Rumors of Kadarius Toney’s grand return were greatly exaggerated. The junior receiver was injured during Florida’s week two win against UT Martin with a shoulder issue and for weeks had bided his time, rehabbing and counting the minutes until he could return to the field. Each home game, he would slip to the front of fans at Gator Walk and make sure he greeted each of his teammates as they exited the bus. He would take the field with fellow injured teammate, quarterback Feleipe Franks, and keep his friends encouraged while they warmed up before kickoff. Some games, he and Franks would stay on the sidelines and walk through plays with their unit after drives. Toney is a loud player but a quiet guy, so he hasn’t been all over social media, pumping up fans to miss him. He’s stayed behind the scenes, preparing for the day he would be able to take the field again. It came this past Saturday against Georgia. It was one touch, a carry that went for no gain. And of course, within no time, the questions and accusations began. Why didn’t Toney play more? We thought he was fully recovered and ready to go? Is there something else going on that’s keeping him off the field? We could have won if Toney had gotten the ball more. Why didn’t he come back three weeks ago even? One and on it went. Granted, this reporter as well was a little surprised Toney didn’t receive at least more than one touch. Given some of Georgia’s areas of weakness on defense, I did expect to see him used on slants. Tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Freddie Swain were used in this capacity last Saturday. I just expected Toney to get some of that work as well. But here’s what must be kept in mind. Toney is returning from an eight week recovery. He’s healthy again, yes; coaches wouldn’t have played him if not. But it’s hard to take someone who hasn’t played for eight weeks and immediately throw them back into the game plan at the same capacity they have been. It risk messing with established chemistry and re-injuring the player. For what it’s worth, teammates maintained that Toney returning only helped chemistry and elevate their unit. We saw that the first game so that rings true. But this is also a different team than the one Toney last played with at the beginning of the season. It will take a little bit of time to get that wheel rolling again. Even if Toney had been on the field for the past eight weeks, it’s not likely he would’ve gotten 10 touches or targets or anything of the sort against Georgia. The Gators spread the ball around to multiple receivers and rarely do any reach double digits in a game. For that matter, few even receiver double digit targets in one game. Only Freddie Swain saw 10 targets against the Bulldogs, catching eight. Lamical Perine led rushers with seven. Those minimal statistics tell the other part of the story. As mentioned, Toney likely wouldn’t have seen tons of touches even as a big part of the game plan. The caveat of him coming off an injury means those numbers go down even less while he’s reacclimated. And those numbers are always a big ambiguous anyways. As head coach Dan Mullen explains, the amount of plays—and therefore plays for specific players—that you prepare for, pales in comparison typically to what’s run. "Well, (Toney's return) is great. We just didn't run many plays. And my plan for him ... the game doesn't play out the way you expect it to sometimes. We carry, many weeks, we have 167 play calls going into a game.” For comparison, the Gators ran 52 offensive plays against Georgia. “Let's say we got 130 plays into the game. We ran 52,” continues Mullen. "That means there are 80 things we wanted to do that we didn't get to do during the course of the game, offensively. But you have that many because you don't always know how the play is going to play out and what's going to dictate, what's going to happen out there on the field. “I mean, you can go all the way back…I want to say, like, the all-time record—and don’t, I can be slightly off on this—but my guess, I bet the all-time record, the [2008] Oklahoma national championship game and everything, I think at one point it was 225 plays going into the course of that game or something like that, that you had going into a game. Offensively, we have 225 play calls. “We're never going to run 225 in a game, but you have that because you don't know how it's going to play out. I mean obviously, we try to, I would say a good number for us, we try to limit ourselves to is, be under 90. “So if I run the same play twice, like if we ran 72 plays in a game and I ran a few of the same plays twice, we're not hitting the 90, but you have it because you don't know how the game is going to play out.” Just like coaches are never 100% sure how a game is going to play out—because if they did what would be the point in playing—we also can’t be 100% sure how Kadarius Toney will fit into that plan. He brings a skill set that his teammates bragged on all last week, excitement evident when they spoke of him being back on the practice field and showing off his legendary elusiveness. But just as there’s an art to calling plays, there’s an art to implementing Kadarius Toney and his unique talent back into those plays. Just be patient. The rumors of Kadarius Toney’s return may have been greatly exaggerated…to this point…but there’s more to come.

Jon Greenard propped his right shoulder against the wall, leaning back to meet the eye of each reporter he spoke with and took sole blame for the defensive performance in No. 6 Florida Gators 24-17 loss to No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs. “We gotta get to the quarterback. He was too comfortable back there. I was terrible. I was ass today. No excuse. Believe me. I’m going to get back right.” One couldn’t help but be taken aback. The Gators defense 398 total yards to the Bulldogs and Jake Fromm went 20-20 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. But the performance wasn’t Greenard’s fault. He had a team leading nine tackles and more than once during the afternoon, he blitzed up the middle into Jake Fromm’s face. The Georgia quarterback just stood in the pocket and took the pressure, getting off gutsy passes at the last possible millisecond. There was little else Greenard could do in those moments. Yet here he was, shouldering a blame that wasn’t his. Related: Third down tells the story as Gators fall to Bulldogs But the BUCK linebacker who is in Gainesville for one season as a graduate transfer has taken on the role of a leader and that means taking the blame for a performance that took place largely behind him. It’s the attitude—the character—that head coach Dan Mullen is asking from his team following the loss to the hated rival. “The adversity, to me, your character is tested. At this point we’ll see our character. Our character wasn’t really showing out there on the field. That doesn’t define what the character is. We’re going to come to play. We’re going to play hard for 60 minutes. We did that. We did some really good things. We made some mistakes. We all can work to get better. Your character is defined on what you’re doing in response to it.” The Gators response following the 2018 loss was an embarrassing loss back at home to Missouri. Following that loss came a four game win streak (stretched to 10 total into 2019) that ended with a No. 7 ranking and New Years Six Peach Bowl win over Michigan. Now the question becomes, which character trait do we see in these Gators next Saturday back at home against Vanderbilt? “We do have a lot to play for. We have to finish the season strong,” said quarterback Kyle Trask (21-33, 257 yards, 2 TD). “This is going to be a big character moment for us to see how we finish. I have 100-percent belief we’re going to finish it the right way and continue to get better each and every week. There’s still a lot to play for, we still have a shot at this thing. We can only control what we can control. We have to do all we can do to finish the season the right way.” Technically, and mathematically speaking, the Gators do still have “a shot at this thing," something of which they are aware. Asked Monday if he knew what it would take to make it to Atlanta, receiver Josh Hammond held up two fingers and said “they would have to lose two.” The “they” in question of course being Georgia. If the Gators run the table and Georgia falls twice, as Hammond said, it could sneak Florida into the SEC Championship. But it’s largely out of their hands now. They no longer “control their own destiny” to borrow a favorite coach speak answer. As such the division wasn’t clinched fully in Jacksonville on Saturday. That’s just one thing in the back of the Gators minds as they look towards their final three regular season games. Says Mullen, “There’s an awful lot to still play for. A lot of football still left. We have three more games to go play and a bye week. We’ve qualified for a bowl game, so we’ll get that extra. How good that is, we’ll see. The East still hasn’t been decided. Like I said, a bunch of football.” Whether or not the Gators manage to finagle their way into the SEC Championship game remains to be seen. But that’s a secondary concern now for the Top 10 who can’t let a season slip off the rails. “We’re still a good team. I’m not letting this loss define us. We’re still a good team and can still be elite, just gotta focus on the little things as a team and once we do, we’ll be alright,” muses receiver Freddie Swain (8-91, 1TD). Adds Greenard, “We just gotta get back to work. It’s a tough loss. We came in with high hopes of getting a W. it didn’t come out that way. They were a good team, a really great team. We just had to miss a couple things that we needed to get off the field on third downs. A lot of stuff that could have changed the game. We just have to execute. It hurts. We just have to bounce back.” It started on Monday. Mullen said Monday afternoon that he needed to see the look in the players eyes when they arrived to practice that evening. That’s how he’d know what kind of character would be taking the field to prepare for Vanderbilt, something they need -- in a way — for survival admits Mullen. “Winning is an addiction. I like winning. I want to get back out there and I want to win more. That’s just me as a competitor. That’s what I want to see from our players. Hopefully, they have that same drive.” Legendary basketball coach John Wooden is credited with saying, character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think of you are. Right now, the Florida Gators reputation has taken a hit. The loss to Georgia dulled the shine of what had been an impressive resume thus far. Their reputation after this game will make it hard to keep them in any playoff discussion and changes the narrative around the success of the season. But their character, that’s what Dan Mullen and players are counting on carrying them through the final stretch of this season. “If we would win this game, we celebrate tonight and tomorrow and then focus on the next game Monday. This is a loss, it hurts, it's a big game. So we gotta take a loss and feel the pain of it tonight and tomorrow,” explains center Nick Buchanan. “Then on Monday morning, get the game plan and focus on Vanderbilt. It's a big game, so we gotta get off of this one. We got another opportunity to compete…we’re a team that's going to compete until the very end. We're built on grit and toughness. We're going to stay in the fight. We're not going to lay down for anybody."

