MIAMI GARDENS – The trust that it took for Dan Mullen to let Kyle Trask check into an option play on fourth-and-one from the Florida 44 in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s Orange Bowl game with Virginia had its origins in that first team meeting two years ago when Mullen addressed a bunch of beaten down Gators who came to Florida expecting more than four wins and no bowl game. “I knew there were guys that they'd won four games the year before and looking at guys in the room and they were saying that's not why I came to Florida, I came to Florida to be a great football team,” Mullen said after the Gators finished the 2019 season 11-1 with a 36-28 win over Virginia. “It takes a lot of trust. It takes a lot of trust. In that first team meeting I said I'm going to earn your trust and you're going to earn my trust as a coach and how we're going to run this program and build this program.” Obviously, the two-way street of trust Mullen was talking about that day is alive and well because two years later the Gators have won back-to-back New Year’s Six bowl games while improving from 10-3 in 2018 to 11-2 in the season that completed at Hard Rock Stadium Monday night. If there is the perfect example of what happens when you combine patience with trust it is Trask, who seemed destined to finish his collegiate career the same way he spent his three varsity seasons at Manvel High School in Texas – carrying a clipboard on the sideline. Yet, it was in the monotony of preparing for what had to be seen as the most remote of all possibilities that Trask transformed from Mr. Insignificant into the indispensable leader of an 11-2 football team that will be ranked among the top eight teams in the country when the final polls come out after the national championship game in a couple of weeks. Sure, a measure of luck was involved – back luck on the part of Feleipe Franks, who dislocated his ankle in game three against Kentucky; good luck on the part of Trask, who led the Gators to 19 straight points for an improbable come-from-behind victory – but none of that could have happened if not for the trust whose seeds were sown at that first team meeting two years ago when Mullen was introduced as Florida’s new football coach. The trust between Mullen and Trask has grown exponentialy since that night in Lexington. Trask, who never started a varsity game in high school, is 8-2 as Florida’s starter. In less than 10-1/2 games he has put up better numbers than Franks did in 13 games last season. Franks threw for 2,457 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions last year. Trask has thrown for 2,941 yards and 25 touchdowns. That’s more yardage and more TDPs than Tim Tebow accumulated (2,895 yards, 21 touchdowns) in his senior season of 2009. Mullen beamed with pride post game Monday night when he talked about Trask. “I think if a young person wants a role model, they can look to the guy to my left right now, know what I mean?” Mullen said. “A guy that maybe life didn't seem to be going maybe the way you want it to go in high school, but you know what, he still was given an opportunity, worked his tail off and was given an opportunity. Maybe it wasn't going the way he wanted it to go when he got to college, but he didn't worry about that. He worked his tail off and then when he was given the opportunity, he was completely prepared.” Because Trask was so completely prepared, Mullen didn’t flinch in the fourth quarter when the Gators faced that fourth-and-one at their own 44, clinging precariously to a 27-21 lead. Come up short and Virginia would be working with a short field, this after the Cavaliers had marched 75 yards in six plays to trim the Florida lead to that very skinny six points. Another coach might have called time out upon seeing how Virginia stacked the box in anticipation of something straight up the gut with Lamical Perine but Mullen trusted Trask to make the right decision. Instead of attempting to blast between the tackles for the yard the Gators needed to extend the drive, Trask checked into an option play around the left side. Trask slid down the line, drew the defense to him when he threatened to cut upfield and that provided just enough space for Perine to take the pitch, square his shoulders and power forward for the first down. “They [Virginia] had everybody pinned inside,” Mullen said. “He checked to the pitch to the outside because they had everybody lined up inside. It was a great check by Kyle, great job by Lamical, obviously a veteran player knowing what he needed to do to get the 1st down and all those things. You're at that moment, you have fourth-and-one, we felt comfortable, felt like we should be able to get that yard, and if not, our defense playing hard, they make plays and we've been aggressive all year long.” On the next play, Trask and Tyrie Cleveland hooked up for a 30-yard pass play, then Perine squirted through the line and cut to the sideline. By the time a UVa defender got just enough of him that his left foot grazed the out-of-bounds marker, 23 yards had been covered and the Gators had first-and-goal at the one. Virginia guessed wrong on the next play, expecting Perine to get the call for what would have been a fourth TD. Instead Trask tucked it and waltzed into the end zone to increase the UF lead to 33-21. There was another one of those trust plays following a Kaiir Elam interception at the Florida three on Virginia’s next possession. When Trask and the Gators broke the huddle, the play call was for Perine to find some running room to wedge the ball out from the shadow of the goal line but at the line of scrimmage, Trask not only saw ideal one-on-one coverage on Van Jefferson on the outside but a Virginia corner giving way too much cushion. So he checked out of the run and into a pass play. It was a relatively safe pass but it would catch the Cavaliers flatfooted. “They [Virginia] were playing soft,” Mullen said. “They were playing off on him [Jefferson]. They played really soft all night long, almost forcing us to run the ball the whole time. That was one of the ones, know going in if they are going to give the big cushion and leave him one-on-one out there we were going to get the ball out there quick to him.” Trask took the snap and without hesitation turned and threw to Jefferson, who took one step back toward the end zone. He made the lone defender miss and then took off down the sideline. By the time Virginia defenders caught up, Jefferson was 53 yards downfield to the UVa 44. Florida finished off that drive with a field goal for a 36-21 lead. Virginia would get a touchdown inside the final minute but those two Trask audibles made the Virginia rally a little bit too little and too late. So the Gators got a win Monday night, one made possible because of a bond of trust that got its start two years ago. Dan Mullen earned Kyle Trask’s trust and in turn, Trask earned Mullen’s. Although he had to wait patiently for his opportunity, Trask never wavered in his trust or in his belief that everything would work out as it is supposed to. “Today's world we live in is such an instant gratification world,” Mullen said. “I want it now, I want it now, I want it now and people forget the path to success is not a quick, short turn. The path to success is a long journey, and the guy next to me should be a role model for all young guys out there.”

