Micah Handlogten blocks a shot against UNF (Photo by Chris Spears) If you’re expecting the same old, same old from the Florida State Seminoles (2-0) Tuesday night at the O-Dome (7 p.m., SEC Network), then think again. Leonard Hamilton has retired and with him the no autopsy, no foul defensive approach is a thing of the past.   Luke Loucks is the new head coach, bringing with him what Florida coach Todd Golden calls an “NBA mentality,” which is to say a 3-and-3 approach, as in shoot abandon the midrange shots altogether in favor of 3-pointers and 3-footers. It’s quite similar to what Nate Oats has used to elevate Alabama to national prominence.   The Seminoles are 2-0, having blown out Alcorn State 108-76 and Alabama State 101-64. In the win over Alabama State, the Seminoles launched 47 threes, hitting 18. That calls for a somewhat different approach to defense for Golden and the Gators, who come into the game ranked 10 th in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls.   “They're going to get their threes up,” Golden said Monday afternoon. “You gotta do what you can to try and not allow them to be catch-and-shoots and be comfortable shots within their offense where they know they're coming. And I think that's going to be the big challenge. I think they're going to get some up. We gotta make sure they're difficult. We gotta make sure they're off the dribble. We gotta make sure they're not the ones that they're really hunting. And if we do that, we'll give ourselves a better chance to win."   To the Gators’ credit, they have defended the three quite well so far. Arizona and North Florida have hit only 9-33 (27.3 percent).   While Florida State has been living large launching threes, the Gators still haven’t found their shooting groove. On the inside, the Gators are as difficult to defend as any team in the country, but their first two games have seen 13 made threes, 46 misses. The Gators went 7-27 against Arizona in game one, 6-32 against North Florida.   Golden thought the Gators took decent shots against North Florida, just didn’t knock them down.   “Against North Florida, we shot it really poorly from the perimeter, but I thought we took a lot of really good shots,” Golden said. “At times, three-point shots are volatile. It’s why a big part of our offense is getting on the glass and trying to be efficient from two because we don’t want to be a team that relies on upon making threes to be as good as we can be. I think we will be the type of team that when we shoot it well we’re going to be really hard to beat. I think that is an area that we will get better at over the next week or two. If we don’t then we’ll continue to adjust and figure out a way to get better that way.”   While the misses from the outside have piled up, the Gators have been outstanding getting second shots. Florida is No. 1 in the country in offensive rebounding at 23 per game. Against North Florida, the Gators pulled down 29 offensive rebounds. Micah Handlogten ranks third in the nation in offensive rebounding with 7.0 per game (12.5 per game overall, which ranks 10 th ).     Until the shots start falling, the Gators will have to rely on their offensive rebounding to pick up the slack.   “We’re not going to be a perfect offensive team,” Golden said. “Against North Florida, obviously an opponent we expect to beat but we were five or six for 32 from three and still scored 104 points. When we shoot it well, I anticipate us being more efficient that way. But a way to keep our efficiency from getting too low is getting second chance opportunities.”   ANTICIPATED STARTING LINEUPS No. 10 FLORIDA (1-1): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, 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)   Florida State (2-0): Chauncey Wiggins (6-10, 255, SR); Alex Steen (6-9, 230, SR); Lajae Jones (6-7, 220, SR); Kobe Magee (6-5, 207, SR); Robert McCray V (6-4, 188, SR)   Associated Press top 25: 1. Houston 2-0; 2. Purdue 2-0; 3. UConn 2-0; 4. Duke 2-0; 5. Arizona 2-0; 6. Michigan 1-0; 7. BYU 2-0; 8. Alabama 2-0; 9. Kentucky 2-0; 10. FLORIDA 1-1; 11. Texas Tech 2-0; 12. Louisville 2-0; 13. St. John’s 1-1; 14. Illinois 2-0; 15. UCLA 2-0; 16. Iowa State 2-0; 17. Michigan State 2-0; 18. North Carolina 2-0; 19. Gonzaga 2-0; 20. Tennessee 2-0; 21. Arkansas 1-1; 22. Auburn 2-0; 23. Creighton 1-0; 24. Wisconsin 2-0; 25. Kansas 1-1   Coaches top 25: 1. Purdue 2-0; 2. Houston 2-0; 3. UConn 2-0; 4. Duke 2-0; 5. Michigan 1-0; 6. Arizona 2-0; 7. BYU 2-0; 8. Kentucky 2-0; 9. Alabama 2-0; 10. FLORIDA 1-1; 11. Texas Tech 2-0; 12. Louisville 2-0; 13. St. John’s 2-0; 14. Illinois 2-0; 15. UCLA 2-0; 16. Iowa State 2-0; 17. Michigan State 2-0; 18. Tennessee 2-0; 19. Gonzaga 2-0; 20. North Carolina 2-0; 21. Arkansas 1-1; 22. Wisconsin 2-0; 23. Creighton 1-0; 24. Kansas 1-1; 25. Auburn 2-0   SEC teams in Kenpom.com analytical ratings: 1. Kentucky; 6. FLORIDA; 13, Tennessee; 15. Vanderbilt; 17. Alabama; 26. Ole Miss; 27. Arkansas; 31. Georgia; 33. Mississippi State; 35. Missouri; 36. Auburn; 37. Texas; 41. LSU; 47. Texas A&M; 57. Oklahoma; 101. South Carolina   SEC BASKETBALL (Associated Press rankings) No. 8 Alabama (2-0): The Crimson Tide has one of the most impressive early season wins, a 103-96 upset of then No. 5 St. John’s.  Thursday: No. 2 Purdue (2-0)   No. 21 Arkansas (1-1): The Razorbacks lost to No. 17 Michigan State. Arkansas missed two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds that would have sent the game to overtime. Tuesday: Central Arkansas (1-1)   No. 22 Auburn (2-0): The Tigers have one more warmup game before facing No. 1 Houston Sunday afternoon. Tuesday: Wofford (1-1)   Georgia (3-0): The Bulldogs are averaging 106 points per game in winning three games against cupcakes.  Friday: Georgia Tech (2-0)   No. 9 Kentucky (2-0): In his first two games as a Wildcat, former Gator Denzel Aberdeen is averaging 11 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Tuesday: at No. 12 Louisville (2-0)   LSU (2-0): In a 96-60 win over Tarleton State, LSU shot 70.2 percent from the field overall. The Tigers were 8-18 from the 3-point line and 25-29 on 2-point shots. Thursday: Florida International (1-1)   Mississippi State (1-1): In the season opening win over North Alabama, All-SEC Josh Hubbard scored 27 points and handed out eight assists. Saturday: Southeastern Louisiana (0-2)   Missouri (3-0): The Tigers are averaging 94.3 points per game, led by All-SEC Mark Mitchell, who is averaging 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Wednesday: Minnesota (2-0)   Oklahoma (1-1): Oklahoma fell behind by 19 points at halftime in their loss to No. 19 Gonzaga. Tuesday: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3)   Ole Miss (2-0): After two cupcake wins, the Rebels will get their first test tonight against Memphis. Tuesday: Memphis (1-0)   South Carolina: In the Gamecocks’ come from behind win over Southern Miss, Meechie Johnson scored 33 points. Johnson hit 7-14 from the 3-point line. Wednesday: Presbyterian (2-1)   No. 20 Tennessee (2-0): Five-star freshman Nate Ament is off to a good start, averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists through two games. Wednesday: North Florida (0-1)   Texas (1-1): The Longhorns bounced back from a season opening loss to Duke with a blowout win over Lafayette. Wednesday: Fairleigh Dickenson (0-2)   Texas A&M (2-1): The Aggies won their first two games in blowout fashion, but were blown out by Oklahoma State in game three. Friday: UCF (1-1)

