Urban Meyer, who has had similar things happen to him and his players, thinks the reaction got out of hand as his former assistant and team became “a national punching bag.” He made it clear he had not talked to MulIen about it but “we’ve texted back and forth.” It’s tough to find a laugh these days. Gloom and Doom seems to be our new daily weather forecast instead of Partly Cloudy and Sunny. We tend to cling to the thing and people we know and love. But before the ink is dry on that last sentence, somebody from the Red or Blue side will no doubt be in a fistfight about it. So when it comes to politics, I quit. Please, however, I beg of you -- let’s take time for an attitude adjustment and to feel the gratitude for more football, even if just for the moment. Welcome back Big 10! Hopefully the Florida Gators and rest of the SEC can rejoin next week. So how do we readjust our attitudes? Laughter always help. First, I had to chuckle at the photo of Nick Saban as the fake doctor, posted on Facebook by my friend Jeff. “This is Alabama team associate doctor Nicoli Sabanski who reports Coach Saban is Covid-free and cleared to be on the ‘Bama sidelines tonight vs. No. 3 Georgia ...” With a response from Jim: “The Great Sabanski. Conqueror of Covid.” Naturally sport is being made of how Saban was so quickly tested and was found to have three negatives just in time to be cleared so he could coach. LOL! This is what we do. If we don’t know, we just make it up! That also seems to be what all the politicos and some of the so-called media often do! However, let’s not go there today and instead join the fun! Here’s a photo that was found in old mayonnaise jar under the porch of Funk and Wagnalls: With this message: “This is Florida associate team doctor Daniel Mullenerooski, who after the 47th testing of Coach Dan Mullen says he feels sure he’ll be ready to reopen practice Monday and will have enough players ready for the Missouri game.” And a response from Frankie Facebook: “Gee Megan Mullen, doesn’t that look a little like the guy who lives at your house, and shouldn’t you force him to shave that thing off?” Look up word “Schadenfreude.” I always think of it as “throwing shade,” but that’s not really accurate, because “schadenfreude” is pleasure by someone from another person's misfortune. “Throwing shade,” according to the dictionary.com, is “a subtle way of disrespecting or ridiculing someone verbally or nonverbally.” In sports jargon, it’s sort of like talking trash in the heat of battle. Anyway, I think schadenfreude is a fair way of depicting the national attitude of outsiders last week when characterizing Dan Mullen’s response to crowd he saw at Kyle Field during his team’s 41-38 loss to Texas A&M. Maybe he misspoke in the heat of battle, but he did finally walk back his statement “Pack The Swamp!” Urban Meyer, who has had similar things happen to him and his players, thinks the reaction got out of hand as his former assistant and team became “a national punching bag.” He made it clear he had not talked to MulIen about it but “we’ve texted back and forth.” I asked him to explain what it’s like when one coach perceives that his opponent is gaining an unfair advantage. “Well, I’ve been there and you’ve got to catch yourself … You are just so emotional after a game and somebody sticks a microphone in front of you!” said Meyer. “I’ve seen Zeke Elliott say things. That one year (after No. 3 Ohio State’s 17-14 loss to No. 9 Michigan State after only getting 12 carries). We talked the next day and everything was fine. “So you wish we could just press ‘pause’ and think everything through. But I can see where Dan is coming from. Everybody is supposed to have minimal people in the stands.” Dan did finally walk it back a few days later but, unfortunately, it presented his critics with an opportunity to play their Karma card when he and a number of his players became infected by Covid. That’s what Urban meant by him becoming “a national punching bag.” I agree somewhat that Mullen became an easy target because some members of the national media tied all the events together as if they were all directly connected. On the other hand if Mullen would have responded to local media’s questions in his Monday presser when he was pressed for a better answer it might have softened the blow a little. Meyer went on to say that he loves what Mullen is doing with the program and how unfortunate it was for the Gators to have a hiccup because he loves the K2K passing connection of Kyle Trash and Kyle Pitts, which he said on his Fox show Big Noon Kickoff looked like “the best passing combination in the country.” “I’m a big fan of Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators.” Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure I saw Tim Tebow with a fake beard and mustache in a uniform bearing the name “Tebowoski” sitting in the Linebackers Room with Todd Grantham. You don’t suppose…?

Mike White’s eyes widened and he drew a quick breath only to let it huff out in clear frustration. It was November 10, 2019 and his No. 6 Florida Gators basketball team—considered a preseason Final Four lock—had just dropped a game to rival Florida State for the fifth straight year. After poor second half performances in the two opening games—albeit both wins—coupled with the loss to the Seminoles, White was shocked at what I had just told him. His team said they had bought into their own preseason hype. It led to three uninspired games and finally an inevitable loss. "Oh my goodness,” White began, somewhat flabbergasted. He took a long pause, most likely thinking of all he’d said to them and local media during the offseason. “We've got a ton of work to do,” he’d told reporters a month earlier at the annual media day. “We've got a pretty good roster. It's a good problem to have. That said, we haven't even been through a practice yet.” Over the next five weeks he would be weary of the expectations placed on the Gators team, arguing over and over again that the youngest team in the country with nine new players still didn’t even know themselves so how could others. Every conversation about the goals for the 2019-2020 Gators team was tempered. Mike White knew he had talent, the players knew the roster had talent and national pundits knew Florida had talent. But White also knew there was a long way to go. After hearing what his team said following the FSU loss, he realized just how far. “I don't even like the fact that they're talking about it, honestly, because that shows you the buy-in of not believing the hype. I guess there was hype. Crazy. I don't really,” another long pause before he decided the tangent was worth it. "The reality is we've got a talented senior, we have three sophomores that honestly came off 16 losses, we have two juniors that are hurt, we have five freshman that have no idea how to play a high-level game. And you've got a coach who did a horrible job today, especially offensively. That's who we are. So them, ranking this and that, hype this and that, when our kids go to class on Monday they're going to be told how bad they are. “It's crazy what these kids have to deal with outside of just locking in on being better or buying into what we're trying to do on a daily basis. Who knows what that is? It might mean we're an NIT team. It might mean we can win a national championship. I have no idea. That's where they are. That's where we are. Our guys, back to what happened last year in the opener, it's happened to us a few years now. I can't imagine our guys were overconfident. I can believe they said that, but if they are then I've really got my hands full.” That Gators team went on to finish unranked, 19-12/11-7, before COVID-19 shut down the SEC Tournament and subsequently the NCAA Tournament. But after an offseason of turmoil, a pandemic and social unrest, the Gators are back in the gym. And Mike White? He sounds like a coach slightly more excited about his team. Given the conservative approach he tends to use as it relates to describing his roster, “slightly” is telling. Related: The Athletic: Florida basketball, wiser and a year older, is in position to make a serious run As he met with local media this week for the first time since spring, his preview of what this season and roster can be stood in stark contrast to how he described his team a year ago. He’s cautiously optimistic. And the biggest reason why is because for the first time in a while, he feels he can run his offense of choice again in Gainesville. “Out of necessity and out of desire, um, we're gonna extend pressure, and we're gonna play faster, and our tempo—I think our increase in tempo will be amongst the national leaders. In my opinion, at this point that that's our aim. “We’re quicker, we’re faster, we’re more athletic and I’m hopeful that we’re deeper. We definitely have more potential depth. We have more parity. We have more versatility.” The depth is still being determined according to White. It could be eight guys, it could be 15 guys. And in the time of COVID, that could fluctuate from week to week. After losing point guard Andrew Nembhard (transfer) and big Kerry Blackshear (graduate) there is a drop-off in pure skill and experience. But there’s an athleticism that White sees as a strong foundation for building both of the former aspects. “We’re developing that and we’re hopeful that guys can continue to develop their skill level. But with that level of athleticism and speed and quickness, I think there’s a chance we get better at attacking the rim, putting more pressure on the rim, drawing more fouls and being better in the open floor. We haven’t had many easy baskets the last two years. I think that goes hand in hand with our ability to extend our defense, to get us out in the open floor and we’ve got to convert; we’ve got to convert in the open floor.” This will help in transition and on the offensive glass, explains White, both areas the Gators struggled last season. A big reason Florida and White can make that change this year is because of Nembhard’s departure. After initially entering the draft, the Canadian point guard didn’t receive an encouraging grade and instead of returning to Gainesville, elected to transfer to Gonzaga. “I really enjoyed coaching him,” said White on Wednesday. “He’s a wonderful kid. You guys know, I told you guys 100 times the past couple years. Extremely accountable, tough kid, helped the Gators win some big games. We wish him nothing but the best. But simply just visions not aligning. It's just becoming more and more prevalent. Visions not aligning moving forward, so it's all part of it.” Nembhard was a wonderful kid and any person, this reporter included, who had any interaction with him would concur with that statement of his character. But as White explains, the visions weren’t aligned. White, since first arriving on the heels of Billy Donovan, has preached an uptempo, stretch the floor type offense. He’s been able to run it at times. But with Nembhard, the style was much more stop-set-shoot. Nembhard—a member of the All-Canadian team—wasn’t a recruit White could feasibly pass up, but he offered a different type of play than others White had brought in specifically to run his offense. Now sophomore Tre Mann, sophomore Ques Glover and junior Tyree Appleby are all competing for the primary point guard spot left open by Nembhard. Mann leads the pack and is the most likely to get the nod, although Glover was Nembhard’s primary backup last season. Regardless of who is named the starter for opening tip-off, the talent will be in place to run the pace and tempo White desires. “We'd like to, as a team, again potentially, could get out on a break a little bit more. We'd like these guys to be able to play on and off the ball. “Take for instance, a guy like [Preseason All-SEC forward] Keyontae Johnson, who is a developing ball handler and decision maker coming off a great year. Was really playing well recently until he went out with a, with a minor toe injury. But if he's got the ball in the open floor, I want Tyree Appleby running out ahead. I don't want him coming back to the ball. “We’re a different type offensive system, at least right now of course, to where I think we're going to be less call-set oriented and more free flowing-continuity based. And so, all three of those guys are going to fight it out. They're all competing. It's a healthy competition. But we need, whoever doesn't win it, we need the next guy to be ready and whoever's third string needs to be ready. Because you just never, know not only in this climate, but you want guys for your culture to be fighting for minutes and starting positions, every day, you know, from now until the ball stops bouncing in April.” Developing this tempo doesn’t come without growing pains. White joked they’ve had more turnovers in the last five days than all of last season. The energy and fast pace has been better on the defensive end of the floor he explained. But the team stayed in good shape during quarantine according to the coach, and they’re physically comfortable with the fast tempo. Now it’s just a matter of fine tuning it before the season opens on November 25 against Maine and November 27 versus the powerhouse Virginia Cavilers. “Our defensive energy and intensity and competitiveness has been very, very good. We gotta execute some stuff a lot better and we gotta clean up a lot of mistakes. And then offensively, if you're going to play fast you've got to slow down mentally. We've got to value the ball at a higher level. If we're going to be a pressure team and play with a ton of energy when we get the basketball, we've got to calm down. We're not in a very good place with that right now. But we still got five more weeks. “Heading into game one I anticipate a significant increase in level of tempo…We got to put a lot of work into be a successful, extending of pressure, defensive team as well. But that's, that's our charge, that's our desire. And that's where I think that's what gives this team the best chance. And that's, that's what we want to do, that's how we want to play.