Tommy Haugh soars for a dunk (Photo by Chris Spears) If there is reason for concern about what is ahead for the 22 nd -ranked Florida Gators (9-4) now that the schedule becomes SEC-only the rest of the regular season, it is the 3-point line. We aren’t just talking shooting threes although a dismal 28.2 percent has the entire college basketball world thinking Florida could make the Final Four if the Gators could hit at least a third of their 3-pointers the rest of the way.   It is defending the 3-pointer. In the last two games, Colgate (11-17) and Dartmouth (11-27) have found holes in Florida’s defense and neither of those two teams is as good shooting the three as tonight’s opponent Missouri (10-3). The Tigers are shooting 36.6 percent through their first 13 games and like most teams, they’re better when shooting at home.   When the Gators take the floor against Missouri in Columbia tonight (8:30 p.m., SEC Network), they need to be consciously aware what happened at the O-Dome in January last year when the Tigers sprung an 83-82 upset thanks, in large part, to nailing 11 3-pointers. When the Gators and Missouri matched up in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, it was a different story. Florida locked down on the 3-point line, held Mizzou to 4-16 shooting, and rolled to a 95-81 win.   It helped in that rematch that the Gators hit 9-24 from distance with Walter Clayton Jr. (3-4), Will Richard (3-8) and Alijah Martin (2-4) combining for an 8-16 effort. So, can the Gators find some consistency with their shooting tonight while chasing Missouri shooters such as Jacob Crews off the line? Crews, a native of Hilliard, Florida, is shooting a sizzling 51.4 percent of his threes this season and is 38.8 percent in his collegiate career, which began at North Florida. At 6-8, Crews can shoot over most defenders although tonight he will have 6-9 Tommy Haugh to contend with.   The Gators have lost four games by a combined 15 points and that includes a 6-point loss to No. 1 Arizona, a 1-point loss to No. 6 Duke and a 4-point loss to No. 4 UConn. In those three losses, the Gators were a combined 18-80, a miserable 22.5 percent. In the loss to UConn, the Gators were 4-15 from three while UConn was 8-18.   Shooting better is a necessity, but the Gators can compensate in many ways thanks to their ability to force one-and-done possessions thanks to their rebounding. The Gators lead the nation in rebounding (47.46 per game), offensive rebounds (17.31 per game) and rebound margin (17 per game). Defensively, Florida ranks 10 th nationally in defensive efficiency per kenpom.com .   Is that enough to compensate for the shooting issues?   “On some nights at least we’re going to have to shoot it better but I do think our floor’s pretty high,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Friday prior to the Gators departing for Columbia. “If we rebound well, the same things that we’ve talked about a lot over the past month-and-a-half … if we take care of the ball, which has been an issue – we’ve been a little better that way – and if we can defend physically without fouling. If we’re good in both those areas I think we can be pretty good, but in this league, to win on the road, you’re going to have to have a night when you hit eight or nine or ten threes. That gives you a little bit of a lift in some other areas.     “So that’s kind of where that’s at. I do think we’re capable of shooting the ball better. We’ll see how it starts tomorrow night.”   Missouri comes into this game on the heels of a blowout loss (93-48) to Illinois, a team the Gators beat by double figures in a preseason scrimmage. The Tigers played that game without some key players including 6-11 Jevon Porter (6.2 points, 4.0 rebounds). Also absent that game were 6-10 Trent Pierce and 6-4 shooting guard Jayden Stone, who is a 41.7 percent 3-point shooter. Porter should be back for tonight’s game although there are questions about the other two.   Missouri scores plenty, shoots better than 51 percent for the season, plays up tempo. Despite the loss to Illinois, Golden sees the Tigers as a team to be reckoned with.   “I think it’s going to be a really big challenge,” Golden said. “Some question marks still for them in regards to who’s going to be available. I think we’ll see some guys back that haven’t played for awhile so that changes the preparation a little bit.”   A season ago, the Gators jumped off to a 13-0 start in the non-conference before starting the SEC portion of the schedule on the road at Kentucky, where they absorbed a 106-100 beating. The Gators played a far less difficult pre-conference schedule than this season, so Golden anticipates a better prepared and tougher team against Mizzou.   “We’re more ready for this road matchup than we were last year going into Kentucky,” Golden said.   ANTICIPATED STARTING LINEUPS No. 22 FLORIDA (9-4): Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR)   MISSOURI (10-3): Mark Mitchell (6-9, 230, SR); Shawn Phillips Jr. (7-0, 245, SR); Jacob Crews (6-8, 215, SR); Annor Boateng (6-6, 220, SO); Anthony Robinson II (6-3, 185, JR)   SEC in Kenpom.com national analytical rankings: 7. Vanderbilt; 12. FLORIDA; 14. Tennessee; 17. Alabama; 20. Kentucky; 25. Georgia; 28. Arkansas; 34. Auburn; 36. LSU; 45. Texas; 51. Texas A&M; 53. Oklahoma; 57. Ole Miss; 65. Missouri; 83. Mississippi State; 88. South Carolina   SEC in NCAA NET rankings: 7. Vanderbilt 13-0; 13. Alabama 10-3; 22. Tennessee 10-3; 23. FLORIDA 9-4; 24. Georgia 12-1; 27. Kentucky 9-4; 30. Arkansas 10-3; 34. Auburn 9-4; 35. LSU 12-1; 50. Oklahoma 10-3; 59. Texas 8-4; 67. Texas A&M 10-3; 88. Ole Miss 8-5; 96. Missouri 10-3; 102. South Carolina 9-4; 106. Mississippi State 8-5   SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s games No. 22 FLORIDA (9-4) at Missouri (10-3) No. 11 Vanderbilt (13-0) at South Carolina (9-4) Kentucky (9-4) at No. 14 Alabama (10-3) No. 19 Tennessee (10-3) at No. 18 Arkansas (10-3) Auburn (9-4) at No. 23 Georgia (12-1) LSU (12-1) at Texas A&M (10-3) Ole Miss (8-5) at Oklahoma (10-3) Mississippi State (8-5) at Texas (9-4)   Tuesday’s games No. 23 Georgia (12-1) at No. 22 FLORIDA (9-4) Texas (9-4) at No. 19 Tennessee (10-3) South Carolina (9-4) at LSU (12-1) Texas A&M (10-3) at Auburn (9-4)   Wednesday’s games No. 14 Alabama (10-3) at No. 11 Vanderbilt (13-0) No. 18 Arkansas (10-3) at Ole Miss (8-5) Missouri (10-3) at Kentucky (9-4) Oklahoma (10-3) at Mississippi State (8-5)

Jadan Baugh (13) runs to daylight against FSU (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:   A rumor that seems to have gained traction in the last few days is that today running back Jadan Baugh will announce he’s returning to play his junior year at the University of Florida. Granted, this is just a rumor, but a lot of people who follow matters like this closely seem to believe it is a real possibility.   So far, 26 Gators have verballed their intention to leave UF via the NCAA transfer portal. As of Thursday night, 24 announced they will be staying, plus there are 18 who signed with new head coach Jon Sumrall less than a month ago. There are as many as 12 from the 2025 roster whose intentions are yet to be made known. It is also possible that some in the portal will have a change of heart.   The Southeastern Conference increased scholarship limits to 105 starting in 2026, so Sumrall could bring in a UF-record number of transfers.     Staying QUARTERBACK (1): Tramell Jones Jr. (6-0, 203, FR)   WIDE RECEIVERS (3): Vernell Brown III (5-11, 178, FR); Dallas Wilson (6-3, 213, FR); TJ Abrams (5-10, 196, RFR)   TIGHT END: (1) Amir Jackson (6-5, 235, RFR)   O-LINE (6): OT Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 342, RFR); OT Caden Jones (6-8, 333, RSO); OT/OG Bryce Lovett (6-5, 321, RSO); OG Knijeah Harris (6-3, 313, JR); OG/C Roderick Kearney (6-4, 310, RSO); OG Jason Zandamela (6-3, 308, RFR)   D-LINE/EDGE (4): EDGE LJ McCray (6-6, 268, SO); EDGE Kamran James (6-6, 270, JR); DL Joseph Mbatchou (6-5, 300, FR); DL Jeramiah McCloud (6-3, 294, FR)   LINEBACKERS (3): Jaden Robinson (6-1, 226, JR); Myles Graham (6-1, 228, SO); Aaron Chiles (6-3, 244, SO)   SECONDARY (6): S Drake Stubbs (6-1, 207, FR); CB Cormani McClain (6-2, 189, RSO); S Bryce Thornton (5-10, 211, JR); S Lagonza Hayward (6-1, 206, FR); CB J’Vari Flowers (5-10, 187, FR); Dijon Johnson (6-1, 204, JR)   Incoming QUARTERBACK (1): Will Griffin (6-3, 230)   WIDE RECEIVERS (3): Davian Groce (6-2, 191); Justin Williams (5-11, 187); Marquez Daniel (6-5, 205)   TIGHT END (1): Heze Kent (6-6, 305)   O-LINE (6): Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 285); Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 307); G’nivre Carr (6-4, 309); Desmond Green (6-5, 343); Javarii Luckas (6-6, 318); Corey Brown (6-1, 280)   D-LINE/EDGE (3): DL Kendall Guervil (6-2, 323); DL JaReylan McCoy (6-7, 260); EDGE KJ Ford (6-4, 246)   LINEBACKER (1): Malik Morris (6-0, 250)   SECONDARY (3): CJ Hester (6-0, 186); Kaiden Hall (6-2, 192); CJ Bronaugh (6-0, 172); Dylan Purter (6-0, 185)   Departing QUARTERBACK (1): DJ Lagway (6-3, 247, SO)   RUNNING BACK (3): KD Daniels (6-0, 203, RFR); Treyaun Webb (5-11, 217, RSO); Chad Gasper Jr. (5-11, 206, FR)   WIDE RECEIVER (5): Eugene Wilson III (5-10, 194, RSO); Muizz Tounkara (6-3, 208, FR); Aidan Mizell (6-2, 185, RSO); Tank Hawkins (5-10, 178, SO); Naeshaun Montgomery (6-1, 189, FR)   TIGHT END (2): Hayden Hansen (6-8, 269, RJR); Cameron Kossmann (6-5, 245, FR)   O-LINE (4): OT Marcus Mascoll (6-5, 308, RFR); OT Enoch Wangoy (6-7, 333, RFR); OT Noel Portnjagin (6-5, 306, RFR); OT Devon Manuel (6-7, 307, RSR)   D-LINE/EDGE (3): DL Tavorise Brown (6-7, 296, RSO); DT Michai Boireau (6-5, 349, SO); EDGE Jayden Woods (6-3, 248, FR)   LINEBACKER (1): Grayson Howard (6-4, 236, JR)   SECONDARY (6):  S Jordan Castell (6-2, 213, JR); S Teddy Foster (6-1, 188, RFR); S Josiah Davis (6-1, 199, RFR); CB Jameer Grimsley (6-2, 198, RFR); CB Sharif Denson (5-11, 195, JR); CB Aaron Gates (6-0, 198, RSO)   SPECIAL TEAMS (1): PK Evan Noel (6-1, 165, FR)   JUST CALL IT “THE NICK SABAN INVITATIONAL” Though he may have retired and Alabama may have gotten its doors blown off by No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl Thursday, Nick Saban still casts a very long shadow over college football, the playoff especially. With two rounds of the College Football Playoff in the books, we’re down to four teams, each of them coached by a former Saban assistant at Alabama. We might as well call this exactly what it is: “The Nick Saban Invitational.” Neither Dan Lanning (Oregon), Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Mario Cristobal (Miami) nor Pete Golding (Ole Miss) would be where they are today except for the time the spent learning how to be a coach from Saban.     