‪In his interview with the great Archie Manning, Tim Tebow agreed that Joe Burrow would get his Heisman vote “if I had one.” Wait! Wait Tim! As a former Heisman winner, you DO get one Tim. (And as a Heisman voter, I will also cast my vote for Burrow!)‬

THIS IS A BUSINESS TRIP Nearly every Monday when he holds his press conference to discuss the upcoming opponent, Dan Mullen makes it a point to emphasize that the next game is the most important game on the Florida (8-2, 7-2 SEC) schedule. And, that's what Saturday's game with Missouri (5-4, 2-4 SEC) in Columbia is – the most important game on the schedule. Although the chances the Gators will win the SEC East championship are remote and require some help on consecutive weeks from Auburn this week and Texas A&M next, Florida has to approach this game like it's a championship game. Winning won't ensure a championship for the Gators, but if they lose, any chance goes down the drain. If there is one thing college football teaches us it is expect the improbable at the least likely moment. Nobody gave South Carolina a chance to beat Georgia in Athens a few weeks back but the Gamecocks came away with perhaps the single most shocking win of the season. Both Auburn and Texas A&M are better football teams than South Carolina so while the chances of them knocking off Georgia on consecutive weeks is probably remote, it could happen. That means the Gators better show up ready to play in Missouri. The game is important for the Gators even if Georgia manages to beat Auburn Saturday, which would clinch the SEC East for the Poodles. The Gators can still finish with 10 regular season wins and make a second straight New Years Six bowl game. Beat Missouri and FSU and then win the bowl game and it's an 11-win season, something that hasn't been done at UF since 2012. Not only do those kind of things resonate on the recruiting trail but they further the reality that Florida football is on the verge of returning to championship expectations every year. So the Gators need to treat this like a business trip. They need to go to Columbia focused and ready to win the most important game of the season. The Sayer Says Sooth: While Missouri's pass defense stats look pretty good, reality is the Tigers haven't played a consistently good passing team all season and certainly not a team with receivers like the ones the Gators will send out there. The Tigers don't get much pass rush (just four in the last five games) either so this sets up nicely for Kyle Trask. If you're looking for a wild card, it's Kadarius Toney, who's going to get the ball early and often. FLORIDA 34, Missouri 17 GATOR BASKETBALL NEEDED A TOUGH WIN A lot of good things came out of Florida's 66-60 win over Towson Thursday night at the O-Dome. First and foremost, the Gators (2-1) got a tough win over a well coached team that has a legitimate chance to finish near the top in a very good league (Colonial Athletic Association). The Gators had to strap it on and play exceptional defense in the game's final four or five minutes and they had to make clutch shots both from the field and the foul line. Scottie Lewis gave us a glimpse why he was a McDonald's All-American and a five-star prospect, scoring all of his game-high 15 points in the second half, sealing the game with two free throws with 19 seconds remaining. Kerry Blackshear Jr. had his third straight double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, breaking a 60-60 tie with 1:06 left on a short jumper in the lane. Andrew Nembhard delivered 11 points and nine assists. It was far from perfect, but it was an exceptional bounce-back game for UF. The Gators got pushed around by Florida State back on Sunday. When Towson pushed Thursday night, the Gators pushed back and that was a very encouraging sign. SEC BASKETBALL STUFF Thursday's games #15 FLORIDA 66, Towson 60 Mississippi State (3-0) 62, Louisiana-Monroe 45 Richmond 93, Vanderbilt (2-1) 92 Friday's games Cal State-Northridge at #22 Auburn (3-0) Delaware State at Georgia (2-0) Western Michigan at Ole Miss (2-0) Cleveland State at South Carolina (2-0) Alabama (1-1) at Rhode Island #8 Gonzaga at Texas A&M (2-0) THE SEC SOOTHSAYER (College Football Playoff Rankings) #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) 42, Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC) 14: #12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC) 21, #4 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC) 20: Auburn will be able to do what Florida didn't, which is get pressure on Jake Fromm (State Farm). The Tigers will also limit what Georgia can do with the running game. If this game were played in Athens, Georgia would probably win it by a couple of touchdowns, but it's in Auburn and that's good enough for the Tigers to win a squeaker and keep hope alive in the Gator Nation. #5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) 49, Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC) 17: Nick Saban doesn't even have to play Tua to win this game, but because the Bama schedule is so weak, he needs a blowout of epic proportions to get back in the good graces of the playoff committee. Hell hath no fury like a Nick Saban scorned. Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC) 27, South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC) 21: South Carolina has had far too many injuries this season and the Aggies are far too young. This game will be competitive but the Aggies have more healthy bodies and will win. Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC) 27, Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC) 13: You get the feeling that Vandy is simply mailing it in and can't wait for this season to conclude. Kentucky needs two more wins to guarantee bowl eligibility. The Wildcats will get one of them Saturday in Nashville. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: EDITION 12 Extinct Species List Chris Ash, Rutgers: Ash will be somebody's very good defensive coordinator next year. As for Rutgers, the coach is going to be Greg Schiano, probably the only coach who could at least get the Scarlet Knights to regular 6-6 records. If he can do that on this second go-round, Schiano will become a Rutgers legend. It doesn't take much to be a Rutgers legend. Willie Taggart, Florida State: While Willie and his family have to figure out how they'll scrape by on $370,833.33 a month for the next four years, the Seminoles will have to spend big bucks to get a new football coach. There's a lot of excitement that the new guy will be Big Game Bob Stoops but if he turned down Florida at least three times why would he go to FSU to work for a yet to be named new president and AD (both Thrasher and Coburn are retiring)? Some sucker will take this job, but BGBS? Chad Morris, Arkansas: Chad and his family will be squeezing by on $295,000 a month for the next four years. Arkansas, meanwhile, will likely focus in on Gus Malzahn, Mike Norvell and Eli Drinkwitz (Appalachian State), all of whom played college football in the state. On Life Support Derek Mason, Vanderbilt: The Florida loss (56-0) was probably the very last straw. It wasn't all that long ago that James Franklin went to three straight bowl games and posted back-to-back nine win seasons. They would be very smart to try to hire the coach at either Army or Navy, coaches with funky offenses that work and who are used to difficult academic requirements. Clay Helton, Southern Cal: Mark May seems to think that Urban Meyer to Southern Cal is a done deal. The Trojans are 6-4 and if they win their next two and Utah loses one of its last three (entirely possible) USC will win the Pac-12 South. Do they fire a coach who's just won his division even when he has to play his fourth string QB due to injuries? This is a train wreck. Bob Davie, New Mexico: There are three remaining games on the Bob Davie Farewell Tour. They want a coach with an exciting offense that can put fannies in the seats. Announced attendance at UNM's last home game against Hawaii was less than 13,000. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: Montgomery will lobby that last week's win over UCF and several close calls against good teams is reason to give him another year but he needs to win his last two to finish 5-7 to stave off firing. From a financial standpoint, Tulsa needs to keep him because the entire school is in dire straits. Mike Bobo, Colorado State: The Fighting Bobos have won three straight but is it too little too late to save his job? Two wins in the last three games would probably save his job but with Air Force, (at) Wyoming and Boise State still to go that's a tall order. Tony Sanchez, UNLV: Six of the Rebels' seven losses have been in blowout fashion, which has the faithful asking how the heck did they blow out Vanderbilt on the road in Nashville? Sanchez will be trying to figure this out in three weeks when he's no longer gainfully employed. Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion: There's no way Wilder will survive this season, but the job will be attractive to a coach who can tap into the vast talent resources of Tidewater Virginia. The school has made overtures toward seriously upgrading facilities, which would go a long way toward landing a decent replacement coach. Endangered Species List Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State: He has to win two of his last three to get the Bulldogs bowl eligible. Losing to Alabama Saturday is a given as is beating Abilene Christian from D1AA. That means Moorhead's job security could be decided against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. Frank Wilson, Texas-San Antonio: There is so much talent in the state of Texas that a Conference USA school like UTSA ought to be able to win. The Roadrunners aren't attracting the talent nor are they winning. Wilson is hanging on by a thread. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: The Spartans probably will be bowl eligible which would normally be enough to save a Big Ten job, but there is so much controversy surrounding this program now that the faithful are weary and clamoring for change. Beads of Sweat Forming Charlie Strong, South Florida: The boosters are restless but they really want to give him another year. Plus, nobody wants to raise the buyout money. Steve Addazio, Boston College: Losing to Florida State really didn't help his cause but the Eagles made it exciting. The knock on Addazio was great defense and rotten offense. Nowadays, he's got the offense but the defense sucks. Kilani Sitaki, BYU: After the Cougars won that epic Mormons vs. Baptists battle against the Fighting Falwells of Liberty, BYU has a three-game winning streak. The brethren would like to see the Cougars win their last three to close out the regular season on a six-game streak. Saved by the Buyout and Other Teensy Details Matt Luke, Ole Miss: His buyout is a mere $6.5 million which is do-able but the buyouts for coordinators Rich Rodriguez and Mike MacIntyre means Ole Miss would be on the hook for $12.5 million. Then there is that teensy detail about no athletic director and that is the ultimate saving grace. Luke will live to coach another season. Chip Kelly, UCLA: The Bruins actually have a pulse after three straight wins. If Kelly can get two more in the last three he goes bowling and folks will forget the fact UCLA couldn't afford to fire him due to the $9 million buyout. Randy Edsall, UConn: This is a train wreck and unless someone donates a ton of money to the school, he's not going to get canned. That is, of course, unless they do something stupid and that's not beyond the realm of possibility either. GOOD QUOTE FOR FRIDAY From Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic on Saturday's Henderson State-Ouachita Baptist game, a rivalry that was first played in 1895: “On Saturday, the Henderson State football team will gather, dress and wait until 11:30 a.m. local time. That’s when police will block off the two-lane highway that separates that campus from the campus of Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark. And that’s when the team will walk across the street to play its archrival. It is the shortest road trip in college football.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: James Wiseman has dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA and has been declared ineligible by Memphis pending an attempt by the school to have the 7-foot freshman re-instated. History says Wiseman isn't going to be re-instated … Notre Dame's streak of 273 consecutive football sellouts could come to an end Saturday against Navy … Former Gator Antonio Callaway, who was facing a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL drug policy, has been released by the Cleveland Browns.