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: The coach is still quarantined and there are no practice updates, but it’s still football season so here are 10 more observations about football in the Southeastern Conference that could be light years away from reality. As always, I reserve the right to be obnoxiously right, slightly prophetic or dead wrong. (1) The latest mock NFL Draft by Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has five quarterbacks going in the first round. To no one’s surprise, Trevor Lawrence of Climpson (to the New York Jets) and Justin Fields of Ohio State (to the Jacksonville Jaguars) go 1-2. Taken with the fourth pick in this mock by Washington is Trey Lance of North Dakota State. The fourth pick might surprise you. Wilson has Florida’s Kyle Trask going to the New England Patriots with the 19th pick in the first round. The fifth QB to go is Alabama QB Mac Jones to the Chicago Bears with the 22nd pick. New England would be an excellent landing spot for Trask. Cam Newton has been plagued by injuries the past few years so there is no certainty he will be around a long time. The Patriots don’t seem to be quite so enamored with Jarrett Stidham, otherwise they wouldn’t have signed Newton in the offseason. Trask has the cerebral elements to his game that will fit well with Bill Belichick. Wilson also has Florida tight end Kyle Pitts going with the ninth pick of the first round to the Los Angeles Chargers but that shouldn't surprise anyone. Pitts is the best collegiate tight end in the country, bar none. Wilson has seven Alabama players going in the first round. Florida is the only SEC team other than Alabama with more than one pick. (2) Kirby Smart made it official Tuesday that Stetson Bennett IV is still Georgia’s starting QB even after his three-interception performance in the Poodles’ 41-24 loss to Alabama. Smart said, “Like I have said before, I feel great about Stetson. He’s done a good job of managing situations we have put him in.” Hence the problem with Bennett. He is simply a game manager whose main job is to avoid mistakes. As long as Georgia’s defense can dominate games, the Poodles can get away with Bennett at QB. If they require a QB with the skills to win games, they have a real problem. What does that say about Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels that he’s been practicing with the team since August and still can’t win the starting job away from a former walk-on? (3) It was only a year ago that the Heisman Trophy was supposedly a three-man race between Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), Trevor Lawrence (Climpson) and Justin Fields (Ohio State). Then along came Joe Burrow, who set records while leading LSU to the national championship. It’s supposed to be a two-man race between Lawrence and Fields this year, but what Alabama QB Mac Jones is doing is off the charts (90-115, 78.3%; 1,518 yards, 13.2 per attempt; 12 touchdowns and two picks), so much so that Joel Klatt of Fox Sports says, “Mac Jones is your Joe Burrow.” Klatt points out that Jones is ahead of where Burrow was last year both statistically and in the thoughts of the people who will vote for the Heisman. (4) Auburn would be smart to gear its offense around freshman running back Tank Bigsby rather than lean so heavily on Bo Nix throwing the football. Bigsby is 36-257 running the ball, averaging 7.3 yards per carry, which is quite better than what Nix is doing in the passing game. Nix is averaging a rather pathetic 6.1 per attempt, largely because he can’t throw the deep ball even though he’s got the fastest receiver in college football in Anthony Schwartz and one of the most athletic in Seth Williams. Nix might throw a better deep ball if he would start releasing the ball off his front foot instead of throwing weakly off his back foot. For those who wonder why Gus Malzahn doesn’t put Nix on the bench, he doesn’t have anyone else. (5) Some of the “experts” were touting Tennessee’s offensive line as the best in the Southeastern Conference just four weeks ago. Four weeks later here is what the stats tell us: The Vols are averaging 3.55 yards per rushing attempt (9th in the SEC), just 6.6 yards per pass attempt (also 9th), 4.9 yards per offensive play (12th) and they’ve allowed 11 sacks (tied for 11th). If Alabama’s defense shows up all four quarters Saturday the way it did in the second half of the Georgia game, it’s going to be a complete and total embarrassment for Tennessee. (6) As long as South Carolina can get opponents off the field on third down, then Will Muschamp’s promise to his team that the Gamecocks are going to win a lot of football games is going to come true. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in third down defense, allowing opponents just 13 conversions on 47 third downs. Opponents are 0-5 on fourth down conversions. The defense is getting help from the South Carolina offense, which leads the SEC and ranks ninth nationally in time of possession (33:29 per game). (7) Jeremy Pruitt isn’t getting any love from the Kentucky staff for his firing of defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh following the Vols’ 34-7 loss to Kentucky last Saturday. Kentucky tight ends coach Vince Marrow called the firing “a bunch of bull.” UK head coach Mark Stoops was cautious not to call out Pruitt, but his tone said everything. Stoops said, “I have no idea what goes on there [at Tennessee], that’s not my business but at some point I will reach out to Jimmy and that’s disappointing.” Brumbaugh was one of Stoops’ assistants from 2013-16. (8) Garrett Shrader announced that he will enter the NCAA transfer portal and leave Mississippi State. Shrader, who is a dual threat QB who is a very dangerous runner, was moved to wide receiver by Mike Leach. Shrader tweeted out that he is leaving because he wants to play quarterback. As a true freshman last year, Shrader started four games and was 88-153 passing (57.5%) for 1,170 yards (7.6 per attempt) and eight touchdowns (five picks) while running for 587 yards (5.19 per carry) and six touchdowns. As a wide receiver this year, Shrader caught one pass for six yards. It’s amazing that Shrader never got a chance to play QB considering K.J. Costello has thrown 10 interceptions in four games while averaging 6.5 per attempt and true freshman Will Rogers is averaging a whopping 4.9 per attempt. Look for Shrader to possibly announce he will transfer to Oregon where former MSU head coach Joe Moorhead is the offensive coordinator. (9) Here are the all-time records for SEC football teams, listed in order with their national rank: (1/4) Alabama 920-331-43; (2/10) Tennessee 848-397-53; (3/11) Georgia 834-426-54; (4/12) LSU 813-417-47; (5/13) Auburn 778-447-47; * (6) Texas A&M 752-487-48; (7/21) FLORIDA 737-421-40; ** (8/24) Arkansas 718-518-39; * (9/33) Missouri 686-566-52; (10/36) Ole Miss 676-535-35; (11/46) Kentucky 626-626-44; ** (12/52) South Carolina 615-585-44; (13/55) Vanderbilt 609-632-50; (14/67) Mississippi State 570-585-39 * Joined the SEC in 2012 ** Joined the SEC in 1992 (10) The modern era of football in the SEC began in 1960. Here are the all-time records for SEC teams since 1960 along with their national rank: (1/1) Alabama 547-168-7; (2/8) Georgia 496-213-15; (3/10) FLORIDA 489-221-11; (4/12) LSU 479-224-14; (5/13) Auburn 472-232-9; (6/14) Tennessee 466-238-16; (7/21) Arkansas 432-267-10; (8/25) Texas A&M 411-291-9; (9/36) Ole Miss 376-309-10; (10/42) Missouri 371-316-13; (11/58) South Carolina 346-336-13; (12/81) Mississippi State 302-378-9; (13/84) Kentucky 286-389-10; (14/107) Vanderbilt 215-452-10 THEY PLAY FOOTBALL IN OTHER PLACES BESIDE THE SEC Mike Locksley released his Maryland depth chart minus a starting quarterback. That will be either true freshman Lance LeGendre or Taulia Tagovaloa who was 9-12 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown as the third team QB at Alabama last year. Does it seem really weird to you that the SEC is heading into week five and some teams will be playing their sixth game this weekend, yet the Big Ten and Mountain West are just starting? And, the Pac-12 won’t begin playing for two more weeks. Southern Miss interim head coach Scotty Walden has tested positive for Covid-19. The Eagles didn’t have enough players to play last Saturday’s game with UTEP because of the virus. Next up is Liberty, unbeaten and coached by Southern Miss alum Hugh Freeze, who the USM fan base is hoping will come home to Mississippi to coach his alma mater. Don’t bet on it. USM had a bare bones financial situation and Liberty is absolutely loaded with cash. They love Freeze and will pay whatever it takes to keep him. Penn State’s hopes to win the Big Ten may have taken a serious hit. Running back Journey Brown, who gained 890 yards and scored 12 rushing TDs last year, may miss the entire 2020 season to a non-virus medical condition. JASON WHITLOCK OF OUTKICK THE COVERAGE ON LE’VEON BELL To put it mildly, Jason is not a fan of running back Le’Veon Bell, who signed last week with the Kansas City Chiefs after the New York Jets released him. Whitlock wrote, “You see, Bell, to me, isn’t bad meaning good, he’s bad meaning bad. He’s a locker room cancer. He’s poison. In pursuit of cash, he bulldozed his way out of an ideal situation in Pittsburgh, where on the field he meshed perfectly with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. Bell landed in New York, where he flamed out with the Jets after playing just 19 games. Owing him an additional $65 million, the Jets cut Bell on Tuesday (last week) rather than deal with his bad attitude.” That Kansas City would sign Bell tells you NFL teams will sign a repentant (sometimes) axe murderer if they think they can win with him. The fact that Colin Kaepernick remains unemployed should enlighten you. If anyone thought Kaepernick could win some games, he would have a job. A FEW PITHY COMMENTS FOR WEDNESDAY: The Miami Dolphins aren’t paying Tua Tagovailoa all that money to carry a clipboard. The Dolphins are off this week but when they return on November 1 to face the Los Angeles Rams, reports are that Tua will get the start, replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has guided the Fish to a 3-3 record so far … Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross is demanding a trade. That’s apparently what you do in the No Fun League when you have caught two passes for 17 yards through six games … Clayton Kershaw, who pitched six innings of two-hit ball to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the World Series, is paid $31 million a year. The entire Tampa Bay pitching staff (13 pitchers) is paid a collective $31,413,800. And you wonder why a skinny weenie at Dodger Stadium costs $6.75. That’s not even the expensive dog either. They have a hot dog at Dodger Stadium that will set you back $21.