Against Texas, DJ Lagway had his best game of the season (Photo by Chris Spears)   Billy Gonzales isn’t ready to join the social media chorus that has all but buried quarterback DJ Lagway, who had a rotten game against Kentucky in Lexington back on Saturday night.   “Everybody wants to jump on DJ with the interceptions,” Gonzales said at his Monday press conference. “Yeah, we understand that part, but we had a chance.”   Florida’s interim head coach pointed to a pass play on the Gators’ opening drive that could have been a difference maker in the overall scheme of things. Following a 22-yard Lagway to Vernell Brown III strike that gave the Gators a first down at the Kentucky 42, a second deep throw to Brown was called. Open down the right sideline, the ball skidded off Brown’s hands.   Two plays later, Lagway threw into double coverage down the middle and was picked off, the first of three interceptions the sophomore QB threw in Florida’s 38-7 loss to the Wildcats.   “We dropped the ball early in the first drive that would have put us probably on the 20-yard line and a chance to score early, okay?” Gonzales said. “We ended up throwing an interception right after that, so it's complementary football, and if you're not playing complementary football, you're not going to be successful. And we talk about that all the time, and so, it didn't happen.”   If life in the Southeastern Conference teaches anything it is that entire games change on the outcome of a single play. Had the Gators driven for a touchdown on their opening possession, Lagway’s confidence and the confidence of the entire team may have soared while Kentucky might have had a here we go again mentality.   Instead, Florida was deflated and Kentucky got an early confidence boost that inspired the Wildcats to play perhaps their best overall game of the season. In the wake of the loss, the Gators (3-6, 2-4 SEC) are left scrambling to somehow make something positive out of the final three games of the season, beginning Saturday evening (7 p.m., ESPN) with 6 th -ranked Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC).   For the Gators to have any kind of chance against the Rebels, who rank 4 th nationally in total offense (489.4 yards) and 13 th in scoring (37.5 points). Ole Miss allows 19.8 points per game. The Gators rank 107 th in total offense (341 yards per game) and 116 th in scoring (20.4 points).   To have any kind of chance, the Gators will have to have a good game from the quarterback. Although Lagway was benched for the entire second half of the Kentucky game, it was Gonzales intention for Lagway to take the first team reps at practice Monday.   This was the first time Lagway has been benched as Florida’s starting quarterback. Gonzales did his best to explain why he made the move to freshman Tramell Jones Jr., who finished out the game.   “It was my decision to take him [Lagway] out of the game at that point, and we were struggling, he had a tough … but it’s not all on him, and I told him that,” Gonzales said. “I said, ‘You know, as a coach, it’s our responsibility if someone’s struggling, help them out or take them out so they’re not put in that position to have to keep fighting through that. I did ask him, I said, 'You know, some of the things, what do you think you need to improve on?' And he said, 'Just being able to make those great decisions,' and he said, 'I understand it's all performance-based, and it all begins with me at the quarterback position,' and I stopped him.   "I said, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Here's the one thing I don't want you to – I don't ever want you to say that – that it all begins with me, because it doesn't. It all begins with the coaching staff. It begins with us as an offensive staff to be able to put him in that position. I don't want you to think that it all begins with you and that you got the weight of the world on your shoulders. I don't want that. I need you to go out there and relax. I need you to go out there and play and be focused."    Can Lagway bounce back from such a bad performance and will the Gators respond if he does? Lagway had a performance to forget against Miami when he completed 12-23 passes for 61 yards (2.7 yards per attempt). In his next game against then 9 th -ranked Texas, Lagway had one of the best games of his still-young collegiate career. He completed 21-28 passes for 298 yards (10.6 per pass attempt) and two touchdowns.   There is no question Lagway is a physically gifted player, but the season hasn’t gone anything like expected. When the season began, the Gators were ranked in the top 25 polls and Lagway was considered to be a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender along with Arch Manning (Texas), Carson Beck (Miami), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) and Cade Klubnik (Clemson). None of them have had anything close to the season that was expected.   Gonzales tried to put Lagway’s performance in the Kentucky game in proper perspective.   “For some reason another, he didn’t have the day that he wanted to have,” Gonzales said. “I talked to him about that. I said, ‘So you’re a great player, but I’m not going to let somebody just continue to struggle. I wanted to bring you out and let you refocus, let you gather, let you learn, and hopefully it’s a learning experience. It’s going to make you better this week when we prepare for Ole Miss.’ So that was my thought process.”

(Photo by Chris Spears) Will DJ Lagway be Florida’s starting quarterback Saturday night in Oxford when the Gators (3-6, 2-4 SEC) face 6 th -ranked Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC)?     Lagway was benched after throwing three first half interceptions in Florida’s embarrassing 38-7 loss to Kentucky. Lagway completed 11-19 passes for 83 yards in two quarters of action. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Baugh in the first quarter but consistently overthrew receivers or threw into coverage after that.   The Gators trailed 24-7 at the half and Kentucky got the ball to start the third quarter. Kentucky took the third quarter kickoff and marched down the field for a TD for a 31-7 lead. Had the Gators stopped Kentucky would Lagway have gone back on the field? Or was this a decision made at the half for Lagway to sit out the rest of the game no matter what?     Whether it was simply a merciful move or one made out of disgust, Gonzales can expect to be peppered with questions about Lagway’s status for the final three games of the season at Florida’s weekly Monday press conference.   It has been a most disappointing season for Lagway, who was thought to be a Heisman Trophy candidate when the season began. But, after missing all of the spring and all but a few days of August preseason practice, Lagway has shown nothing in the way of progress off a 2024 in which he led the Gators to four straight wins at the end of the season.   Contrast Lagway’s 2024 stats to his current stats through nine games: 2024: 115-192 passing (59.9 percent) for 1,915 yards (10 yards per attempt), 12 touchdown passes (9 interceptions).   2025: 171-265 passing (64.5 percent) for 1,762 yards (6.6 yards per attempt), 11 touchdowns (12 interceptions)   Something else to consider, Lagway may decide to opt out the rest of the season. It wouldn’t be the first time a high profile college football player benched himself the rest of the year prior to entering the transfer portal. Despite having an off year, Lagway is such a talent that there will be no shortage of suitors should he decide leaving is in his best interests.   If Lagway is done for the year, freshman Trammell Jones Jr. will get the start against Ole Miss. In the second half against Kentucky, Jones was 9-17 for 60 yards. He was 12-18 for 131 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against D1AA Long Island University.   