Lamical Perine gallops in for the score after nabbing Kyle Trask pass. GatorBait PHOTO BY CHAD RITCH. By BUDDY MARTIN GatorBait Editor MIAMI GARDENS – He always wanted to be a Gator and even took an unofficial trip on a bus from Mobile, Ala. at his own expense in high school to see Gainesville for himself. That’s the way his love affair with the Florida Gators began for Lamical Perine. Last night he could have ridden out of town on the shoulders of his teammates as the hero of the Capital One Orange Bowl, because he was the most valuable player in the game. On a night when Florida’s offense sometimes spun out on the turns, Perine’s juice and his multiple skills as a receiver and ball carrier capped off a special year for Dan Mullen and keep his team on track. Perine was a turbine engine in a 549-yard offense with a pair of touchdowns rushing and one in the air from Kyle Trask with his career high 138 yards on the ground. He would have posted four touchdowns except instant replay showed his foot on the boundary at the 1. Trask ran into feisty, well-coached Virginia defense whose scheme sometimes caused problems but by the second half he found his rhythm and had 10 straight completions on a 307-yard performance. Perine was one of 21 seniors playing their final game, closing out their careers on a second a straight New Years Six Bowl win with a double digit number of wins – this time 11 of them. It was only the second time in 10 years that a Florida team reached that win total. The other legacy that this team leaves is that in day when many players skipped their final game so as not to risk their pro career, all but one of those eligible at Florida stepped up to play in their bowl game. “It’s been a blessing,” Perine said at the post-game press conference. “And another thing. We won the state!” There is nothing the Gators could have done to compare to the record-shattering performance of LSU vs. Oklahoma because everything else pales in comparison to what the Joe Burrow Express did in flattening the Sooners. Mullen sold this week as a “cultural experience” for his players, a week when they were “locked in on football” with a fewer academic pressures and a chance to enjoy some of the amenities of South Florida. He made it a point to say, however, that the only two teams in the New Year’s Six bowls from the top public universities were playing each other in the Capital One Orange Bowl. There is always the danger of a fall-off in the post-season, especially for non-title contending teams or with those loaded with future NFLers, so even though Mullen has continued to demand “relentless effort” as he has all season, there was no way to know how the Gators would answer the call, but Lamical Perine quickly responded with a 61-yard touchdown sprint and a 7-0 lead. Virginia did not roll over and die, however. Only six times this year has Kyle Trask thrown to the wrong color jersey. But the junior redshirt did it for a 7th when Cavalier Nick Grant being the recipient of the interception. A play later Virginia QB Bryce Perkins cashed in, making Florida pay for the turnover, throwing to receiver Terrell Jana on a 34-yard strike to make it 7-7. Clearly Trask’s fine touch was not there and it took him a bit to a shake off the dust. He got some help from his teammate Perrine who turned and grabbed a short pass, shook loose a tackler and sprinted into the end zone for a 14-7 advantage. Made you remember how valuable No. 2 has been this season. Still, Virginia would not go away. With help from more Gator mistakes – an offsides and personal foul by Jabari Zuniga among them – Virginia kept an 88-yard alive until playmaking quarterback Perkins found WR Hasise Dubois on the back end line of the end zone and the 6-3 senior out scrapped Marco Wilson for the and the touchdown. 14-all. By the second quarter three things were clear. 1--This was looking like an unsettling night for Florida’s otherwise consistent quarterback and kinks needed working out. Before the half Trask already had more tipped passes than any game of the year. 2—Virginia came ready and seemed to have an answer for almost everything in Dan Mullen’s arsenal early in the first half, including the Gators receivers – except for Perine. There would need to be some mid-game adjustments. Todd Grantham’s defense finally got some pressure on Perkins and the immediate result was the first sack of the night. Zuniga brought the heat, and Ventrell Miller got home with the sack with an assist by Kent Bogle. What got them to this point in the season was a reliable defense that brought pressure to some of the best QBs in the game – 46 times the Gators sacked the quarterback. And when they finally connected for Sack No. 47, it was a game changer. The whole team seemed to remember its identity and even the offensive steam kicked in. Down the field they went as Trask seemed to get into a rhythm with sharper throws – he even found Van Jefferson on a reception – and before halftime Perine had chalked up his third touchdown of the night. It was as though the Gators’ muscle memory had finally kicked in. The transference of power didn’t carry over in a sloppy third quarter with nothing much to show for it except another McPherson field goal and in the shank of the evening without a compelling match to offer national TV, Florida held a lackluster 27-14 command. But the Cavs weren’t ready to roll over. As two-touchdown underdogs, Virginia kept scratching and clawing its back and after a 75-yard drive to make it a one-score game, 27-20. What did Mullen have left in his bag of tricks? He came out firing. With a fourth down at their own 44, Mullen called an option by Trask and he pitched it to – who else? – Perine who lunged for the first down. Then in dramatic fashion, Perine dashed 24 yards on a stellar effort to score his fourth touchdown. But wait! The officials said he stepped out at the 1-yard line. So on the next snap Trask put the ball in the belly of Perine and kept it himself for the score. Trouble is, nobody could convince the Cavaliers they were the No. 24 ranked team in the country and Florida was No. 8. So they bounced right back and once again Perkins had them knocking at the goal line. Once again it was defense that spared the Gators. It had been a challenging evening for freshman cornerback Kaiir Elam, but when it counted most Elam made the play than shut down the stubborn Cavs, reaching high in the air to pick Perkins toss. But hold on, there was yet some gas in the tank and Bryce threw a touchdown pass on a tackle eligible, but after further review it was ruled an ineligible pass and reversed. With 3rd and 10 at Florida’s 15 and just 55 ticks on the clock, the game decided, they still couldn’t get Bronco Mendenhall’s team to quit. So Perkins found one more bullet and fired a looping touchdown pass to Dubois, cutting it to a one-score game, 36-28. Virginia tried an onside kick, but the ball wound up in the possession of sure-handed senior Freddie Swain, a fitting way for the Ocala senior to conclude his stellar career. At the end of night, it was spirited competition for Florida, maybe not a marquee matchup for a national TV audience, but nonetheless an 11th win for Mullen, who is now 21x25 with two New Years’ Six Bowl wins. The story of the night was Lamical Perine, who always wanted to be a Gator and wound up going out in style as the most valuable Gator in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: DECEMBER 30, 2019 MIDDAY ORANGE BOWL EDITION Maybe it doesn’t sound like much, but there is an almost light year’s difference between a 10-3 season and 11-2. Dan Mullen understands what it means for the Florida Gators to knock off the Virginia Cavaliers in tonight’s Orange Bowl game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Last year’s 10-3 was somewhat of a surprise in Mullen’s first year. Going 11-2 in year two, which would entail a second straight win in a New Year’s Six bowl game, not only represents improvement but it puts the Gators among that handful of teams that has won 21 games in the last two years. When you’re busy trying to win hearts and minds of recruits in a state with the kind of talent that Florida produces on an annual basis, 11 wins resonates. When you’re in the Orange Bowl and Miami is required to spend another week in Shreveport for losing in the Independence Bowl and finishing 6-7, 11 wins is a big deal. When you’re in the Orange Bowl and Florida State is playing in something called the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso while hoping to avoid a second straight losing season, 11 wins is a big deal. That’s why this has been a business trip for the Gators. Mullen has let his team have some fun, which is an absolute requirement to keep kids who have hours with nothing to do at bowl locations from going stir crazy. There’s only so much football that can be crammed into 24 hours, but Mullen knows when to reel his team back in and re-focus them on football. By all accounts, Mullen has done a good job of selling the Gators on the fact that Virginia is a very capable team despite the Cavaliers’ 9-4 record. Quarterback Bryce Perkins is a dual threat quarterback who can make all the throws and pick up yardage in chunks when the pocket collapses (3,215 passing yards, 18 touchdowns; 745 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns). He’s not Joe Burrow, but he has the ability to light up opposing defenses, especially ones that come to the ball yard distracted. Over on the offensive side of the ball, Mullen has to be prepared for an all-out blitz on just about every snap. The Cavaliers will be without their top pass rusher (Jordan Mack, 7.5 sacks) but because they run such an exotic array of blitz packages, they will feel confident they can pressure Kyle Trask. Offensively, the Gators should have some success running the ball, but Mullen isn’t about to depart from what got them here in the first place and that’s the passing game. Despite its success rushing the passer (Virginia has 46 sacks this season), the Cavaliers have