Dan Mullen walked into his post game press conference with a bit of a dazed look on his face. His hair looked like he’d been pulling on it for the past hour, he seemed like he’d just competed a marathon he didn’t know he was running and there was a sense of relief when he finally dropped down into his chair. “That was exhausting,” admitted the Florida Gators head coach. Across the room, the stadium and the country, his sentiment was echoed. The No. 8 Gators walked away with a touch 24-20 victory over in-state rivals, the Miami Hurricanes. The Week 0 kickoff game to the 150th season of college football had all the makings of a memorable game. The two bitter rivals facing each other for the first time since 2013, a former Mullen assistant—Manny Diaz—now the head man for the Canes across the field, four turnovers by the Gators, potential playoff implications given the Gators rankings, Florida governor Ron DeStanis was in attendance along with a horde of former Gators players; and then there was just absolute madness from beginning to end. “I must say, honestly, it felt my life clock was going probably at about a thousand times faster, right? I mean, every second was probably like a thousand minutes or days. I don't know. The last five minutes of the game I think I aged like ten years. “In the end they'll remember -- I know I hope everybody remembers -- it's a fun game to be a part of. It's a wild game to be a part it. We're certainly reminded college football is back and it looks like we're in for another exciting season. After 150 years, it hasn't dulled at all.” While the last five minutes may have been what ages Mullen—and plenty of fans everywhere—the game and the Gators provided fireworks from their opening drive. After holding Miami to a field goal on the Canes opening series, quarterback Feleipe Franks (17-27, 254 yards, 2TD, 2INT—7 rushes, 8 yards, 1 TD) and the Gators offense set themselves up for a quick 3-and-out. Instead, on 4th and 3, Dan Mullen called a fake punt. Senior punter Tommy Townsend pulled the ball and scampered to the right, picking up six yards and moving the chains, as Mullen had planned on all week. “Coach Knox and Coach Mullen was like ‘this is gonna be the first punt of the game.’ So he went through with it and it got the first down,” reveals receiver Van Jefferson (1 reception, 14 yards). Him actually going through with it still takes some guys by surprise, like Franks, who was standing with his coach as Townsend made the first down. “Coach Mullen is good about that. Right when that happened, I was talking to him and then that happened and I was, like, man, you're sneaky.” The very next play, Franks hit do-it all man Kadarius Toney (3 rushes, 3 yards—1 reception, 66 yards, 1TD) on a bubble and the junior did the rest. He got a great block from fellow receiver Jefferson that sprung him then he put on a KT special, slipping and picking his way through the entire Miami defense. Fellow receiver Tre Grimes escorted him into the endzone, the closest player on the field to his teammate. As Miami and the Gators began to trade the expected defensive punches, a fire alarm insisted on blaring in the press box with an automated voice warning of a fire in the building and an order to evacuate. That really became on omen for what this match evolved into. The second quarter opened with Florida make it to the redzone before a bad handoff between Franks and senior running back Lamical Perine (10 rushes, 42 yards—6 receptions, 25 yards, 1TD) resulted in a fumble. At first replay, it appeared Franks had recovered the fumble. But then Miami defensive lineman Scott Patchan sprinted to the Canes sideline with the ball in his hand and exchanged it for a new and blingier version of the Miami turnover chain. Miami followed that with a drive so riddled with penalties that the Gators band and fans brought back a ditty/chant that had previously been banned. We’ll let you use your imaginations there. The ensuing Gators drive ending with another fumble, this time at the hands of redshirt sophomore Malik Davis. Again, it appeared Davis recovered the fumble but the searching hands of Miami linebacker Shaq Quarterman had officials granting the Canes possession. Looking back, Mullen says he can see that call being questionable. “I really did think about [challenging] it. To be honest with you, I thought he had the ball; he was on a knee and he went to stand up and made a football motion and the ball came out. Someone called, maybe it could have even been a late hit on that, our ball and plus 15 yards when someone calls that way. “But I just—I don't think that's one that, in such a bang-bang play, that you're going to win. You guys probably have better looks at it, but I'm guessing that would have been a call stands type of deal. Maybe not. “But we'll turn it in, and I'll get an opinion from the officials. But that would be one I would be nervous, the call stands. I didn't want to use a challenge in that situation.” Three drives later, the Canes redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams (19-29, 214 yards, 1 TD ) fought back from two sacks and with a poise that belayed his age and inexperience, led a 12 play, 90-yard drive that bled 6:08 off the clock and ended in a Canes touchdown that gave the South Florida team a 13-7 lead. Of the play surrounding that drive and others, Mullen said, “There’s a lot we can learn from that game and a lot we can get cleaned up defensively. We can get that coached. We can be better coach and we can get them coached better, get the players to play better. It's hard to coach that effort, that strain, and that desire to find a way to win. That's hard to coach and they showed they had that tonight.” He’s right in that there will be plenty of missed tackles to coach off of but it should be noted the Florida defensive front four was smothering to the point of suffocating. They ended the night with 11 sacks, abusing the two freshman tackles on the Miami offensive line. Linebacker Ventrell Miller played in the box often and well, joining Jabari Zuniga, Jon Greenard, Kyree Campbell and Jeawon Taylor with a team leading six tackles. Greenard doesn’t want the rest of the country to take for granted what he feels the Gators defense and entire team is capable of doing this season. “They were all antsy, just worried about our get offs and getting them to the quarterback. But, you know, at the end of the day, we're going to stay humble. We're going to keep working. We understand that there's going to be better competition in the future. We're just going to be all right after that. We're going to keep working to get to where we want to get in the future. “Obviously it was a sloppy game. We're at the beginning of the season. We got a lot of things to fix and correct, but that doesn't take away from the time on this team and the drive that we have on this team…if teams to