By Carlton Reese GatorBait Media Question: Was there even a game plan for this one? Did the Florida coaches and players watch any film of the Tennessee offense the week prior? To the naked eye, the clear answer to these questions is No. That is certainly giving the Gators the benefit of the doubt, for if they had watched film and had put together a game plan that resulted in Saturday night’s embarrassment, then basic competency comes in to question for all involved. Florida won the opening coin toss and deferred the option, essentially putting Tennessee’s offense on the field first as though some big, bad statement were being made about the confidence in the Gator defense, depleted as it was. Tennessee opted for the run game mainly, but when Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar decided to throw, there were receivers left alone as lepers. Tennessee marched down the field on its first two drives as though it was scrimmaging against its own third-team defense. When Florida took over on offense, it was clear the Vol coaches and players had watched plenty of film and devised a real plan. The Tennessee defenders knew exactly what was coming on every play and the life was sucked out of the Gators midway through the opening period. The Kentucky debacle was Ali-Frazier compared to what transpired at The Swamp tonight. The shame of it all is that The Swamp was electric. That is, until Austin Barber was flagged for holding on a play in which running back Jadan Baugh hauled in a pass and juked his way inside the Tennessee 40. Instead of a strong answer to Tennessee’s opening-drive score, Florida was backed up inside its own 15 with quarterback DJ Lagway dangling on a hook just waiting to be devoured. One might think a lower level Florida could not possibly reach, but there is more granite rock to blast through and that comes next week against a terrible Florida State team. The shame of a loss to a non-talented and seemingly rudderless Seminoles team would make everyone forget the shame of the Tennessee destruction as any defeat, no matter how close, would mark the lowest point in Florida football since Georgia Southern manhandled the Gators on that very same field nearly 12 years to the day. Once Tennessee had taken complete control about three minutes into the game, something else was missing, besides the heart of those wearing blue jerseys. Also missing was the care of nearly 90,000 patrons in attendance and about all 273 people still watching on television as to what the outcome would be. All had mailed it in, as everyone started setting their phone alarms to about 4 p.m. Friday, at which point Lane Kiffin will have given his post-Egg Bowl interviews that could indicate whether or not he is headed to Gainesville next season. There was no drama on the field, even amid desperate attempts to create some. Down 21-0 early in the second quarter, Jayden Woods strip-sacked Aguilar on a play that, statistically speaking, never ends up with the offense retaining possession. This time, it was actually the quarterback who recovered as no Florida defender had the temerity, neh, audacity, to fall on the ball. What could have sparked a small amount of emotion instead set up the Vols for a long run on the next play to the Gator 1. One play later, it was 28-0. When Florida finally put together a drive, fueled by a long run by Lagway, the old Billy Napier playbook came out of retirement. On first down at the Tennessee 12, Lagway ran into the middle of the line on a well-conceived play that lost one yard. That was followed by an incomplete pass that led the receiver too much, a sack for a loss of 7 and a never-had-a-chance miss of a 38-yard field goal attempt by Trey Smack. When Smack finally put Florida on the board with a 46-yard field goal late in the third quarter, the Gators trailed 31-3. Gator fans all know the significance of this score because it has been proven a game is not over. All remember 1994 in Tallahassee when the Gators led 31-3 in the fourth quarter against FSU, yet the Seminoles mustered up a comeback and won 31-31. So, it’s not over at 31-3, but this one was. This 2025 Gator team in no way reminds anyone of that ’94 Seminoles team. The Tennessee Volunteers looked like world beaters Saturday night, but they most certainly are not. Even after what happened at The Swamp, Tennessee is yet to beat anybody. Anybody. They’ve rolled up gaudy offensive numbers against the likes of Syracuse (which only allowed 70 to Notre Dame Saturday), East Tennessee State, UAB and New Mexico State. In their three games this season against good opponents, Tennessee is 0-3. Does this demonstrate just how bad Florida is, or at least was on this night? The Gators fooled Tennessee fans into thinking their team belongs in mention with the game’s heavy hitters. The irony is that Vanderbilt is the juggernaut for Tennessee to finally prove its worth next week. Enough about those guys, though; they don’t matter and haven’t for a very long time. Only two things matter right now to Gator fans: beating Florida State and bringing in the coach for which everyone seems to be pining. On the first point, not Nostradamus, not Kreskin, nor Joyce Brothers could tell anyone what to expect. It’s Senior Night against an in-state rival, so it’s not too much to expect maximum preparation, effort and focus. If Vegas offers any prop bets in this regard, a wise man will stay away. On the second point, it just needs to come to an end. Kiffin enjoys the attention and all the slobbering of Gator fans and boosters – if Florida wants a head coach with an unmanageable ego, it’s doing a great job of creating just that. Come coach the Gators or stay in Oxford; either way, let’s just get it over with already. If Florida’s current momentum is any indication, then be prepared for some more heartache. Normally, a blowout loss to Tennessee tells Florida fans all they need to know about their team, but on this night, no one was told anything they didn’t already know. Tennessee beat up on a weakling and Florida played possum. Tennessee wanted this game, badly – it was symbolic for their program simply because of the logo they were facing and there was no way a 3-7 team with an interim coach was going to match that intensity. When FSU comes to town, it’ll be as though it never happened, perhaps because it never did matter. Don’t worry, everyone – it’s almost over. The nightmare is almost over.