In next Thursday’s semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, Ole Miss will face Miami. Next Friday will be a rematch of a regular season game that saw Indiana beat Oregon in Eugene.   The quarterfinal games No. 10 Miami (12-2) 24, No. 2 Ohio State (11-2) 14: Leading 17-14 with 5:50 remaining in the game, Miami went on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with a 5-yard touchdown run by CharMar Brown with 55 seconds remaining. Miami sealed the win when Jakobe Thomas intercepted Julian Sayin with 48 seconds to go. It was the second interception thrown by Sayin, who threw a first quarter pick that was returned 72 yards for a touchdown by Keionte Scott. Miami was outgained by Ohio State, 332-291, but the Canes outgained OSU, 153-45, to control the clock and field position. No. 5 Oregon (13-1) 23, No. 4 Texas Tech (12-2) 0: Oregon forced four turnovers and held Texas Tech to 215 total yards. The Ducks gained only 309 yards, but they dominated time of possession by 16 minutes.   No. 1 Indiana (14-0) 38, No. 9 Alabama (11-4) 3: Heisman Trophy QB Fernando Mendoza completed 14-16 passes for 192 yards and 3 TDS as Indiana embarrassed Alabama, handing the Crimson Tide its worst loss since going down 35-0 to Florida in 1991. Indiana outgained Bama on the ground, 215-23. Indiana outgained Alabama 407-193.   No. 6 Ole Miss (13-1) 39, No. 3 Georgia (13-2) 34: Ole Miss survived a furious Georgia rally in the final nine minutes, getting the win when Lucas Carneiro, who hit field goals of 55 and 56 yards in the first half, connected from 47 yards with six seconds left. Behind the passing of Trinidad Chambliss Ole Miss rallied from a 21-12 halftime deficit to take a 34-24 lead with 9:02 remaining on a 13-yard TDP to Harrison Wallace III. Georgia answered with an 18-yard TDP from Gunner Stockton to Zachariah Branch. The Ole Miss defense kept Georgia out of the end zone after the Bulldogs got a first-and-goal at the 8 with 1:08 to go. After forcing Georgia to kick the tying field goal, Ole Miss moved into field goal position on a 40-yard Chambliss to De’Zhaun Stribling pass with 26 seconds left. Ole Miss got safety with 1 second left to complete the final margin. Chambliss, the game’s most outstanding player, completed 30-46 passes for 362 yards and 3 TDs.   AS THE PORTAL TURNS (SEC ONLY) Alabama: WR Aeryn Hampton; TE Josh Ford (from Oklahoma State); S Kameron Howard; OG Roq Montgomery   Arkansas: OT Shaq McRoy; CB Keshawn Davila; LB Tavion Wallace; DL Ian Geffrard; S Miguel Mitchell; DL Kaleb James; RB AJ Green; QB Trever Jackson; LB Justin Logan; EDGE Justus Boone; S Anton Pierce; WR Andy Jean; QB Grayson Wilson; DL Kavion Henderson; EDGE Charlie Collins; OG LJ Prudhomme   Auburn: CB A’mon Lane-Ganus; WR Horatio Fields; WR Perry Thompson; CB Raion Strader; EDGE Antonio Coleman; RB Damari Alston; LB Caleb Wheatland; TE Hollis Davidson; WR Malcolm Simmons; OG DeAndre Carter; OT Favour Edwin; WR Cam’Ron King; OT Seth Wilfred; CB Jay Crawford; DL Amaris Williams; LB Jamonta Walker; DL Malik Blocton; PK Towns McGough; QB Ashton Daniels; CB Kayin Lee; CB Donovan Staff; OT Xavier Chaplin; LB Robert Woodyard Jr.; S Kensley Faustin; WR Cam Coleman; OG Dylan Senda; QB Deuce Knight; WR Sam Turner   FLORIDA: QB DJ Lagway; S Jordan Castell; RB KD Daniels; WR Muizz Tounkara; DL Tavorise Brown; S Teddy Foster; WR Aidan Mizell; S Josiah Davis; CB Jameer Grimsley; LB Grayson Howard; WR Tank Hawkins; OT Marcus Mascoll; DT Michai Boireau; TE Hayden Handsen; OT Enoch Wangoy; WR Naeshaun Montgomery; OT Noel Portnjagin; WR Eugene Wilson III; RB Chad Gasper Jr.; CB Sharif Denson; OT Devon Manuel; LB Mike Peterson Jr.; EDGE Jayden Woods; CB Aaron Gates; TE Cameron Kossmann; RB Treyaun Webb; PK Evan Noel   Georgia: TE Pearce Spurlin III; CB Daniel Harris   Kentucky: EDGE Landyn Watson; EDGE Steven Soles; WR David Washington Jr.; WR Preston Bowman; QB Stone Saunders; OG Austin Ramsey; WR Tony Stellato; CB Nasir Addison; DL Javeon Campbell; S DJ Waller Jr.; EDGE Jacob Smith; DL Jerod Smith II; QB Cutter Boley   LSU: RB Ju’Juan Johnson; DL Ahmad Breaux; CB Ashton Stamps; WR Jelani Watkins; WR Khylan Billiot; DL Sydir Mitchell; RB Kaleb Jackson; OG Carius Curne; QB Colin Hurley; OG Coen Echols; OG DJ Chester; OT Tyree Adams; S Javian Toviano; OT Paul Mubenga; S Austin Ausberry; LB Princeton Malbrue; S Dashawn Spears; S Joel Rogers; WR Kyle Parker   Mississippi State: S Tony Mitchell; DL Terrance Hibblier Jr.; S Stonka Burnside; OG Brennan Smith; OT Jimothy Lewis Jr.; TE Emeka Lloh; QB Luke Kromenhoek; TE Cam Ball; CB Dwight Lewis III; S Tyler Woodard; DL Ashun Shepphard; WR Ferzell Shepard; S Lo’Kavion Jackson; WR Jaron Glover; OT Jaekwon Bouldin; OG Alex Lopez; EDGE Joseph Head Jr.; DL Corey Clark; WR Jordan Mosley; WR Markus Allen; WR Davian Jackson   Missouri: RB Marquise Davis; RB Brendon Haygood; WR James Madison II; S Caleb Flagg; WR Josh Manning; EDGE Javion Hilson; WR Marquis Johnson; OG Henry Fenuku; QB Beau Pribula; PK Robert Meyer; OT Johnny Williams IV; OT Brandon Solis; OT Jayven Richardson; S CJ Bass III; RB Tavorous Jones; CB Mark Manfred III; OT Jaylen Early; EDGE Nate Johnson; CB Shamar McNeil; OG Keiton Jones; DL Justin Bodford   Oklahoma: WR Jayden Gibson; CB Kendel Colby; TE Kaden Helms; LB Kobie McKenzie; OG Jacob Sexton; RB Jovonate Barnes; S Marcus Wimberly; OG Troy Everett; OT Luke Baklenko; CB Devon Jordan; WR KJ Daniels; OL Logan Howland; S Gentry Williams; CB Maliek Hawkins; QB Michael Hawkins; TE Carson Kent; DL Marcus Strong; OL Jake Taylor   South Carolina: PK Peyton Argent; LB Jaron Willis; WR Emazon Littlejohn; DL Zavion Hardy; LB Jaron Willis; OT Mac Walters; OG Trovon Baugh; OT Cason Henry; WR Brian Rowe Jr.; QB Air Noland; OT Tree Babalade; EDGE Taeshawn Alston; DL Chase Kibble; OG Nick Sharpe; TE Michael Smith; CB Myles Norwood; OG Rodney Newsom; OG Boaz Stanley; WR Vandrevious Jacobs   Tennessee: EDGE Kellen Lindstrom; DL Jamal Wallace; S Boo Carter; LB Brenden Anes; S Macus Goree Jr.; QB Jake Merklinger; RB Peyton Lewis; OT Trevor Duncan; DL Herb Gray; OG Max Anderson; WR Tommy Winton; OT Lance Heard; OT Bennett Warren; CB Rickey Gibson; EDGE Amari Jefferson     Texas: OG Connor Stroh; CB Santana Wilson; WR Aaron Butler; RB CJ Baxter; QB Trey Owens; PK Will Stone; RB Jerrick Gibson; S Derek Williams Jr.; CB Wardell Mack; DL Melvin Hills; LB Liona Lefau; RB Rickey Stewart Jr.; WR DeAndre Moore Jr.; RB Quintrevion Wisner; WR Parker Livingstone; DL Lavon Johnson   Texas A&M: LS Shea Freibaum; LB Tristan Jernigan; CB Jayvon Thomas; S Jordan Pride; EDGE Solomon Williams; EDGE Rylan Kennedy; TE Theo Melin Ohrstrom; S Bryce Anderson; QB Miles O’Neill   Vanderbilt: QB Drew Dickey; TE Maurice Veney; OT Misael Sandoval; QB Jeremy St. Hilaire; OG Cooper Starks; TE Witt Edwards; WR Boski Barrett; EDGE Jailen Ruth; WR Jeremiah Dillon; WR Chance Fitzgerald   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: This is what you call nuclear winter. Iowa State finished the regular season with an 8-4 record, but the school had to opt out of going to a bowl game due to an insufficient number of scholarship players available. Iowa State was already going to lose quite a few players to the transfer portal prior to Matt Campbell taking the head coaching job at Penn State. Since Campbell departed, a steady stream of departures has become the college football equivalent of a nuclear strike.   As of 12:01 a.m. Friday, the first official day the portal opened, some 47 Iowa State players had announced their planned departures. Add that to the 27 seniors who took their final walk at Jack Trice Stadium back on November 29 and Iowa State has fewer than 20 scholarship players.   And, things could get worse.   What is going on at Iowa State is a foretelling of the future of college football if something isn’t done in a hurry about the transfer portal. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, created the situation and sits on its hands, seemingly powerless to do anything about the sport that pays for all the other sports at 95 percent of all the Division I schools that play football.   There are solutions to be had, but don’t hold your breath waiting on Charlie Baker and his minions at the NCAA to offer anything that remotely resembles a bright idea. Baker thinks it’s best to turn all the NCAA problems over to Congress, but remember the words of Ronald Reagan who once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”   Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari says if the portal problem is solved, then 70 percent of all the problems facing college sports will go away. He believes athletes are entitled to one transfer no strings attached, but a second transfer has to have consequences of sitting out a year.  He’s right.   I believe that if you add in some academic requirements and put athletes on contract with real consequences if they try to opt out that the portal problems would indeed dry up in a hurry. Do I believe the NCAA has the guts to implement these kind of changes?   Donkeys will fly first.

