College Football
Back To The Front
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Clemson started the 2024 football season by getting pummeled 34-3 to #1 Georgia. This caused us to look at the Tigers and wonder if the game had passed by head coach Dabo Swinney. After he suffered his worst lost in more than a decade, Swinney was optimistic.
He watched film from the UGA game and saw a team that, according to him, matched Georgia physically and lost, in large part, due to a handful of unforced errors and an inability to capture any “momentum.”
“We matched up well. It didn’t go our way, but we were physical, we could run. We’ve got a good team,” Swinney said. “We’ve got a bunch of good, young talent. It’s going to come together, and it’s going to be fun to watch.”
Is he optimistic, delusional or correct in his assessment? One thing he has not adapted to is the transfer portal era we are living in now. Four FBS programs do not accept transfers. They are Army, Navy, Air Force and Clemson. As you can see, one of those things is not like the others. It makes sense for service academies to do but it is strange that a regular Power 4 school does not.
“We’ve done it in a unique way,” Swinney said. “Now people want me to go do it some other way. They’ve lost their freakin’ mind. I’m not doing it another way. Everything doesn’t go the way you want it every single time, but that doesn’t mean you get away from what your foundation is, what you believe.”
As Swinney would say, the Clemson stock took a hit after the first game. The Tigers have responded with three straight wins since then and they are now ranked #15.
All three of their wins have come at home against Appalachian State, NC State and Stanford. The closest margin of victory was 24 points against NC State. The Wolfpack came into the 2024 season as a top 25 team but they were trounced 51-10 in Week 2 by Tennessee. Clemson has not faced world-beaters over the last few weeks.
Clemson’s player retention rate is among the best in the country — only Northwestern and Oklahoma State had fewer players leave in the December window than Clemson’s 12. They also had the highest graduation rate of any Power 4 school. Clemson is the only team in the country to rank in the top 25 in both the AP rankings and graduation rates for 13 years straight.
Clemson’s record from 2021 to ’23, the supposed downturn of the program — was 30-10, the eighth-best mark of any program in that span. Maybe they were having issues because Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne left for the NFL.
They have their first true road game of the season at Florida State (1-4) this week. It’s ironic because the Seminoles QB, DJ Uiagalelei started at Clemson. Then he transferred to Oregon State and now FSU. He took some parting shots at the Tigers after he transferred.
“I didn’t want to do what I was doing at Clemson,” said Uiagalelei. “I didn’t really like what we did there scheme-wise. I didn’t think we did very much. I thought it was very basic. It didn’t help me out as a quarterback and play to my strengths.”
He was benched after a bad loss to ACC newcomer SMU last week, so he’ll watch this game from the sideline.
The Tigers only have one ranked team on the schedule the rest of the season. I think they will be 11-1 going into the ACC Championship game.
Blowing Out The Buffs?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When you’re trailing 28-7 early in the third quarter, typically you don’t think running the ball is a recipe for a comeback win. Unless, of course, you’re RJ Harvey.
UCF’s star running back carried his team to a dramatic, 35-34 comeback victory over TCU two Saturdays ago, finishing with 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 29 carries, plus a 29-yard receiving touchdown.
The Knights erased a 21-point deficit in the second half to open their Big 12 play with a win, The Knights are now 3-0.
Harvey went into halftime with a respectable 66 yards on the ground before shredding TCU’s defense after the break, ripping 114 yards,6.3 yards per carry to flip the momentum and score in UCF’s favor.
With a home showdown against Colorado and coach Deion Sanders on Saturday, Harvey finished sixth in FBS with 1,416 rushing yards in 2023, averaging 149.3 yards per game in 2024 (fourth in the country).
What makes UCF particularly dangerous is that Harvey doesn’t have to do it alone. Toledo transfer Peny Boone, Cincinnati transfer Myles Montgomery, and speedy senior Johnny Richardson round out arguably the deepest running back group in college football, with all four averaging at least 6 yards per carry. Add in dual-threat quarterback KJ Jefferson, and the Knights have the top rushing attack in FBS at 375.7 yards per game.