few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: Since the Gators aren’t playing football this week and Dan Mullen is quarantined with the virus, therefore no press conference on Monday, here are 10 observations about football in the Southeastern Conference that may or may not be within light years of reality. I reserve the right to be obnoxiously right, slightly prophetic or dead wrong. (1) THE SEC HAS FOUR LEGITIMATE HEISMAN TROPHY CANDIDATES: Three of them are from Alabama – QB Mac Jones, RB Najee Harris and WR Devonta Smith. The fourth is Florida QB Kyle Trask, who can enhance his status if he can beat Georgia in three weeks and then take the Gators to the SEC East championship. It seems voters are pre-dispositioned to vote Climpson’s Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State’s Justin Fields as the Heisman winner, but if Alabama and Florida are among the top four teams in the country as of December 19, then at least one of the SEC guys will be on the podium in New York when they hand out the big trophy. (2) RANKING THE SEC STARTING QUARTERBACKS WORST TO FIRST: (14) Ken Seals, Vanderbilt; (13) K.J. Costello, Mississippi State; (12) Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee; (11) Connor Bazelac, Missouri; (10) Terry Wilson, Kentucky; (9) Bo Nix, Auburn; (8) Collin Hill, South Carolina; (7) Stetson Bennett IV, Georgia; (6) Matt Corral, Ole Miss; (5) Myles Brennan, LSU; (4) Feleipe Franks, Arkansas; (3) Kellen Mond, Texas A&M; (2) KYLE TRASK, FLORIDA; (1) Mac Jones, Alabama (3) SANKEY LEVELED THE PLAYING FIELD: When SEC commissioner Greg Sankey re-booted the schedule after Covid-19 issues at Florida and Vanderbilt, he made it a point to level the playing field for Florida and Georgia by taking away the open date that both would have had on October 31 and giving them an open date this Saturday instead. The Florida-Missouri game, originally scheduled for Saturday got bumped back a week to give the Gators time to work through their virus issues that include Dan Mullen in quarantine. Georgia was scheduled to play Kentucky in Athens on October 24, but Sankey moved that game back to October 31, effectively leveling the playing field. Although Missouri is vastly improved, the Gators should have an easier time with the Tigers than Georgia will have with a Kentucky defense that has forced 10 turnovers and scored three pick sixes in the last two games. Georgia fans aren’t too happy with the re-schedule. Advantage Florida. (4) STETSON BENNETT IS STILL GEORGIA’S QB: Stetson Bennett IV looked quite ordinary in the second half of Georgia’s 41-24 loss to Alabama. He was sacked twice, threw two more (three for the game) interceptions and had five passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. So far there has been no indication that Kirby Smart is willing to change quarterbacks. Either Georgia’s players believe so strongly in Bennett or else the three backups – D’Wan Mathis, Carson Beck and JT Daniels – aren’t as good as Bennett, are relatively clueless when it comes to running the offense or haven’t inspired the confidence in the rest of the team. It’s a real problem because while Georgia is a very good football team with Bennett at QB, the second half against Alabama showed he probably isn’t good enough to lead the Poodles the SEC East title. I bet the same folks who spent last year trashing Jake Fromm wish he had never left. (5) THE BEST CORNER IN THE SEC IS … : Well, it isn’t Derek Stingley Jr. of LSU nor is it Patrick Surtain II of Alabama. The best corner in the league is South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, who completely dominated Auburn Saturday when he picked off two passes, deflected another one that was intercepted and finished the day with four pass breakups. He did have one long pass caught over him by Seth Williams but that was simply a ball that would have overthrown just about any receiver in the country not named Seth Williams. Take away that 44-yarder and Williams managed three catches for 30 yards with Horn blanketing him. NFL scouts love Horn’s size, speed and toughness. He will be matched up with LSU’s Terrace Marshall Jr. (21-424, 7 TDs) on Saturday. (6) IF MYLES BRENNAN CAN’T PLAY LSU IS IN DEEPEST AND DARKEST: A 1-2 start is not what the LSU faithful imagined when the season began. How about 1-3? That is entirely possible if QB Myles Brennan is unable to answer the bell. Brennan wouldn’t have played last week if LSU’s game with Florida hadn’t been postponed and he’s still listed as questionable for Saturday’s game with South Carolina due to what Coach O says is a “significant injury to his lower body.” This is the real world in which LSU is living: If Myles Brennan can’t play, then LSU will have to go with true freshmen Max Johnson and TJ Finley which means the Tigers could be 1-3 Saturday night and South Carolina could be 3-2. (7) EARLY LINES FOR SATURDAY’S GAMES: Alabama is favored by 21 over Tennessee. That is giving Tennessee way too much credit. It’s going to be much, much worse. LSU is a 7-point favorite to beat South Carolina in Baton Rouge. If Myles Brennan doesn’t play, South Carolina has a really good chance to win this one. Kentucky is a 5.5-point favorite to whack Missouri in Columbia. This one has boring written all over it no matter who wins. Auburn is a 3-point favorite to beat Ole Miss in Oxford. Ole Miss will win this one if Matt Corral remembers to throw the ball to the people wearing the same colored shirt that he’s wearing. (8) BEEN THROUGH THE DESERT ON A HORSE WITH NO NAME: Remember that song by the band America? That could be the theme song for the Arkansas defense. Coordinator Barry Odom has a bunch of no names he inherited from former HBC Chad Morris and DC John Chavis. The Razorbacks gave up 859 points in the previous two seasons with pretty much the same personnel Odom is working with now. He’s got two exceptional linebackers in Bumper Pool (that’s his real name) and Grant Morgan (19 tackles against Ole Miss Saturday including a pick six that sealed the win) and a freshman legend in walk-on Hudson Clark, who picked off three passes against Ole Miss. HBC Sam Pittman is putting Clark on scholarship as of January. If they held the voting now, Pittman would be the SEC coach of the year and Odom would be a finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. (9) JEREMY PRUITT IS A TERRIBLE COACH BUT PHIL FULMER WILL NEVER ADMIT IT: Jeremy Pruitt’s list of woes: (1) Kentucky just smoked him by 27 points in a game in which the Wildcats failed to gain 300 yards; (2) He just fired his defensive line coach to whom a buyout of $900,000 or so is owed; and (3) Jarrett Guarantano is his quarterback and his best defensive player Henry To’o To’o is calling for true freshman Harrison Bailey to start this week against Alabama. To put things in proper perspective, everywhere Pruitt has coached there are burned bridges in his wake. We’re in year three of the Pruitt era at UT and we can conclude he’s not any better (maybe worse) than the coach they ran off (Butch Jones). UT fans would like to see Pruitt gone, but Phattus Maximus is the AD who (1) ran off the previous AD (John Currie) in what amounts to a coup and (2) hired Pruitt. Pruitt isn’t going anywhere. The rest of the SEC East is doing a collective happy dance. (10) BUZZARDS ARE CIRCLING AROUND THE AUBURN FOOTBALL COMPLEX: Gus Malzahn is supposed to be an offensive genius but why is it that Auburn really hasn’t had an explosive offense since 2013? Back then, Rhett Lashlee (now at Miami) was the coordinator in name only but Gus called the plays. Lashlee left (fired is more like it) for UConn (nobody goes to UConn from Auburn unless they were fired) after the 2016 season. Then came Chip Lindsey (now HBC at Troy) and Kenny Dillingham (OC in name only at FSU). Now the guy supposedly revolutionizing the offense is Chad Morris, whose two Arkansas offenses scored a combined 517 points, which is 97 fewer than Alabama scored in 2019. Auburn is averaging 21.8 per game now, which is slightly less than Arkansas averaged last year. Now do you understand why Auburn fans are counting the buzzards in the sky who are circling around the football complex? THEY PLAY FOOTBALL ELSEWHERE BESIDE THE SEC How soon they do forget! Seminole fans are crowing about their 31-28 win over then 5th-ranked (and extremely overrated) North Carolina. Considering they may only win one or two more games the rest of the way it’s to be expected, but remember this: FSU lost to Georgia Tech, the same Georgia Tech that got poleaxed by Climpson 73-7, and the only reason the game was that close was because Dabo played everybody except those too feeble to suit up from the local homeless shelter. The Big Ten cranks up its football season Saturday. Under most circumstances I probably wouldn’t care but since there haven’t been enough games on TV in the previous weeks, I’ll watch. There are only so many thrilling Kansas-West Virginia or Climpson-Georgia Tech matchups that I can handle. I do want to watch Ohio State to see if the Buckeyes are as loaded as everyone is saying. The Mountain West also kicks off this weekend. You know I’m really pining to watch Wyoming at Nevada. Coastal Carolina is the only unbeaten and ranked team (#24) in the Fun Belt Sun Belt. Not bad for a school that only started playing football in 2003 and has been in Division I since 2016. The Chanticleers (imagine a state with two Division I teams named after chickens) have a Power Five win over Kansas. Okay, so it was Kansas, the Fun Belt just happens to be 3-0 against the Big 12 with wins over league co-leaders Iowa State (by Louisiana, who the Chants beat last week) and Kansas State (beaten by Arkansas State). Coastal’s center Sam Thompson has to be smallest center in all of Division I at 5-9, 290. TUESDAY PITHINESS: Last week the New York Jets unloaded running back Le’Veon Bell. Monday they traded defensive tackle Steve McClendon to the Tampa Bay Bucs for draft picks. We aren’t even halfway through the season and already the Jets are making it obvious they’re in the tank for either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields … Former LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is going to prove to be the steal of the NFL Draft. He ran for 161 yards Monday night to help the Kansas City Chiefs past the Buffalo Bills 26-17. He already has 465 rushing yards and 21 pass receptions for 177 yards in six games … Tiger Woods will be playing golf this week at the ZoZo Open which was moved from Japan to California. Oddsmakers list him 33-1 to win this week and 25-1 to win the Masters next month. I have to wonder if he can win again … The World Series begins tonight in Dallas and hardly anyone is giving the Tampa Bay Rays a chance to knock off the Los Angeles Dodgers. I’ll use the scientific method to make my prediction. Mike Zunino, a former Gator, catches for the Rays. There are no Gators on the Dodgers. Therefore, Tampa Bay wins it in six games.