Sitting in front of my computer, editors Fred and Ethel sitting on my shoulders approving everything I write, I reflect on a year that is within hours of being in the books. Where did all the time go? The days have passed so quickly, almost as if turbo-charged. Sitting here in the quiet of this condo on Lake Eustis, with only the chirps and occasional songs by the cockatiels who truly believe they are helping me, the words of the teacher Qoheleth come to mind. He is the speaker in Chapter 1 of the Book of Ecclesiastes, who says, “All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.”   Later in that first passage, Qoheleth says, “Is there such a thing of which it is said, ‘See this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us.”   The great French philosopher Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr read the same passages, dwelled on them awhile and then concluded, “The more things change, the more they are the same.”   Does that remind you of University of Florida football? If it doesn’t, it should. Since 2011 Florida keeps changing coaches, but every three or four years a new coach search committee is charged with bringing in somebody who can make the Gators relevant again.   It is December 31 and for the fifth time since 2011, the University of Florida will start the new year with a brand new football coach. Imagine that. The Billy Napier era is in the rearview and we’re only a few weeks into the Jon Sumrall era. Napier, like Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen before him, was fired for failing to come remotely close to matching the incredible runs of success of Steven Orr Spurrier and Urban Frank Meyer III. Like Muschamp, McElwain and Mullen before him, Napier arrived with so much promise. He was considered a hot ticket item with suitors standing in line to hire him and when he beat Utah his first game on the job back in 2022 we thought we were in for another magical run. He was the real deal.   Or so we thought. There were only a few peaks and way too many valleys until Napier’s bottle rocket fizzled out. He’s gone into the coaching recycling bin and emerged with his squeaky clean way of doing things up at James Madison. At Florida, Billy was compared to Spurrier and Urban. At Madison he will be compared to Curt Cignetti and Bob Chesney, not exactly legendary in SEC territory, but a very big deal up in the Shenandoah Valley. Those two went 40-11 in the last four years and parlayed their success into big time jobs at the next level. Cignetti moved on to Indiana which is unbeaten and the favorite to win the College Football Playoff in his second year on the sideline. Chesney put Madison in the playoff before he was whisked off to UCLA where he’s charged with resuscitating that dormant program. Hey, it worked for Indiana, so why not UCLA?   Can Billy Napier revive his once promising career at James Madison? Should we care? Yes and no. Yes because Billy ran a clean program and built a great culture at Florida. Players graduated and rarely got into trouble. That should be applauded. From Sunday to Friday he was a brilliant coach. Unfortunately, for him, he was paid to win on Saturday and he didn’t do that so well. We should say no, we don’t care, because we’re Gators and we have to be concerned with the here and now not the woulda, coulda, shoulda and didn’t.   Jon Sumrall is charged with restoring the Florida Gators to a place of prominence. He comes to Florida with a 43-12 record that includes three conference championships (2 Sun Belt, 1 American) and a College Football Playoff appearance (Tulane, 2025) in four years. No question about it, that’s impressive no matter if it is the Sun Belt and the American conferences.   Of course, Muschamp, McElwain, Mullen and Napier also had impressive resumes when they arrived in Gainesville but all four crashed and burned. Muschamp had no head coaching experience. McElwain was overwhelmed by expectations and scrutiny at a big time program. He told a whopper of a lie and got caught, forcing his dismissal. Mullen was too loyal to coaches who were rotten recruiters. Napier overestimated his offensive coordinator and didn’t look in the mirror to see that he was the OC.   From 1990 to 2010, nobody in college football won as many games as the Florida Gators, whose 210-57-1 record was eight wins more than second place Nebraska. The Gators won three national championships and eight Southeastern Conference championships during this stretch. To put it in further SEC context, Alabama only won 180 games, Georgia 176 and LSU 164 during that same time frame.   Under Spurrier (122-27-1 in 12 years, 1 national championship, 6 SEC championships) and Meyer (65-15 in 6 years, 2 national championships, 2 SEC championships), the Gators were the standard by which the rest of the country measured. Florida was a program to be feared but ever since Meyer retired after the 2010 season, the Gators have been on a downward trend.   Since 2011, the Gators are 110-79 with zero national or Southeastern Conference championships although they have made it to the SEC Championship Game three times (2015 and 2016 under McElwain, 2020 under Mullen). The same school that didn’t post a losing season from 1980 to 2012 has had six of them since 2013 – one each by Muschamp, McElwain and Mullen, three by Napier.   Alabama has won 183 games and five national championships since 2011. Georgia has won 167 games and two national titles. LSU has won 139 games and one national championship. Think of the disparity gap like this. Florida could catch up with Alabama by going 12-0 the next seven seasons if Bama were to go on an NCAA record losing streak.   Florida has gone from a true national powerhouse to one that is treading water in a pool of SEC mediocrity, surpassed by the likes of Ole Miss and Texas A&M, on the verge of being surpassed by Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt? Oh my, but the Commodores were so close to making the College Football Playoff this year while the Gators were gagging at the finish line with a 4-8 record. Making matters worse Texas (4 official national championships, 5 unofficial) and Oklahoma (7 national championships, 10 unofficial) are now in the SEC.   There are questions that must be asked and answered truthfully starting with the obvious, how did the University of Florida allow this to happen? The easy answer to that is since Meyer retired from UF after the 2010 season, Florida settled. There is no other way to explain it. A job like Florida, which everyone with a functioning brain considers has the potential of one of the top three or four jobs in the country, should be attractive enough to attract coaches at the very top of their games.   So, what did Florida do? The hires of Muschamp, McElwain, Mullen and Napier remind Florida fans of that line from the movie “Ruthless People” in which Bette Midler cries, “I’ve been kidnapped by K-Mart.” Higher profile coaches with better resumes were available. Did Florida go after them? Or did the people in charge of hiring settle for good rather than pony up the money, resources and whatever else was needed to bring in a name coach?   To Scott Stricklin’s credit, once Billy Napier was dismissed, he didn’t go K-Mart, he went Saks Fifth Avenue by setting Florida’s sights on the highest profile coach available in Lane Kiffin. The wooing of Lane Kiffin went on for more than a month before the Gators dropped out of the race. A couple of days later as Kiffin was doing his drama queen best to string out the hiring process at LSU, Florida hired Jon Sumrall.   So what happened? Kiffin got a 7-year deal worth $91 million. Florida had a better offer on the table. Was it a matter of trust? That is entirely possible. But it’s also true that while Florida has been wallowing in mediocrity, LSU has won a national championship, two SEC championships and has posted seven seasons with 10 or more wins. By comparison, Florida has the look of a show pony while LSU looks like a 3-year-old with Derby aspirations.     With Kiffin off the board, Sumrall was being eyed by several top tier programs including three in the SEC. Some Florida fans are elated that the Gators hired a coach who played in the SEC and whose teams have played in their conference championship games (won three) all four years he’s been a head coach. There is a contingent of Florida fans who equate this to a car shopping expedition. The goal was to come home with a Porsche Carrera but the result was a Ford Explorer. There is nothing wrong with an Explorer, but it certainly doesn’t have the curb appeal of the Carrera.      The hope of every Gator fan is that Sumrall delivers. The previous four coaches all proclaimed from day one that Florida is (a) one of the best, if not the best, jobs in the country, (b) championships can be won here and (c) they could deliver. None of them succeeded. Sumrall has echoed the same sentiments. Is he the one who will get the job done when the last four coaches have failed?   There is a lot on the line with this hire. Given his track record of hiring football coaches – he’s 0-for-2 – Scott Stricklin will be forgiven for the hires of Mullen and Napier if Sumrall succeeds and turns Florida into a championship-level program. But what happens Sumrall turns out to be an 8-4 or 9-3 type of coach? That is a step up after the last four years, but will that be acceptable for Florida fans who are desperate for a return to the good old days? And what if Sumrall wins consistently but with dull, predictable offenses? Will that be acceptable?   And what if he fails altogether? What happens if the hole in which Florida has dug for itself since 2011 is so deep that mediocrity or worse is the norm? It’s difficult to imagine Scott Stricklin would survive. He might not even survive if Sumrall turns out to be a coach who can get you to the Gator Bowl on a regular basis.     Scott Stricklin has done amazing work raising the money that it will take to modernize the entire athletic program but he will be judged by this hire. He struck the motherlode for basketball when he hired Todd Golden, but he won’t get a fourth chance at hiring another football coach if Jon Sumrall doesn’t turn the program around.   If things remain the same things will have to change.

