A RODNEY DANGERFIELD GAME: GATORS GETTING NO RESPECT Start with the folks in Vegas who make their living setting the betting lines for ball games. They have 6th-ranked LSU (5-0, 1-0 SEC) favored by 13 over 7th-ranked Florida (6-0, 3-0 SEC). Then throw in just about every national pundit and they all have the Tigers winning this one, some (like Stewart Mandel of The Athletic) by 14. Talk about no respect for the Gators! Make no mistake about it, LSU's offense is impressive and the Tigers did win a shootout in Austin against Texas in the second game of the season but they have yet to face a defense like the one they will see Saturday night. The NCAA defensive rankings bear that out. Florida has the overall 10th-ranked defense in the country. The most highly ranked defense the Tigers have faced is #60 Georgia Southern of the Sun Belt Conference. The other three Division I wins for LSU have come against defenses ranked #95 (Utah State), 104 (Texas) and 125 (Vanderbilt). Now Joe Burrow is a fine quarterback who can make all the throws and he will be heaving it to one of the nation's best wide receiver units. Everybody points to the fact that LSU's passing game is much improved over last year. They tend to forget that Florida's defense is also much improved and last year the Gators sacked Burrow five times for 30 yards in losses, held him to 5.6 yards per attempt and picked him off twice with Brad Stewart running one back 25 yards for a touchdown. LSU came into that game ranked fifth nationally while the Gators were #22 but Florida won the game, 27-19. Can the Gators make it two in a row over the Tigers? It will be tougher this year because the game is in Baton Rouge and the Tiger Stadium crowd started drinking Wednesday night. They will be greased and as loud as any crowd in America, but they can be silenced. Here is how the Gators quiet the crowd and win the game: (1) Get pressure on Joe Burrow without wholesale blitzing. This is how the Gators got the job done last year. Jachai Polite and Jabari Zuniga were terrors off the edge but that opened the gate for Vosean Joseph to come on the blitz to pick up two of UF's five sacks. (2) By keeping the blitzes to a minimum, the Gators can consistently get seven or eight in coverage and keep the LSU receivers in front of them. Burrow is going to complete passes but the Gators have to make sure he can't go over the top. (3) Win the turnover battle. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said the goal is to always get one more turnover than the opponent. If the Gators can avoid turnovers and can force a couple themselves, they are going to win this game. The Sayer Says Sooth: The Gators will play with an enormous chip on their shoulder and they won't be disrespected any more when this one is over. Look for a repeat of last year, FLORIDA 21, LSU 14. THE SEC SOOTHSAYER #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) 41, #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) 21: Someday Jimbo Fisher might become the first former Nick Saban assistant to knock off The Boss. Someday. Not this year. Tua is going to throw for at least four touchdowns and Alabama will move to 6-0. #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) 30, South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC) 14: South Carolina QB Ryan Hilinski is about to learn a lesson similar to the one Auburn's Bo Nix learned last week at Florida. True freshman quarterbacks rarely do well on the road against ranked teams in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina's defense is actually really good but Hilinski is going to struggle against the Georgia defense. Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC) 28, Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC) 21: Losing Cole Garrett in the middle of the Mizzou defense is a huge blow, especially against an Ole Miss team that has transformed into a run team with an option QB and some serious running backs. Mizzou will have Kelly Bryant back at QB and even though he won't be at 100% he should have enough to get the Tigers past Ole Miss. Watch this one closely, however. If John Rhys Plumlee can keep the chains moving and keep the ball away from Mizzou, an upset is possible although not probable. Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC) 27, Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) 17: Put Mississippi State on upset alert. The Bulldogs have had all sorts of problems against teams that can throw the ball well and if they can't get consistent pressure on UT freshman Brian Mauer, this could be a surprising win for the Vols. The difference, however, will be MSU's ability to run the football. Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) 33, Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) 27: If Sawyer Smith starts this game, Kentucky will win it. If Kentucky has to go with redshirt freshman Walker Wood or wide receiver and former high school QB Lynn Bowden Jr. Arkansas probably wins the game. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: EDITION 7 Extinct Species List Chris Ash, Rutgers: This place is a graveyard. Whoever takes this job will be battling Maryland and Indiana for fifth place in the Big Ten East every year because Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State are always going to be in the top four. On Life Support Lovie Smith, Illinois: Illinois got its doors blown off by a mediocre Minnesota team last week and has Michigan and Wisconsin next on the schedule. There will probably be regime change before the end of October. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee: Even with the big buyout (more than $9 million) UT athletic director Phattus Maximus knows he's got a couple of gozillionaire boosters who will write the check but Pruitt will coach the entire season. Bob Davie, New Mexico: It's never a good thing to lose to Liberty and San Jose State on consecutive weekends, which is what the Lobos have done. Davie will not be coaching New Mexico next year. That is a certainty. They'd like to move him to some administrative capacity and spare him the indignity of a firing. Phil Montgomery, Tulsa: Just when it looked like Montgomery was going to save his job by beating SMU, the Golden Hurricane was outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter and then lost in overtime. It will be an upset if any of the next six games is close. Mike Bobo, Colorado State: If the Lambs can't beat New Mexico this week and UNLV the first Saturday in November, they'll go 1-11 this year. Everybody in Fort Collins likes Bobo but they want to see progress and that just isn't happening. Tony Sanchez, UNLV: Buzzards are perched on the power lines that hook up to the UNLV football offices. The Rebels have lost four straight by blowout and they're about to get skunked by Vanderbilt. Endangered Species List Randy Edsall, UConn: Everybody keeps saying Edsall is still coaching because of the money. The UConn athletic department is $41 million in the red and has to pay $12 million to leave the AAC and $3.5 million to join the Big East plus it would take $9 million to buy out Edsall. Common sense says they won't fire Edsall, but if UConn actually had common sense there's no way the school would be about as fiscally responsible as Venezuela. Clay Helton, Southern Cal: Helton will probably make it to the end of the year but unless the Trojans score some high profile wins like this Saturday at Notre Dame, he will be coaching somewhere else next year. Steve Addazio, Boston College: They've grown weary of 7-6 seasons at BC, which would actually be an outstanding season this year. The loss to Louisville last week didn't exactly help the cause. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt: Mason moves up to the Endangered Species List after the Commodores were smoked by Ole Miss, whose freshman quarterback spearheaded a 413-yard rushing attack. Mason is supposed to be a defensive maven. This year the defense sucks and the offense is back to being totally Vanderbilt. Beads of Sweat Forming Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech: After blowing a 35-7 lead against Miami last week, VaTech pulled out a 42-35 win, which probably saved Fuente from being fired on the spot. If Fuente doesn't manage seven wins in the regular season (currently has three) he'll be negotiating his buyout. Charlie Strong, South Florida: Blake Barnett's high ankle sprain might turn out to be the best thing that could have happened for the Bulls. Freshman Jordan McCloud took his place last week and South Florida's dormant offense came to life. If McCloud can dial up another win this week against BYU in Tampa, Charlie Strong might be able to breathe a little easier. Kilani Sitaki, BYU: Nobody in Provo is happy with that loss to Holy Toledo last week. They will start a coach search if Sitaki loses at South Florida in Tampa this weekend. Saved by the Buyout Willie Taggart, Florida State: If Clemson succeeds and delivering an epic beatdown this weekend, the boosters might start figuring out ways to raise the $17 million it would take to buy him out. Chad Morris, Arkansas: The $12 million buyout is only one of the reasons why Morris will be back at Arkansas next year. The biggest reason he will be back is the powers that be are determined to give Morris a third year even if it means suffering through another losing season in 2019. Chip Kelly, UCLA: If they had the money, Kelly would already be gone. They don't and so they're stuck with him. Nobody in Westwood is particularly happy after that loss to Oregon State last week. Will Muschamp, South Carolina: The buyout is $18 million but even if they had the cash on hand to pink slip Muschamp, they'd keep him one more year. The Gamecocks are very young and the kids are talented. GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on the future of Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts who has won four straight National League West championships but hasn't won a World Series and won't this year after losing to the Washington Nationals Wednesday night: “So now the Dodgers must ask: Is this the manager we want going forward? Roberts’ salary is not known, but buying out his final three years probably would cost the team somewhere in the range of $10 million. The Dodgers then would need to pay another manager, but none of the money would count against the luxury-tax threshold. A team that just completed the sixth year of its 25-year, $8.35 billion local TV deal with Time Warner certainly can afford two managers.” From Ethan Strauss of The Athletic on the the NFL's viewership superiority over the NBA: “For a quick and dirty comparison, look at average NBA Finals viewership over the years versus average Super Bowl viewership. In 1998, Michael Jordan’s last Finals registered as the most watched in NBA history, yielding an average viewership of 29 million. The best Finals viewership since Jordan happened in 2017, the year of Kareem’s article, when the Durant-led Warriors first took on LeBron’s Cavs. That Finals yielded an average viewership of 20.38 million. Impressive, but roughly down 9 million from that high in 1998. Keep in mind, the U.S. overall gained 50 million in population between 1998 and 2017 … For contemporaneous contrast, the January 1998 Super Bowl drew an average of 90 million viewers. Nearly two decades later, the February 2017 Super Bowl drew an average viewership of 111.3 million viewers. In short, the NFL has added 10s of millions in viewers to its championship since the 1990s, while the NBA has remained flat at best and dwindling at worst.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has vacated the 2016 Division III national championship won by Mary Hardin-Baylor because the head coach let a football player use his 2006 Subaru during the 2016 season. He let another player use the car, too, but the car broke down and had to be towed. Seriously … The Houston Astros will face the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series after their 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday night … Clemson coach Dabo Swinney responded to rumors that QB Trevor Lawrence is injured by stating, “There is nothing wrong with Trevor.” Swinney did confirm that Lawrence does have a bruise.