HE'S BAAACCKK! TONEY ADDS ELEMENT OF DANGER TO UF PASSING GAME It started out as a simple little reverse with Kyle Trask pitching to Kadarius Toney, who picked up a little chip block from Lamical Perine as he made his way around the left end at the UF 21. Three yards past the line of scrimmage it seemed his shoulders went one way, his hips and feet the other, which split two Vandy defenders. Up at the 30, he juked his way into the Vandy secondary behind a nice block by Stone Forsythe and made a Vandy safety look silly as he cut back to the right side. At the 40 his body went horizontal as he slipped through the grasp of another diving tackler. That last move cost him a half step and that was enough for a Vandy defender to dive and catch one of Toney's ankles at the 43 but he kept enough balance to dive forward to the 47. That one 26-yard run will keep Missouri's defensive staff burning the midnight oil in Columbia all the way until Saturday morning when 11th-ranked Florida (8-2, 5-2 SEC) takes the field with the goal of keeping the Gators faint SEC East championship hopes alive. It's tough enough dealing with a Florida passing game that spreads the ball around like few teams in the country – six different players have at least 20 catches and by season's end that number could grow by at least two more – but with Toney 100% healthy for the first time since he suffered a shoulder injury in game two, it is a nightmare scenario. The Gators have fast guys who can stretch a field like Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond and Tyrie Cleveland. They've got guys with size, speed and flawless hands like Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes. They've got the big guy that nobody seems to know how to defend in Kyle Pitts. But nobody can make people miss like Kadarius Toney. When he's healthy it adds another dimension to the Florida offense, the kind of dimension that can be a real difference-maker in a game like the one the Gators are facing with Missouri. Mizzou has one of the best secondaries in the country, but the Tigers have proven vulnerable to guys who excel in the open field and who are equal threats in the running and passing game. “Move him into the backfield, throw him a reverse pitch, try to get him a screen, those type of things,” HBC Dan Mullen said Monday in describing how Toney could be used. “We saw the other day, when he gets the ball, exciting things happen.” GATORS WILL TRY TO ESTABLISH BLACKSHEAR AGAINST TOWSON When he watched the film of Florida's 63-51 loss to Florida State, it became perfectly obvious to Mike White that the Gators seemed to avoid their go-to guy like the plague. The ball was supposed to find its way on a consistent basis to Kerry Blackshear Jr. in or around the paint but for reasons White's not exactly sure of, Blackshear rarely saw the basketball in scoring position. And he was in scoring position early and often. 'He was open the whole game – the whole game,” White said Wednesday before the Gators (1-1) began their preparation for tonight's matchup at the O-Dome (7 p.m., ESPN2) with Towson (2-1). Blackshear scored 10 points in the FSU game, all of them from the foul line. White would be very happy if Blackshear could score 10 free throws every time out, but for the Florida offense to function properly, his big man has to get the ball where he has a chance to get a decent shot off. After seeing what happened on film and then meticulously pointing out the numerous times Blackshear was open for shots but never got a pass, White put some more structure in the Florida offense to ensure the ball goes to the right places. Freshman Scottie Lewis, who pointed out that FSU “was a very winnable game,” noted that getting the ball in Blackshear's hands was priority emphasis upon watching the film. “We have to capitalize on getting the ball to KJ (Blackshear) since he's our best player, trying to get him to create for the rest of the team,” Lewis said. “That was definitely a point for us.” While getting the ball to Blackshear will be emphasized against a physical Towson team that has decent size, White says the Gators have to remember the offense works best when the ball makes it to whoever is open. “We got to play together and take the right shots,” White said. SEC FOOTBALL STUFF (College Football Playoff Poll rankings) #5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Nick Saban calls Tua Tagovailoa a “game-time decision” for Saturday's game at Mississippi State. Tua did practice Wednesday and Saban said he “made a lot of practice today … We'll see where he is tomorrow and go from there.” Saturday: at Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC) Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC): Former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt has expressed his interest in returning as the head coach. Donkeys might fly before Houston gets anything more than a don't call us, we'll call you note from Arkansas. Saturday: Open #12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Asked why Georgia's defense is so good on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Auburn HBC Gus Malzahn said, “I think it starts up front with the depth they have. They play a lot of guys and there's not much drop off. They stop the run and make teams one-dimensional and that's what stands out to me.” Saturday: vs. #4 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC) #4 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Kirby Smart says Georgia is treating the Auburn game just like any other SEC game. “It's no different than any game so far,” Smart said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “There's no difference in the last three-four games. We have a chance to win the SEC East and that's our focus.” Saturday: at #12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC) Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC): Asked about his interest in the vacant Florida State job, Kentucky HBC Mark Stoops said, “Let's worry about Vandy and that's where my concentration is.” Saturday: at Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC) #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC): Coach O was a total bust at Ole Miss (10-25 record, but he's not at all bitter that he was fired after three years. Coach O said, “Ole Miss was a great opportunity for me. It was my first job. It was in the SEC. I learned a lot of things. I learned how to do things; I learned how not to do things. I don't like the results, but you know what, it prepared me for down the road. When you get your butt beat you're going to learn how to get better and I do believe that job trained me for the job that we're doing today. So I'm appreciative of it.” Saturday: at Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): What a difference a year can make. A year ago Mississippi State gave up 263.1 yards and 13.2 points per game. This season, the Bulldogs are giving up 389.2 yards and 30.2 points per game. Saturday: vs. #5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) Missouri (5-4, 2-4 SEC): Since it's 38-27 win over Ole Miss, Missouri has lost three consecutive SEC games (Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Georgia), scoring a combined 21 points in the three games. Saturday: vs. #11 FLORIDA (8-2, 5-2 SEC) Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC): On the SEC Coaches Teleconference, HBC Matt Luke explained one of the chief reasons the Ole Miss defense under coordinator Mike MacIntyre is much improved from last year. “The scheme is not overly complicated and it's getting buy-in from the players,” Luke said. Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC): With some speculating that Will Muschamp is in very hot water with the South Carolina administration, school prez Robert Caslen, noting Muschamp's buyout that exceeds $18 million, commented, “There's so much more, as the president of a university, I could do with $18 million than to buy out a coach's contract. I could build a parking garage or I could revamp the stadium. There are so many more things you could do. So, why would I do that.” Saturday: at Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC) Tennessee (5-5, 3-3 SEC): Freshman defensive tackle Elijah Simmons, who has played in two games this season, will take a redshirt for 2019. Saturday: Open Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): South Carolina and the Aggies will play for the Bonham Trophy. Never heard of it? It would be shocking if you could round up five people who aren't in the A&M or South Carolina athletic department who could. Saturday: vs. South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC) Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC): It's hard to imagine Derek Mason surviving this season although stranger things have happened. But with speculation running rampant that Mason's days are numbered in Nashville, a couple of names that are being heard as replacements are Charlotte coach Will Healy and Tulane coach Willie Fritts. Saturday: vs. Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC) SEC BASKETBALL STUFF Wednesday's game VCU 84, #23 LSU (1-1) 82 Thursday games Towson at #15 FLORIDA (1-1) Louisiana-Monroe at Mississippi State (2-0) Vanderbilt (2-0) at Richmond GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network on who he thinks would win a College Football Playoff matchup between #1 LSU and #2 Ohio State: “I'm going to surprise some people right now by saying that I think Ohio State might beat LSU. It would be a neutral site game but to me, if you look at LSU, as great as that win was the other day [Alabama] they've had a couple of narrow wins. I mean, they beat Auburn by three at home.They had a heavyweight fight vs. Florida. It went back and forth and back and forth before they won buy two scores. They also had a narrow win against Texas, which isn't a great team. [Texas is] barely a good team. Ohio State is just shredding teams. They have eviscerated teams. Right now, I would favor Ohio State in that game.” Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports on the Saturday workout of Colin Kaepernick, which will not be attended by many – if any – NFL head coaches or general managers: “Head coaches are with their teams and busy preparing for Sunday's game. They don't travel to scout during the season. If none went to LSU-Alabama last week, they aren't coming to this. General manager? Man of them don't spend Saturdays scouting either. Those that do may not be looking for a quarterback and are focused on a full slate of college games. Many (or all) of the teams that do come will likely be represented by lower-level front-office types – scouts, analysts, assistants to the assistants. It's not ideal for Kaepernick, but that's reality.” Mike Sando of The Athletic on the workouts designed to showcase the quarterback skills of Colin Kaepernick: “This whole thing feels contrived, so I'm skeptical. If teams bypassed Kaepernick in the past because they questioned his skills, would those teams expect him to be better now, at age 32 and after not playing or practicing for two-plus seasons? If teams bypassed Kaepernick in the past because they disagreed with his political stances and/or feared negative public reaction, would those teams feel differently now? What's different, other than Kaepernick being older and probably even less likely to play the way he played early in his career?” RANDOM THOUGHTS: The NCAA has suspended Ohio State stud defensive end Chase Young one additional game. Young, who missed last week's win over Maryland, will miss Saturday's game at Rutgers as well. Maryland and Rutgers? That doesn't sound like a suspension. That sounds like a vacation from boredom and potential injury ahead of the Penn State game next week … Florida State players have called for the school to hire interim coach Odell Haggins as the replacement for fired Willie Taggart … Former Georgia quarterback Zeke Bratkowski, perhaps best known as Bart Starr's backup with the Green Bay Packers, has passed away at age 88. Bratkowski was a two-time All-SEC selection who threw 24 touchdown passes and 68 – that's not a misprint – interceptions in his career.