Alex Condon scores 2 of his 17 points (UAA Photo) The undercard is finished. Now time for the main event.   Monday night at the O-Dome, the 22 nd -ranked Florida Gators (9-4) toyed with Dartmouth, showing flashes of what they could be once the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule begins. Florida’s 94-72 win over the Big Green was hardly a masterpiece, but Todd Golden saw enough to believe the Gators are ready to take on the SEC.   “Yeah, I think we’re ready,” Golden said about conference play, which begins Saturday night at Missouri (10-3). “I think we’ve been getting better, and I think, for a large part of this game tonight we played really well, so I think we’re trending in the right direction.”   Dartmouth was a nothing left to prove game as the Gators ended the non-conference schedule. The first half in which the Gators nearly doubled up the Big Green, 53-27, was indicative of how the Gators will need to play starting Saturday night. The Gators defended, they rebounded and they moved the basketball.   The Gators set the tone for the first half on the first possession when they forced Dartmouth into a shot clock violation. It only got worse from there. More than four minutes elapsed before Brandon Mitchell-Day got behind the UF defense for Dartmouth’s first made shot from the field. By that time the Gators had already put 12 on the scoreboard.   In that first four minute stretch against a focused and very active Florida defense, Dartmouth managed to squeeze off three shots while turning the ball over four times and committing three fouls, one of which was a flagrant that reversed a bad call by zebra Anthony Eades. Eades called a foul on Urban Klavzar right in front of the Florida bench with 18:02 left in the half. Golden challenged the call and upon review, the video showed clear evidence that Dartmouth’s Jayden Williams had clipped Klavzar across the chin with his elbow with enough force to knock Klavzar to the floor. Klavzar hit the ensuing free throws.   It was that kind of game. Dartmouth didn’t have the size or strength to compete with the Gators so the Big Green resorted to trying to mug whoever had the ball in an effort to slow the game down and keep it competitive. About the only thing the Big Green achieved was to make the game about 30 minutes longer than it should have been. Dartmouth committed 25 fouls, sending the Gators to the line for 38 free throws.   While the second half got a bit sloppy and often lackadaisical for the Gators, particularly on the defensive end, Florida played a good portion of the first half like a team on a search and destroy mission. Defensively, they held Dartmouth to 9-30 shooting overall and only 12 3-point attempts. The Gators cleaned up everything on the backboards at both ends of the court. Florida had a 37-9 rebounding margin in the first half that included 15 on the offensive end that were converted into 13 second chance points.   The Gators, who lead the nation in rebounding, finished the game with a 60-24 advantage overall and a 25-3 offensive rebounding advantage.   The second half was a different story. Golden went to his bench early and often which contributed somewhat to the inconsistent play that allowed Dartmouth to outscore UF 45-41. The Big Green hit 8-15 of their 3-pointers and that was an irritant for Golden.   “I don’t think we defended with enough attention in the second half,” Golden said. “I don’t think we played with enough pace and enough physicality, and you know, that’s kind of the next step that we keep talking about … we’ve got to play a full 40, you know, and that means winning this game by 50. That’s what it means but we didn’t do that tonight.”   One thing Golden knows he has to find quickly is an eighth man in his rotation. He wants four bigs and four on the perimeter. The four bigs – Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Tommy Haugh and Micah Handlogten – are the strength of the team. The starting backcourt of Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland continues to improve and Klavzar can go into shooter’s comas when he comes off the bench. It is that third man on the perimeter that is the mystery.   “We’re looking for him, absolutely,” Golden said when asked if he has settled in on an eighth man.     Alex Kovatchev got the first shot at the eighth man in the rotation against Dartmouth, but he was largely ineffective. Kovatchev was hesitant to shoot and finished 0-3 from the field. He turned the ball over once along with a blocked shot and a steal in 10 minutes on the floor. Isaiah Brown got the next shot and looked at ease in the role with six points, a couple of rebounds and an assist in eight minutes.   Freshmen CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd got into the game and both of them could work their way into the rotation Golden desires. Ingram scored two points, grabbed a rebound and had an assist in seven minutes off the bench. Lloyd hit a three among his five points. He also grabbed two rebounds.   Perhaps the missing piece to the puzzle is Isaiah Brown’s older brother, AJ, an Ohio University transfer that is being redshirted. However, Florida’s inconsistent 3-point shooting – the Gators were only 5-18 against Dartmouth and they are a miserable 27.8 percent for the season – may necessitate burning the redshirt. AJ averaged 13.2 per game at Ohio U last season, hitting 38.8 percent of his threes. Klavzar currently leads the Gators at 36 percent after hitting 2-4 against Dartmouth.   Against Dartmouth, Golden got a combined 48 points, 41 rebounds, four assists and fi e blocked shots from Condon (17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists), Chinyelu (13 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks), Haugh (9 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block) and Handlogten (8 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks).   The backcourt numbers for Lee, Fland and Klavzar were impressive. Lee scored 12 to go with four rebounds, two assists and a steal with zero turnovers. Fland scored 10, grabbed two rebounds, passed the ball for five assists and contributed three steals on the defensive end. Klavzar had 12 points and five rebounds.   “I think we’re trending the right way,” Golden said about his backcourt threesome. “ Xaivian, as we've talked a lot about, struggled earlier, but he's been playing really, really well. Thought he played well offensively again tonight, 12 points in 21 minutes, two assists. Does a great job taking care of the ball. I thought Boog is getting more comfortable, getting to the rim, driving off those duck-ins, initiating the offense. You know, he's playing better as well, and I think it's going to continue to be a work in progress for us that way. But where we were early to where we are now, you know, those guys are doing a much better job."   The work in progress will take a step up in competition starting Saturday. From here on out it is an 18-game grind. The Gators have what it takes to win the SEC, but they’ve got to start playing consistently for a full 40 minutes.   This team has what it takes to go deep into March if they can start making a few shots and playing intense defense for a full 40 minutes.   SEC BASKETBALL Monday’s scores No. 11 Vanderbilt (13-0) 96, New Haven (5-8) 53: Tyler Tanner led Vandy with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. The Commodores hit 11-24 of their 3-point shots.   No. 14 Alabama (10-3) 102, Yale (11-2) 78: Alabama launched 54 3-pointers against Yale, hitting 22. The Crimson Tide was led by Aden Holloway who had 26 points, 7 assists and 1 steal.   No. 18 Arkansas (10-3) 103, James Madison (7-7) 74: Freshman Meleek Thomas was 6-10 from the 3-point line as he led Arkansas with 28 points. Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. chipped in with 17.   No. 23 Georgia (12-1) 89, Long Island (6-7) 74: After trailing LIU by three at the half, Georgia went on a 48-30 second half tear. Marcus Millender led Georgia with 14 points.   LSU (12-1) 90, Southern Miss (7-7) 62: Pablo Tamba ripped down 15 rebounds and Marquel Sutton grabbed 11 for LSU which got 22 points and 12 assists from Dedan Thomas Jr.   Oklahoma (10-3) 93, Mississippi Valley State (1-13) 69: Kuol Atak scored 24 points and Xzayvier Brown scored 22 for Oklahoma, which hit 14-32 from the 3-point line.   Texas A&M (10-3) 111, Prairie View A&M (5-8) 82: Five Aggies scored in double figures led by Rashaun Agee, who recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.   Auburn (9-4) 106, Queens University (5-8) 65: Elyjah Freeman scored 27 points and Kevin Overton 23 to lead Auburn, which made 15-28 from the 3-point line.   Mississippi State (8-5) 94, Alabama State (3-10) 56: Josh Hubbard led Mississippi State with 22 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.   Ole Miss (8-5) 79, Alcorn State (1-11) 43: James Scott (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Malik Dia (12 points, 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Ole Miss.   Tuesday’s games South Carolina State (1-13) at No. 19 Tennessee (9-3) Albany (4-10) at South Carolina (8-4)   Saturday’s games No. 22 FLORIDA (9-4) at Missouri (10-3) No. 11 Vanderbilt (13-0) at South Carolina (8-4) Kentucky (9-4) at No. 14 Alabama (10-3) No. 19 Tennessee (9-3) at No. 18 Arkansas (10-3) LSU (12-1) at Texas A&M (10-3) Ole Miss (8-5) at Oklahoma (10-3) Mississippi State (8-5) at Texas (9-4)