UCF lost five in a row to open league play in 2023, their first season as a member of the Big 12. The challenges of upgrading from the AAC to the Big 12 manifested into several late-game collapses, including: Kansas State, Oklahoma, and a 29-point meltdown against the Baylor Bears. Those Knights didn’t have the horses or swords to keep up.
Coach Malzahn worked to rectify 2023’s roster through the portal, adding 24 transfers this offseason.
“There’s nothing like experience in college football,” Malzahn said. “The more experienced team you have, the better chance you have to be successful. We have a lot of older guys who have played a lot of football.”
That experience showed up on the road against TCU. UCF’s defense tightened up just enough, forcing two punts and three field goals, the last one a desperation 58-yard attempt that sailed wide right as time expired.
Jefferson is still finding his footing with the Knights through three games, but when the team needed him to step up late against TCU, the veteran delivered, including a pair of 20-plus-yard touchdown passes to senior wideout Kobe Hudson.
The bigger issue last season, however, was a defense that wilted against Big 12 competition, particularly against the ground game. UCF allowed 4.9 yards per carry in 2023.
The current three-game sample isn’t enough to get excited about. They were best in the Big 12 with 2.5 yards per carry allowed in 2024, and the additions of players like Pace, Arnold and defensive linemen Nyjalik Kelly and Dayan Dotson have strengthened the defense at all three levels.
Is it improved enough to contend in the newly crowded and chaotic Big 12 race?
UCF gets their next chance to prove something on Saturday against Colorado, fresh off the Buffs’ Hail Mary overtime win against Baylor.
It’s still up for debate how much better this Colorado team is compared to their last place finish in the Pac-12 in 2023, but it boasts two game-changing talents in Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, as well as the Coach Prime effect: Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show is headed to Orlando, Fla., and the game gets the network’s 3:30 p.m. ET national spotlight.
It’s probably the biggest showcase UCF has had since ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Orlando in 2018.
These Knights will face more challenging in-conference tests against Iowa State, BYU, Arizona and Utah later in the schedule, as well as a short trip to Gainesville on Oct. 5 for a non-conference game that could kill Billy Napier’s tenure at Florida.
If UCF truly is good enough to compete for a Big 12 title, it should take care of business at home against a Colorado team that needed a last-second miracle to beat Baylor. The uniqueness of Saturday is an opportunity to burnish those bona fides with plenty of eyeballs watching.
UCF is a young Power 4 team with a lot of growth. Saturday at 4 pm, The Bounce House will be rockin and a large national audience will see UCF. UCF 34 Colorado 23
Trouble In Athens?
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
My friends in South Carolina are going to be mighty shocked when I say this.
The Dawgs have problems.
Growing up in South Carolina a Dawg fan and being in sports journalism for 2.5 decades, I hear it when I say something about the Dawgs they don’t agree with.
Last year, I said the Dawgs were one of the best four and should have been in the playoff – regardless of the SEC Title loss to Bama. Dawg fan or not, it was what it was. The committee’s goal was to get the best four. The Dawgs belonged – period. Point blank. So many became “Over-reaction guy.”
“How could the Dawgs be in? They just lost to someone outside the top 4.
Or the…. “We don’t want to see Bama and the Dawgs rematch.”
The bottom line was, the Dawgs AND Bama were 2 of the best 4 – if not the best 2. And don’t call me crazy because Bama lost to Michigan. Going into the playoffs, how many of you had Bama beating Michigan?
Once the playoffs were done, experts came out of the woodwork. It was what it was.
But after last Saturday’s field goal fest in Lexington, I’m wondering if the Dawgs will have to be a benefactor of the new 12-team playoff format. I know some of my good ole friends will balk at this, too, but let’s be real.
In the 2- and 4-team format of the last 30 years, there should have been many more SEC squads in, even if it meant as many as 3 of the 4 were SEC squads.
I try not to be hyperbole and/or “overreaction guy.” Y’all know. It’s like “over-reaction guy’s” brother or ”backwards hat guy.” You know that one guy that yells at every play, but probably couldn’t even tell you one offensive line starter. Or they always boo at every flag – even before the ref makes the call.
Well, “over-reaction” guy has it easy this week, saying things like: “Man, the Dawgs stink” or “I told y’all about Carson Beck!”