want to take us lightly and take this game and think we're going to apply this the rest of the year, then they're going to find out real soon that was a mistake.” As for the second half, I can tell you a few things that for sure actually happened. Evan McPherson kicked a 27-yard field goal to give Florida back a 13-10 lead (one of five lead changes in the game) and the Florida defense sacked Williams six more times. Miami’s Jeff Thomas fumbled a punt and Van Jefferson recovered it at the Miami 11-yard line. Franks took advantage of the field position and hit Perine—who was beat up all game—with an 8-yard dart at the end zone that put UF up by four. The Canes running back DeeJay Dallas went 50-yards past the Gators secondary for a touchdown. Gators receiver Freddie Swain tipped a pass that landed in the hands of UM’s Amari Carter who returned it for 25 yards. Diaz’s group tried a fake field goal on that drive and Jon Greenard knocked the kicker Bubba Baxa out of bounds. A UF penalty gave the Canes a fresh set of downs that faltered and Baxa—possibly still shook up—missed the 27-yard chip shot. Franks took the field for the first time since the interception and threw a 65-yard bomb into the sure hands of Josh Hammond. Three plays later he pushed 3-yards into the end zone for a lead the Gators wouldn’t relinquish. Miami did nothing on their ensuing drive but on the Gators first play that was set up to run out the clock, Franks was laid out while throwing up a ball that was easily intercepted. “The last interception, he gets hit and, you know, I'm trying to think that shows what we're trying to do. I'm putting the game in his hands,” explains Mullen. “I thought we had something there. We didn't. He gets hit. He was trying to throw it away. He gets hit. The ball kind of floats and gets picked. That's on me. “You know, one of the things I kept seeing from him is, even if things didn't go right, if we made a mistake, he came right back firing. There wasn't a hesitation. There wasn't concern or lack of confidence in him in what he was going to do. And I was really pleased in that.” Adds Franks, “Obviously things don't go sometimes, our way that we expect them to go. I think these guys can attest to that. Obviously, I didn't go out there and try to throw a pick. That's not what I planned to do. But things happen throughout the course of the game that you don't plan, and that's what adversity is. It's all about just trying to persevere through those kinds of things and that's what we did tonight and just got a great team win.” So, those are all facts concerning plays that are tangibly explained albeit happened within a cloud of bizarre football. Then came a Miami drive that should have ended three times, required the Gators to win the game three times as Mullen said, and was kept alive with a bevy of UF penalties. As the great O.B. Keeler once said following an Auburn-Georgia slugfest, “I am not going to try a detailed description of that [drive]. There may be experts who are expert enough to do it, but I am not one of them. I thought I knew something about football, before that game. I still think I know something about football. But not that kind.” Suffice to say, at end of a 10-play, 4:08 drive, Miami had gone for a net total of 14-yards and were forced to walk their offense off the field in defeat as linebacker Jeremiah Moon celebrated his final sack of the evening. A quick victory formation from Franks and the quarterback—and former punter—punted the ball into the stands in celebration. “I really loved the way that our guys continued to battle, continued to compete, continued to try to find a way to win for the entire four quarters,” bragged Mullen. “I mean, we go back and we talk about our plan to win and how we want to win games. And we certainly didn't do that tonight with turning the ball over, with not scoring touchdowns when we get down on the red zone, some critical penalties at critical times. “We had some missed tackles. But I'm going to tell you what. Our guys compete. They competed and they competed and they kept competing and kept battling. It seemed like we had to win the game about four different times, but we continued to do that. And so I'm really proud of that.”

Here we are just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter and the Gators are trailing Miami, 20-17. If there is one thing we've seen tonight it is the Gators are having all sorts of difficulty handling adversity. Florida was well on its way to a 14-3 lead when Feleipe Franks fumbled and had a chance to move the ball again for a TD when Franks pitched high to Malik Davis and the result was yet another fumble. Instead of 21-3, which it should have been, the Gators went into a second quarter funk and trailed at the half, 13-7. After taking a 17-13 lead in the third quarter, the Gators got hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, On the next play, D.J. Dallas sprints for 50 yards and the Gators miss a bunch of tackles. If the Gators are going to have a good season, they've got to show they can handle adversity. And just like that ... more adversity. Franks throw is tipped by Freddie Swain and it's intercepted. The ball was going to Tyrie Cleveland who would have scored if the ball had ever gotten to him, but Swain was in the same area (shouldn't have been) and tipped it for a Miami interception.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 GATORS #10 IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED PRESEASON Sports Illustrated came out with its preseason rankings earlier in the week with the usual suspects – Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma – occupying the first four spots. SI has the Gators ranked 10thin the preseason and that’s not a bad place to begin. Of the teams ahead of the Gators, I think Texas (#5), Ohio State (#6) and Oregon (#9) are ranked too high. No matter how hard I try, I can’t envision Texas as a top ten team. I think the Buckeyes are a top ten team, just not the fifth best in the country at least at this early stage. I think Washington is the best team in the Pac-12 so if any team from that league merits top ten status, the Huskies belong and not the Ducks. (1) Alabama; (2) Clemson; (3) Georgia; (4) Oklahoma; (5) Texas; (6) Ohio State; (7) Notre Dame; (8) LSU; (9) Oregon; (10) FLORIDA; (11) Michigan; (12) Washington; (13) Texas A&M; (14) Utah; (15) UCF; (16) Penn State; (17) Auburn; (18) Iowa; (19) Wisconsin; (20) Mississippi State; (21) Michigan State; (22) Virginia Tech; (23) Iowa State; (24) Nebraska; (25) Stanford TANNER ROWELL GOES ON SCHOLARSHIP The Gators got a feel good story on Wednesday when Dan Mullen put offensive lineman Tanner Rowell on scholarship. Rowell is a tough guy, just like his dad, who converted from defense to the O-line during the Steve Spurrier days at UF. Tony brought serious toughness to Florida’s O-line and would be in the face of a teammate who he felt was slacking or just not getting the job done. This is Tanner’s fourth year in the program. He’s the backup center who works his butt off every day in practice. He’s highly deserving of the scholarship. TEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS FOR 2019 1. Willie Taggart will be gainfully employed by FSU in 2020: Unless some booster with more money than brains writes a mega-check to FSU’s financially strapped athletic department, Willie Taggart will still be employed by Florida State University next season no matter what he does this year. No matter how much they’d love to give Taggart the Free Willie treatment, he’ll have a job because they can’t afford to fire him. This story will likely repeat itself next season. 