Jayden Woods (15) has entered the transfer portal (Photo by Chris Spears)  A few thoughts to jump start your Monday afternoon:   The portal turnstiles are spinning both ways for Jon Sumrall and the Florida Gators. There was some rather good news. Tight end Amir Jackson has changed his mind and removed his name from the portal. Furthermore, WR Vernell Brown III, EDGE Kamran James, DL Jeremiah McCloud, DL Joseph Mbatchou, CB Dijon Johnson and S Lagonza Hayward joined linebackers Myles Graham and Aaron Chiles in announcing they’ll remain Gators.   That was all good news.   Now the bad news. Stud EDGE rusher Jayden Woods is going in the portal. A former 5-star recruit who came on strong at the end of the 2025 season, Woods figures to be able to name a high price for any school wishing to land him. Also corner Sharif Denson, who was the Gators’ fourth leading tackler is going into the portal.   Of course, the decision everyone is waiting for is Jadan Baugh, who met last week with Sumrall and his entire family, plus coaching staff and their families in Atlanta. Baugh is a bigger name in the portal than quarterback DJ Lagway, who many report will be signing with Baylor at the first opportunity. If Sumrall can retain Baugh, who ran for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns, it could be the lure the new UF head coach needs to pick up an experienced quarterback and other pieces to the offensive puzzle.   We can expect more departures and quite possibly a few more like Amir Jackson, who, after thinking things over, decide to remain in Gainesville.   AS THE PORTAL TURNS Alabama: WR Aeryn Hampton; TE Josh Ford (from Oklahoma State); S Kameron Howard   Arkansas: OT Shaq McRoy; CB Keshawn Davila; LB Tavion Wallace; DL Ian Geffrard; S Miguel Mitchell; DL Kaleb James; RB AJ Green; QB Trever Jackson   Auburn: CB A’mon Lane-Ganus; WR Horatio Fields; WR Perry Thompson; CB Raion Strader; EDGE Antonio Coleman; RB Damari Alston; LB Caleb Wheatland; TE Hollis Davidson; WR Malcolm Simmons; OG DeAndre Carter; OT Favour Edwin; WR Cam’Ron King; OT Seth Wilfred; CB Jay Crawford; DL Amaris Williams; LB Jamonta Walker; DL Malik Blocton; PK Towns McGough; QB Ashton Daniels; CB Kayin Lee; CB Donovan Staff; OT Xavier Chaplin; LB Robert Woodyard Jr.; S Kensley Faustin; WR Cam Coleman   FLORIDA: QB DJ Lagway; S Jordan Castell; RB KD Daniels; WR Muizz Tounkara; DL Tavorise Brown; S Teddy Foster; WR Aidan Mizell; S Josiah Davis; CB Jameer Grimsley; LB Grayson Howard; WR Tank Hawkins; OT Marcus Mascoll; DT Michai Boireau; TE Hayden Handsen; OT Enoch Wangoy; WR Naeshaun Montgomery; OT Noel Portnjagin; WR Eugene Wilson III; RB Chad Gasper Jr.; CB Sharif Denson; OT Devon Manuel; LB Mike Peterson Jr.; EDGE Jayden Woods   Georgia: TE Pearce Spurlin III; CB Daniel Harris   Kentucky: EDGE Landyn Watson; EDGE Steven Soles; WR David Washington Jr.; WR Preston Bowman; QB Stone Saunders   LSU: RB Ju’Juan Johnson; DL Ahmad Breaux; CB Ashton Stamps; WR Jelani Watkins; WR Khylan Billiot; DL Sydir Mitchell; RB Kaleb Jackson; OG Carius Curne; QB Colin Hurley; OG Coen Echols; OG DJ Chester; OT Tyree Adams; S Javian Toviano; OT Paul Mubenga; S Austin Ausberry   Mississippi State: S Tony Mitchell; DL Terrance Hibblier Jr.; S Stonka Burnside; OG Brennan Smith; OT Jimothy Lewis Jr.; TE Emeka Lloh; QB Luke Kromenhoek; TE Cam Ball; CB Dwight Lewis III; S Tyler Woodard; DL Ashun Shepphard; WR Ferzell Shepard; S Lo’Kavion Jackson; WR Jaron Glover; OT Jaekwon Bouldin; OG Alex Lopez; EDGE Joseph Head Jr.; DL Corey Clark; WR Jordan Mosley; WR Markus Allen   Missouri: RB Marquise Davis; RB Brendon Haygood; WR James Madison II; S Caleb Flagg; WR Josh Manning; EDGE Javion Hilson; WR Marquis Johnson; OG Henry Fenuku; QB Beau Pribula   Oklahoma: WR Jayden Gibson; CB Kendel Colby; TE Kaden Helms; LB Kobie McKenzie; OG Jacob Sexton; RB Jovonate Barnes; S Marcus Wimberly   South Carolina: PK Peyton Argent; LB Jaron Willis; WR Emazon Littlejohn; DL Zavion Hardy; LB Jaron Willis; OT Mac Walters; OG Trovon Baugh; OT Cason Henry; WR Brian Rowe Jr.; QB Air Noland; OT Tree Babalade; EDGE Taeshawn Alston; DL Chase Kibble; OG Nick Sharpe; TE Michael Smith; CB Myles Norwood; OG Rodney Newsom   Tennessee: EDGE Kellen Lindstrom; DL Jamal Wallace; S Boo Carter; LB Brenden Anes; S Macus Goree Jr.; QB Jake Merklinger; RB Peyton Lewis; OT Trevor Duncan   Texas: OG Connor Stroh; CB Santana Wilson; WR Aaron Butler; RB CJ Baxter; QB Trey Owens; PK Will Stone; RB Jerrick Gibson; S Derek Williams Jr.; CB Wardell Mack; DL Melvin Hills; LB Liona Lefau; RB Rickey Stewart Jr.; WR DeAndre Moore Jr.; RB Quintrevion Wisner   Texas A&M: LS Shea Freibaum; LB Tristan Jernigan; CB Jayvon Thomas; S Jordan Pride; EDGE Solomon Williams; EDGE Rylan Kennedy; TE Theo Melin Ohrstrom   Vanderbilt: QB Drew Dickey; TE Maurice Veney; OT Misael Sandoval; QB Jeremy St. Hilaire; OG Cooper Starks; TE Witt Edwards; WR Boski Barrett; EDGE Jailen Ruth   ROUGH SLEDDING FOR THE SEC It is entirely possible that a Southeastern Conference team will win the College Football Playoff. Georgia comes to mind although no one should be surprised if somehow the Lane Kiffin-less Ole Miss Rebels spring an upset in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday. Alabama plays Indiana in the Rose Bowl and since we aren’t sure which Bama team will show up – the one that scored 34 on the road at Oklahoma in the first round or the one that Georgia obliterated in the SEC Championship Game – the only thing we can be certain of is that there will be one SEC team in the final four.   Georgia seems to be the team with the best shot at ending the 2-year national championship drought for the SEC, which, in every consideration, is in the midst of a down year. The SEC is 2-4 in the postseason so far and the situation looks less than promising for a fast and furious finish, particularly after Missouri and LSU crashed and burned Saturday. Missouri went down in flames to Virginia in the Gator Bowl while LSU’s vaunted defense was ripped and shredded by Houston of the American Conference in the Texas Bowl.   Here are the games with commentary: Sugar Bowl, Ole Miss (12-1) vs. Georgia (12-1): Oh how I would love to see Ole Miss win to not only give the finger to Lane Kiffin for the way he handled his departure but because it is Georgia. Ole Miss can win this one, but I think Georgia will.   Rose Bowl, Alabama (11-3) vs. Indiana (13-0): If Bama wins, then Kalen DeBoer is loved by the faithful. Lose and they will want to tar and feather him. Indiana is Cinderella.   Music City Bowl, Tennessee (8-4) vs. Illinois (8-4): The Vols want to hurry things up. Bret Bielema wants ground and pound, slow it down. I don’t trust any team that is quarterbacked by Joey Aguilar, so unfortunately, I think the Illini will score a win.   ReliaQuest Bowl, Vanderbilt (10-2) vs. Iowa (8-4): Diego Pavia may have been a sore loser at the Heisman ceremonies, but he can go out in a big way. I like the Vandy Boys.   Cheez-it Citrus Bowl, Texas (9-3) vs. Michigan (9-3): Michigan is in turmoil. Arch Manning will state his case for the 2026 Heisman front runner. Texas all the way.   Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Mississippi State (5-7) vs. Wake Forest (8-4): Mississippi State got a bowl game only because winning teams opted out. Wake Forest Gump wins.   MICHIGAN MAKES A GREAT HIRE The dumpster fire known as Michigan football just hired an extinguisher known as Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham is a no-nonsense, squeaky clean type who, in 21 seasons as the head honcho at Utah, never had even a hint of a scandal. After succeeding Urban Meyer after the Utes went 12-0, Whittingham won 178 games in the Mountain West, Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences. He had an unbeaten 2008 season in which he skunked Nick Saban and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.   This guy can coach, an obvious priority for a high profile program such as Michigan, but more important, he can restore integrity that went on a field trip and never came back when Jim Harbaugh was hired followed by the even more disastrous tenure of Sherrone Moore.   Whittingham’s teams run the ball, a necessity at Michigan, but they aren’t afraid to take shots downfield. Defensively, they don’t miss tackles. For years now, Whittingham’s defensive coordinator has been Morgan Scalley, who was elevated to head coach at Utah when Whittingham stepped down. His important hire will be someone whom he trusts to play a physical brand of defense whose players don’t miss tackles.   BELICHICK MAKES A SERIOUS HIRE Bill Belichick went 4-8 in season one as the head coach at North Carolina, certainly not what he expected much less a fan base that thought the College Football Playoff was inevitable. To remedy things for the 2026 season, Belichick hired Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator. If it’s typical Belichick, he’ll leave the offense to Petrino and focus on the defense, a concept that should bode well for the Tar Heels.   Petrino was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas who became the interim head coach after Sam Pittman was fired. He didn’t win a game as the head coach, but his offense wasn’t to blame. Arkansas finished 15 th nationally in total offense, averaging 454.8 yards per game, 191.92 rushing and 262.9 passing.  The Hogs scored 32.9 points per game.   ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: There is an easy way to solve the crisis that is unfolding with the transfer portal. Here is a 3-step process.   1. Make players sign contracts: Scholarships must become binding contracts that not only include any NIL money, but the cost of the scholarship itself. In signing the contract, the player is responsible to play in every game including bowls. Opt out and the school sues for return of NIL money plus the cost of the scholarship.   2. Salary cap: You can’t have players making more money than the assistant coach in charge of their positions. Example: A QB can’t be making more money than his offensive coordinator or QB coach.   3. Simple rules for transferring: Players are allowed one transfer, then they have to sit a year if they want to transfer again. Players with less than a 2.5 GPA must sit a year. Players still taking remedial courses must sit a year.   Put those three rules in place and the portal problem is solved. We still have issues with timing of the portal, signing day and with the timing of coaches leaving or being fired, but that requires more thought. The portal, however, is easily solved.