given up 228.2 yards per game and 22 touchdown passes. More telling is the 8.0 yards per pass attempt they allow. The easiest way to slow down a team that lives and dies with the blitz is quick hitters and drag patterns but the UVa scheme leaves the Cavaliers extremely vulnerable to the tight end in the middle of the field and running backs on wheel routes. This is a very winnable game for the Gators. They’re very aware that an Orange Bowl win means the football program has taken that vital next step on the road back to the championship level that has been missing for the last decade. The Sayer Says Sooth: Because the Orange Bowl crowd will be about 80% pro-Gator, Mullen will try to turn the crowd rowdy early with up-tempo offense and a very aggressive defensive game plan that will put the Cavaliers on their heels. The passing game will slice and dice the Virginia defense and Todd Grantham’s defense will smell blood and turn this into a sack party. Watch for Jabari Zunigan and Jonathan Greenard to turn their final game as Gators into a lasting memory. My choice for offensive MVP – senior wide receiver Van Jefferson. FLORIDA 38, Virginia 14. THE SEC SOOTHSAYER Mississippi State (6-6) 24, Louisville (7-5) 23: The Bulldogs had to beat a D1AA team and Ole Miss to earn their way into the Music City Bowl. Ole Miss was so embarrassed from losing to a Joe Moorhead-coached team that they fired Matt Luke and hired Lane Kiffin to make sure something like that never happens again. Louisville coach Scott Satterfield can coach rings around Moorhead and he might actually do it in this game, but my conscience won’t allow me to pick an ACC team over one from the SEC, even one coached by Joe Moorhead. TWO QUICK TAKES FROM THE PLAYOFF SEMIFINALS I understand completely why the Ohio State folks think they got the shaft on that fumble that was ruled an incompletion. I also understand that a single overturned call from the replay booth shouldn’t have made a difference. Ohio State lost that game because the Buckeyes only scored one touchdown in FIVE (count’em) trips into the red zone. They settled for three field goals and threw an interception and you can’t do that against a Clemson team that is up against the ropes. If it’s 24-0 (three touchdowns and a field goal) instead of 16-0 (one touchdown and three field goals), I don’t think Clemson could have rallied for the win. So, sure the Buckeyes have a right to be upset with that overturned call, but they should be more upset with the fact they had more than adequate chances to put Clemson away early to turn the game into a rout and they didn’t get the job done. When the Buckeyes point a long boney finger at the replay booth they need to understand there are three fingers pointing right back at themselves. I’ve been writing and analyzing college football for the better part of 50 years and this LSU offense is without a doubt the best I’ve ever seen. If Ed Orgeron had wanted to he could have scored 80 points on Oklahoma. He called off the dogs at the half, understandable because he didn’t need to pour it on and he didn’t need to risk getting people hurt that he might need against Clemson in the national championship game. Joe Burrow made it abundantly clear why he won the Heisman Trophy. He also made me wonder how it is Dwayne Haskins beat him out for the starting job at Ohio State in 2018, which necessitated him transferring to LSU. THREE QUICK HITTERS I think Georgia is going to get its doors blown off by Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs aren’t taking this game seriously and they’ll be missing too many players, either the cowards who say they’re skipping the game to prep for the NFL Draft or some who are legitimately injured. I believe this game will convince Jake Fromm that he absolutely, positively has to leave Georgia for the NFL. I have to wonder if Alabama mails it in against Michigan or if Nick Saban convinces the Crimson Tide that there will be hell to pay in the spring if they lose to a Jim Harbaugh-coached team. My gut feeling tells me Alabama will show up in a big way. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of coaches leaving for another job in December ahead of a bowl game. I think it’s high time the people in charge think things through and find a better way of doing things. I am all for adjusting the signing day schedules and spring football so a moratorium on hiring coaches can be put in place until AFTER the bowl games. The perfect example is Memphis, which was 12-1 heading into the Cotton Bowl. The best season in school history ended in the Cotton Bowl with a loss to a Penn State team that really isn’t all that great. I have to think that Memphis probably would have beaten Penn State if Mike Norvell hadn’t departed for FSU in December. If the NCAA really cares about student athletes then it needs to make sure the athletes aren’t the ones who get the shaft at bowl time. I can’t blame coaches for taking a higher paying job, but if they adjust the signing day and spring football schedules, the players could be rewarded for a great season and coaches could still get their high paying jobs. They would just have to wait a month, that’s all.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL— The No. 9 Florida Gators are well aware of who they’re facing in Bryce Perkins. Dynamic, special and dynamic again were just a few of the adverbs Gators defensive players used to describe the Virginia Cavaliers quarterback. “It's always important to watch out for the quarterback when you play a dude like that because out of nowhere he just tucks the ball and runs,” says corner Marco Wilson. Perkins is the epitome of a dual-threat. He’s in the Top 40 in the country for passing, having completed 64% of his passes for 3,215 yards, 18-11 touchdown to interception ratio. But its his versatility that can prove fatal. He’s added 745 yards on the ground with 11 rushing touchdowns. Perkins at quarterback has 102 more rushes than the next closest rusher, tailback Wayne Taulapapa. He’s responsible for 3,960 yards of total offense, 8th in the nation and 78% of the Cavs offense. "The scout team quarterback has been running all over the place trying to make it realistic for the game,” reveals Wilson. That scout team quarterback is none other than early enrollee Anthony Richardson. The Gainesville native was able to practice with the team while they were still in town and ran the scout team to give the defense a look at Bryce Perkins type plays. “It was nice when we were in Gainesville when Anthony Richardson came in and really didn't know a whole lot on our offense but was able to go be a scout team quarterback for a week. To get a guy that could run around and give looks,” explains head coach Dan Mullen. As nice as the Richardson addition was and provided assistance, there is still little that can emulate the defensive confoundment created with a versatile duel threat quarterback. The Florida defense has found success when putting all of their attention—all 11 hats as they say—onto one player. It helped them shut down guys like running back D’Andre Swift and Cam Akers. But this isn’t just a running back. This is a guy that can hurt you in multiple ways, a test that the Gators haven’t had to face this season. “He creates an 11-on-11 game because of the style in which they play, which what that does is creates an extra gap defensively for you to fill because like if the quarterback is a non-runner or a non-factor, then it's really 11-on-10 and you can play with an extra guy in coverage and things like that, whereas when it's 11-on-11 you have an extra gap to fill so you've got to play it a little differently. You've also got to understand relative to the call how you rush, because there's six rush lanes so if you have four guys rushing, you've got to collapse the pocket outside in to keep the guy in the pocket. And then the thing on the pass plays is as you distribute—because the guys are going down the field, a guy that is athletic like that, if he makes a guy miss and can get out in space, now you have an athlete with the ball in his hand in space. So that becomes an issue. "But I think the biggest thing that Perkins has done is been able to complete some vertical throws down the field. Honestly against Clemson, they really could have scored the first two possessions of the game and maybe could have changed it a little bit there.” That 11th guy is crucial not just to contain plays, but to be in place for when the play falls apart. That’s what is the cause to pause for the Gators coaching staff. Says Mullen, “the scariest one is the plays that he makes after the play has broken down. You know, to sit there and say, okay, we stop the run or we stop the pass and all of a sudden he made somebody miss, he scrambled around, he got out of the pocket, he broke contain, and now you have a guy that is a great athlete in the open field making plays happen.” Grantham’s defense features the aggressive pass rush which will have to mind the back end as well this week, so as to keep any secondary plays from developing. But as BUCK Jon Greenard explains, it also means those pass rushers—which will include Jabari Zuniga back from injury—have to play with cognitive discipline. “Anytime as a pass rusher speaking, when you playing a guy like that, he’s kinda like, anything you do he’s gonna do the opposite. So you can be the guy around he edge, he’s gonna go right up under you. You can be the guy inside, he’s gonna go around you. So having guys on the D-line as a whole that understand how we wanna rush this guy, how we wanna attack this guy is gonna be huge for us. It changes up things a little bit but how you still can’t change a game too much. You gotta make him adjust to you, not adjust to him.” So how do you stop someone that has been virtually unstoppable this season? You can’t, admits Mullen. You just try to slow him down. “You've got to be sound. You've got to be disciplined. You've got to understand he's going to make plays, and you just have to limit the amount that he can make.”