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: The upside for the Florida Gators having a second straight open date is that it’s one more week for Todd Grantham and his defensive staff to figure out what has been going wrong. Tweaks, patches, benching, shuffling the roster … whatever they need to do, they need to do it and now they have an extra week to get it figured out before they go into game week preparation for Missouri on October 31. That was originally supposed to be an open date but the Covid-19 virus shot that down. The downside for the Gators is the offense. Through the first three games the Gators were operating at a very high level, averaging 42.3 points and 464 yards per game. Kyle Trask has thrown for 14 touchdowns and 996 yards. Tight end Kyle Pitts has 17 catches for 274 yards and seven touchdowns. Slot receiver Kardarius Toney has established himself as a legitimate downfield threat and he continues to make people miss after he catches the ball (18-237, 4 TDs) or in the running game (5-60). Twelve different players have caught passes. The running game seems on the verge of breaking loose and the offensive line has given up only four sacks in three games. The Gators have all this momentum going offensively. Will it still be there when the season resumes on October 31? Probably the most important questions are will Florida’s brush with Covid-19 be over and done with in plenty of time so that Dan Mullen can return to his head coaching duties and all the players who tested positive for the virus can return to practice? Due to the re-booting of the schedule, the Gators will have to play seven straight weekends, and if they win the SEC East the SEC Championship Game will mean eight straight weeks of football without a break. Getting everybody healthy as quickly as possible and back to full strength will have plenty to do with Florida having a chance to supplant Georgia as the SEC East champ. ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL (1) Clemson 5-0; (2) Alabama 4-0; (3) Notre Dame 4-0; (4) Georgia 3-1; (5) Ohio State 0-0; (6) Oklahoma State 3-0; (7) Texas A&M 3-1; (8) Penn State 0-0; (9) Cincinnati 3-0; (10) FLORIDA 2-1; (11) Miami 4-1; (12) BYU 5-0; (13) Oregon 0-0; (14, TIE) North Carolina 3-1, Wisconsin 0-0; (16) SMU 5-0; (17) Iowa State 3-1; (18) Michigan 0-0; (19) Virginia Tech 3-1; (20) Kansas State 3-1; (21) Minnesota 0-0; (22) Marshall 4-0; (23) North Carolina State 4-1; (24) Southern Cal 0-0; (25) Coastal Carolina 4-0 COACHES TOP 25 POLL (1) Clemson 5-0; (2) Alabama 4-0; (3) Notre Dame 4-0; (4) Georgia 3-1; (5) Ohio State 0-0; (6) Oklahoma State 3-0; (7) Penn State 0-0; (8) FLORIDA 2-1; (9) Texas A&M 3-1; (10) Cincinnati 3-0; (11, TIE) Miami 4-1, BYU 5-0; (13) North Carolina 3-1; (14) Wisconsin 0-0; (15) Oregon 0-0; (16) SMU 5-0; (17) Michigan 0-0; (18) Iowa State 3-1; (19) Kansas State 3-1; (20) Virginia Tech 3-1; (21) Minnesota 0-0; (22) North Carolina State 3-1; (23) Southern Cal 0-0; (24) Coastal Carolina 4-0; (25) Marshall 4-0 RUMBLING, STUMBLING, BUMBLING IN THE SEC #2 ALABAMA (4-0): Georgia was giving up only 38 rushing yards per game before Saturday night. Najee Harris ran for more yards (152) than three previous opponents had gained collectively. Through four games, Harris has gained 499 yards (6.01 per carry) while scoring 11 rushing touchdowns. He is 715 yards away from Derrick Henry’s school record 3,591 yards and 11 touchdowns away from Henry’s record 42. Next week: at Tennessee (2-2) ARKANSAS (2-2): The Hogs already have as many wins through four games as anyone could have predicted for the entire season. They have a QB in Feleipe Franks who is making good decisions and accurate throws. Their defense has picked off 10 passes and recovered three fumbles. Linebacker Grant Morgan has 52 tackles, a sack, three pass breakups and a pick six. HBC Mike Pittman deserves a ton of credit for changing the football culture in Fayette Nam and surrounding himself with excellent assistants like defensive coordinator Barry Odom and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. Next week: Open AUBURN (2-2): The hiring of Chad Morris was supposed to be just what the doctor ordered to elevate QB Bo Nix from very good to elite but through four games it is obvious Nix is going in the wrong direction. Is Morris the problem? Or is it that Bo Nix was as good as he’s ever going to be as a true freshman? If Gus Malzahn doesn’t figure that out in a hurry, both he and Morris are going to be looking for gainful employment someplace else when this season comes to an end. Next week: at Ole Miss (1-3) #4 GEORGIA (3-1): For the first half against Alabama, Stetson Bennett IV seemed capable of leading the Poodles to a win. In the second half, he looked like the walk-on he once was. Georgia can win big games with Bennett at QB if the defense dominates, but if it comes down to a shootout, he’s not going to get it done. So does Kirby Smart roll the dice and count on his defense dominating every single game or does he ease one of his other quarterbacks into the lineup. JT Daniels didn’t transfer in from Southern Cal to sit the bench. Next week: Open KENTUCKY (2-2): Kentucky is 2-2 because the defense has played lights out against two highly overrated opponents (Mississippi State and Tennessee). For the second straight week the offense produced fewer than 300 yards. The Wildcats run the ball fairly well, but they’re going to have to throw it to have a chance to win some of the remaining six games on their schedule. How long does Mark Stoops stick with Terry Wilson and at what point does he give Joey Gatewood a shot at running the offense? Against Tennessee, Gatewood was 1-1 passing for six yards and ran three times for 23 yards. Next week: at Missouri (1-3) LSU (1-2): Did the unexpected week off give Bo Pelini the time he needed to get LSU’s ailing defense well again? The Tigers are off to a historically bad start, allowing 32 points and 494.7 yards per game. It’s the pass defense that is really bad. LSU is giving up 380.7 yards per game and 10 TDPs. They gave up only 20 TDPs last year in 15 games. Next week: vs. South Carolina (2-2) MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-3): K.J. Costello has now thrown 10 interceptions (only six TDPs) and is averaging a rather sloth-like 6.5 yards per attempt. Freshman Will Rogers (4.9 pet attempt) has thrown two picks and only one TD. Why hasn’t Mike Leach given Garrett Shrader a shot? Shrader averaged 7.6 per attempt last year as a true freshman (8 TDPs, 5 INTs) and ran for 587 yards in Joe Moorhead’s offense. Given the state of MSU’s ground game (114 net yards through four games) Shrader would at least give the Bulldogs some semblance of a running attack. Next week: Open MISSOURI (1-2): Postponement of the Vanderbilt game gave the Tigers and redshirt freshman QB Connor Bazelac a week to prep for Kentucky, which is playing great defense. Since taking over for TCU transfer Shawn Robinson, Bazelac has completed 49-69 passes (71 percent) for 692 yards (10.0 per attempt) with four TDPs and only one pick. Next week: vs. Kentucky (2-2) OLE MISS (1-3): What happened Saturday at Arkansas is the perfect example of what happens when the Lane Train goes from unstoppable into their can I give you a helping hand mode. The first three games of the season Matt Corrall was absolutely brilliant. Against Arkansas, he derailed The Lane Train by throwing six interceptions and fumbling once. So how long a leash will Corral be on against Auburn? Next week: vs. Auburn (2-2) SOUTH CAROLINA (2-2): Before Saturday’s 30-22 win, the last time the Gamecocks had beaten Auburn was 1933. They got it done Saturday with a stout defense that harassed Bo Nix into three interceptions, sacked him three times and had five quarterback hurries. In a season in which many pundits have proclaimed Will Muschamp’s seat very, very hot, the Gamecocks are 2-2, should be 3-1 and have been highly competitive in every game Next week: at LSU (1-2) TENNESSEE (2-2): Jarrett Guarantano was bad Saturday. That it was Kentucky is a surprise since he’s owned the Wildcats in his career, but with Guarantano it’s always a matter of when, not if, he will implode. As bad as he was against Kentucky, Guarantano is probably the best the Vols have to offer. What does that tell us? There is every good chance the Vols are going to finish 5-5 at best this season no matter who is the QB. Next week: vs. #2 Alabama (4-0) #7 TEXAS A&M (3-1): The Aggies were held to a season-low 325 yards of offense against Mississippi State, but they held the Bulldogs to 217 yards, forced a pair of turnovers and sacked the QB six times. Next week: Open VANDERBILT (0-3): Thanks to UMass, which opened its season with a 41-0 loss to Georgia Southern Saturday, Vanderbilt no longer ranks dead last in the country in total offense (261.3 yards per game) and scoring (8.7 points). The Commodores do bring up the rear in the Southeastern Conference, however. There isn’t a single remaining game on the schedule in which Vanderbilt will be favored. Next week: Open THEY PLAY FOOTBALL ELSEWHERE BESIDE THE SEC Seminole fans shouldn’t mistake what happened Saturday night as proof FSU football is back. It isn’t. It’s just the Always Climpson Conference is just that bad. North Carolina had no business being ranked in the top ten much less fifth. FSU is now 2-3 and hits the road to face a disappointing Louisville (1-4) team that took Notre Dame to the mat before losing. Louisville has opened as a 5.5-point favorite. Since we’re on the topic of the ACC, did you catch Notre Dame (4-0) eke out that win over Louisville, the same Louisville that is dead last in the league? The same Louisville that gave up 46 points and lost to Georgia Tech, which was obliterated by Climpson 73-7? If the Irish are the nation’s 3rd-ranked team then we are in serious trouble. UCF (2-2) put up 49 points and gained 798 yards against Memphis Saturday night and still lost. In the six losses since that memorable “national championship” season of 2017, the Knights have allowed 220 points and in every game there has been a fourth quarter collapse. Memo to Dillon Gabriel, who about three weeks ago declared the Knights the best team in the state: Sure you can throw for 601 yards and five TDs without an interception against the likes of American Athletic Conference defenses, but when you lose those kind of games you aren’t the best team in the state. Memo to UCF coach Josh Heupel: One of the constants in those fourth quarter collapses is defensive coordinator Randy Shannon. Maybe he can recruit, but he is over his head as a coordinator. Eight former Iowa players are demanding the firings of HBC Kirk Ferentz, assistant coach Brian Ferentz and AD Gary Barta as well as $20 million in compensation for racial discrimination during their time in the football program. Earlier in the year many complaints were raised about strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Doyle, who was placed on administrative leave and has since reached some sort of settlement with the university. A DAY WITHOUT A FEW PITHY COMMENTS IS A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE: Former Gator Mike Zunino’s two-run homer Saturday night helped the Tampa Bay Rays make it to the World Series where they will face Los Angeles Dodgers, who won three games in a row over the Atlanta Braves … Tua Tagovailoa finally got into a game with the Miami Dolphins, completing 2-2 passes for nine yards. The Dolphins are 3-3 with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB but how long before he becomes Captain Clipboard? They aren’t paying Tua a bazillion dollars to sit on the bench … Phil Mickelson is 2-2 on the seniors PGA tour. He shot a final round 65 Sunday to win the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond.

