Ron Roberts, Baylors defensive coordinator was at Louisiana running Coach Napiers defense before Toney took over. Toney runs very similar system.

UF announced tonight

Two different things.

I THINK it’s going to be Bama and Georgia, I want Bama ( to shut up the Non-Power 5 schools ) and Michigan as I HATE Georgia. To many games in Jacksonville dealing with drunk toothless Dawg fans.

Why didn’t we contact him after Napier was hired?

Kind of surprised to see that though you would think the line would have to move Bama's way. I do have a feeling Georgia will benefit from seeing what didn't work on defense last time and will have a chance at the end to win the game. Hopefully they find a way to lose to Bama again however.

... with UK at 3rd and 26 after two sacks by Iowa ... guess what? Wow. Is Third and Grantham contagious?

Anyone out tonight? I rented out a big section at a club and heading there after dinner and half the crew caught Omicron and won't come out. Swing through you fans of a 6-7 team.

At some point I have to learn that Jim Harbaugh and Michigan can't be trusted. Here I was thinking he was ready for prime time and Michigan makes Georgia look like the second coming of the Vince Lombardi Green Bay Packers.

That was Emory Jones’ completion % vs. U.C.F. His next lowest was 56.7% against South Carolina. He completed almost 64% against Bama. Two things went into it,
He’s not very good and probably afraid to repeat his 3 int. in a half FSU performance. I can’t remember a QB going a whole game that low. We win that game with Kyle Trask. And now he’s talking about staying? If he starts another game for us we are in deep trouble

Know what I’m saying…..

and that interview at the end of the game with Saban was just sad. And then to watch the next interview right after with their RB, he was all me-me attitude, nothing about anyone else regarding players or coaching staff not to mention he can barely complete a sentence while looking “hard” for the cameras. Alabama is a football factory with a cheating coach who sold his soul long ago and reality of his age is catching up to him and you could see it in his responses and his face in general.

If you ever want to watch an old, short, terrible human being who’s sold his soul long ago for recruits and money, rewatch. I almost feel sorry for him. He won’t retire because this is all he has and he knows what’s ahead upon retirement.

Being such a rival be in such a better condition of a program right now.
Great recruiting ✅
Great Athletes ✅
Great momentum as a program✅
Pumpkin pie hair cutter freak head coach ✅

21-0 in the Sun Bowl

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida women's basketball is set to open Southeastern Conference play on Sunday afternoon when #13/12 Georgia heads to Exactech Arena in the Stephen C. O'Connell for a 3 p.m. ET tip.

The game will be aired live on the SEC Network with Steffi Sorensen and Tiffany Greene on the call. Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis will handle radio responsibilities on 98.1FM/850AM WRUF.

Sunday's matchup between the Gators and Bulldogs marks the 79th meeting between the teams, with Georgia holding a 61-17 series advantage. The Bulldogs have won eight-consecutive games in the series, dating back to Jan. 28, 2018. Florida's last victory over the Bulldogs came at home on Feb. 26, 2017, 65-58.

UF is 19-24 all time in SEC lid lifters and has dropped seven straight. The Gators are 12-9 in SEC openers played at home and Sunday will be the first SEC opener at home since the 2016-17 season. The Gators' last win in an SEC opener came on Jan. 2, 2013 when they posted a 82-72 win vs. Mississippi State at home.

Prior to the postponement of the Mississippi State game, originally scheduled for Dec. 30, the Gators earned their 10th win of the non-conference with a win over Murray State. The victory marked the first time that the Orange & Blue have won at least 10 games in the non-conference since the 2015-16 season. The Gators ended with 12 noncon wins during the 2015-16 campaign.

Lavender Briggs led the UF offensive effort against the Racers, recording 12 points for the home squad. Freshman Alberte connected on three-of-four from deep, helping her to 11 points while Kiara Smith tallied 10 on the afternoon. The Gators pushed the tempo against Murray State, ending with a 21-4 advantage in fast break points.

Briggs continues to close in on 1,000 career points in her Florida career. The Provo, Utah native is currently sitting at 954 points, just 46 points away from becoming the 27th member of the club. She is currently 55th in the nation in field goals made at 72.

The senior leader, Smith's defense has risen to an elite level during the 2021-22 season, sitting at 10th nationally with a total of 35 steals on the year. She is also ranked 38th in the nation in steals per game, averaging 2.69 during each outing.

Sunday will mark the third-straight year that the Gators open SEC play with a ranked-opponent.

scUM cites COVID. Too bad we didn't either withdraw due to injuries, opt-outs and portal announcements.

Has had 3 under performing years at UNC. Sam Howell has declined since arriving on campus. He has recruited very well but the talent isn’t showing up on the field?