Rueben Chinyelu (9) scores against Saint Francis (Photo by Chris Spears) The last warmup before the games that matter most will be played at the O-Dome tonight (6 p.m., SEC Network) when Dartmouth (5-6) comes to Gainesville to face 22 nd -ranked Florida (8-4). Dartmouth is a 34.5-point underdog and the Gators should cover if they’re focused and not looking ahead to Saturday when Southeastern Conference play begins at Missouri.   A season ago, the Gators breezed through their non-conference schedule with a 13-0 record. This season, in light of losing the best backcourt in all of college basketball (Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin), Todd Golden intentionally scheduled tougher to break in a new backcourt and get the Gators ready for the grind of 18 SEC games. What the Gators proved in going against the likes of No. 1 Arizona, No. 4 UConn and No. 6 Duke is they can play with teams that are on everyone’s short list as possible Final Four participants. The Gators lost those three games, but they were all on the road and by a combined 11 points. There is no doubt that Florida could have won those games along with that 4-point loss to TCU in a game played in San Diego.   It was issues in the backcourt that were the serious questions early on, but the combination of Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland is coming together. Lee, in particular, is on a roll. The Princeton transfer is averaging 17.3 points while leading the Gators in scoring five of the last six games. He should find Dartmouth a particularly interesting opponent since he scored 33 against the Big Green last season. Fland is averaging 11.5 points per game and seems to be finding his niche when he puts the ball on the deck and drives to the rim.   Finding adequate backup help for Lee and Fland has been somewhat of an on again, off again affair. Urban Klavzar is a certifiable 3-point bomber who lost his stroke for a couple of games, but seems to have regained his touch. Golden has played both Isaiah Brown and CJ Ingram off the bench, plus he has inserted Sacramento State transfer Alex Kovatchev into the last two games.   There is also the possibility that Golden will lift the redshirt off Ohio U transfer A.J. Brown. The plan has been for A.J. to sit this season and have two years of eligibility, but he’s a 6-4 guard with outstanding shooting range and like brother Isaiah, serious hops. At Ohio, Brown averaged 13.2 points last season when he nailed 38.8 percent of his 3-pointers. Currently, the Gators are shooting 30.6 percent on 3-pointers as a team with Klavzar’s 34.9 percent best on the team.   When asked when a decision is forthcoming regarding A.J. Brown, Golden responded after the Gators hammered Colgate last week, “That’s top secret.”   There is no problem with Florida’s 4-man inside rotation of Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Tommy Haugh and Micah Handlogten. Condon (14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds), Chinyelu (10.2 points, 10.8 rebounds) and Haugh (17.3 points, 6.2 rebounds) start with the 7-1 Handlogten (5.0 points, 6.1 rebounds) coming off the bench.   The Gators average 46.42 rebounds per game, which ranks second nationally. The Gators lead the nation in both offensive rebounds at 16.67 per game and rebounding margin at 15 per game.   Game notes: Per the kenpom.com analytics, the Gators are the No. 11 team in the nation in defensive efficiency and 24 th in offensive efficiency … Florida’s strength of schedule ranks 25 th nationally, which is third in the Southeastern Conference (Alabama has the toughest schedule and Auburn is No. 11. The other strengths of schedule for SEC teams: Mississippi State 66, Arkansas 69, Vanderbilt 76, Tennessee 124, Kentucky 138, Ole Miss 140, Oklahoma 267, LSU 291, Texas 314, Texas A&M 328, Georgia 338, Missouri 348, South Carolina 350 … Haugh ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring (17.3) while Chinyelu leads the conference in rebounding (10.8) and ranks ninth nationally. Condon ranks third in the SEC in rebounding (8.9). Chinyelu (3.92), Handlogten (3.09) and Condon (2.73) rank first, third and sixth in the SEC in offensive rebounding.   ANTICIPATED STARTING LINEUPS NO. 22 FLORIDA (8-4): Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO)   Dartmouth (5-6): Jackson Munroe (6-8, 220, SR); Brandon Mitchell-Day (6-8, 205, SR); Kareem Thomas (6-5, 195, SO); Jayden Williams (6-6, 185, SR); Connor Amundsen (5-11, 165, SO)   SEC TEAMS IN NCAA NET RANKINGS 6. Vanderbilt; 19. Alabama; 21. Georgia; 22. FLORIDA; 25. Tennessee; 26. Kentucky; 29. Arkansas; 40. LSU; 41. Auburn; 52. Oklahoma; 55. Texas; 64. Texas A&M; 92. Missouri; 98. Ole Miss; 117. South Carolina; 127. Mississippi State   SEC TEAMS IN KENPOM.COM ANALYTICAL RANKINGS 8. Vanderbilt 12-0; 12. FLORIDA 8-4; 15. Tennessee 9-3; 17. Alabama 9-3; 19. Kentucky 9-4; 26. Georgia 11-1; 28. Arkansas 9-3; 37. Auburn 8-4; 40. LSU 11-1; 46. Texas 9-4; 48. Texas A&M 9-3; 51. Oklahoma 9-3; 59. Ole Miss 7-5; 63. Missouri 10-3; 87. Mississippi State 7-5; 91. South Carolina 84   GATORBAIT POWER RANKINGS FOR THE SEC 1. FLORIDA (8-4): The Gators have proven they can play with anyone. Now they get to prove they’re the best team in the SEC.   2. Tennessee (9-3): The Vols play the best defense in the SEC. They played Houston tough but got hosed by Illinois.   3. Arkansas (9-3): Good wins over Louisville and Texas Tech. Played Duke and Houston close.   4. Alabama (9-3): The losses are to Purdue, Gonzaga and Arizona. The losses to the Zags and Zona were decisive. Bama’s in trouble if the threes aren’t falling. 5. Vanderbilt (12-0): The win over Saint Mary’s was impressive but there are a lot of wins over weak teams.   6. Kentucky (9-4) : The Wildcats aren’t nearly as good as the preseason hype. At the current pace, they’ll be holding a conclave to bring in a new pope in March.   7. Auburn (8-4): The Tigers should have beaten Houston but were blown out by Michigan, Arizona and Purdue. Rebounding is going to be an issue.   8. LSU (11-1): The Tigers score a lot of points, but they don’t have anything close to a signature win.   9. Georgia (11-1): The Bulldogs have played one of the easiest schedules in the country. They lost to a good but hardly great Clemson team.   10. Texas (9-4): The Longhorns played UConn close on the road but got blown out by Duke and Virginia.   11. Oklahoma (9-3): The losses are to Gonzaga, Nebraska and  Arizona State. There is a decent win over Oklahoma State.   12. Mississippi State (7-5): The Bulldogs have won three in a row, among them a win over a decent Utah team.   13. Texas A&M (9-3): The Aggies have loaded up on wins against a weak schedule. The losses are to Oklahoma State, UCF and SMU, and the closest thing to good wins are bad Pitt and FSU teams.   14. Ole Miss (7-5): The Rebels have played good teams like Iowa, Utah and St. John’s close. The wins are over weaklings.       15. Missouri (10-3): Losing by 20 to Kansas and 43 to Illinois said everything.   16. South Carolina (8-4): They can’t shoot (29.9 percent from 3) and they can’t rebound. And this is against bad teams.   SEC BASKETBALL Monday’s games Dartmouth (5-6) at No. 22 FLORIDA (8-4) New Haven (5-7) at No. 11 Vanderbilt (12-0) Yale (11-1) at No. 14 Alabama (9-3) James Madison (7-6) at No. 18 Arkansas (9-3) Long Island (6-6) at No. 23 Georgia (11-1) Southern Miss (7-6) at LSU (11-1) Mississippi Valley State (1-12) at Oklahoma (9-3) Queens University (5-7) at Auburn (8-4) Alabama State (3-9) at Mississippi State (7-5) Alcorn State (1-10) at Ole Miss (7-5) Prairie View A&M (5-7) at Texas A&M (9-3)   Tuesday’s games Albany (4-10) at South Carolina (8-4) South Carolina State (1-13) at No. 19 Tennessee (9-3)   Saturday’s games No. 22 FLORIDA (8-4) at Missouri (10-3) No. 11 Vanderbilt (12-0) at South Carolina (8-4) Kentucky (9-4) at No. 14 Alabama (9-3) No. 19 Tennessee (9-3) at No. 18 Arkansas (9-3) Auburn (8-4) at No. 23 Georgia (11-1) Ole Miss (7-5) at Oklahoma (9-3)