It was reported earlier this week that the Florida Gators football program had upwards of 30 student-athletes in quarantine after 21 people associated with the program tested positive for Covid-19. And as announced on Saturday evening, Florida’s head coach Dan Mullen has also tested positive for the coronavirus. “Thank you Gator Nation for all your support for the program this week,” Mullen penned on Twitter. “Thankfully, everyone impacted is recovering well and has experienced mild to no symptoms. “I have also tested positive for COVID and have received word that my test has been confirmed.” Mullen’s announcement came one week after Florida’s loss to Texas A&M in College Station. Ironically, we are also just one week removed from Mullen’s plea to UAA officials to let 90,000 fans “pack The Swamp” for Florida’s matchup against LSU, which was slated to happen on Saturday, but was rescheduled to Dec. 12 after the Gators saw a rise in positive tests. In Mullen’s announcement, he shares that he is continuing to self-isolate from his family. “I am proud of how our players, staff and campus community have navigated this unprecedented time and hope all continue to be safe,” Mullen wrote.

The No. 10 Florida Gators have had their second game of the 2020 season rescheduled following an outbreak of positive COVID-19 test among Florida football players. Per a release by the Southeastern Conference and the University of Florida Athletic Association, the Gators game versus the Missouri Tigers, originally scheduled for October 24, will now be played on October 31. It's part of a massive restructuring of the SEC schedule given a variety of COVID related shutdowns. (See full changed SEC schedule at the bottom) This means the Gators will now have two straight bye weeks (tomorrow and next week) but will not have a bye before facing the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on November 7. The release, in full, reads as follows: "The Southeastern Conference announced today that due to an extended pause of team activities for the Florida football program at the advice of health officials, the Missouri at Florida game, originally scheduled for Oct. 24, is rescheduled to Oct. 31 and will be televised on the SEC Network Alternate channel at 7:30 pm ET. Earlier in the week on Wednesday, it was announced that, due to positive tests and quarantine in the Florida football program, the LSU at Florida game of Oct. 17 was rescheduled to Dec. 12.  The kick time and network will be determined at a later date. Tickets and parking purchased for the original Oct.17 and the Oct. 24 dates will remain valid for the rescheduled games, and ticket holders do not need to take further action. For more information regarding tickets, please visit FloridaGators.com or contact the ticket office atticketoffice@gators.ufl.edu. The Gators continue to work alongside the experts at UF Health to promote a culture of safety for the student-athletes, staff, and fans. For more information regarding safety protocols and COVID-19 updates, please follow this link." On Wednesday, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin met with media to outline the timeline of the outbreak and discuss the repercussions. During that time, GatorBait's Kassidy Hill asked him how flexible the remainder of the schedule would need to be to accommodate further changes. Related: The Timeline Of Florida Gators Football Being Shutdown & What Comes Next "Yeah, the scheduling question is probably best directed towards the conference office. We're gonna do whatever we can obviously to be supportive and be flexible and, you know, we have an open date on October 31st, and now we're putting a game on December 12th and we'll use every available weekend when we're - assuming we get on the other side of this - we're able to be willing to play. I think the league has had pretty good camaraderie as far as understanding this is not going to be normal and everyone is gonna have to be flexible if we want to try to get a season in for everybody." Part of the need for that flexibility is due to the quarantine rules for infected players and those identified through contact tracing. Stricklin explained those rules as well. "As I understand it, from just being involved in all this for several months, a positive case is - I believe it's 10 days, is CDC guidance, from the day the symptoms first start exhibiting, as far as isolation, and then, those in close-contact, who are quarantined through tracing, is 14 days from their last exposure. Somebody who has a CDC site up can fact check me there." Given those perimeters, there feasibly wasn't enough time to safely prepare for the Missouri game on October 24. SEC Football Schedule Adjustments: Kentucky at Missouri moves from Oct. 31 to Oct. 24 at 4 pm ET/3 pm CT on SEC Network South Carolina at LSU remains on Oct. 24, changes game time to 7 pm ET/6 pm CT on ESPN Georgia at Kentucky moves from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31 at Noon ET/11 am CT on SEC Network Missouri at Florida moves from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31 at 7:30 ET/6:30 CT on SEC Network Alternate Vanderbilt at Missouri moves from Oct. 17 to Dec. 12, time and network TBA LSU at Florida moves from Oct. 17 to Dec. 12, time and network TBA Read full SEC release here.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: The question of the day, one that I’ve been asked at least 100 times since Tuesday, is if a player who has tested positive for Covid-19 tests negative a day or so after, will he be eligible to return to practice and team activities or stay in quarantine? Here is the SEC guideline: If an individual (player, coach or support staff) tests positive and then receives three negative tests including the second two in a 24-hour span and remains asymptomatic then that person can be “released from isolation and medically cleared to return to athletic activities only.” Two consecutive negative tests would officially declare the positive result as false positive. So with any luck, the 18 scholarship players, three walk-ons and two assistant coaches who tested positive will be symptom free and will test negative three straight times. That should enable the Gators to get back to normal football activities. SOOTHSAYING IN THE SEC #3 GEORGIA (3-0) at #2 ALABAMA (3-0): Before Nick Saban came down with Covid-19 most people figured Alabama would score three or four touchdowns and get just enough defense to win. The Vegas oddsmakers still have Bama listed as a 4.5-pound favorite even though Steve Sarkisian will be Nick’s Saturday evening stand-in. Well, maybe. If Nick can test negative three times before Saturday he will be on the sideline. That’s a big if, but in this season of weirdness, anything is possible including Nick Saban getting a visit from Benny Hinn or a miracle drug that stops the virus in its tracks. It’s a home game so with Nick, you have to give Alabama an edge, plus Alabama has proven twice in the past that it can lose a regular season game then still win the College Football Playoff. That means the pressure is totally on Georgia and its vaunted defense. If the defense doesn’t come through, it will mean Stetson Bennett IV has to match Bama’s Mac Jones throw for throw to keep the Poodles in the hunt. Can he do that? If he can light up Alabama and get a win for the Poodles he will be a certifiable Georgia legend. Nobody has run the ball on Georgia’s defense, but the Poodles haven’t faced a running back like Najee Harris either. And while Mac Jones has had no problems locating receivers running deep behind opposing secondaries, he’s (a) had time to throw and (b) hasn’t faced a secondary as good as Georgia’s. it’s going to be very, very interesting. The Sayer Says Sooth: An Alabama loss with Nick in quarantine would still count as the first time a former Saban assistant has beaten the old boss. Kirby Smart would probably talk publicly that it shouldn’t count without Nick present. In private he would probably discover that he’s capable of break dancing. Of course, whether Nick is on the sideline or home alone, Sarkisian is still the coordinator of the most dangerous offense in all of college football. What we’ve seen of Sark as the Bama OC is the Crimson Tide always scores enough points to win. The defense doesn’t always do its part. Bama can score plenty enough Saturday night even against that very good Georgia defense. Georgia might have to score every time it has the football and that might be too tall an order for Bennett, who better have something in the tank we have yet to see for the Poodles to get the win. Alabama 35, Georgia 28 #11 TEXAS A&M (2-1) at MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-2): As bad as SEC defenses have been this year, the last two weeks have seen Arkansas and Kentucky figure out how to stop the Air Raid. It makes you wonder how bad defenses were in the Big 12 and Pac-12 because nobody in those leagues ever figured out how to effectively neuter a Mike Leach offense. Jimbo Fisher is a rather bright guy who’s seen the Arkansas and Kentucky drop eight on every play. Figure he’ll be doing the same thing Saturday. Will Leach stay stubborn and keep trying to force the ball into coverage or will he do something novel like use his running game? Another question that has to be answered is can the Aggies handle prosperity? They got what amounts to the signature win of Jimbo’s two-plus seasons in Aggieland. Will they be focused Saturday or still basking in the glow of a big win? The Sayer Says Sooth: For an 11th-ranked team coming off a big win and going against a team that has been a huge disappointment the last two weeks, a 5-point spread lends the impression that the folks in Vegas aren’t content the Aggies can play well two straight weeks. There is potential for a big upset here if K.J. Costello can remember to throw the ball to the guys wearing the same color shirt he’s wearing. That’s a big if. Close for the Bulldogs but no cigar. Texas A&M 31, Mississippi State 27 #15 AUBURN (2-1) at SOUTH CAROLINA (1-2): If you had to pencil in the leading candidate for the SEC’s most disappointing player through the first three weeks, Auburn QB Bo Nix would be on everybody’s short list. Now Nix has to go to South Carolina where he will face off with former Auburn DC Will Muschamp and former Auburn DB Travaris Robinson, the current South Carolina defensive coordinator. Nix has been throwing off his back foot way too often and he is making the kind of mistakes that a QB with 16 starts shouldn’t be making. South Carolina, meanwhile, seems like a team gaining some momentum. The Gamecocks should be 2-1 now and looking for win number three. To even things up at 2-2 they’re going to have to avoid bonehead mistakes like the one that cost them game one against Tennessee and sophomore running back Kevin Harris (326 yards, 5.82 per carry, 4 TDs) needs to go over the 100-yard mark for the third straight game. The Sayer Says Sooth: Auburn is a slight favorite (-3.5) to get a road win but the way Nix has been playing doesn’t make the Auburn faithful feel warm and fuzzy. South Carolina is better than the record indicates but to score an upset over the nation’s 15th-ranked team, the Gamecocks have to play turnover free and get some stops on third down (opponents are only 6-31, best in the SEC). It’s a must win game for Auburn, whose fans are already thinking Gus Malzahn needs to find gainful employment elsewhere. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The team that plays with more desperation Saturday will determine the winner. South Carolina 24, Auburn 21 KENTUCKY (1-2) at #18 TENNESSEE (2-1): Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano has had Kentucky’s number his entire career. Can he make it four straight years? If what we saw last week against Georgia holds over a second straight week then the Vols are in trouble. If Guarantano plays like he did last year when he came off the bench, then the Vols can put the egg they laid against Georgia in the rearview mirror. Kentucky is coming off a six-interception performance against Mississippi State, its best defensive performance of the season, but that was also the Wildcats worst offensive game. They’ll have to move the football and put points on the board if they intend to knock off the Vols in Knoxville. Quarterback Terry Wilson can’t expect to get a win for UK if he’s only averaging 6.2 yards per pass attempt. The Sayer Says Sooth: It’s a little early in the year to say a season is on the brink but Tennessee’s season will go south in a hurry if the Vols can’t figure out a way to win Saturday. Kentucky fans are hoping basketball season will hurry up and get here, but they will be pleasantly amused if the Wildcats can score a win over the hated Vols. This is going to come down to which quarterback plays better, Guarantano or Wilson. If Guarantano doesn’t play well, the Vols really don’t have a backup plan. If Wilson doesn’t UK will make the switch to Joey Gatewood. Tennessee 30, Kentucky 28 OLE MISS (1-2) at ARKANSAS (1-2): The Razorbacks should be 2-1 because the SEC zebras made a rotten call that cost them last week’s game with Auburn. That’s a shame because Feleipe Franks completely outplayed Bo Nix. Franks is playing very well right now and there is no doubt he and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles are on the same page. As well as Franks is playing the Arkansas defense is playing even better, but can Barry Odom dial up a formula to stop what Lane Kiffin is calling at Ole Miss? Kiffin has lit up three straight defenses including Alabama, which he torched for 673 yards and 48 points last week. Odom might not be able to stop the Lane Train but can he slow it down enough that the Hogs can win it in a shootout? The Sayer Says Sooth: F Square is one of the SEC’s feel good stories through three games and Arkansas is definitely an improved team under HBC Mike Pittman. Ole Miss has the worst defense in all of college football but the Rebels have an offense that is as exciting as any in the country. Does Feleipe light up Ole Miss? Probably. Does Matt Corral light up Arkansas? Again probably. This might come down to a missed extra point or total exhaustion. Ole Miss 49, Arkansas 48 THEY PLAY FOOTBALL ELSEWHERE BESIDE THE SEC During the summer a number of Texas players demanded that the school stop playing “The Eyes of Texas.” Wednesday UT athletic director Chris Del Conte and HBC Tom Herman met with the team and told the players they are expected to remain on the field when the song is played. Given the political nature of athletes these days and times it’s going to be quite interesting to see how this plays out. Coastal Carolina, picked to finish last in the Fun Belt Sun Belt in the preseason, is now the only team in the league with an unbeaten record after beating Louisiana 30-27 in Lafayette Wednesday night. Thursday night, Arkansas State scored a 59-52 win over Georgia State. Coastal, Louisiana and Arkansas State are a combined 3-0 against the Big 12. Cincinnati’s game with Tulsa has been postponed due to an outbreak of Covid-19 among the 11th-ranked Bearcats. Miami (3-1) faces Pittsburgh (3-2) Saturday at noon. The 13th-ranked Himmicanes are a 13.5-point favorite to bounce back from its hosing at the hands of #1 Climpson. Florida State (1-3) is a 13.5-point home dog to 5th-ranked North Carolina (3-0). UCF (2-1) goes on the road to Memphis (1-1) where the Knights are 3-point favorites. South Florida (1-3) is an 11-point road dog at Shirley Temple (0-1). FIU (0-2) is a 7-point road dog at Charlotte. FRIDAY PITHINESS: Just when you think the Tampa Bay Rays are about to do the unthinkable and make it to the World Series, they lose two in a row to the Houston Disastros. Now that the Rays are up 3-2, can they hold on and make the World Series? If Houston wins the AL title will they play “Your Cheatin’ Heart” as the celebration song? … And since we’re on the topic of baseball, the Atlanta Braves are a win away from their first World Series since 1999. Does it seem weird to you that they could go into the World Series without Maddox, Glavine and Smoltz? … The Chicago White Sox have been given permission to discuss their managerial opening with Tony LaRussa. He’s 76 years old and hasn’t managed a game since 2011. How much coffee will it take to keep him awake at night during a 162-game schedule? … The Kansas City Chiefs are the new landing spot for running back Le’Veon Bell, who was released earlier in the week by the New York Jets. What does it say about a player released in the second year of a monster contract with $35 million in guaranteed money?

We won’t know what that blessing is until Dec. 12 when we find out which team prevails – providing we get to Dec. 12 with SEC football. LSU. It’s always LSU. For the more than half century that I’ve been covering these games there’s been more disruption of the Gators-Tigers games it seems than all the other opponents on Florida’s schedule combined. This time it’s COVID-19. Usually it’s hurricanes. The news this week that Saturday’s game was postponed and rescheduled for December should not have been a shock. Because the thing we should have most expected in the Year of the Unexpected was that we would experience a pause, or cancellation, or both. We’d already lost part of the season. So to get three games in was a gift. Now what? What we know for sure is that we don’t know. How many games will be played? Don’t know. How many games will have to be played to make an SEC title “official?” Don’t know. What we know is that we’ve had about a third of the SEC games played. So far, the Big10 is a non-starter and hopes to launch next week. “Next week” seems like “next year” in this climate. COVID is starting to impact not just the scheduling, but perhaps now even the outcome of games. This isn’t going to be a level playing field and the disease no doubt will be factor in who wins what. We must look no further than Saturday’s scheduled game in Tuscaloosa – at this writing it’s still on – between Georgia and Alabama, which most figure are the two teams that will wind up in the SEC Championship game. If, indeed, one of those championship games is played. When Nick Saban tested positive Wednesday and extracted himself from the Alabama facilities, the gambling lines changed by two or more points. Does Georgia’s Kirby Smart get an asterisk if he becomes Nick Saban’s first assistant to beat him, even though Nick won’t be on the sideline? Back to LSU at Florida – as disappointing as it was to lose that game on Saturday. I’m not so sure both teams shouldn’t welcome the “Pause.” They are both coming off nightmarish defensive performances and need time to look under the hood. Plus the status of Tigers quarterback Myles Brennan was doubtful and Ed Orgeron was looking to a freshman quarterback to lead his offense in The Swamp. In a sense, perhaps the pause is a blessing in disguise. We won’t know what that blessing is until Dec. 12 when we find out which team prevails – providing we get to Dec. 12 with SEC football. We remember the 2016 postponement and the ensuing brouhaha between ADs Joe Alleva and Jeremy Foley which required the intervention of second-year SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for resolution. Ultimately it required LSU buying out South Alabama and Florida buying out Presbyterian to reschedule the game on Nov. 19. But the residue of the hard feelings still lingers. This series has been uber-competitive, Florida leading it 33-30-3, with colorful coaches, usually rich with action and always playing to big crowds in person and on TV, stellar athletes making big plays and often impactful on the Top Ten rankings. It’s maybe the Gators’ most fierce rivalry after Georgia. One of the greatest football games I ever saw was the LSU win in between the Gators’ national championship years, 2007, when Les Miles converted five fourth downs – the last of which Jacob Hester stretched out for the game-clinching first down with very little time remaining. Urban Meyer remembers those games. “I hated it when I saw that game coming up on the schedule, because it’s not considered a rivalry – but it really is,” Meyer said this week. “LSU and Georgia just looked different when they came out of the tunnel,” Meyer said. “I remember the first time I saw them and I said to my offensive line coach, ‘how we gonna block THOSE guys?!’ This wasn’t the first cancellation of an LSU-Florida game. Back in 1964, so long ago that Steve Spurrier actually played, Florida won a rescheduled game that worked to the Gators’ favor. I had been in New Orleans in ’64 for the regularly scheduled game on Oct. 3 when Hurricane Hilda was about to hit us. Without the benefit of the Weather Channel and modern technology, on a Saturday morning we were guessing on whether to stay or leave. So without knowing if I was driving into a Cat 1 or Cat 5, my wife Joni and I took off through remote bayou country, otherwise fearing we could be stuck for days without our daughter Lori, age 2, who was back home with relatives. Our friends stayed in New Orleans at the Roosevelt Hotel to party, unaware they were about to ride out a Cat 4 that would knock out the power. Splashing down the empty roads from New Orleans in our little aqua and white Chevy with Hilda bearing down, not another car in sight, I remember about 10 miles outside New Orleans being stopped by a roadblocking Louisiana trooper saying there was flooding ahead. So we decided going north was the safest bet. So stupid and innocent were we. Humorist and former Gator player Red Mitchum of Ocala phoned his wife Grace in Florida to assure her that even though he was somewhat in peril, he was out of harm’s way, then headed straight for the Roosevelt bar, where he inadvertently wound up entertaining guests with his matchbook-strumming bit, making up funny country songs. It was fun for them, but it did not go well the next morning when Grace read in Tom McEwen’s Tampa Tribune column that Red had been “the hit of the evening” in the Roosevelt bar. We white-knuckled the drive to Pensacola, listening to the radio report that a bridge behind us in Pascagoula, Miss. had just washed out. Once in Pensacola we found a hotel and crashed. Of course Hilda wreaked havoc, but we dodged the worst of it. It went down as one of my dumbest decisions, so I was grateful to be spared by God’s traveling grace. When we returned to Baton Rouge in December, it was so cold the stats couldn’t be run off on the mimeograph machine and the underdressed Florida writers (light cotton sport coats) had to bundle up in LSU jerseys to survive the night. The LSU team did not survive the night. Spurrier had an impressive game passing and the Gators wound up winning 20-6. Florida finished 7-3, second to Alabama in the SEC, but wasn’t invited to a bowl game that year because the success came late in the year and there were only nine bowl games anyway. LSU finished behind Florida in the SEC but got the Sugar Bowl bid and beat Syracuse. The Gators’ win over the Tigers was under-appreciated, perhaps, and a forerunner of things to come in 1965 and ’66 when Spurrier took them to the Sugar and Orange Bowls. Prior to that, the Florida Gators had never been to a major bowl. So we really don’t know what that December makeup game portends. But maybe karma owes them.