Then, there’s the elephant in the room. “I told y’all Mike Bobo ain’t no offensive coordinator.” Ahhhh boy, Dawg Nation has argued that since Bobo’s first OC stint between the hedges, 2007-2014.
Deep dive time. Chew on these factoids. In the Dawgs’ 8 quarters against Power 5 teams (Clemson, Kentucky), they’ve tallied just 5 TDs.
In fact, four of the 5 came only in the 2nd half against Clemson alone. It took an entire 3 quarters and 3:00 for UGA to get in the endzone against the Cats.
Maybe the Cats had more brawn than our experts believed, or maybe there’s something amiss in Athens.
Yes, UGA lost guys like McConkey and Bowers from last year, but the cupboard in Athens is supposed to be filled to the brim.
Trevor Etienne ran it for 79 yards on 19 carries. Of those 19 carries, 12, count them, 12 were against 7 men in the box playing the run.
A 6-man line can’t account for 7. Well, sometimes they can. But you can’t expect them to do it all night wrong.
What’s the point here? Either one of two things are happening here.
#1 The OC is not getting the offense into the best fits, which is the job of a coordinator.
#2 The QB is not recognizing and audibling at the line.
Look, no OC is going to have the perfect call and no QB is going to always notice. But to have it happen 12 out of your top RB’s carries, is unacceptable.
Yes, there are times when an OC mandates the call stick and doesn’t give the QB an option to change the call at the line. And of course, there’s this, this is the first year of the helmet earphones allowed for one player. They have the option to communicate with Beck at the line.
And who knows, maybe I’m overreacting. This was not the biggest issue Saturday night, but it was the most glaring to me.
Sure, there could be issues that the UGA coaching staff are not going to discuss with the press. Maybe the receiver core wasn’t ready for the bigtime. Maybe there’s an undisclosed nagging injury to Beck.
Whatever it is I’ll only say this.
If the Dawgs don’t figure this out by September 28, Bama is going Roll our Tide right out the Dawg Pen and they won’t even have to pull an “Al from Dadeville.” Because the whole country will see it.
Sound The Alarm
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
How does a college football team win 13 games one year and turn into an absolute train wreck the next?
Florida State’s Mike Norvell — who signed an $11 million yearly contract extension in January to —is facing that question.
His Seminoles, picked by the media to repeat as ACC champions, lost to Memphis 20-13, last Saturday to become the ninth preseason AP top-10 team since 1950 to lose its first three games.
If that isn’t embarrassing enough, Norvell left Memphis five years ago to coach for FSU. Now, for the second time, the Seminoles have started a season by losing their first three games.
“I know what it takes to win games,” Norvell said after Memphis outgained the Seminoles 337 yards to 228 inside of Doak Campbell Stadium.
“I know what it takes for a team to go out there and be able to execute and play at a high level. We all have to do a better job of what we’re doing throughout the course of the week and challenge the players, challenge the coaches. Because we can’t continue to come into games and see things that absolutely are not a part of what we are and who we are.”
On one hand, this might be how good Florida State is without Jordan Travis , Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, and Trey Benson. A collection of leaders on both sides of the ball for last year’s Florida State team are now NFL players.
It took Travis a couple of years after leaving Louisville to settle into FSU’s leading role at quarterback. He earned the respect of his teammates through the struggles of Norvell’s first two seasons (3-6 and 5-7) before their success in the last two. Those Seminoles, whether brought in through the portal or homegrown, developed into a championship team and enjoyed playing together.
This collection of transfers and homegrown players do not look like they’re having fun, and the culture does not look good.
The offense is just awful. The first half against Memphis was a comedy of errors, and a parody of the program Bobby Bowden built 5000 years ago.
It started with former Alabama running back Roydell Williams fumbling on the second play and ended with freshman Lawayne McCoy muffing a punt after his teammate Quindarrius Jones was blocked into him.
It was one of three turnovers in the half, which included only 67 yards of total offense and three first downs.
You cannot blame Adam Fuller’s defense. The Seminoles have given up 24, 28 and 20 points in three losses.
The majority of the issues are on offense. Is it evaluation? Development? Belief in the system? Things are clearly not trending in the right direction.
Recruiting has been good but never great under Norvell. The 2025 class took several hits in recent weeks when two blue-chip defensive linemen decommitted. There could be more defections if the results on the field don’t improve.