By FRANZ BEARD GatorBait Senior Columnist The debut is out of the way and up next is Florida State on Sunday. The Gator basketball team, at times, looked worthy of their Top Ten ranking on Tuesday when they polished off North Florida, 74-59, in the season opener at Exactech Area. There were stretches like that 18-0 run over 6:43 in the first half and that 10-3 run to start the second half when the Florida looked every bit the 6th-ranked team in the country. There was also that 14-minute stretch to end the game when the Gators looked like a team that plays five freshmen and three sophomores. The Gators that outscored the North Florida Ospreys 28-3 on those two tears that totaled a little over 10 minutes were dialed in defensively, sprinted the floor in transition and shared the ball nicely. If Mike White can get the Gators to play 40 minutes like that, he's got a team that can easily challenge for the Southeastern Conference championship and make a very deep run in the NCAA Tournament. There is no question this is the most talented roster top to bottom that White has had as he enters his fifth year as Florida's head coach. He has a team with more size, quickness, shooters like Noah Locke (14 points Tuesday night) and freshman Tre Mann (11), an elite point guard in sophomore Andrew Nembhard (only two points, but four assists and zero turnovers) and a big man that might be the best in the entire country in graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. The trick for White will be to create a cohesive group that plays defense with the intensity he demands and spreads the ball around at the offensive end so unselfishly that big scoring nights can come from any one of several options Tuesday night it was Blackshear that had the O-Dome crowd buzzing as he put together a double-double in his first game as a Gator. Blackshear scored 20 points on 8-11 shooting (1-1 from the three-point line) from the field and 3-3 from the foul line. He grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out three assists and added a couple of steals. For all the things he did well scoring and rebounding the basketball, however, what Blackshear brought to the Gators was a presence that has been lacking. He's a guy who can go out and get a double-double just about any night but he's also the one guy all of Florida's youngsters know can deal with any circumstance. Consider Blackshear Florida's bail out guy. If the shot clock is ticking down to its final seconds, he can get his shot whether inside or outside. When teammates struggle with pressure, they know if they get the ball anywhere close, Blackshear's strong hands are ball security. When the ball comes off the rim, he gets good position and if he gets his hands on it, he owns the rebound “He gives you the opportunity offensively to play a variety of ways,” White said. “He scores on the interior, he draws fouls, he can shoot it and probably his most underrated aspect is how well he passes the ball. He’s extremely unselfish as well. North Florida coach Matt Driscoll, who cut his college basketball coaching teeth working as an assistant for Larry Shyatt at Wyoming and Clemson, sees Blackshear as Florida's missing link and not only for the way he will play at both ends of the court but how he will impact all those young kids. “What he brings to this team is something that you guys needed badly with such young people,” Driscoll said. “He’s given it to you instantly and because of that, he’s going to allow you guys to be in that upper-echelon, be top in the country and compete like that because he’s got that understanding. He’s endured, he’s got strength, and he’s got character. When you have those three things you can do really really special things for your team. That’s what Kerry does for you guys.” Blackshear will need to be the glue early on for the Gators. When they put it all together, they'll look sensational but the kids will have their share of moments when their high level of ability is betrayed by their youth. That's when Blackshear's maturity will pay of in a big way. Florida's first big test will come Sunday when Florida State comes to town. The Seminoles are always physical and tough, a difficult assignment for a team that White knows might take awhile to really find itself. “The five freshmen who played, that was their first game so we've got a ways to go,” White said. “None of us expect to be a great team in November, we just don’t. We’re striving to be. If we are … wow. That means we’re really good. But we’re not really good. I hope we can be, I don’t know that we will be. I like to optimistically think we could be very good by February, hopefully earlier than that.”

There are flaws in Dan Mullen’s offense, which is why he keeps tinkering with it to compensate. No doubt Florida needs to find a way to run the ball. By FRANZ BEARD GatorBait Senior Columnist In the perfectly designed offensive world – the kind that exists on chalkboards – every play is a success. There is always a hole through which running backs can get to the second level and with well executed blocking can take the distance. Quarterbacks always have time to throw to open receivers and they are such a threat to run the football that it takes a linebacker or a safety out of coverage. In the imperfect world that is Dan Mullen's reality in 2019, there are all sorts of flaws in the offense. The line does a better than decent job protecting the quarterback but it's not strong or physical enough that Mullen can trust running the ball on third-and-one. Because Feleipe Franks has been done for the season since he dislocated his ankle in game three against Kentucky, the quarterback has been Kyle Trask, good enough to get occasional tough yards running but never a threat to take off for 20 or so yards the way Franks could. On the other hand, Trask completes passes that Franks probably couldn't or wouldn't and the Florida passing game thrives while the running game continues to search for some measure of consistency. What Mullen and the Gators live with is a pass-first offense that takes advantage of a receiving unit that ranks with the top four or five in the entire country. The running game, which has had several huge gainers like the 88-yard touchdown by Lamical Perine that sealed the win over Auburn or the 76-yard jet sweep by Josh Hammond that was the 9-inch stiletto in Kentucky's heart in game three, has relied more on the passing game putting opponents on their heels than the O-line going belly-to-belly with the big guys up front to create holes big enough to drive a truck through. This isn't the way the offense works on the chalkboard but it is Mullen's reality and since he can't run it the way it's designed for reasons that go beyond the obvious, his only choice is to adapt. The way the offense is designed is a spread option, but since the option part is limited due to the limitations of the offensive line, this is pretty much a smoke and mirrors approach. With a few exceptions, it's working fairly well. Having a deep, talented group of wide receivers led by Freddie Swain (29-430, five touchdowns) and Van Jefferson (29-362, four touchdowns) complemented by tight end Kyle Pitts (39-469, four touchdowns) has allowed Mullen to transition the Gators into a team that more resembles what Mike Leach does at Washington State and various outposts where his disciples employ the Air Raid than previous Mullen teams that used the running game to open things up for the pass. Although there is a tremendous discrepancy in balance if you compare yardage figures – Florida averages 275 yards per game throwing the ball, 128.9 running it. The Gators have the SEC's third best passing attack, 13th best (out of 14 teams) rushing attack. If you check the numbers when it comes to play calls, the Gators have only attempted 20 more passes (304) than run plays (284) through nine games. Florida averages 8.1 yards per pass attempt, 4.1 per running play. * * * Mullen goes into every game with a play sheet that includes contingencies for just about every defense the Gators might expect to see and a few that might be a brand new look. There were plenty of running plays built into the Georgia game plan but what actually gets called once the clock starts running usually depends on circumstances and what's working at the time. The Gators ran only 52 plays the entire game in four first half possessions and three in the second half. “Many weeks we have 167 play calls going into a game,” Mullen said. For Georgia he estimates there were 130 on his master play sheet. “Let's say we got 130 plays into the game We ran 52. That means there are 80 things we wanted to do that we didn't get to do during the course of the game offensively, but you have that many because you don't always know how the game is going to play out and what's going to dictate what's going to happen out there on the field.” To compensate for the lack of running game against Georgia, he wanted more plays for dual threat quarterback Emory Jones, who got in one running play. Jones has very quick feet, the ability to make good decisions in the option game and a good enough arm that opponents have to respect him. The perfect time, it seemed to give Jones a chance to impact the Georgia game was on Florida's first offensive possession when the Gators had second-and-less than a yard at the Georgia 40. Instead of three cracks into the Georgia line to pick up the yard that would have moved the chains, Florida threw on fourth down and turned the ball over to Georgia. Mullen had planned to get Jones involved in the game, but the Gators fell behind and never caught up. Complicating matters was Florida's inability to get Georgia off the field on third down. Georgia converted 12-18 on third downs, controlled the clock and more or less forced the Gators into a situation where perhaps 80% of the play calls were passes, altering whatever plans Mullen had to use Jones to jumpstart the running game. Making matters worse, Florida had only seven possessions the entire game – four in the first half when the Gators managed a single field goal and three in the second, the last two which resulted in Trask touchdown passes. As much as Mullen would have liked to use Jones, circumstances wouldn't allow it. “Our job is to make sure we're adapting to put us in the best position to win that specific game at that time, so obviously I wanted to get him [Jones] in the game a lot more on Saturday,” Mullen said. “We had a plan to get him into the game a lot more on Saturday. As the game played out, it didn't dictate that to happen for us." Once the Gators fell behind 16-3, there was no other choice but to turn the game over to Trask who responded by driving UF to the two fourth quarter touchdowns that made it a close call. * * * Throwing nearly every down isn't the Mullen offense but he hasn't had the offensive line to run like he wants and with a gifted passer like Trask to go with so many quality receivers, the offense has been adapted to what the Gators do best. “So many games end up differently than you'd expect them to end up,” Mullen said, pointing out that he's got to adapt to whatever the defense is throwing at him as well as what's working and what isn't. If there is some sort of silver lining to this smoke and mirrors offense that sprinkles in a few running plays with a heavy dose of passing, it is the final three games on the schedule are Vanderbilt, Missouri and Florida State. Vandy's defense has been a train wreck all season whether against the pass or the run. Missouri gave up 297 to Kentucky a couple of weeks ago and 297 to Wyoming in the first game of the year. Florida State gave up 320 yards to Clemson. There will be opportunities to run the ball, opportunities to get Emory Jones on the field to show that he can move the team with feet and arm, but even with increased opportunities to work on the running game, don't expect the Gators to depart from what's working now. The Gators need to run the ball and Mullen wants more of a statistically balanced team, but he's also going to play to the team's strengths. Right now that's throwing the football.