A YEAR AGO WE GOT OUR FIRST REAL GLIMPSE OF KYLE TRASK There were five minutes left in the third quarter against Missouri a year ago when Dan Mullen elected to send in Kyle Trask for an ineffective Feleipe Franks. Coming off a Georgia game in which he was indecisive and unable to move the football in the fourth quarter, Franks never could get it going against Missouri, which led 35-10 when Mullen brought in Trask. Franks finished his day 9-22 passing for 84 yards, an abysmal 3.81 per pass attempt. These would be the first significant playing time of Trask's college football career. He had four passes (all completions for 36 yards) to show for three years at UF when he entered the game. He immediately led the Gators on a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive that culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hammond on a crossing pattern. On the drive, Trask went 5-8 for 59 yards. In the fourth quarter, Trask couldn't put any points on the scoreboard but he completed 5-10 passes for 67 yards, finishing the game 10-18 for 126 yards. His 7.0 per attempt was a vast improvement over Franks. That performance led to speculation that Trask would be the starter the following week against South Carolina but that notion was quashed at practice on Tuesday when Trask broke a bone in his foot. “It was some trick play we were running early on in practice and no one hit me and just planted my foot wrong and my foot popped and that was that,” Trask said Monday. What Trask did last season against Missouri now seems like it was a foreshadowing of things to come. When he entered the Missouri game, Trask didn't seem the least bit overwhelmed by the circumstances. Missouri blitzed and did its best to overwhelm him with new looks. If he was flustered we never saw it. Since taking over for Franks, who dislocated and fractured his ankle late in the third quarter of the Kentucky game, Trask has seen just about every exotic blitz imaginable as defensive coordinators do their best to exploit the fact he never started a high school game and sat for three years before getting his opportunity. The more they blitz and try to confuse him, however, the better, it seems, Trask performs. Now here we are a year later and Trask is once again facing Missouri only this time as a starter who has already earned his campaign ribbons. In the seven games he's started, Trask has thrown at least two touchdown passes, the best run for a Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow had two or more in the final 10 games of Florida's march to the 2008 national championship. Trask has thrown for 2,011 yards, hitting 68% of his passes for 8.4 yards per attempt and 19 touchdowns. Looking back on what happened a year ago, Trask seems genuinely humbled by the fact he's gotten a second chance. “That was a big time in my career because I felt like that was the first time [Missouri game] that I got meaning ful snaps and obviously it was tough to be competing to play and then get hurt,” Trask said Monday. “It's football. Stuff happens. I think it's made me stronger as a person over time, though.” GATORS DROP ONE SPOT IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF POLL There is too much football remaining to be played for anyone to be concerned that the Gators (8-2, 5-2 SEC) dropped one spot to #11 in the College Football Playoff Poll released Tuesday night. Florida dropped one spot because Minnesota moved up nine places to #8 on the strength of its win over Penn State, which dropped from #4 to #9. That pushed Oklahoma, Florida and Auburn down one spot. The Gators have two remaining games – at Missouri (5-4, 2-4 SEC) and Florida State (5-4) – on the regular season schedule, games the Gators should win to finish 10-2. Since there are so many rivalry still to be played, the top ten is likely to change shape two or three more times. If the Gators simply win their last two, that should secure a high enough finish for a second straight New Year's Six bowl. On the strength of their 46-41 win over Alabama and four wins over then top 10 ranked teams, LSU stormed ahead of last week's #1 Ohio State into the top spot. Clemson moved up two spots to #3 and Georgia moved to two spots to #4 with Alabama dropping two places to #5. The College Football Playoff Poll (1) LSU 9-0; (2) Ohio State 9-0; (3) Clemson 10-0; (4) Georgia 8-1; (5) Alabama 8-1; (6) Oregon 8-1; (7) Utah 8-1; (8) Minnesota 9-0; (9) Penn State 8-1; (10) Oklahoma 8-1; (11) FLORIDA 8-2; (12) Auburn 7-2; (13) Baylor 9-0; (14) Wisconsin 7-2; (15) Michigan 7-2; (16) Notre Dame 7-2; (17) Cincinnati 8-1; (18) Memphis 8-1; (19) Texas 6-3; (20) Iowa 6-3; (21) Boise State 8-1; (22) Oklahoma State 6-3; (23) Navy 7-1; (24) Kansas State 6-3; (25) Appalachian State 8-1 Thinking ahead: I think LSU, Ohio State and Clemson run the table. I think Georgia might lose on the road at Auburn this weekend and then get destroyed by LSU in the SEC Championship Game. I think Oregon probably wins the Pac-12 and will make a case for the fourth spot with a 12-1 record. I think Utah could lose to UCLA this weekend and will definitely lose to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game. I can see Minnesota losing either at Iowa this weekend or against Wisconsin in the last regular season game and definitely against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. I wouldn't be shocked if Penn State loses to Indiana this weekend, but definitely to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. I think Oklahoma finishes 12-1 as the Big 12 champ but won't be able to explain away that loss to Kansas State. I think if Florida wins its last two games, the Gators will finish somewhere around #8 and will be an easy choice for a New Years Six game. Now, about Alabama. The only way I see Alabama making the playoff is if Oregon and Utah both have two losses. I can't see the committee choosing Alabama with its weak schedule and no conference championship over a conference champ like Oregon providing Oregon finishes with only one loss. SEC FOOTBALL STUFF (College Football Playoff Poll Rankings) #5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Mississippi State probably needs to tighten the jock straps and double buckle the chin straps for Saturday after Alabama dropped to #5 in the College Football Playoff Poll. Expect Alabama to pour it on from bell-to-bell. Saturday: at Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC) Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC): Since Chad Morris was fired, seven recruits have decommitted including quarterback Chandler Morris, son of the fired coach. Chandler Morris is rated the #13 dual threat QB in the recruiting class of 2020. Saturday: Open #12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Asked if he had an interest in taking the Arkansas job, HBC Gus Malzahn answered, “I love Auburn. Like I've said in the past, we have a bright future here. Nothing has changed.” If he beats Georgia this week and Alabama in the Iron Bowl, Auburn people will love him too. Saturday: vs. #4 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC) #4 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Center Trey Hill and wide receiver Lawrence Cager were both full participants in Tuesday's practice. Corner Tyrique McGhee, out since the Kentucky game October 19, is still not practicing. Saturday: at #12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC) Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC): With a win over Vanderbilt Saturday and over D1AA UT-Martin the following week, the Wildcats can become bowl eligible for the fourth straight year. The school record is five consecutive bowl seasons (2006-10). Saturday: at Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC) #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC): Quarterback Joe Burrow, who may have nailed down the Heisman Trophy with his performance against Alabama last Saturday, was named the Maxwell Award Player of the Week for the second time this season. Saturday: at Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): To have a chance against Alabama, HBC Joe Moorhead says the Bulldogs “have to do the ordinary extraordinarily well.” Saturday: vs. #5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) Missouri (5-4, 2-4 SEC): Quarterback Kelly Bryant (hamstring) took all the reps at practice Tuesday and is expected to play Saturday against Florida. “Fully expect him to play and play well – unless there's a set back,” said HBC Barry Odom. Saturday: vs. #11 FLORIDA (8-2, 5-2 SEC) Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC): The Ole Miss defense, which gets its toughest test of the season against LSU Saturday, has improved in nearly every category this year. Last year the Rebels ranked #121 nationally. This season they're #71 and they've reduced points allowed by nearly 13 per game to 23.9. Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC): Running back Tavien Feaster (groin) and wide receivers OrTre Smith (knee) and A.J. Turner (hamstring) are listed “questionable to doubtful” by HBC Will Muschamp. Saturday: at Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC) Tennessee (5-5, 3-3 SEC): Tennessee can trace some of its improvement this season to a better pass defense. The Vols gave up 21 touchdown passes and intercepted only nine passes last year in 12 games. Through nine games this year the Vols have allowed only 11 touchdown passes and have picked off 14 passes, which ties Florida for the SEC lead. Saturday: Open Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): The Aggies are holding opponents to just 5.9 yards per pass attempt. The last three opponents are a combined 38-86 (44.1%) for 487 yards. Saturday: vs. South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC) Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC): Quarterback Riley Neal, who missed the Florida game while under concussion protocol, is expected to get the start Saturday against Kentucky. Neal is 109-186 passing for 1,193 yards (6.4 per attempt) and six touchdowns this season. Saturday: vs. Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC) SEC BASKETBALL STUFF Tuesday scores #21 Xavier 63, Missouri (2-1) 58, OT Evansville 67, #1 Kentucky (2-1) 64 Georgia (2-0) 95, The Citadel 86 Ole Miss (2-0) 68, Norfolk State 55 Arkansas (2-0) 66, North Texas 43 #22 Auburn (3-0) 70, South Alabama 69 Tennessee (2-0) 82, Murray State 63 Wednesday game #23 LSU (2-0) at Virginia Commonwealth GOOD QUOTES FOR WEDNESDAY Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network on Alabama's defensive breakdowns: “We've had two consequential games for Nick Saban. He's played Clemson and he's played this one (LSU). He got shredded by Clemson by 28 points. He was getting blown out in the first half here. You have to start wondering when he could rebuild this defense. Now it's patchwork. I's not going to happen this year.” College Football Playoff Committee Chairman Rob Mullens on why Georgia jumped Alabama for a top four spot in the poll released Tuesday evening: “Georgia, with wins against both Florida and Notre Dame, put them at No. 4 in the rankings this week. The committee spent a lot of time comparing Georgia and Alabama. In the end, Georgia's two wins over ranked teams made the difference in the No. 4 spot. Alabama clearly is a strong team, but the committee gave the edge to Georgia.” Former LSU All-American and SEC Network analyst Marcus Spears speaking to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's “Get Up” morning show. Smith picked Alabama to beat LSU last week: “I noticed you're not in New York today, and I know you got a hundred jobs. I wanted you to be here today, Big Bro. Today is the day I needed you to be in New York so I could throw you in the Hudson [to] swim with the fishes.