By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your New Year’s Eve:
THINKING OUT LOUD
It’s New Year’s Eve and Florida’s football season is already in the books. Not only that, it was a losing season and for the third time since 2014, we’re breaking in a new coach. This isn’t what I expected. Back in September, I really believed the Gators had a chance to play in their second straight SEC Championship Game. After the Gators lost in heartbreaking fashion to Alabama I believed that if UF could simply get past Georgia, the rematch would be Florida’s to win.

Well, I was wrong. I think most of us were.

Looking back, I see how Dan Mullen’s ability to scheme up an offense that would work against just about any defense out there was fool’s gold. At some point, you have to block and tackle and recruit. At some point, you have to motivate your players so well that they’re always ready to play at the highest levels on game day. At some point, close calls aren’t good enough.

At some point, the head coach has to evaluate all the reasons why he keeps coming up short in big games and then make the necessary changes, no matter how painful they may be. When the head coach finally makes the changes reluctantly and way too late to make a difference, you have meltdown.

I hate meltdown but what else can we call what happened from October 1 onward?

I keep rehashing the season to come up with answers, not that it will change anything but because I’m naturally curious to figure out how a coach who went 29-6 in his first 35 games could lose his grip on things so quickly. I keep going back to the Alabama game. Todd Grantham’s defense sucked in the first quarter but stuck it to the Crimson Tide for all but one drive in the second half. John Hevesy’s offensive line, which struggled in the first quarter, dominated Alabama’s front seven in quarters two through four. The same Emory Jones who couldn’t read a defense spelled CAT if you spotted him the C, the A and the T in the first quarter sliced and diced Bama in the last three quarters whether it was throwing the ball or tucking and running.

Dan Mullen had the Gators so close to knocking off the number one team in the nation. A play here or a play there. An extra point. The zebras calling a facemask on Jace McClellan or an illegal pick on John Metchie III. I could go on and on.

So close to winning, but there are no participation trophies in the SEC. I can’t shake the feeling that the last four years are nothing more than a participation trophy because close calls are how we will end up defining the Dan Mullen era.

The meltdown wasn’t fun to watch. Mullen is a nice guy, maybe too nice. Maybe that’s why he didn’t make hard choices about his assistant coaches when he had to know this really wasn’t going to work out. We all know that after the 2020 season he could have told Grantham, Hevesy and some of the other coaches who needed to go that it would be a great idea if they found gainful employment elsewhere. We all know that by waiting until November to jettison Grantham and Hevesy it was too little too late. By then the Gators had fallen off the cliff, Mullen was in freefall and his firing was inevitable.

So here we are, New Year’s Eve, no big bowl game this year and back to square one once again. Yogi Berra would say “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Urban Meyer left the program with a lot of talent but shoes almost too big to fill. Will Muschamp couldn’t fill them. Jim McElwain certainly couldn’t. Dan Mullen owed his climb up the coaching ladder to Meyer, but he never recruited the way Meyer did and he never surrounded himself with the kind of assistant coaches that could turn each position group into the best coached in the SEC.

So now it’s up to Billy Napier to put it all together. It just feels different with Napier than it did with the previous three coaches. Maybe the best analogy I can give is building a house. You wouldn’t build a house without first putting in a strong foundation before putting up the walls and the roof. In the 26 days since he was introduced as Florida’s head coach, he’s focused on putting in a strong foundation so that this house won’t crumble but instead will stand strong.

This is all part of Billy Napier’s people plan. He understands that it all begins with surrounding yourself with the right kind of people. We never got the feeling that Muschamp, McElwain or Mullen had enough competent people in place to get the job done. With Napier, it feels different.

So even though this is rather strange New Year’s Eve, I’m feeling confident that the Gators have the right guy at the right time. If we’re patient and give Napier a chance to implement his plan, I think we’ll see a championship-level football program. It’s been way too long since we had one.

FOOTBALL IN THE SEC
No. 1 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0): Alabama is a 13.5-point favorite to put an end to Cincinnati’s dream season and for good reason. The College Football Playoff semifinal is nothing new for Alabama, but it’s uncharted territory for the Bearcats, the first Group of Five team to ever crash the playoff party. There are two big questions that have to be answered – (1) Can Luke Fickell convince the Bearcats that they belong in the playoff and have nothing to fear from Big Bad Bama; and (2) can Nick Saban convince the Crimson Tide that they need to play their best game of the season to avoid the embarrassment of losing to a novice to this playoff thing?

I’m of the opinion that Cincinnati would have stood a better chance at springing the upset if the Bearcats had played Alabama a week or 10 days after they won the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. I’m equally of the opinion that even though Alabama will be playing without wide receiver John Metchie III, the 27 days since the Georgia beatdown has allowed running back Brian Robinson to heal. That’s important because Robinson is as good as it gets in picking up blitzes and he’s an extraordinary receiver out of the backfield. I don’t think Cincinnati can cause problems for Heisman Trophy QB Brice Young without the blitz and I’m not sure the Bearcats linebackers can cover Robinson in the passing game. I also wonder how Cincinnati is going to protect quarterback Desmond Ridder from Will Anderson coming off the edge. Brice Young may have won the Heisman Trophy, but the best player on that Alabama team is Anderson, who leads the nation in sacks.