By BUDDY MARTIN GatorBait Editor On an improbable Saturday in an improbable way, old school collided with new school and the Florida Gators re-entered the Heavyweight Arena for College Football. They shed their perceived cloak of mediocrity after bouncing No. 7 Auburn, 24-13, in the first round of a rigorous schedule. Long live The Swamp! Now surely these Gators must finally be taken seriously as an SEC contender, because they have found “The Juice” -- The Swamp’s magic elixir which is almost as real as Gatorade. Or will they ever be taken seriously? Up next, the place they call “Death Valley,” home field of the No. 5 undefeated LSU Tigers, who have been installed as a two-touchdown favorite. Another week of being the Rodney Dangerfield underdog. We must remember that “Juice” cannot be bottled and transported on the road to Baton Rouge – or even to nearby Jacksonville. So maybe not – maybe they Gators have not achieved that status yet. Maybe that 6-0 resume looks very average to others and not good enough to vault them into the Top Five. And maybe what’s ahead the next few weeks looks too imposing: One down, but two more Top Ten opponents to go for the next three Saturdays. But none of them at The Swamp. It’s puzzling as to why this 7th ranked team hasn’t caught the eye of many critics, but maybe it’s because there’s too much other eye candy. While the SEC’s beasts cannibalize each other, teams like Florida must sit on the sideline picking carcasses until their time comes to shine. Maybe that time is now. There’s a reason Florida is starting to be noticed, though, and that ESPN Game Day is showing up again: “Biggest game last week … biggest game this week. That’s the reason people come to Florida,” said Mullen – to play in these kind of big games against the glamorous teams with a hot quarterback like Joe Burrow. In an iconic settingwhich some people think is the toughest place to play in college football. The good news is that this Gator team is reenergized by The Swamp. Especially Dan Mullen. When at home in The Swamp, right before his team comes out for the kickoff, Mullen will poke his head from the doors of the South end zone and drink in the moment. Just as he did vs. Auburn. And when the voices from “Two Bits” or “The Boys From Old Florida” or “Don’t Back Down” ripple from the loudspeakers it damn near sets Dan Mullen’s hair on fire. “I get into it,” Mullen confessed. “I love the energy. I love the crowd. That excites me. When you open those doors and walk out of the tunnel and hear that deafening noise in The Swamp, that gets you juiced. That gets you excited. I love it. After the game running around high fiving everybody for being here, that’s what it’s all about. It’s an unbelievable adrenaline rush.” The bad news is that the Gators don’t return to The Swamp again until Nov. 9 to play Vanderbilt. So they will need their secret #Swamp Juice, or #Relentless Effort. And they could add #Resiliency?” It had better be the latter. #Resiliency is when your starting quarterback gets knocked out on what appears to be a possible season-ending injury – the second time in four weeks. As Kyle Trask lay there writhing in pain, his fingers covering his eyes, no doubt his whole career flashing before those eyes. And the dreams of Gator fans feeling like they’ve been dashed. On Trask’s injury, Mullen said: “I didn’t see the play. I saw part of it and then I saw the replay. In that moment, our trainers are out there to do their job. I’m trying to make sure, ‘Hey, let’s get organized. We still have to go play the next play We still have to keep playing.’ Trainers are going to take care of him, and we’ll get out there, then when it’s appropriate, find out what’s going on and make sure he’s okay. It’s happened to us once already this year.” Not to worry, however, as red-shirt freshman Emory Jones came in for a few series and held Trask’s place, driving his team downfield 51 yards for a field goal and proving to be a worthy backup and someday a starter. “We trust Emory,” said Mullen. The trainers came back out and said, “Hey, it wasn’t bad. He can come back in.” Then Trask made a Willis Reed 1972-like return to the game to help seal the victory. As loud as it was down on Steve Spurrier-Florida Field, the crowd didn’t seem get all that lathered up, probably because it seemed to catch them off-guard and they didn’t know how badly Trask was hurt, or if he could return. After warming up, the junior quarterback was told by Mullen to wait a series. Trask played the whole second half – played it well -- even catching a 4-yard pass from his tight end Lucas Krull for a game-ending first down. #Resiliency is when the Gator defense keeps showing up with huge drive-thwarting plays, proving to the world why it is one of the Top Five in America. And shutting down Auburn’s running game down and forcing promising young true freshman Bo Nix into critical misreads and mistakes. Feasting on three interceptions – including a one-handed tip&pick by safety Shawn Davis. And #Resiliency is a senior running back who has struggled behind a struggling offensive line for four weeks, suddenly breaking off an 88-yard touchdown run, the longest since a guy named Emmitt Smith did the same in 1988 -- Emmitt watching Lamical Perine’s gamebreaker from the sideline. (Mullen: “It was the biggest play of the game.”) It closed out the Tigers. Perine, a Mobile, Ala. native who was rejected by Auburn because he was allegedly too slow, was on a mission. There was no way anybody is an Auburn uniform was and going to catch him today as every step was fueled by redemption and #Swamp Juice. “Yeah, that was pretty cool. That was kind of neat,” Mullen said of the Perine-Emmitt symmetry: I don’t think Lamical knew that and I don’t think Emmitt knew that either that it was going to be the longest run since his. So, but I’m going to tell you, it came at a great opportunity for us, at a great time in the game and it couldn’t have happened at a better time.” And there is even a littler #Resiliency in good fortune, when a 6-5, 318-pound rumblin’, stumblin’ behemoth like Auburn’s DL Derrick Brown picks up a fumble and starts downfield with blocking escorts and a clear shot to the end zone – but trips over a blade of grass and falls down. It was more about execution and grit and intelligence than it was Derrick Brown’s misfortune, however … like Donovan Stiner stepping in front of a receiver in the end zone with an interception of what could have been Auburn’s go-ahead touchdown at the end of the third quarter. Those are some of the reasons Florida’s Red Zone Defense is leading the nation in conversions. They know how to line up and execute when a big play is needed. And isn’t it about time Todd Grantham gets a nod for his brilliant schemes and his staff’s superb coaching? And the defensive game plan. Mullen is impressed whether anybody else is or not: “Defensively, amazing job. Todd, his staff, the defensive guys grinding, training, getting to the football as hard as they can every play. That’s the type of defense we expect to play around here. I’m really proud of those guys. They gave up one score, and that was on me. We don’t fake a punt and they probably don’t score a touchdown. So I end up causing the only fault with our defense.” Mullen also lauded the defense for stopping Auburn’s running game and creating so many three-and-outs. “The discipline showed of our guys, their focus, the execution and how they executed the game plan that Todd and the staff put in was great," said Mullen. Grantham’s defense is a very big reason the Gators have won 10 straight and 16 out of 19 – 10 straight being the longest since the national championship 1998 team won 22 in a row. At the same time, there is the danger of over-valuing the win over Auburn, who was a 2-point favorite, and getting your doors blown off in Tiger Stadium under the lights, whereas Orgeron likes to say, “Dreams go to die.” But don’t let facts stand in the way of rhetoric. Florida has a winning record in Tiger Stadium, 17-16, and leads the series overall 33-29-3. Burrow, the transfer from Ohio State – doesn’t it seem like a bunch of winning teams have one? – poses a big challenge for Grantham’s D because of his legs, passing accuracy and quick release. "He'll be the best quarterback, obviously, we've seen so far this year,” said Mullen. “He can make all the throws. He's got experience; he's been out there on the field. Playing in big games, that's not new for him; he's played in a bunch of big games. He's got great skill players around him; you can see his trust in those guys to go make plays out there. And I think he's just deceptively, really athletic. He can extend plays happen in the run game. If you're going to give it to him, he's going to take it. He'll be the best quarterback we've faced so far this year and be a good challenge for our defense." So for now it’s goodbye to The Swamp and all its good spirits. And Perine leaving behind the memory of his dream play. His coach admired Perine’s #Resliency. “Look at what he’s been able to do so far this year, maybe not put up the numbers that people thought he might put up to this point in the year. But certainly, hasn’t changed his approach, hasn’t changed how he’s play, hasn’t changed his playmaking ability. And really made the biggest play in the game on Saturday. When he was ready for that moment. When he hit the crease, he had to break a tackle, make a guy miss. He was fast enough to get to the end zone.” What better way to illustrate the “Don’t Back Down” advice of Tom Petty against the No. 7 team in the nation, even when their quarterback was looking like he was kayoed on the ground. They never blinked or fell behind against Auburn on Homecoming Saturday. The Spirit of The Swamp was definitely felt. We will find out just how transportable all that is when they return to Gainesville for Vanderbilt.

DOES THIS SEEM LIKE 2006 ALL OVER AGAIN? Until the Gators knocked off Auburn, 24-13, last Saturday, nobody at the major media outlets seemed all that impressed with Florida. General consensus was the Gators were overrated and the only reason they had a top ten ranking (they were 10th prior to the Auburn game) was because they played in the SEC. Auburn, it was thought, would win the game and forever end the fallacy that the Gators belonged. Well, as we all know now, a funny thing happened on the way to the freefall from the top ten predicted by so many of Florida's critics. Florida's defense neutered the Auburn offense and made Bo Nix look every bit like the true freshman he is. Over on offense, the Gators should have scored at least two or three more touchdowns but a serious case of self-flagellation prevented what could have been a win of blowout proportions. Maybe the critics weren't completely impressed, but quite frankly, Dan Mullen couldn't care less what they think. At his Monday press conference Mullen stated, “The biggest, most important factor to me is making sure we win the game. If we win the game 3-2 or we win the game 49-48, we're winning.” When Mullen made that “just win, baby” statement Monday, it was difficult not to think back to the grind that was 2006. The Gators went 13-1 but that national championship was won by a defense that bludgeoned opponents into submission and an offense that spent an entire season searching for consistency. Five wins were by seven or fewer points including a 21-20 win at Tennessee and a 17-16 win over South Carolina that required two blocked field goals in the fourth quarter to pull off. There was a six-point win over Vanderbilt and there were seven-point wins over Georgia and Florida State. The Gators outslugged LSU, 23-10, and the 28-13 win over Alabama was white knuckles until Reggie Nelson's fourth quarter pick six provided the final margin of victory. The lone loss to Auburn is all the proof you need that the offense was wildly inconsistent. Auburn won the game, 27-17, without scoring an offensive touchdown. It was the lack of blowout wins that made Florida a controversial choice to play Ohio State in the BCS national championship game in Glendale, Arizona. Ohio State had only one close call all season, which had some folks comparing the Buckeyes to 1995 Nebraska as perhaps the greatest of all time. That is, until the Buckeyes met up with Florida, whose 41-14 win win probably the only game against a quality opponent that the Gators scored style points on both sides of the ball. So here we are 13 years later and halfway through the season the Gators are unbeaten, ranked seventh nationally and college football's impersonation of Rodney Dangerfield (They still don't get any respect!). With the exception of one or two competitive games, the six teams ranked ahead of the Gators are plundering and pillaging anything and everyone that gets in their way. Ranked teams 1-6 are getting a lot of style points by scoring so many points while the Gators are playing great defense and getting just enough offense to win. The way the Gators are winning makes this feel so much like a rewind of the 2006 season. No matter how the Gators are winning, fact is they're winning and that is all that matters. As much as Mullen enjoys putting a blowtorch to an opponent for a 40-point win, he understands the single most important concept of football – the object of the game is to win and it doesn't matter if it's by one or 101 points. Just do whatever it takes and leave the ball yard each Saturday with another notch in the W column. SEC FOOTBALL STUFF #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Center Chris Owens was described by HBC Nick Saban as “very questionable” for Saturday's game with Texas A&M. That means Landon Dickerson is almost certain to get the start at center with Deonte Brown moving into Dickerson's right guard slot. Saturday: at #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC): Center Ty Clary will be ready to go Saturday against Kentucky, but it's still day-to-day for left tackle Colton Jackson. Wide receiver Jordan Jones is also day-to-day. Saturday: at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) #12 Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC): With Boobee Whitlow done for at least 5-6 weeks, Kam Martin (34-171 rushing, two touchdowns) will get the first crack as the #1 running back. Gus Malzahn will make a decision between freshmen DJ Williams and Harold Joiner which one is the primary backup to Martin. Saturday: Open #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): One of the reasons QB Jake Fromm is completing 77.5% of his passes this season has everything to do with protection. Through five games, Fromm has only been sacked once. Saturday: vs. South Carolina 2-3, 1-2 SEC) Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC): Neither HBC Mark Stoops or offensive coordinator Eddie Gran would say who will start at quarterback against Arkansas although it is anticipated that Sawyer Smith will get the call. Saturday: vs. Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) #6 LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Stud freshman corner Derek Stingley was not seen at LSU's Wednesday practice. No report as of yet if Stingley is injured or had some other reason to miss practice. Stingley leads the SEC in pass breakups with eight and has two interceptions, tops on the team. Saturday: vs. #7 FLORIDA (6-0, 3-0 SEC) Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC): HBC Joe Moorhead still won't say who he's going to start at quarterback Saturday at Tennessee. Who starts or even who plays might have something to do with who's the healthiest between grad transfer Tommy Stevens and true freshman Garrett Shrader. Saturday: at Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC): Kelly Bryant (knee) says he's 90% for Saturday's game with Ole Miss. If for some reason Bryant can't start or has to leave the game, backup QB Taylor Powell would take over. He completed 6-8 passes for 57 yards in the second half of the Tigers' win over Troy last week. Saturday: vs. Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC) Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC): If Ole Miss wants to keep the football out of the hands of Kelly Bryant and that explosive Mizzou offense then the Rebels might go the ball control route Saturday, which would likely mean freshman John Rhys Plumlee would get the start at QB over Matt Corrall. Since stepping in after Corrall got hurt against California, Plumlee has run for 327 yards and two touchdowns. As a team Ole Miss averages 234.33 rushing yards per game. Saturday: at Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC) South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC): Asked on the SEC Coaches Teleconference what sets Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm apart, Will Muschamp said, “His overall command of what they do, he is an extension of what they want done as coaches.” Saturday: at #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC): For the Vols to have a chance to spring the upset on Mississippi State Saturday they'll need to exploit the Bulldogs' porous pass defense, which is giving up 234.4 yards per game and 8.1 yards per pass attempt. Freshman Brian Maurer, who threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia, will get the start at QB … Senior wide receiver Brandon Johnson will take a redshirt the rest of the season. In the four games he has played, Johnson has caught two passes for 31 yards. Saturday: vs. Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC) #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): A year ago the Aggies gave up 415 passing yards and four touchdowns to Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa. The Aggies gave up 253.2 passing yards per game in 2018. Tua will be facing a better Aggie secondary this year. Through five games A&M is allowing only 191.4 yards per game, which ranks 31st nationally. The 30th-ranked pass defense belongs to Alabama. Saturday: vs. #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Vanderbilt (1-4, 0-3 SEC): You could call UNLV the cure for Vandy's inept defensive unit. The Rebels are averaging just 15.3 points per game against Division I opponents and they haven't gained more than 340 yards against a Division I team. Vanderbilt's defense is giving up 503.6 yards and 37.4 points per game but that's against four Power Five teams, three of which belong to the SEC. Saturday: vs. UNLV (1-4) GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY From Andy Staples of The Athletic on the interception of Auburn QB Bo Nix by Florida safety Shawn Davis last Saturday: “Take the second-quarter interception by Gators safety Shawn Davis. Florida had four defenders at the line of scrimmage, but only three rushed. Linebacker Jeremiah Moon set the edge on the left side of the defense in case the back, who stayed in to protect Nix, leaked out into the flat. Auburn receiver Eli Stove ran a short hitch and began waving his hands more to draw the attention of defenders than to get Nix’s. The goal was to distract the Gators so Sal Cannella could sneak past on a wheel route. The problem for the Tigers? Greenard got just enough of an upfield rush to force Nix to climb in the pocket and reveal his target sooner than he wanted to. Florida linebacker James Houston was ready to pounce on Stove for no gain if the ball went that way. Florida safety Amari Burney bit on Stove’s ruse for a moment, but that only helped set the trap. Davis was playing a robber role, watching Nix the entire time. Nix, unfortunately, was not watching Davis. As soon as Nix released the ball, Davis broke and snagged it with one hand. How well did the Gators, especially Greenard and Davis, do their jobs on this play? They pressured the quarterback, covered every available receiving option and intercepted the pass with only 10 men on the field.” From Stewart Mandel of The Athletic when asked to compare the situations of Auburn vs. Alabama and Michigan vs. Ohio State: “But I can’t say the situations are completely similar, for two reasons. One: Auburn has still won a national title and played for another this decade. It’s been in three SEC championship games. Michigan has not won the Big Ten since 2004 and has not played for a national title since 1997. But also, the Wolverines have had more than just an Ohio State problem recently. They’re 3-8 against Michigan State since 2008 and 3-5 against Wisconsin since 2007. It would actually be more understandable if, like Ohio State in the ’90s, Michigan was having great seasons but just couldn’t get over its one dominant rival. But it’s also fallen behind programs that it consistently beats in recruiting.” From Jason Whitlock on who's really behind the NBA controversy with China: “The shoe companies like Nike and Addidas – they run American basketball from the high school level all the way to the pros. And, the shoe companies are dependent on the China market and that's where all of this is coming from." RANDOM THOUGHTS: The St. Louis Cardinals made it to the National League Championship Series Wednesday with a 13-1 thumping of the Atlanta Braves to take that series 3-2 … Rutgers QB McLane Carter, who transferred in from Texas Tech, is retiring from football for health reasons. He suffered a concussion in the second game of the season and hasn't played since … The NFL has upheld the season-long suspension of Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Burfict appealed the suspension for a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit but the NFL denied the appeal … Cornerback Richard Sherman of the San Francisco 49ers had to walk back his claim that Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield refused to shake his hand at midfield before the Monday night coin toss. Video showed the two shaking hands, prompting Sherman to say “my bad” and promise to apologize to Mayfield … Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Calhoun has been accused of sexual discrimination by former University of Saint Joseph associate athletic director Jaclyn Pisciteli. Pisciteli claims she was fired after complaining about Calhoun, the former UConn coach who now is the head coach at Saint Joseph … Rapper Snoop Dog is making no apologies whatsoever for his raunchy performance at Kansas Late Night this past Friday. On the Howard Stern Show, Mr. Dog said, “When you pay for Snoop Dog, you gonna get Snoop Dog.”