The No. 10 Florida Gators (7-2, 4-2) look to get back on track this Saturday against the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-6, 1-4). After a second league loss last week—this one to Georgia—the Gators need to win out and pray for two Georgia losses for a chance to get to the SEC Championship. While UF does still mathematically have a shot, quarterback Kyle Trask repeatedly pointed out this week, none of that matters if they don’t take care of their own business. Florida has won 27 out of the last 28 against Vanderbilt and is 2-1 following non-consecutive losses under Mullen, with one of those wins coming earlier this season (the win at South Carolina following the LSU loss). Taking care of their own business started in practice this week and will come to fruition on Saturday. Here are a few last things to remember before kickoff. The Gators have also won six consecutive home games, dating back to last season’s South Carolina win. A win Saturday would give them their fifth home win this season, a feat not accomplished since 2016. ONE THING TO REMEMBER As head coach Dan Mullen said of the deficiencies following the Georgia loss, "take your pick." There were ample areas of mistakes but that also means there are plenty of teaching moments, to borrow a favorite coaching phrase. The third down defense of course tops that list. We talk more about that below. On the offensive side of the ball, the mistakes and therefore the improvements must come through Trask. The redshirt junior made two costly and uncharacteristic mistakes against the Bulldogs, scrambling backwards from the pocket, as opposed to the sidelines, and taking sacks for large yardage in the process. Fixing those mistakes serve as an example for Trask of what all this team can do moving forward. "I have to get rid of the ball. I take 100% responsibility. I’ve been playing football all of my life and I know you can’t take 20-yard sacks I think just moving forward it goes back to little things like sacks, penalties, we can’t have that. If we can cut those out we can play with anybody in the country.” Vandy tight end Jared Pinkney had three catches for 25 yards and a touchdown against the Gators last season. So far this season, he has 15 receptions for 157 yards, albeit without a score yet. Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said of the challenge, “the biggest thing there is when you have guys who have size like that, is being physical, trying to get them off the spot and being in tight coverage where guys have to be accurate with the ball.” Florida will possibly be without money linebacker Amari Burney this weekend who is questionable with a knee sprain. ONE LAST FLORIDA PLAYER TO REMEMBER Jon Greenard took the blame for the defensive performance on Saturday against Georgia, even though it really wasn’t his fault. But it lends to the idea that the senior BUCK will be playing “pissed off” in the way Krull indicated. Greenard along with Jabari Zuniga had been missed from the Gators while recovering from ankle injuries. They performed well enough against Georgia, creating bad third down situations with their rush. But the Bulldogs ended up going 12-18 on 3rd downs, making the point moot. Now Vanderbilt will be coming in with a quarterback making his first start, after the two guys in front of him were both put in concussion protocol. Greenard and Zuniga were able to make a massive impact against another green quarterback when No. 12 Auburn and freshman Bo Nix visited the Swamp in early October and Nix was sacked twice. Having Greenard and Zuniga at full speed with be especially crucial with linebacker Jeremiah Moon out for—at the very least—the remainder of the regular season to injury. Moon was a rotational player behind Greenard but was capable of playing two spots and as such was often on the field with Greenard. ONE LAST VANDY PLAYER TO REMEMBER Vandy head coach Derek Mason announced this week that Deuce Wallace would be making his first career start on Saturday against Florida. His predecessor, Riley Neal, is still in concussion protocol but will travel with the team to Gainesville. The second starter, Mo Hasan who started the Dores win against Missouri, is also in concussion protocol. According to the Associated Press, Wallace has played six games this season, coming off the bench each time. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound redshirt junior is 33 of 76 for 237 yards and three interceptions. He has yet to throw a touchdown pass this season for Vanderbilt. “When you play them you just have to have an awareness of the running style of the quarterbacks,” said Grantham. “You have to have awareness of which guy could have really good athletic ability and have speed on the edge as opposed to maybe another guy that doesn't. Now they can all obviously pull the ball on the read zone stuff because they still run all the quarterback run plays. It's just some guys can be a little more dangerous than others.” ONE BIG QUESTION What will be the Gators attitude? This was the week that tripped up the Gators last season. No, not Vandy necessarily—although the Dores did give UF a tough fight in Nashville—but the week following the Georgia loss. With their road to Atlanta ruined after that loss to Georgia last year, the Gators became lethargic and decided there was little other reason to fight. It resulted in an embarrassing loss to Missouri and what has become a legendary post game speech from head coach Dan Mullen that included a call to thumb wrestle for the sake of competition (see tweet at top). Now the question becomes, does that UF team show up again this week? Tight end Lucas Krull said on Tuesday that the entire team was “pissed off” and that means “we're angry. It's something that's going to translate to a great finish. “You have such high expectations and when your just so, so close to reaching a potential goal that you guys set at the beginning of the year, just something that when you don't get it, it makes you, it fires you up and makes you want it more. A lot of teams can turn their heads down and you know be frustrated and quit on a season and that's not us. That's not the Gator standard.” ONE LAST PREDICTION The talent differential should make this an easily winnable game for Florida. The Dores have played some of their best games against bigger opponents and that will happen against on Saturday. That point coupled with the Gators possible hangover from the Georgia loss and having faced three Top 10 teams in four weeks, means they could very likely come out slow and sluggish. I don’t see Vandy having enough to take advantage of that though and Florida pulls away in the 4th quarter. Florida 28-17

AVOIDING THE FALLOUT A year ago, the fallout from Florida's 36-17 loss to Georgia was a 38-17 loss to Missouri, a game in which the Gators were there physically but their minds seemed to be on a slow journey to another planet. The Missouri loss was so bad that quarterback Feleipe Franks was yanked in the second half. Kyle Trask played so well that he was expected to get the start the following week against South Carolina, but he broke his foot in practice. Given the reprieve as the starter, Franks went on a four-game tear as the Gators went on to finish 10-3 with a Peach Bowl win over Michigan. The circumstances are certainly different this year following yet another loss to Georgia (Florida's third straight). Unlike last year, there is no brewing quarterback controversy. The job belongs to Trask who is 4-2 as a starter since taking over for Franks in game three (dislocated ankle) and has played well even in the losses to #1 LSU and #6 Georgia. There is also the feeling that this Florida team is far more mature than the one that went into the funk against Missouri in 2018. “We're not going to let this negatively affect us,” Trask said Monday as the 10th-ranked Gators (7-2, 4-2 SEC) began their preparation for Saturday's 12 noon encounter with Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC). “I think we're going to do a great job of taking the positives away from the game (Georgia) and seeing what we can learn from this tough game and just move forward.” The Gators can't afford any kind of letdown Saturday. Even though Vanderbilt is dead last in the SEC East, the Commodores did shock Missouri a couple of weeks ago with a 21-14 win that came on the heels of a blowout loss to non-conference UNLV. The Commodores are bad enough to get blown out by anyone on their schedule but good enough that any team that doesn't take them seriously can suffer the same fate as Missouri. And, while an SEC East championship is improbable due to the loss to Georgia, it's not out of the question even though it might take a miracle of feeding the 5,000 proportions. The Gators need to focus on finishing strong, going 3-0 the rest of the season for a 10-win regular season and leaving Georgia to its own devices. “Obviously when I say we have a lot to play for, we still know we have a shot at the SEC East but at the end of the day none of that matters if we don't go 1-0 each week,” Trask said. “So we have a lot of great guys on this team and we're going to do a great job of focusing on one week at a time. We're going to do our best to take care of business against Vanderbilt this week.” FIRST GAME BASKETBALL OBSERVATIONS A roller-coaster ride of a first game is what Mike White got from his 6th-ranked Florida basketball team, which played well in spurts in a 74-59 win over North Florida Tuesday night. The Gators shot poorly right out of the gate, had a couple of outstanding spurts like their 18-0 run in the first half and a 10-3 run to start the second, and they played like a team that was seriously bored the final 14 minutes of the game. White played all 10 scholarship players who were dressed out – five freshmen, three sophomores, one redshirt junior and one graduate – and that involved just about every imaginable combination. Grad transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. was as good as advertised with a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) in his first game as a Gator. Freshman Tre Mann scored 11 points and looked the part of a natural scorer. Freshman big Omar Payne (six points, five rebounds, two blocked shots) has tremendous upside as a rebounder and defender. He's got work to do on the offensive end, but he's good enough right now to play a lot of minutes. Once freshman Scottie Lewis (nine points, five rebounds, one blocked shot) settled down, he played defense at a very sophisticated level. He's got to improve as a shooter, but he doesn't need to hit many shots to score because he can get points on stickbacks, off his defense and in transition. Noah Locke (14 points) overcame a sluggish shooting start to score 14 points, Keyontae Johnson stuffed the stat sheet (seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal) and Andrew Nembhard had a game high four assists without a turnover. This was far from the performance White wanted to see from the Gators in game one, but he saw enough when his team was fully engaged to know what they're capable of doing. The trick is going to be getting them to stay focused for the full 40 minutes, something they'll need to do Sunday when they face always tough FSU at the O-Dome. SEC FOOTBALL STUFF #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC): Offensive linemen Landon Dickerson and Evan Neal, wide receiver DeVonta Smith and running back Najee Harris – all of whom left the Arkansas game with injuries – are practicing and show no ill effects of their injuries. Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC) Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC): Redshirt freshman QB John Stephen Jones, grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, will get the start against Western Kentucky. Jones is 10-16 for 74 yards and two touchdowns in the two games in which he has played. Saturday: vs. Western Kentucky (5-4) #11 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Running back and leading rusher Boobee Whitlow, who has been slowed by a knee injury, is not 100 percent but he's practicing this week and anticipates a full recovery for next week's Georgia game. For the season Whitlow is 113-553 rushing for seven touchdowns. Saturday: Open #6 Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Through eight games, Georgia has yet to allow a single rushing touchdown. The Bulldogs are allowing only 77.63 yards per game on the ground, which ranks fourth nationally. Saturday: vs. Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC) Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC): Amid speculation that HBC Mark Stoops might bolt for Florida State, it should be noted that he is currently making $4.75 million with guaranteed increases of at least $250,000 a year every year until 2025. Saturday: vs. Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC) #1 LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC): All-American safety Grant Delpit has missed some practices while getting treatment for his sprained ankle but he's expected to play Saturday when the Tigers travel to Alabama. Saturday: at #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): The open week gives the Bulldogs a chance to get quarterbacks Tommy Stevens and Garrett Shrader healthy. The Bulldogs need to win two of their final three games (Alabama, Abilene Christian and Ole Miss, all three at home) to become bowl eligible. Saturday: Open Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC): Since Missouri can't go to a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions and its appeal has something like a 99.99% chance of being rejected, the next two games – at Georgia and Florida – are being touted to the team as the Tigers' bowl games. Beating one or both top ten teams in successive weeks would definitely ease some of the pain of being on probation. Saturday: at #6 Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC) Ole Miss (3-6, 2-4 SEC): Since they don't have an athletic director, it's highly unlikely Matt Luke will lose his job despite all the speculation that he's on the hottest of seats. Only last week Ole Miss named a search committee to find a new AD to replace Ross Bjork, who left for the AD job at Texas A&M. Saturday: vs. New Mexico State (0-8) South Carolina (4-5, 3-4 SEC): Quarterback Jake Bentley, out since game two following surgery on his foot, will walk out on Senior Night Saturday even though he has a year of eligibility remaining. With Ryan Hilinski playing so well at QB as a true freshman and Bentley set to graduate in December, you can almost bet the ranch Bentley will find a new place to play next season. Saturday: vs. Appalachian State (7-1) Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC): The Vols began the week as 4-point underdogs for their Saturday game at Kentucky, but the line has swung in Tennessee's favor. The Vols are now listed as a 1-point favorite. Saturday: at Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC) Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): With three games to go in the regular season and a bowl game, quarterback Kellen Mond is well on his way to surpassing last year's stat totals. Through nine games, Mond has completed 64.4% of his passes for 2,214 yards (7.5 yards per attempt) for 17 touchdowns with six picks with 353 rushing yards for six touchdowns. In 13 games last year, Mond completed 57.3% of his passes for 3,107 yards (7.5 per attempt) for 24 touchdown with nine picks with 474 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Saturday: Open Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC): With Mo Hasan and Riley Neal still dealing with concussions, Vanderbilt is preparing junior Deuce Wallace (33-76 passing for 217 yards and three interceptions) and freshman Allan Walters (no stats) to play against 6th-ranked Florida. Saturday: at #10 FLORIDA (7-2, 4-2 SEC) MEANWHILE OVER AT DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION Our fine friends 140 miles (and 250 SAT points) to the west seem to be striking out even before they've really gotten their coaching search off the ground. There were reports that Big Game Bob Stoops had been offered the Florida State job with five years and $40 million, all guaranteed. Stoops said thankee, but no thankee. Thinking that FSU might be calling to offer its coach, Minnesota tacked seven years onto P.J. Fleck's contract with a $1 million raise for Fleck and very nice raises for his entire coaching staff. With Bobby Stoops and Fleck crossed off the list, names to watch are Mark Stoops (Kentucky), Mike Norvell (Memphis), Lane Kiffin (Florida Atlantic) and Clemson co-OC Jeff Scott. The advantage for Scott is that he would work cheap, he knows the state of Florida since he grew up in Tallahassee (dad Brad Scott was on Bobby Bowden's staff for years and was OC from 1990-93) and he could help bring Clemson's recruiting model to FSU. Scott might not be the flashy name FSU seeks and he doesn't have head coaching experience but there are a lot of reasons why he would make the most sense. Of course, good sense and the FSU athletic department are recently like two ships that pass in the night. FSU has hired a search firm headed up by Glenn Sugiyama, the same guy who led Kansas to hire Charlie Weis. GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson on ACC football games televised on Friday nights (the Demon Deacons had to play three consecutive Friday night games): “To me it was just circumstantial that we got picked for three games. We didn't choose that. If you ask every coach in our league – do they want to play on Friday nights? – I don't think one of them would say yes. That's always been the night for high schools but this is the era we're in.” Alabama coach Nick Saban on whether or not quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be ready to go Saturday when the Crimson Tide hosts #1 LSU: “He's practicing and doing OK in practice. It's still going to be a game day decision or game time decision as to whether he plays in the game or not.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: When The Athletic named its all-time college football team, the quarterback was Florida's Tim Tebow. What is absolutely mind blowing is that Alabama's Lee Roy Jordan didn't make the team either as a center or linebacker. Lee Roy is one of the five best players ever in the Southeastern Conference … Greg Schiano has met with Rutgers administration and could be close to a contract that will bring him back. Schiano was the HBC at Rutgers for 11 years, compiling a 68-67 record. Wins at Rutgers are a lot like dog years. One win at Rutgers is like four wins at a place that takes football seriously … Tom Allen of Indiana has the Hoosiers bowl eligible at 7-2. He's the lowest paid coach among the Power 5 conferences but Indiana is planning to remedy that with a contract extension and a nice raise … Former FSU coach Bobby Bowden will turn 90 on Friday. Bowden can still shoot his age on the golf course.

TIME TO BOUNCE BACK BIG Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC) pulled off a shocker a couple of weeks ago when the Commodores whacked Missouri, 24-7, in Nashville. What that tells us is 10th-ranked Florida (7-2, 4-2 SEC) needs to come to the ball yard Saturday with memories of last week's Georgia loss erased and fully focused on winning the week. A focused and ready Florida team will blow Vandy's doors off. If the Gators left their heads in Jacksonville, then they're going to have some real problems. While winning the SEC East is the longest of shots and will require Georgia going in the tank twice, a New Year's Six bowl game is well within Florida's reach. The Gators ranked 10th in the first College Football Playoff poll so a 3-0 finish to the regular season almost certainly will earn a New Year's Six bowl for the second straight year. Right now, most of the people who project these things with a reasonable degree of accuracy, have the Gators playing Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl. So the goal for the Gators Saturday at The Swamp (12 noon, ESPN) is win the week and stay focused on things they can control. Then repeat the process two more times to finish 10-2 with a shot at an 11-win season in the bowl game. If Georgia elects to do the unthinkable and lose a couple of games in which the Bulldogs will be favored, that's a bonus for UF but not something you plan on. The Sayer says sooth: Vanderbilt is allowing 32.4 points and 453.6 yards per game. The Commodores have given up 18 touchdown passes while picking off three. Opponents average 5.21 yards per carry. The Gators will score a bunch of points and they'll run the ball for more than 200 yards for the first time since Tennessee-Martin in game two. FLORIDA 45, Vanderbilt 14, THE SEC SOOTHSAYER #1 LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC) 35, #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) 31: The game is in Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban is coaching Alabama. Everything says Bama has all the advantages and will win this game. I think these two teams are about as even as it gets and my gut is telling me Coach O and Threauxin' Jeaux Burreaux are going to find a way to pull this one out. #6 Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC) 24, Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC): Because of its NCAA bowl ban, Mizzou is treating this like its bowl game. In every bowl game someone wins and someone loses. Mizzou loses. Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC) 27, Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC) 21: Kentucky has a real shot to finish the season on a five-game winning streak. Win #2 on the road back to respectability starts with putting a serious dent in Tennessee's bowl hopes. South Carolina (4-5, 2-4 SEC) 30, Appalachian State (7-1) 20: This would be a Power 5 scalp for the Happy Appys but even though they're good enough to make it close, they aren't good enough to win this one. Ole Miss (3-6, 2-4 SEC) 40, New Mexico State (0-8) 7: This might be the last win of the season for Ole Miss. Rebel fans need to savor it because it's a long time until the 2020 season begins. Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC) 28, Western Kentucky (5-4) 27: John Stephen Jones, grandson of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, is starting at QB which means grandpa will be there to watch. Should the Hogs lose this, Jerry might immediately write the buyout check to end the Chad Morris era short of two full seasons. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: EDITION 11 Extinct Species List Chris Ash, Rutgers:All signs point to Greg Schiano as Ash's replacement. If a deal can't be struck with Schiano, look for former Tennessee coach Butch Jones to get the call. Willie Taggart, Florida State: FSU had to make a decision about which was cheaper: to scrape together the money it would take to buy out Taggart or keep losing millions on game days due to so many thousands arriving at the ball yard cleverly disguised as empty seats? Firing was cheaper. Now let's see if the Seminoles can hire a big name coach. On Life Support Bob Davie, New Mexico: The Air Force game, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been rescheduled for November 23. All that might do is delay the inevitable. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: About the only remaining question is does Tulsa fire Montgomery before the season ends or wait until after the final game? Either way, Monty is a goner. Mike Bobo, Colorado State: The Fighting Bobos have shocked the Mountain West with their unexpected three-game win streak but they will need two wins in the last three (Air Force, at Wyoming, Boise State) to save the HBC's job. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt: When the Commodores lose to Florida Saturday, it will guarantee another losing season. Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion: They really love Bobby Wilder in Norfolk, which is why it's going to be so painful when they announce he's fired. Tony Sanchez, UNLV: Since beating Vandy in Nashville, the Rebels have lost three straight to ensure yet another losing season. Barring a three-game win streak to end 2019, Sanchez is a goner. Clay Helton, Southern Cal: The new athletic director says it's way too early to make a decision about Clay Helton but no matter what Mike Bohn says publicly you can bet the farm he was told when he took the job that he's got to bring in a new football coach. Chad Morris, Arkansas: If the Hogs manage to lose to Western Kentucky, Morris might not survive the weekend. If he loses his final two SEC games (at LSU, Missouri) it will be a second straight 0-8 conference record. The gozillionaires at the top of the Arky booster food chain already have their checks ready to cover the $10 million buyout. Endangered Species List Lovie Smith, Illinois: The fact that Illinois is a shocking 5-4 at this point is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the Illini could go to an exotic locale like Shreveport or Birmingham for a bowl game if they win one more game; a curse because if they win and go to a bowl game they'll be stuck with Lovie one more year and nobody is buying into him being the long term solution to this downtrodden program. Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State: Nobody's really happy here, not Moorhead nor the people who pay his salary. He's not a good fit here and everybody knows it. They were really hoping he would take the Rutgers job but the folks up in New Jersey thought he would be a bad fit there, too. He buys himself another year with two wins in the final three games (Alabama, Abilene Christian, at Ole Miss). Frank Wilson, Texas-San Antonio: The Roadrunners play in a weak conference and they don't win. There is plenty of talent in the state of Texas and they don't recruit well. They also don't put fannies in the seats of the Alamo Dome. This is why buzzards are circling the UTSA football complex. Beads of Sweat Forming Steve Addazio, Boston College: If he kneecaps FSU this weekend (really good chance of that), he'll be 6-4 which means another bowl game so even if the Eagles go 0-2 in their final two (at Notre Dame, at Pitt) they won't pink slip him. Everybody would be a lot happier if he gets to 7-5, however. Charlie Strong, South Florida: There is very little chance Charlie will be shown the door no matter what happens the next four games (Shirley Temple, Cincinnati, Memphis, at UCF) but if the Bulls oh-fer those games it will ensure he starts next season on one of the hotter seats in college football. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: He's the winningest coach in school history but the Spartans are mediocre, plus he has the combination of a scandal and heart problems working against him. This might end up being a non-firing firing, which is to say they'll find a “job” for him in administration and he'll “retire.” Matt Luke, Ole Miss: They're just now forming a committee to bring in a new athletic director at Ole Miss, which should buy Luke one more year. However, if the committee moves quickly and brings in a gung-ho type who thinks the house needs to be cleaned, Luke is in deepest and darkest. Kilani Sitaki, BYU: The Cougars should be highly favored to win the next three (Liberty, Idaho State, at UMass) which would guarantee a seven-win season. Nobody is happy in Provo with seven wins but seven means Sitaki lives to coach another year. Saved by the Buyout Chip Kelly, UCLA: There are signs of life as in three straight wins but there is every good chance the Bruins will lose two of the last three to ensure another losing season. But, even if the people in admin wanted Kelly gone, they couldn't afford to fire him. Randy Edsall, UConn: They really need to fire him. They really want to fire him. They won't fire him. Unless, of course, they do something stupid. These folks are stupid enough to fire him but there are more than $50 million reasons to believe common sense prevails. It will be a white knuckles decision just the same. GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY Andy Staples of The Athletic on why Penn State coach James Franklin (he's very interested) would be the perfect answer to whatever ails Southern Cal football: “Franklin would be a perfect fit at USC, and that job would allow him to collect the best talent on the west coast and cherry-pick for positions of need (offensive and defense line) throughout the rest of the country … At the moment, Oregon is the best recruiting program on the west coast, but Franklin would change that almost immediately if he came to USC. He and Ducks coach Mario Cristobal would wage some epic recruiting clashes – and probably play some great games as well – but Franklin would hold the advantage of location. Unlike the current USC regime, his staff would be able to develop players along the line of scrimmage. This is how Cristobal has made Oregon so good so fast, and Franklin could do the same but with an easier recruiting pitch. This plus USC's schedule (with its annual game against Notre Dame) would give the Trojans an easier path to the Playoff than the Nittany Lions. Once you're in the Playoff, you've just got to string together two good games to win the national title. The trick is getting in, and there would be less resistance at USC.” Aaron Suttles of The Athletic on quarterbacks Joe Burrow (LSU) and Tua Tagovailoa who will be matched up in what promises to be one of the best college football games in recent years: “According to Sports Info Solutions, Burrow and Tagovailoa are the nation's No. 1 and 2 quarterbacks in percentage of passes thrown on-target (minimum of 150 attempts). Tagovailoa is deadly on third down, completing 71 percent of his throws for seven touchdowns and one interception and a pass efficiency rating of 209.25. Burrow is the nation's most efficient passer under pressure and Tagovailoa is fourth. When defenses pressure Burrow, he's 55 of 73 for 803 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception. Tagovailoa is 25-41 for 421 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Howard University put football coach Ron Prince on administrative leave amid allegations of verbal abuse and intimidation of his players … Wide receiver Antonio Brown, who said he was through with the NFL once and for all after the New England Patriots cut him after he was accused of sexual assault, now says he's working to clear his name and play football once again. He probably discovered that working as a greeter at Walmart doesn't pay nearly as well as a job catching passes in the NFL … Clemson ranked #5 in the initial College Football Playoff poll is no big deal. When the final four is chosen, Clemson will be 13-0 with a 28-game winning streak. Do you think for even a nano-second the committee would leave Clemson at home?

Kerry Blackshear Jr.—KJ to his coaches and teammates—wore a smile the whole night long. He was called for traveling…and looked back at the official with a grin that said he knew he’d done wrong but could you blame him? He was knocked on his back and slid out of bounds by the opposing North Florida player…and was cackling as his teammates pulled him up from the floor. After a 4:30 minute scoring drought, Blackshear went back-to-back with Omar Payne on dunks courtesy of Andrew Nembhard assist. And when Blackshear dropped his 6-10 frame from the rim, it was with a smile that said he was having more fun than even he expected. For the kid from Orlando who admits he grew up a Florida Gators fan—“like everything Florida Gators”—the chance to play with Mike White’s squad after four years, two as a starter, at Virginia Tech is the dream come true that he’d long forgotten. “This what I dreamed of as a kid,” said Blackshear after the Gators 89-71 season opening win. Even in dreams and goals though do situations rarely work to create the night Kerry Blackshear had. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, bring his career double-double total to 14. The former 2nd team All-ACC led the Gators in both categories while adding three assists and two steals over 32 minutes. When University of North Florida coach Matt Driscoll was wrapping up his post game press conference, he had to touch on one last subject. So in his booming, commanding voice, he shared what he saw that night from Kerry Blackshear. "His DNA from Buzz Williams and what he brings to this team is something you guys needed badly...and he brings it to you instantly...he endures, he's got strength & he's got character." Blackshear’s head coach agreed. “My goodness, he’s a heckuva player,” commented head coach Mike White shortly after the game, in such a way that said he’s resigned himself to being continually flabbergasted. “That’s about what we see. That’s kinda who he is and you know when he plays that many minutes and gets that many touches, it’s not surprising. But I know that we’ll play some high level defenses on the schedule as well and they’ll throw different things at him. I think it’s hard for anyone to average 20 and 10. I don’t foresee that happening. But he is a terrific player and he gives you the opportunity offensively to play a variety of ways.” Averaging a double-double is in fact difficult but Blackshear is emulating a guy who managed the feat in 38% of his games one season (2006-2007); Al Horford. "People say I gotta little Al Horford, little bit of Jokiam Noah,” said Blackshear. “I like watching both those guys. Those guys are effective at different levels on the floor. Al is like a three level scorer, playmaker, good defensively sound big so I watch a lot of him so that’s something I try to emulate in my game a lot.” For Mike White though, it’s what Blackshear does getting rid of the ball that stands out the most. “He scores on the interior, he draws fouls, he can shoot it and probably his most underrated aspect is how well he passes the ball. He’s extremely unselfish as well. He passed up a wide open three right in front of our bench.” And as the lone senior on a team full of primarily underclassmen, that quality of Blackshear’s game has already rubbed off on his younger teammates, just through practice and one game. “I’ve seen (KJ) doing it, he be getting the shooters open. So I feel like I should take that in, start working on my passing game in practice,” explained freshman Omar Payne. “I mean I ask for tips on my way throughout games when I see things I’ve never seen before. He’s my main man, I ask KJ, ‘cause he’s been here for a couple years now and he’s a local, he’s from Orlando, so I definitely know about him, heard about him. I usually ask him questions and he always gives me the right advice.” But of course the ability to score, even from downtown where Blackshear hit a floater on Tuesday night, is what sets this big man apart. Commented freshman guard Tre Mann, “I don't think nobody does what he does at his height. It's amazing to have somebody like that on your own team, somebody who can play like that. You come off the screen and he pops. I don't think anyone can guard him.” KJ Blackshear has a permanent smile, a small indication of the fun he’s having. And he, along with the No. 6 Florida Gators, are just getting started. Said Blackshear, “I think its great and I think it’s getting even better day by day. I think as we practice every day, as we hang out every day, as we play these games, I think its gonna get better.”