Alabama 31, Cincinnati 14

No. 2 Michigan (12-1) vs. No. 3 Georgia (12-1): In so many ways, these two teams mirror each other. Both have exceptional defensive lines and active linebackers. Both have outstanding running backs. If their quarterbacks were racehorses, we would call them pluggers. Both have coaches who won’t hear the end of it if they can’t deliver a win.

Georgia is supposed to be here although nearly everyone had the Bulldogs coming in unbeaten and the No. 1 seed, that is before stuck it to them in the SEC Championship Game. This was supposed to be the year Kirby Smart finally beat Nick Saban. If he beats Michigan and then loses to Alabama – if Alabama gets there – in the championship game, the Kirby doubters will be relentless. Michigan was supposed to lose to Ohio State but the Wolverines put the kibosh on the Buckeyes to finally get that 800-pound gorilla off Jim Harbaugh’s back. So now that he’s beaten Ohio State to get to the playoff for the first time, can Harbaugh get over this next hurdle. He accepted a paycut (from $8 million to $4 million) to keep coaching the Wolverines. If he loses, Michigan Men everywhere will be saying Harbaugh is still paid too much.

Forget the coaches for a moment. Can Georgia’s offensive tackles block Michigan’s defensive ends, both of whom are expected to go in the first 10 picks in the NFL Draft? Can Michigan run the football on Georgia’s defense, which is really stout against the ground game? Can either of the quarterbacks make enough quality throws to keep a defense honest?

Michigan 20, Georgia 17

The SEC vs. The World: This hasn’t exactly been a write home to mom bowl season for the SEC, which is now 1-5. Who in his right mind would have thought that South Carolina (7-6) would be carrying a torch that is flickering for the SEC? That the Gamecocks even made a bowl game was a shock to the system. That they hosed North Carolina (6-7) 38-21 was an even bigger shock since the QB of record in this game was Dakereon Joyner, who played wide receiver all year and who hadn’t thrown a pass since 2019. Joyner was the MVP, hitting 9-9 of his passes for 160 yards and a TD while running for 64 on 10 carries. Kevin Harris, who spent nearly the whole year in the training room, ran for 182.

Tennessee (7-6) outgained Purdue (9-4) 666-627 but lost to the Boilermakers in overtime when the zebras ruled that Jaylen Wright’s forward momentum was stopped before he stretched the ball over the goal line. That’s what Vol fans will swear until the day they die. Actually, Tennessee’s defense lost the game. Even though the Vols picked off Purdue’s Aiden O’Connell three times they gave up 534 passing yards and five TDPs.



If we’re going to be perfectly honest here, this is not a best foot forward year for the SEC. In reality, there are three exceptional teams – Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss (10-2) – and a couple of good ones – Kentucky (9-3) and Arkansas (8-4). Everybody else is not all that good. We can defend the SEC by saying the teams beat up on each other or by saying we had too many good players opt out, but that doesn’t change the fact that other than a handful of teams, the league wasn’t very good.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Matt Corral will play in the Sugar Bowl Saturday when Ole Miss (10-2) faces Big 12 champion Baylor (11-2). Corral is expected to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft and could be the first quarterback selected. Thursday, Corral explained why he didn’t join players like Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett (Playing with its No. 3 QB, Pitt lost its Peach Bowl game to Michigan State) in opting out, using the excuse of prepping for the draft.

“I mean it was just my teammates … I never questioned it,” Corral said. “If I was them [teammates] in their shoes and they had a quarterback in the same position, I just couldn’t live with what they would think of me, like just leaving and just being like ‘alright that was the last game’ and nobody knowing that was the last game. The only reason I say this is because nobody really understands how close we really are. It just would’ve been the wrong thing to do, just no playing and just holding out on them.”

Corral is a standup guy who understands agent money will be there for him once the Sugar Bowl is played. If you really want to know why players opt out of bowl games, it has very little to do with fear of getting hurt and everything to do with signing with an agent. If they sign with an agent, they’re ineligible to play in the bowl game. So it’s easier to just say they’re prepping for the draft. How convenient.

Just want to take a moment to wish everybody a very happy new year. I hope everybody is safe tonight and their New Years plans and I hope that everyone will have a great 2022:

The year of Billy Napier and The Gator!!

Go Gators!!

Also special shout out to @JasonHigdon and all the new members, including those in his cult. We are very glad to have you here and look forward to a great 2022.

Didn't realize she was close to 100. Loved her in the snickers commercial. Thought she would live another 5 years.

Went to far south? I haven’t voted yet!