Scott Stricklin couldn’t help but laugh, albeit with a touch of self-awareness, sporting three days worth of an uncharacteristic beard. “Do I look that bad? That’s two straight questions.” In fairness, it had been a long week for the Florida Gators Athletic Director and to quote Jack Donaghy, it was only Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Athletic Director of the Year made the decision to shut down all football operations, pending further COVID test results on Wednesday. On Wednesday, that decision was extended. It comes on the heels of a COVID outbreak with the No. 10 Gators. “I’ve had numerous conversations with [Dr. Michael Lauzardo].* He’s repeatedly said going back to the spring that we’re going to have a period of spikes here and there and we’re also going to have times when things are seemingly settled we’re going to have many waves. It’s really important. What’s happened here the past few days highlights it. It’s really important that everyone remains diligent. You can’t take your foot off the gas, so to speak, as far as doing all the things that we’re being asked to do, from social distancing, to masking and good hygiene. All those kind of things. “It can sneak up on you on a hurry, as I said. The key thing is you’ve got to have the ability to push the brake when things start to occur like we’re seeing right now. That’s another thing Dr. Lazardo said. You’ve just got to be willing to hit pause occasionally. And again, I go back to the SEC schedule was set up with something with an event like this in mind. As much as we want to give our kids the opportunity to compete, we understand this isn’t a normal year and we’re going to have to have the ability to adapt to unusual circumstances such as this.” With the week feeling eerily similar to that fateful week in March when the country shut down, things have happened at a lightening pace this week for Florida and the football program. Each hour, each minute, there are updates that cause ripples across the remainder of the season. To help provide some clarity, here is a timeline of all that has happened in the last week. July 28-October 8 Florida administers testing three days a week. Over that span, 15 returned positive results [by our count at GatorBait based on numbers provided by UF. There is a slight margin for error since there are no names given. Some of the numbers could be overlapping, i.e., someone who tested positive at the end of September could also show up as one of the positives in October. Those numbers are presented separately but don’t account for the same person still testing positive.] That low number while other programs experiences spikes, compared to now is what Stricklin admits is frustrating. “Protocols have not changed since the calendar rolled over into October but obviously we’re in a different situation. There’s a sense of frustration but we understand this virus can sneak up on you and you can have it spread in an eyelash, really, the bat of an eyelash. That’s what we’re seeing right now Friday October 9 A “couple” of players, by Stricklin’s count, begin to experience runny nose and a headache. They are supposed to report these symptoms. Given the uptick in allergy season currently going on in Gainesville, these players passed it off as just that. As Stricklin explained, “I don’t know that this was a situation where someone goes, ‘I don’t feel well, but I’m going to power through it.’ I think this is a situation where someone felt like, ‘I’ve got a sniffle. I need a Kleenex, and I’m ready to play a game.’” Florida loads up on the airplane and flies to College Station, Texas to face the Texas A&M Aggies. Saturday October 10 The Gators play Texas A&M at 12 Eastern, 11 Central. Florida loses 41-38 and is leaving College Station by early evening. Sunday October 11 The football health staff administers the normal round of Sunday test’s and await results. That evening and into the night, head trainer Paul Silvestri began to get phone calls from players reporting symptoms; “headache, fatigue, scratchy throat, that kind of thing.” Monday Morning, October 12 Silvestri calls Stricklin early morning to let him know about the calls he got overnight, telling him, “I haven’t gotten tests back, but I am a little concerned that we may have something going on here.” The staff decides to call off the 8am team meeting. Players were told to standby in case there was an afternoon meeting. Test results began to return and five were positive. Monday morning, Stricklin orders another round of testing. From this point forward, Florida moves to everyday testing. Monday Afternoon, October 12 As early as noon, Florida begins to put those who have tested positive and been in close contact with those five into quarantine. The Gators hold practice for those that were not in quarantine. Asked if there were any regrets about that decision, Stricklin pointed to research provided by professional leagues about outdoor transmission. “At the time, our medical staff was making a decision based on what they knew, and they had quarantined a tremendous amount of individuals. The other thing I’ll say is we’re – I don’t know if there’s very many, if any, examples of transmission in an outdoor athletic setting. I had somebody in the pro leagues, a medical professional tell me recently that they don’t know that there’s a single instance or a single example of that occurring. Now, there may be, but it’s incredibly rare. “So, we’re not using our locker room. We’re not using our team meeting rooms. We’re not putting our players in an indoor space. Really, the only indoor space we’ve been in is when we’ve had our two road trips. So again, that goes back to what I said earlier, that’s where the suspicion goes to because we’ve done a really good job of limiting spread even when we’ve had a few positives here and there in our current environment, which we’re blessed to be in Florida where we get to do a lot of things outside.” Tuesday October 13 Florida releases their weekly numbers from the COVID testing. These numbers are always from the Sunday testing, the results of which are returned on Monday. On this particular Tuesday, the test results indicated five new positives. The public, at this time, was not aware of the additional testing that had been done Monday. Another round of the now daily testing is administered. Results begin to return from the Monday testing. Payton Titus of “The Alligator” reports there are 19 positive’s among the football players. This is called into question initially but was reconfirmed within the hour. In a classy nod in appreciation of student journalism, Stricklin congratulated Titus for her scoop on Wednesday. "I want to, by the way, congratulate you on your scoop,” Stricklin said to Titus on the Zoom call. “When you reported your scoop that was the accurate number. It has changed since then, but you had the accurate number, so kudos to you.” As more results came in Tuesday afternoon, Stricklin pauses all football activities and closes the facility. Mullen held a Zoom call with parents to answer questions and update them on what was being done with their children, both those that were in quarantine and those that were not. Wednesday October 14 Results from three straight days of test reveal the number of positives to be 21 total players (18 scholarship players and three walk-ons) in addition to a small but unspecified number of assistant coaches. Florida, in conjunction and agreement from the LSU Tigers football program, officially postpone Saturday’s game. The threshold put into place by the SEC says a team needs 53 athletes to play a game and that number should be relatively balanced across units; seven offensive linemen (which includes one center), one quarterback and four defensive linemen. A team can choose to play with less but anything below those numbers will allow for a postponement or declared no contest, as opposed to a forfeit. As Stricklin explains, Florida’s numbers were well below that threshold. “When you add in those who are quarantined through contact tracing, as a result of those positives, in addition to a handful of players who are on the non-covid injury list, it gives the Gators less than 50 scholarship players available currently.” Moving Forward What does this mean for the Missouri game, currently scheduled to be played in Gainesville on October 24? “Well, it’s hard to speculate right now,” admits Stricklin. "Obviously we’ll be in communication with the Southeastern Conference and probably get Missouri, obviously as our next opponent, to kind of keep them abreast of what we’re seeing, and we’ll continue as I said our regular testing protocol for those who aren’t in quarantine, and hopefully we don’t have any more positives and we’re able to get on the other side of this and then we can get everyone back in a situation where you can go compete again.” Part of the issue will be how many players are still in quarantine come game time. Or for that matter, able to leave quarantine in time to practice. Quarantine rules for the SEC state those who test positive must be in quarantine for 10 days from the time symptoms first appear. Those who are placed into quarantine as a result of contact tracing must stay there for 14 days, given the incubation period of the virus. They can not test out with negative results. Multiple negatives on the heels of a positive however determine that the initial positive was a false result and that player does not have to enter quarantine. The SEC built an additional bye week into the schedule in anticipation of postponements. As of now, the Florida-LSU game is tentatively rescheduled for that week, December 12. That is the week before the planned SEC Championship on December 19. The Gators also have a bye week on October 31, ideally to be held that way for a break before the Jacksonville show-down with the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs. "We're gonna do whatever we can obviously to be supportive and be flexible and, you know, we have an open date on October 31st, and now we're putting a game on December 12th and we'll use every available weekend when we're - assuming we get on the other side of this - we're able to be willing to play. I think the league has had pretty good camaraderie as far as understanding this is not going to be normal and everyone is gonna have to be flexible if we want to try to get a season in for everybody.” Stricklin remains confident that season will get in, even if it requires previously unforeseen circumstances. In one of his other moments of levity, the Florida Gators Athletic Director was asked, could we see a non-Saturday game? “It’s 2020. You never say never. I don’t think we’re in a position to say something can’t happen right now.” *Michael Lauzardo, per his UF Health bio: Michael Lauzardo, MD, MSc, is an associate professor within the division of infectious diseases and global medicine. Also serving as the director of the CDC funded Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center (SNTC) at the University of Florida, he has been involved in public health, teaching and patient care within the College of Medicine since 1997. Trained as an internist and pulmonologist, throughout his career he has been involved in the clinical care of patients with tuberculosis. He has also played a key role with the Florida Department of Health, serving as the Deputy TB Controller for the Florida TB Program and is currently the director of the Florida TB Physicians Network. Previously, he was the chief of the division of infectious diseases and global medicine. His clinical practice and research centers around tuberculosis among at-risk populations and he is involved in various international health activities.

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” Paraphrase those words from Rick Blaine in one of the classic scenes of the movie “Casablanca” to fit into the predicament the Florida Gators find themselves in and we could say, “Of all the college football programs in all the towns in all the world, Covid-19 walks into mine.” Covid-19 has struck in Gainesville and the result is the Gators will not be playing LSU this weekend. In some respects, the timing is perfect for a postponement because Florida’s defense needs a week off in the worst way. If the first three weeks of the season have told us anything it is however sound the scheme may be – and years of success tell us it’s a good one – either the players somehow or another just aren’t getting the job done or things have become far too predictable. There are so many veterans in their third year playing for defensive coordinator Todd Grantham so how could so many of them miss so many tackles while others do their best impersonations of lost balls in the tall grass? Even if the best schemes can be exploited when what you do with them has become too predictable. So maybe there is a need to make some tweaks to the scheme or perhaps some tweaks to the players Grantham is sending out with the specific purpose of getting stops. Maybe there is a need for Grantham to study the film and figure out what opponents are seeing when he lines the Gators up, especially on third down. Changes have to be made defensively, if for no other reason to put the ball in Kyle Trask’s hands more often. If the defense can just get a few stops, think of what that prolific offense could do. More snaps for Trask means more touchdown passes to the all but unstoppable Kyle Pitts, who seems a shoo-in for the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. More snaps mean more opportunities for Kadarius Toney to do his ever so fabulous make you look silly routine once he has a football in his hands. What Toney has done so far is just scratching the surface of what he can do to destroy a defense. More snaps mean more points. The Gators are whipping out 42.3 points per game already. More chances to score means the Gators could score at a very scary level. The last time they averaged more than 40 points a game was 2008, which just so happens to be the last time the Gators won the SEC and national championships. So while the Covid-19 outbreak on the team is serious stuff when talking about the health and welfare of the 105 or so scholarship and non-scholarship players involved in the Florida football program, it’s also serious stuff in that it is providing Grantham a chance to go frame by frame of the film of three previous games to figure out just what the heck has gone wrong. Grantham’s a smart guy and there are plenty of good minds in the defensive room. Extra days give them a chance to get a handle on making whatever changes are necessary. Status quo isn’t going to work, not by a long shot. There is a flip side to the perfect timing theory, however. Had the game gone on as planned, LSU was probably going to be without fourth-year junior quarterback Myles Brennan, who was still wobbly as of Wednesday from one of those knock you into next week hits in the Tigers’ unexpected loss to Missouri. Brennan’s numbers in the first three games were impressive – 1,112 passing yards and 11 TDPs – but with him out, LSU was going to have to go with one (or both) of true freshmen Max Johnson or T.J. Finley, neither of whom has thrown a pass or run the ball in a game. No matter how unhinged Florida’s defense has seemed the thought of going against a true freshman operating behind an offensive line that ranks 53rd nationally in sacks allowed (9 in three games for 55 yards in losses) has a certain appeal. The Gators won’t play again until October 24 when Missouri comes to town. After that there will be a regularly scheduled open date (October 31) prior to the Georgia game in Jacksonville on November 7. The first priority between now and the Missouri game is to get healthy all 19 kids who tested positive for Covid-19 as well as getting the outbreak within the football program well under control. Fortunately, Florida has one of the better medical staffs in the entire country to get a handle on things. The second priority will be to figure out what has to be done for the defense prior to the Missouri game. When the season began Missouri was thought to be an SEC bottom feeder that might struggle to win even one game. Surprisingly, the Tigers have done a lot of growing in their first three games, showing an offense that is capable of moving the chains and putting points on the scoreboard. Just ask LSU, which has been put into a scramble mode by the Missouri upstarts. Once past Missouri, there will be whatever tweaks are necessary prior to Georgia. While this virus has thrown a wrench into the season with the postponement of the LSU game it is not the end of the world. When the season began it was expected the road to a championship would go through Jacksonville and Georgia so nothing has really changed. Although the Gators have a loss, they can still capture the SEC East Division title by going 7-0 if they get to play that many games due to potential outbreaks in both Gainesville and elsewhere between now and December 12. Other than the unexpected change scheduling and the extra week off to recover from the virus, everything else is still the same. Critical to a 7-0 season-ending run will be Dan Mullen’s ability to keep the Gators fully focused. We tend to forget these are 18-22 year old kids who have more than just football to think about. They have classes to attend or take care of online. They have parents and friends whom they worry about since the virus has spread to every corner of the globe and doesn’t discriminate among potential victims. If the kids are dazed and confused by all that’s going on around them, it’s understandable but that is where coaching and leadership come into play. This is where Mullen and his staff will earn their salaries for 2020. Championship teams are ones that acquire good habits, put them into a routine and maintain them throughout the course of a season. Sometimes that requires an in-season rebooting to make things right. The Gators suffered a loss to Texas A&M a week ago so the LSU game could have provided an emotional positive with a bounceback win. Now they have to wait for another chance to get out on the field to redeem themselves. And while the Gators have to go through all the virus protocols and all the disruptions to their usual routines, they have to understand that the championship goals they had prior to the start of the season are still within their grasp. Perhaps this break in routine will give Mullen a chance to retool the team’s attitude. That worked well in 2008. Remember the Ole Miss game and Tim Tebow’s promise afterward? That Florida team went from a we’re really good attitude to one of you can’t beat us as long as we stay 100 percent focused. Getting the team fully focused along with decisions to overhaul the defense completely or simply make a few tweaks here and there to both scheme and personnel could be just what the doctor ordered. Covid-19 has arrived and there is nothing the Gators can do about it except deal with it. They can’t control the virus but they certainly can control attitudes, focus and determination. The Gators can take the attitude that of all the football programs in all the world the virus disrupted things here in Gainesville, or they can take the attitude that this is simply an obstacle that has to be overcome. A speed bump along the way if you will. If the Gators make the right choices and along the way Grantham and staff can patch the holes in the sieve that has been the defense the first three games, a championship is still a possibility. There is still plenty of work to be done, but everything is achievable.

It’s better this way. It might not seem like it as we scramble to make plans for Saturday, but I assure you it’s better this way. Not only because the health and safety of Florida’s student athletes and coaches should be of the utmost importance, but because things are about to get really interesting. Obviously no one is better off with 21 positive Covid-19 tests within the program, and I sincerely hope all impacted bounce back quickly with no long-term implications. However, in terms of postponing Saturday’s ball game, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s kind of like your favorite movie. You know what’s going to happen each step of the way, but that doesn’t stop you from turning it on any time it airs on HBO. The only reason that analogy works is because like your favorite movie, you’ve seen this before. Florida vs. LSU has been postponed for, to my knowledge, the third time in the rivalry’s history. And each time, hear me out here, was for the better. The matchup’s first postponement came way back in 1964. Her name was Hilda and she originated off the coast of Southern Cuba before barrelling northwestward towards the gulf coast of the U.S. On Oct. 3, the same day the LSU Tigers were set to host the Florida Gators in Baton Rouge, Hurricane Hilda, now a category three storm, slammed into the St. Mary Parish in southern Louisiana. In addition to the postponement, Hilda was also responsible for 38 fatalities across Louisiana and Mississippi. Fortunately, the game was able to be rescheduled for later in the season. On December 5, 1964, sophomore quarterback Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators marched into Death Valley to make up for lost ground against the No. 7-ranked Tigers. In 45-degree weather, Spurrier and the Gators stunned the one-loss Tigers in Baton Rouge. Though LSU still ended up winning the 1964 Sugar Bowl while the Gators spent their postseason at home, Florida was officially 1-0 when its showdown against LSU was postponed. The next occurrence wouldn't happen for another 52 years. It was late September in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew was slated to be the first category five Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007. After flattening Haiti and the Bahamas, the State of Florida was very much so in Matthew’s cone of uncertainty. And with it, Florida’s game against LSU was once again in jeopardy. As many of us recall, however, the 2016-version of the rivalry’s postponement was much more dramatic than that in 1964. Two days prior to kickoff, as Hurricane Matthew churned closer to the Floridian peninsula, the SEC called off the ball game. Florida athletic director at the time, Jeremy Foley, had said that one of the greatest issues with playing the game as scheduled was the reallocation of emergency services within Gainesville. Meanwhile, LSU officials assured that they had offered every resolution possible to play the game -- including having the Gators visit Baton Rouge. When Florida’s flight to Baton Rouge wasn’t booked in, mind you, two day’s notice, LSU fans (and even officials) immediately accused the Gators of “running scared” and “ducking out” on a big, cross-divisional rivalry. LSU’s athletic director at the time, Joe Alleva, wasn’t shy about his feelings towards the postponement. In emails obtained by Baton Rouge’s WBRZ-TV, Alleva responded to an email that said, “Florida would want to play as much as us… would they not?,” with the following” “No way if they lost they would lose the East. Their schedule easier than Tennessee if they wanted to play we would be playing here or there.” When it came time to reschedule the 2016 matchup, unlike the 1964 edition, there was a change in venue. Alleva and the Tigers refused to give up their home game on Nov. 19, stating that if LSU travelled to Gainesville, it would have been LSU’s third-straight SEC road game. Eventually, just to get the game played and the “ducking” accusations to cease, Jeremy Foley agreed to have the game played in Baton Rouge. In a game that saw Florida quarterback Austin Appleby complete just seven of his 17 passing attempts for a measly 144 yards, and running back Jordan Scarlett make up for the rest of the Gators’ 270 yards of total offense, it’s absurd to think Florida won that ball game. Especially considering the Tigers mustered 423 yards of total offense, albeit two lost fumbles. But with 26 seconds to play, LSU found itself on the UF 1-yard line. The Tigers just needed one yard and an extra point to send the Gators back to Gainesville with a loss. But more importantly, to give Tigers fans backing for their “running scared” accusations. But after a three-play goal line stand, it was clear one yard was one yard too long for the Tigers as the Gators held on to a 16-10 win in Baton Rouge. How’s that for scared? It’s no wonder LSU coach Ed Orgeron said what he said earlier this week. “Florida doesn’t like us. We don’t like them,” Orgeron said in Wednesday’s SEC teleconference prior to Florida’s announcement to postpone Saturday’s matchup. And while there have been a few (hopefully sarcastic) comments on Twitter in regards to the Gators once again “ducking” a game against the Tigers, hopefully a global pandemic is enough to keep those types of comments at bay. And thankfully, it doesn’t appear that there will be much negotiating in terms of rescheduling. When the SEC’s schedule was announced, Dec. 12 was kept open for all teams as a safety net for postponed games -- just like this one. You can expect the Gators and the Tigers to line up on Dec. 12 at The Swamp. And if history is any indication, the postponement is for the better. After rescheduled bouts in 1964 and 2016, the Gators came out on top of the Tigers. And while that’s noteable, it doesn't hold near the importance of keeping student-athletes and coaches safe. So yeah, even though I might have to actually do my homework on time or you might actually have to get to that honey-do list pinned to the refrigerator, I wouldn’t have it any other way.