UAA Photo by Maddie Washburn There wasn’t exactly plenty to prove Friday night at the O-Dome. The Merrimack Warriors (2-4) weren’t much more than cannon fodder for 10 th -ranked Florida (4-1) but a sellout crowd of 10,935 got to see the Gators continue their evolution as an elite defensive team. Florida allowed 28.6 percent shooting overall and just 16 percent from the 3-point line while outrebounding the shorter, less talented Warriors, 53-25, with Rueben Chinyelu gathering in 21 rebounds, most by a Gator in the shot clock era.   “We gotta be an elite defensive team where we're making it really hard on a team to score,” Florida coach Todd Golden said after the Gators dismantled Merrimack, 80-45.  “We held them under 30 percent from the field tonight. That's a pretty elite effort. We're guarding the 3-point line well, and we're taking a lot of pride on that end. Everybody that's in the lineup, we have some guys struggling in some different areas offensively, but collectively our defensive effort is really, really good right now.”   The win, Florida’s fourth straight, moved the Gators up one spot to No. 5 in the kenpom.com analytical rankings. The Gators are now No. 4 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.   Offensively, the Gators were steady but unspectacular. They did shoot the ball better from the 3-point line – 8-22, 36.4 percent – for their best effort of the season. Overall, the Gators shot 43.5 percent on 27-62 shooting from the field. On 3-point attempts, the Gators had their best evening of the season. Florida is still looking for a breakout game in which the outside shooters all heat up at the same time, but at least Friday night the shots were spread around.   Boogie Fland, who scored 10 points, hit 2-3 on 3-pointers against Merrimack’s 2-3 zone. Urban Klavzar, who broke out with 4-7 3-point shooting against Miami back on Sunday, hit two threes off the bench as did Isaiah Brown, who was 2-3. In the second half, freshmen CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd came off the bench to hit a three.   Klavzar is a baby-faced assassin who is expected to drill threes when he comes off the bench. Brown’s two 3-pointers came as a bit of a surprise to the crowd but Goden has seen enough of the talented sophomore in practice to know what he is capable of doing.   “Obviously getting a couple threes from him tonight was huge,” Golden said. “He has the capability to do that. Zay is a guy that we came into this year kind of counting on or thinking that, you know, we can rely on him. And he kind of had an up and down fall, but he's playing really well right now. I think he's in a great head space, has a great understanding of what we need from him in that role, and when he can help us by making a couple threes, obviously that's icing on the cake. But he was plus-20 in his minutes. I thought he defended pretty well, and two blocks, he's competing really well.”   Overall, Florida’s defense continued its climb to true elite status, allowing the Warriors only four second chance points. The Gators rarely allowed the Warriors to get anything easy on the inside and the outside shooting was a nightmare as Florida was outstanding in closing out shooters.   Merrimack’s best two shooters – Ernest Shelton (1-8) and Tye Dorsett (1-10) – were a combined 2-18 on their 3-point attempts. The Warriors couldn’t compete with the taller, more physical Gators on the inside so they tried to even things up at the 3-point line, but the struggle there was just as tough as the Gators were outstanding in their closeouts.    It marked another game of defensive improvement for Tommy Haugh, who played some at the high post buit spent the bulk of his time on the perimeter. The 6-9 Haugh, who contributed 14 points, four rebounds and two assists on the offensive end of the court, continued to show his capability defending on the perimeter against smaller, quick players.  Shelton, who was Haugh’s primary defensive assignment, came into the game averaging 22.5 points per game, barely scratched against Haugh. Shelton managed 1-9 shooting overall, 1-8 on 3-point bombs.   "I think that's always been a strength of his, being able to slide his feet,” Golden said. “And he has really good IQ, so he's able to kind of operate those low-high switches and be in the right place at the right time. He's getting more comfortable. He's just getting more reps out there being on the wing. I thought he did a really good job on Shelton. Shelton was averaging 30 a night, shooting over 50 from 3 coming into this game or at least going into their last game before they played Maine. And we held him to 1-for-9 tonight. We made it really hard on him and that's a good player. So credit to Tommy for the growth that he's made in those different areas."   Florida was ahead 11-0 before Merrimack scratched on offense with 14:53 left in the half. After Merrimack scored two to cut the margin to seven, the Gators ripped off the next 21 straight points.   The Warriors could hardly catch their collective breaths because when the Gators weren’t forcing the issue with their perimeter defense, they were pounding away on the inside where Chinyelu and Alex Condon were unstoppable against a front line that didn’t start a player taller than 6-7. Chinyelu had seven points and 12 first half rebounds while Condon had 12 points and seven rebounds.   The Gators weren’t at their best offensively at any point in the game, but they more than made up for any deficiency with an outstanding defensive effort. Not everything the Gators did, not just in the first half but the entire game, showed up in the box score.   “For me, I measure guys on how they do with the things that don't require talent,” Golden said. “Are they defending? Are they rebounding? Are they taking care of the ball? Are they on the scouting report? Are they diving on the floor for loose balls? Are they blocking out? All these different things. Those are the things that we care about and we'll worry about the shot-making later. But for now, the guys in the rotation are doing their job in those areas."   Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu ran a nice 1-2 game that Merrimack was woeful to stop. The two combined for 34 points, 32 rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. It marked the third straight double-double for Chinyelu, whose line read 14 points, 21 rebounds and two blocked shots.   “The thing that we're really proud of Rueben about is he's just gotten better and better and better and better, from where he was beginning last year to how he was playing at the beginning of conference play, to how he's playing in the tournament, to where he is now,” Golden said. “Every couple of months he's making a jump and he's a guy that we're counting on to be a huge part of our team.”   Game notes: Condon led the Gators with 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a steal … Haugh finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists … Fland scored 10 points to go with one rebound, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot … CJ Ingram (five points) and Alex Lloyd (three points) each hit a 3-pointer … Viktor Mikic had two points and three rebounds … Olivier Rioux scored his first point as a Gator on a free throw late in the game … The Gators are off until next week when they travel to San Diego to play in the Rady Children’s Classic. On Thursday they’ll play TCU (3-2) and on Friday they get the winner of Providence (3-2) and 23 rd -ranked Wisconsin (4-1), which was hosed Friday night by 9 th -ranked BYU, 98-70.   SEC BASKETBALL No. 12 Kentucky (4-2) 88, Loyola Maryland (2-5) 46: Former Gator Denzel Aberdeen had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists while playing a game-high 28 minutes for Kentucky.   No. 21 Arkansas (5-1) 115, Jackson State (0-5) 61: The Razorbacks hit 9-18 from the 3-point line and were credited with 14 steals as they obliterated winless Jackson State.   LSU (5-0) 99, Omaha (2-4) 78: UNLV transfer Dedan Thomas had 15 points and 10 assists while Max MacKinnon scored 22 as LSU remained unbeaten.   Butler (4-1) 79, South Carolina (4-1) 72: Meechie Johnson scored 24 points as South Carolina lost its first game of the season.   New Mexico (4-2) 80, Mississippi State (2-3) 78: Uriah Tennette’s two free throws with seven seconds left sealed New Mexico’s win over Mississippi State in the Hall of Fame Classic consolation game. Josh Hubbard scored 29 points and Quincy Ballard 21 for Mississippi State.   Sunday’s games Clemson (5-1) at Georgia (6-0) Alcorn State (0-6) at Oklahoma (3-2) South Carolina (4-1) at Northwestern (4-1)

Maybe this team can take a tip or two from Urban Meyer as he will be honored during the game for his election into the College Football Hall of Fame.