In the quietness that comes before kickoff, Jonathan Greenard steps onto the field. In what has become his routine, home or away, he looks around, eyes skipping over each seat in the stadium until he finds one that is still empty. Then, he closes his eyes and lets his mind lock on the image his heart is looking for. After a few seconds, Jon Greenard opens his eyes and looks back at that seat. This time, it’s filled and he’s playing for the person there; not only on the field but in everything he does off, in the locker room and as he grows into a man of whom that soul can be proud. Here’s what that person sees when looking back at Jon Greenard. If Carmen Greenard Varnum is to be believed, her son was destined to be a football player. “God gave him two kisses and kissed his forehead and said ‘football player.’” Varnum was walking out of a PTA meeting at her daughters school, holding the hand of young Jonathan, when a man stopped her. “Jonathan was four at the time but mind you he was 10 lb. 4 oz, 23 inches at birth. So at four you can imagine what he looked like. So the guy walking past me, stopped me and he said ‘M’am, does he play ball or anything, who does he play ball for?’” He was only four, so he didn’t play for anyone at the time. But the man gave Carmen his business card and asked for a call after Jonathan’s next birthday. Prince Foster ended up coaching Greenard from youth ball till middle school and the family has asked the coach to be with them during next year’s NFL Draft where Greenard could easily be a Day One or Two pick. Even if Jonathan Greenard was destined to be a football player, it was always going to be as a by-product of who he is, not the only result of who he could be. And it’s really that knowledge within himself that has made him such an immediate impactful player for the Florida Gators as a graduate transfer from Louisville, filling the BUCK and defensive end positions in Todd Grantham’s defense. He’s anchored in who he is and as such became an immediate anchor for those around him. “I think Jon Greenard is better at being vocal,” says head coach Dan Mullen when discussing who his team leaders are. “Now he's comfortable being on the team and making plays and being in games, is a guy that's not afraid to jump up and talk to everybody.” "Jonathan, he has that leader spirit, personality about himself,” explains Carmen. "Even when he was at Louisville, not only was he the captain of the team there, he pledged his fraternity and he became the president of his chapter. Not only was he busy on the field, he’s trying to host different events with his fraternity and he said ‘Mama I got it.’ But he did it.” This has always been a facet of Greenard’s personality, according to Carmen, but it was nourished while at Louisville. There, Greenard played with a class of friends like Jaire Alexander and Lamar Jackson, guys currently flourishing in the NFL along with Sheldon Rankins and Gerald Christian, all together creating a team that Greenard says is one of the more talented groups he’s played with. There was also Chris Morgan. The chaplain for the Cardinals team is who Greenard pinpoints as having one of the biggest impacts on his life. The feeling is mutual. “Things that stuck out to me about Jonathan is he is an intelligent leader of people,” Morgan tells Gator Bait. “His attitude is very, very contagious. He’s one of those guys that you want in the locker room, you want in the community. He’s a leader where, wherever you place him, he’s gonna lead people. “He was always one of our active people in community service. He sees the platform that he’s been given and not only does he see the platform but he wants to seize every opportunity to give back. He wants to give back in any way he can possibly do that… he came in as a freshman with incredible confidence. You knew that he was gonna be a leader so he has that confidence.” That has continued in Gainesville where Greenard has become a voice often heard in the locker room before games, breaking down practice and standing at the front of the room helping set the tone and message for the 2019 Florida Gators. He’s one of the older guys in the locker room, so much so that they call him “grandpa” he laughingly admits. And he demands attention from his teammates in part thanks to his play on the field, which we’ll discuss more below. But it’s also because of that intangible quality that can’t be concretely explained but palpably felt. Whatever it is, Jonathan Greenard has it in spades. “He’s not gonna tell them nothing that he’s not gonna do himself,” continues Morgan. “A lot of times people bark orders and say this or say that. But the thing that I love the most about Jonathan is he desires accountability in his life. And accountability is only good until the first person lies. And he’s very, he’s very consistent about accountability. He wants to hold others accountable but the interesting thing about that is he holds himself accountable. So he’s just, he was a joy to work with and a joy to be here.” It’s something his mother has always seen in Jonathan. “If he saw things that were not going right in the locker room with a player or how a player handled something, he’ll coax them away to where they won’t get offended and he’ll probably say ‘well why don’t you try this approach? This’ll work better for you. Don’t think about it like that, think about it like this.’ And he makes you comfortable with him.” The same has been true at Florida, where teammates like linebacker Amari Burney have witnessed first hand the work Greenard put in to everything he does. His size and natural skill set make him seem like Todd Grantham made him in a lab for the sole purpose of playing in this defense. But for every God given gift he has, there is relentless work put in to build upon it. “He brings a lot to the defense,” explains Burney, continuing, “just him coaching himself, no matter who we are playing. We can be playing small school, high school anything like that, in practice he just wants the best out of everybody. He is like a coach for us, he like a big brother, he like a parent to us, so he brings a lot.” Adds defensive lineman Kyree Campbell, “He has a good personality and I mean he has a good heart for the game. I mean he loves to work. Everyday in practice, no matter how he is feeling, he comes in and works. We just can’t ask anything more from him.” Greenard though is asking for more, from himself and his teammates. After the UT-Martin win, he and a few others called a player meeting. They wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page heading into SEC play. When Greenard faced his teammates, he scraped the message he’d prepared and spoke what was really on his heart. “I came here to win a championship,” he told them. “I came here to win and be a part of another team that puts a plaque and another year on that board of championships, not to be mediocre. I think this team, we have a lot of players and have all the intangibles to be able to go out there and win this for us.” In Carmen Greenard Varnum’s household, she raised her kids to be well rounded, never losing sight of their first priority. For every sport Jonathan—along with his brother and sister—played, they enrolled at an activity at church. For Jon, it was the stage that called, using a God-given talent coupled with a personality that CBS announcer Brad Nessler recently aptly described as being able to “light up the whole stadium” and just like he’s done on the field and off in Gainesville so far, he captivated anyone watching. At 14, he won a regional gospel singing competition, making it to the finals in Atlanta and he sang in youth choir until the day he left for college. And Carmen raised them under the protection of the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Each part of those verses have been prudent in Jon Greenard’s life at some point. They applied when the young man from Georgia decided to move to Louisville so he could play for Todd Grantham, moving away from a family that was still adjusting to a new normal to start over life as a young adult. They were relevant when he suffered a season ending injury to start the 2018 season. A wrist injury in the Louisville opener against Alabama forced him to sit for the first time and miss a year playing the game he loves. During that time, his mother reminded him of the verses and what they taught; a delay is not a deny. "What God has for you is for you; you just gotta be patient during the process,” expounds Carmen. It was a message Jon passed on to starting quarterback Feleipe Franks when he suffered a season ending injury versus Kentucky in week 3. And the verses were impactful when Greenard had to make a decision. Should he stay or go? He’d graduated from Louisville and knew an opportunity existed to reunite with the man who first saw something special in the Hiram, Georgia native. Greenard grew up a Florida Gators fan, something he jokes was “frowned upon” in Georgia. But quarterback Chris Leak caught his attention at a young age and he “stayed true to his team.” So perhaps if it was destiny that Jon Greenard become a football player, it was also meant for it to eventually be at Florida. But more likely, it was meant to be for Todd Grantham. The defensive coordinator originally recruited Greenard to play for him at Louisville and the redshirt freshman did so in 2016. From there Grantham was hired at Mississippi State, joining up with Dan Mullen. When Mullen came to Florida in 2018, Grantham came with him. Greenard soon followed, helping the two to fulfill a promise Grantham made to Carmen years ago. “I was talking with Grantham and I asked him, I said whatever you do just look out for my baby. That’s all I said, just look out for my baby. And he does that.” Greenard’s stepfather describes the two as “kindred spirits” and there does seem to be something fateful about having them together in Gainesville. “God works in mysterious ways, it all just plays together,” proclaims Jon Greenard. “Thankfully he was here and that way I didn't have to learn a new defense. Now just glad to be playing the game again; got a second chance and I couldn't pass it up." He has in fact made the most of the opportunity. ESPN’s David Pollack recently pronounced Greenard as one of the top grad transfer players this season: “We talk a lot about grad transfers all across college football. Greenard should be one of the guys that comes to the top of the list, I mean he's been unbelievable.” Through six games, Greenard has accounted for 27 tackles including 5.5 for loss (19 yards) and four sacks along with seven quarterback hurries. For good measure he’s also added a forced fumble, three pass breakups and an interception. "I might be a DB or something now. Shoot. Coach might need to make a couple of plays and adjustments for me,” he joked after the Tennessee win…and continued to pester the defensive back unit about. “Sometimes he says we switch spots, I get the sack, he gets the interception. He thinks he's part of DBU, we'll take him,” reveals STAR Trey Dean III. But it’s up front where Greenard has been on an absolute tear. He came to Gainesville to play the BUCK position in Grantham’s defense, a vaulted position within the Swamp for sure. With Jabari Zuniga injured for the last three and a half games, Greenard has also flipped to the other side of the line and taken snaps with his hand in the ground at defensive end while Jeremiah Moon lined up at BUCK. Then Greenard might flip back to the hybrid position while Moon takes a break and Zach Carter lines up at end. The goal, as Grantham has explained on more than one occasion, is to always have your best 11 players on the field. The goal, in that case, is to always have Jon Greenard on the field. Related: PFF Rates Jon Greenard as One of Week's Top Players The senior played nearly every snap in the win versus Kentucky, missing only the final series. He’s kept nearly that pace for every game before and since as well. It’s something he’s still getting used to but for which he feels prepared. “I didn’t start at Louisville. I started a couple of games in. I just came off as the rotational guy. To get all these snaps now is definitely new for me. But I train, that’s why we train hard in the offseason. I trained as hard I could just so that way I would be able to prepare for this moment and that way I can play a lot of plays.” Thaddeus Bullard, aka “Titus O’ Neil”, played defensive end for the Florida Gators from 1997-2000 before going on to WWE fame. He and Greenard are brothers in the same fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. It’s why the two have similar celebrations following sacks. But if you ask Bullard, he’s also seen a couple other guys who remind him of Greenard. “He doesn’t take any plays off, which I love about him,” Bullard tells Gator Bait. "The only other person that I saw do stuff like that or close was a guy by the name of Mike Peterson who played with me at Florida. And he’s the only guy that I ever saw that never came off the field during a game and he did that multiple times. So he’s in great company as a person that is reliable, dependable and clearly a leader. Because when you can be out there for that amount of plays and still play at a high level to make plays, that’s spells nothing but a bright future for him. It’s not just the sheer amount of snaps Greenard plays though that have been impressive. It’s the consistent production he’s brung each time. “If he continues at this pace, he’ll definitely be ranked as one of the top ones,” continues Bullard. “I played fortunately with some of the guys that were at the top in Jevon Kearse and Alex Brown and you know I see a lot of similarities with both of those guys in him. So he’s definitely on pace to etch his name in the history books at the University of Florida if he can continue the play that he’s been doing. And he needs a few more standout games to establish that but that was just like Alex Brown; Alex Brown had like four or five sacks in one game versus Tennessee and that kind of put him on the map. And from them on, it was kinda like he’s just gonna make plays. “As long as you can sustain making plays, even if it’s splash plays, especially with him playing that many snaps per game, he’s gonna put himself in position to have a lot of attention at the higher level but also too as Gators that have played the position…Coach Mullen’s always talking about the Gator Standard, I can almost assure you if you talk to any past players, especially those that have played at that position, he definitely upholds that Gator Standard at that position.” Gators quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson has seen first hand in practice what it takes to block Jon Greenard, something that has failed many a lesser man on the gridiron…and understandably so. "You’ve got to start with him in pass-protection because he’s a dynamic rusher,” begins Johnson. “He plays really, really hard and he has a chance