Norvell’s press conference last Saturday ended with a fire alarm going off in the building.
Nobody at FSU is going to fire Norvell anytime soon with the amount of money left on his contract, but it’s fair to sound the alarms about FSU’s future after smelling smoke early on.
College Football Progress Reports
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are only a few weeks into the college football season but we have learned about some of the prominent teams around the country.
It’s a little too early for report cards but we can make progress reports for some of the programs around the Southeast.
Georgia: The Dawgs are 3-0, which is good. They beat up on #14 Clemson 34-3 to start the season. The biggest take away from that game was the Tigers are not very good.
They followed that up by beating FCS Tennessee Tech 48-3. Last weekend they struggled at Kentucky and won 13-12. These are the same Wildcats that lost 31-6 to South Carolina the week before. I think UGA will be fine but the next test comes September 28 at Alabama.
Grade: A-
Alabama: Nick Saban is gone and Kalen DeBoer has stepped in. The Crimson Tide have beaten Western Kentucky, USF and Wisconsin. The South Florida game was close in the first half but they won 42-16.
These wins are not impressive but the schedule will get harder. We will learn a lot about this team when they play Georgia.
Grade: A
Tennessee: This has to be the most surprising team in my opinion. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava stepped in as the starter and he looks like a Heisman candidate.
The Vols started the season with FCS Chattanooga and won 69-3. They played #23 NC State in Charlotte and won 51-10. Last weekend they demolished Kent State 71-0.
Grade: A+
Miami: Are the Hurricanes back? We seem to ask this question every few years. They opened the season at Florida and won 41-17. They followed that up with blow out victories against FCS Florida A&M and Ball State.
QB Cam Ward transferred in from Washington State and he’s playing great. Their next game is at USF. You can’t say I have something against the state of Florida with this grade.
Grade: A
Florida State: The wheels have completely fallen off in Tallahassee. They started last season 13-0 but have not recovered since losing the Orange Bowl.
The Seminoles came into the season ranked #10 and lost to Georgia Tech in Ireland. Then they dropped home games against Boston College and Memphis to fall to 0-3.
Mike Norvell’s seat is burning up right now.
Grade: F-
Florida: Speaking of hot seats, Billy Napier’s is in flames. Unlike Norvell, he has not had double-digit wins in Gainesville.
He actually has not had more than 6 wins in a season. We talked about the embarrassing loss to Miami earlier. They did beat FCS Samford for their lone win this season.
The Gators lost to Texas A&M at home 33-20 over the weekend. The score makes this game seem closer than it was. They travel to Mississippi State for their next game.
Grade: F
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are 3-1, which is better than most people expected them to start the season.
The wins are against FSU, Georgia State and VMI, an FCS team. The loss was at Syracuse, 31-28. I thought that was a game they were going to win. They play at #19 Louisville this week.
Way Too Early Heisman
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Heisman hopefuls for 2024. As we move forward with the 2024 season let’s look at the early hopefuls for the coveted Heisman Trophy as College Football’s Most Outstanding Player.
A month into the season; let’s look at who’s hot and who’s not.
We lead off with Quinn Ewers of the now #1 ranked Texas Longhorns. The 6’ 2” 210 QB has thrown for around 700 yards. Great numbers but where we go from here remains to be seen.
Ewers sustained an oblique strain in the second quarter of the UTSA game and is now week to week. He better get ready pretty quick for two reasons.
First the meat of the schedule is coming up with Oklahoma and Georgia back-to-back.
Secondly, Ewers has the highest rated backup in football in Arch Manning. If Manning takes off Ewers may have a hard time getting back on the field much less win the Heisman.
I’m thinking Ewers is a lukewarm candidate as of now. And those games with Oklahoma and Georgia will tell us where Ewers and the Longhorns are going.
Next up is Carson Beck of the now #2 Georgia Bulldogs. Both Beck and the Dawgs looked very beatable and average against the Kentucky Wildcats. The good thing is that they still won the game.
The 6’4” 220lb Beck has thrown for 680 yards and 7 TDS and 0 INTs. Beck may be hampered in that he won’t lead the nation in passing yards and TDs. But he might lead the Dawgs to the National Championship.