Associated Press top 25: 1. Ohio State 9-0; 2. Indiana 10-0; 3. Texas A&M 9-0; 4. Alabama 8-1; 5. Georgia 8-1; 6. Ole Miss 9-1; 7. Oregon 8-1; 8. Texas Tech 9-1; 9. Notre Dame 7-2; 10. Texas 7-2; 11. Oklahoma 7-2; 12. BYU 8-1; 13. Vanderbilt 8-2; 14. Georgia Tech 8-1; 15. Utah 7-2; 16. Miami 7-2; 17. Southern California 7-2; 18. Michigan 7-2; 19. Louisville 7-2; 20. Virginia 8-2; 21. Tennessee 6-3; 22. Cincinnati 7-2;                        23. Pittsburgh 7-2; 24. James Madison 8-1;  25. South Florida 7-2   AFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Ohio State 9-0; 2. Indiana 10-0; 3. Texas A&M 9-0; 4. Alabama 8-1; 5. Georgia 8-1; 6. Oregon 8-1; 7. Ole Miss 9-1; 8. Texas Tech 9-1; 9. Notre Dame 7-2; 10. (Tie) Oklahoma 7-2; Texas 7-2; 12. (Tie) Georgia Tech 8-1; BYU 8-1; 14. Vanderbilt 8-2; 15. Utah 7-2; 16. Miami 7-2; 17. Michigan 7-2; 18. Southern California 7-2; 19. Virginia 8-2; 20. Tennessee 6-3; 21. Louisville 7-2; 22. Cincinnati 7-2; 23. Pittsburgh 7-2; 24. Missouri 6-3; 25. James Madison 8-1   SEC FOOTBALL No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0 SEC): It has been four games since Alabama had a 400-yard game. The Crimson Tide managed only 344 in beating LSU Saturday night. The ground game has been particularly mediocre. Alabama has gained 128 yards in the last two games (South Carolina and LSU) combined. Saturday, Alabama will be going against an Oklahoma defense that ranks fourth in the nation in both sacks with 33 and run defense with 82.44 yards allowed per game. Saturday: No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC)   Arkansas (2-7, 0-5 SEC): Taylen Green leads the SEC and the nation in total offense, averaging 335.7 yards per game. Green has passed for 2,372 yards and 19 touchdowns while running for 649 and six TDs. Running back Mike Washington Jr. is second in the SEC in rushing with 828 yards and six touchdowns. Saturday: at LSU (5-4, 2-4 SEC)   Auburn (4-6, 1-6 SEC): Auburn’s defense had been among the best in the country and the offense among the worst prior to the loss to Vanderbilt. At Vanderbilt with defensive coordinator DJ Durkin as the interim head coach, the roles reversed. Auburn, which hadn’t allowed more than 24 points in a game all season, gave up 45 and 544 yards. The dormant offense woke up with Ashton Daniels at quarterback, put up 38 points and a season high 563 yards. Daniels threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns.   No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC): The big question for Georgia is can the Bulldogs run the ball against a Texas defense that ranks No. 2 nationally, allowing only 78.22 yards per game on the ground. The Bulldogs expect to have success throwing the ball against Texas, which has allowed 11 touchdown passes this season, eight in the last two games. Saturday: No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC)   Kentucky (4-5, 2-5 SEC): The Wildcats should get a relatively easy win against D1AA Tennessee Tech Saturday. At five wins Kentucky will be within a game of bowl eligibility, needing one win in their last two games, which will not only get them to a bowl game, but should almost certainly save Mark Stoops’ job. Saturday: Tennessee Tech (10-0)   LSU (5-4, 2-4 SEC): Garrett Nussmeier, who began the season as a top five Heisman Trophy candidate, is averaging 6.7 yards per pass attempt, which is a full yard less than he averaged in 2024. Against Alabama, Nussmeier completed 18-21 passes for 121 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per attempt. Saturday: Arkansas (2-7, 0-5 SEC)   Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5 SEC): Starting QB Blake Shapen left the Georgia game in the third quarter after being flattened while attempting a pass. After being taken to the locker room, Shapen was seen on the sideline, helmet in hand, watching as freshman Kamario Taylor finished the game. No news on whether Shapen will be starting against Missouri Saturday or if HBC Jeff Lebby will go with his freshman. Saturday: at Missouri (6-3, 2-3 SEC)   Missouri (6-3, 2-3 SEC): The loss to the Aggies eliminated Missouri from College Football Playoff contention and out of the AP top 25 rankings ... A third straight 10-win season is possible but will require the Tigers win their final three regular season games and a bowl game ... Ahmad Hardy gained 109 yards and scored a TD against the Aggies. He continues to lead the SEC with 1,046 yards. He has scored 12 rushing touchdowns.  Saturday: Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5 SEC)   No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC): Saturday at Alabama is an elimination game for the Sooners, who already have two losses. To beat Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium the Sooners will have to get after Ty Simpson, who has thrown 21 touchdown passes and only one interception despite having a very limited running game. Oklahoma has the No. 1 defense in college football, giving up only 264.2 yards and 14.1 points per game. Saturday: at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0 SEC)   No. 6 Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC): Lane Kiffin is one win away from a fourth season with 10 or more wins, which would tie Ole Miss legend Johnny Vaught … Tied for the Ole Miss and SEC lead in scoring are placekicker Lucas Carneiro and running back Kewan Lacy, both with 96 points … The Rebels open as 15.5-point favorites over Florida. Saturday: FLORIDA (3-6, 2-4 SEC)   South Carolina (3-6, 1-6 SEC): For the Gamecocks to avoid a losing season, they will have to knock off the Aggies at Kyle Field, a very tall order. With Mike Shula fired as the offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach Mike Furrey will be calling the plays. It remains to be seen if that will make any difference in the worst offense in the Southeastern Conference. Saturday: at No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0 SEC)   No. 21 Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC): Saturday will be a dial-a-score game for the Vols, who average 504.1 yards and 43.6 points per game. Tennessee has the No. 1 offense in the country and the No. 3 scoring offense … QB Joey Aguilar throws for 304 yards per game with 21 touchdown passes. Saturday: New Mexico State (3-6)   No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC): With three games to go, the Longhorns have their backs against the wall. They face elimination from College Football Playoff contention every single game and two of the three are ranked in the top five (No. 5 Georgia, No. 3 Texas A&M) … Arch Manning has thrown for 2,136 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has also run for six TDs. Those aren’t Heisman Trophy contention numbers, but they’re pretty good considering the start he got. Saturday: at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC)   No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0 SEC): While the national media is madly in love with Ohio State and Indiana, Texas A&M keeps blowing people out. The Aggies have scored 40 or more points in six games, plus they have impressive road wins at Notre Dame and LSU … The Aggies are tied for second nationally in sacks with 34, led by Cashius Howell with 10.5. Saturday: South Carolina (3-6, 1-6 SEC)   No. 13 Vanderbilt (8-2, 4-1 SEC): Diego Pavia has vaulted into serious Heisman Trophy discussion. He has thrown for 2,440 yards and 21 touchdowns and run for 613 yards and seven more TDs … Tight end Eli Stowers has cemented himself as the frontrunner to win the Mackey Award with 51 catches for 669 yards and four touchdowns.

Is this the only man who can save us?