On paper, Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC) seems just what the doctor ordered for a Florida (7-2, 4-2 SEC) team coming off a bitter loss to arch-rival Georgia in a game that ceded control of the SEC East to the Bulldogs. Vanderbilt has struggled defensively all season, particularly against teams that throw the ball well. The Commodores are allowing 251.1 yards per game and 63.6% completions. They've allowed 18 touchdown passes while picking off only three. Florida comes into the game with a hot quarterback in Kyle Trask (66.8% completions, 8.2 yards per attempt, 16 touchdown passes) and one of the four or five best wide receiver groups in the entire country to go with a tight end in Kyle Pitts (39-469, four touchdowns) who could finish with one of the best seasons in school history for that position. You would think the receivers are drooling, each one thinking about a huge statistical game but the way this group goes about its business, they're consumed with the bottom line for their position group and not about which one gets the glory. Josh Hammond (20-229 receiving for one TD; 5-96 rushing, one TD) calls his fellow receivers “probably the most unselfish group of guys I've ever been around my entire life from high school, even college.” There are four seniors in the group and there is a really good chance all four will have ample opportunities to play on Sundays in the future yet there isn't a single case of senioritis in the entire group. Nor is there a consuming ego among the underclassmen. They park their egos at the door of their meeting room and when they go out on the field it's all about the team. They are vital to Florida's offensive success and they play important roles on special teams as well. Surprisingly, no one is consumed by stats. That's probably because they all know that when opponents try to take one of them out of the game, the others will step up and have opportunities to make big plays. “When you have four seniors, hey, you could have one guy have a lot of touches and nobody else get the ball very much,” UF head coach Dan Mullen said Monday. “And there’s probably one senior that’s really happy and three guys that think this is the worst place in the world. Yet those guys are extremely unselfish. They’re going to play on special teams. Hey, you know what, ‘I have a big game one game, the guy next to me might have a big game the next game.’ I think that’s really special. They just work. They’ve bought in completely. They go hard, they do their job, they’re excited for each other. And you see the balance in success everybody has.” The numbers tell quite a story. In addition to Hammond, the Gators have five other wide receivers with at least 10 catches – Freddie Swain (29-430, five touchdowns), Van Jefferson (29-362, four touchdowns), Trevon Grimes (23-309, two touchdowns), Tyrie Cleveland (15-205, one touchdown) and Jacob Copeland (12-181, two touchdowns). They've all been productive. They all know what they're capable of doing. Swain and Hammond might epitomize what makes this group special. “It’s kind of funny, the two guys that play the same position are two team captains, Freddie and Josh,” Mullen said. “They play the exact same position. One question I can’t answer for you is how many games either one of them have started this year. I would have no idea. You know what, I’ve never had them ask me or tell me or even ask if they could or not.” GATORS OPEN BASKETBALL SEASON TONIGHT VS. UNF The Florida team that Mike White sends out on the floor to face North Florida tonight at the O-Dome (7 p.m., SEC Network) is easily the most talented top-to-bottom of the roster in his tenure at UF. This is White's fifth season on the job and he has a legitimate contender for the SEC championship and to make a very deep run into the NCAA Tournament. Florida's projected starting lineup: Kerry Blackshear Jr. (6-10, 250, GR); Keyontae Johnson (6-5, 225, SO); Noah Locke (6-2, 193, SO); Tre Mann (6-4, 172, FR); Andrew Nembhard (6-5, 191, SO) Tuesday night's SEC basketball schedule North Florida at #6 FLORIDA #1 Michigan State vs. #1 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden Georgia Southern at #24 Auburn Western Carolina at Georgia UNC-Asheville at Tennessee Pennsylvania at Alabama Rice at Arkansas Florida International at Mississippi State FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF POLL OUT TONIGHT The first College Football Playoff Poll is due tonight and while there might be some questions about the order of the first five teams, there is no question who they will be – LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson. All five are unbeaten and they're mortal locks to hold the first five positions. With LSU (ranked #1 in the AP poll) and Alabama (ranked #2) facing off in Tuscaloosa Saturday, there will be one less unbeaten team. It's highly doubtful unbeatens Baylor (8-0) and Minnesota (8-0) will crack the top ten although Minnesota faces Penn State Saturday so that will take care of one more unbeaten. My predicted top ten: (1) LSU 8-0; (2) Ohio State 8-0; (3) Alabama 8-0; (4) Penn State 8-0; (5) Clemson 8-0; (6) Georgia 7-1; (8) Oklahoma 7-1; (9) Oregon 8-1; (10) FLORIDA 7-2 THE DIVISION I HEAD COACHING CLASS OF 2018 Now that Willie Taggart has been fired 21 games into a five-year contract, it seems obvious a a number of Division I coaches who were hired prior to the 2018 season are on very shaky ground. Of the 19 coaches hired, only eight have winning records as the 2019 season enters the home stretch. Here are the records of significant Division I coaches hired prior to the 2018 season: Josh Heupel, UCF 19-3 Dan Mullen, Florida 17-5 Mario Cristobal, Oregon 17-6 Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M 15-7 Sonny Dykes, SMU 13-9 Billy Napier, Louisiana-Lafayette 13-9 Herm Edwards, Arizona State 12-8 Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State 12-10 Willie Taggart, Florida State 9-12 Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee 9-12 Kevin Sumlin, Arizona 9-14 Scott Frost, Nebraska 8-13 Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina 7-13 Chip Kelly, UCLA 7-14 Sean Lewis, Kent State 5-15 Jonathan Smith, Oregon State 4-14 Steve Campbell, South Alabama 4-16 Chad Morris, Arkansas 4-17 Dana Dimmel, UTEP 2-18 SEC FOOTBALL STUFF #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0): The question of the week is the status of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who missed Alabama's last game with a high ankle sprain. Nick Saban said Monday, “If he [Tua] can play in the game it will be a game time decision. We'll see where he's at today and then we'll manage the reps accordingly. When I say that, I cannot predict – if he goes out there today and he looks good, then his rep count will go up and we'll prepare as if will play.” Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC) Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC): Tight end C.J. O'Grady, who was suspended for Arkansas' 54-24 loss to Mississippi State, has left the program. O'Grady caught a team high 33 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Saturday: vs. Western Kentucky (5-4) #12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC): Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network thinks HBC Gus Malzahn should tell Auburn to stick it: “I've got respect for Gus Malzahn. I think Gus Malzahn ought to call Jimmy Sexton and say, 'Jimmy, get me out of here. Get me a new job. Fine me one, there are plenty of openings right now. There's one at Florida State. There may be one in the SEC West, and let's figure out a way to do this on a high caliber fashion with class and let's move on. I'm not saying that in a negative way, I'm saying no matter what Gus Malzahn does, I don't think it's going to be enough for the Auburn family.” Saturday: Open #6 Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC): Offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson, who flopped to draw an offside penalty on Florida defensive end Jabari Zuniga said, “I saw five yards but I wanted the ref to see it too.” Saturday: vs. Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC) Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC): HBC Mark Stoops deflected questions that he might be a candidate for the vacant job at Florida State. Stoops said, “It's something you don't want to address during the season … For me it's 100 percent focus on Tennessee. With success you're going to have some of that. Coach Cal (UK basketball coach John Calipari), every year he's going to the NBA, right? I'm not going to get into speculation. I'm going to talk Kentucky and Tennessee.” Saturday: vs. Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC) #1 LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC): Starting linebacker Michael Divinity Jr. is no longer part of the team. “Michael Divinity has left the team for personal reasons,” Coach O said Monday. Divinity had 23 tackles even though he missed three games – two due to a suspension and one due to an injury. Coach O has not ruled out Divinity returning to the team. Saturday: at #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): The Bulldogs set a school record for total offense in an SEC game Saturday when they racked up 640 yards in their 54-24 win over Arkansas. The Bulldogs ran for 460 yards and added another 180 passing as they ended a four-game losing streak. Saturday: Open Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC): Missouri is hoping to recharge its running game Saturday at Georgia. In their last two games (losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky) the Tigers gained a combined 278 yards and averaged 3.75 yards per carry. Georgia is allowing 77.63 yards rushing per game and just 2.85 yards per carry. Saturday: at #6 Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC) Ole Miss (3-6, 2-4 SEC): HBC Matt Luke says it's time for the Rebels to start winning instead of just playing close games. “If we execute better we feel we'll win the games.” Saturday: vs. New Mexico State (0-8) South Carolina (4-5, 3-4 SEC): Wide receiver Bryan Edwards set a school record with 14 catches in the Gamecocks' 24-7 win over Vanderbilt. For his career, Edwards has 225 catches for 2,955 yards and 21 touchdowns. Saturday: vs. Appalachian State (7-1) Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC): True freshman quarterback Brian Maurer is expected to return after missing the last two games on concussion protocol. HBC Jeremy Pruitt says Maurer, Jarrett Guarantano and J.T. Shrout could all take snaps at QB at Kentucky Saturday. Saturday: at Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC) Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): The Aggies announced a home and home series with Louisville in 2028-29. Louisville will play at Kyle Field in 2028 with the Aggies traveling to Louisville the next year. Saturday: Open Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC): Mo Hasan missed the South Carolina game while in the concussion protocol. Riley Neal might have suffered a concussion in that game. Both quarterbacks might not be cleared to play against Florida Saturday. Saturday: at #10 FLORIDA (7-2, 4-2 SEC) GOOD QUOTES FOR TUESDAY From Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN on Florida State football the last several years, even before Willie Taggart was hired and fired: “It got to the point where that if you watched Florida State last year and this year, they're not just losing games. It's how they're playing. You know, how undisciplined they're playing. I just don't think it was the right fit now that you look back at it as far as the kind of coach that Willie is, the kind of personality more importantly that he has, and what was going on at Florida State. It's unfortunate … [Florida State] has to clean the program up and get it back to players playing for each other and playing for that tradition and not just for themselves or to get to the NFL. I think that's where they've been the past few years.” Tashan Reed of The Athletic on the financial difficulties of Florida State, made more complicated by the firing of Willie Taggart: “That said, the financial implications of letting Taggart go at this point still will be wide-ranging. Florida State needed a $6.15 million transfer from Seminole Boosters, which liquidated reserve assets, just to balance its athletic budget this summer. A new $60 million football operations building, which was set to open July 2021, was postponed this summer so the athletic department could retool its finance plan.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: After intercepting a pass in the third quarter against FSU Saturday, Miami safety Bubba Bolden and teammate Gurvan Hall celebrated with a leaping hip bump. It seemed like a good idea at the moment, but Bolden landed awkwardly on his leg and will miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed leg injury … Former Miami All-American and NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. pleaded guilty in San Diego County Superior Court to raping an unconscious teenager and sexual battery on a 54-year-old hitchhiker. Winslow faces 12-18 years in prison … Miami Dolphins running back Mark Walton has been suspended four games without pay for violating the NFL's conduct and substance abuse policy all because of three offseason arrests between January and March.