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Former Gator Vernon Hargreaves III was released by the Tampa Bay Bucs for what HBC Bruce Arians deemed a lack of hustle against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. In reality it was probably about the money. By releasing Hargreaves the Bucs don't have to pay him the remainder of a contract that would pay him $9 million if he made it through the entire schedule ... Colin Kaepernick, who hasn't taken a snap since the 2016 season, will hold a private workout in Atlanta Saturday. Even with some of the bad play at quarterback in the NFL this season, I would be surprised if anyone takes a chance on a QB who hasn't been in film rooms and throwing regularly in NFL practices in three-plus seasons.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE SITUATION Mohamoud Diabate was in the game for only 19 plays Saturday when the 11th-ranked Gators (8-2, 5-2 SEC) torched Vanderbilt 56-0. Dan Mullen called this a real teaching moment even though there were more than 20 players who were in the game for more than Diabate's 19 snaps. “He played one of the fewer snap counts of guys on defense,” Mullen said at his Monday press conference. “We had 20-some guys play with more snaps than Mahamoud did, but he was SEC Freshman of the Week. Why? Because he made his 19 plays count, made plays on those 19 plays.” Diabate sacked Vanderbilt quarterback Deuce Wallace three times for 27 yards in losses with one of those sacks resulting in a fumble that Jonathan Greenard (SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week) picked up and returned 80 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The point Mullen was making has everything to do with a theme he's constantly driving home to his team every single week: Focus on doing the best job you can possibly do when you're in the game and when you're not in the game focus on what is going on so that when your number is called you're ready to perform at your highest level. “Worry about the play's when you're in the game, all right?” Mullen said. “Don't worry about the plays when you're not in the game.” In other words, control the things you can control and disregard the things that are out of your control. It certainly worked for Mahamoud Diabate against Vanderbilt. Others honored by the SEC: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU (Offensive Player of the Week); Daniel Bituli, LB, Tennessee (Defensive Player of the Week); Rodrigo Blankenship, PK, Georgia (Special Teams Player of the Week); Ben Cleveland, OL, Georgia (Offensive Lineman of the Week). Injury report: Left guard Brett Heggie, who missed the Vanderbilt game after a week of headaches, is expected to be cleared to practice this week and play against Missouri. Mullen said quarterback Feleipe Franks is out of the cast, on crutches and wearing a walking boot on the ankle that was dislocated and fractured in game three against Kentucky. He's rehabbing the ankle but the recovery road is still long and hard. “It would be fortunate if we get him back for spring practice with the type of injury he had,” Mullen said. That's not always one that is an exact date, I think, from dealing with some of those in the past. It would be good if we could get him back for spring practice but I don't know if that's a possibility or not.” SEC FOOTBALL STUFF #4 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Injured linebacker Dylan Moses suited up for the LSU game although Nick Saban said there was no way Moses was going to play. Moses, who is from Baton Rouge, wanted to dress out just to be a part of the team for that game according to Saban, who added that Moses is nowhere near being ready to practice much less play. Saturday: at Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC) Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC): Clay Travis of Outkick the Coverage said Monday that fired Arkansas coach Chad Morris could be “the worst coach ever hired in the SEC.” Travis went on record plugging Washington State coach Mike Leach to fill the vacancy Saturday: Open #13 Auburn (7-2. 4-2 SEC): Auburn is 39-9 at home during the Gus Malzahn era with four wins over arch-rivals Alabama and Georgia. Saturday: vs. #5 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC) #5 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Wide receiver Lawrence Cager (shoulder and ribs) and center Trey Hill (ankle), who left the Missouri game and didn't return, have been cleared to practice this week.. Saturday: at #13 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC) Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC): Looking back on UK's 17-13 loss to Tennessee, HBC Mark Stoops said, “It frustrates or baffles us how you lose a game like that.” Saturday: at Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC) #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC): The unsung hero of the LSU offense is running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has 786 rushing yards for 11 touchdowns to go with 28 pass catches for 202 yards and another TD. Saturday: at Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): HBC Joe Moorhead indicated Monday that the Bulldogs will play both freshman Garrett Shrader and grad transfer Tommy Stevens at quarterback against Alabama Saturday. And speaking of Alabama, Moorhead offered these nuggets of wisdom: “I don't think you can go in playing not to lose. You have to go in playing to win.” Saturday: vs #4 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) Missouri (5-4, 2-3 SEC): The Tigers are 5-0 at home this season, but the only one of those five teams with a winning record is D1AA Southeast Missouri State (7-3), which the Tigers hammered 50-0. The other four teams (West Virginia, South Carolina, Troy and Ole Miss) have a combined record of 15-23. Saturday: vs. #11 FLORIDA (8-2, 5-2 SEC) Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC):The Rebels lead the SEC in rushing, averaging 247.4 yards per game, led by freshman QB John Rhys Plumlee who has 777 yards and seven touchdowns. Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC): While some fans and boosters want a new head coach, Will Muschamp has the full support of athletic director Ray Tanner and the higher ups in the school administration. Mike Gillespie of ABC Columbia has reported that Muschamp will absolutely be back for the 2020 season. Saturday: at Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC) Tennessee (5-5, 3-3 SEC): The unlikely hero of Tennessee's 3-game winning streak is quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who was the goat of the loss to Alabama. In the last three games, Guarantano has completed 31-48 of his passes for 491 yards and five touchdowns. Saturday: Open Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): Corner Elijah Blades and safety Demani Richardson, who left the Mississippi State game with injuries on October 26, have both been cleared to practice for Saturday's game with South Carolina. Saturday: vs. South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC) Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC): Although Vandy is averaging an SEC-low 117.56 rushing yards per game, Ke'Shawn Vaughn could very well finish with more than 1,000 yards for the second straight year. Vaughn has gained 818 yards (six touchdowns) in nine games despite being held to 28 yards on 15 carries by the Gators last Saturday. Saturday: vs. Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC) SEC HOOPS STUFF Alabama: The NCAA has denied the appeal for a transfer waiver of Villanova transfer guard Jahvon Quinerly. Quinerly will have to sit this year but will have three years of eligibility remaining. Arkansas: Mason Jones was selected SEC Player of the Week after scoring 32 points in the Razorbacks' season-opening win over Rice. Kentucky: Freshman guard Tyrese Maxey was selected SEC Freshman of the Week. Monday's scores Vanderbilt (2-0) 71, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 66 Alabama (1-1) 78, Florida Atlantic 59 Texas A&M (2-0) 63, Louisiana-Monroe 57 Tuesday's games Missouri (2-0) at #21 Xavier Evansville at #1 Kentucky (2-0) The Citadel at Georgia (1-0) Norfolk State at Ole Miss (1-0) North Texas at Arkansas (1-0) #22 Auburn (2-0) at South Alabama Murray State at Tennessee (1-0) GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY Bruce Feldman of The Athletic on Coach O and some of LSU's best players, including quarterback Joe Burrow: “It's worth noting that the guy who for so long was hailed as the ace recruiter torched the Tide's defense with a quarterback, Joe Burrow, who Rivals labeled as a three-star recruit coming out of high school and a running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who was a three-star according to 247. Their go-to receiver Justin Jefferson was a two-star who some LSU teammates thought was a walk-on when he first arrived, and the anchors of the Tigers' offensive line, Lloyd Cushenberry and Damian Lewis, were also three-star guys.” Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports on Gus Malzahn, Mike Norvell and the coaching search at Arkansas and Florida State that will involve both men: “Will Arkansas chase Malzahn with the same fervor after they rebuffed him last time? The Hogs are not an attractive option, as the other top target – Memphis' Mike Norvell – would have to think long and hard before going there. He's expected to be in Florida State's wheelhouse once they inevitably strike out on big names. There's no contest which job is better between FSU and Arkansas, but there's a strong argument Norvell is better off continuing to win big at Memphis. Winning is the key to career advancement, and for Novell, 38, his current gig at Memphis is much safer than Arkansas.” Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network on WJOX in Birmingham discussing the Arkansas situation and the possibility that Gus Malzahn should leave Auburn for that job: “As far as Chad Morris, there's no reason to pile on. I think the record is self-evident as far as what kind of coach he was. As far as Gus Malzahn, I think he has to consider it. Regardless of this weekend or two weekends from now, we all know the circumstances at Auburn. It's just a never-ending soap opera. There are people who genuinely love Gus Malzahn and appreciate him. There's an equal number who don't. I don't think that's going to change. To me, he gambled two years ago. He made a lot of money. Now I would leave. I don't think it's a difficult decision for Gus. I would take the money. We've all covered transitions. You're taking over for Chad Morris, who has one of the worst record, one of the most inept, incompetent and laughable programs I have ever seen in the history of covering the SEC. What do you have to do? Go to a bowl game and they'll give you a parade.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Not that anyone is surprised by this, but former Gator Pete Alonso was voted National League Rookie of the Year after slugging a Major League rookie record 53 homers to go with 120 RBI for the New York Mets. Alonso received 29 of the 30 first place votes … Despite reports from the NFL Network that he has emerged as a candidate for the vacant Florida State job, Deion Sanders says he has yet to speak with anyone from FSU regarding the job … Charles Rogers, who had a brilliant career at Michigan State and was the #2 overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft, is dead at the age of 38 after a battle with cancer ... The Pac-12 Conference suspended one of its referees a full game for penalizing the wrong team in California's 33-20 win over Washington State. Referee Matt Richards called the penalty on Washington State which forced the Cougars to begin at their own 8-yard line, nullifying a kickoff return to midfield. The 15-yard penalty that should have been tacked on to the end of the Wazzoo kickoff return was actually committed by a California player. While Richards serves his suspension the remaining members of the crew have been downgraded … Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd listed seven reasons why Nick Saban should retire. It should be noted that Cowherd roomed with Jim McElwain at Eastern Washington University which could go a long way toward explaining inept comments like Saban should retire.