(Photo by Chris Spears) The bad news is the Merrimack Warriors (2-3) will probably spend 40 minutes in a 2-3 zone when they take on 10 th -ranked Florida (3-1) at the O-Dome (7 p.m., SEC Network+). For a team shooting a miserable 23.7 percent from the 3-point line, teams that go zone all the time, a zone isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered.   "Merrimack brings a unique challenge playing 40 minutes of zone, and obviously we have not shot the ball well from the perimeter yet, so will be a good challenge for us that way,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Thursday afternoon. “But everybody that is dressed has to be ready."   The Warriors are holding opponents to 31.6 percent on 3-pointers. More important, they’re limiting opponents to 19 attempts from behind the 3-point stripe per game. Merrimack lost its second game of the season to Auburn, 95-57, a game in which the Warriors held Auburn to 6-24 from the 3-point line. On 2-point shots, Auburn went 25-38. Merrimack, meanwhile, launched 32 3-pointers against Auburn, but nailed only eight of them.   The Gators do need the shooting practice, particularly since they travel to San Diego next week to face TCU (3-2) in the first round of the Rady’s Children’s Invitational. Win that one and the Gators will face the winner of Providence (3-2) and 23 rd -ranked Wisconsin (4-0). Those games are rather tough warmups for the following two games – at No. 5 Duke (5-0) at Cameron Indoor Stadium and No. 3 UConn (4-1) in the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.   Golden pointed out that it’s still a bit early in the season to be counting the Gators out as a decent 3-point shooting team although Xaivian Lee (6-34) and Boogie Fland (2-17) are struggling mightily.   “This has obviously become the big talking point,” Golden said. “The thing we really enjoy doing is kind of going back and some of our past teams and how we did early in the year. After I think five games last year, Will [Richard] was 4-22 from three to start the season,” Golden said. “And Alijah was something like 22 percent in his first six or seven games with us. So, obviously we want Xaivian [Lee] shooting better from the perimeter but as we’ve discussed, I’m way more concerned with him with things that don’t require talent. He’s doing a really good job defending the best he ever has in his career. He’s doing a great job taking care of the basketball for us and he’s rebounding his position. When the threes start falling, I think you’re going to see us be able to kind of get away from some teams similar to how we did when Urby [Urban Klavzar] started shooting the ball well on Sunday. When we hit threes we can put some pressure on some teams.”   The Gators may not get many looks from the 3-point line tonight, but they likely won’t need them. Merrimack is – shall we say – vertically challenged. The Warriors go with a front line of 6-7 Todd Brogna (6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds) and 6-5 Ernest Shelton (21 points, 3.4 rebounds). The leading rebounder is 6-2 Kevair Kennedy (13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds).   In the loss to Auburn, the Warriors were outrebounded 55-24 and outscored in the paint, 42-14.   The Gators will go with their typical front line of 6-11 Alex Condon (16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds), 6-11 Rueben Chinyelu (9.5 points, 9.0 rebounds) and 6-9 Tommy Haugh (19 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists per game), so it’s not like Florida will have to rely on outside shooting. The Gators will be short-handed up front, however, as 7-1 Micah Handlogten will sit this one out due to a shot he took to the head Sunday night in the Gators’ 82-68 win over Miami in Jacksonville Sunday night.   Sitting Handlogten has more to do with precaution than anything else.   “He's doing great. He got banged up pretty good, took an elbow to the chin on Sunday night so he will not play tomorrow night," Golden said. "He’s still in his rehab and just kind of getting back healthy. We’re hopeful he'll be back next week when we get out west to play those games in San Diego.”   This should be an opportunity for Golden to get more work in for his reserves. Against Miami, Urban Klavzar came off the bench to hit 4-7 from the 3-point line, finishing the game with 15 points. Isaiah Brown was an effective part of Florida’s full court pressure unit in the second half against Miami, but he didn’t get many opportunities to touch the ball on the offensive end. Freshmen CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd probably will get a shot at playing extended minutes.    Game notes: The game is sold out. The Gators have sold out 11 of their last 13 home games at the O-Dome … Gainesville attorney and Gator booster Jeffrey Meldon will be distributing replicas of Florida’s NCAA championship ring to all fans attending the game … The Gators lead the NCAA in rebounding with 52.75 rebounds per game. The Gators are the No. 2 offensive rebounding team in the country at 19.25 per game. Florida outrebounds opponents by 17 per game … The Gators have moved up to No. 6 in the kenpom.com analytics. The Gators are No. 20 in the nation in offensive efficiency and No. 7 in defensive efficiency.   Anticipated Starting Lineups No. 9 FLORIDA (3-1): Alex Condon (6-11, 235, 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)   Merrimack (2-3): Kevair Kennedy (6-2, 165, FR); Ernest Shelton (6-5, 180, JR); Andres Marrero (6-3, 200, SR); Todd Brogna (6-7, 220, JR); Tye Dorset (6-3, 175, SO)   SEC BASKETBALL No. 20 Tennessee (5-0) 89, Tennessee State (2-3) 60: Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 17 points four rebounds and five assists for the unbeaten Vols.   