to wreck the game. So, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got big people to block him, and you can’t put backs and tight ends on him. But, once you do that, you create some other issues in terms of being able to slide from overload pressure because it’s not like they can – you know, the uniqueness of our defense is he doesn’t always have to be a rusher. So, you can dedicate or assign a bunch of people to block him, and he might drop in coverage and they bring it from the other side.” Even when Greenard isn’t making plays that show up in the stat sheet, he’s effecting the game, pushing the pocket or—as Johnson alluded to—taking protections away that allow other guys to make a play. But it’s his cerebral approach to the game that has made arguably the biggest impact on the nation’s No. 1 redzone defense and Top 10 total defense. “Jon knows what he's doing. He's been in college for a while,” states Campbell. “So just learning from him and how he depicts offensive linemen, like when we sit down and watch film, we'll look at offensive tackles, how they align, how they sit on their heels, how their shoulder (are). Just him being able to tell us, 'All right, this guy's going this way because he's leaning this way,' or 'This dude's about to pull because he's leaning back.' Just him having that experience is helping us, that helps the defense a lot.” It also helps senior middle linebacker David Reese, who now has another voice on the field to help him call the defensive plays. “It’s great so he can handle the d-lineman, you know, when he needs to or make sure the interior guys are in the front if I’m talking to the back end at the time so a guy that I trust, and you know I know he’s not gonna make a mistake if he knows the call or hears what he’s supposed to do, he’s gonna make sure everybody else set up too.” To those that know Jon Greenard, it’s no surprise that this is how he’s currently playing and impacting the Florida Gators. They’re just watching the manifestation of the boy they’ve always known; a strong willed leader who can “light up the whole stadium” and become the football player he was destined to be. Of all those watching this though, there is one that is an audience unto himself. In the quietness that comes before kickoff, Jonathan Greenard steps onto the field. In what has become his routine, home or away, he looks around, eyes skipping over each seat in the stadium until he finds one that is still empty. Then, he closes his eyes and lets his mind lock on the image his heart is looking for. After a few seconds, Jon Greenard opens his eyes and looks back at that seat. This time, it’s filled and he’s playing for the person there; not only on the field but in everything he does off, in the locker room and as he grows into a man of whom that soul can be proud. He’s playing for his dad, who passed away when Jonathan was a teenager. The man who taught him the game, about life and about what it meant to become the person he is today. It’s something Chris Morgan first suggested to Greenard when he arrived at Louisville, and the former has been able to watch the latter embrace the meaning behind the act before games. “It was just a real good thing for me to be able to watch him just kind of own that. It was just a tangible way of saying ‘hey pops you’re with me.’” There are a lot more people watching Jonathan Greenard now, with more to come. But in that moment, when he closes his eyes and takes a breath, he can do so knowing that who he is, where he is and who he’s become to those around him is perfectly made for a time as this. One might even say, it’s destiny.

BOUNCING IDEAS OFF EACH OTHER This might be one of those weeks when Florida head coach Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham spend a little bit more time trying to help each other with the schemes they'll be using against 6th-ranked LSU (5-0, 1-0 SEC) Saturday night in Baton Rouge. Mullen says the two consult with each other on an almost daily basis, but the 7th-ranked Gators (6-0, 3-0 SEC) haven't seen a team with the offensive explosiveness of LSU, nor has LSU faced a defensive team as good as Florida. Typically, Mullen might ask Grantham how he would attack certain plays in the offensive game plan while Grantham will ask Mullen to point out the weaknesses in a particular defensive scheme. "That happens daily in and out,” Mullen said Wednesday. “Those are quick things, 'Hey, we're looking at doing this. What are your thoughts and how it affects it?' He and I will briefly get together every day about just what's going on. But those ideas as you pass, generally, those are exchanged. Offensive and defensive staff rooms are right next to each other, so guys kind of stick their head in, "What about this or what about that? How would you guys handle it if we did this or do that?' Just a kind of check with the other side of the ball." Mullen will have to deal with a Dave Aranda defense. Aranda tends to leave his defensive backs in one-on-one situations while trying to overload the pass protection with more people than the opponent can block. On the Florida defensive side, Grantham will have to deal with the best quarterback (Joe Burrow) and the fastest set of wide receivers the Gators have seen all year. It only stands to reason Mullen and Grantham will be leaning heavily on each other for ideas that might make the difference at a critical point in the game. Some interesting numbers for Saturday: While there is no doubt LSU has the most talented offense the Gators have seen all year, it's also true the Tigers haven't played a decent defense. Here is where the four Division I opponents the Tigers have beaten rank nationally in total defense: 60. Georgia Southern: 380 yards per game 95. Utah State: 422.2 yards per game 104. Texas: 441.8 yards per game 125. Vanderbilt: 503.6 yards per game Against those four opponents, LSU averaged 561.25 yards and 52 points. GATORS LAND 4-STAR BASKETBALL COMMITMENT Almost overlooked in the commitment of wing guard Neils Lane (6-5, 195, Roselle, NJ Catholic) to the Florida Gators is his AAU affiliation. Lane, considered one of the truly elite defenders in the country and rated four stars by 247Sports, played on the Nike circuit for Philadelphia based Team Final. This is a breakthrough for the Gators, who have spent a lot of time and effort trying to land players from the Team Final program (Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Rakeem Christmas and Dion Waiters are three that come to mind). This is an AAU program that is always loaded with prospects so for Mike White to get his foot in the door with a high quality recruit is a very big deal. Lane is an average outside shooter but a good slasher who can get to the rim. He typically scores 6-10 points per game just off his defense. He's considered an exceptional press defender. Lane chose the Gators over Texas and Miami. This is Florida's third commitment in a week. Lane joins forward Samson Ruzhentsev (6-7, 215, Moscow, Russia/Chattanooga, TN Hamilton Heights Christian) and Osayi Osifo (6-8, 210, McKinney, TX/Melbourne, FL Eastern Florida State College) in the UF recruiting class. The Gators are thought to be battling it with Clemson to land power forward P.J. Hall (6-9, 220, Roebuck, SC Dorman), another four-star recruit. SEC FOOTBALL STUFF #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): With the status of starting center Chris Owens (knee) in doubt, Alabama is practicing with Landon Dickerson at center and Deonte Brown at right guard. Brown was last year's starting right guard but was suspended by the NCAA for the first four games of 2019. Saturday: at #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC): Wide receiver Jordan Jones, who had surgery for a high ankle sprain back in August, is expected to make his 2019 debut Saturday evening against Kentucky. Saturday: at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) #12 Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC): Leading rusher Boobee Whitlow will be out 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery Tuesday. In the first six games of the season Whitlow ran for 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Saturday: Open #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Defensive tackle Jordan Davis (ankle) is expected to play against South Carolina but cornerback Tyson Campbell (foot) looks like he will be a game time decision. Saturday: vs. South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC) Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC): Sawyer Smith will get the start at quarterback against Arkansas. Wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. is expected to be the backup. Saturday: vs. Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) #6 LSU (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Wide receiver Terrence Marshall (20 catches, 304 yards, six touchdowns) missed the Utah State game with an injury. He was absent from practice Tuesday and his status for Saturday is up in the air … Coach O hopes to have linebacker Michael Divinity and defensive end Rashard Lawrence healthy for the Gators Saturday. Saturday: vs. #7 FLORIDA (6-0, 3-0 SEC) Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Quarterbacks Tommy Stevens and Garrett Shrader are both dinged up so HBC Joe Moorhead isn't certain which one will be available to start Saturday. Shrader has started the last two games, throwing for 389 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 214 yards and one TD. Saturday: at Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC): Quarterback Kelly Bryant says he's about 90% for Saturday's game with Ole Miss … With middle linebacker Garrett Cole done for the year, Cameron Wilkins is the new starter. Saturday: vs. Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC) Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC): Quarterback Matt Corrall, out the last two games with an injury, might be able to play Saturday at Missouri. The big question for HBC Matt Luke is can Corrall take a hit without further injuring himself. Saturday: at Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC) South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC): Freshman linebacker Derek Boykins has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Boykins was one of only two linebackers South Carolina signed for 2019. Saturday: at #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC): Radio host Tyler Ivens of The Sports Animal in Knoxville has vowed to stay on the roof of a local Toyota dealership until the Vols win another game. He's probably going to be up there awhile. Saturday: vs. Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC) #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): The Aggies are 5-11 at home against top 25 teams since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2012. Saturday: vs. #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Vanderbilt (1-4, 0-3 SEC): HBC Derek Mason says the Commodores haven't hit the panic button just yet, but says “we just got to be urgent” moving forward. Saturday: vs. UNLV (1-4) GOOD QUOTES FOR WEDNESDAY Duke basketball coach Mike Kryzyzewski issued a statement outlining his position on California's Fair Play to Pay law: “The Fair Pay to Play Act that was recently signed into law in California will likely lead to far-reaching change. We’ve already seen similar bills introduced in several states. I don’t – and won’t – pretend to understand all the complexities of such a change. However, it is a sign of the times that we in college athletics must continually adapt, albeit in a sensible manner. While we have made significant progress in recent years, we have not always responded to the needs and rights of our players swiftly, and frankly, we’re playing catch-up after years of stagnant rules. I hope and trust that not only will there be a plan to put the student-athletes’ best interests at the forefront, but that we’ll also have a firm plan for implementation at the national level. College athletics provides an amazing option for hundreds of thousands of talented men and women who choose to attend institutions across the country. We must adapt to ensure that it stays that way.” Seth Davis of The Athletic on Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few, who is quite content to remain at the small school in Spokane even though he could triple his salary by going to a Power Five or NBA job: “Sure, he could more than double his salary by moving elsewhere, but $1.7 million a year is plenty. He and Marcy are raising their four children in a lovely 4,600-square-foot home that sits on 30 acres and offers a spectacular view of Latah Valley. They are building a second home on Hayden Lake, a 45-minute drive away. For the most part, other schools have stopped trying to pry Few away, but some still give it a shot. Earlier this year, Few was contacted by Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers, an old pal who was helping his alma mater, UCLA, find a replacement for Steve Alford. Few told Myers thanks but no thanks and went back to work. After all these years, the Mark Few Sweepstakes finally appear to be over. Gonzaga won.” Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports on Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason: “Every July, Mason charismatically makes the case that the Commodores are going to be an improved contender in the SEC. Then the season starts, and the follow-through isn’t there. The sixth-year coach hasn’t had a winning season yet, and this doesn’t look like it will be one, either – Vandy is 1-4, with every loss by at least 18 points. That includes losses to Purdue and Ole Miss, two teams the Commodores should be competing with on relatively even terms. The only win is a six-pointer over Northern Illinois.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Former Baylor football coach Art Briles has Mount Vernon (TX) High School off to a 5-0 start but there are reports that all five games will be forfeited for using two ineligible players … Does this sound familiar? Jim McElwain is about to lose his quarterback due to a failed drug test over a substance banned by the NCAA. Central Michigan QB David Moore has been suspended for a full year after failing the test. Moore will appeal … The Tampa Bay Rays are heading back to Houston for game five of their American League Divisional Series matchup with the Astros. The Rays touched up Justin Verlander for three first inning runs and cruised to a 4-1 win Tuesday night at the Plastic Palace in St. Petersburg … At Duke Zion Williamson was listed at 6-7. Either Duke measured him with his shoes on or inflated his height because the NBA measurements, which are generally extremely accurate, have him at 6-6 … Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred warned the mayor and city council of Oakland that if they don't approve a new stadium for the Athletics he'll approve them to move to Las Vegas.