It is the band of brothers that is Florida's wide receivers who took it upon themselves to cure any hangover from the Gators' 24-17 loss to Georgia. In their meeting room last Sunday, there was no discussion whatsoever about what went wrong in Jacksonville, only what needed to take place every day in practice leading up to Vanderbilt. Never mind that this was Vanderbilt, a team heading nowhere with a loss to lowly UNLV on its 2019 slate. The opponent didn't matter, just that it was an opportunity for a measure of redemption. The week began with the wide receivers placing a collective chip on the shoulders of their position group. Perhaps as a carryover from his days when he was the head coach at Mississippi State, Dan Mullen wants the Gators to take on an us against the world mentality. He doesn't mind playing the disrespect card, particularly when it helps to get his team focused on the task ahead. When the Gators made it out to the practice field on Monday, Tyrie Cleveland said the wide receivers “came focused and came here with a chip on our shoulder.” The chip, it turns out, was contagious. While it began with the wide receivers, it quickly spread to the rest of the team. Almost from the moment practice began, there was noticeable intensity from every unit. “Monday practice was intense,” Cleveland said. “We were flying around, tempo was fast, defense was running to the ball. Monday was a great practice for us.” Mullen called it “our best Monday practice of the year” and it carried over each day, almost like a crescendo. The growing focus and intensity ensured a paybacks are hell mentality when the Gators took the field against the Commodores. The resulting 56-0 win was the Gators' way of issuing an apology for the loss to Georgia and a statement that whoever gets in the way from here on out might get steamrolled. “We came focused and came here with a chip on our shoulder,” Cleveland said. “I would say that we let a lot of people down last week. We wanted to show the world that we are Gator football still and we're going to play to the Gator standard.” Cleveland's version of playing to the Gator standard was three catches for 51 yards along with what seemed to be never-ending celebrations when his fellow wide receivers did their part. On this particular day, the Gators threw for 410 yards. Kyle Trask and Emory Jones combined to throw 27 completions to 11 different receivers – six wideouts, two tight ends and three running backs. Trask threw three touchdown passes, his seventh consecutive game with at least two, and he had a career-high 363 passing yards plus he scored on a 14-yard run. Jones didn't throw any touchdown passes, but he ran for 34 yards and three touchdowns in addition to his 47 passing yards. The running game produced 150 yards, averaging 5.2 per carry. Over on defense, the Gators limited the Commodores to 128 total yards – 51 rushing and 77 passing. A week after zero sacks and turnovers against Georgia, the Gators racked up six sacks for -43 yards, forced a fumble that was turned into an 80-yard touchdown return by Jonathan Greenard and picked off two passes, both by safety Donovan Stiner. On third down, Florida's Achilles heel against Georgia, Vanderbilt managed to convert only three into first downs in 15 attempts. “It was a big statement game, one of the biggest games of the season,” offered Trevon Grimes, who caught four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. “We had to come out here and show what kind of team we are, that we're not going to back down and we're going to fight until the end.” Let's not fool ourselves here. The opponent was Vanderbilt, not to be mistaken for a top tier team in the Southeastern Conference. The loss was the Commodores' seventh of the season and assured them of another losing record. But don't let Vandy's ineptitude overshadow what the Gators actually accomplished. In this era of college football where lenient rules favor the offense and spread attacks force defenses to set up like a picket fence to counter four- and five-wide sets with motion and lots of shifting, shootouts are fairly common even if one of the teams is a bottom feeder. Nobody expected Vanderbilt to actually beat the Gators Saturday, but with weapons like running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, wide receiver Kalijah Lipscomb and tight end Jared Pinkney – all of whom will be playing for money on Sundays next year – it wouldn't have been a shocker for the Commodores to make this a high-scoring battle. The Gators neutralized Vanderbilt's big three, holding Vaughn to 28 yards on 15 carries; Lipscomb to one reception for all of four yards and Pinkney without a single catch. Over on the offensive side of the ball, once the Gators eliminated the silly mistakes that sent them into the halftime locker room with only a 14-0 lead, Vandy was prayerless to stop the Florida attack and the game got ugly in a hurry. The fact that Vanderbilt was dominated in every phase of the game says something about the way the Gators responded to the challenge of putting the Georgia game behind them and focusing on what's ahead. Winning the SEC East isn't completely out of the question, but that's in someone else's hands. All the Gators can do is go out next Saturday in Columbia and add Missouri's scalp to their belt. Then they will have done everything in their power to win the SEC East with two losses. As improbable as it may seem, Georgia could still lose twice which would send the Gators to Atlanta for a likely rematch with LSU. A loss to Auburn on the road next Saturday isn't out of the question for Georgia, but losing to Texas A&M in Athens the next week? That seems like a tall order and completely out of Florida's control. So, it's up to the Gators to take care of their own business to finish the regular season with 10 wins, setting up the possibility of an 11-win season in a bowl game. Last season the Gators rebounded from back-to-back losses to Georgia and Missouri to win their final three regular season games, then they finished off Mullen's first season on the job with an impressive blowout of Michigan in a New Year's Six bowl (Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta) for their 10th win. This year, a three-game win streak at the end of the regular season will earn another New Year's Six bowl, this one most likely the Orange (against an ACC team) or the Cotton (against the best Group of Five team). An 11-win season that included a second straight New Year's Six bowl is a worthy achievement and a clear signal that Dan Mullen is resurrecting the Florida football program. Where the Gators are right now is a full year ahead of schedule.

The No. 10 Florida Gators bounced back from a loss to No. 5 Georgia in dominating fashion this weekend, with a 56-0 trouncing of the Vanderbilt Commodores. From freshmen to veterans, offense and defense, everyone chipped in to give the Gators their eighth win of the season, fifth in conference. As you return to work this Monday, here are your watercooler topics from the Gators big win and shutout. Donovan Stiner had a great game The junior safety has always been a quiet force, but on Saturday he put together one of his best games as a Gator. He nabbed two interceptions, bring his career total to six, tying CJ Henderson as most among all current Gator defensive backs. He added three tackles, including one when the Dores were driving into the redzone on their only productive drive of the day. Deuce Wallace hit James Bostic for a first down that went 15 yards. Bostic had tapped his way to the sideline and had a lane to the endzone but Stiner flew in from the middle of the field and knocked him out of bounds to save the score. The defense held on and three players later, Jon Greenard scored a defensive touchdown off a scoop and score. Stiner’s two interceptions also highlighted his knowledge of the game. Stiner will be the first to admit he’s not the big hitter that Shawn Davis is, or the tenacious hands of Brad Stewart. But they all have different strengths and Stiner’s is his immense understanding of the game and how to use that to his advantage. The interceptions were perfect examples of this. The first, Stiner set up in center field and dared Wallace to throw it that way. The Vandy quarterback (making his first start) thought it was a good idea. It wasn’t. With Shawn Davis behind him taking care of the receiver, Stiner was able to make the jump and grab the ball. He made a cut and returned it for 29 yards, giving the offense great field position from which to score; which they did. The second takeaway saw Stiner play off the ball and bait Allan Walters—coming in for his first drive for Vandy—into a throw towards the sideline. The safety jumped the pass and snagged it yet again with a field position the offense was able to score from. Diabate is gonna be a beast Another knockout defensive performance came from freshman Mohamoud Diabate. The linebacker had three sacks and a tackle, stepping seamlessly into the pass rusher role alongside Jon Greenard with Jeremiah Moon and Jabari Zuniga both out due to injury. Diabate is a speedster off the edge and looked like he was shot out of a cannon on the blitz sack that forced the fumble for Greenard’s touchdown. Diabate is 220lbs. currently so could put on some weight for his linebacker role. But he made clear on Saturday he has all of the natural skill in place to play the role in Todd Grantham’s defense that is the key cog. Explaining Kyle Trask’s interceptions Kyle Trask put up 363 yards passing on Saturday, the best by a Gators quarterback since Tim Tebow’s 482 against No. 4 Cincinnati in the 2010 Sugar Bowl, and it was the highest total against an SEC team since Rex Grossman’s 375 against Kentucky back on Sept. 28, 2002. He had three touchdowns through the air (albeit one was Tre Grimes 66-yarder off a screen) and then called his own number for another score rushing. So let’s just get this out of the way, move on and appreciate all the good Trask did on Saturday. Here’s what happened on his two interceptions. The first was over the middle of the field and looked baffling considering there wasn’t a receiver in the same zip code as the ball. Trask said afterwards he and the receivers were on separate pages and he was throwing to where he thought someone would be, but clearly wasn’t. The second, also by Vandy’s Daley, was the deflection in the endzone. Trask was targeting Van Jefferson for the score. The back shoulder throw wasn’t a bad decision. It was in the vicinity of two defenders but Jefferson was pretty clearly getting wrapped up by one of them. Trask’s thinking was, thread it in there where only the expert route runner Van can reach back for the score. Or at the very least, throw it down there and draw the defensive pass interference flag. Instead, the flag wasn’t thrown and the ball bounced off the fighting duo and into Daley’s waiting hands. It was an unforeseeable bounce off a risky decision but not a bad decision. What’s a catch? What’s in a catch? That which we call a catch by any other crew would be complete. While head coach Dan Mullen didn’t invoke Shakespeare in his post game press conference, he did express his frustration when a reporter asked about a Jacob Copeland catch that was ruled complete then overturned. On replay, the catch wasn’t concrete but Copeland did have a hand on the leather. It looked much more like a football move than the catch by Georgia’s Cager last weekend. The latter of course was reviewed and ruled a catch, the Bulldogs scoring a touchdown on the extended drive. Mullen said of the two plays, “my wife would tell me it's not worth the money. But you guys tell me the difference between—I’d love somebody to tell me the difference between the two. I guess we'll find out. I'm sure they'll have their whatever reasons…they looked pretty similar to me.” Coaches are fined if they publicly question league officials. Given the topsy turvy and inconsistent nature of SEC officiating this season though, Mullen understandably feels it’s worth any fine to draw attention to the indiscriminate nature. Tre Grimes is so, so, so good at YAC The junior receiver is arguably the Gators best in the unit at yards after the catch and yards after contact. He is tall but stout and uses his frame to take and absorb hits. In fact, he seems to gain energy from the action and repel it back against defenders, like he’s his own Black Panther suit. He picked up one first down in the first quarter on a screen where he took a hit right away. By the end, he had five defenders on him for at least the last two yards. His 66-yard touchdown included an early hit off the sideline pass and a stiff arm. From there, the only defender he had to worry about was the sideline. Grimes ended the game with four receptions for 95 yards, and three of the passes were screens. The fourth—the touchdown—was a quick out In other words, even with Kyle Trask getting (deserved) credit for the passes, those 95 yards were all From the time Grimes arrived from Ohio State, he’s had potential just bubbling under the surface. With so many wide receivers that have to share the ball, Grimes doesn’t have many games with multiple touches. But when the dial turns to him, he’s proven himself time and again. He did that again Saturday in all the same ways he’s shown previously, but against Vanderbilt it was for multiple plays. This was a needed win and needed showing On offense, 18 different guys touched the ball to make a play and racked up 560 yards total. UF has five games of 300-plus passing yards—with four against SEC teams—in Mullen’s 23 games as head coach. In 101 games spanning the 2010-17 seasons, UF had six 300-yard outings (two against SEC teams). On defense, Todd Grantham’s guys held Vanderbilt to 3-15 on 3rd downs. The importance of the differential isn’t lost on the crew who gave up 12-18 to Georgia on the money down last week. They won the turnover margin and scored three touchdowns off said turnovers as well. All week Mullen and players said this was a game to define their character. Could they bounce back after the Georgia loss, show they still had fight, they still had fire and they could still play to their standard? With their third shutout of the year and best offensive performance of the year, they did just that. Related: Watch post game analysis and report from Florida win over Vandy Florida will now travel to Columbia, Missouri to face the Tigers. That of course is the team that defeated Mullen’s team following the Cocktail Party last season. It was a game and a loss that became a turning point for the program. The Gators and Tigers kick off at NoonET/11CT on CBS.