The Christmas and New Year holidays always make me reflect on not just the year that has gone by so quickly, but the people who have impacted my life. I’m 74 so a lot of years means a lot of influence. I’m fortunate that even in the adversities I have faced there have been people who have lifted me up. Too many to mention in one column, but I want to share a quote and some snippets about three coaches who have been difference makers. I hope this causes you to reflect to remember the ones who made a difference for you.   THE QUOTE   A middle school football coach from Russell, Alabama told his team, “I don’t know what God has in store for me. I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure that when I face Him, he’s not going to ask me, ‘How many football games did you win, Larry Gilmer?’ He’s going to say, ‘How many lives did you change?'”   COACHES WHO HAVE IMPACTED MY LIFE   BENNY KIMBLE, Gibson High School basketball coach, McComb, Mississippi: Our relationship wasn’t always the smoothest, but I had a lot to do with that. I’m not going to pretend that my high school years were the least troublesome on the planet. Benny called me hard headed. His wife was my algebra and geometry teacher and I frustrated her. I made it entirely possible for a good many of my teachers to think I cared more about becoming a sports writer and perfecting my jump shot than I did education.   One day at basketball practice when everyone was being abused by our big center Lloyd Bennett, Benny looked over to all the skinny guys who only dreamed of maybe earning a spot at the end of the varsity bench and asked for a volunteer. Dumb me. I volunteered. Lloyd was almost 6-7. I was 6-1 and maybe 150 pounds. Benny laughed at the thought of skinny me who made up for my lack of a vertical jump by being slow trying to stop Lloyd, but he said give it a try.  All I could think about was how Benny kept lecturing Lloyd about holding the ball high instead of dipping the ball down to waist level before going up for a shot. The first two plays Lloyd got an entry pass in the low blocks and he did what he always did. Both times I got both hands on the ball before he could go up for a shot. Lloyd tried to rip the ball away but somehow I held on. Benny shouted, “The skinniest guy out here will play some defense!” I guess he saw something in me that day because he became more than my coach from that moment onward.   The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. There were issues on the home front and I needed a friend. He coached me hard on the basketball court, but he listened to me when I dropped by his office or he volunteered to give me a ride home. It remained that way until my family’s exile to Mississippi ended in December of my junior year when we moved back to Gainesville. I got to call the Kimbles at their home a few times before Coach passed away. I got a chance to thank him for being a friend when I needed one.   Best piece of advice he ever gave me: Just try, you might succeed. Even if you fail, you know you tried. There are a lot of people who never try and spend the rest of their lives wondering what might have been.   SPIKE CORBIN, Hoggard High School baseball coach, Wilmington, North Carolina: Before integration, Spike was a big deal at Williston High School, which was one block away from all-white New Hanover in Wilmington, North Carolina. He won state championships as the head coach in football, basketball and baseball. He coached Meadowlark Lemon. He mentored the great Althea Gibson.   When integration ended Wilmington built a brand new school out on Shipyard Boulevard. Spike should have had his pick of head coach for football or basketball, but he was bypassed. They made him the baseball coach and dean of students but he never complained. He was too busy listening to kids and their problems and helping everyone understand that it’s not the color of the outside packaging but the love that lives in your heart.   When racial troubles hit Wilmington in 1971, the governor ordered the National Guard onto the streets. The two people who diffused it were Meadowlark Lemon, who arrived in town days before the Harlem Globetrotters were to play at Brogdon Hall, and his father-figure – Spike Corbin. They made public pleas for peace and calm prevailed.   At Hoggard, Spike won a state championship in baseball. His star pitcher, Ron Musselman, went on to pitch in the big leagues for Cleveland and San Francisco. From 1969-71 while I was working for the Wilmington Star-News, Spike Corbin befriended me and became a regular lunch partner. I covered Hoggard baseball so we talked a lot of baseball. I learned that during the 1930s, he was a very big deal in the Negro Leagues and down in Cuba, where he would play winter ball. He recalled a time when a scout for a big league team told him he could start for 10 teams in the majors if only he were white.   There were so many reasons for this man to harbor bitterness, but instead he saw goodness in other people and thought one of the reasons he had been put on earth was to make a difference in the lives of teen-age boys.   Best piece of advice he ever gave me: You only hurt yourself when you hold onto bitterness and anger and spend your life trying to get even. Let it go and let others live with what they’ve done to hurt you. God has a way of paying people back for the hurt they’ve caused others.   JIM NIBLACK, Gainesville High School football coach: Big Jim was a high school coaching legend in the state of Florida. During the 1960s there were four true legends in the state – Jim Niblack, Holland Applin (Tampa Robinson), Paul Quinn (Lake City and Bartow) and Nick Kotys (Coral Gables). Niblack was known as an innovator who went to college and pro camps to learn the game. The Purple Hurricanes ran Florida State’s sophisticated passing game that Bill Peterson learned from Sid Gillman. After Jim, Perry Moss and Coach Pete spent time in Houston with Bill Yeoman, the Purple Hurricanes ran the Houston veer with Eddie McAshan at QB, Jimmy Roundtree and Mark Buell running the ball and Ruddy Dixon and Richard Williams catching everything thrown their way. Our offense was unstoppable.   At GHS we had a better weight room and a better strength program than they had at the University of Florida. I was skinny and weak. I envied Carl Holland and Jimmy Barkley who benched more than 300 pounds. During the summer, Gator football players came to GHS to lift alongside our high school players.   Nobody did more for race relations in Alachua County than Jim Niblack. In 1966 he sent the ultra-talented Eddie McAshan on the field as the starting quarterback. It was widely reported that Eddie was the first black quarterback at a formerly all-white high school in the south. Now, that’s not to say everyone approved. There were death threats. The KKK tried to burn a cross in Jim’s front yard. He came out of his house shouting words that can’t be repeated, wielding a baseball bat in one hand, a shotgun in the other. The Klansmen ran. If Jim had caught up with them he would have killed them and there wasn’t a jury in Alachua County that would have convicted him.   Later that year when GHS went to Greenwood, South Carolina, the hotel owner refused to let Eddie or the other black players stay. Jim said fine, ordered everyone on the bus and was halfway to Georgia when a car driven by the South Carolina Highway Patrol carrying the Greenwood mayor caught up and explained that this was just a big misunderstanding. The game was played and though GHS lost on the field, there was a sense of victory because Jim Niblack had stood up for what was right. It took a lot of courage to do what he did.   In March of 1968, the state basketball tournament was played at Alligator Alley on the UF campus. I skipped school on Friday and was in the midst of watching West Palm Beach Roosevelt and Lake City in the semifinals of what was then Class A when I felt this hand on my shoulder. It was Niblack, who was also the dean of boys at GHS. I was caught and knew I was going to get suspended for a couple of days for skipping school. Coach Niblack said, “Somebody get me a cold drink.” I couldn’t run to the concession stand fast enough to bring him a Coke (two choices in those days: Coke or Sprite). We watched the rest of the game (Roosevelt won behind Gregory Lowery and Ronnie Nicholson) and when it was over, Coach Ray Graves saw Niblack and waved him over to where he was seated. Coach Niblack said, “See you Monday.”   Well, I knew what was coming on Monday. Suspension. What I didn’t know was how I was going to explain to my dad. Monday came and I walked into the dean’s office and Coach Niblack barely looked up. He was signing an admit slip. “Got the flu did you?” he asked. I kind of nodded. He grinned, handed me the admit slip and said, “Nasty stuff. Hope you’re better … get your butt to class.”   I didn’t play football at GHS, from that moment Jim and I became close friends. The friendship grew with the years until he passed away in 2007. For a few years, the late, great Jack Hairston and I ate lunch once a week with Niblack at what used to be Ryan’s Steakhouse on Main Street. I can’t remember a time when we were talking football and other sports that we weren’t interrupted several times by former players who all had the same thing to say: “Thanks coach. You made me a man.”   Jim Niblack was part of a lot of winning football games while coaching at GHS, the University of Florida and University of Kentucky, the WFL, the USFL, the CFL, the NFL, the Arena League, NFL Europe and at least two or three other leagues I can’t recall, but he turned more boys into men than he ever won football games.   Best piece of advice he ever gave me: Do the right thing, not because you want people to recognize you but because it’s the right thing to do.