BURROW IS THE BEST QB THE GATORS HAVE SEEN SO FAR It was the combination of The Swamp going retro and returning to those thrilling days of yesteryear when deafness was only a silly decibel away and a defensive coordinator intent on making a true freshman quarterback rue the day he ever came to Gainesville in a visiting team's uniform that did in Auburn freshman Bo Nix Saturday. It's tough enough to play a defense like Florida's if you can hear the pitter patter of the feet of a church mouse at vespers, next to impossible when you're trying to play and think in the world's largest outdoor insane asylum while the defensive coordinator plays mind games with you. It was advantage Florida almost from the moment the Gators ran out on the field right after the intro video finished playing on the giant video boards at either end of The Swamp. Once foot hit football, the transformation of Bo Nix from legend in the making to freshman doing what freshmen tend to do in wild and crazy environments began. From the Auburn standpoint, Nix picked a fine time to come down with a severe case of freshmanitis. The Gators won't have the advantage of a constant barrage of ear-splitting noise working for them Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, nor will defensive coordinator Todd Grantham have the impressionable mind of a true freshman quarterback to screw around with. Instead, the Gators will have to figure out ways to impede the progress of LSU's fifth-year senior QB Joe Burrow, who is well on his way to becoming the greatest single-season passer in school history. Benefitting from a shift in offensive philosophy that began when LSU coach Ed Orgeron hired Joe Brady from the New Orleans Saints staff, Burrow has hit 127-162 passes (78.4%) for 1,864 yards (11.5 yards per attempt) and 22 touchdowns with only three interceptions in just five games. What a contrast to last year when the offense was rather pedestrian. In 13 games in 2018 after he came to LSU as an Ohio State grad transfer last year, Burrow was 219-379 (57.4%) for 2,894 yards (7.6 per attempt) and 16 touchdowns with five interceptions. While Burrow is the straw that stirs the Tigers' drink, he has benefitted from improved play from his receivers. Six LSU receivers have already caught 20 or more passes led by Justin Jefferson (30-547, seven touchdowns) and JaMarr Chase (23-451, six touchdowns). Chase had 10 catches for 229 yards and four touchdowns in LSU's 66-38 win over Vanderbilt a couple of weeks ago. "He's got great skill players around him; you can see his trust in those guys to go make plays out there,” Florida HBC Dan Mullen said at his Monday press conference. Mullen knows that Burrow presents challenges the Gators haven't seen in their six previous games. "He'll be the best quarterback, obviously, we've seen so far this year,” Mullen said. “He can make all the throws. He's got experience; he's been out there on the field. Playing in big games, that's not new for him; he's played in a bunch of big games.” And Saturday night at Tiger Stadium will be as big a game as there is in the country. LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC) comes into the game ranked sixth in the Associated Press poll while the Gators (6-0, 3-0 SEC) are ranked seventh. If there is an advantage for the Gators it is the fact they're coming off a win over then seventh-ranked Auburn while LSU was blowing out unranked Utah State of the Mountain West Conference. LSU has been established as a 13-1/2 point favorite largely because of Burrow and the offense. Nobody has been able to slow down that passing game so far, but let's be perfectly clear about one thing. While this LSU offense has been dynamic through its first five games, Auburn's offense had been pretty dynamic through its first five and we know how that turned out. Auburn hadn't seen a defense quite like Florida. Neither has LSU. SWAIN, DAVIS HONORED BY SEC Wide receiver Freddie Swain and safety Shawn Davis were singled out by the Southeastern Conference for their play against Auburn. Swain, who had a career day with six catches for 146 yards and a touchdown was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week while Davis, who had five tackles and an interception that he returned 41 yards was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Others honored by the league were Missouri linebacker Cole Garrett (Co-Defensive Player of the Week); Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship (Special Teams Player of the Week); Ole Miss offensive tackle Ben Brown (Offensive Lineman of the Week); Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown (Defensive Lineman of the Week); and Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee (Freshman of the Week). SEC FOOTBALL STUFF #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Starting center Chris Owens (knee) is still day-to-day. If Owens can't go Saturday against Texas A&M, Landon Dickerson will get the start. Saturday: at #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC): For the Hogs to score a win on the road Saturday in Lexington, they're going to have to get after whoever plays quarterback for Kentucky. Through five games, Arkansas has 15 sacks with the front four accounting for 11 of them. Saturday: at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) #12 Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC): On WJOX in Birmingham Monday, Paul Finebaum said Auburn's loss to Florida affects the remainder of the season – “A win there and you figure out a way to navigate the brutal three-game stretch that will define your season. Without the cushion of the Florida win, Auburn’s season is completely up in the air.” Saturday: Open #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Starting OG Solomon Kindley will be back for the South Carolina Game. HBC Kirby Smart says Kindley could have played against Tennessee if it had been necessary. Saturday: vs. South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC) Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC): After getting an entire week off from practice, HBC Mark Stoops anticipates a healthy Sawyer Smith will be the starting quarterback Saturday when the Wildcats play host to Arkansas. Saturday: vs. Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) #6 LSU (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Discussing how LSU plans to prepare for Florida's ferocious pass rush, Coach O said, “We have to be prepared for everything, but the biggest thing that we have to do in practice is simulate the speed of their defensive line, so we’re going to put our fastest guys on the rush team and rush our guys.” Saturday: vs. #7 FLORIDA (6-0, 3-0 SEC) Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Running back Kareem Walker, who came to MSU from juco after originally signing with Michigan in 2016, will take an academic redshirt according to HBC Joe Moorhead. Saturday: at Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC): The Tigers got good news and bad news Monday. First the good news. QB Kelly Bryant has been cleared to play Saturday after taking a nasty (and dirty) hit to the knee vs. Troy. The bad news is leading tackler Cole Garrett, who has three defensive touchdowns this year, will have surgery to repair a torn pectoral tendon. He's likely done for the year. Saturday: vs. Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC) Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC): Is there a quarterback controversy brewing in Oxford? Offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez says Ole Miss has “two starting quarterbacks” in freshman John Rhys Plumlee and redshirt freshman Matt Corrall. Plumlee was SEC Freshman of the Week after he ran for 165 yards and a TD and passed for 99 yards to lead Ole Miss past Vanderbilt. Corrall has missed the last two games after going down with an injury against California. Saturday: at Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC) South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC): With four available scholarships for the recruiting class of 2020, Will Muschamp said the South Carolina staff had “some very productive days” on the recruiting trail during last week's open date. Saturday: at #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC): Asked if he plans to start freshman quarterback Brian Maurer Saturday, Tennessee HBC Jeremy Pruitt said, “I think he'd have to have a bad week of practice not to.” Saturday: vs. Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC) #25 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): HBC Jimbo Fisher says there is no secret formula to beating Alabama. You just have to avoid “negative plays, penalties, turnovers, and you’ve got find a way to get big plays on offense.” Saturday: vs. #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Vanderbilt (1-4, 0-3 SEC): After giving up 512 offensive yards (413 on the ground) and the offense only producing six points in the loss to Ole Miss, HBC Derek Mason threatens major changes. Mason said, “There's a time you've got to draw a line in the dirt. The time has come.” Saturday: vs. UNLV (1-4) GOOD QUOTES FOR TUESDAY From Zach Goodall of Sports Illustrated on Florida's defense vs. Auburn: “Florida's defense has proven itself to be one of, if not the, best defense in the country. The pass rush, which was largely without defensive end Jabari Zuniga throughout the game, was giving Auburn quarterback Bo Nix a headache from start to finish, and the secondary capitalized with interceptions and great coverage … Auburn recorded 269 yards on the day, with only 100 in the first half. It's just about impossible to consistently move the ball against the Gators.” From Woody Wommack of Yahoo Sports on Miami under first year coach Manny Diaz: “When Manny Diaz was hired as the Miami coach last year, he promised to bring Miami back to its rightful place among the college football elite, even coining the term 'The New Miami.' The phrase was used to fire up the fanbase and kick start recruiting efforts, but after five games The New Miami is starting to look a lot like the old Miami. The Hurricanes are 2-3 on the season after a feverous comeback attempt fell short against Virginia Tech on Saturday and now might also have a quarterback controversy brewing.” From Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports on Kansas athletic director Jeff Long trying to explain away Snoop Dog's vulgarities when he performed at KU's version of midnight madness: “We made it clear to the entertainers' manager that we expected a clean version of the show and took additional steps to communicate to our fans, including moving the artist to the final act of the evening, to ensure that no basketball activities would be missed if anyone did not want to stay for his show. I take full responsibility for not understanding what acrobatic dancers are in today’s entertainment world and offer my apology to anyone who was offended. We strive to create a family atmosphere at Kansas and fell short of that this evening.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: The Washington Redskins fired HBC Jay Gruden after their blowout loss to the New England Patriots. Some sucker will want to go work for Dan Snyder and will eventually get fired, too. Snyder must hold some sort of NFL record for buyouts of fired coaches ... Speaking of the Redskins, SportsBetting.ag gives odds of 250-1 that Nick Saban will be the next head coach … Saturday night at halftime of the Stanford-Washington game in Palo Alto, the Stanford band played Afroman's song “Because I Get High” while spelling out VAPE in large block letters on the field … Wisconsin's All-Interplanetary running back Jonathan Taylor has scored a touchdown on all six of the Badgers' opening drives this season … Michigan torched Iowa for 10 (count 'em) points this past Saturday. Monday, Michigan HBC Jim Harbaugh said the Wolverines offense is close to hitting its stride. I did NOT make that up.