(UAA photo) The instant reaction to what happened Saturday night in Lexington is to start pointing fingers starting with Billy Napier, but it really isn’t his fault. Nor is it the fault of Billy Gonzales, who, as the interim head coach, fell on the sword for what happened to the Gators.   “I’ll take the blame for everything,” Gonzales said after Florida (3-6, 2-4 SEC) was burb stomped by the Kentucky Wildcats, 38-7. “I think if you take a look at what we do and where we need to be, it’s unacceptable and I’m going to put me up in front and say, ‘that’s on me.’ I’ll take the blame for this loss, 100 percent.”   That’s the politically correct thing to say, but you can’t blame Gonzales just as you can’t blame Napier. Where the Gators are right now – living life among the bottom feeders of the Southeastern Conference – didn’t happen overnight nor did it start back in August when hopes were so high that a lot of college football experts considered them darkhorse candidates to make the College Football Playoff.   You can trace the origins of Florida’s fall from college football powerhouse to SEC catfish all the way back to January 2, 2011. The day before, the Gators beat Penn State 37-24, to win the Outback Bowl and Urban Meyer coached his final game as the UF head coach. Meyer went 65-15 at Florida, winning two SEC and two national championships. Florida could have and should have gone after a proven head coach with a history of playing for and winning championships. Instead Will Muschamp was hired. The defensive coordinator and head coach in waiting at Texas, Muschamp had no idea what he was getting into.   Counting Mushamp Florida has had four head coaches since 2011, none of whom have won an SEC championship or gotten the Gators into the playoff. From 1990 until 2010 Florida won more games than any coach in the country. Since 2011 the Gators rank 46 th .   Think of Muschamp and the three coaches that succeeded him as Peter Principle hires by the powers that be at the University of Florida. Laurence J. Peter wrote “The Peter Principle,” a book that makes a convincing argument that based on their success at lower level jobs, people are promoted to a level where they are no longer competent. How true when you look at how the careers of Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen and Napier. All four cratered after taking the Florida job.   Muschamp knows good and well that he should have learned the nuances of being a head coach at a school where there isn’t near as much pressure as the University of Florida. Jim McElwain won at Colorado State then felt so much heat at Florida that he lied his way out of a job. Had Dan Mullen remained at Mississippi State they would be raising the funds to build a statue of him. He is trying to resuscitate his coaching career at UNLV. Napier? Fine coach at the Sun Belt level but at Florida? Disaster.   You can’t blame any of the four for taking the Florida job. It's rare to find someone willing to turn down the millions that Florida pays. If you wish to blame someone for the current state of Florida football, then blame the people who have been in charge of hiring and firing since January 2, 2011.   The late Lewis Grizzard wrote a book entitled, “Shoot Low Boys, They’re Riding Shetland Ponies,” which could have been the title of a book about Florida hiring football coaches since 2011. The same program that never had a losing season from 1980 until 2013 has endured six losing seasons since 2011. The Gators are a game away from a seventh losing record after the steamrolling in Lexington Saturday night.   The losing seasons all occurred on the watches of Muschamp, McElwain, Mullen and Napier. At least Muschamp and McElwain never lost to Kentucky. The Gators beat Kentucky 31 straight years starting in 1987. Since Dan Mullen lost to UK in his second game as the Florida head coach in 2018, the Gators have lost five times to the Wildcats and it makes you wonder why? With the amount of talent and resources available at Florida, the Gators should NEVER lose to Kentucky.   How is it a team that went toe-to-toe with No. 5 Georgia can go down in flames to Kentucky seven days later? A week ago the Gators had Georgia on the ropes before crashing and burning late in the fourth quarter. Against Georgia, the Gators didn’t turn the ball over four times. DJ Lagway didn’t play like an All-American against Georgia but he didn’t play so poorly that he had to sit the bench the entire second half like he did against Kentucky. Lagway threw three first half interceptions and his 19 pass attempts gained a combined 83 yards. Georgia, which struggled to run the ball against the Gators last week, ran for 331 yards against UK.   The only touchdown the Gators scored – a 10-yard Lagway to Jadan Baugh pass in the first quarter – was a gift. Kentucky punt returner Ja’Mori Maclin muffed a punt at the UK 13 that long snapper Rocco Underwood recovered. Kentucky led 24-7 at the half, in large part because of two gift scores, a field goal after a Lagway interception and a touchdown after a fumble by KD Daniels.   Lagway was so inconsistent that Gonzales elected to bench him the entire second half, turning the game over to freshman Trammell Jones. Jones didn’t produce any points, but at least he didn’t turn the ball over, consistently throw into double coverage and overshoot wide open receivers because he was throwing off his back foot.   Kentucky fans will be celebrating for days after taking down the Gators by 31 points. The Wildcats are 5-3 against Florida since they broke the 31-game losing streak to UF in 2018. Wins are nice, but humiliating wins are something to savor. The official head count at Kroger Field was 56,388. Ten years from now at least 300,000 Kentucky fans will recall that they were there the night the Wildcats neutered the Florida Gators in 2025.   This game was retribution for Kentucky fans. They’ve never won a national championship. You have to go all the way back to 1950 to find the only SEC championship ever won by the Wildcats. With a legacy like that you understand why a 31-point win over the team that was once the permanent nemesis is worth celebrating for days to come.   In the days and weeks that follow Saturday night, we can only hope that the people in charge of the University Athletic Association won’t settle, which is what they’ve done the last four coach hires. This has to be a home run hire if Florida is to rise above circumstances 15 years in the making. It has to be someone who can bring instant credibility to the program, a household name that recruits and transfers in the portal want to play for.   It has to be someone who isn’t afraid of the lofty expectations that come with the job or the amount of work it will take to lift Florida out of the current muck. Is there another Charley Pell or Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer out there because that is what it will take. We are well past a time when the prevailing thought out of the UAA was the Florida job was so good that anyone could do it.   Not anyone can win SEC and national championships. Since 1953 only seven schools (Seven (Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Ole Miss and Auburn) have won SEC championships. Only five have won an SEC title since Steve Spurrier retired from UF after the 2001 season (Florida 2, Georgia 5, Alabama 9, Auburn 3, LSU 4).   SEC FOOTBALL No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0 SEC) 38, No. 19 Missouri (6-3, 2-3 SEC) 17: The Aggies went ahead 21-0 and then had a cruise control finish fr their ninth win of the season.   No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0 SEC) 20, LSU (5-4, 2-4 SEC) 9: The Alabama defense held LSU to three field goals and just 232 yards,   No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) 41, Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5 SEC) 21: Nate Frazier ran for 181 of Georgia’s 303 yards on the ground.   No. 7 Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC) 49, The Citadel (4-6) 0: Kewan Lacy ran for three touchdowns. He has 16 with two regular seasons to go.     No. 15 Vanderbilt (8-2, 4-2 SEC) 45, Auburn (4-6, 1-6 SEC) 38, OT: Diego Pavia threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns while running for 112 and another TD as Vandy kept its playoff hopes alive.   Next Saturday FLORIDA (3-6, 2-4 SEC) at No. 7 Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC) South Carolina (3-6, 1-6 SEC) at No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0 SEC) No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0 SEC) No. 13 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5 SEC) at No. 19 Missouri (6-3, 2-3 SEC) New Mexico State (3-6) at No. 23 Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC) Arkansas (2-7, 0-5 SEC) at LSU (5-4, 2-4 SEC)

(Photo by Chris Spears) “A man can travel far and wide – all the way to shame or glory and back again – but he ain’t ever going to find anything in this world that’s dead solid perfect.” – Kenny Puckett from the Dan Jenkins novel “Dead Solid Perfect”   If we have learned anything at all about the Florida Gators (3-5, 2-3 SEC) eight games into the 2025 football season, not to mention the three previous seasons, it is that no matter how well the Gators have played for three quarters, there is nothing dead solid perfect in the fourth quarter.   The Gators, who take on Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC) in Lexington tonight (7:30 p.m., SEC Network), have this bad habit of playing everybody close. Doesn’t matter if it’s a team ranked in the top five nationally – the Gators have played four that were top five at the time – an up and comer like South Florida, 9 th -ranked (at the time) Texas or Mississippi State that played anything like an SEC bottom feeder.   The problem is the fourth quarter. In all five losses (South Florida, LSU, Miami, Texas A&M and Georgia) the Gators were within a touchdown or field goal of either the lead or a tie in the fourth quarter. Even in the wins against Division I teams (Texas and Mississippi State) the Gators turned what should have been easy wins into white knuckles affairs.   What is it about this team and the fourth quarter? Why is it that once the final chords of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” are struck it is like a signal to self destruct? Since 2022, the Gators have lost 15 times when they were reach out and touch close in the fourth quarter.   So now the Gators take on Kentucky, which will be playing tonight for head ball coach Mark Stoops’ job. He might be the winningest coach in Kentucky history and he might have an almost $40 million buyout, but Mark Stoops is anything but safe. He may not be safe if he wins three of the last four games to qualify for another trip to the winter home of UK football – the Music City Bowl where the Wildcats have played six times – but two losses in the last four might elevate him from on life support to the extinct species list.   