So instead, let me leave you with some holiday cheer – a funny story, a sweet remembrance and a free gift from GatorBait.   I must begin my holiday greeting with an apology – I took an extra day or two off to enjoy my time with my family as a gift to me.   Meanwhile, I wish I could assure you that Jadan Baugh is coming back for another year with The Gators. As many of you know, Jadan has been one of my favorites since he first set foot on Florida Gator turf.   And while I feel he would be a very good fit for new coach, Jon Sumrall in orange and blue, we all know it’s as much about green  as anything. We’re stilll waiting and hoping.    So instead, let me leave you with some holiday cheer – a funny story, a sweet remembrance and a free gift from GatorBait.   My colleague and longtime friend Franz Beard has written a beautiful remembrance about his mother, Carleta which you will now find free on GatorBaitmedia.com .   On the other hand, his new book, the Golden Season, is not free, but is obtainable by simply going to Spurriers.com and ordering it shipped to you now.  I guarantee you you won’t be disappointed if you are a Gator fan,  as was the case of former Gator player and SEC replay official Mike McGinnis, who had this to say after purchasing his copy at (From Freddie Wehbe)   Link for Golden Season https://shop.spurriers.com/search?q=book&type=product%y2carticle%2cpage   Folks can visit the website and order a copy by going to the shop on the front page. We ship the same or next day. Price is $30.     Mike McGinnis’s review:   Having been a longtime fan of Franz Beard and his semi-daily offerings as lead-writer for GATORBAIT, I waited in great anticipation for your book recapping the 2025 Florida Gators national championship basketball season, The Golden Season . Well, now that I’ve completed the read, I’m moved to voice my opinion.  What a great piece of work, Franz! Start to finish you’ve captured every meaningful moment inside and out of a historic basketball season allowing me to reminisce with a smile while including personal moments adding greatly to the story. Then, beyond the story, Buddy’s Foreword, the Epilogue and your Acknowledgements enhanced the project even more. I’ve since suggested to many (Gator basketball fan or not) it’s a “must read”. Lastly, my plan is to gift others with the additional copies I’ve purchased.  So, way to go, Franz (and others) for a great job. Keep up the good work and thank you. — Mike McGinnis The joke! No, Thanks To You John   And, finally, the text of gratitude, as well as condolences, from my good friend Loyal John of Ocala: Great article about the Yellow Gators. One thing about Tech people they know how to hate Georgia. Also very impressed with Coach Sumrall losing his dad and coaching a playoff game and juggling the Florida job.   For This We Are Grateful For those who have been asking about the condition of my wife Dawne, thanks. She is somewhat better and we were blessed to have her home for a half day where we had a glorious Christmas Eve lunch with her sons Tommy and Tyler and their families thanks to some great meal prep by Cathi and Kristy. I think you can see the joy on our faces. Keep us in your prayers and God bless you all. MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MARTINS

Tramell Jones Jr. is UF's only scholarship QB at the moment (Photo by Chris Spears) While DJ Lagway ponders his next move in the transfer portal, Jon Sumrall will be busy building an SEC-caliber quarterback room. The current situation is less than desirable – true freshman Tramell Jones Jr. who played in two games in 2025; walkon Aidan Warner who started one game in 2024 but didn’t play in 2025; and consensus 4-star recruit Will Griffin, a record-setting passer who is the No. 6 high school QB in the country per the ESPN evaluations.   A healthy quarterback room should always have at least four scholarship QBs so Sumrall is likely to be looking for two in the portal.   There has been plenty of expectation that Sumrall will target Georgia Tech backup quarterback Aaron Philo, who is in the portal. The hire of former Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to direct the Florida offense along with A.J. Erdely as the assistant quarterbacks coach has added fuel to the Philo to UF fire. Philo is a redshirt freshman with limited experience but he is a dual threat who was a high school stud in the Atlanta area.   There are also reports that Sumrall is talking to Old Dominion sophomore Colton Joseph, who has put up impressive numbers – career 4,251 passing yards for 32 TDs (15 INT) and 1,654 rushing yards for 24 TDs – while leading the Monarchs to 15 wins including a 10-3 record in 2025.   Surprisingly, there has been very little speculation about Iowa State QB Rocco Becht, a Wesley Chapel native with 39 starts and 26 wins to his credit. Becht has thrown for 9,274 passing yards and 64 TDs (27 INT), while running for 499 yards and 19 TDs in his Iowa State career. Becht could be looking to transfer to Penn State where former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell is the new boss. Miami will also be in the market for a new QB so that also is a possibility.   South Florida’s Byrum Brown is in the portal. He has petitioned for another year and it’s entirely possible the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, will grant it. If he gets the waiver to play another year, he might choose Auburn since former South Florida coach Alex Golesky has taken over that program.   A very interesting name in the portal is Taron Dickens, who was Kerwin Bell’s quarterback at Western Carolina. Dickens threw 38 touchdown passes and set an NCAA record with 46 consecutive completions in a game against Wofford.   As for the quarterbacks on hand, Jones was impressive in his collegiate debut against Long Island but didn’t play again until a lost cause game against Kentucky when Lagway was benched after throwing three interceptions. Warner played against Georgia and started the Texas game in 2024 after Lagway went down with a leg injury but he never entered a game in 2025. Griffin has the look of the quarterback of the future after joining the short list of Florida prep quarterbacks who have thrown for more than 10,000 yards and more than 100 TDPs in their careers. Griffin also has a younger brother who is expected to be the starter at Jesuit the next four years.   Here is a list of quarterbacks on hand and many of the top names in the portal:     QUARTERBACKS ON HAND On scholarship Tramell Jones Jr. (6-0, 203, FR): 21-35 passing for 191 yards and 2 TDs in 2 games. Ran for 10 yards.   Experienced walkon Aidan Warner (6-3, 204, RSO): No stats 2025. In 2024, 21-50 passing for 228 yards, 0 TDs (3 INT) and 1 rushing TD   Signed Will Griffin (6-3, 225, Tampa, FL Jesuit): Passed for 2,534 yards, 37 TDs (2 INT), ran for 296 yards and 6 TDs. Career passed for 12,299 yards, 143 TDs (37 INT), ran for 743 yards and 14 TDs.   QUARTERBACKS IN THE PORTAL Josh Ehrlich, Susquehana (6-1, 202, SR): Threw for 2,826 yards and 32 TDs (2 INT) while running for 811 and 7 TDs in 2025. Career 7,480 passing yards, 78 TDs (13 INT), 2,294 rushing for 34 TDs.   Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State (6-0, 202, JR): Threw for 3,361 yards and 19 TDs (11 picks) while running for 423 and 7 TDs. Career 8,694 passing yards for 52 TDs (28 INT), 1,198 rushing for 15 TDs.   Byrum Brown, South Florida (6-3, 232, RJR): Threw for 3,138 yards and 28 TDs (7 INT) and ran for 1,008 (14 TDs). Career 7,690 yards and 61 TDs (19 INT), 2,265 rushing yards and 31 TDs.   Rocco Becht, Iowa State (6-1, 210, RJR from Wesley Chapel, FL): Threw for 2,594 yards and 16 TDs (9 INT) while running for 116 and 8 TDs. Career 9,274 passing yards and 64 TDs (27 INT), 499 rushing yards and 19 TDs.   Josh Hoover, TCU (6-2, 200, RJR): Threw for 3,472 yards and 29 TDs (13 INT) while running for 2 TDs. Career 9,629 passing yards and 71 TDs (33 INT), 8 rushing TDs.   Beau Pribula, Missouri (6-2, 212, SR): Threw for 1,941 yards and 11 TDs (9 INT) while running for 297 yards and 6 TDs. Career 2,365 passing yards and 20 TDs (10 INT), 868 rushing yards and 16 TDs.   Drew Mestemaker, North Texas (6-4, 210, RFR): Threw for 4,129 yards and 31 TDs (7 INT) while running for 5 TDs. Career 4,591 passing yards and 33 TDs (9 INT), rushing 6 TDs.   Dylan Raiola, Nebraska (6-3, 230, SO): Threw for 2,000 yards and 18 TDs (6 INT). Career 4,819 passing yards and 31 TDs (17 INT).   Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati (6-3, 235, RJR): Threw for 2,800 yards and 27 TDs (5 INT) and ran for 589 and 9 TDs. Career 6,208 passing yards for 72 TDs (18 INT) and 1,295 rushing yards for 22 TDs.   Kaitin Houser, East Carolina (6-3, 225, RJR): Threw for 3,300 yards and 19 TDs (6 INT) and ran for 181 and 9 TDs. Career 6,348 passing yards for 43 TDs (22 INT) and 352 rushing yards for 15 TDs.   JJ Kohl, Appalachian State (6-7, 245, RFR): Threw for 1,465 yards and 12 TDs (2 INT) and ran for 1 TD. Career 1,497 yards and 12 TDs (2 INT) and 1 rushing TD.   Sam Leavitt, Arizona State (6-2, 205, RSO): Threw for 1,628 yards and 10 TDs (3 INT) and ran for 300 yards and 5 TD. Career 4,652 passing yards and 36 TDs (11 INT) and 810 rushing yards and 10 TDs.   Jaden Craig, Harvard (6-3, 230, JR): Threw for 2,869 yards and 25 TDs (7 INT) while running for 3 TDs. Career 6,074 passing yards for 52 TDs (12 INT) and 214 rushing yards for 11 TDs.   Dylan Lonergan, Boston College (6-2, 211, RSO): Threw for 2,025 yards and 12 TDs (5 INT) and ran for 1 TD. Career 2,060 passing yards for 12 TDs (5 INT) and 1 rushing TD.   Colton Joseph, Old Dominion (6-2, 200, SO): Threw for 2,624 yards and 21 TDs (10 INT) and ran for 1,007 and 13 TDs. Career 4,251 passing yards for 32 TDs (15 INT) and 1,654 rushing yards for 24 TDs.   Taron Dickens, Western Carolina (5-11, 180, RSO from Miami): Threw for 3,508 yards and 38 TDs (2 INT) and ran for 321 yards and 1 TD. Career 5,063 passing yards and 51 TDs (5 INT) and 371 rushing yards and 3 TDs.   Aaron Philo, Georgia Tech (6-2, 220, RFR): Threw for 373 yards and 1 TD (1 INT), ran for 19 yards. Career 938 passing yards, 2 TDs (3 INT) and 95 rushing yards and 1 TD.