MUCH TOO EARLY TO PANIC ABOUT GATOR HOOPS Florida's 6th-ranked Gators (1-1) went down in flames at the O-Dome Sunday afternoon, a 63-51 loss to Florida State that was ugly from start to finish for both teams. FSU made more shots in the second half than the Gators, who struggled to find any kind of offensive rhythm against the very physical Seminoles. Florida played good enough defense to win the game, holding FSU to 36.4% shooting from the field and just 5-17 (29.4% from the 3-point line). Typically, you win games when you get those kind of defensive numbers. FSU played excellent defense too, holding the Gators to a dismal 28% overall (14-50) and 18.2% (4-22) from the 3-point line. The Gators had open shots, but this was the kind of game when they couldn't have found the ocean if they were standing on the end of the pier. They further damaged their own cause by a lack of movement and when that happens, teams get into what can best be described as a tentative funk. A tentative funk is when there is such a lack of movement that shooters become so tentative that even when they get an open shot they hesitate. That had a lot to do with Noah Locke's performance – 1-11 overall and 0-7 from the 3-point line. He missed a bunch of shots early on and then got seriously tentative in the second half, several times passing up shots that he can hit with his eyes closed in the practice gym. Three points to consider before proclaiming this season a bust and Mike White a horrible coach even though we're just two games into the season. (1) Florida has one upperclassman available right now because of injuries and that is Kerry Blackshear Jr. Dontay Bassett couldn't go Sunday and Gorjok Gak will be December at the earliest before he's ready. That left White with three sophomores and five freshmen. The moral of this point is that the Gators are inexperienced and still trying to find what combinations work. (2) The Gators aren't going to shoot 28% from the field and 18.2% from the 3-point line all season. Back to point one – there are lots of kids who can shoot but they are still getting accustomed to playing college basketball. It will get better. (3) It is November. You can neither win nor lose an SEC or national championship in November. Every year some teams burst out of the gate on fire only to burn out sometime around February. Other teams take awhile to figure things out before they put it all together. If I had to guess, this team will start playing at a very high level sometime in December and will get better as the season moves along. They're going to be very, very good. Patience, Grasshopper. DESPITE BIG WIN, GATORS DROP IN FOOTBALL POLLS The fallout from Minnesota's takedown of Penn State Saturday was the Golden Gophers advanced all the way to #7 in both polls, which, in turn, pushed the Gators down one notch to #11 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and #12 in the Coaches. LSU was #1 in both polls although it is absolutely shocking that Ohio State and Clemson got first place votes in both. LSU has wins over then #3 Alabama, then #7 Florida, then #9 Texas and then #9 Auburn. Ohio State's best win is over then #13 Wisconsin. Clemson has a win over then #12 (now unranked) Texas A&M. Of course, the AP and Coaches polls are only window dressing. The only poll that matters comes out Tuesday night when the College Football Playoff Poll comes out. Florida ranked #10 in that poll and it is highly unlikely the Gators will dip a spot even with Minnesota moving up several places. The Associated Press Top 25 Poll (1) LSU (9-0); (2) Ohio State 9-0; (3) Clemson 10-0; (4) Alabama 8-1; (5) Georgia 8-1; (6) Oregon 8-1; (7) Minnesota 9-0; (8) Utah 8-1; (9) Penn State 8-1; (10) Oklahoma 8-1; (11) FLORIDA 8-2; (12) Baylor 9-0; (13) Auburn 7-2; (14) Michigan 7-2; (15) Wisconsin 7-2; (16) Notre Dame 7-2; (17) Cincinnati 8-1; (18) Memphis 8-1; (19) Boise State 8-1; (20) SMU 9-1; (21) Navy 7-1; (22) Texas 6-3; (23) Iowa 6-3; (24) Indiana 7-2; (25) Oklahoma State 6-3 The Coaches Top 25 Poll (1) LSU (9-0); (2) Ohio State 9-0; (3) Clemson 10-0; (4) Alabama 8-1; (5) Georgia 8-1; (6) Oregon 8-1; (7) Minnesota 9-0; (8) Oklahoma 8-1; (9) Utah 8-1; (10) Baylor 9-0; (11) Penn State 8-1; (12) FLORIDA 8-2;(13) Auburn 7-2; (14)Michigan 7-2; (15) Wisconsin 7-2; (16) Notre Dame 7-2; (17) Cincinnati 8-1; (18) Memphis 8-1; (19) Boise State 8-1; (20) SMU 9-1; (21) Navy 7-1; (22) Iowa 6-3; (23) Texas 6-3; (24) Appalachian State 8-1; (25) Indiana 7-2 RANKING THE SEC TOP TO BOTTOM (1) LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC): Joe Burrow might have sealed up the Heisman Trophy with the win over Alabama. Burrow was 31-39 passing for 393 yards and three touchdowns plus he ran for an additional 64 yards. Burrow is completing 78.9% of his passes, averaging 10.7per attempt and has thrown 33 touchdown passes with only four interceptions. Next Saturday: at Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC) (2) Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC): The only win Alabama has against a ranked opponent was then 24th-ranked (now unranked) Texas A&M. The schedule has been so weak that Alabama could finish 11-1 and get bypassed in the College Football Playoff by other one-loss teams with a better strength of schedule. Next Saturday: at Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC) (3) Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC): The Bulldogs gave up only 198 yards to Missouri Saturday night as they posted their third shutout of the season. Next Saturday: at #13 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC) (4) FLORIDA (8-2, 5-2 SEC): With their 56-0 win over Vanderbilt, the Gators registered their third shutout of the season., the first time that's happened since 1988. The 1988 Gators gave up 15.4 points per game. Through 10 games, this year's Florida team is allowing 15.0. Next Saturday: at Missouri (5-4, 2-3 SEC) (5) Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Obviously the Vegas oddsmakers think Auburn has a decent chance to spring the upset against #5 Georgia next Saturday. Auburn is just a 3-1/2 point underdog which is almost a pick 'em choice. Next Saturday: vs. #5 Georgia (8-1, 5-1 SEC) (6) Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): Almost overlooked is the progress the Aggies have made defensively this year. Although they've given up more rushing yardage and have fewer sacks than last year, they are giving up fewer points (21.9) and yards (335.1) per game than last year. Next Saturday: vs. South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC) (7) Tennessee (5-5, 3-3 SEC): With their win over Kentucky, the Vols have won three straight games and need only one win in next two (at Missouri, Vanderbilt) to be bowl eligible. Next Saturday: Open (8) Missouri (5-4, 2-3 SEC): Although the Tigers lost to Georgia 27-0, the defense more than held its own, allowing Georgia just 166 rushing yards (Georgia averages 215) and limiting Jake Fromm to 13-29 passing for 173 yards. Next Saturday: vs. #12 FLORIDA (8-2, 5-2 SEC) (9) Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC): The loss to Tennessee was disappointing but the Wildcats will still be favored to win their last three games (at Vanderbilt, Tennessee-Martin and Louisville). Considering the injuries and transfers at the quarterback position, a 7-5 season would be quite an accomplishment. Next Saturday: at Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC) (10) South Carolina (4-6, 3-4 SEC): Gamecock fans are starting to wonder if it's more than coincidence that South Carolina has had to deal with so many injuries the last four seasons the same way Florida had to deal with them from 2011-14. The strength and conditioning coordinator at both places – Jeff Dillman. Next Saturday: at Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC) (11) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): Joe Moorhead can't feel too comfortable after Arkansas and Florida State pulled the plug on coaches with games to play in their second seasons on the job. Moorhead needs to win two of the last three (Alabama, Abilene Christian and at Ole Miss) to be bowl eligible. To feel safe he needs to win all three. Next Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) (12) Ole Miss (4-6, 2-4 SEC): Ole Miss ran for 447 yards in its win over New Mexico State with quarterback John Rhys Plumlee gaining 177 for two touchdowns. Plumlee also completed 11-17 passes for 124 yards. Next Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) (13) Vanderbilt (2-7, 1-5 SEC): Following Vanderbilt's 56-0 drubbing at the hands of Florida, HBC Derek Mason said, “I'm just letting you know, collectively, there has got to be some changes. I don't like what I see all the way around. There are things that have got to be changed. There will be some changes, and we'll make sure we get it right.” One change that might happen is Mason might get fired. Next Saturday: vs. Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC) (14) Arkansas (2-8, 0-6 SEC): It was bad enough for Chad Morris to go down in flames against Western Kentucky, even worse that WKU was quarterbacked by Ty Storey, last year's starter at Arkansas. Now that Arkansas has alleviated Morris of his coaching responsibilities, he needs to lawyer up. He's owed more than $10 million and the school is attempting to weasel out of continuing to pay the buyout of Morris' predecessor, Bret Bielema. Next Saturday: Open ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL Don't be shocked if the next coach to get fired is Michigan State's Mark Dantonio. The Spartans blew a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to Illinois, 37-34. Dantonio got a vote of confidence from the AD last Friday but that was before the loss to Illinois left the Spartans reeling at 4-5 with Michigan up next. Maryland scored 142 points in its 2-0 start, 138 points in the eight games since. Nobody is proclaiming Mike Locksley to be a genius anymore. Penn State could be in for a rough time Saturday against Indiana (7-2), which is proving you can do quite well with a two-quarterback system. Michael Penix Jr. has thrown for 1,394 yards and 10 touchdowns while Peyton Ramsey has thrown for 1,302 yards and nine touchdowns. If the Nittany Lions are still smarting from their loss to Minnesota and looking ahead to Ohio State, it's entirely possible they could lose to Indiana. GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports on the feeling of disbelief among Alabama fans after LSU's 46-41 win in Tuscaloosa: “On a day when President Trump received a rousing ovation at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Burrow's 393 passing yards and three touchdowns left American wondering what will make Alabama football great again. Amid the Alabama autopsy of penalties, turnovers and hopeless defensive lapses, Burrow's epic afternoon would still be listed as the probable cause of death on Alabama's season. He left more than 101,000 fans in a state of perpetual surrender cobra, palms glued to the temples in disbelief of what played out before them.” Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated on the very real possibility that Alabama's weak schedule will cost any chance at making the College Football Playoff: “The body of work is soft when your non-conference schedule consists of Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Mississippi and Wester Carolina – none of which were in the top 50 of the Sagarin Ratings heading into Saturday. It is soft when your SEC crossover opponents are South Carolina and Tennessee, the former of whom lost for the sixth time this season Saturday, and both of whom have losses to Sun Belt opponents. It is soft when the distance between the top four in the West and the bottom three is a chasm.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Starting for Matt Stafford (fractured bones in his back), former Gator QB Jeff Driskel threw for 269 yards and a TD and ran for 37 yards in the Detroit Lions 20-15 loss to the Chicago Bears … Memphis got a court order to play 7-foot stud James Wiseman after the NCAA ruled him ineligible because his family took more than $11,000 from Penny Hardaway to move to Memphis back when Hardaway was a high school/AAU coach. A hearing is set for November 18. Expect the NCAA to win this one … Other than Tom Brady, I'm not sure there is a better football player in the NFL than Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers. I can only imagine what his numbers would be if he played for a decent team.