GATORS HAVE TO GO 2-0, CAN'T WORRY ABOUT GEORGIA By winning their final two SEC games – at home this Saturday against Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC) and on the road November 16 against Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC) – the Florida Gators (7-2, 4-2 SEC) will have done everything in their power to affect their chances to win the East Division. They can't spend even one second worrying about Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC), which can afford to lose one of its three remaining SEC games (vs. Missouri, at Auburn and vs. Texas A&M) and still capture the East by virtue of holding the tiebreaker win over the Gators. Florida is a big favorite to knock off Vanderbilt and even though Missouri has given the Gators fits the last couple of years (lost to the Tigers 45-16 in 2017 and 38-17 last year), it's likely UF will be favored to win. It's win those two and leave Georgia to its own devices. Georgia is favored to beat Mizzou by 21 Saturday. Auburn is certainly capable of beating Georgia and that one should be pick'em. The Aggies, at this point at least, don't look like they will offer a ton of resistance. But this is college football and just when you think you've got it all figured out something weird happens. Just ask Georgia about that loss to South Carolina four weeks ago. For the Gators to win the East, they'll need Georgia to lose twice and that probably doesn't happen. Florida's job is to control what it can control. That means beating Vandy and Mizzou and leaving Georgia to its own devices. The incentive for the Gators is to finish 6-2 in the SEC then whack Florida State in the regular season finale to finish 10-2, which will ensure a very good bowl game. Anything more than that will be a gift. GATORS DROP TO #10 IN AP; #11 IN COACHES POLL The Associated Press Top 25 Poll (1) LSU 8-0; (2) Alabama 8-0; (3) Ohio State 8-0; (4) Clemson 8-0; (5) Penn State 8-0; (6) Georgia 7-1; (7) Oregon 8-1; (8) Utah 8-1; (9) Oklahoma 7-1; (10) FLORIDA 7-2; (11) Baylor 8-0; (12) Auburn 7-2; (13) Minnesota 8-0; (14) Michigan 7-2; (15) Notre Dame 6-2; (16) Wisconsin 6-2; (17) Cincinnati 7-1; (18) Iowa 6-2; (19) Memphis 8-1; (20) Kansas State 6-2; (21) Boise State 7-1; (22) Wake Forest 7-1; (23) SMU 8-1; (24) San Diego State 7-1; (25) Navy 7-1 The Coaches Top 25 Poll (1) Alabama 8-0; (2) LSU 8-0; (3) Clemson 8-0; (4) Ohio State 8-0; (5) Penn State 8-0; (6) Georgia 7-1; (7) Oregon 8-1; (9) Utah 8-1; (10) Baylor 8-0; (11) FLORIDA 7-2; (12) Auburn 7-2; (13) Minnesota 8-0; (14) Michigan 7-2; (15) Notre Dame 6-2; (16) Wisconsin 6-2; (17) Cincinnati 7-1; (18) Iowa 6-2; (19) Memphis 8-1; (20) Wake Forest 7-1; (21) Boise State 7-1; (22) Kansas State 6-2; (23) SMU 8-1; (24) San Diego State 7-1; (25) Navy 7-1 RANKING THE SEC TOP TO BOTTOM (1) Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC): Citing sources in Tuscaloosa, Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network says he's hearing the ankle of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is healing up nicely ahead of next Saturday's matchup with LSU. Finebaum said, “100 percent is debatable but he is very close to that.” Next Saturday: vs. #1 LSU (8-0, 4-0) (2) LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC): Wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. is expected to be 100% for Saturday's game with Alabama. Marshall, who missed three games, has 22 catches for 333 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Next Saturday: at #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) (3) Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC): After holding Florida to just 21 rushing yards Saturday, Georgia moved up to #4 nationally in rushing defense – 77.63 yards allowed per game and just 2.85 per carry. Next Saturday: vs. Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC) (4) FLORIDA (7-2, 4-2 SEC): The Gators have been established as 24-1/2 point favorites to beat Vanderbilt this weekend. Next Saturday: vs. Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC) (5) Auburn (7-2, 4-2 SEC): With an open date ahead, Auburn expects to get Boobee Whitlow healthy enough to have an impact against Georgia on November 16. In Whitlow's absence, freshman D.J. Williams has run for 223 yards and a TD in the last two games. Next Saturday: Open (6) Texas A&M (6-3, 3-2 SEC): Freshman running back Isaiah Spiller had the best game of his young career Saturday against UT-San Antonio when he ran for 217 yards and three touchdowns … QB Kellen Mond was 16-21 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown vs. UTSA and he also ran for a TD. Next Saturday: Open (7) Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC): With four winnable games remaining in November and a defense that has played extremely well the last three (two wins and a loss), the Wildcats are hoping for a strong finish that will get them to a decent bowl game. Next Saturday: vs. Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC) (8) Missouri (5-3, 2-2 SEC): Any chance Mizzou has to upset #6 Georgia on the road will hinge on the health of quarterback Kelly Bryant's injured hamstring. HBC Barry Odom currently has Bryant listed day-to-day. Next Saturday: at #6 Georgia (7-1, 4-1 SEC) (9) Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 SEC): The Vols need only to win two of their remaining three games (at Kentucky; at Missouri; Vanderbilt) to get to six wins and become bowl eligible. Next Saturday: at Kentucky (4-4, 2-4 SEC) (10) South Carolina (4-5, 3-4 SEC): Tight end Nick Muse (ACL) will miss the remainder of the season and wide receiver Josh Vann (broken hand) will miss at least the four remaining games on the regular season schedule. Next Saturday: vs. Appalachian State (7-1) (11) Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC): The Bulldogs went smash mouth against Arkansas and it worked quite well. They threw only 19 passes while calling 57 run plays that netted 460 yards. Kylin Hill was 21-234 for three touchdowns as he went over 1,000 yards (1,027 to be exact) for the season. Next Saturday: Open (12) Ole Miss (3-6, 2-4 SEC): Ole Miss has just named a search committee to find a new athletic director and that can only be good news for HBC Matt Luke, who needs to finish 3-0 to become bowl eligible. It's highly doubtful the interim AD is going to can Luke, who played at Ole Miss just like his dad and older brother. Next Saturday: vs. New Mexico State (0-8) (13) Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4 SEC): About the only thing that can save Derek Mason from a note from the AD asking his lawyer/agent to start negotiating his buyout is to go 3-1 (at a minimum) the rest of the way. Next Saturday: at #10 Florida (7-2, 4-1 SEC) (14) Arkansas (2-7, 0-6 SEC): The Hogs have all but sealed a second reverse run of the SEC table with LSU and Missouri still to play in league games. Arkansas has now lost 17 consecutive SEC games dating back to October 28, 2017. Next Saturday: vs. Western Kentucky (5-4) JUST CALL TALLAHASSEE DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION Florida State fired Willie Taggart Sunday, a day after the Seminoles were penalized 10 times and gave up nine sacks while losing to Miami, 27-10, before a reported crowd of 63,995 at Doak Campbell Stadium and another 16,000 or so who came cleverly disguised as empty seats. To Free Willie, FSU boosters will cough up more than $22 million, the cost of Taggart's almost $18 million buyout and the nearly $4 million to buy out some highly paid assistants such as coordinators Walt Bell and Kendall Briles. When FSU hired Taggart from Oregon, it stroked a check for $3 million to Oregon and another $1.3 million to South Florida. The money to USF was because Willie had financed his own buyout when he took the Oregon job so FSU paid off that debt. Since exact figures aren't readily available and the assistants are a separate deal, let's just say FSU spent 22 million to land Taggart. That works out to $2,444,444.44 per victory (Taggart went 9-12) and $1,047,619.05 per game coached, which is nice work if you can get it. And now Willie can soak his toes in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and sip pina coladas while getting really big monthly checks NOT to coach. Or, if he can't shake the coaching bug, he can work for pittance subtracted from the FSU check. Again, very nice work if you can get it. Now FSU boosters reportedly came up with $20 million to make firing Taggart possible but that still leaves a void for an athletic department that has been bleeding cash ever since Taggart was hired. The Seminoles played six games at The Big Erector Set (don't let the brick exterior fool you) to less than overwhelming crowds. Figure an average of 25,000 tickets went unsold for each game and multiply for an average ticket price of $50 and that's a $1,250,000 deficit per game or $7,500,000. That doesn't include concessions, parking and other goodies which all add up. And that's just for THIS YEAR. The way it was explained to me was FSU couldn't afford to Free Willie but that actually made more economic sense than keeping him. So now FSU will start another coaching search and you'll hear some big names called out, but hiring a new coach is going to cost a lot of money especially if there is a buyout involved. And don't think for a second whoever the new coach is won't demand all sorts of security after FSU fired Taggart 21 games into a five-year contract. From the standpoint of affordability, the coach that makes sense is Mike Norvell of Memphis, who makes $2,600,000 and has a buyout of only $500,000 but he's turned down higher paying jobs before to remain in Memphis and might not think coaching in the same ACC division as Clemson makes a lot of sense. ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL The latest and greatest hot candidate to become the new head coach at Rutgers is reported to be Butch Jones, formerly the HBC at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee, now an analyst on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama. There are still seven unbeaten teams in Division I. That number will be reduced by at least two Saturday when #1 LSU (8-0) faces #2 Alabama (8-0) in the SEC and #5 Penn State (8-0) faces #13 Minnesota (8-0) in the Big Ten. After getting torched 58-27 by Boston College, a game in which Steve Addazio's team ran for 496 yards with A.J. Dillion (242) and David Bailey (172) combining for 414 and five touchdowns, Syracuse fired defensive coordinator Brian Ward. It's an almost foregone conclusion that Southern Cal HBC Clay Helton is living on borrowed time, but Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports that “there's no danger Helton will be fired before the season is over.” Thamel believes Penn State's James Franklin will emerge as the top candidate to replace Helton. Former Florida coach Jim McElwain has Central Michigan (6-4) bowl eligible. That earned McElwain a $20,000 bonus. GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY From Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated on Florida State firing Willie Taggart 21 games into a five-year contract: “If you want a sign of the times in college football, this is it: Florida State wildly overpaid to hire Taggart after Texas A&M wildly overpaid to steal Jimbo Fisher out of Tallahassee, and now the Seminoles will wildly overpay to make Taggart go away less than two years later … all the media-rights revenue pouring into the sport hasn't bought a lot of administrative common sense.” Southern Cal coach Clay Helton after the Trojans got manhandled by Oregon, 56-24: “Each and every day I wake up and I represent them and our school; and I will continue to do that, each and every day. And I'll fight like hell with the people that I believe in and the people I love until they ask me not to do it anymore. And I'm gonna show up on Monday and work my butt off for the next one.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: In an in-depth article on sports safety, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution cites a study by the University of North Carolina showed that teenage girl soccer players have a concussion rate second only to boys playing football. Football averages 10.4 concussions per 10,000 athletic exposures followed by girls soccer at 8.19 concussions … World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, who still has four years and approximately $100 million remaining on a contract he signed in 2017, will exercise his option to become a free agent … Lamar Jackson accounted for three touchdowns (one passing, two rushing) to lead the Baltimore Ravens past the previously unbeaten New England Patriots, 37-20, Sunday night. That leaves the San Francisco 49ers as the only unbeaten team in the NFL.