2. Chris Ash (Rutgers) will be the first Power 5 coach fired: Ash really isn’t a bad football coach. He just happens to have one of the worst jobs in all of college football. He’s in the same division with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State, which means that in a best case scenario, the Scarlet Knights are playing for fifth place in the Big Ten East. There is one winnable game on the Rutgers schedule and that’s the season opener with UMass. If Ash hasn’t been fired by the Liberty game (October 26) he will be fired after because Hugh Freeze will win this game. 3. Miami isn’t that good but will still win nine games: There are really only two losable games on the Miami schedule – Florida and Virginia – but the Himmicanes will find a way to go down for the count a third time, either against Pitt or FSU, both on the road. The defense will be pretty good. The offense will stink and after Tate Martell bombs at QB, they’ll be stuck with N’Kosi Perry, who never met an interception he couldn’t throw. Miami will win nine games and that will look good on paper, but the reality is the Himmicanes would have problems breaking even in either SEC division. 4. Graham Harrell will save Clay Helton’s job:Mason Fine threw for 58 touchdowns and North Texas won 18 games the last two seasons with Harrell calling the plays. If Harrell can do that at a place like North Texas and with a guy like Fine at QB, imagine what he can do with sophomore J.T. Daniels, who can throw to one of the nation’s five best receiving corps. Harrell played for Mike Leach at Texas Tech, but unlike Leach, Harrell incorporates a strong ground game. The Trojans have a tough schedule but they have the athletes and with Harrell transforming the offense, Helton’s job will be safe for at least one more year. 5. Nathan Rourke will have a 3,000/1,000 season at Ohio U:Nathan Rourke is the best quarterback you’ve never heard of. The last two years at Ohio U, he’s thrown for 4,637 yards and 40 touchdowns while rushing for 1,772 yards and 36 TDs. This season he will account for more at least 50 touchdowns rushing and throwing while passing for more than 3,000 yards and rushing for more than 1,000. 6. Houston, not UCF, will win the American Athletic Conference title: If McKenzie Milton were healthy and back for his senior season, UCF would be the favorite to make a third straight regular season run of the table in the AAC. Without Milton, the Knights are going to lose one or two games. Houston won’t run the table – the Cougars will be 0-1 after losing to Oklahoma Labor Day weekend – but they will plunder and pillage the AAC competition. With Dana Holgorsen’s offense installed, D’Eriq King will put up Star Wars numbers. For you trivia buffs: D’Eriq King is the QB who kept Kyle Trask on the bench in high school. 7. The most overrated player in the SEC will be … :And the winner is Kelly Bryant, QB, Missouri. The pundits act like this guy will be the second coming of Tim Tebow but he’s not that good. Go back to 2017 when he was the QB at Clemson and surrounded by a lot more talent than he’ll be working with at Mizzou. He averaged a pedestrian 7.0 per pass attempt while throwing for 13 TDs and 3.46 per rush while averaging 3.46. That was with GREAT talent. No wonder Dabo couldn’t wait to turn the offense over to Trevor Lawrence. There is no way Clemson would have won its own division in the ACC much less the national title with KB as the QB. 8. The most overrated player in the nation will be … : And the winner is Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State. I watched him last year at Georgia. I watched him run the Buckeyes’ offense in the spring game. I’m not convinced. Go back to 2018. There were so many opportunities for Kirby Smart to put Fields in games where he could have been a difference maker. Either Kirby didn’t want to hurt Jake Fromm’s feelings or maybe, just maybe, Fields isn’t as good as the hype. I go with the latter. 9. The most overrated team in the SEC will be … :The winner is Texas A&M. The Aggies still have too many holes to fill from the Kevin Sumlin Error (oops … ERA). Jimbo Fisher is the answer at Texas A&M and it’s a matter of when, not if, he delivers the championships they so desperately want in Aggieland. It just won’t be this year. One more recruiting class and he’ll have a team nobody wants to play. 10. The most overrated team in the nation will be … :The winner is Michigan. Poor old Jim Harbaugh. If he wins the Big Ten this year critics will say the only reason he did it was because Urban retired at Ohio State. If he doesn’t win the Big Ten, the critics will say Jungle Jimmy simply isn’t as good a coach as he’s been cracked up to be. No kidding! He’s in a can’t win situation in 2019 with a team that isn’t as good as the one Ohio State and Florida blew out last year. Ohio State or Penn State will win the Big Ten East and the Michigan natives will become very, very restless. SOME GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY From Stewart Mandel of The Athletic on Urban Meyer’s image after the document dump of his emails from Ohio State: “Though not as sinister as originally portrayed by many, Meyer’s handling of the situation was, if nothing else, an exercise in poor leadership, which undermines the larger image he’d cultivated as a highly successful football coach. My sense at this point is that Ohio State fans will always love and defend the guy, but the rest of the public has a lot of ill feelings about him. Possibly the only way that will change in the coming months is if he turns out to be an amazing TV analyst for FOX, which previously served as a launching pad for A-Rod to transform his villainous image.” From Dana O’Neill of The Athletic on the perceived hot seat for Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart: “The contract status is big. If Texas wants to part with Smart after this season, it will have to pay him $10 million. That’s not a lot to a school with pockets as deep as Texas has, but it’s not chump change when you also have to open the wallet for a new coach and staff. Remember, too, the Longhorns are moving into a new arena in two years and have always wanted Smart to open it. He’s also a well-respected coach, with high principles and devoid of NCAA scandal, and in this climate, that counts (or at least it should). But there is no denying the results have not matched what anyone wished for — including Smart. The Longhorns are 71-66 in his tenure, with just two early NCAA Tournament exits to go with that NIT title. Maybe most damning for Smart, Texas Tech played in the national title game this spring and Texas A&M just hired Buzz Williams. Texas does not like to play second fiddle to anyone, particularly its in-state rivals.” SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL STUFF Tennessee D-lineman Emmit Gooden has torn his ACL and will miss the entire 2019 season. Gooden, who had 33 tackles last year, will get a redshirt and be eligible to return in 2020. Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Gerry Gdowski is hoping to have an answer for a starting QB within a couple of weeks. Ball State grad transfer and redshirt sophomore Deuce Wallace are currently battling for the starting job. Freshman running back Trey Sanders has caught the attention of Nick Saban in the first week of training camp. “His work ethic is really good, he’s learning every day … He’s got some ability that I think may be able to contribute to the team.” Arkansas head coach Chad Morris doesn’t seem to pleased with veteran tight end Cheyenne O’Grady. “Cheyenne O’Grady has to decide if this is what he wants to do,” Morris said. Wide receiver Isaiah Epps has had a screw placed in his foot to repair a fracture. He’s expected to miss six weeks of football. If defensive end Devontae Davis has to have surgery on his foot he will likely miss the entire season says South Carolina coach Will Muschamp. Former Mississippi State wide receiver Keith Mixon, who caught 10 passes for 137 yards last year, has transferred to Western Michigan. Following the dismissal of assistant basketball coach Chuck Person, Auburn self-imposed sanctions on the program including limiting official visits, unofficial visits, contacts, evaluations and phone calls. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown is dealing with the after effects of frostbite suffered while he was in a cryotherapy machine in France last month. I’m not making this up … Clemson’s football team was cited for eight secondary violations of NCAA rules including the heinous crime of using confetti in a photo shoot during a recruit’s official visit. Sounds like a jailable offense to me … Tiger Woods scaled things back on the final nine holes at the pro-am of the Northern Trust Open Wednesday after complaining of stiffness in his back … Former Gator Pete Alonso is back on a roll following a mini-slump after he won the Home Run Derby prior to the All-Star Game. Alonso has four hits in his last ten at bats with two homers and three RBI. Alonso hit a 2-run homer in the New York Mets’ 7-2 win over the Miami Marlins Wednesday night, his third home run in as many days. 13

By FRANZ BEARD GatorBait Senior Columnist There was a time in the not so distant past when Florida and Miami were part of college football's gold standard. You knew from the moment the first foot kicked off a new season that both the Gators and the Hurricanes would have their say in whoever finished as the mythical national champion. From 1983-2008, the Gators and Hurricanes accounted for eight (Florida three, Miami five) national championships and the two teams factored in at least a dozen others. In the 10 years since Tim Tebow led the Gators to a national championship win over Oklahoma, Florida's second national title in three years and third overall, Alabama and Clemson have dominated while both Florida and Miami have struggled to regain their championship traction. Only the 2009 Gators really sniffed a national championship (13-1 in Tebow's final year with the loss to eventual national champion Alabama) but both Florida and Miami have dynamic coaches, both of whom are determined to make their programs relevant on the national scene once again. This is why Saturday nights season opener between Florida and Miami in Orlando at Camping World Stadium is so important. What better way to state a case that the championship juices are flowing again than with an impressive win on a Saturday night when Florida-Miami is the only show on the national stage? Florida comes into the game hoping to build on the momentum of a fast finish that produced an impressive 10-3 first year for Dan Mullen. Miami comes into the game led by native son Manny Diaz, whose dad was once the mayor of Miami and who twice served as Mullen's defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. Both programs have a rich championship history but in this been there, done that world of today, they both need wins in games like this to state their relevance once again. Lets face it, you don't get back to national prominence winning paycheck games against bottom feeders from Group of Five conferences or from Division IAA. You work your way back into the national limelight by taking out teams from the Power Five, especially teams that have instant recognition across the fruited plain. For 8th-ranked Florida, its a chance to make a statement that those last two wins of 2018 – blowouts over Florida State and Michigan – were just a springboard to bigger and better things. For Miami, its a chance for Diaz to send ripples across the Atlantic Coast Conference that the Hurricanes are well on their way to re-establishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with. While neither program probably would admit it, Florida and Miami need each other. For the past ten years the state has become a poaching ground for the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State who have recruited far too many top kids, the likes of which would have never ventured north back even ten years ago. A re- established Florida-Miami rivalry will go a long way toward keeping the best kids from the state playing at home. If Florida and Miami are doing well, it certainly makes it more difficult for out-of-state recruiters to make a dent in the talent pool. If Florida and Miami are playing each other again on a yearly basis, it will be all that much better. In the past few weeks, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin and Miami athletic director Blake James have begun talks that could lead to Florida-Miami becoming a yearly rivalry game for the first time since then UF athletic director Bill Arnsparger pulled the plug back in 1987. This is a rivalry that needs to happen. When Stricklin and Arnsparger see the enthusiasm generated by Saturdays season opener, perhaps they'll feel the need to hasten their efforts to bring this back to a home-and-home yearly affair once again. If for no other reason, that is why Saturdays game is so important.