Van Jefferson shook his head and laughed over the admission. “My form was not very good, I’m not gonna lie. I mean I just tackled the bag and it went down, that’s pretty much it.” Luckily for the senior wide receiver, the tackle was symbolic; meaningful in the metaphorical sense more than anything. It was the “last tackle”—a traditional moment for seniors to stand up and speak to their teammates before taking off towards a tackling dummy. For guys like running back Lamical Perine, it was a bookmark for his four years. "It wasn’t that big of a tackle but I did what I could do. Just knowing I done had a lot of great experiences from my first practice to my last, seeing a lot of things throughout my four years here. So just a surreal moment for real.” The surreal moment was intense for some more than others. Offensive lineman Nick Buchanan said the 15-yard run felt like 200. “Kinda laborious but you know, pushed through for my teammates.” The “laborious” run for Buchanan made the tackle difficult for the Gators leading tackler, linebacker David Reese, who has 89 so far this season. “The bag was all drenched in sweat and stuff like that,” accused Reese. “I didn't even hit the bag like tackle-tackle. I just pushed it to the ground.” Related: The Gators Offense vs. Virginia Defense Related: Watch clips from Gators Friday Orange Bowl practice Related: Gators defense pulls Freaky Friday switch on coaches The No. 9 Florida Gators are now in Miami, preparing for Monday night’s Orange Bowl against No. 24 Virginia. All attention is turned towards the final game. There will be more more practices in Gainesville for the 2019 Florida Gators. There will be no more meetings or walk-throughs. No more team dinners or late night workouts where it’s just them, the dimmed lights of the practice facility and the sway of the palm trees. “[It was] last practice in Gainesville man, last time I’ll ever see those guys for a long time. Last time in a Gator uniform. So I mean it’s emotional but next chapter of our lives we gotta get prepared for so life goes on,” reflected Jefferson. Added Perine, “Just knowing everything, the trials and tribulations and things like that. Like just fighting through adversity really. That’s the biggest things about college. You’re gonna have your good times but you also gotta be able to know you gonna have bad times as well and being able to handle that.” The adversity is what shaped this senior class. The group that went to a SEC Championship their first year (and first two for redshirt seniors) then had to endure a 4-7 season, fictitious death threats and a mid-season coaching change. Then they became the bedrock for a rebuilding program that has resulted in back-to-back 10 win seasons. Overall, the class has gone 25-16 (35-20 if you include the 2015 season for redshirt seniors). “I came in that first year, we went to the SEC Championship, and then the next year we went to the SEC Championship. So I was thinking, this is what we do, we go to the SEC Championship,” recalled Buchanan. “So I came in here thinking the SEC Championship was what we do, and the next year it didn't really go our way, so it's really great that we had the opportunity as like seniors to show the young guys what it takes to win 10 games, to compete for championships, you know, because it's a lot of work because everybody felt like we worked so much harder this year than last year, and we improved one game. So the margin of victory once you get into nine, 10, 11, 12-win seasons is just so small. It just shows that you have to work that much harder in the off-season.” The 2018-2019 seasons not including SEC Championships would indicate they haven’t been as successful as Jim McElwain’s first two years. But Buchanan believes what the Gators are doing now under Dan Mullen is more sustainable. "It's just the work ethic that was passed down. I feel as though us as seniors have done a pretty good job, the seniors last year obviously did a great job of passing down what it takes to work to get to the SEC Championship or to get to a 10-win season. Coach Mullen, he also knows that that's what he brought back was the Gator standard. So as long as you do it to the Gator standard, then you're going to be in a favorable position at the end of the year. “You know, versus when we first went, it was not a surprise, but like I didn't know what was going on basically. I wasn't playing. I was just like, ooh, we're here, we're in Atlanta, like especially your freshman year. The season goes by so fast your freshman year, but now we put such an emphasis on the young guys, teaching them what it takes to be successful.” That’s what Buchanan passed along to the ones he’s leaving behind. “Just told them that you come to Florida, make sure you graduate. Try to put something back on the wall—National Championships, SEC Championships. Make sure you have fun while you’re here, make the most of it.” Then he and his fellow seniors—bad form and all—laid one last tackle on the Gainesville turf and headed south to finish their Florida Gators career.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—You could hear them before you saw them. The chants of “we ready, we ready, we ready for y’all” echoed off the surrounding buildings at Barry University and grew louder as an assembled unit jogged as one around the bend in the sidewalk. It quickly became clear the singing group was comprised of the Florida Gators defense, moving towards head coach Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, the coaches waiting impatiently for the unit that was late to Friday’s Orange Bowl practice. As the guys drew closer, confused looks crossed the faces of coaches, family and media that were waiting by the gate. Then Todd Grantham realized what was going on with his guys. “I'll be honest with you, that kind of jacks me up,” laughed the defensive coordinator Saturday morning with reporters. Each guy had switched jersey’s with someone else on the defense. But it was more than just passing one left or right. Entire unit’s purposely switched with another group that was their opposite. It was Andrew Chatfield’s idea initially. Within moments though, Trey Dean was running with the prank and someone else’s jersey. “Trey Dean’s running around the locker room, ‘I got Zu’s jersey. I’m Zu for the day,’” BUCK Jon Greenard couldn’t stop cackling as he recounted the sight of the slight 194lb. defensive back Trey Dean drowning in the jersey typically meant for the 246lb. defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga and vica versa. “They was like D-linemen we gonna go to DB’s and DB’s, we just switched it in all aspects of it. It was hilarious when I seen Zu with Trey Dean’s jersey on. “I’m gonna tell you that was the funniest thing I seen. It was hilarious.” T.J. Slaton’s (358lb.) jersey went to Kaiir Elam’s (187lb.) knees and Mohamoud Diabate (213lb.) had to worry about his being stretched out on Adam Shuler (275lb.) Linebacker David Reese swapped with corner Marco Wilson and after squeezing into the new threads knew exactly what he looked like. “I looked like overweight Marco.” The chant—first becoming popular thanks to Ridgeway High School in Memphis two years ago before becoming ESPN’s soundtrack for NFL coverage—harkens back to sandlot’s and late nights. Teams compromised of neighbors and cousins; kids playing because there was no better way to spend the twilight hours between school and bedtime. And that’s the attitude the Gators defense took into practice as they prepare for their Monday matchup against No. 24 Virginia. Said Greenard, “I just thought we was just gonna run out there and next thing I hear is ‘we ready.’ Chat said man I feel like I’m back in little league ball again, hear them little chants like that. I’m surprised we weren’t beating on our pads and thighs and stuff like that…I couldn’t stop laughing at it the whole time.” Greenard and his former teammates at Louisville had tried the prank before and been shut down by the coaches. But his Gator teammates had a plan with which they felt the coaches couldn’t argue. “I was like man look, these boys gonna send us back in if we go out like that. They was like ‘nah, nah, not if we go out at the same time. They not gonna send all of us of back in.’ We like, ‘alright maybe you got an idea’…and they said ‘ok let’s go out right now’ and we all went out as a team.” It was the decision to do it together that made the difference and why Grantham and Mullen laughed instead of sending them back to the locker room. “I'll be honest with you, when I looked, I was like, who is that, because you get used to numbers in spots and things like that, and it's no longer there,” admits Grantham. “You're used to seeing this guy, hearing that number, and all of a sudden I see T.J. Slaton playing nickel, and I'm like—so anyway, but they were ready to play, and they played with energy, and hey, it's about having fun. But you've got to perform, and they did a good job with it. “I think they're very united and I think they have a really good bond. I think they like playing together. I think that comes from the leadership that we have up top, and it kind of trickles down to guys playing with energy and effort and doing the things they need to do to be good.” This Gators defense has been good more often than not this season. They’re ninth in the country in total defense, holding teams to an average of 299 yards while pitching three shutouts. Grantham’s aggressive style has the unit 5th in the country in sacks (46) and 13th among Power 5 schools in passing defense (192 yards per game). Linebacker David Reese said on Saturday that when all the pieces are present, he feels the defense for the No. 9 Florida Gators is elite. Save corner C.J. Henderson who is sitting out the bowl game in preparation for the NFL Draft and the known season ending injuries, Mullen and players reveal they expect everyone to play. Those with nagging injuries like Jabari Zuniga and Shawn Davis practiced on Friday and no other NFL prospects are bowing out from Monday’s game. They’re having too much fun to consider the idea. “We’re down in Miami, this is a big bowl game. We had to let loose a little bit,” commented Greenard. “We’ve been down here just putting in work, just trying to get ready for this game. We done put work in before coming down here. So to get in a little time and let loose and have fun at practice…stuff like that, we gonna remember that forever.”