IT'S MONDAY, TIME TO FOCUS ON LSU Dan Mullen was borderline giddy Saturday night. He had high-fived hundreds of fans Florida fans on his way to the locker room after Florida's 24-13 kneecapping of then 7th-ranked Auburn. It was almost as if the electricity that consumed the 90,584 fans in The Swamp was recycling through his body and had assumed command of his brain. The Gators had used a relentless, pursuing defense and just enough big plays on offense to offset four turnovers while turning The Swamp into The Swamp of old. The place was intimidating, so loud that it was next to impossible to escape without a temporary case of tinnitus. When the music blared through the loudspeaker system, the joint was rocking. It was great to be a Florida Gator and Saturday night nobody felt greater than Dan Mullen. Leading up to Saturday's win over the visiting Tigers and again afterward, he made it perfectly clear that he fully expects The Swamp to once again be a visiting team's nightmare. Not just for the big games against the ranked teams, but for any team that makes the trip to Gainesville to face the Gators. Mullen's emotions were on full display in front of the media in the South End Zone meeting room. The 20 or so minutes he spent answering questions were a necessity before his own celebration began. He was wired and ready to enjoy this one. Even though this is his 11th year as a head coach – second at Florida – you never grow weary of winning big games in front of a jam-packed stadium and with millions watching on television. With the wins come the celebrations but there is a time and a place to celebrate. For Mullen Saturday night would do. Sunday he and his coaches were breaking down the film of the Auburn win and going through LSU's latest win. Monday morning, Auburn is the past and LSU is the future, the next step on Mullen's plan to not only restore The Swamp to its intimidating past, but the entire Florida football program. Mullen said, "We're going to turn on that film on Monday and go watch LSU and know we've got to head to Death Valley and say, 'If we want to be there, go do it.' It's up to the guys in this room. When we get in here on Monday morning, the guys in this room will make that decision if we want to be there or not. If this year's team is going to be the team that's ready for us to be there." GATORS MOVE UP TO #7 IN BOTH POLLS With their win over then #7 Auburn Saturday, the Gators moved up three spots to #7 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and one spot to #7 in the Coaches poll. Alabama and Clemson remain 1-2 in both polls but there was a change at #3 in the AP poll where Ohio State moved into a tie with Georgia. The Associated Press Top 25 Poll Alabama 5-0; (2) Clemson 5-0; (3, TIE) Ohio State 5-0 and Georgia 5-0; (5) LSU 5-0; (6) Oklahoma 5-0; (7) FLORIDA 6-0; (8) Wisconsin 5-0; (9) Notre Dame 4-1; (10) Penn State 5-0; (11) Texas 4-1; (12) Auburn 5-1; (13) Oregon 4-1; (14) Boise State 5-0; (15) Utah 4-1; (16) Michigan 4-1; (17) Iowa 4-1; (18) Arizona State 4-1: 19) Wake Forest 5-0; (20) Virginia 4-1; (21) SMU 6-0; (22) Baylor 5-0; (23) Memphis 5-0; (24) Texas A&M 3-2; (25) Cincinnati 4-1 The Coaches Top 25 Poll Alabama 5-0; (2) Clemson 5-0; (3) Georgia 5-0; (4) Ohio State 6-0; (5) Oklahoma 5-0; (6) LSU 5-0; (7) FLORIDA 6-0; (8) Wisconsin 5-0; (9) Penn State 5-0; (10) Notre Dame 4-1; (11) Texas 4-1; (12) Auburn 5-1; (14) Boise State 5-0; (15) Utah 4-1; (16) Michigan 4-1; (17) Wake Forest 5-0; (18) Iowa 4-1; (19) Virginia 4-1; (20) Memphis 5-0; (21) Texas A&M 3-2; (22) SMU 6-0; (23) Baylor 5-0; (24) Arizona State 4-1; (25) Missouri 4-1 RANKING THE SEC TOP TO BOTTOM (1) Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Alabama is on pace to eclipse last year's record setting offensive pace. Through five games the Crimson Tide is averaging 8.3 yards per offensive play (5.3 per rush attempt, 11.2 per pass attempt). Tua Tagovailoa has 23 touchdown passes through five games. He had 43 in 15 games last year. Next Saturday: at #24 Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC) (2) LSU (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Joe Burrow threw for 344 yards and five touchdowns in the win over Utah State. For the season, Burrow has thrown for 1,864 yards and 22 touchdowns … In holding Utah State to just six points, the Tigers allowed only 159 total yards and picked off three passes. Next Saturday: vs. #7 FLORIDA (6-0, 3-0 SEC) (3) Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Georgia's offense (42.8 points per game) is one of the most balanced in the country. The Bulldogs are passing for 262.2 yards and rushing for 250 per game. Jake Fromm is 86-111 passing for 1,076 yards (9.7 per attempt) with eight TDPs and no interceptions. Next Saturday: vs. South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC) (4) FLORIDA (6-0, 3-0 SEC): The Gators rank #5 nationally in scoring defense (9.5 points per game), #15 in rushing defense (93 yards), #18 in pass defense (183.3), #10 in total defense (276.3), #3 in sacks (26 for -164 yards) and #1 in interceptions (12). Next Saturday: at #5 LSU (5-0, 1-0 SEC) (5) Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC): Against Florida, quarterback Bo Nix played like the true freshman he is. He completed 11-27 passes for 145 yards (5.4 per attempt). Take away the two big pass plays (32-yard touchdown, 46-yard gainer) and he averaged 2.68 yards per pass attempt. Next Saturday: Open (6) Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC): The big concern at Missouri is the health of quarterback Kelly Bryant, who left the Troy game after taking a cheap shot to the knee. HBC Barry Odom said post game that the Bryant injury doesn't appear to have long term implications … Missouri's defense, ranked second nationally, is led by Cale Garrett, who has 42 tackles, three interceptions and three touchdowns. Next Saturday: vs. Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC) (7) Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 SEC): The Aggies are allowing only 299.8 yards per game, which ranks #23 nationally in total defense. This week they'll be trying to slow down an Alabama offense that averages 51.8 points and 554.6 yards per game. Next Saturday: vs. #1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) (8) Ole Miss (3-3, 2-1 SEC): Ole Miss ran for 443 yards in its win over Vanderbilt with freshman QB John Rhys Plumlee going for 165. True freshman running backs Snoop Conner and Jerion Ealy got into the act with Conner breaking off an 88-yard TD run and Ealy torching Vandy for a 78-yard TD. Next Saturday: at Missouri (4-1, 1-0 SEC) (9) Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC): Grad transfer QB Tommy Stevens, who has been hobbled with injuries the last couple of weeks, was back in Happy Valley for Penn State's homecoming game over the weekend. Next Saturday: at Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC) (10) South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC): Running back Rico Dowdle (ankle) is expected back for Saturday's game with Georgia. Backup QB Dakereon Joyner (hamstring) is day-to-day. Offensive lineman DJ Wonnum will be out another 2-3 weeks. Next Saturday: at #3 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) (11) Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC): The Wildcats might not know until midweek who's going to play QB against Arkansas. They're hoping to get Sawyer Smith back but if he can't go, then it will be either backup Walker Wood or wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr., who was a gifted high school QB. Next Saturday: vs. Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) (12) Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC): Arkansas could see the return of three injured wide receivers at Kentucky this week – Trey Knox (hip), De'Vion Warren (concussion) and Mike Woods (hip). Next Saturday: at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) (13) Vanderbilt (1-4, 0-3 SEC): Vandy has one of the most talented running backs in the country in Ke'Shawn Vaughn but has all sorts of troubles running the ball. Vaughn had 69 yards against Ole Miss but his teammates combined for -7 yards. Next Saturday: vs. UNLV (1-4) (14) Tennessee (1-4, 0-2 SEC): The Vols are the only team from a Power Five program that doesn't have a win over a Division I team. Next Saturday: vs. Mississippi State (3-2, 1-1 SEC) ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL Oregon (4-1) is the Pac-12's last and only hope to make the College Football Playoff after Washington (4-2) got taken down by the same Stanford (3-3) team that got the scorched earth treatment by UCF. For all the well-deserved talk about Ohio State's explosive offense (49.3 points, 534.5 yards per game), the Buckeyes rank third nationally in total defense (234 yards and 8.8 points per game). That same Michigan (4-1) defense that gave up 359 yards to Wisconsin (5-0) a couple of weeks ago, held Iowa (4-1) to one rushing yard Saturday. So has Michigan improved dramatically or is Iowa just that challenged in the run game? All the Heisman talk centers around the quarterbacks, but Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin (5-0) is making his own Heisman statement. In the 48-0 win over Kent State, Taylor ran for 189 yards and four touchdowns while catching passes for 29 yards and another TD. For the season, Taylor has run for 745 yards and 12 touchdowns while catching 12 passes for 114 yards and four more. UCLA (1-4) has officially hit rock bottom after losing to Oregon State (2-3), 48-31. Prior to the win over UCLA, Oregon State's only win was over D1AA Cal Poly. Les Koenning, who served as Dan Mullen's offensive coordinator at Mississippi State from 2009-13, was fired as offensive coordinator at Kansas by Les Miles. Through six games, Kansas is averaging 22.8 points and 354.5 yards per game. GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY From Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports, Dan Mullen wasn't Florida's first choice to replace Jim McElwain but he has proven he was certainly the best choice: “Florida wanted Chip Kelly. Then Florida wanted Scott Frost. It got neither, “settling” on the guy who had the best run in Mississippi State history. After beating previousy undefeated Auburn 24-13 Saturday in The Swamp, Mr. Third Choice is now 6-0 this season and 16-3 since taking the job … Kelly at UCLA, after a brutal home loss to Oregon State: 4-14. Bruins’ final 18 games before Kelly: 7-11 ... Frost at Nebraska, after a 13-10 victory over Northwestern over Saturday: 8-10. Cornhuskers’ final 18 games before Frost: 6-12.” From Dan Kane of the News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) on how North Carolina escaped sanctions from the NCAA for its academic fraud case a couple of years ago: “UNC escaped NCAA sanctions by claiming the classes did not violate university rules at the time they were offered, and the classes were made available to all students. But the prosecutor’s investigation found academic counselors to the athletes, particularly in the money-making sports of men’s basketball and football, knew that the secretary was creating the classes and grading them. Those counselors steered athletes to the classes, helping to explain why athletes accounted for nearly half of the enrollments while making up less than 5 percent of the student body.” From Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports on how Ohio State has become scary good under first year HBC Ryan Day, who was a grad assistant at Florida for Urban Meyer in 2005-06: “And that’s where the credit needs to be shifted to Day, as there are plenty of teams where the sum doesn’t become greater than their parts. He’s fast-forwarded the development of quarterback Justin Fields and overseen the resuscitation of a defense from historically bad to top five under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Perhaps more importantly, he’s kept a program that spent 2018 ensconced in drama without a single tense moment on or off the field. The highest compliment to Day is that this Ohio State team has taken on his personality – focused, understated and highly competitive.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank expressed his confidence in HBC Dan Quinn after the Falcons were clobbered 53-32 by the Houston Texans Sunday. Bet the farm Quinn's on a short leash now … St. Louis Cardinals' relief pitcher Ryan Helsley, a member of the Cherokee Nation, says he is offended by the Atlanta Braves use of the tomahawk chop, which he says depicts Native Americans as “caveman-people way who aren't intellectual” … Kyler Murray had the best game of his still young NFL career Sunday when he threw for 253 yards and ran for 93 yards and a touchdown to lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 26-23 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

As Kyle Trask sat in the training room at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium waiting for the medical diagnosis for his injured knee, he was more concerned with what was going on with Emory Jones, who had replaced him at quarterback in the second quarter. When told that Jones had taken the Gators down the field for a field goal to extend the lead over Auburn to 17-13, Trask said, “I was so happy, and I'm so proud of him. You know, he works really hard, I just couldn't be more proud.” Then came the trainers with news about his injury. For that, Trask had no idea what to expect. He was hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. He had felt a pop in his knee when he went down and he was in pain, but still had no clue the extent of the injury. “I didn't know what I was about to hear, and I was kind of ready to hear the worst I guess,” Trask said. Rather than bad news, Trask was told he had a sprained MCL, a painful injury but not debilitating like a torn ACL. There was a huge sigh of relief when told he could go back into the game. He knew that “knees are nothing to play around with” but he had confidence in the training staff that he would be fine if he could handle the discomfort. When he ran out the tunnel to return to the game, the crowd of 90,584 roared its approval. When he went back in the ball game the next time the Gators had the football, it not only sent a message to the overflow crowd at The Swamp, but a clear message to his teammates that he was tough enough to take whatever Auburn was dishing out. With less than four minutes to go in the game and the Gators needing a first down to keep the clock moving, Trask further demonstrated his toughness when he caught a throwback pass from Lucas Krull for a first down. It was just a four-yard pass that turned a third-and-one into a first down, but it was yet another clear signal that Kyle Trask was a tough guy playing in the kind of game where only the toughest walk away with a victory. * * * In the fourth quarter with the Gators still leading 17-13, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham dialed up a jailbreak blitz that caught Auburn freshman quarterback Bo Nix by complete surprise. When his first escape move didn't work and more Gators broke through his firewall of protection, Nix should have hit the turf. That's what a veteran quarterback would have done. But Nix isn't a veteran and on this day he showed the world he's still a rookie going through on-the-job training. Nix doubled back and found himself surrounded by three Gators. He might have tried to reverse his field again, but his feet went out from under him. Third-and-eight was now fourth-and-30. Auburn had to punt. It was a good punt, high and unreturnable. Florida was pinned back at its own 12 which meant Auburn was still in good shape to get the ball back and put together a winning touchdown drive if only the Tigers could get another three-and-out. That was Auburn's plan but it only took one play to stick a nine-inch stiletto deep in the Tigers heart and the guy who did it was the kid they never offered a scholarship back when he was lighting up defenses at Mobile (AL) Theodore. Lamical Perine broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, saw daylight to his right and accelerated to the sideline. At the 35, he legged it past a diving Tiger and then only had to outrun the rest of the Auburn defense the final 65 yards. As he turned on the jets to complete this dramatic 88-yard touchdown run that put the Tigers out of their misery, it wasn't just business. This was personal. “I wanted them [Auburn] to know,” he said as he stood at the podium speaking to the media in the South End Zone meeting room post game. “I wanted them to understand that it meant a lot to me to get out there and to even make that big-time play.” You see, there was a reason Auburn never offered Perine a scholarship. They thought – wrongly as it turned out – that he was too slow. At the game's biggest moment Saturday, the fastest guys on an Auburn defense renowned for its team speed couldn't even think about catching the guy who was too slow. All they could do is chase him all the way to the South End Zone. For a guy who was too slow, he looked pretty darn fast. * * * There is something quite similar in the stories of Trask and Perine. Trask is the quarterback no big schools wanted because he never started in high school. The only reason he's at Florida was he came to camp here and threw the ball so well the previous [pre-Dan Mullen] coaching staff thought they had found the ultimate diamond in the rough. Perine is here because the two schools every kid in the state of Alabama grows up wanting to play for – Alabama and Auburn – didn't want him. We really shouldn't be all that surprised that Mullen's offensive schemes are working at Florida nor should we be surprised that he's taken guys that other people didn't want (like Trask and Perine) and turned them into players who can rise to the occasion on big stages like the one Saturday. When he was at Mississippi State, Mullen's offenses put points on the scoreboard and did it with players the Alabamas and Auburns of the world – and yes, the Floridas, too – wouldn't have given a second look. At some point in the near future, Mullen's track record for winning and developing talent is going to resonate with recruiting classes that create the kind of depth that hasn't been seen at Florida since the days when Mullen was Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator and some of the big names on offense were Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin among others. Oh, you can count on Mullen still looking for that next Dak Prescott, who Alabama and others thought might make a fine college linebacker, but winning and scoring points is going to attract some truly elite talent in the future. "When I was here before we had elite offensive players at every position and on the bench,” Mullen said Saturday evening. “I don't know that we're at that point yet, but we're working to get there. We'll work to get there, but we have guys that believe in [what we're doing as a team] and expect to win. When I left I think we were rolling people like 59-7 in SEC games and stuff like that. Or something ridiculous. But we'll get there." SOME GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE AUBURN WIN Freddie Swain had a career day with six catches for 164 yards and a touchdown. We know that Auburn didn't recruit Lamical Perine because they thought he was too slow. They must have thought the same thing about Swain because they kept matching him up with a linebacker. Check out that touchdown catch when Swain not only left Auburn linebacker KJ Britt in his tracks but turned on the jets and outran everybody else in the Auburn secondary. Three times when Auburn was facing third-and-short, David Reese was in on the tackle to stop Boobie Whitlow short of a first down. Big time players show up big in the biggest games and Reese made his presence known with 13 tackles. Jonathan Greenard didn't get a sack but he harassed Bo Nix and helped make the Auburn QB look like a lost ball in the tall weeds a good portion of the game. He was credited with three quarterback hurries. It seemed like he had at least twice that many. He also nailed Whitlow for no gain on a third-and-one on Auburn's first possession. Florida's secondary came up with three interceptions. There were two blown coverages on a 32-yard touchdown pass and a 46-yard completion but two blown coverages are tolerable when you also pick off three passes in critical situations. The one-handed pick by Shawn Davis and his twisting, turning 41-yard return were spectacular. With CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson at the corners, Auburn had trouble getting people open on vertical routes on the outside. Emory Jones went into the game cold in the second quarter when Trask went down and led the Gators to a field goal. He completed 5-7 passes for 28 yards and ran three times for 13 more. Tight end Lucas Krull didn't get a pass thrown his way, but he contributed in a big way when he took a handoff from Trask and sold tight end around to the Auburn defense before making the nice throwback to Trask for the first down in the fourth quarter. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham used the blitz judiciously and that confused Bo Nix. Nix kept waiting for the Gators to bring the house but for the most part, they got pressure with only a three- or four-man rush. In the second half, Grantham unleashed a jailbreak blitz that turned a third-and-eight into a fourth-and-30 then later got another sack when James Houston came up the gut on a delayed blitz. In both situations, Nix never knew what was coming. The Gators outrushed Auburn 132-124. Auburn came into the game averaging 251 yards per game but managed only 3.6 yards per carry. Alabama native Evan McPherson kicked a 41-yard field goal, made all three of his extra points and four of his five kickoffs were touchbacks. Despite a fake punt that didn't go so well, Tommy Townsend spent the day flipping the field (averaged 47.1 per punt). SOME NOT SO GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE AUBURN WIN Four fumbles. Three of them were by Trask, but only one was caused by the Auburn defensive line. The other two were on blitzes that nobody picked up. The curious no call on KJ Britt who knocked Dameon Pierce out of the game with a helmet-to-helmet hit. Not only was a zebra standing right there, close enough to see it without an impeded view, but the replay booth in Birmingham must have overdosed on Alleve PM. Too many times Nix had a clear field ahead of him so he ran for positive yards. The fake punt in the second quarter was the wrong call. Auburn had it well defended and it cost the Gators a touchdown. Jean Delance had real problems handling speed off the edge and the three interior guys – Nick Buchanan, Chris Bleich and Brett Heggie – had days they would like to forget trying to neutralize Derrick Brown.