We’re in the 11th hour. Football is upon us and it’s starting off with a bang. Dan Mullen is determined to return the swag and prominence to the Florida Gators program and sitting at No. 8 (AP) and a Saturday night date with the Miami Hurricanes with the whole nation watching feels like he’s on the right track. We could spend hours reviewing the storylines and talk right up to kickoff about all the details we need to remember. Instead let’s just review the big five and get ready for some football. One Thing to Remember For so long, this was the game that meant college football season had arrived. In 1984, it actually helped close out ESPN’s first day of broadcasting live college football games. From the “Gator Flop” in 1971, to Brock Berlin’s transfer from Florida to Miami in 2002 (and subsequently leading the Canes to defeat the Gators in a comeback 2003 win), the rivalry has been rife with hate. And time only makes the heart grow fonder. This will be only the 7th time the two Sunshine State teams have faced off since the turn of the century. Miami currently leads those games 5-1 and leads the entire series 29-26. The Gators last win came in 2008, helping to kick off (albeit from a second game) a National Championship run. At neutral site games, the teams are tied 3-3. Whatever happens Saturday will most certainly be reviewed ad nauseam between now and 2024. That’s the next time Florida and Miami are scheduled to face off, the first fold of a home and home that will conclude in 2025. One Florida Player to Watch Sophomore Amari Burney steadily carved out a spot for himself on this defense last season. After a solid freshman campaign, he capped it with a sack of Shea Patterson in the Peach Bowl that left little doubt he was coming to make an impact in 2019. He finished the season with 11 tackles and two pass breakups in his few minutes. Burney is a reverted safety who has the size to step up in the box. As such the coaches have primarily placed him at outside linebacker to replace the NFL departed Vosean Joseph. Burney has a nose to help stop the run with the cover ability to drop by when necessary. This could be most beneficial when covering tight ends, a position that too often torched the Gators in 2018. Burney’s versatility has also made him the first backup to Trey Dean at STAR. He could be the dark horse that helps shore up this Gators defense and he’s definitely one to watch. One Miami Player to Watch The Canes have some star playmakers including a linebacker corps that could prove disruptive. But the one to watch this Saturday will undoubtedly be redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams. The Gators defensive players have been smart, making sure they give Williams credit and not talking themselves in a corner they can't play out of. But it has to be acknowledged, if Jarren Williams is the next freshman phenom a lá Trevor Lawerence, then it stands to reason he wouldn't have been redshirted last year. And so there's a greater chance that Saturday could look early familiar to Gator fans with Williams playing the role of Feleipe Franks versus Michigan in 2017. However, if Williams is able to come out swinging and build confidence quick, then everything we thought about this game shifts. The chances of that happening aren’t great but it's something to watch nonetheless. One Big Question The SEC is a trenches league and the Gators will get a good glimpse of what they’re working with on Saturday. The Canes return to the field after finishing the 2018 season 4th in the NCAA in total defense. It was Miami’s secondary that did a lot of the work, coming in No. 1 in the NCAA, but that group returns only one starter. In the front seven, every position is filled by upperclassmen and they will test the Gators young offensive line. However, while center Nick Buchanan is the only returning starter on that unit, he’s flanked by Brett Heggie who has started in the past, and three others who have been in the program for two offseason now. Alternatively on the Canes offensive line sits two freshmen (one true, one redshirt). They’ll be facing a Gators defensive line that returns its interior starters (Kyree Campbell and Adam Shuler) and defensive end (Jabari Zuniga), while adding a veteran transfer at the BUCK position (Jon Greenard). Who outlasts? The cards seemed stacked in Florida’s favor. One Last Prediction Florida wins 35-14. I’m nervous saying that because I sat through that 2013 Florida-Miami game where the Gators were coming off that 2012 Sugar Bowl season and had all the expectations in the world then bumbled it all away in Miami Gardens. I’m nervous saying that because there are no rules in rivalry games. I’m nervous saying that because if something goes wrong, I don’t know if we’ll see the team that lost to Missouri or the team that embarrassed South Carolina. I’m nervous saying that because as much confidence as Dan Mullen has injected into this program and this team, there is still a decade of games in the back of my mind that have set a devil on my shoulder making me doubt. But I also saw what this team could do when motivated like the back half of last season. I see the importance Dan Mullen isn't afraid to put on rivalry games. I see that Tim Tebow, hype speech extraordinaire, is speaking to the team ahead of kickoff. And I see who they bring back compared to Miami’s roster. I’m nervous saying this prediction but every time I work through the possible outcomes, logic kicks back in and I land back on a 35-14 Florida win.

The measure of a man is the sum of his parts. Like a stained glass window, each piece can be its own entity but each as necessary as the other to create an entire work of art. For Florida Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks, those parts have seemed fragmented at times; fans looking at one but not the other, missing the whole picture in the process. “It just warms my heart that somebody as simple as me—can make someone’s day." Now heading into his redshirt junior year, Franks has become Florida’s most stable quarterback since Tim Tebow. He’s won the job fair and square, there is no doubt to his position as leader and after a lot of toiling, he has the support of an oft fickle fan base—again, something no Florida quarterback since Tebow has been able to say with conviction. And for as much as his performance on the field went into this growth, it’s his presence off the field that has made the biggest impact. The University of Florida is notoriously one of the hardest places in the country to play quarterback. There are bronze statues and larger than life banners at every turn, reminding those young passers the legacy they’re expected to surpass. Many have tried; few have succeeded. The microscope on the position, at times is more discerning off the field than on, meaning every aspect of the quarterbacks life is scrutinized. It’s an area of the game that Franks admits was tough to adjust to, but one he intentionally worked on this offseason. “I try to set goals for different off-seasons…I think my emphasis for this season as opposed to last season was more to continue to build to become a leader. You always want to work on accuracy and that’s every year. At the same time you want to be more efficient as a quarterback and in everything I do, whether it be off the field leader or in the community; whether it be in the building, greeting somebody saying, ‘hey, how is your day?’ I just want to build relationships outside of the my teammates…. just being a better person than I have been in the past. “It was [tougher in years past]. You have to come out of your comfort zone. I had to get out of my comfort zone stepping into the University of Florida; that comes with playing the quarterback position. Getting out of your comfort zone being open to everybody else…thats what came through my mind, start greeting people as I walk through the hallways, make somebody’s day when you’re at Publix or somewhere like that. Make people’s days when you don’t realize it…I mean when you make somebody’s day it makes your heart warm.” It’s an insightful, mature approach to a position that requires both. As such, after three years the Florida fan base is truly getting to know their quarterback for the first time. To know a man though, you have to understand the parts that make him who he is; the parts that can be mutually exclusive, like in that stained glass window, but are forged together intricately. So to know Feleipe Franks, you have to know Jordan. You have to know Jade. And you have to know Jenna. Let’s start with Jordan. Feleipe is two years shy of his older brother Jordan; close enough in age to have spent childhood together but far enough apart that it didn’t take long for Jordan to become a hero to his younger brother. “He’s my brother. He knows me best,” reflects Feleipe. “He just knows me better than anybody.” In Wakulla County, Florida, sandwiched between Tallahassee and the Gulf Coast, the Franks brothers grew up with three horses, five acres and countless hours of figuring out the game of football together. They played together in middle school and high school, the quarterback and the tight end, with dreams of doing the same in college. Life took a different path as it’s apt to do, with Jordan ending up at UCF and Feleipe taking the reins in Gainesville. Jordan is now heading into his second season in the NFL with the Cincinatti Bengals. One thing has remained the same though; whenever possible, the two rotate back to each other. After Jordan’s rookie season wrapped in Cincinnati, he drove to Gainesville and moved in with his brother. Each day they’d follow the same routine; breakfast, go over plays, workout, get some balls in, come back to walk the dog, go over more plays and then rehab. In the time of life that speeds by faster then you can keep up, it gave both brothers a tether. “I just feel like that’s what I been doing my whole life. I mean it’s worked out for me so I feel like it’s no reason for me to change it up,” Jordan explains to GatorBait. “It’s nice to go back to be honest. It just feels like I’m back at home.” Feleipe agrees: “That’s like my partner. He did his separate thing with his trainer, because I had summer workouts, as well. But when it came down to when we’d throw he would go out there and throw with like Freddie [Swain], all the receivers, he would be out there too throwing with us, too. Just a good time for him to go out and get repetitions, as well.” *Slideshow His experience in the league was been soaked up by both Feleipe and Gators receivers who joined the offseason workouts. “It’ll make him a better athlete, stuff I can bring to him from the NFL and stuff I can ask our quarterbacks to tell him; how they look at the game, how he should look at the game sometimes. Even though I want him to do his own thing cause everybody’s different. I mean it’s nice,” says Jordan. Even when Jordan is in Ohio—like he is now—he’s the voice that Feleipe is most tuned to, especially when he needs his brother to drown out all the noise. “When [fans] booed him that week [against Missouri] he was just all down and he didn’t understand why,” recalls Jordan. “Cause no one knows how much work goes into playing quarterback. Obviously you see they get paid so much in the NFL and there’s a reason for that. And no one sees the work and he was like ‘why are they booing me?’ And he was young, he was like 20. And I just told him, ‘you know that’s part of the game, especially where you’re at and the position you play.’ “But I was like, ‘if I was you, I would just tune them out, stay in your quarterback room. Obviously they’re gonna start Kyle so just pick him up.’ Cause the way our motto is, we’re not gonna try to downgrade somebody so we can play. The way we both see it is we’re always gonna help somebody that’s ahead of us cause the ultimate run is gonna help us do what we gotta do too. So he was in there with Kyle [Trask] studying and obviously what happened to Kyle was unfortunate with his foot at the time. And he went in and Kyle supported him, and he went in and did his thing and the rest is history.” The following Saturday, Jordan saw his brother turn the corner to becoming the quarterback the Gators needed. In a 35-31 win over South Carolina, Feleipe scored two rushing touchdowns, shushed his own home crowd after both and seemingly never looked back at the kid questioning it all. “The point I realized he understood, not football but understood I guess you say life, is when he shushed the crowd. Now I’ll say he probably shouldn’t have done that but you could see, you can see he took pride in what he did and he wasn’t gonna back down just because someone booed him or wanted him off the stage.” When all was said and done, Feleipe finished the season with 2,819 all purpose yards and 31 touchdowns (24 passing/seven rushing) to only six interceptions. It’s the best statistical performance by a Gators quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009 (3,805 AP yards, 35 touchdowns, five interceptions). There’s another role that’s taken precedence in his life though; one of uncle. That brings us to Jade. Jordan’s daughter is still just a tot but she can spot her Uncle Feleipe from across the practice field. With bouncy curls and big brown eyes, she lights up when she sees his tall frame striding her way. It’s a look only rivaled by the one on the passers face when he realizes Jade is waiting for him on the sideline. It took some adjusting for the two to arrive at this point, but now there’s no tearing them apart. “First time that [Feleipe] met her, I brought him to Orlando,” remembers Jordan. “He was kinda, I wouldn’t say scared but he was like ‘durn’ cause he was always the baby of the family. I don’t think he’d ever even really held a baby before. So it was kinda new to him so it was just funny to see his reaction. But he’s good with kids which is crazy, a lot of people don’t know. But he’s really good with kids. Once he got warmed up to it, like favorite uncle.” While at SEC Media Days this summer, Feleipe lit up when asked about Jade, crediting his smiley niece with some of the change is his more mature demeanor. While he won’t be able to carry her in his arms into a game like he does walking into practice, there’s little doubt the small life has already had a major impact. It can be seen in the gentleness with which the quarterback addresses the younger fans (albeit, something his family says has always been a strength of his), and it’s evidenced in the way he takes responsibility for those around him. Dan Mullen has never been perturbed by the fact that Feleipe is an emotional guy. Even after a dominating Peach Bowl win, the magnitude of the day led Franks to take a moment on the bench, unabashedly letting the tears roll down his face before going to celebrate with teammates. Mullen feels one of the tricks to making Franks a good quarterback was the passer learning how to use that to his advantage. Off the field, Feleipe is letting it drive him more as well. He’s exhibited a cognizant deliberateness that has reverberated throughout the Gators program. Those close to the team talk of a camaraderie that hasn’t existed in their time—some nearing a decade. It’s present now though, fueling a team thanks in large part to the effort Feleipe has put in to connect with each and every person on his roster. It speaks of a heart that was overlooked during a tumultuous season but is seen more as it’s motivated the redshirt junior. It speaks to Jenna. Jenna is from Feleipe’s hometown. The latter describes her as high spirited and super awesome. She’s also lived a lot longer than she was ever expected to, due to her down syndrome. Each of those extra days though helped shape the young boy that would become the Gators quarterback. “When we were younger even before high school, I played travel baseball with her brother and she would always be there and sit next to me. She just loved me so we kinda built a relationship,” explains Feleipe. She calls him “SeePay,” a