Mike White put his head down and ran his hand down his face, the sign of a parent beyond frustrated. “I don’t even know how to answer that,” he admitted. The question came courtesy of an admission by players, that the No. 6 Florida Gators had bought some of their own preseason hype, in which they were predicted to be a Final Four team. That’s still very possible. But nothing looks promising after today. The No. 6 Florida Gators (1-1) fell to FSU (1-1) by a score of 63-51 in front of a crowd of 10,851 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. A day after the No. 10 football team put up 56 points across the street, the basketball team struggled to break the half century mark on the court and brought into question just how much of that preseason hype should be believed. The fact that the players are wondering that as while has Mike White changing his approach to what it will take to coach them after the loss. “I don't even like the fact that they're talking about it, honestly, because that shows you the buy-in of not believing the hype. I guess there was hype. Crazy. “The reality is we've got a talented senior, we have three sophomores that honestly came off 16 losses, we have two juniors that are hurt, we have five freshman that have no idea how to play a high-level game. And you've got a coach who did a horrible job today, especially offensively. That's who we are. “Ranking this and that, hype this and that, when our kids go to class on Monday they're going to be told how bad they are. It's crazy what these kids have to deal with outside of just locking in on being better or buying into what we're trying to do on a daily basis. Who knows what that is? “It might mean we're an NIT team. It might mean we can win a national championship. I have no idea. That's where they are. That's where we are. Our guys, back to what happened last year in the opener, it's happened to us a few years now. I can't imagine our guys were overconfident. I can believe they said that, but if they are then I've really got my hands full." White said last week that he wasn’t looking forward to watching the film of the Gators 2019 loss to Florida State. It’s going to be a long time before he’ll want to watch film from today either. The Gators started slow, their only saving grace that the Seminoles did as well. Just over six minutes into the game, with FSU leading 8-5, Gators freshman Scottie Lewis checked in. The guard helped provide a spark of tenacity and UF was able to take a 9-8 lead at the under-12 media timeout. From there, the Gators were going punch for punch with the Noles, albeit punches that were more swings that hoped to land as opposed to fighter strength punches. With just over two minutes to play in the 1st, the Noles took a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the game. The performance required some brutal honesty from this entire team and Mike White himself. “I didn’t think we played well in the first half; an early evaluation on this team, I thought we, I felt good being down four at half. I thought we’d clean up some things offensively, get the ball moving a little bit better, throw that thing in the post a little bit more, make a couple of 3s and settle in. But defensively we weren’t as sharp there…I mean, three balls with no one within no more than 15 feet within of guys, and we’ve got two players guarding one guy on the other side of the floor. Just a complete lack of communication and discipline. "But as we struggled to score it effected our defense, as well. We weren’t very good. I wasn’t very good, period.” The FSU defense was stifling, holding the Gators grad transfer star Kerry Blackshear Jr. to no field goals, all 10 of his points coming from the free-throw line; coming from ACC Virginia Tech, he was expecting as such. “I’ve been playing them for four years, this is nothing new.” While Blackshear has been playing FSU for four years and the Gators have now lost six straight to the Noles, this is a young team, as White mentioned above. They have to gain more experience and two games into a long season isn’t when it will come. But still, there was hope… “We were hopeful that in this one, you’d get over this one and if you played really, really well you could end the streak,” admitted White. “I tell our guys at practice all the time how far away we are, whether they believe me or not…we’ve got a ways to go…we just have to buy into a whole other level of what we’re trying to do.” Sophomore Keyontae Johnson said that was White’s message after the game to the team as well. “[Coach White] just basically tell us we need to focus more on what we doing at shoot arounds and stuff and film wise cause our lack of focus showed in the second half and instead of like coming out of timeouts, we wasn’t doing what he asked. “Focus more, buy-in to what he’s saying and we’ll win more games. And just lock in more on film and shoot around…buy-in to the defensive possession. Like we was giving up open three’s in transition, and we wasn’t talking as much. So that’s what he means by like buy-in and stuff.” The open three’s in transition—even long jumpers—proved fatal in the second half. Every time Florida would cobble something together, FSU would answer. The Noles went 20-55 (5-17 from downtown), while the Gators stumbled to a 14-50 total (4-22 from beyond the arc). Save a three from Andrew Nembhard and another from Tre Mann, it was Keyontae Johnson who accounted for the Gators field goals in the second half. He finished 8-12 for 19 points in 30 minutes, a team high. “I was just going with the rhythm and when Coach was calling green, I was just happening to get to the right each time, I was just going past my defender,” said Johnson of his performance. Added Mike White, “In this game, I would say he was the one guy that as they make you drive it, as their defense was really extended and you call a play and you try to get it here and everything is denied and you get really stagnant, OK, one of us put our head down and drive it. He's got an ability to do that. He made some really good plays, 8-of-12, especially in the second half. I thought he was really good. "We've got to get him rebounding the ball more. His motor late last year got really good. And we've had meetings about getting that type of motor back similar to how hard he was playing.” But whatever bright spot Keyontae Johnson or any Gator might have had on Sunday afternoon is moot and dimmed with the loss to a bitter rival. The silver lining is the humbleness that accompanied the loss and the knowledge now of what it will take to rebound. “We know there’s a lot of things we have to work on. I think playing that game makes it more evident for us. It can be a big wake-up call and show how this team can band together rather than splinter,” said Blackshear. Added Nembhard “definitely disappointing, any L’s a disappointment. But it’s very, very early in the season, so we’re just going to learn from it and just keep going.” And Johnson didn’t shy away from the harsh reality of what this loss means in the present but also the change it can wrought in the future. “I feel like we had a lot of hype behind our name so it probably got to like some of the players, like me as well. Saying that we was a top ranked team. This game can like show us that we really not that good, like we’ve got room to improve on. “This game like really showed up like what our weakness is on defense and offense, like what we need to get better on…I feel like we still have much more to improve on.”