Vanderbilt (5-0) 109, Texas Southern (0-5) 74: Tyler Nickel and Tyler Tanner each scored 20 points for Vandy.   Oklahoma (3-2) 95, Oral Roberts (2-4) 71: Mohamed Wague had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Sooners.   Missouri (6-0) 102, South Dakota (3-3) 68: Mark Mitchell scored 22 points and Jevon Porter had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers.   Kansas State (5-0) 98, Mississippi State (2-2) 77: Mississippi State’s problems were at the defensive end where they gave up 14-30 shooting from the 3-point line by Kansas State.   Friday’s games Merrimack (2-3) at No. 10 FLORIDA (3-1) Loyola Maryland (2-4) at No. 12 Kentucky (3-2) Jackson State (0-4) at No. 21 Arkansas (4-1) South Carolina (4-0) at Butler (3-1) Omaha (2-3) at LSU (4-0) Georgia (5-0) at Xavier (3-2) Manhattan (3-2) at Texas A&M (3-2)

Vols Need To See A Lot Of This On Saturday Night. GatorBaitMedia/A.I. Graphic

Rueben Chinyelu sets up in the paint (Photo by Chris Spears) Check out Franz Beard’s new book The Golden Season. Ordering info below: — Since dropping the season opener to Arizona, the Gators have run off three straight wins, two against really good (but not great) teams from the ACC in Florida State and Miami. It's easy to see the potential in this team. Todd Golden has once again shown he is a true master builder when it comes to putting together a roster. The Gators are taller than everybody else and they're more experienced. The pre-conference schedule is tougher than it's ever been but by the time January arrives Florida will be head and shoulders above the rest of the SEC. Four games into the 2025-26 season here is what we know about the Florida Gators:   1. Potentially an elite defensive team: Already, the Gators are No. 5 defensively in the kenpom.com analytics. They will get better. They’re defending the three better (27.4 percent now, 29.4 percent last year) and Todd Golden is showing a willingness to use his quick guys to pick people up and pressure full court. The in the paint defense is exceptional.   2. The offense will be fine: The Gators are already averaging nearly 88 points per game and this is without much from the 3-point line. The big guys ability to put the ball on the deck to break out of the pack to start the break is worth 10 or more points per game. Sloppy ball handling is a problem now but should improve as Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee grow more comfortable in their roles.   3. Tommy Haugh is better than expected: He is a stud. Early mock drafts have him borderline lottery pick. He’ll be a lottery guy despite the fact he will be 23 when the NBA drafts next year. He’s averaging 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He can play four positions on the court effectively. His confidence is soaring.   4. The lights have gone on for Rueben: In the last two ball games, Rueben Chinyelu has gone beast mode. Good for the Gators, bad news for those who think they can stop him. He is the Nigerian Nightmare now that he’s stopped hesitating down low and instead just going up with harmful intent. He’s getting way too many cheap fouls called against him. That’s the only concern right now.   5. Boogie and Xaivian are elite but need to shoot better: Watch these guys make the transition from defense to offense. Truly elite speed in moving the ball up the court, excellent court vision and outstanding passing skills. XLee needs to beat people off the bounce and get into the lane more where he can dump it off to a big. Boogie needs to trust his pullup jumper from midrange. Both should get better on 3-pointers. Everything XLee shoots hits front of the rim, which means it’s a mechanical issue with him.   6. Beware Urban Klavzar: What you saw against Miami is what to expect. The kid is a real bomber with Walter Clayton Jr. range although not as creative. He can, however, get his own shot. He’s not just catch and shoot. The Miami shooting is what Todd saw when he began recruiting him.   7. Best front court in the nation: A lot of people questioned when Todd decided to go with the traditional lineup of three bigs and two perimeter guys, but it’s working out fine. The versatility of the lineup makes the Gators extraordinarily hard to scout and plan for. Condo can shoot threes. Rueben has gone beastly. Haugh is all over the place and off the bench comes Micah, who is a truly elite offensive rebounder. Todd has a lot of combinations he can work with. Best of all, he has four big guys who can run so the game doesn’t have to slow down.   8. Right now, the Gators go nine deep: The starting five of Haugh, Condo, Rueben, Boogie and XLee is backed up by Micah, Urby, Isaiah Brown and CJ Ingram. Brown and Ingram are in for their defense, quickness and ability to operate in an open court game, but they have skills and the coach’s confidence. AJ Brown coming back from injury will help and Alex Lloyd is fine offensively but currently a defensive liability. When those two get locked in, the Gators will be scary deep.       Handlogten will be fine: Micah Handlogten was conspicuously absent in the second half of the Miami game. Prior to some other reports, it was a not serious head injury. He was held out of the second half as a precaution but will be just fine.   Haugh SEC Player of the Week: By the end of the season he will be SEC Player of the Year. He’s that good.   