No you weren’t dreaming. Yes that really happened. The No. 7 Florida Gators defeated the No. 12 Auburn Tigers (No. 10 and 7 respectively at game time) 24-13 in front of a packed, absolutely insane Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It’s not going to get any easier for the Gators as they now head to Baton Rouge for a date with No. 5 LSU on Saturday night. But still, the Top 10 win against Auburn was special and deserves our attention for at least another day. So taking a note from Dan Mullen’s speech to the team shown in the HBO special, we’re going to let ourselves enjoy this win. As you head back to work on Monday, here’s everything you need to know for your watercooler topics from Florida-Auburn. Go watch the HBO special If you haven’t watched the HBO special on the Florida Gators yet, go, right now. Well finish this article first, but then go watch it because it’s so, so, so good. For someone who gets paid to write words, those aren’t eloquent enough to do justice for the documentary but I don’t want to try to match the hour long program. The Gators are the first of four teams that the specialty channel followed to document a week of preparation. It was an incredible inside look into a week of practice, how this staff runs the program and the easy going yet intense personality of this team. It’s worth signing up for the free 7-day trial just to see the documentary. The Gator's defense Is legit Credit where credit is due, that was a heck of a game plan by Todd Grantham. The defensive coordinator game in with the perfect call sheet to stifle Auburn’s offense and he never lost faith in its success. Granted, he never had a reason to lose faith as the defense was smothering all day. In all, Grantham’s crew held Auburn to 269 total yards. The Tigers had been averaging 454.4 per game. All game, the defensive line dominated Auburn’s offensive line and kept pressure on freshman quarterback Bo Nix. There were three quarterback hurries and two sacks along with four takeaways. Grantham actually scaled back his aggressive pressure nature and asked his defense to play deeper, allowing them to stop the run more and take away passing options from the Tigers threatening receivers. It’s a sign of a good coach to come up with a successful game plan and stick with it; it’s a sign of a great coach to change his mindset and nature, knowing what’s needed in a particular game, while not loosing their personality. So is Auburn's Don’t let anyone tell you Auburn was overrated and their defense isn’t legit after this loss and giving up 398 offensive yards to the Gators. The Kevin Steele squad was scary and stayed tough up front all day. Where they were soft was the secondary and that’s what the Gators were able to take advantage of with slants—like the touchdown to Freddie Swain—or getting a runner to the outside and only having to deal with one deep safety—like the touchdown run by Lamical Perine. But in the front seven, Auburn was stout and as advertised. They held the Gators to 132 yards rushing, with 88 of those coming on the aforementioned Perine play. Derrick Brown was an absolute freak off the line as well. He had a sack on Kyle Trask, leading to a fumble and it was all Brown. As he came off the right edge of the offensive line, Brown chopped down on Trask’s arm as he threw. It caused the fumble and Brown returned for 11 yards before tackled by Trask. Earlier in the day, a sack by K.J. Britt caused a fumble that Brown returned for 42 yards and would’ve been a score had the big man not run out of energy. The front seven as a whole forced two QB hurries and had seven tackles for loss (four sacks). Both teams had very few miscues It would be easy to look at this game and say both offenses floundered. That’d also be a little lazy. So much of the offenses miscues were forced by the elite defenses, of which we’ve already discussed. Each team had one really bad miscue. For the Gators, it was a defensive breakdown when CJ Henderson and Donovan Stiner played two different coverages, a rare occurrence for the two cerebral players. And for Auburn, Nix dancing his way backwards into a self inflicted 22-yard sack and out of field goal range was a freshman mistake. We could say that each offense had four turnovers, but it’s more like each defense had four takeaways. Yes the Gators offensive line needs to continue to grow and doing so will eliminate some of that pressure that has led to fumbles. The Tigers have to work with their young passer on when to take sacks, when to throw it away, etc. Overall though, this was more of a defensive win than the offenses losing. Emory Jones is going to be fine There was a scary moment when Kyle Trask had to jog to the locker room with an unknown injury. For a team and fan base that’d already seen their starting quarterback—Feleipe Franks—knocked out for the season three weeks earlier, everyone collectively held their breath. Trask ended up returning to the game to ample cheers and was able to play again. Mullen described the injury as a mild MCL sprain and both he and Trask said the QB is fine to go moving forward. During his absence, redshirt freshman Emory Jones stepped in and did just fine. Quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson told Gator Bait two weeks ago that he trust Jones to run the entire offensive playbook just as if Franks or Trask would. During his snaps against Auburn, Jones threw the ball seven times (completing five for 28 yards) and ran three times for 13 yards. Most of the throws were quick screens or slants. He did however hit Freddie Swain back-to-back with 14-yard and 20-yard completions. The variety of plays confirmed what Johnson was saying. That if Jones has to go back in—and when it’s his time to take over—nothing much will change offensive wise. Let’s talk takeaways The Gators lead the country in interceptions (15) and total takeaways (17). They had 26 all of last season. Seven different guys have nabbed an interception and three have forced fumbles. Three came down with interceptions on Saturday—Shawn Davis, Donovan Stiner and Marco Wilson. Stiner's explanation of the play echo's others who've explained this is not luck. It's preparation. "It was a zone coverage so I was just reading the quarterbacks eye’s," explained Stiner. "He definitely didn’t see me...I think he was trying to throw it to the guy our corner was on, who was kinda behind me. I think he just missed me so he didn’t see me right there.” It’s a ball hawk defense surpassing even that of 2015. Florida doesn’t have chains or medals or trash cans or backpacks. But they do have Shawn Davis, the safety tied for 4th in the country with three interceptions and who leads the country in interception returns with 11 yards. Physicality wins out In a game that featured two modern offensively minded coaches, this was an old school, physical, trenches, defensive game. Thanks to the rigid regiment Nick Savage requires of the Florida players, they were ready for such a game. Said Mullen, “I thought we did a really good job being physical at the line of scrimmage. I mean everyone coming in the game said Auburn’s going to dominate both lines of scrimmage and their great players made some dominating plays but it’s hard to look at the stat line and say that Auburn dominated the line of scrimmage tonight.: Home field advantage wins out The home field advantage also won out The Swamp packed in 90,584 screaming fans and it was beyond loud the entire 60 minutes. It forced the Tigers into three false start penalties and admittedly rattled Bo Nix who said, “It was really loud & we had trouble hearing the clap for the cadence. Sometimes we had slow communication. Stuff like that happens. Every team that walks into The Swamp has communication issues, but we just didn't do anything to make up for those.” The Gators will now travel to Baton Rouge for another Top 10 matchup against No. 5 LSU. Florida opened as a 13 point underdog and the line was sitting at 14.5 at the time of publication, according to Circa Sports and Bet Online. The game will kickoff at 8pm ET on ESPN.