The No. 10 Florida Gators have only two regular season games remaining on the schedule—and a bowl game on the horizon—but head coach Dan Mullen and staff aren’t done tooling with this team yet. During the Gators 56-0 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, there were freshmen making their start, others getting increased playing time, and upperclassmen returners. Ethan White and Richard Gouriage—a true freshman and redshirt freshman respectively—both made their first start against Vanderbilt. The change came due to offensive line shuffling following the departure of right guard Chris Bleich (family issues) and an injury to Brett Heggie. The two had the luxury of facing the SEC’s 13th worst rushing defense. The Dores had been giving up an average of 202.8 rushing yards per game. Florida gained less, at 150, but put up 410 passing yards for 560 total. The first play of the game, quarterback Kyle Trask handed off to Lamical Perine. The senior back rushed over right tackle was following White. The rush went no where. On the ensuing offensive drive however, on a 2nd and 1, White pulled and Perine followed the big man for a 3-yard gain. Such is how the day continued for both, taking a lump here and there but largely holding up against the defensive line and helping give Trask a clean pocket for much of the day, in rout to his 363 passing yards (the most by a Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow’s final game as a Gator). Mullen said of White and Gouriage, “I didn’t see any negative things with those two during the course of the game. I’m looking at a lot of different things. I’ll watch on film. What I didn’t see on the field is any negatives. Just walking off the field, those two guys did a heck of a job having to come in and play and play with confidence.” Freshman linebacker Mohamoud Diabate saw his role grow ten-fold with the long term loss of Jeremiah Moon to injury. Diabate has played all season, recording a tackle in seven games. But with Moon sidelined, Diabate told the junior on Friday night, “I always felt like I had the talent. I just had to mature and get the opportunity to do so. So, when the time came – I talked to Moon last night – I told him I was going to take care of it.” He did more than “take care of it.” He completely showed out in the form of three sacks for a loss of 27 yards total. The third of the sacks resulted in a turnover as well, Diabate knocking the ball loose. BUCK Jon Greenard scooped the leather and saw nothing but open grass for 80-yards in front of him. It took a bit longer for the big man to make the distance, but with that much open field, you can score at your own pace. “I didn't actually know [I caused the fumble],” admits Diabate. "I heard everyone cheering and I thought they were just cheering for the sack, then I saw Greenard running and I was like 'Oh snap, let me run too.' So I got up and I started chasing him but he was going pretty fast so I couldn't get him. I just turned to the sideline celebrating.” The story though was not necessarily Greenard’s touchdown, but Diabate’s sacks. The Auburn, Alabama native broke through for each sack in a variety of ways—blitzing, off the edge, up the middle, etc.). But the constant was his speed. At 220lbs, he’s slightly undersized for a linebacker. So instead, Diabate has found ways to use that to his advantage. “I feel like that's my biggest asset so that's always what I want to do, I want to use my speed and then if that doesn't work I'm gonna find a counter move to use. But that's my biggest strength so my coaches make sure that I know that and use that.” The last “new” guy was an old-faced. Kadarius Toney technically returned last week against Georgia, following an 8-week absence while recovering from a shoulder injury. He had one touch against the Bulldogs that went no where. On Saturday against Vanderbilt, that number increased exponentially. Toney ended the night as the leading rusher with 39 yards on two rushes while adding a reception for 10 yards. Both rushes were jet sweeps, plays that utilize his speed and elusiveness. The first picked up 13-yards, the last couple courtesy of a spin move at the end. The second sweep included not one, not two but three juke moves, breaking the ankles and taking the souls of defenders all around him. “He’s one of the most electric players in college football,” said receiver Tre Grimes of the human joystick Toney. “He’s an amazing player. Like I said, it’s an honor to have players like that on the team because nobody’s selfish. So when he gets the ball, he may only get it one time in the game, but when he does, he does something with it. And he’s just an electrifying player. He’s fun to watch.”

Yes it was only Vanderbilt, but Florida's impressive win Saturday revealed plenty about the Gators. If you buy Dan Mullen's theory about the real character of his team showing itself in the these last four games, then the good news is that the complete doination of the hapless Commodores indicates they have fire in their bellies to win and they are motivated to finish the year strong, go to a New Year's Six Bowl and have a shot at double-digit wins again. It was confirmed that the Gator offense has offensive firepower in quarterback Kyle Trask (three touchdown passes and a career high in passing yardage), big playability and a woken up defense (Jon Greenard's 80-yard scooop and score) and an emerging backup quarterback in Emory Jones (three touchdowns rushing).

The No. 10 Florida Gators (8-2, 5-2) spent the first quarter nursing a hangover from last weekend’s Cocktail Party before beginning the second quarter with a score that opened the floodgates and led to a 28-point, 216 yard third quarter. The Gators defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-7, 1-5) 59-0 on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Quarterback Kyle Trask ended 25-37, 363 yards, three touchdowns (two interceptions) through the air, adding 25 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Six different Gators scored (including one on defense) and 18 different guys touched the ball on offense to give the current second team in the SEC-East a much needed win complete with style points, in which the offense accumulated 560 total yards off offense while the defense held Vanderbilt to 128 total yards and 3-15 on 3rd downs. "To me it was about making a statement to ourselves of making sure we get our edge back,” said head coach Dan Mullen. “There was disappointment off of last week, but if you’re a competitor you compete. You can’t wait to compete, you love winning. And, so, I love winning. I’m going to enjoy it tonight and try to start all over again tomorrow morning.” The first offensive drive ended with a 4th and 1 attempt that fell short. The defense, for their part, forced Vanderbilt into much the same. The ensuing possession saw Kyle Trask and the Gators began to click down field, mixing in a balance of run and pass, broken up amongst several playmakers. Wide receiver Kadarius Toney (2 rushes, 39 yards; 1 reception, 10 yards) put in his first positive yardage since returning last week from an eight week shoulder recovery. With redshirt freshman Emory Jones in at quarterback, Toney took a handoff for a jet sweep and cut up field. A spin move from the elusive playmaker netted a couple of extra yardage for a 13 yard gain in total. But on 3rd and 10 from the Vandy 27, Kyle Trask zipped an otherwise perfect throw over the middle…to the wrong team; Vanderbilt’s Tae Daley. The safety would add another interception off Trask at the end of the second quarter. However, the latter interception was somewhat moot by that point, considering the Gators already had what would prove to be an insurmountable 14-point lead. Because as the clock rolled to the second quarter and Florida found themselves facing a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, everyone seemed to shake off the cobwebs and focus attention. Unsurprisingly electing to go for it, Trask went under center, alluding to the possibility of a QB sneak. Instead Trask dropped back and saw Lamical Perine (4-13, 1TD rushing; 4-28, 1TD receiving) out to the right. The quarterback let off a two handed pass from the chest that most closely resembled a granny shot in basketball. We’ll call it an ode to former Gator basketball player Canon Barry who took his free throws in that form. The unidentifiable option play worked and Perine walked into the endzone for the first score of the day. Laughed Trask, “Coach Mullen, he tells me, ‘it’s two, we got two guys, they got one guy off the edge and whatever you gotta to do get it to him. If they try to box you and you gotta do what you gotta do’ so I just went over the top.” After that, the floodgates opened. Deuce Wallace (7-18, 60 yards, 0 TD, 1INT) was getting his first start for the Dores, thanks to the two passers ahead of him on the depth chart both being in concussion protocol. He received a hard welcome to the league. The ensuing Vandy drive began with Adam Shuler (four tackles, one sack) sacking Wallace for a four yard loss and ended with Donovan Stiner (three tackles, two interceptions) setting up in the middle of the field for an easy pick that he returned 29-yards to the Vandy 23-yard line. Four plays later from the nine, Trask saw a lane open up and scampered in to make it 14-0. And on the subsequent Vanderbilt drive, the Florida Gators were introduced to Mohamoud Diabate. The linebacker was fired out of a cannon and into the backfield where he dropped Wallace. It was the first of Diabate’s three sacks on the day. “[Defensive coordinator] Coach Grantham found a way to match me up with people that I could excel against, and he did a good job of putting me in a great position, and I just did what I’m supposed to do. I did my job,” assured Diabate. Of his three, none were more vital than one that came mid-third quarter. On what looked to be Vandy’s best offensive drive of the day, Deuce Wallace took quick screens and rushed hisself at times to get the Dores some sort of offensive production. Prior to that drive, they had 17 yards of offense…total. During the drive, Vandy racked up 57 yards and made four first downs to set up a 3rd and goal from the 10-yard line. Diabate again blitzed off the edge and sacked Wallace from the blind side. He knocked the ball loose in the process and BUCK Jon Greenard scooped it and ran it through nothing but green grass for an 80-yard touchdown that made it 35-0 and keep the shutout alive. For a moment, Diabate didn’t even know it happened. "I was like, ‘Man, we got to find a way to make sure they don’t score because we want to shut them out.’ So, I was like, ‘Man, let me see if I can get a sack to get them out of field goal range.’ I wasn’t really thinking about a strip sack, but then, when I came off the end, he wasn’t looking – you know, he’s a right-handed quarterback, so I was on his blindside. So, I was just like, ‘Let me take a swipe at it.’ I just thought I’d sacked him… “I heard everyone cheering and I thought they were just cheering for the sack, then I saw Greenard running and I was like 'Oh snap, let me run too.' So I got up and I started chasing him but he was going pretty fast so I couldn't get him. I just turned to the sideline celebrating.” Greenard’s score was the longest defensive touchdown since Ahmad Black’s 81-yard return against Penn State in the 2010 bowl game. That was how much the 3rd quarter and the second half went for the Gators. Everything that went wrong the past couple of weeks went right today. The Gators first three offensive plays of the second half resulted in two touchdowns. The first was a screen to Tre Grimes. The receiver—arguable the best at yards after the catch on the team—laid a stiff arm on a defender and hoofed it 66-yards for the score, Trask fist pumping the last 20 yards when he knew no one was stopping his receiver. Grimes knew it too. “I knew I had to beat the sidelines. But after I didn’t step out, I knew I had clear grass and was off to the races from there.” The next drive Trask stood in the pocket with pressure coming and delivered a shot to Tyrie Cleveland for a 36-yard circus catch. The next snap, a shot to Kyle Pitts for 15-yards hit pay dirt. Another sweep from Toney included three jukes to put the Gators in great field position and Emory Jones capped the drive with a rushing touchdown, his first of three on the day. This is the first time Florida has shut out a SEC opponent since a 38-0 win over Kentucky in 2012. A Donovan Stiner interception—he had two on the day—with just under 13 minutes to play in the 4th gave the Gators offense the ball back in Vandy territory. An Emory Jones 1-yard rushing touchdown helped put the cap on the Gators explosive day “We had to come out here and show what kind of team we are. That we’re not going to back down and we’re going to fight until the end,” declared Grimes. Now the must continue to fight—and admittedly keep one eye turned to the other games around the league—while finishing off a season that has featured one of the best Gator offenses in decades and has a defense that once again today found their identity. Said Trask, “It was a tough loss last week and we just think, there’s still a lot to play for. There’s a still a shot at the East with some help. But none of that matters if we don’t take care of our business and our goal is just to go one-and-0 every week from now on.”