We will see how the next few weeks play out as the Dawgs have to travel to both Alabama and Texas. Get HOT in those two games and Beck has a good shot.
Jalen Milroe of the Alabama Crimson Tide is HOT. That’s capital letter HOT. The 6’2” 225 LB QB has thrown for 590 yards in 3 games with 8 TDs and 0 INTs. But wait, Mr. Dual Threat has also rushed for 156 Yds and 6 more TDs.
The guy has a great deep ball and can pull it and make defenses pay when he runs out of the pocket. He is a true Dual Threat QB and is leading an Alabama offense that has scored 63, 42, and 42 points in the first 3 games of the season.
If he leads the Elephants to a win over Georgia on September 28th, he will be your front runner.
Well did you notice the top three? Sure, you did. All high profile SEC guys. Let them take away votes from here and there and you might just have Cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes hoisting the trophy in New York.
Ward has led the Hurricanes to a top 10 ranking, all the while putting up Heisman type numbers. Try throwing for over 1035 yards and almost 15 TD’. This guy is a real threat. Ward is HOT and if he stays that way he has both the schedule and the team to move his Heisman hopes forward. He’s my dark horse of the top 4.
And yes, it’s so early in the season that other players may step up. Don’t count out Dillon Gabriel of Oregon or Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss. Great players with very good teams behind them.
Add in Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Nico Iamaleava of Tennessee for a couple of longshots and there you go.
And notice that I haven’t had a position player other than QB. Stranger things have happened but I just don’t see a running back or receiver stepping up. But it’s early.
My way too early pick is Jalen Milroe. This guy is coming into his own and he has a new coach that is going to turn him loose.
Remember, Kalen DeBoer is considered a QB guru. Last year he had Michel Penix Jr. with the Washington Huskies. This year It’s Jalen Milroe.
I think Milroe will put up unbelievable numbers that will vault him into the Heisman discussion. And if the Tide play up to their capabilities. He’s who I think will be on the podium come December.
The Hard Truth
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I still remember the day my father saying, “Son, always tell the truth.” I was a young boy. I barely remember it, but what I do have is a vision of us riding in the car, and him saying that.
Who knows? I probably told some white lies about eating the last piece of left-over pizza, when it was earmarked for mom.
What does that have to do with the Dawgs?
Former Dawg Brock Vandagriff now quarterbacks at Kentucky. Vandagriff was out of Athens, GA’s Prince Avenue Christian in 2020 as one of the nation’s top QB recruits, he was expected to run the QB room within a couple years.
Because of some dude named “The Mailman,” and the emergence of Carson Beck, that never happened.
He’s telling a truth this season. But what truth?
It tells a hard truth of how Kirby Smart and the Dawgs take a lot of pride in its’ roster and how Kirby is simply not afraid of watching players walk out the door to the NCAA transfer portal.
Back to Vandagriff. Kirby Smart tells hard truths and he had to tell one to his former QB Vandagriff. In December of last year, Smart had his annual meetings with players to tell them where they stood for the upcoming offseason. It’s something many coaches do a version of, but often can’t tell the hard truths.
In this meeting, Kirby told Vandagriff that Carson Beck was the clear #1. In the new age of the transfer portal, this has been difficult for many coaches.
Why? Well, what do ya do? You get honest with a kid that adds depth to your team and they bolt. You lie and you become the coach with the reputation of telling players what they want to hear.
So, what did Vandagriff do? Just 5 minutes after meeting with Smart, he walked back into Smart’s office and told him he was entering the transfer portal.
This was tough for Vandagriff, and Smart as well. No one knows exactly what Smart said to Vandagriff, but judging by what Vandagriff’s dad said in a September 8 Courier Journal (Lexington, KY) column, it was a respectfully mutual conversation between Brock and Kirby.
“Kirby called me and said, ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a finer kid in my life than your son.'”
Greg Vandagriff knows the deal, having been a High School Head Coach in Georgia for 28 years. He’s 97-12 at Prince Avenue with back-to-back state titles.
Let’s be real. There are many coaches that tell players what they want to hear, to keep them from the portal. Smart has never even been rumored to do that.