THE GATORS ARE STILL AHEAD OF SCHEDULE The losses to LSU and Georgia are disappointing for sure, but the Gators are still way ahead of schedule in the massive rebuild that Dan Mullen undertook when he came here from Mississippi State. Given what he inherited, Mullen has done a rather incredible job to be 17-5 at this stage. On the way out of the press box in Jacksonville Saturday night, old friend Dennis Dodd, the fine college football writer for CBS Sports, described what Mullen has done thus far as a combination of bubble gum, baling wire, smoke and mirrors. “He's way ahead of schedule,” Dodd told me. “Florida fans just need to be patient because he's the right guy to get them where they want to be.” While it is a fact that Jim McElwain won the SEC East in 2015 and 2016, it's also undeniable that he did it with the equivalent of an NFL defense he inherited from Will Muschamp. When most of the defensive studs Muschamp recruited moved on to the play for pay ranks, McElwain was exposed and we ended up with the 2017 4-7 debacle. Mullen took the McElwain leftovers and went 10-3 with them last year. A 10-win regular season is likely this year and with a win in the bowl game, Mullen can have 21 wins in his first two seasons. That's more than Steve Spurrier (19 in his first two years, 1990-91) and just one fewer than Urban Meyer (22) had in 2005-06. There are light years difference from where the Gators are now and where they were when The Big Mac Attack was pink slipped. Mullen has the program on the right track and he's building a football program that will sustain excellence. The loss to Georgia was tough to take but this was not a blowout loss. “Seven points” is what Mullen said when asked the difference between the Gators and Georgia in his post game remarks. And he's right. This was a seven-point loss and it was a game the Gators could have won if they hadn't made so many mistakes. The gap between the Florida and Georgia programs has closed significantly from where it was when Mullen took over to where it is now. To erase the gap completely is going to take at least one more season of hard work, improved strength and conditioning, better recruiting and improved depth, but it can and will happen. This is not a time to panic, but a time to be patient and understand that what Mullen has done is just the beginning. He isn't here as a short term fix. He's here for the duration. Here are a few points to ponder when considering where the Gators are today opposed to where they were when Mullen arrived: Strength and conditioning: What Nick Savage has done is remarkable, but he needs at least one more year to have the Gators where they need to be. That was evident Saturday when Mullen didn't trust the guys up front to get the push they needed to run the ball successfully. Post game, some in the media kept pounding away at the obvious – Florida didn't have a running game. Mullen knew that and when he said he didn't call many running plays, folks should have caught on to the obvious, which is he knows his team isn't strong enough to go belly-to-belly with a D-line like the one at Georgia and push them around. When you have third and a half yard and can't move the pile, then throw on fourth down because you met a stone wall on third down, it should be painfully obvious that the Gators aren't strong enough. Florida's offensive linemen did a rather good job protecting Kyle Trask. Only one of Georgia's two sacks was on the O-line. The other was on Trask, who should have unloaded the football. The O-line is doing a rather good job in pass protection, which has everything to do with quickness and lateral movement but they aren't strong enough to move people straight ahead in the running game. The lack of physical strength also showed in missed tackles and the number of times the Gators had a Georgia player wrapped up but couldn't get him on the ground for another yard or two. The play at the goal line when Marco Wilson tried a body block instead of wrapping up the Georgia receiver comes to mind. If Wilson trusted his physical strength he goes for the ankles and wraps up the receiver for a one-yard loss. Instead, a touchdown was scored. Georgia had an exceptional strength and conditioning program prior to Kirby Smart's arrival and the program has only gotten better in Smart's four years on the job. Florida, on the other hand, is paying the price for the worst strength and conditioning program in the SEC during the Jim McElwain days. Nick Savage has seriously improved things, but it will take another serious offseason to get the Gators close to where they need to be in that department. Recruiting issues: Do not mistake what I am about to say as a deflection of criticism toward Mullen and his staff by laying all the blame on McElwain, but it is a cold hard fact that the previous staff fractured a lot of relationships with the state high school coaches. Many of those relationships have been repaired but there is still a way to go and far too much time has had to be spent getting back in good graces. The good news is that Mullen and his staff are accustomed to dealing with players with potential as opposed to ready to play types that make up much of the rosters at Alabama, Georgia and LSU. But, there is no question the Gators have to turn the recruiting tide and start pulling in their fair share of elite talent, particularly in the state of Florida. Far too many of the most talented kids have been leaving the state. Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State have raided the state for players they couldn't have dreamed of recruiting 12 years ago and that has to change. Three things will go a long, long way toward resolving the recruiting issues: (1) winning, (2) stability and (3) bringing in an elite personnel guy like Mark Pantoni. Winning cures a lot of recruiting issues because the best kids want to go to the places that win the most games. Just ask Alabama which in many cases can cherry pick the best of the best because those kids know if they spend 3-4 years in Tuscaloosa they'll not only win championships but they'll get noticed by the NFL scouts. From 2005-09, Florida went 57-10 and won two national championships. From 2010-17 Florida was 60-41 with zero SEC or national championships. While Nick Saban has been comfortably in place at Alabama since 2007 (154-21 record with five national championships), Florida has had to replace its head coach three times since 2010. Stability matters. Pantoni is as good as it gets when it comes to identifying the players that fit the coaches he works for. He proved that at Florida working for Urban Meyer and he did the heavy lifting for the 2012 class recruited by Will Muschamp that ranked third nationally. When Meyer resurfaced at Ohio State, he brought in Pantoni who has laid the groundwork for success with five classes since 2013 that were ranked fourth or higher. Mullen needs to find a personnel guy like Pantoni. FINAL TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GEORGIA LOSS First and foremost, it was a seven-point loss. A year ago, Georgia beat the Gators by 19 and owned the fourth quarter. This year, Florida put two touchdowns on the board and was a third down stop away from forcing a punt that would have given the Gators one last shot at tying or winning the game. The Gators are very capable of beating Georgia or any team on their schedule, but they can't have mistake-filled games like Saturday. Yet, even with all the mistakes they held Georgia to two touchdowns and three field goals. A missed tackle on third down is the difference between the first touchdown and a field goal. The second touchdown was a completely blown coverage. A stop here and a stop there and Florida could have just as easily departed Jacksonville with a win instead of the second loss of the season. The Gators are not an elite team but they're a lot closer to the elite level than they were a year ago. Georgia has elite talent but isn't necessarily an elite team. Georgia's strength is its ability to minimize mistakes. If there is one glaring lesson to be learned by the Gators it the difference between very good and great teams isn't always the level of talent but the fewest mistakes. This is not a time to panic just because the Gators lost a football game. Beating Georgia would have been a great measure of the progress made since Mullen took over but by no means would it have meant Florida has arrived. The Gators are close. Very close but they aren't there just yet. Patience Grasshopper. It will happen.

At least they didn't fold. Behind 16-3, Kyle Trask took a costly -19 sack late in the third and got badly behind in the chains. A penalty put it at third and 34. THIRD AND THIRTY-FOUR! It was at that point, around halfway through the third, that I wrote in my notes, “can they make a game of it?” Momentarily they did. “And then we found our identity,” said Trask. A long drive and 23-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson brought some life. “NOW!” exclaimed Gator Radio Network analyst Lee McGriff as the score changed to 16-10. “We have us a Florida-Georgia game.” One last flicker of hope. Plenty of time. But Todd Grantham’s D had no magic today and could not stop Jake Fromm, who crushed it on third down with 12x18. One of the most critical conversions was Fromm’s 52-yard completion to – who else – Lawrence Cager again on a 52-yarder. That kept the ball away from Trask, identify or no identity. And polished off Florida in the final seconds, 24-17 So it’s back  to the drawing board for Mullen, with Vandy, Missouri and FSU left and a bowl game. “Plenty of football left,” Mullen rationalized. However, a big chunk of it drifted away down the St. Johns River Saturday.