Associated Press top 25: 1. Purdue 4-0; 2. Houston 4-0; 3. UConn 4-0; 4. Arizona 4-0; 5. Duke 4-0; 6. Louisville 4-0; 7. Michigan 3-0; 8. Illinois 4-0; 9. BYU 3-1; 10. FLORIDA 3-1; 11. Alabama 2-1; 12. Kentucky 3-2; 13. Gonaga 4-0; 14. St. John’s 2-1; 15. Texas Tech 3-1; 16. Iowa State 3-0; 17. Michigan State 3-0; 18. North Carolina 4-0; 19. UCLA 3-1; 20. Tennessee 3-0; 21. Arkansas 3-1; 22. Auburn 3-1; 23. Wisconsin 3-0; 24. Kansas 3-1; 25. North Carolina State 3-0   Coaches top 25: 1. Purdue 4-0; 2. Houston 4-0; 3. UConn 4-0; 4. Duke 4-0; 5. Arizona 4-0; 6. (TIE) Michigan 3-0; Louisville 3-0; 8. Illinois 4-0; 9. FLORIDA 3-1; 10. BYU 3-1; 11. Alabama 2-1; 12. Gonzaga 4-0; 13. Kentucky 3-2; 14. Iowa State 3-0; 14. Texas Tech 3-1; 16. St. John’s 2-1; 17. Tennessee 3-0; 18. Michigan State 3-0; 19. North Carolina 4-0; 20. UCLA 3-1; 21. Wisconsin 3-0; 22. Arkansas 3-1; 23. Kansas 3-1; 24. Vanderbilt 4-0; 25. Indiana 4-0   SEC in kenpom.com analytics (national rank): 8. FLORIDA 3-1; 11. Kentucky 3-2; 12. Tennessee 4-0; 13. Vanderbilt 4-0; 21. Alabama 2-1; 30. Auburn 3-1; 32. Missouri 5-0; 33. Georgia 5-0; 34. Ole Miss 5-0; 38. LSU 3-0; 39. Texas 4-1; 43. Arkansas 4-1; 45. Mississippi State 2-1; 65. Oklahoma 2-2; 73. Texas A&M 2-2; 89. South Carolina 3-0   SEC in Joe Lunardi Bracketology Joe Lunardi of ESPN has released his latest brackets. Although he projects 11 will make the NCAA field, only reigning national champ Florida and Kentucky rate a No. 3 seed. Lunardi loads up once again on the Big Ten. There are 18 teams in the Big Ten. Joe has 24 of them in the NCAA field. Sarcasm. Hope you caught it. Actually he has 12, which is way too many.   No. 3: FLORIDA (East); Kentucky (Midwest) No. 4: Alabama (South); Tennessee (West) No. 6: Arkansas (West); Vanderbilt (South) No. 7: Auburn (South) No. 8: Missouri (Midwest) No. 9: Ole Miss (East) No. 10: Texas (East) No. 11: Georgia (Midwest)   SEC BASKETBALL No. 11 Alabama (2-1): Tarleton State transfer forward Keitenn Bristow, who missed the first three games, will be a game time decision for Illinois. Wednesday: at No. 8 Illinois (4-0)   No. 21 Arkansas (4-1): Nick Pringle scored on a layup with 11 seconds left as Arkansas rallied past underdog Winthrop 84-83. Arkansas scored the final six points in the last 1:13. Friday: Jackson State (0-3)   No. 22 Auburn (3-1): Keyshawn Hall suffered a lateral ankle and foot sprain in the loss to Houston. No timetable has been set for his return. Hall has scored 20 or more points in all four Auburn games.  Wednesday: Jackson State (0-3)   Georgia (5-0): Despite the 5-0 start, Georgia’s outside shooting is in the tank. The Bulldogs are hitting a miserable 26.1 percent from the 3-point line.  Friday: at Xavier (2-2)   No. 12 Kentucky (3-2): Kentucky has beaten three cupcakes and lost to the only two decent teams they’ve played. The Wildcats were embarrassingly bad in getting blown out by Michigan State, 83-66, Tuesday night.    Friday: Loyola Maryland (2-3)   LSU (4-0): The Tigers remained unbeaten with an easy, 107-81, win over Alcorn State. LSU has scored 90 or more points in all four wins.   Friday: Omaha (1-3)   Mississippi State (2-1): Josh Hubbard is averaging 22.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Thursday: at Kansas State (4-0)   Missouri (5-0): Mizzou is off to a 5-0 start for the first time in three years … The Tigers are averaging 91.4 points per game. Thursday: South Dakota (3-2)   Oklahoma (2-2): Nigel Pack, a sixth-year player who spent the last three at Miami, leads the team at 19.3 points per game. Pack is closing in on 2,000 points foo his collegiate career. Thursday: Oral Roberts (1-3)   Ole Miss (5-0): Former French Pro A leaguer Ilias Kamaradine had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Rebels beat Austin Peay, 72-65.   South Carolina (4-0): South Carolina improved to 4-0 with an 87-58 win over Radford Tuesday night. Mike Sharavjamts had a double-double for the Gamecocks with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Friday: at Butler (3-1)   No. 17 Tennessee (3-0): Israeli national Ethan Burg had his best game yet for the Vols against Rice with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Thursday: Tennessee State (2-2)   Texas (4-1): Xavier transfer Dailyn Swain scored 26 points to lead Texas past Rider.   Texas A&M (2-2): Rylan Griffin scored 17 points to lead the Aggies past Montana, 86-81, Tuesday night. Friday: Manhattan (2-2)   Vanderbilt (4-0): Duke Miles, who is with his fourth team in six years, leads the Commodores at 16.3 points per game. Previous whistlestops were Troy, High Point and Oklahoma. Thursday: Texas Southern (0-4)   ASSESSING THE SEC   Florida is the best team in the league. Period. Second best? That’s Tennessee where Maryland transfer Ja’kobi Gillespie is a more than adequate replacement at the point for Zakai Ziegler and freshman Nate Ament is better than advertised.   Alabama can score but can’t rebound and is going to be killed on the inside. Arkansas needs chemistry but the freshmen Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff Jr. are the real deal. The Hogs have to beat people in open court games. They won’t deal well with big teams that pound it inside.   Kentucky is overhyped and hasn’t much in the way of chemistry. What do you want to bet Denzel Aberdeen is having buyer’s remorse about now?   Auburn would have beaten Houston double digits if it had made some free throws. Steven Pearl completely outcoached Kelvin Sampson. You can coach them up but you can’t shoot free throws for them.   Ole Miss is going to be very good. That’s a team to beware of.   Lump Georgia, LSU, Vanderbilt and Missouri together. Good enough to beat most teams when the stars and planets align. Bad enough to get their doors blown off on nights when they don’t.   A lot of SEC teams will make the NCAA field, but in no way is the league as good as last year. Florida can make the Final Four. Tennessee, Arkansas and Ole Miss can make the Elite Eight.