memory that makes Franks grin when recalling. She was at every sporting event he had growing up when possible. After he moved to Gainesville, the two’s time became more sparse. There were days though, when due to different associated reasons, Jenna would find herself at Shands Hospital just a stone’s throw from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. And on those days, Feleipe would find himself making the quick trip to see her. “She’ll be laying in the bed obviously, but she’ll just have high spirits, whatever she does so she’s kinda just a spirit picker-upper for me.” Adds Jordan, “Every time [Jenna] sees [Feleipe] she just smiles and brightens her day up. I wanna say before I left [for Cincinatti] we actually ran into her and he was just talking to her for like 10 minutes. It was kinda funny. I seen her, I went outside to the truck to tell him that she was in there so he walked back in and he was just like messing around with her for like 10 minutes.” The moment was mirrored at another point this summer when the two brothers were leaving a Gainesville Walmart. A little boy, finishing up his stay at Shands, was leaving the store with his dad when he saw his hero just ahead. The son and father stopped Jordan and asked if that really was Feleipe Franks. Jordan said yes and asked them to wait while Feleipe pulled the truck around. The meeting left the quarterback with a new friend and profound lesson. “He had two open heart surgeries and he was only like 12 or so. He literally looked like a normal kid. He was walking by with his dad and I kind of seen them from my eye, kind of starring at me as I walked by. That’s somebody I could have said hello to and didn’t know it…but he met me outside and got his bracelet and told him I would take him to dinner anytime he wanted. Kind of getting him around people on the team and stuff.” Feleipe still wears the little boy’s bracelet and has set plans in motion to make that dinner happen. As he walks through town now, stopping to create a memory for those that just want to be near their favorite player, it harkens back to those days sitting on the bleachers next to Jenna, realizing the impact he could have on someone else. “I think that’s kinda where it started at—kinda inspiring others and then when I get the opportunity, that’s kinda I think where it started at but it’s grown so much from that point. But these kids that don’t have the same—not the same opportunities, but don’t have whether it be the ability or things like that, you wanna go and make their day and you wanna make ‘em feel loved like they are. I think it’s just super special when you can go and make an impact on somebody’s day. “It just warms my heart that somebody as simple as me, somebody as simple as all these other guys can make someone’s day like that. It’s just super heartwarming. You would be a fool to have a platform like this and not do something like this.” The measure of a man is the sum of his parts. Feleipe Franks is many things; quarterback, son, brother, student, leader. But he’s also a reflection of Jordan and Jade and Jenna; the change they’ve wrought on his life and he on theirs.

The eyes of the college football world will be on the Florida Gators this week as the team kicks off the 150th celebration of college football in a Week 0 game against in-state rivals the Miami Hurricanes. There’s a lot to prepare for with the game quickly approaching and Gator Bait Media is here to keep you up to date with it all. Here are some of the quicker news bits in your Monday news recap. GAME WEEK EXCITEMENT IS FLOWING The Gators are pretty much going to be the only show on television this week (save Arizona vs. Hawaii on the late slate) so ESPN and the SEC Network is going all out to given ample coverage to their Week 0 opener. As such the team has had an accelerated schedule this fall camp and are rolling into game week while other teams are still in training mode. After going 10-3 in 2018 despite being doubted for most of the season, quarterback Feleipe Franks says no matter the outside noise this season, they have clear expectations for themselves. “Within the team, I think, going into a year I think that you would be wrong if you weren’t going with expectations of winning a national title. I think that you’d be selling yourself short and I think this team is really special. I think that we expect to win games, I think that’s the Gator Standard and we expect to go out there and win every Saturday and try to make it a playoff contender and win a championship here again. That’s the expectations here every year.” With the opportunity to renew the once revered rivalry against Miami, Mullen and players say the excitement has already been flowing. Says Mullen, “Everybody in the country is ready for college football, excited for college football. It's Saturday so a lot of teams aren't practicing and a lot of teams haven't started their game week yet. To me one of the great things is not just the fans but all the other teams are watching us. What are they going to see? What's our stamp? When every college person in the country turns on their TV what's their thought when they see the Florida Gators. We have to go out there and live up to that on the field. Everybody is watching…what do you want them to think about you?” Adds redshirt sophomore corner Marco Wilson, “We’ve always been focused. Mind’s been wired on getting better every day, going hard every day, giving your all. Because in the back of my mind, we know what’s ahead of us and we know we have a team to go play. So I think if your mind was changing today then you’re too late.” And from Lamical Perine, “If the coaches got to get us excited for this game, then we shouldn’t even be able to play it. I feel like everybody’s excited right now and juiced up, tired of hitting each other and ready to go hit some Hurricanes.” GATORS RANKED 8TH IN AP POLL The Gators open the season ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press pre-season poll. Dan Mullen’s squad finished the season at No. 7 after defeating the Michigan Wolverines 41-15 in the Peach Bowl. The Wolverines are one spot ahead at No. 7 in the preseason poll. As the poll currently stands, the Gators will face three Top 25 teams (No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 LSU and No. 16 Auburn). Their season opener, Miami, is not ranked but is in the “others receiving votes” subsection. This is the the Gators first preseason Top 10 appearance since 2013 when Florida was ranked No. 10. Ironically that season featured a week two loss to Miami. This is the highest preseason ranking for the Gators overall since 2010 when UF clocked in at No. 4. Senior running back Lamical Perine admit that the ranking is a nice recognition of what this team has done and is expected to do this season. “I feel like now we’re getting a lot more respect than we’re used to getting in the AP polls. We probably would be ranked 20, 25th in the nation, maybe not even ranked. It’s good that being No. 8 in the country, man, and showing a lot of hard work paying off. There’s just more to come from this team.” That should come, according to Perine, thanks to the off the field effort the guys have put in this summer. “A lot of guys bond with each other real well. A lot of guys outside of football hang together and things like that, building a lot of chemistry. That’s something Coach Mullen has been trying to build since he got here, so just being able to have chemistry between the team helps out when we’re in games.” DEPTH CHART RELEASED Mullen and company have released the unofficial depth chart for Saturday’s game. There aren’t too many surprises as all returning starters still have a lock on their position. Those that were going to see turnover have stayed consistent with what we saw in spring practice and fall camp. In everyone’s favorite depth chart game, we counted 15 “OR”’s indicating there were two—and sometimes three—players all considered on the same string at their given position.