Florida has already put Billy Napier on the extinct species list, but last week against Georgia the same thing happened that has been happening since 2022. The Gators blew a fourth quarter lead and lost 24-20 to the 5 th -ranked Bulldogs.   This is a winnable game for the Gators, who certainly have more talent than Kentucky, but turning winnable games into fourth quarter disasters has been Florida’s modus operandi the last four years. If the Gators can find a way to avoid doing what they’ve been prone to do in fourth quarters since 2022, there is that dangling carrot of a bowl game still within reach.   A win over the Wildcats won’t make the Gators bowl eligible but win and the illusion of a bowl game starts looking less like a mirage and more like something achievable. Kentucky is feeling the same way, so a game that appears relatively harmless on the Las Vegas oddsmakers’ boards could turn into a bare knuckles brawl.   If the Gators are to pull it off, they’ll have to do it without the Wilsons – Dallas and Tre. They own Florida’s best two games statistically for wide receivers this year. Tre Wilson lit up Georgia for nine catches, 121 yards and a TD, his best game of the season. Against Texas, Dallas Wilson hauled in six catches good for 111 yards and two touchdowns.   There was some good news on the wide receivers front when Vernell Brown III and Aidan Mizell were removed from the questionable list on Thursday, which means they are expected to play. Florida is going to need receivers to step it up against a Kentucky defense that is decent against the run but has had its struggles.   Florida’s defense will look good against Kentucky’s anemic offense so for the Gators to win, DJ Lagway will have to find open receivers and avoid turnovers. The situation is not going to be dead solid perfect, but if the O-line gives Lagway time to throw, the Gators might just defy the fourth quarter trend that has gripped the football program for the last four years.   The pick: FLORIDA    SEC FOOTBALL No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC) at No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC): Before Beau Pribula went down with a season-ending injury, this was a game to circle on your calendar. Without Pribula, the Mizzou offense will rely on freshman Tommy Zollers, who looked good against Vandy after Pribula went down. Going against the Vandy defense and the Aggie defense are two different things because Vandy doesn’t have Cashius Howell (9.5 sacks) rushing the QB. Mizzou desperately needs to get Ahmad Hardy untracked. He still leads the SEC in rushing (937 yards) but he has run for only 207 yards in the last three games. If the Tigers can’t run the ball against A&M, they will have zero chance containing Howell when he comes off the edge. Offensively, the Aggies have two of the most explosive wide receivers in the entire country in Mario Carver and KC Concepcion. If Mizzou can’t contain those two they have no chance. The Aggies have big road wins at Notre Dame and LSU. They will get another one Saturday. The pick: Texas A&M   LSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC): Well, we don’t have Brian Kelly to kick around anymore. Interim Frank Wilson brings LSU into Bryant-Denny Stadium and Tiger fans wonder will anything change? LSU has a terrible offensive line which equates to a lousy running game and Garrett Nussmeier averaging 6.8 yards per attempt, which is very pedestrian, particularly for a team that has some of the fastest wide receivers on the planet. A one-dimensional LSU offense plays right into the hands of Alabama, which has the No. 2 pass defense in the SEC. LSU does play defense, but the Tigers are coming off a game in which they were torched for seven touchdowns by Texas A&M. Alabama has struggled to run the football and it has been three games since the Tide had a 400-yard game. If Alabama can’t run, then Ty Simpson will have to be at his best. He's thrown 20 TDPs and just one pick. If he doesn’t turn the ball over, Bama should be good. The pick: Alabama   No. 5 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) at Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4 SEC): Georgia has been flirting with disaster the last three weeks and four times this season. The Poodles could just as easily be discovering life among the SEC catfish as they are chasing down a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. With Georgia it seems every game is a potential white knuckler and that includes Saturday in Starkville against a Mississippi State team that could just as easily be 8-1 as 5-4. MSU took Tennessee, Florida and Texas down to the nubs before going belly up. At some point you have to figure one or more of those close calls is going to turn into a win. Georgia has better personnel and a quarterback who seems to come alive in the fourth quarter. If Gunner Stockton does his fourth quarter magic, Georgia will prevail. If not, upset city. The pick: Georgia   The Citadel (4-5) at No. 7 Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Lane Kiffin owns the only 11-win season in Ole Miss history and two of the five 10-win seasons at the school since 1971. Florida, LSU and Auburn would love to have him as their next head coach and apparently so would the Miami Dolphins. Smart money says he does one of two things – stays at Ole Miss or moves to Florida. Meanwhile, Saturday, The Citadel has two chances to beat the 7 th -ranked Rebels – No way and no how. The pick: Ole Miss   Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC) at No. 15 Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2 SEC): Auburn fired Hugh Freeze. Was the offensive coordinator shown the door as well? The Tigers will show up in Nashville under interim coach DJ Durkin. DJ is the defensive coordinator. The defense has been playing fine. It’s the offense that needs help. Oh well. It’s Auburn. Meanwhile Vandy is three wins away of the greatest season in school history and Diego Pavia is pushing hard for an invite to New York to be on the Heisman Podium. He has thrown for 2,063 yards and 18 touchdowns, run for 501 more and six scores. He probably won’t win the Heisman but he’s from Vandy. Just getting to New York for the Heisman ceremony is a very big deal. With a big game against Auburn and not only does Pavia stay in the Heisman discussion but the Commodores remain in the College Football Playoff race. The pick: Vanderbilt

Liv McGill’s career high 38 points powers the Gator to a 2-0 start as the Gators look armed and ready with a more mature athletic roster. By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com , Host of the Lowdown with Loren Meadows Florida guard Liv McGill shined with a career high 38 points (UAA photo) Last night in the O’ Dome the Gator fans were treated to an opening act of epic proportions as the Gators women’s hoops team defeated a game Chattanooga team. The game saw the Gators flex their defensive might, holding the Mocs to just four points in the second quarter in the midst of a 28-4 run that put the visitors from Tennessee away early. While the game played preceded the Gators men’s game that was to follow as part of a doubleheader, the star of the show and maybe the entire night was point guard Liv McGill who returned to Florida with a renewed since of confidence and passion that is palpable throughout the entire team. McGill posted a career high 38 points on 13-26 shooting, along with 10 assists and eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the game. This would be the second consecutive game that the Preseason ALL-SEC 2nd Team selection would flirt with a triple double after posting a 26-points with nine assists, and nine rebounds in a 96-62 win over North Florida. McGill summed up her record setting night stating, “ As coach keeps saying that basket was just huge. But its countless hours put in, countless hours with my teammates, countless hours of us drilling, work. I guess the basketball gods were just in my favor today, and we won. And that's what matters. It was a great team win, and everybody contributed. It's a blessing to set a record. ” That work that McGill speaks of is built on a renewed commitment to leadership that saw McGill turn down an opportunity to compete for the USA U20 National Team to remain in Gainesville and improve as player and a leader with her teammates. The team the Coach Kelly Rae Finley has put together is a more athletic group that is built to play aggressive on defense and score efficiently in the half court and fast in transition. A mix of talented returners and international newcomers has blended well under the leadership of not only McGill but also junior wing Laila Reynolds, sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neal, and graduate senior Alexia Dizeko.  Reynolds is the steady hand of the group with the ability to affect the game at both ends as defender and offensive threat. The former McDonald’s All-American has a high basketball IQ and is one of the Gators most coachable players. Reynolds ability to attack the basket with creativity is a nice complement to McGill in transition. Look for Reynolds to continue her development as a future pro.   O’Neal continues to make her own mark as a basketball player and in her second year has fine-tuned her versatility at both ends of the floor. O’Neal can play both on the wing and inside and is currently averaging 14 points per game on 50 percent shooting. O’Neal, who has been living at the foul line is also shooting an impressive 86 percent from the charity stripe. A well-rounded humble athlete, O’Neal is also an entrepreneur who launched her own clothing line this fall.  Dizeko is the player that every coach dreams of. The graduate guard from Sion, Switzerland is committed to doing whatever Finley and her staff ask of her. A nuisance on the defensive end Dizeko was a major part of the Gators holding Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year Mocs guard Caia Elisaldez to just nine points with four turnovers. In speaking of Dizeko Finley stated, “Lex does a lot of things that don't end up on the stat sheet. This can make me really emotional because in this day and age with social media, with the pressure, with the "ohh, ahh" everybody wants to be posting this, that and whatever, it doesn't matter to Lex. She just wants to win. She wants the Gators to be great, and I would say that is the absolute mindset of our entire roster.” A true team player in an age where that concept has become more and more obsolete. Along with Dizeko the Gators have tapped into the growth of women’s basketball internationally to assemble a roster of athletic young players from all over the world. Finley also grabbed a couple of talented players from the Big 12 and American Conference that could make this her most athletic roster to date. The remining roster includes: (In alphabetical order) Emilija “Mills” Dakic -Australian born player who competed for the Australian national junior team is a true “3 and D” player. Physical and intelligent she has made an early mark on the team. Sarah Deng -A juco transfer and arguably the fastest player Finley has had at Florida, Deng spent the summer with the South Sudan national team and was Co-Defensive Player of the Year in her final year of junior college. Gift Ezekiel -Gift brings physical strength and rebounding to the team as well as Dennis Rodman like energy. A native Nigerian Giftt speaks several languages including Japanese.  