(Photo by Loren Meadows) “Ain’t he a genius, the boy’s become a star And he smiles upon the faces who wish they could go far Not long ago, they criticized, the genius only wrote And now they listen spellbound with lumps caught in their throats” – from “Ain’t He a Genius” by Jimmy Buffett   You could call this the Lane Kiffin revenge tour. Revenge for all the critics dating all the way back to Al Davis, who hired Lane to coach the Raiders long before he was ready. He was 32 and a budding genius for sure but not anywhere close to ready for prime time. There was the year at Tennessee when he said outrageous things. He was criticized plenty but considering how far down the program had fallen it took someone brash to draw attention. He was fired at Southern Cal even though he never had a full roster due to the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, doing scorched earth sanctions. He revived Nick Saban’s stagnant offense and won a national championship with the forgettable Jake Coker at QB, then was fired by Nick ahead of the 2016 national championship game with Clemson. Nick probably regrets that.   And so here is Lane, after absorbing enough slings and arrows to last a lifetime, the head coach at Ole Miss and truly the genius that everybody wants a piece of. Florida wants him. That’s been the talk of the college football world ever since Billy Napier was relieved of his duties. LSU is in the picture now that Brian Kelly has been told to take his fake Southern accent to somewhere that they won’t know the difference. And now the New York Giants have fired Brian Daboll, like Lane, a former Saban assistant. The Giants have a QB of the future in Jaxson Dart, whom Lane coached at Ole Miss.   And then there is Ole Miss. There is plenty to love about Oxford. Already Lane is 54-19 as the Ole Miss head coach. This is his third straight year with at least 10 wins and his fourth 10-plus season in the last five years. Win another ball game and he’s reach out and touch distance from the College Football Playoff.   Lane loves Oxford and Oxford loves Lane, but as the late, great Al McGuire once noted, “All love affairs end. Eventually the girl is going to put curlers in her hair.”   So, is the love affair with Ole Miss and Oxford about to end, or does Lane Kiffin tell all these folks promising the moon that the weather is here, I wish you were beautiful?   Here is a does he stay or does he go eval.   LSU: The LSU folks like to point out there is enough high school talent in the state of Louisiana, so much more than Lane has at his disposal in Mississippi. They point to a stadium that seats 36,000 more and starts greasing up for a home game on Wednesday. No need for a grove when you can go to games on Saturday night with a three-day buzz. There is a history of championships and Heisman Trophy winners. That’s the good stuff.   Now for the bad. They fired a coach with 5-3 record, a coach who won 29 games in the previous seasons and had produced a Heisman Trophy winner. They knew the buyout was $54 million when they fired him and now they’re trying to weasel out.   The verdict: Lane may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. Taking the LSU job would qualify for a sequel to “Dumb and Dumber.”   New York Giants: Yes, it’s the NFL. It’s all football all the time. Bright lights, big city. Jaxson Dart is the QB. The Giants can be rebuilt through free agency. Isn’t that what Lane is doing to sustain success at Ole Miss? The portal is college football free agency and Lane is the best in the business.   Now for the bad. The New York media is brutal. New York fans will turn on you in a heartbeat. The NFL is like certain species that eat their own offspring. Isn’t this the same organization that Saquon Barkley fled from?     The verdict: There are two chances he takes this job: No way and no how.   Ole Miss: He’s already a folk hero because he’s won and he’s fit in so nicely in Oxford. They love his brash style. He is a pirate, 200 years too late. The media scrutiny is minimal. He wins. He has some stud assistants like Charlie Weis Jr., O-line coach John Garrison and DC Pete Golding, whose career has been revived in Oxford ever since he was shown the door in Tuscaloosa. A former Division II QB has the Rebels on the cusp of the College Football Playoff. If he stays he’s going to have a statue outside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He’s a magnet for wayward boys looking for a place to play some football for a fun coach. They’re willing to pony up big bucks and extend his contract.   Now for the bad. There aren’t enough SEC caliber football players in the state so he will have to live and die in the portal as long as he stays at Ole Miss if he intends to keep winning at his current pace. So far, it hasn’t been a problem, but what happens if you hit a bad year when the talent level dips? Trouble because it’s hard to have a strong enough foundation of high school kids to bridge those years when the portal talent just isn’t there. It’s been since 1963 that Ole Miss won the SEC. There are reports that Ole Miss is trying to force his hand to sign an extension. Well meaning folks might be like that eagle pushing its fledgling out of the nest.   The verdict: In so many ways Oxford makes so much sense. It might be hard to get fired the way things are going. No pressure. The fam loves Oxford. Lane loves Oxford but he’s seeing curlers.   