By: FRANZ BEARD “It’s déjà vu all over again” – Yogi Berra History, which has a distinct way of repeating itself, is on Dan Mullen’s side. Going all the way back to Bowling Green where he transformed a sledgehammer of what was essentially a single wing tailback into a functioning quarterback who was as dangerous with his arm as his feet, Mullen’s history is that every second year starter gets better and every team with that second year starter is a better team than the year before. Josh Harris was listed at 6-1 but that was in his cleats. The 245 pounds of muscle he carried was very real and made him a beast in short yardage, frightening if he ever broke loose with a head of steam. The trick for Mullen was to refine him into a legitimate dual threat. By year two Harris was lethal and Bowling Green was the team nobody in the Mid-American Conference wanted to play. Mullen’s come a long way since Bowling Green, but at every rung on his ladder of success there has been a repeat of the process where both quarterback and team improve substantially in year two. That, precisely, is why Florida fans should be optimistic that the Gators will improve on last year’s 10-3 and Feleipe Franks will take his place among the elite quarterbacks in the SEC. Here is a look at Mullen’s track record with starting quarterbacks dating back to his days as an assistant coach at Bowling Green under Urban Meyer: Josh Harris, Bowling Green (2001-02): When Harris became the starter in 2001, the spread option concept began to take shape. As the part-time starter, Harris threw for 1,022 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for 641 and eight more as the Falcons finished the season with three straight wins go to 8-3, a huge improvement from the 2-9 of 2000 the year before Urban Meyer became the head coach with Mullen tutoring the quarterbacks. Bowling Green went 9-3 in season two with Harris as the established #1 guy. Harris threw for 2,425 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 737 and 20 TDs. Alex Smith, Utah (2003-04): Utah went 5-6 with Smith on the bench in 2002. Enter Meyer and Mullen in 2003 and the Utes improved to 10-2 as Smith threw for 2,247 yards and 15 touchdowns while running for 452 and five more. Year two was magical as the Utes ran the table (12-0) with Smith throwing for 2,952 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for 631 and 10. Utah went from 28.7 points per game in 2003 to 45.3 in season two. Chris Leak, Florida (2005-06): This was a huge challenge since Leak was a reluctant runner who had been groomed since he could walk to be a pocket passer. Square pegs don’t fit into round holes, so Mullen adapted the offense to fit Leak’s skills. In a year when they were still trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t, the Gators improved from 8-5 to 9-3 in 2005 with Leak throwing for 2,639 yards and 20 touchdowns. He ran for six TDs but that was the result of 81 reluctantly positive yards. The Gators improved to 13-1 and won the national championship in 2006 as Leak threw for 2,942 yards and 23 touchdowns while running for three more. Leak was the Most Outstanding Player in Florida’s 41-14 blowout of highly favored Ohio State in the national championship game. Tim Tebow, Florida (2007-08): Tebow was a valuable commodity on the 2006 national championship team as a situational player who ran for tough yards and threw sparingly. He took over the team as the starting QB in 2007 and promptly put together one of the greatest statistical seasons ever for a college player, throwing for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for 895 and 23 more. Tebow won the Heisman Trophy as the Gators went 9-4. The stats weren’t better in 2008, but Tebow was a vastly improved quarterback. In leading the Gators to a 13-1 mark and the national championship, Tebow threw for 2,746 yards and 30 touchdowns and ran for 673 and 12 more. The Tebow of 2008 was a mature QB who knew how to get every one of his teammates involved which had everything to do with the Gators winning the national title. Chris Relf, Mississippi State (2009-10): Relf worked his way into a starting job during Mullen’s first year at Mississippi State when the Bulldogs went from terrible to respectable. Relf was the running QB while Tyson Lee was the thrower. Relf passed for 283 yards and five TDs while running for 500 and two more scores. As the full-time starter in 2010, Relf threw for 1,789 yards and 13 TDs, ran for 713 yards and five TDs and led the Bulldogs to a most surprising 9-4 record that included a 52-14 thrashing of Michigan in the Gator Bowl. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (2013-14): A year after backing up Tyler Russell, Prescott, who chose Mississippi State because Mullen would let him play QB, put up good but not great numbers while leading the Bulldogs to seven wins including three in a row at the end. Prescott threw for 1,940 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 829 and 13. Then came his second year as a starter when the Bulldogs spent four weeks as the #1 team in the country and finished 10-3. Prescott literally exploded as a playmaker, throwing for 3,449 yards and 34 touchdowns while running for 986 and 14 more. Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State (2016-2017): With Dak Prescott gone on to the NFL, there were predictions of doom and gloom for the Mississippi State offense since Nick Fitzgerald, he of the 14 pass attempts in 2015, was heir to the Prescott throne. Coming out of Richmond Hill, Georgia, Fitzgerald’s best offers were Chattanooga and Samford until Mullen came along and offered a Division I scholarship to Mississippi State. In his first year as a starter, Fitzgerald threw for 2,423 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 1,375 yards and 16 TDs. The stats weren’t as good in 2017 as they were the previous season, but Mississippi State was a better football team with a more balanced offense. The Bulldogs went 9-4 with Fitzgerald throwing for 1,782 yards and 15 TDs while rushing for 984 and 14 in a season cut short by a dislocated ankle. Feleipe Franks, Florida (2018): It was only a year ago that Franks was thought to be transfer material because there was no way even a noted quarterback whisperer like Mullen could salvage his Florida career. Well, here we are about to start year two and Franks is coming off a season in which he threw for 2,457 yards and 24 TDs and ran for 350 more with seven touchdowns, the best QB stats since Tebow in 2009. To say the transition for Franks went smoothly would be a lie, but at some point the lights went on and when they did the entire Florida football team responded. The Gators went from 4-7 to 10-3 and laid waste to FSU and Michigan (Chik-fil-A) Peach Bowl as the finishing touches of a season-ending 4-game winning streak.