‘For a Long Time I Proudly Was One, Now I’m Kinda Glad I Ain’t’ By MIKE McGINNIS I spent 25 of the last 29 college football seasons connected to the mighty Southeastern Conference as a football official -- 15 as a line judge on the field wearing the stripes, throwing flags and blowing whistles. For ten years I served in the replay booth in two different seats … the first four as a communicator/observer (assistant replay official) and for the final six years I sat in THE SEAT as a replay official. Those 25 years were over a third of my life and all very special to me. That avocation took me from one end of the country to the other … Miami to San Francisco to Pasadena to San Diego to Phoenix to San Antonio to El Paso to Boise to Minneapolis to Bloomington to Vicksburg to Chapel Hill to Clemson and back to Tampa, plus every SEC stadium and neutral site. The icing on the cake however, was getting to know, travel, spend fall weekends with, and work big-time college football with some very exceptional gentlemen. Every one of them thoroughly vetted, trained extensively having spent long hours on the field, viewing video, studying the rule book and working out to remain physically fit. I worked with dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, public servants, insurance agents, large and small business owners and executives, college administrators, pilots, high school teachers, lay clergy, mayors, state troopers, mechanics, professors, warehouse foremen, and CPAs to name a few. It is an exceptional fraternity that one doesn’t just wander or fall into. Every single one takes this “weekend activity” (which by the way extends itself into a majority of the week and runs almost year round now) very seriously preparing to perform at the highest level. Yet, mistakes are made. Because I’m not “active” I can publicly comment good or bad on what’s going on today whereas I was expected not to do so as an active official. I presume because of my exposure in those 25 years I’m asked almost every day about a football rule/ruling or my opinion about a flag that was or was not thrown in a particular game. And with all that, I’d like to say…regardless of what you think, they (the officials) aren’t that bad. But, some of the perceived mistakes this year seem more glaring than ever before. A lot of this is because of mis-stated facts or opinions by the television broadcasters and lack of true knowledge of the common fan looking through his favorite team-colored lenses and the very thorough video technology we have. Far and away, more officiating mistakes were made during my first several years in the league than are right now. I dare say some of the men I worked with early on would not be retained by today’s scrutiny and standards (including me perhaps). You can’t get away with being mediocre or less today. You must be the best you can be. If you’re not, you’re no longer with the SEC! I don’t buy the perceived bias by some. With all that said not one official or SEC personnel person leans in any direction favoring one team or another. You can’t be! You can never show favoritism. As a replay official we had to wear a coat and tie that was neutral in color. Wearing a blue tie may have been perceived as being a Kentucky fan. Precautions are taken to make sure officials are not put in precarious positions. For example, an Auburn grad will never work an Auburn game. If a perceived mistake or missed call happens it’s most certainly NOT because the ruling official has an allegiance one way or the other. The 11-man officiating crew (including the replay booth) strives to be the best team of the three involved in that game. Unfortunately, a mistake will be made … they’re human! But you can bet your last penny it wasn’t made intentionally … regardless of who you’re rooting for. I’ll admit this 2019 season has raised some serious concern to many regarding college football officiating. Honestly, I don’t know the reason, but it seems to coincide with the advent of an increased recognition of the “review center” at conference headquarters in Birmingham. The center is in place to provide the replay official in the stadium booth with another opinion or view … NOT to render a final decision. “Collaboration” is the word used, with the stadium booth official making the final call. The general misconception is the conference office is making the decision when the fact is as few as two and as many as five qualified veteran college football officials have put their heads together to make the ruling on a particular review. Trouble is, that ruling is considered correct or acceptable by only about half the fans or the ones it favored. Let me assure you the decision was not happenstance but very thoroughly and intently derived by folks who have “no dog in the fight” despite what you think or who you’re pulling for. To sum up, yes mistakes are made by officials. I know some people get aggravated when they see officials huddled up so often, but believe me they are trying to get it right. And those mistakes are not the result of any personal bias or leanings. As I say, the officiating in college football is better than it’s ever been, but we seem to hear more grousing than ever. Maybe TV has given us such good views that we can sometimes get a better angle on replay than the official can live. So we’ve all become experts. We understand that no matter which way the replay goes, half the people are going to be unhappy. We also understand that every now and then you feel the urge to boo an official. Occasionally you might consider giving him a hug. He could sure use it. A Hoosier at birth, Mike McGinnis grew up to be a Florida Gator. He was a five-sport participant at a small high school. All-state basketball honors earned him a scholarship to UF where he met Pat, now married 51+ years. Two athletic sons, six beautiful granddaughters. Huge college sports fan. Captain of the Ocala Quarterback Club. A man of faith, enjoys Tuesday breakfast with the guys, golf, volunteer mission work, good entertainment, various puzzles, and an occasional cocktail.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—The No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers defense has plans to make the No. 9 Florida Gators offense one dimensional. It’s a common defensive concept that is simplistic on paper and typically effective on the field. Stop the run to force the pass and then push the offense into bad decisions. That’s the game plan according to Wahoo’s outside linebacker Charles Snowden. “Making teams one dimensional is a big part of what we try to do,” Snowden told reporters on Thursday morning. He had just taken a seat at a table caddy corner from the one Gators running back Lamical Perine had vacated only moments before. Perine’s presence still loomed though as Snowden revealed the attention the Hoo’s plan on giving the senior back. “Their running back is one of the best we’ve seen so we know he’s a great running back so we’re not going in and thinking just stop the pass, stop the pass. You still have to stop the run. The run always establishes the pass so definitely trying to stop that run first and then make them one dimensional and then we can kinda do what we do best.” What they do best is blitz. The Cavs are 7th in the country in sacks with 45, just one shy of the Gators defense 46. While Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall might not be dialing up safety blitz’s straight up the middle á la Donovan Stiner, the blitzes are still sent as often as the Germans. At least, that’s how it appears on tape for Gators offensive lineman Nick Buchanan. "They blitz, I think 90 percent of the time or something like that, so yeah, we've definitely been doing a lot of blitz pickup drills and stuff like that.” “I mean he’s pretty close,” laughed Snowden. “We do blitz pretty often so we kinda have that aggressive mindset so it’s high risk, high reward. Usually it pays off but not all the time.” It’s the “not all the time” that the Gators have a great opportunity to take advantage of on Monday night. Because while the Cavs one dimensional plan is solid in theory, it is statistically ill-advised against this Florida offense because Dan Mullen’s squad has been one dimensional all season. More so, they’ve made it work. With little to no running game this season, the Gators have taken