Florida: Steve Spurrier was the coach Lane idolized dating all the way back to his college days as a walk-on QB at Fresno State. Hence the visor. His wife is the daughter of Gator great John Reaves. His mother-in-law, whom he adores, lives in Gainesville. There are reports that his oldest daughter has been accepted to UF law school. There is tradition of winning championships (eight SEC, three national since 1990). His style both as a coach and the way he deals with the media is reminiscent of Spurrier so he’s a perfect fit. After four years of the Napier offense, Gator Nation is starving for someone who is willing to open things up, throw the ball all over the yard and take a few gambles. There is more talent within a 150-mile radius of Gainesville in any given year than you will find in any three years combined in Mississippi. Kids who wouldn’t think of playing at Ole Miss will come to Florida in droves. The Swamp is as intimidating place to play as there is in college football.   Now for the bad. Whoever is Florida’s next coach will be the fifth since 2011. From 1990 to 2010 Florida was the pre-eminent power in the SEC. Now the Gators are below the Mendoza line. There may be a mass exodus of players in a couple of weeks and the recruiting class is going to be decimated.   The verdict: There is a report that the offer is 10 years, $150 million. It’s a worthy investment. At Florida Lane can build the program up with high school kids and then cherry pick from the portal. Immediately, with the potential of so many departures, Lane’s expertise in the portal can salvage matters. Also, if he’s the head coach, a lot of players who were thinking of departing may elect to stay. Florida does have talent.   Florida makes way too much sense. This is the place where the genius will flourish and leave us spellbound with lumps in our throats.   COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY: NOVEMBER 18, 2025 The Recycling Bin James Franklin, Virginia Tech: He didn’t win the big ones at Penn State, but he’s a really good coach. Virginia Tech has outkicked its coverage and landed someone who can make the Hokies relevant.   Extinct Species List Billy Napier, Florida: The Lane Train to Florida is the prevailing rumor. As for Billy Napier, bet the farm he’s the next head ball coach at Colorado State.     James Franklin, Penn State: Didn’t take him long to get re-hired did it? So who does Penn State go after? Penn State folks are saying they’re on a Kalen DeBoer or bust hunt. If they had a functioning brain they would go after Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.   Brian Kelly, LSU: They want Lane Kiffin. Chances they get him? Slim. The two guys they could get are Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State and Brent Key of Georgia Tech. Jon Sumrall is just down the road at Tulane.   Hugh Freeze, Auburn: Probably the smartest move they could make is Jon Sumrall, the HBC at Tulane. He cut his head coaching teeth at nearby Troy, knows the state and how to recruit in Georgia and the Florida panhandle. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin is a confirmed candidate. Tiger fans would go into apoplexy if he got the job. As for Hugh watch for him in the recycle bin.   Sam Pittman, Arkansas: Rhett Lashlee has signed a raise and extension to stay at SMU. Smart move on his part. Easier to make the playoff in the ACC than coaching in Fayette Nam. The new guy won’t be Bobby Petrino. Florida State would probably forgive the buyout if Arkansas native son Mike Norvell heard mama calling. Sam Pittman should be having hard conversations with Kalen DeBoer. Alabama needs an O-line coach and Sam is as good as it gets.     DeShaun Foster, UCLA: The emerging candidate is Washington head coach Jed Fisch.   Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: The guy whose name is seemingly circled is Eric Morris at North Texas. He runs a lights out offense.   Trent Bray, Oregon State: They need a west coast guy who doesn’t require a lot of money since the Beavers don’t have any. Expect them to hire from the Big Sky or Missouri Valley Football Conference.   Trent Dilfer, UAB: If they go cheap they’ll hire Alex Mortensen from within. If they want to restore the program they’ll convince Bill Clark to come out of retirement and teach them how to win again.   Jay Norvell, Colorado State: Billy Napier seems to be the guy. He coached wide receivers at CSU for Jim McElwain.   On Life Support Luke Fickell, Wisconsin: No one in the country needs a two-game winning streak more than Fickell, who is 16-20 in three years. They are accustomed to winning eight or more a season and this year could finish 3-9.   Dave Aranda, Baylor: They hate firing coaches at Baylor, but they also think they should finish upper tier in the Big 12 and they’re getting smoked by Texas Tech, Houston, TCU. Dave needs two wins badly or else he will be someone’s defensive coordinator next year.   Sonnie Cumbie, Louisiana Tech: They’re making the move to the Fun Belt next year and a 5-5 coach in ConUSA isn’t going to cut it.   Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee State: Fine assistant coach. Peter Principle hire who has never won anywhere he’s been the head guy. Raiders are 1-9.   Dell McGee, Georgia State: It's a matter of when, not if he's a goner. It's been proven that winning at Georgia State is possible. Dell hasn't delivered.   Endangered Species List Shane Beamer, South Carolina: Well, they don’t have to worry that he’ll bolt for Virginia Tech now that James Franklin has taken the job. They don’t want to fire him. They really like him, but he better win next year.   Jonathan Smith, Michigan State: Sure, he’s only been there two years, but there is that case of big brother envy in the state and it’s all about catching up to the Wolverines.   Joe Moorhead, Akron: You measure wins at Akron like dog years. A win at Akron is like seven at Alabama. By that formula Joe has won 28 games, remarkable since the Zips have played 11. Mark Stoops, Kentucky: The Wildcats were dead in the water a month ago. Now they're 5-5, needing one win in the last two to return to the winter home of UK football, the Music City Bowl.