Even when Dylan Raiola, the 2024 #1 rated QB prospect, decided to transfer to Nebraska, Kirby did absolutely nothing to entice him to stay. He wished Raiola well.
Gators QB1?
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Turmoil has been a consistent descriptor for the Florida Gators the last couple of seasons and the start of 2024 has been no different.
Florida felt a little bit of confidence and optimism entering the season but was quickly squashed with the season-opening loss against rival Miami 41-17.
In that lid-lifting loss, Gator quarterback Graham Mertz took a tough hit in the fourth quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. True freshman phenom D.J. Lagway took over for Mertz to finish off the Miami game then started and played the majority of the Gators 45-7 victory over FCS Samford.
Now the questions of “who is QB1 for the Gators” have caught fire. So, who are these two and where does the toasted rear’ of Billy Napier go for the season?
Graham Mertz is the experienced sixth year signal caller who transferred into the Florida program after four years at Wisconsin.
In his debut season with the Gators, Mertz was on track with his best statistical season of his career with 20 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions while racking up 264 yards per game on average through the first 11 games of the season before fracturing his collarbone in the week eleven loss to Missouri and missing the finale against Florida State.
The offseason and preseason leading into the 2024 season was filled with optimism around Mertz but the Miami game suggests it may be a bit premature. Mertz, before leaving the game with the concussion in the fourth quarter, went 11-20 passing with only 91 yards through the air. Mertz didn’t record a score while throwing an interception and was sacked three times.
D.J. Lagway was a highly sought-after recruit out of Willis, Texas (just north of Houston) after totaling over 5,500 all-purpose yards and 73 touchdowns as a senior in high school in route to winning the 2023 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Lagway essentially had his pick of the litter where to take his talents in the collegiate ranks but saw the vision of Napier and the Gators.
In his Gator debut, Lagway connected on 3 of 6 of the passes for 31 yards and added 20 rushing yards and his first career touchdown on the ground in less than a quarter in the Miami matchup.
Lagway followed that up with his first career start for the Gators against Samford (again because of Mertz’ concussion holding him out). Against the FCS’ Bulldogs, Lagway impressed with 456 yards through the air and 3 scores while completing 18 of 25 passes including an 85-yard reception to Eugene Wilson III.
Now the question goes to “what happens now?”
Most are expecting Napier and company to play Graham Mertz as QB1, but many in Gator Nation are wanting to turn the page and see what D.J. Lagway does with the full keys to the program.
Personally, I think (at least for the time being), Mertz has earned the right to get the opportunity to lose his job as QB1.
In his 6-year career, Mertz has amassed over 8,300 career passing yards and 58 touchdowns.
The experience factor plays a huge role in this decision. Mertz should be the guy. That being said, I think it’s only a question of “IF” not “WHEN” D.J. Lagway takes the reigns and runs with it.
Florida State Semi-Noles
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2024 football season is underway and some teams have left us with more questions.
Florida State is one of those programs. I think we have to start with head coach Mike Norvell to see what the problem is with this program.
Norvell coached at Memphis from 2016-19 and his record was 38-15. He led the Tigers to a 12-1 record in his final season, which is why he was hired at FSU.
In his first two seasons, the Seminoles were 3-6 and 5-7. Things turned around in 2022 and they went 10-3. Last season they won their first thirteen games, which included the ACC Championship. They were snubbed from the College Football Playoff.
This is where problems with Florida State’s culture started to show. Over a dozen starters left the team after the ACC championship.
The #5 Seminoles playing the #6 Georgia Bulldogs sounded like a great Orange Bowl matchup on paper. UGA was also disappointed to not play in the CFP but their players chose to play in this bowl game.
We know what happened next, Georgia beat FSU 63-3.
“Well, the game mattered because we’re playing a game,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart, whose team set a couple of Orange Bowl records, including for point differential (60) and total yardage (673).
“As long as winning matters, we’re going to compete like hell at Georgia, it doesn’t matter what it is.”
That is an interesting statement by Smart; it seems like a jab at FSU because it is. Georgia has a winning culture so their players still played in the Orange Bowl, unlike Florida State.
Coming into the 2024 season the expectations were high at Florida State. They had the #4 transfer portal recruiting class in 2024. The class was headlined by former five-star QB DJ Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei played at Clemson and Oregon State.