KN’isha “KG” Godfrey -Ohio native who played her high school ball in Tampa, transferred from TCU where she appeared in 40 games over three seasons. Godfrey brings talent, experience, and positive attitude to the roster.   Daviane “Davi” Mindoudi Ongbakahoumb -Spanish player from Bilbao, Spain who is an adept shooter with sneaky athleticism. Davi is a quiet presence on the team that leads by example and will be called upon to play a more substantial role in her second season with the Gators.  Caterina “Cat” Piatt i-The daughter of Italian basketball coaches Cat has the ability to be one of the best post players Finley has had at Florida.  Crafty around the basket Cat can run the floor in transition and is excellent in the pick and roll. Last summer Cat was a member of the Italian U20 team that won bronze at the 2024 Euro Basket Championships.  Jade Weathersby -UAB transfer appeared in 64 games with 33 starts in two years with the Blazers. Career highs of 27 points and 19 rebounds and should contribute that same production to the Gators this season. Nyadieng “Nidi” Yiech -Competed for Canadian U18 team in 2024 earning a silver medal in the AmeriCup. Physical inside out player who is an aggressive rebounder with a great shooting touch. Yiech can play both the off guard and forward positions and rounds out a very versatile roster for the Gators. The roster is a complement of talented women from all over the world, and it speaks to the type of program and roster Finley has built despite the university being slow to react to the changing landscape of college athletic and women’s basketball. If the first two games are any indication, good things are on the horizon as the Gators look to return to the NCAA tournament for the second time under its talented coach. Despite challenges, Finley and her staff continue to find and develop talent. A testament to the foundation that has been laid and continues to improve.

Alex Condon operates in the paint against UNF (Photo by Chris Spears) The North Florida Ospreys didn’t bus over from Jacksonville with even the slightest illusion of springing an upset Thursday night. They showed up at the O-Dome prepared to offer up a measure of resistance in exchange for a paycheck. Their moment to shine came with 15:31 remaining in the first half when Dalton Gayman hit a pair of free throws for a 10-9 lead.   Over the next four minutes, the Ospreys felt the wrath of a Florida team that lost its season opener three nights earlier. Starting with a 3-point play by Alex Condon on a power move that could have put one of the Osprey defenders in the basket along with the ball, 3 rd -ranked Florida went on a 15-0 power flex that put UNF in its Atlantic Sun Conference place. Boogie Fland dunked after a steal. Condon threw one down after an offensive rebound. Micah Handlogten almost tore the rim off the backboard and Condon slammed one home on a fast break pass from freshman CJ Ingram.   North Florida broke up the dunk-a-thon with a 3-pointer only to see the Gators go beast mode once again, this one a 12-0 run that featured a fast break hammer of a dunk by Tommy Haugh and a Handlogten tip-in of an Isaiah Brown miss on a fast break that made it 36-13. The Gators never let off the gas in building a 52-28 lead at halftime.   It was relentless. It was unmerciful. It was the Gators playing at a very high level.     This was the kind of response that Florida coach Todd Golden needed to see from the Gators after their 93-87 loss to Arizona in Las Vegas Monday night. He wanted the Gators to play fast, to play angry and to dominate. He got what he was looking for. The Gators scored 52 points in each half, outrebounded the Ospreys 64-24, and held the visitors to 19-61 shooting overall (31.1 percent), 7-28 from the 3-point line (25 percent).   “ We talked a lot about coming back with great energy and playing with a lot of intensity after Monday night,” Golden said after the Gators put a 104-64 thrashing on UNF. If it was dominance Golden wanted to see, dominance was what he got, particularly from big guys who were schooled in the paint by Arizona.   North Florida in no way could match Florida’s size and strength but what the four big guys did was impressive nonetheless: Condon (25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocked shots), Tommy Haugh (12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal), Rueben Chinyelu (8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) and Handlogten (17 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot).   Condon played up to the preseason All-American hype and Haugh had a second straight do what the team needs most kind of game. Chinyelu, who had one more rebound than a dead man against Arizona, had nine boards in a little more than 19 minutes.   Handlogten turned in the most impressive outing of his Florida career and certainly the best since coming back from a gruesome fracture of his leg in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game. In 18:28 of playing time against UNF Handlogten made 7-9 of his shots from the field and 3-3 from the foul line.   “Micah is a great player,” Golden said. “He didn’t get as much of an opportunity last year coming in late in the season, but as I said a million times, we don’t win the championship without him. He had an incredible offseason, got himself in the best shape he’s been in his whole entire life, and he’s playing incredibly well right now – 17 points and 13 rebounds in 18 minutes. He is very good with the ball, keeps it in our offense, does a great job. Probably a top three or four offensive rebounder in the country and that might not be giving him enough credit. Just does a great job creating second chances for us and he’s become an even better player than he was prior to the injury. And he’s been one of the best big men in America in terms of centers in my opinion.”   No doubt, the big guys did a curb stomp of the Ospreys but the Gators weren’t so impressive out on the perimeter where it was a second straight gang that couldn’t shoot straight effort. The guys on the perimeter drew iron far more often than nylon when they loaded up from the 3-point line. Whereas the Gators shot 69.4 percent on shots inside the arc and scored 66 points in the paint, they never heated up from the outside.   The Gators followed up that 7-27 shooting night from the 3-point line against Arizona with a 6-32 effort against North Florida. In between freshman Alex Lloyd’s 3-pointer with 8:21 to go in the first half and Haugh’s three after an offensive rebound with 14:59 to go in the game, the Gators missed 12 straight 3-pointers.   Six laser-guided 3-point bombs, 26 SCUDs, 18.8 percent shooting. That’s 13-59 in two games, which is 22 percent. Many of Florida’s 46 misses from the 3-point line were uncontested. If there is a concern about the Gators’ ability to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament it is the outside shooting. Golden believes his shooters are simply off to a bad start, but opponents can read box scores and scouting reports, too. Until they are convinced the Gators can make open shot, they’re going to pack the paint and dare the shooters to put the ball in the basket.   Other than their 3-point shooting – Fland and Xaivian Lee were a combined 2-11 – Golden liked the play of his starting backcourt. Fland (10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) had his second straight turnover-free game. He ran the offense flawlessly but he was 0-3 from the 3-point line. Xavian Lee (10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot) played the point and the wing. He was 2-8 from the 3-point line.     Fland and Lee both played more than 26 minutes. Golden subbed freely which led to some odd combinations, but it gave him an opportunity to play young guys that will be required to provide quality minutes as the season wears on. Urban Klavzar, who scored eight against Arizona, went 0-5 (0-4 from the 3-point line) against UNF. Isaiah Brown (9 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal) had a highlight reel steal and dunk. He was 4-11 shooting, 1-3 from the 3-point line. CJ Ingram (5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) was once again the first perimeter guy off the bench. Alex Lloyd (4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) went 1-5 from the field, all of them 3-pointers.   Viktor Mikic (4 points, 1 rebound, 1 blocked shot) came off the bench late as did 7-9 redshirt freshman Olivier Rioux, who sent the crowd into a frenzy when he got in the game for the final 2:02.   These first two games have given a glimpse of how Golden is likely to rotate his players in and out in the future. He has a 4-man rotation of bigs in Condon, Haugh, Chinyelu and Handlogten and a 4-man backcourt rotation of Fland, Lee, Klavzar and Ingram with Brown a swing guy who can play the perimeter and guard small forwards.   This was a paycheck game for North Florida. They will be tough and capable in the Atlantic Sun Conference but against a team like the Gators, no way.   For Florida, it was the easy, expected win. Essentially, this was a nothing to prove type of game, but it was another opportunity for Golden to see his guys in action against another team. The Gators are more than capable of a deep NCAA Tournament run. Nobody in the country has the size, talent and experience of the front line. Fland and Lee are skilled and capable of being dynamic players at both ends of the court, but they’re new and still meshing with their teammates. The kids coming off the bench are talented, but inexperienced. Bringing them along to where he can count on them for quality minutes will be a major point of emphasis for Golden.   Next up for the Gators is Florida State (1-0) Tuesday night at the O-Dome.   Game notes: The Gators shot 49.4 percent overall … Florida had nearly as many offensive rebounds (29) as rebounds on the defensive end … The Gators outscored the Ospreys 40-11 on second chance points, 28-11 on fast breaks and 39-20 in points off the bench … It was the second straight game in which the Gators had more than 20 assists … One overlooked defensive stat is the Gators held UNF to only two assists, which tells you there was serious disruption to the Ospreys ability to move the ball.