"He’s keeping his options open, and it’s causing unrest in Oxford.” -- The Athletic

Urban Klavzar drains a three against Miami (Photo by Chris Tilley/Intersport) Alex Condon was whistled for a silly, over-the-back foul with 5:06 left in Sunday night’s Florida-Miami basketball game at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville. Condon was having his way with the Hurricanes – 19 points, seven rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot. He hit 2-4 from the 3-point line, welcome shots for a team that spent the first three games of the season throwing up more SCUDs   Just a minute earlier, Rueben Chinyelu, who had a double-double going, also fouled out, this one more obvious than the one that sent Condon to the bench but a fifth foul just the same. Rueben was downright beastly. He had scored 16 points to go with 12 rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots. It was his second straight double-double.   Todd Golden had another slight problem on his hands. Micah Handlogten got banged up in a very physical first half and was unavailable the rest of the game.   Miami may have been trailing by 18 when Condon departed, but that’s plenty of time to mount a comeback in these days of the 3-point shot and a shot clock that has eliminated the 4-corners. Florida went from tall ball to small ball but the results stayed about the same. Miami never cut into the margin to get closer than 14 points as the 10 th -ranked Gators improved to 3-1 with an 82-68 win over the Hurricanes (3-1).   It was 73-57 when Condon got rung up for his fifth foul but the Hurricanes struggled to make shots from the field against Florida’s small ball lineup of 6-9 Tommy Haugh surrounded by four perimeter guys – 6-4 Isaiah Brown, 6-1 Urban Klavzar, 6-3 Boogie Fland and 6-4 Xaivian Lee.  All but two of Miami’s points in the final five minutes came from the foul line as Todd Golden shifted from tall ball to small ball by employing a full court press that took Miami out of its offensive flow.   “We had to play some unique lineups down the stretch, you know put guys in positions that they are not used to but I thought we did a really good job of stepping up,” Golden said.       The Gators threatened to turn the game into a runaway several times in the game’s first 26 minutes, but the Hurricanes hung around, in large part because the Gators had too many empty possessions. Ten first half Florida turnovers were converted into 11 Miami points. With 3:53 left in the first half, the Huricanes were within three at 26-23 when Chinyelu, Condon and Haugh sparked a 13-6 run that was finalized by a Haugh 3-pinter with three seconds remaining in the half for a 39-29 Florida lead.   “The first half, we did some really good things, but we let them stay in the game with our inability to take care of the basketball,” Golden said. “That was a big issue for us, but credit to Miami, they’re quick. They do a good job playing the basketball and creating those turnovers. I thought in the second half we were just very competitive, much better handling the basketball.”   The Gators cut their turnovers from 10 to four in the second half, but there were too many missed shots early on that prevented expanding the lead. At the 14:23 mark the lights seemed to go on for the Gators. Miami’s Tru Washington scored a layup and was awarded a free throw on a rather dubious foul call on Haugh, whose arms were straight up in the air. The free throw cut Florida’s once 11-point lead all the way down to four (49-45).   Miami sensed the Gators were there for the taking, but they were wrong. The bad call seemed to inspire the Gators. Instead of caving under pressure, the Gators used their size and strength to overpower Miami. The tall ball approach was responsible for a 24-10 run over the next 9:17. Miami couldn’t match Florida on the inside at either end of the court.   Chinyelu got things started with two consecutive overpowering moves to the basket. This was the Chinyelu that the Gators have been seeing on a daily basis in practice.. He was strong, assertive and went up without hesitation when he got the ball within six or seven feet of the rim. He rebounded, he played tough defense. He came up with his second straight double-double.   “I think he’s being the guy he is in practice every day,” Condon said. “We’ve always seen that from Rueben the past two years and he’s really starting to get the hang of that and emulating that in the games. ”   Whereas Chinyelu was like an electrical charge that jump started the Gators offensively, Tommy Haugh quietly did his thing. He matched Chinyelu with eight of Florida’s 24 points during the run that put the game away. He hit a 3-pointer straight on from the top of the key, scored a 3-point play off a drive to the basket and added a couple of free throws. Haugh finished the game with a stat sheet stuffer 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Urban Klavzar, who scored a career high 15 points landed a three from deep with 10:55 left that was like a dagger to the Canes as it stretched Florida’s lead to 12. It never dipped below 10 again the rest of the game.   When the fouls caught up with the Gators it was time to switch tactics. The smaller lineup was a necessity with Handlogten out with an injury and Condon and Chinyelu out with fouls. Golden went with full court pressure that completely took the Canes out of their offensive rhythm and eliminated any hope they had of springing the upset.   The Gators spent plenty of time at the foul line, but Klavzar’s fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2:04 left was the killshot that for all practical purposes put Miami in its place on the short end of a 79-63 score.   Golden couldn’t conceal his delight that Klavzar had a breakout game.   “Obviously, stepped up huge for us in conference play last year when we were dealing with some injuries, was great in the exhibitions and had a slow start to the season, but the Urban Klavžar you saw tonight is the guy that we know we have on our roster … stepped up and hit some really big shots in some moments tonight that allowed us to run out of here with a pretty big win. ”   It was a good win against a good team. The first half turnovers are a concern that Golden can deal with in practice. They’re a matter of focus more than anything else. Defensively the Gators play with purpose but they do have to reduce their fouls without reducing their aggressiveness.   Three-point shooting, which has been a serious concern, will continue to be a point of emphasis. Condon and Haugh combined to go 5-10 while Klavzar was 4-7. The rest of the team was 0-12. For the season Fland is 2-16 and Lee is 6-35. When those two start finding the range an already good offense has a chance to be great.   Free throw shooting is another area of concern. The Gators can get to the line consistently but they have to do better than the 19-29 Sunday evening and the season average of 66.4 percent.   The Gators know they will get everybody’s best shot. Because the Gators won last year’s NCAA title, beating them this year will be a storm the court moment. It’s early in the season, but we are starting to see the competitive nature of this team rise to the surface in challenging moments. Florida does have the best front court in the country. When the guards figure things out and start making shots the Gators are going to be formidable.