Last season at Oregon State, he passed for 2,638 yards, 21 touchdowns, 7 interceptions and he completed 57% of his passes. He has not lived up to his recruiting ranking and he hoped to reach his potential in Tallahassee.
They had five players transfer in from Alabama: linebacker Shawn Murphy, running back Roydell Williams, corner Earl Little II, offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson and receiver Malik Benson.
The other notable transfers are edge rusher Marvin Jones Jr. (Georgia), wide receiver Jalen Brown (LSU), defensive lineman Sione Lolohea (Oregon State) and defensive lineman Tomiwa Durojaiye (West Virginia).
As you know, FSU lost their first two games to Georgia Tech and Boston College.
Both of those teams were unranked. This is Norvell’s third 0-2 start in his five seasons at Florida State.
They are coming off a bye week and will play Memphis this week. The question we have to wonder is, will this team implode or will they drastically improve the rest of the season?
I don’t think it’s possible to get much better. This should be Norvell’s last season at FSU if they lose any more games.
Drain The Swamp?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Billy Napier’s third season at Florida didn’t start well. We’ll wait to see whether he finishes it or not.
It would take the second-biggest buyout of a coach in college football history ($26 million) but Florida’s administration has to ask themselves hard questions after in-state rival Miami thumped them on Saturday in front of 90,000 fans in The Swamp.
Florida hasn’t been patient in the past. Since Urban Meyer resigned at the end of the 2010 season, the Gators have cycled through Will Muschamp (28-21 from 2011-14), Jim McElwain (22-12 from 2015-17) and Napier’s predecessor-Dan Mullen, without blinking.
It’s hard to tell where the Gators have improved since athletic director Scott Stricklin pulled the plug on Mullen with one game to go in 2021. Mullen went 34-15 in his four total seasons coaching the Gators, including 11-2 in 2019. Stricklin told Paul Finebaum this week that he expects Napier to “be at Florida for a long time.”
That could mean several seasons or just one.
The University of Florida has an interim president in charge. Once a new president is hired (which could be a long way off), Stricklin and Napier will very likely be looking for work.
Here’s what we know: The Gators haven’t gotten any better since Napier was hired. They’ve actually gotten worse on defense. Florida is giving up more points than they did under Dan Mullen. Looking back, defense was why Dan Mullen was fired in the first place.
How about the offense? It’s more conservative than Mullen’s, and it also doesn’t score nearly as much. Is there any reason for the program to keep him?
Napier is 11-15 in Gainesville. He has lost six games in a row. Florida has endured three consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the 1940s. On Saturday, it was obvious that the coach developed Miami into a better team in the same time frame that Billy Napier had with the Florida Gators.
“Miami outplayed us. They outcoached us,” Napier said. His team was out-gained 268 yards by the 19th-ranked Hurricanes.
Is it fair to point out that Napier has plenty more resources than his predecessors?
Mullen fought for a new $85 million standalone football facility, and it opened doors when Napier took over. Florida’s support staff under Napier grew by 17 staff members to 62 in total and the assistant coach salary pool has doubled compared to 2021. Not to mention Florida’s NIL efforts have been buttoned up.
So why haven’t the Gators improved? Maybe it’s the way Napier has tried to rebuild his roster over time.
Maybe Napier is a poor game day coach and his offense is lethargic and predictable.
Billie didn’t help himself on Monday, with this quote:
“I think we’ve got to become a more consistent team and we have to execute better. If we can focus on those things and not necessarily what some guy in the basement is saying in rural central Florida on social media, then we got a chance to get better, right? I think that’s the key.”
The Gators play Samford next week before facing Texas A&M.
Odds are pretty good quarterback DJ Lagway will be starting for Graham Mertz next week. He left Saturday’s loss with a concussion.
Lagway could be a special player for the Gators, but the Gators’ issues run much deeper than who is playing quarterback.
I don’t think Napier will change who he is, and he shouldn’t. Off the field he’s thoughtful and intelligent and stoic. He intends to address the media with quotes they want to hear.
I believe Napier has lost support from the masses and Florida fans are turning on him.
Who do you think will be the new president, AD and coach for the 2025 season?