to the air and found a home there. Florida is 17th in the country in passing offense overall and 10th amongst Power 5 teams. UF rushed 364 times during the regular season, while passing 428 times. However, the production on the ground led to only 27.6% of the Gators total 5,048 offensive yards thus far, of course leaving the other 72.4% to have been accumulated through the air. Virginia’s defense has healed teams to an average of 358.2 yards per game. The Gators offense has averaged 420.7 yards per game this season. While Feleipe Franks started the season and quarterback Kyle Trask has split reps with Emory Jones, it’s the starter Trask that Hoo's free safety Joey Blount has been impressed with while watching. “His composure in the pocket. He is not very riled up. He stands strong in the pocket. Even when the pocket is closing around him, he'll stand on the reads, wait until the last minute and make the throw. Just his size and strength, honestly. He's a big guy at 6'5", 240 I'm pretty sure, and he just stands out. “He has a quarterback body, and I like his arm strength and his decision making. It looks like he's reading the defense before the ball is snapped. For a guy who's never really been starting, I think he's done a really good job coming in for this program.” RELATED: Florida Gators Friday Orange Bowl Practice The passers have been able to find success in the passing game thanks in large part to the tether on the other end of the cord. In total, 15 guys have hauled in a pass this season. That’s going to be the biggest issue explained Blount. “Personally I like to look at the rocker steps and see what receiver is good on what type of downs, what type of routes does each receiver run. Every receiver is different in that type of way, there are quick receivers, deep threats, spot receivers, route receivers. So on down and distance it's huge because certain receivers want to get the ball on certain downs, make those type of plays. "So for like the last week, week and a half, we've been studying down and distance, route concepts, what receiver is good on what routes, what are they best doing. You've got the tunnel screens and middle reads, under different routes they like to run, outside and inside receivers do a great job of getting the ball—Trask does a great job of getting the ball around to all the receivers, so that's actually what we're pinpointing, how we can read their concepts and just down and distance and just rely on the play calling for the defense.” And that dynamic running back that Snowden mentioned? He’s become another tool in the passing game, taking 35 receptions consisting primarily of screens and outs to supplement the anemic run game. It’s Perine’s talent—whether it comes on the ground or through the air—that Snowden says will require a watchful eye. “It definitely changes it because now we’re not necessarily—that’s another receiver you’ve got to account for. So if they’re pushing all their receivers vertical down the field, being able to stop the running back on a check down, where he might catch it for one yard but the closest defender is five or six yards away, so being able to rally, everybody getting to the ball. And now when you’re pass rushing, you have to be a little more cognizant of the check down ball, trying to knock it down, stuff like that, at the line of scrimmage.” "Just a smart defense,” Perine said of his oppenant. “Great inside linebackers. Just technique sound team, plays physical, just can’t, can’t come out and just take them for a joke cause they gonna surprise you.” Whether the bigger surprise is the physicalness of Virginia or the realization for the Hoo’s that Florida has purposely made themselves one dimensional remains to be seen. But senior receiver Van Jefferson is prepared for the quest to find the answer. “They're a physical defense. They've got a lot of athletic guys. We've just got to be sound in what we do and execute. Just be technically sound. I think they pose a great challenge for us, and we like challenges, so we've just got to play.”

MIAMI SHORES, FL—The No. 9 Florida Gators (10-2, 6-2) take to the field for a Friday practice ahead of Monday's Capital One Orange Bowl against the No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers. The Gators are practicing at Barry University to prepare for their matchup against the Hoo's. That game kicks off at 8pmET on ESPN from Hardrock Stadium. Stick with GatorBaitmedia.com for full coverage of the Gators New Years Six game from South Florida. In the meantime, check out the video below from GatorBait TV to see a few glimpses of the Gators practice.

POST-CHRISTMAS MEANDERINGS (1) It’s a numbers game and that’s why the Orange Bowl game with Virginia is important for Dan Mullen and the sixth-ranked Florida Gators (10-2). Put simply, not only is it a prestigious New Year’s Six bowl game played in Miami, a prime recruiting ground, but it is 15 practices that will further the development of a very young football team. Add those practices to the 15 the Gators will have in the spring and 25 more in August and it’s 55 opportunities to improve. “You have 15 spring practices and 25 training camp practices before you play again,” Mullen said Thursday when the Gators arrived in Miami. “The momentum a bowl game and a bowl win can do for you builds yourself up through this huge developmental stage until you get on the field again.” (2) The Gators (7-4) return to the O-Dome for the first time in a month Saturday when Long Beach State comes to town (12 noon, SEC Network). It’s been a head-scratcher of a pre-SEC for Mike White, who knows when the Gators are making shots like they did in the Charleston Classic, they can play and beat anyone. When they throw up enough bricks to qualify for a union card as a mason like they did last Saturday against Utah State, they can also lose to anyone. At some point, the Gators have to start making shots. They’re getting plenty of open looks but all the coaching in the world can’t make the ball go in the basket. (3) If John Hevesy’s history as the offensive line coach at Mississippi State is an indicator of things to come, then the Florida Gators should have a vastly improved running game in 2020. Go back to 2012, a year after MSU lost a bunch of veterans and Hevesy had to work with a line made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores. The Bulldogs averaged only 144.15 yards rushing per game – a drop of more than 30 yards per game from the previous season – but those same kids only allowed 19 sacks. A year later, those more experienced O-linemen paved the way for a running game that averaged 189.92 per game and the year after that they averaged 233.08. In both 2013 and 2014, MSU allowed a respectable 23 sacks per season. Contrast that to 2019 when UF is averaging just 120.25 yards rushing per game with an inexperienced and young O-line. They still allowed only 24 sacks, which is respectable when you consider everybody knew the Gators were going to throw the football and Kyle Trask was learning on the fly. With four starters back next year, backups with a year or more in the system and help on the way in talented (and very large) kids signed, Hevesy’s O-line should be exceptional in 2020. (4) The stat category that jumps out at you when you study Florida Orange Bowl opponent Virginia is sacks. The Cavaliers have gotten to opposing quarterbacks 45 times this year, which ranks sixth nationally (the Gators have 46, which ranks fifth). They have allowed 38 sacks, which ranks 119th (the Gators have allowed 24, which is tied for 63rd). The Cavaliers had seven against D1AA William and Mary, six each against Conference USA Old Dominion and ACC foe Virginia Tech. They gave up eight in their loss to Notre Dame. Virginia gets the bulk of its sacks from its linebackers (Jordan Mack 7.5, Noah Taylor 7.0, Zane Zandler 5.0, Charles Snowden 4.0) and they like to bring a safety up the middle on a blitz (Joey Blount 3.5). When Virginia gave up eight sacks in its loss to Notre Dame, the Irish did it almost exclusively with a four-man rush. Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham much prefers a four-man rush and with a healthy Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga, the Gators figure to spend a lot of time harassing Virginia QB Bryce Perkins (3,215 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 11 interceptions). (5) I’ve spent the better part of the last weel listening to a good many concerned Gators who seem to think Dan Mullen has to make drastic changes in his coaching staff for the Gators to compete on the recruiting trail. While I understand the concerns, I am convinced that the problem can best be resolved by the hiring of a personnel superstar such as Mark Pantoni. Pantoni was the guy who coordinated recruiting for Urban Meyer at Florida. When Meyer took the Ohio State job in 2012, Pantoni followed him and remains in the position. Despite the fact the Buckeyes have had a lot of assistant coaches come and go and Meyer has passed the torch to Ryan Day, recruiting has remained at an elite level. I believe the reason for that is Pantoni, who I think is the best in the business at identifying talent that fits not only what the coaches want on the field but in the culture of the program. Here is where Ohio State’s recruiting classes have ranked since Pantoni became the personnel director: 2012: 5; 2013: 2; 2014: 3; 2015: 7; 2016: 4; 2017: 2; 2018: 2; 2019: 14; 2020: 3. The 2015 class included Joe Burrow. The 2019 class was a transition class because Meyer announced his retirement. Now Meyer was a dynamic closer, that’s for sure, but he was in position to close because Pantoni got the Buckeyes in position to recruit the right guys. Mullen is quite happy with his coaches and I’m not sure he perceives a need to make any changes to his staff. I do know that adding a personnel director as capable as Pantoni can make more of a difference than changing coaches. (6) Just as the University of Florida is not the kind of place for on-the-job training by a head football coach, neither is the University of Miami. Everyone from those obnoxious never spent a day in a college classroom alums to the higher ups in the administration have to be asking themselves “What the hell were we thinking when we hired Manny Diaz?” Indeed. A school that has won five national championships since 1983 and has all the talent it needs to win big within a two-hour drive of the campus shouldn’t be reduced to hiring a head coach who has never been a head coach before and should never lose to two Conference USA teams (Florida International and Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl Thursday) or an absolutely rotten Georgia Tech team. When the 2020 season began, a whole lot of people who know about such things thought Miami had good enough talent to go 10-2 or 11-1 but instead The U finishes up at 6-7 with far more questions than answers. As of Thursday morning, it was being reported that offensive coordinator Dan Enos was being fired, but the problems go far deeper than just a bad offensive coordinator. The U is digging itself such a deep hole that it might take years upon years to recover. (7) Christmas Eve we lost a terrific young man who just happened to be a very talented writer and reporter in Edward Aschoff. When the news broke that he had passed away from complications of something called multifocal pneumonia, I don’t know anyone who wasn’t stunned beyond belief. He was just one of these talented young guys that we all expected to see continue his steady rise to the top at ESPN. I thought he was going to someday be ESPN’s next Stuart Scott, but like Stuart Scott, he is gone way too early. Those of us who got to know him during his time in Gainesville when he was working for Gator Bait and then for the Gainesville Sun while he was a student at UF always enjoyed his impeccable taste in clothing, his enthusiastic personality and his love of the Gators, Ole Miss (he was from Oxford but the Rebels took second place behind UF) and soccer. Everybody on the Florida beat was so happy for him when he landed the gig with ESPN. He started out as Chris Low’s sidekick on the SEC beat but that was just the beginning. Nobody gave him anything. He earned it all through hard work and a keen understanding of the people of whom he was writing and reporting. Reading the many glowing tributes from co-workers, I’m not the least bit surprised. Edward had a way of impacting everybody he came in contact with. To think that he’s gone at the all-too-young age of 34 just doesn’t seem right. THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SOOTHSAYER LSU (13-0) 45, Oklahoma (12-1) 30: Having faced Jalen Hurts when he was at Alabama gives LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda an advantage that hasn’t been talked about much. On the flip side, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has no clue what he’s in for with Joe Burrow and that dynamic LSU offense. I’m not sure Oklahoma can hold LSU to fewer than six touchdowns. I believe Dave Aranda can hold Oklahoma to 30 or fewer points. Clemson (13-0) 35, Ohio State (13-0) 24: Clemson played the first five games of the season bored but since that close call with North Carolina, they’ve beaten teams by an average of 52-10. I hear all the talk about Ohio State being the most complete team in the country, but have you taken a look at Clemson? The Tigers have the been there, done there advantage in this one and I don’t think Justin Fields has had to deal with a Brent Venables defense. I know Ohio State has never had to deal with Trevor Lawrence. Close for three quarters but when the game is on the line, Clemson’s experience (Lawrence is 28-0 as a starting QB) and the game breaking speed of Travis Etienne will be the difference. THE SEC SOOTHSAYER Texas A&M (7-5) 35, Oklahoma State (8-4) 32: If Oklahoma State had QB Spencer Sanders and all-interplanetary WR Tylan Wallace, this wouldn’t be close. Of course, if Okie State had those guys healthy, the Cowboys wouldn’t have finished 8-4 and they would be playing in a much better bowl game than the Texas Bowl. The Aggies are 7-5 and losers of their last two games but nobody in Aggieland is particularly concerned. Jimbo Fisher has been pointing all along at 2020 and 2021 as the seasons in which the rebuild would have them consistently in contention to win the SEC West title. Saturday, they’ll outscore Okie State and finish 8-5. Some folks will call that disappointing, but Jimbo knows better and so do Aggie fans who really know what’s going on. GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY Bill Shea of The Athletic with Pete Denzis of ESPN on ESPN’s dominance of the bowl schedule: “ESPN will televise 35 of the season’s 40 bowls, and it owns 14 of them. The network will add three more bowls to its collection of owned-and-operated games next season: New bowls in Myrtle Beach and at Fenway Park, and the Cure Bowl played since its 2015 launch in Orlando, Denzis said.” Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports on why we have head-scratching College Football Playoff scheduling that sees the semifinals on Saturday instead of either New Year’s Day: “Jamming the Rose Bowl contract with ESPN through 2026 before agreeing to go to a four-team playoff was a legacy of financial muscle flex by outgoing Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. The late SEC commissioner Mike Slive responded by spearheading a mirroring Sugar Bowl deal in the New Year’s Day night slot, as to not be completely outflanked. Those games are either honoring tradition or holding up progress, depending on where your allegiance and bank accounts lie.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Washington quarterback Jacob Eason, who began his career at Georgia, has declared for the NFL Draft. He is expected to be taken in the first round … Georgia is down a third offensive lineman for its Sugar Bowl game with Baylor. Guard Ben Cleveland will miss the game due to academics. Tackles Andrew Thomas and Issaiah Wynn are sitting out to prep for the NFL Draft … ESPN named its all-time All-America football team. While I have no problems with Roger Staubach being named the first team quarterback – you had to see him to believe him – I am miffed beyond belief that Peyton Manning was chosen as the second team QB over Tim Tebow. That might be the dumbest thing ESPN has ever done. It’s also mind-boggling that Lawrence Taylor was selected first team and Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas was chosen second team. I saw them both in person and Taylor couldn’t sniff Derek Thomas’ jock. And no Lee Roy Jordan? Give me a break.

Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard was “Live where your feet are planted.” This is particularly relevant these days for Gator football fans as we come to the end of The “M Decade.” An up-and-down decade, from Muschamp to McElwain to Mullen. Until Dan came along it looked like the “M” was going to stand for misery. My how the landscape has changed. It went from “Misery to Mediocre” and from “Mediocre” to – well, could “Marvelous” be too strong a word? We’re not going to adjudicate every last footprint of this era, because we don’t need analytics to tell us the obvious: After a little dance near the dumpster, life is good again for The Gator Nation. This is the time for celebrating double-digit wins, a New Year’s Six Bowl and what looks like a bumper crop of recruits so far. Go ahead, celebrate where our feet are planted at the moment. All in all, a pretty good place to be. But wait! How are the Gators going to replace those four veteran wide receivers? Will they get that four-star defensive lineman? If Todd Grantham goes to the NFL, what will Mullen do? When are they finally and going to get that football complex built? It doesn’t take much grousing, and there go the feet. As I once said to my colleagues Franz and Tim during a 2:30 post-game breakfast at Denny’s in South Florida, just after Tim Tebow’s team had beaten Oklahoma for the national championship, “Enjoy this time. It won’t last forever.” Live where your feet are planted. For the past decade, Florida football has been on a roller coaster ride, from mediocre to poor, resulting in the banishment of Muschamp and McElwain, who could not muster 50 wins between them. All in all not terrible – four seasons of double digit victories, 80 wins, 46 losses. This was not lost on a weary fan base, tired of playing giveup football to Georgia, lost in a non-competitive abyss at the end of a winning cycle, while seemingly the rest of the SEC was zooming past UF in facilities and other player amenities. I also subscribe to the Satchel Paige theory: “Don’t look back. Somebody might be gaining on you.” Enter Scott Stricklin, who not only found his man, but mounted a challenge to address the issues of the future. With it Stricklin embraced an almost spiritual mandate to do things the right way which seems to have struck a chord of trust with donors. It appears to have inspired people like James W. "Bill" Heavener to open his purse strings for building Football Training Center, projected to cost $85 million as a new day-to-day home as early as December 2021. But hang on feet! Here we go again, getting seduced by the future, looking past the present. Finally we arrive at the crossroads in late December 2019, where we lock the present and future together: The current recruiting class which by all projections after the first round of national signing day has met and surpassed all expectations. Again, however, there’s that word “projections” which has very little to do with where our feet are now. As I am writing this, my feet are pointed toward the Orange Bowl, which provides us with another measuring stick. This was no small feat: The first major bowl game in six years. So as we close out this “M Decade,” we must at least acknowledge some of the special moments this past year, begging the pardon of Satchel Paige about not looking back. The Kyle Trask story was one of the best in college football. It was extraordinary because by all rights he shouldn’t have even been there that night in Lexington, having been exiled to the bench since ninth grade, but as the consummate team player, stayed the course. The offense was even better as Trask carved out his own Minuteman legacy: The player who was always ready to step up. And he did so with class, always with respect toward his injured friend Feleipe Franks, who would quietly exit with dignity. I’ve said all season somebody ought to name a “Relentless Effort Award” after Kyle Trask as the guy who selflessly stayed around instead of transferring when he kept getting passed over as the starter. Another worthy sidebar is the manner in which Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham parlayed transferring and the transfer portal into a resource center, picking some prime talent out of the hopper to bolster the defense. Mullen was ahead of the curve two years ago when he brought in wide receivers Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes. The impact of All-SEC defensive lineman Jon Greenard was huge and transfer Adam Shuler paired up with him nicely. Finally, almost overlooked now, was the way Mullen’s team negotiated so-called “Murderer’s Row” of Auburn, LSU, South Carolina and Georgia. That four-game stretch proved tough, but not insurmountable. Beating Auburn helped. The Top Ten matchups vs. LSU and Georgia were highly competitive and used as measuring sticks. The Gators were competitive with both, losing to LSU 42-28 in a game that was much closer than the score. And they challenged the Bulldogs before losing, 24-17. Asked after the game about the difference between Georgia and his program, Mullen replied curtly: “Seven points.” By Jove I think he nailed it. *** This edition of GatorBait is our final one of 2019, which is why we made it a double issue. Meanwhile, we took a few days to be with our families during the holidays and it was on to Miami for our team to cover the Orange Bowl. So the next time you see us, unless you happen to dial up The Buddy Martin Show during the holidays, it will be in our Orange Bowl issue on Jan. 3. We want to wish a happy holiday to the men and women who make GatorBait Media possible – our magazine, website and TV Show: Brenden Martin, Kassidy Hill, Franz Beard, Chad Ritch, Ainslie Lee, Stephanie Giera, Alex Shepherd and Tom Schmitz. We would like to say thanks to all of our readers and customers who have made our journey possible since we took over in July 2019 and wish them a very happy holiday season.

‘I’ve been a Gator for a while. It just finally feels good to sign that dotted line.’ By AINSLIE LEE GatorBait Staff Writer In a time where high school recruits love to exhaust their options, that was hardly the case for Florida’s new signee, Ja’Quavion (Jay) Fraziars. There were no gimmicks for Fraziars – there weren’t multiple hats on the table or a school’s shirt hidden under his jacket. Instead, when Fraziars walked into the library at Dunnellon High School, he was wearing orange and blue from head to toe. Even though the recruiting process was still long and hard for Fraziars, his unwavering loyalty to Dan Mullen and the Gators ultimately shined through as he signed his Letter of Intent to the University of Florida on Wednesday morning. After all, Florida was the first school to offer the wide receiver back in October of 2017. And just over a year ago, Fraziars verbally committed to the Gators. “I’ve been a Gator for a while,” Fraziars said. “It just finally feels good to sign that dotted line.” Scribbling fresh ink onto the dotted line was done in celebrity fashion as he and his teammate, AJ Hamilton (USF signee) filled the library on Dunnellon’s campus to the point that it was standing room only. Flanking Fraziars at the signing table was his grandmother to his right and his mother to his left. And with a number of family members watching, both physically and virtually, it’s no wonder Fraziars chose to spend his college career in Gainesville. With a short list that included LSU and Penn State, the proximity to home that Gainesville offers helped the selection process for Fraziars. “It’s just so close to home,” Fraziars said. “You know, I got family. And I don’t wanna put them on a plane every weekend.” Though, Fraziars didn’t decide to sign to Florida simply because it’s in-state, but Florida’s academics were also appealing to Fraziars, who boasts a 4.2 GPA. “Florida is a big medical school,” Fraziars said. “And what I want to do in life, they fit that criteria very well.” And while it’s admirable that Fraziars is looking ahead academically, don’t think that he hasn’t thought about the impact he can have on the football field. When asked about his on-field goals, Fraziar’s answer came quickly: “Get out there as soon as possible and do what I gotta do.” Fraziars, who has relationships with current Gator receivers Jacob Copeland and Freddie Swain, knows that with a receiving corps that’s depleting after this year, opportunities might present themselves immediately. Stretching 6-foot-4, Fraziars adds some size to Florida’s receiving roster. If Trevon Grimes stays for his final year at Florida, Dan Mullen’s quarterback could have three targets that are 6-4” or taller – Fraziars (6-4), Grimes (6-5) and Kyle Pitts (6-6). So Gator fans, while graduating four talented wide receivers is worth sweating about, Fraziars might help fill some gaps in the receiving corps.