(Photo by Chris Spears) It is not uncommon for an otherwise very good defensive team to get lit up by a team that has one of those shooter’s coma nights when it seems that everything they throw up from behind the 3-point line finds the bottom of the net. A season ago that happened when the Gators lost their SEC season opener to Kentucky. With Kobe Brea hitting 7-9 from the 3-point line and the other Wildcats chipping in with another seven threes, Kentucky lit up the Gators for 106 points.   It was a wakeup call for the Gators, who became one of the best defensive teams in the country in going scorched earth all the way to the Final Four where they won the NCAA title over Houston in an epic defensive struggle.   Monday night in Las Vegas, the Gators gave up 93 points to Arizona in losing their 2025-26 season opener. Arizona didn’t go bombs away on threes. In fact, the Wildcats made only two and took only five shots from behind the arc. Zona scored 50 points in the paint, six from the 3-point line and six on 2-point jump shots from midrange outside the paint.   The other 31 points came from the foul line where the Wildcats grew elbow weary launching 38 free throws. The Gators struggled with their defense in the paint for sure. There is no defense for free throws.   Back in Gainesville Tuesday and Wednesday, Todd Golden used practice as a learning lab to correct Monday’s defensive deficiencies.   “ I thought one of the biggest correctable issues defensively was just defending without fouling,” Golden said prior to practice as the Gators prepared for tonight’s home opener with North Florida at the O-Dome (8 p.m., SEC Network +. “We sent them to the line 38 times, and it's an area where you're gonna give up some free throws to that team. They only shot five threes. We obviously did a great job limiting their 3-point attempts. So when they're playing inside the three [point line] and trying to rim to the basket, we're going to give up some free throws, but I think we fouled four non-rim 2-point shooters. You can't give free free throws up in a game like that. So, the physicality was an issue. I think defending without fouling is something that we gotta address moving forward."   The final 10 minutes of the first half were particularly bad for the Gators. The first 10 minutes were like a clinic. Florida hit 12-19 shots and held a 32-20 lead with 9:54 remaining in the half. The Gators were executing on both ends of the court and the largely pro-Arizona crowd at T-Mobile Arena sat in stunned silence.   Then came the collapse at both ends of the court. In the final 9:54, the Gators made 4-13 shots and scored only 14 points the rest of the way. Arizona, on the other hand, lit up the Gators for 30. The Wildcats hit 10-15 shots including 2-5 from the 3-point line and 8-8 from the foul line.   “I like to make these kind of football analogies down here in the south, but we played great complementary basketball early on in the game,” Golden said. “You know, our transition offense was on point. We were organized. We were sharing it. We were executing the half court. We were putting a lot of pressure on them getting two feet in the paint, you know, finding guys on rolls, just getting the shots we wanted. And I thought defensively, we were playing with good physicality, forcing them to miss shots and get them out of transition. And then that flipped a little bit, to Arizona's credit, I mean, which we knew was going to happen. They started executing a little better, started getting closer to the rim, made us play against a set defense.”   Despite the lack of offensive execution the final 9:54, the Gators still scored 46 points in the first half. They scored another 41 in the second and this was on a night when Florida’s shooting was erratic to say the very least.   The Gators scored 87 points. They could have scored more. They should have scored more.   “I think we had some offensive issues,” Golden said. “We took some bad shots. We were a little bit disorganized offensively. I thought when we were organized we executed a lot better.”   There at the end of the game, the Gators found themselves down nine points, but they had a chance to tie the game at 90-90 when Xaivian Lee missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The Gators could have cut deficit down to a single point a couple of minutes later but Boogie Fland’s three from the corner also missed.   “I thought, you know, even being down eight or nine with a minute and a half to go, we stayed the course,” Golden said. “We kept fighting after a bad turnover, and found a way to get ourselves a chance to tie with 30 to go, and then another chance to cut it to one with 15 seconds to go, 17, whatever it was. So we stayed the course, thought we kept fighting, battling and just fell a little short.”   Defensively, there were some things to like. The Gators defended the perimeter well and they ran the Wildcats off the 3-point line. Arizona scored too easily in the paint, but the place they scored the most was at the foul line. Arizona went 17-22 from the foul line in the second half. The Wildcats were clutch in the final 2:20 when they hit 8-10 to close out the win.   Losing was obviously not on Golden’s game plan, but this loss did provide him plenty of teaching moments.   “You’re playing a really good team in a place they’re a little more comfortable than you are, and we got off to a great start and just were not able to play really well for 40 [minutes],” Golden said. “So the thing that I'm most excited about is there a lot of correctable errors. This wasn't necessarily a thing, where we're like, man, we played great, and we actually played really well, and we just got beat.” How well the Gators respond to the teaching moments will be seen tonight against North Florida. A season ago, the Gators rebounded from the loss to Kentucky by blasting Tennessee, 73-43. Expect the Gators to play defense like a school of piranhas.   ANTICIPATED STARTING LINEUPS FOR FLORIDA-NORTH FLORIDA Florida (0-1): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, 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)   North Florida (0-0): BJ Plummer (6-6, 189, FR); Mason Lee (6-7, 200, RSO); Dalton Grayman (6-7, 233, GR); Kent Jackson (6-2, 169, SO); Kamrin Oriol (6-3, 187, SR)

(Photo by Chris Spears) There are no championships on the line when the Florida Gators (3-5, 2-3 SEC) travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats (3-5, 1-5 SEC) Saturday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to play for.   For Florida, interim head coach Billy Gonzales could still get the Gators to a bowl game if they can win at least three of the final four games. That’s a tall order considering the Gators have had their struggles in Lexington in the past and the final three games are at No. 7 Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC) followed by No. 23 Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC) and rival Florida State (4-4) at The Swamp. Considering all the injuries the Gators have had to deal with plus the firing of head coach Billy Napier after the Mississippi State win, getting to a bowl game would be a huge accomplishment. It would be a tremendous sendoff for seniors like All-America center Jake Slaughter and defensive end Tyreak Sapp, plus a ray of hope for the future for the young guys who make up the bulk of the roster.   Kentucky is doing its best to keep head coach Mark Stoops gainfully employed. The Wildcats have to win their final three games just to break even, thus preventing a second straight losing season. Kentucky boosters and fans haven’t exactly kept their frustrations quiet. They’ve made it known that Stoops’ nearly $40 million buyout won’t be a hindrance if the decision is made to make a coaching change. Winning the last three would get the Wildcats bowl eligible and probably would quiet for at least another season the fire Stoops talk.   Gonzales said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday that the Gators will continue to stay with the approach that “the most invested team wins. That’s attention to details throughout the game. We’ve got to be locked in. Everybody’s got to be assignment sound and then you’ve got to trust each other. You’ve got to be able to do your job and you’ve got to be able to trust your teammates to do their jobs.   “And, then again, our leaders, our leader’s got to continue to be great leaders on the football field and continue to pull along with our coaching staff.”   