Dan Mullen cracked a can of Pepsi, cracked a smile and let out an audible sigh of relief. “Just a regular day in The Swamp.” No matter the jest or sarcasm inserted into the statement, it rings true. This is a regular day in The Swamp; or at least it has been of late. The No. 10 Florida Gators knocked off the No. 7 Auburn Tigers 24-13 in the first Top 10 matchup in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium since 2012. It means Mullen’s squad is undefeated, sitting at 6-0, 3-0 in the SEC. It’s the Tigers first loss of the season. In so many ways, it mirrored the Gators 27-19 win over the LSU Tigers last season in The Swamp. It echoed the sheer refusal mindset that helped Florida defeat the Miami Hurricanes to kick off the season. It harkened to the unbreakable spirit that helped the Gators reel off a 19-point comeback to beat the Kentucky Wildcats after quarterback Feleipe Franks was lost to a season ending injury. This game, at the mid-way point of the season, has become the culmination of the message Dan Mullen and his staff have been preaching since arriving in Gainesville December 2018. Live up to the Gator standard and don’t let go of the rope; never flinch, and to paraphrase Tom Petty, don’t back down. It's a message Mullen has asked for buy-in for from the team, the staff, the fans and the entire program as as whole. And on a day when the Gators wore throwback 1960's uniforms, on Homecoming weekend and with a slew of former players on the sideline, the helped remind us all what the Gator Standard is in this classic SEC rivalry. The win wasn’t always pretty and it was downright wild in the beginning. Florida won the toss and elected to defer. With the sun beaming directly onto Steve Spurrier Florida Field, the 90,584 in attendance came of one throat and created a wall of sound that could probably be heard in Lake City. From there the defense set the tone. BUCK Jon Greenard (6 tackles, 3 QB hurries) took down Auburn freshman quarterback Bo Nix (11-27, 145 yards 1 TD, 3 INT; 10 rushes, 18 yards) as the ball was released, credited as a QB hurry, and two plays later the Tigers were forced to punt. Overall Florida’s defense forced Auburn to go 2-14 on 3rd downs for the day. On the Gators ensuing drive, Kyle Trask (19-31, 234, 2 TD) found Freddie Swain (6-146 yards, 1 TD) on a slant. Swain cut to midfield and saw receiver Van Jefferson blocking an Auburn defender for him. From there, it was gravy. "I just had a one-on-one route where it was me versus the linebacker,” says Swain of the 66-yard touchdown. “I went inside, I got a great block from Van that allowed me to turn up and kind of score with it, so I give credit to Van…as soon as I caught it and turned up I kind of looked at that this safety and seen Van turn up here, that's why I kind of ran ahead of Van and he made a block. “That touchdown right there was good, it gave us a confidence booster.” On the Tigers ensuing drive, AU head coach Gus Malzahn was forced to call a timeout after Nix took the play clock down to zero. It was a result of an unrelenting barrage of sound from the crowd. By the end of the day, Auburn had been lured into three false starts. Nix explained the miscommunication saying, "It was really loud & we had trouble hearing the clap for the cadence. Sometimes we had slow communication. Stuff like that happens. Every team that walks into The Swamp has communication issues, but we just didn't do anything to make up for those.” “I think we got the best fans in college football,” countered safety Shawn Davis (5 tackles, 1 interception). “I felt like when the game started, we got to [Nix], like, Greenard was getting to the backfield so fast, so he was just grounding the ball. So, I feel like we started out pretty fast on defense.” For Mullen, that response by the Gator fans are what he’s been asking for, building and hoping to achieve on a consistent basis. The Swamp, I guess this is how is how the Swamp used to be. This is what the Swamp is, this is what we expect it to be, is that home-field advantage,” bragged the head coach. "The most electric environment in college football, the loudest stadium in college football. We need the Gator Nation to be able to give that effort just like the team give, all the time, like they did today. It’s hard for any team to get in here and come for a win if that’s how the crowd is going to be. They did an unbelievable job today.” The crowd and the defense had to do an unbelievable job on the next five drives that threw this entire game into a college football kaleidoscope and said ‘let’s get funky.’ The drives went like this: Gators quarterback Kyle Trask was sacked, causing a fumble that Auburn recovered. The defense held them to a field goal to make it 7-3. Next drive, running back Dameon Pierce was hit helmet to helmet and was knocked out the game. Mullen said after the game they’d find out if anything is wrong, injury wise. On the hit, Pierce fumbled. Auburn recovered and was again held to a field goal, but now in a 1-point game. Then a 62-yard Tommy Townsend punt was fumbled by Auburn fumbled and Bama native Jeremiah Moon (2 tackles, fumble recovery) recovered at the Tigers 2-yard line. An unsportsmanlike call on Kyree Campbell backed up the Gators to the 17-yard line which meant when Derrick Brown had his first of two sacks on Kyle Trask, and popped the ball loose, he didn’t have as far to go 42-yard return to the UF 35-yard line. However two plays later, Nix went deep down the sideline and Davis was there. The safety, returning from injury that held him out last week, jumped and tipped the ball down one handed into his waiting arms. He returned the interception 41 yards. “I’d seen that the receiver was going vertical, he didn’t really sell it much, but I knew he was going for a route. He wasn’t going to block. So I just like stayed home and the quarterback just threw it anyway,” explained Davis. Florida scored on a 13-yard crossing route to Josh Hammond (2-23, 1TD) off the turnover. Then two drives later, the Gators went for a fake punt on 4th and 3 that came up short. Auburn scored their only touchdown of the day, a 32-yard pass to Seth Williams, off the turnover. By that point we were only mid-way through the second quarter. But the Gators, having listened to the message Mullen has been preaching for the past two years, didn’t flinch. This staff has been working to recreate a program, build more than just a team but an identity, and doing so requires “living up to the Gator standard” and “not dropping the rope,” the latter being a Nick Savage favorite during strength and conditioning drills. In the second half, the Gators outscored Auburn 7-0, building on a second half dominance this season. Florida has outscored opponents 112-17 in the second half through six games, including a 64-7 advantage in the fourth quarter alone. “The things that we go through in practice, how hard we work all offseason, like, we’ve got to meet the Gator Standard. Everybody expects us to work to the Gator Standard. So that’s what we’re trying to becoming and we’re punching in our head that we’re the Gators,” explained Davis. Kyle Trask agrees, “That Auburn defense is super tough. They're a tough team from top to bottom, and nothing was given to us in this game. It was all earned. That just comes from being resilient. This is one of the most resilient teams I've ever been a part of. That's just a result of us being dialed in throughout the week in preparation and that shows on Saturdays.” The Gators offense put up nearly 400 yards of offense on the Tigers defense that came in to the game giving up 320. The 398 total offensive yards included 266 passing, making this six consecutive games now the Gators have passed for 250+. It helped that the Florida defense held Malzahn’s offense to 269 total yards. In fact, Freddie Swain had more receiving yards, 146, then the Tigers did total passing (145). Todd Grantham's crew garnered two sacks and ended the day with three interceptions (Donovan Stiner and Marco Wilson in addition to Davis) and the Moon fumble recovery. It’s a mindset that Mullen has been preaching. “When you look at what we're trying to build and the type of program that we want to be: The guys believe in it. Offense, defense and special teams—it seems that all year when we could really use an offensive play, [today] an 88-yard touchdown run and we put the game away. We could use a first down and we get a first down We turned it over three straight times and put us in some bad positions. We could use a stop and a stop and a stop and we create a turnover. They get the ball in the red zone and we create a turnover in the red zone. We could use a big special teams play here and we get a big punt. “That's the guys buying into what we do. Nick Savage and the strength staff do an amazing job to get our guys in shape. We roll a lot of guys through and we tell them to get ready to play and they go in. That's great. You get these type of wins and they are team wins. They are awesome team wins. There are a lot of things we can clean up and get better at. The great thing about this team is they're going to enjoy this win. They're fired up. They're also going to pay attention to detail to the things they can improve on and get ready to go next week. "The other thing I thought we did a really good job being physical at the line of scrimmage. I mean everyone coming in the game said Auburn’s going to dominate both lines of scrimmage and their great players made some dominating plays but it’s hard to look at the stat line and say that Auburn dominated the line of scrimmage tonight." The 88-yard touchdown Mullen mentioned came off a Lamical Perine run that’s been brewing for six weeks. The senior running back has had to patiently wait while the offensive line put together some semblance of a run blocking scheme. But on Saturday, he broke off the run he’s been chipping away at all season. “Almost brought tears to my eyes. Just a big-time atmosphere and big-time crowd. I’m glad I was able to make that big-time play,” said Perine. “Honestly, I came out Monday morning, 8 o’clock team meeting, my mindset was totally different. I knew I had to make some big-time plays for my team. A lot of people doubted me, but I just continued to keep working and go out there and just try to help my teammates to this victory.” It was the longest touchdown run for a Florida player since Emmitt Smith’s 96-yard score against Mississippi State in 1988. The Gators legend was on the sidelines for the game and congratulated the Bama kid who was told he was too slow for Auburn during the recruiting process. “He came up to me after the game and was just like, ‘You did a great job man running the ball, fighting through adversity.’ That was big coming from a great guy like him.” Perine’s mindset while waiting for the line to gel has admittedly tested his patience. He’s seen the tweets and stories calling for him to be benched for Pierce, he’s seen the skewed stats provided without context. But as he’s done his entire time in Gainesville, he was patient. “Just control what I can control. I know I’m a big-time player and a lot of people, they doubt me sometimes, but I come in every day and give my all for my teammates. It was just an honor to be able to make a big play for this team, how much I go out and just go hard. I’m a humble guy, but everybody know when it’s time to play big games, I’m a guy they can look to.” That in itself echos the message Mullen has worked to make the foundation. “Just goes back to our preparation,” continued Perine. “A lot of things Coach Savage teaches us, Coach Mullen teaches us, they instilled that in our head and we just came out today and got the W. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle, we came out with that mindset, so we were ready for the dogfight today.” The dogfight continues next week against No. 4 LSU in Baton Rouge. The team gets one night to celebrate this big win, another part of the Gator Standard, Mullen wanting them to enjoy the game and the fun. But then it's back to work. The Gators will most likely be underdogs yet again, as they were this Saturday. That’s fine with them. They’re not living up to anyone else’s standard. They’re living up the Gator Standard.

On the final play of the first quarter Saturday afternoon at The Swamp, Auburn linebacker KJ Britt stripped Kyle Trask of the football at the Auburn 23-yard line. The scramble for the loose football was won by Auburn's 320-pound All-Planetary defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who needed only three or four steps to reach full speed once he secured possession. Brown instinctively swerved to his left and headed for the West sideline where he picked up a convoy of blockers. It was full steam ahead for the touchdown that was going to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. But a funny thing happened on the way to the end zone. Somewhere around the Florida 38 the grass gremlins did their thing and Brown went sprawling to the turf a full 35 yards away from glory land. Two plays later, freshman quarterback Bo Nix threw the first of his three interceptions on the afternoon, this one to Shawn Davis, who made a spectacular leaping one-handed grab at the Florida 26. By the time he was brought down 41 yards later and deep in Auburn territory, Auburn's Jack Driscoll had committed a personal foul that tacked another 15 yards onto the runback. A couple plays later, Trask found Josh Hammond on a crossing pattern that was good for 13 yards and a touchdown that gave the Gators a 14-6 lead. Late in the third quarter with Auburn trailing the Gators, 17-13, Florida busted a coverage on a vertical route run by the Tigers' Seth Williams. Williams was all alone around the Florida 18 without a single Gator defender in the same area code. Nix's pass was a little high but not so high that Williams couldn't reach up and snag it then waltz his way into the end zone. But another funny thing happened on the way to the end zone. Another set of grass gremlins got into the act. As Williams came down with the ball, his feet caught in the turf and he went sprawling forward to the 13. It was a 46-yard gain and the biggest offensive play Auburn would make all day, but instead of a go-ahead TD, the Tigers still had work to do. Two plays and a false start later, Nix didn't see Donovan Stiner in the end zone when he cut loose with pass that hit Stiner on the numbers for an easy interception. For all the critical stops the Florida defense made on this day, two of the bigger plays were made by the grass gremlins. Sometimes the margins that separate victory and defeat are as simple as a cleat catching in the turf. Most people would call those two plays lucky breaks and they would be right, but that would also diminish all the critical stops the 10th-ranked Gators (6-0, 3-0 SEC) made to put away the 7th-ranked Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC), 24-13. In the first quarter, for example, Auburn couldn't convert the first two of the three Florida fumbles into touchdowns, settling instead for field goals. After the second fumble, Florida's Jeawon Taylor and David Reese stopped Auburn tailback Boobie Whitlow in his tracks on a third-and-three at the UF 21.That was the second time in the quarter (the first was on Auburn's initial possession) when Whitlow was nailed for no gain (Reese and Adam Shuler In the second quarter with the Gators leading Auburn 14-6, Luke Ancrum and Mohamoud Diabate combined to hold Whitlow to one yard on a third-and-two, forcing a punt. Reese and Jeremiah Moon tackled Whitlow for no gain in the third quarter when the Tigers faced a third-and-one. Later in the third quarter, Jonathan Greenard harassed Nix into a bad throw that CJ Henderson broke up on a third-and-nine. Early in the fourth quarter, Trask was sacked and stripped of the football by Brown, who returned it to the Auburn 40. Four plays later, the Tigers faced third-and-eight at the Florida 38. For the most part, Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham had been content to rush three or four and drop everybody else in coverage, but on this play he brought the house. Nix was startled by the Florida jailbreak rush so he retreated and tried to double back twice. Surrounded by Gators, he slipped and fell 22 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Following the Auburn punt, Lamical Perine broke a couple of tackles and then sprinted to an 88-yard touchdown that gave the Gators the 24-13 lead. On Auburn's next possession, James Houston got a third down sack of Nix, forcing the Tigers to go for it on fourth down. This time, the Gators dropped everyone in coverage. Nix tried to run for it but was stopped six yards shy of the first down. Marco Wilson got Florida's third and final interception on the next Auburn possession. Florida needed every one of these big plays from the defense because it was a rather strange day for the offense. While Trask threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns; while Freddie Swain had a career day (six catches for 146 yards and a TD); and while Lamical Perine ran for more yards (130) than the entire Auburn team (124), the Gators did force the defense to play like its hair was on fire. Normally, you lose big when you turn the ball over four times and then botch a fake punt deep in your own territory that leads to a touchdown by the bad guys. But for all the near disasters, the Gators had enough defensive answers to dominate the game. Auburn was not going to pound the Gators. Not on this day. Not against this defense. Florida held Auburn to 2-14 on third down conversions. The Tigers' vaunted running game (averaging 251 yards per game prior to Saturday) managed only 3.6 yards per attempt. Nix went 11-27 passing for 145 yards. Put into better perspective, if you take away the 46-yard pass to Williams and a 32-yarder that went for a TD on a blown coverage and he managed just 67 yards on his other 25 attempts. That Auburn offense came into the game averaging 38 points and 454.4 yards per game but the Tigers scored only one touchdown and struggled for 269 yards against the Gators. This was an elite performance by an elite defense and yet, for all their defensive heroics, the difference between victory and defeat was two plays that had absolutely nothing to do with Florida's tackling, pursuit or scheme. Perhaps on any other Saturday, Brown never stumbles and falls when he has an escort of blockers and only green grass and the end zone waiting for him. Perhaps on any other Saturday, Seth Williams makes the leaping grab and gets his feet under him when he comes down, after which he walks into the end zone. Perhaps, but not on this day. Those two plays brought back a flood of memories to 2006 when South Carolina came to The Swamp and the Gators blocked an extra point and two field goals in the fourth quarter. On the second blocked field goal, it took a 6-7 Jarvis Moss leaping as high as he could and getting a few fingers on the football to save a 17-16 Florida win in a season in which the Gators went on to win the national championship. The Gators are a long way away from playing for a national championship, but they've already had three great escapes – Miami, Kentucky and now Auburn. Either this team is living on borrowed time or perhaps it's one of those years when even the grass gremlins make plays when they have to.