just like 2005, it was a combination of personnel and scheme. During the virus-imposed two weeks off, Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham simplified the scheme, plus they got some veterans such as senior nose tackle Kyree Campbell back. Due to the virus, the Gators played the Missouri game minus three starters in the secondary so a couple of freshmen were inserted into the lineup along with a sophomore. With the scheme more user friendly, however, the inexperience wasn’t a hindrance as UF held Missouri to 248 yards, a little less than half what the Gators gave up in the loss to the Aggies. When the Gators bushwhacked Georgia last week, Grantham had almost a full contingent at his disposal for the first time all season. Take away those 136 yards Georgia gained on the first two series and the Gators gave up only 141 yards on 51 plays (2.75 per play) and one offensive touchdown. At this point, the Gators are in the best shape they’ve been in all season. The offense is nearly unstoppable. Kyle Trask (22 touchdown passes; at least four in every game so far which is an SEC record) has emerged as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and some mock NFL Drafts have him going in the first round. Not bad for a guy who never started a game in high school. Kyle Pitts (24-414 receiving for eight TDs), who is almost certain to miss the Arkansas game due to concussion protocol, is almost a mortal lock to win the Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end. Kadarius Toney (39-339, six TDs receiving) is the single most elusive skill player in the SEC. The offensive line, led by center Brett Heggie and left tackle Stone Forsythe, has given up only five sacks in five games. Over on the defensive side of the ball, that much maligned unit has awakened and shows signs of becoming a dominant unit, especially with Brenton Cox Jr. and Zachary Carter emerging as one of the most disruptive pair of rushers off the edge in the league. Placekicker Evan McPherson might be the best in the country (two 50-yard plus field goals in the win over Georgia) and senior Jacob Finn is hammering away at 44.6 yards per punt. With all these things going for them, maybe the biggest concern facing Mullen and his assistants moving forward is keeping the Gators’ heads screwed on right. We know these guys can handle adversity. We got another example of just how good they are at that against Georgia when they gave up a 75-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play and were down 14-0 almost before the limited number of fans in the stands in Jacksonville had grown accustomed to their surroundings. The Gators outscored Georgia 44-14 from that point on in a humiliating beatdown for a Georgia team that most pundits had penciled in for the College Football Playoff in the preseason. When the season began, everyone on the Florida team fully understood that the road to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta went through Jacksonville. The speed bump in the way of a trip to Atlanta was Georgia. With Georgia out of the way, the only way the Gators will miss out of a trip to Atlanta is to lose two of their final five games while Georgia runs the table. Based on what we’ve seen in the past two games particularly, the Gators should be able to close out the season with five consecutive wins. The offense is as good as it gets and if the defense continues to improve the way it has the past two weeks, Mullen will send a complete team onto the field. Alabama, for sure, and Florida, probably, are the only complete teams on both sides of the ball in the SEC. If the games were played on paper, then you could pencil the Gators into the SEC Championship Game right now. The games have to be won and lost on the field, however, and the two potential obstacles for the Gators are Covid-19 and complacency. The only thing Mullen can do about the virus is depend on his players to be responsible at a time when we see records for new infections set each day. So, there is a measure of luck involved even if everyone does the right thing. Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, for example, will miss Saturday’s game with the Gators due to the virus and so far no one has been able to figure out from whom he contracted it. When the Gators had the issues with the virus, they were fortunate that none of the affected players were named Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts or Kadarius Toney. If there is another outbreak will they be that fortunate? Complacency is the one thing that Mullen and his staff can control but there is a fine line between keeping the team on the proper edge and being heavy handed. Every single season we see at least one team with all the ingredients for a championship run go down in flames because the coaching staff winds them too tight. Mullen’s history at Florida would indicate he’s learned how to navigate a team through times of success and it will take that for the Gators to punch their ticket to Atlanta. What he has to convey to the Gators is that due to their high ranking and what would seem easy path to the SEC title game that they will get every team’s best shot. You hate to use that worn out cliché about any given Saturday, but it’s true. On any given Saturday the Gators could let a game slip away if they aren’t ready emotionally as well as physically. Strange seems to be the constant in this 2020 season. We’ve had to deal with a late start to the season, a conference-only schedule, postponements due to the virus and the possibility more games will require rescheduling as the season enters its final five weeks. Just getting to this point where the Gators have gotten past the Georgia speed bump to put themselves in position to make it to the SEC title game is quite an accomplishment, but we’re only halfway home. The next five weeks will tell us if the Florida Gators have it in them to handle their success. Everything seems to point in that direction but it’s a strange season in which strange happenings are the norm. If there is one thing Florida fans can breathe a sigh of relief about it’s having Mullen leading the program. He’s dealt with both adversity and success throughout his career, but particularly these 2-1/2 seasons at the University of Florida. With Mullen in charge, you have to like Florida’s odds of running the five-game table that’s ahead.