The Gators have to show they can pull out the tough games in the fourth quarter. The Gators have been within a field goal or a touchdown of either tying or going ahead in the fourth quarter of all five of their losses. The Gators held a 20-17 lead over Georgia in the fourth quarter last Saturday before giving up the game-winning touchdown.   Stoops never knows which Kentucky team will show up. The Wildcats can be terrible as they were in blowout losses to South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, but they also went white knuckles in losses to Ole Miss and Texas before scoring a 10-3 defensive slugfest win over Auburn last week.   So, which Kentucky team will show up? The one that gave up 504 yards and eight touchdowns to Tennessee or the one that held Texas to 179 yards and Auburn to 241?   Critical to Florida’s success will be getting the Wildcats off the field. The Wildcats try to grind it out on the ground to set up the passing game. Seth McGowan ranks seventh in the Southeastern Conference in rushing (529 yards, 7 TDs) and Cutter Boley has thrown 10 touchdown passes while completing 65.8 percent of his passes.   Georgia was Gonzales’ first game as the interim coach. He opened up the offense with more downfield passes than the Gators were accustomed to throwing when Napier was calling the plays. Kentucky does a good job stuffing the run, so Florida’s offense will likely rely on DJ Lagway throwing the ball. That means Florida’s O-line will need to be at its best since Kentucky is coming off a 7-sack game against Auburn.   Also, the game is in Lexington, a place where Florida teams have struggled in recent years.   “ It's a tough place in play, it's going to be at night, but like I said we're excited to about the opportunity to go up and play with the football team we have here at the University of Florida," Gonzales.   COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS: 1. Ohio State 8-0; 2. Indiana 9-0; 3. Texas A&M 8-0; 4. Alabama 7-1; 5. Georgia 7-1; 6. Ole Miss 7-1; 7. BYU 8-0; 8. Texas Tech 8-1; 9. Oregon 7-1; 10. Notre Dame 6-2; 11. Texas 7-2; 12. Oklahoma 7-2; 13. Utah 7-2; 14. Virginia 8-1; 15. Louisville 8-1; 16. Vanderbilt 7-2; 17. Georgia Tech 8-1; 18. Miami 6-2; 19. Southern California 6-2; 20. Iowa 6-2; 21. Michigan 7-2; 22. Missouri 6-2; 23. Washington 6-2; 24. Pittsburgh 7-2; 25. Tennessee 6-3   IF THE PLAYOFF WERE HELD TODAY   The playoff format includes the champion of each Power Four conference, Notre Dame if it is ranked in the top 12, and the highest ranked team from the Group of Five. Since there isn’t a single Group of Five team ranked in the CFP poll, the playoff committee selected Memphis as the top team.   The SEC has nine teams in the top 25 and six of the top 12 teams. If the playoff began today, four SEC teams would be in with three from the Big Ten and two from the Big 12. Notre Dame is ranked No. 10 so the Irish would be in. There isn’t an ACC team ranked in the top 12, so the ACC champion would get in. Virginia is the highest ranked team from the ACC, so Virginia would come in as the No. 11 team with Memphis coming in at No. 12. That would bump Texas and Oklahoma out of the playoff.   So, here are the first round games if the playoff began today: No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Ole Miss No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 BYU No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Texas Tech   SEC FOOTBALL (Associated Press rankings) No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC): Defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., who plays mostly special teams, has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest on three counts of reckless endangerment, one count of attempting to elude police and one count of speeding. Saturday: LSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC)   Arkansas (2-6, 0-5 SEC): Rhett Lashlee got a contract extension and raise to remain at SMU, which pretty much takes him out of the running to become the next head coach at Arkansas. Eric Morris of North Texas and Alex Golesh of South Florida are the likely forerunners for the job.   Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC): Three names gaining traction to replace Hugh Freeze are former Penn State coach James Franklin, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham. Another name being whispered for the job is former FSU and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, who was Terry Bowden’s offensive coordinator at Auburn during the 1990s. Saturday: at Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2 SEC)   No. 5 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC): Defensive lineman Jordan Hall, injured against Florida, “will be out some time” per Kirby Smart. Smart says the Bulldogs might get linebacker Chris Cole and linebacker Demello Jones back for Saturday. Saturday: at Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4 SEC)   Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC): The Wildcats need to win three of their last four games to ensure Mark Stoops will be back as head coach in 2026. Since winning 10 games in 2021, Kentucky is 19-25. Saturday: Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC)   LSU (5-2, 2-3 SEC): LSU would love to hire Lane Kiffin as its next head coach, but that seems rather unrealistic. If Kiffin isn’t coaching Ole Miss next year odds are he will be at Florida. With Kiffin likely off the board names that are emerging are James Franklin, Jon Sumrall (Tulane), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri) and Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State). S aturday: at No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC)   Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4 SEC): The Bulldogs are the SEC’s most improved team in 2025 thanks to better defense. A year ago, the Bulldogs gave up 34.1 points and 456.4 yards per game. This season they are allowing 24.7 points and 368.9 yards per game.   Saturday: No. 5 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC)   No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC): The Tigers aren’t completely out of the College Football Playoff picture, but they can help themselves if they can knock off No. 3 Texas A&M and then win the rest of their games for a 10-2 regular season finish. Saturday: No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC)   No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC): In their first six games, all of them wins, the Sooners allowed only Texas (302) to gain more than 300 yards. In their last two games, Oklahoma has given up 431 to Ole Miss and 456 to Tennessee. Oklahoma has an open date this week, but returns to action at Alabama on November 15.   No. 7 Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC): Since 1971, Ole Miss has had six seasons of 10 or more wins. Lane Kiffin has three of those seasons. He has the only 11-win season in school history and has a chance to make it a second this year. Saturday: The Citadel (4-5)   South Carolina (3-6, 1-6 SEC): With Mike Shula fired as offensive coordinator, Shane Beamer has designated Mike Furrey as new play-caller. Furrey has head coaching experience at Limestone and Kentucky Christian.   No. 23 Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC): Corner Jermod McCoy, who was projected as a No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, hasn’t played this season while rehabbing a knee injury. HBC Josh Heupel is non-committal whether or not McCoy will play in any of the final three games.   No. 13 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC): At No. 11 in the first College Football Playoff poll, the Longhorns would be bumped out if the playoff began today. Basically, to get in the playoff they have to finish at 10-2, which will be difficult since they have to play at No. 5 Georgia next week.      No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC): The Aggie passing game will be going against a Missouri pass defense that ranks No. 1 in the SEC and 7 th nationally. The Aggies have what might be the best 1-2 punch at wide receiver in the country in Mario Craver (40-716, 4 TDs) and KC Concepcion (36-545, 7 TDs).  Saturday: at No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC)   No. 15 Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2 SEC): The Commodores, ranked No. 16 in the first CFP poll, have three winnable games on the schedule. Win all three and with some movement within the top ten and the Commodores have a chance to make the playoff. Who would have ever thought that? Saturday: Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC)