Florida Gators
And The Winner Is…..
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Following an off week, the Florida Gators are set to take on the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville.
The gators re coming off an embarrassing loss to LSU. The Bulldogs enter this weekend game undefeated. The Gators open this week as a 14-point underdog.
The context that makes this year’s World’s Largest Cocktail Party so compelling is that Florida can put up points and move the ball. The Gators are ranked No. 5 nationally in yards per play, better than any team Georgia has faced or will face this season.
With Mullen refusing to commit to promising redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson, the Gators need a Superman performance from their quarterback.
Georgia’s defense is built in the trenches and Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Devonte Wyatt, Travon Walker and Nolan Smith are the main pieces in this dominating front.
These guys not only win on-on-one blocks; they are absolute menaces to opposing offenses. Georgia loves to substitute and play situational defense and does a great job at maximizing their talent while rotating and keeping players fresh.
The Bulldogs are great at creating pressure to make quarterbacks think they are bringing more than they are and forcing sacks and turnovers. Georgia loves to stunt and play games with their defensive lineman.
What is Florida’s identity on offense? Who knows, the first three weeks of the season, the Gators were a top rushing team in the country. The last few weeks, Florida has looked completely different trying to throw the ball around the field.
Richardson seems to spark the Gators offense and they respond when he’s in the game. He gives them the best chance to win. Mullen needs to accept the younger player is better and needs to play.
Mullen will need to dial up a great game plan to exploit Georgia’s aggressive front-7. The best way to score on the Bulldogs is to get to the back end of their defense, but does Florida have the QB, OL and skill players to test them.
No doubt the Gator’s defense spent the entire bye week working on playing the counter better. LSU ate their lunch with it. That makes me believe that Georgia will have to see if the Gators can stop the run.
Look for Zamir White, Kendall Milton and James Cook to rake up big runs against the undisciplined Gators front-7. Georgia’s running game will set up play action passes. Brock Bowers will create big play opportunities with size and speed.
Kirby Smart has owned Dan Mullen in their careers (3-1) as head coaches. He owns Mullen when it comes to recruiting. Smart will own Mullen on Saturday.
My Prediction: Georgia 45 Florida 20
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch September 18

The Crystal Ball Of The SEC
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means the greatest game of all, College Football kicks off.
I love many sports, but college football is just special. In this part of the world, you have SEC football; which is the best brand in college athletics.
Others try and duplicate it, but they simply come up short.
Oklahoma and Texas are moving over probably next season instead of 2025. Some critics say conference expansion is bad using excuses like geography, and any other reason they can find.
We live in a generation of participation trophies as it relates to sports, and quite frankly the SEC has an ‘iron sharpens iron’ kind of mentality and that keeps them ahead of the rest in the college football world.
Here are my 2021 SEC Predictions:
Most Overrated Team: Texas A&M: The 2021 hype train has the Aggies picked by some to knock of Alabama to win the West.
I don’t think defensively A&M is there yet, and will Jimbo Fisher open up the offense to the Alabama and LSU levels of the past two seasons?
I don’t think the Aggies have those types of weapons and will come up short in the West. What happens if they lose at home to Alabama? Well, they are and I think they end up losing to Ole Miss and possibly LSU.
Most Underrated Team: Ole Miss: Ole Miss may end up having the best offense in the conference. So, when you line up against this team you better be prepared to score a lot of points.
Everyone harps on the Ole Miss defense, but I ask the question they can’t be worse than they were last year, right? I expect improvement out of the unit in 2021. This team could sneak up into the double-digit win category.
SEC West:
Alabama: Until someone knocks them off, they are the pick here.
Nick Saban is the best head coach in the history of the conference and he has the national championships to prove it in the playoff era of college football.
Ole Miss: This team is dangerous. Sleep on them if you want to.
Texas A&M: I’m just not buying the hype. This team is too conservative on offense, and do they have enough defense to be championship elite? The answer is no.
LSU: Coach O it is starting to slip away. Fix it in 2021 or your seat is going to get very hot.
Auburn: New coaching staff that wants to go from a spread offense to more of a pro type offense. Going to take some time Aubbies.
Arkansas: I love how the Hogs are building this roster, but you are in the best division of the best conference in college football.
Mississippi State: Not a terrible team, but you have six bowl teams ahead of you.
SEC East:
Georgia: This is an elite football program that gets the underachiever label by folks who don’t hold everyone to the same standard they judge UGA by.
Could it be they know UGA is about to knock the National Title door down in the near future and what that may mean? Cue the 1980 jokes haters.
Florida: Gators will be good, but a different kind of good. One that starts with better defensive play. Florida lost 6,600 yards and 79 TDs to the NFL draft from last year.
Missouri: A much improved Tiger squad could challenge for 2nd in the East.
Kentucky: Nope, I’m not buying what you are selling Cats. Your offense is like watching paint dry.
Tennessee: Vols are building back the roster. It is going to take a couple of years.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks are starting a Graduate Assistant at QB. Ouch!
Vanderbilt: We love the Dores during baseball season, but they are an instant win during the fall.
SEC Title game will be Alabama against Georgia.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch August 28

2021 Cocktail Party
By: Buck Blanz
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Heading into the 2020 college football season the Georgia Bulldogs looked to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC east.
That came crumbling down relatively quickly for the Bulldogs.
A two-loss season would normally not be worrisome for Georgia fans but when you are limited to ten games and they’re all conference games, it makes it a little more difficult.
Georgia fans always expect to be in Championship contention and with the news of quarterback JT Daniels returning to Athens next season, that puts the Bulldogs back in the conversation for next year.
After just four games of action this past season Daniels accounted for 1,231 yards, 10 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions, which gave the Bulldogs a much-needed passing presence on offense.
Daniels is fortunate enough to have a good group of wideouts to throw to, including Kearis Jackson, Jermaine Burton, and George Pickens; allowing Bulldogs fans to enjoy some home run pass plays for the first time in a while.
Complementing the passing game next season will be, once again, very reliable running backs that get the final push when it matters. Along with an experienced offensive line the Georgia Bulldogs look to be a championship contender once again in the 2021 season.
However, down in Gainesville things will look a little different next year for the Florida Gators.
After winning the SEC east and coming up short in the SEC championship game against top-ranked Alabama, the Gators got manhandled against the Oklahoma Sooners 20-55 in the Cotton Bowl.
However, Dan Mullen led the fans to believe that there were more players out than there were ‘I thought our scout team guys played well’.
Either way, it didn’t put a good end towards what seemed to be a step in the right direction for the Gator program.
Florida was able to put an end to Georgia’s three-year SEC East title streak in Jacksonville this season, one of the first items on each Gator fan’s annual checklist.
Along with the win in Jacksonville, the Gators put up historic numbers, while being led by Heisman candidate Kyle Trask alongside Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts, both of whom proved to be matchup problems all season long.
It was only Todd Grantham’s defense that seemed to be the weak link throughout Florida’s season falling from seventh in efficiency a season ago to out of the top 30 this year.
As for next season, the Gators have some searching to do, as they lose all three of Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney to the NFL Draft.
With Dan Mullen as head coach Florida will most likely come back with another stout offense looking to get the ball into the endzone often.
Malevolent Mullen
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
“My team is on the floor.”
In a movie full of memorable quotes and scenes (Hoosiers) that line may encapsulate the integrity of Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) more than any other.
In six words he not only holds the one available substitute on his bench accountable for not following his rules, but he shows tremendous support for the four players that did.
Regardless of wins and losses the character does exactly what you want a coach to do, set a good example for the players around him.
If Hoosiers was to be remade into a football movie starring Dan Mullen the line may sound like this- “My team is on the field…except it’s not this year’s team, it’s next years…and you know I could just take them all off the field and not play, right…and by the way, what’s with the lack of a crowd, it’s interfering with my current, but yet not current players…hey, how do you like my Halloween costume?”
If adversity is supposed to expose a person’s true character this past season has shown Mullen to be a narcissistic, excuse-riddled coach, whose post game comments are more of a fit for fan base discussion boards as opposed to press conferences. (Seriously, all those jokes about the SEC only losing bowl games they’re not interested in playing, originally directed at delusional fans, can now add Mullen to their intended list of targets.)
For most of the season it seemed like the best way to handle his rants was the same way you would handle a toddler throwing a fit in the toy aisle at a Target; just let him have his moment and move on.
Of course, as any parent will attest, if you don’t stop the fits early enough, they’ll grow into a full blown tantrum, which is basically what Mullen’s post Cotton Bowl press conference amounted to.
There really isn’t any way an objective person could watch that video and justify what he said as anything other than adult tantrum.
Despite all the ridiculous and frankly disrespectful comments he made his lack of integrity was what really pushed the whole thing over the edge.
As I mentioned above, the one thing we hope a coach will do at a minimum is set a good example for their players, right? I mean, I feel like I’ve heard “shaping boys into men” a few times over my 40 years on this earth.
How did Mullen shape his players this year? I assume they learned if things get tough just throw a bunch of excuses and blame towards others and then make sure they know just how lucky they were that you at least showed up?
Coming into this season I didn’t really have strong feelings towards Mullen, one way or the other. I thought he was a good coach who up to that point seemed like a decent guy.
Obviously, my feelings are a little more pronounced than they were a few months ago.
Look, Mullen may be taking the Dabo Swinney approach by doubling down on his comments because he doesn’t care what people outside of his program’s fan base thinks of him.
However, if he does care about his reputation, and since he’s already admitted he’s moved on to the 2021 season, I know just the perfect movie he can watch to help him on his way.
Are You In Or Out?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
You want to know what the trendiest trend is today in college football?
It’s called opting out. You can’t blame it on Covid-19 because this negative trend started a couple of years ago and it is getting out of control.
For example, The University of Georgia could be minus 8-9 starters in this week’s Peach Bowl due to opting out.
SEC East Champ Florida looked like a Gator team we had never ever seen in the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma due to opting out. All of Florida’s playmakers like Kyle Pitts and company were not in Dallas.
In my opinion the only way to cure the opting out issue is to expand the College Football Playoff to 32 teams in 4 brackets.
You could have a version of March Madness where you could have a committee deciding who gets in and who is left out.
A greatly expanded playoff eliminates opt outs because you could have a five-game post season that would crown a true champion and create the incentive to participate.
It could be accomplished by doing the following:
Notre Dame joins the ACC full time in football. Is there a more self-centered football program in the country than ND?
The arrogance about being a football independent has long run its course, and the powers that be in college football need to break it down for the Irish and say join a conference or get left out. This is not the 1940’s anymore. All independents join a conference.
Eliminate all conference championship games. Yes, I know it’s a cash cow, but a 32-team playoff is the ultimate cash cow.
Have all teams play a 10-game regular season that consists of 9 conference games and one out of conference game.
Set up rotating schedules and have tie breaking formulas in effect to determine a conference champion without a championship game. Alabama would have been SEC Champ in 2020 by virtue of being the only undefeated team in conference play.
Time to evolve thinking around traditional rivalry games. You may not get a UGA/Auburn or Alabama/Tennessee game every fall. Get over it we are trying to cure the opt outs here.
All current Power Five and Group of Five conference champions get an automatic playoff bid.
After that you fill out the rest of the playoff field with At-Large teams.
Football Playoff Committee selects 4-number one seeds to sit atop 4 brackets. You could name each bracket after four influential figures in the history of college football.
Each of the four brackets consists of 8 teams. The higher seeded team would host first round and second round games to get down to the final 8 teams.
Then you use traditional bowl games (Fiesta, Cotton, Citrus, and Peach) to determine bracket champions and narrow the field down to a final four
Use the Orange and Sugar Bowls as national semifinal games annually to determine the final two teams.
The National Championship Game will be played every New Year’s Day in the Granddaddy of them all The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The Championship Playoff Committee could meet the week before Thanksgiving to set the field of 32.
Playoff would begin the Saturday after Thanksgiving with the National Championship game being played on January 1st.
Want to end the plague of opting out? I just laid out a plan on how to accomplish it.
If we had this playoff format in place today, I guarantee you Notre Dame would be the first number one seed to be eliminated.
Have a blessed 2021 everyone. I have opted out of 2020.
Disney Or Six Flags?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Since John Calipari arrived in Lexington almost twelve years ago, Kentucky has dominated the SEC.
Over that period of time, in conference play, the Wildcats have won six regular season and conference tournament titles, while finishing in either first or second place in every season but one.
Kentucky has essentially been operating at the level of Disney and the rest of the SEC has been Six Flags.
Still, even when you’ve been as dominant as the Wildcats have been there is usually a season mixed in there somewhere, when other teams are able to get their shots in- last year’s UNC season comes to mind.
Could this be the year the tables are turned?
The one team that automatically comes to mind that’s in the best position is Tennessee.
The Vols are probably the league’s most completely team, with a nice mix of experience, talent, and coaching.
They have played the second toughest schedule of anyone in the SEC (Kentucky’s has been the most difficult, by far) and they have been the most impressive doing it.
The only thing I worry about, and I realize I’m contradicting myself a bit here, is I just don’t trust Rick Barnes.
Yes, I think he’s a good coach, his teams just tend to fall short when they’re the leaders. In a weird way I would actually feel better about their chances if Kentucky were playing at a higher level.
Teams like Arkansas, Missouri, Auburn, and LSU could certainly let wind up at the top of conference if Tennessee were to falter, but there are still too many questions about each for me to feel comfortable separating any one of those from the pack.
I think some of the other teams (Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M) will certainly have a shot at some upset wins, I just don’t think they’ll be able to compete for a shot at the top spot.
Florida is the one wild card in this whole thing. After witnessing Keyontae Johnson collapse on the court and then the aftermath of that event, you can’t predict how they’re going to react.
And just to be clear, these are a bunch of teenage kids who saw a teammate and friend collapse in front of them, so however they respond on the court is really inconsequential.
Of course, this topic is only relevant because Kentucky is off to their worst start in over a hundred years. An optimistic fan will argue the team has played the most difficult schedule in the country and their young players will mature and grow over the course of the season.
Everyone else will counter with the fact Kentucky still lost those games and those young players have more than likely never faced this kind adversity that is currently staring them in the face.
We should have a good idea who may be on the right path after the first few games, since Kentucky begins their conference schedule against some of the league’s weaker teams.
Even though we knew this season was going to be different for all the obvious reasons, I think most still felt like Kentucky was the team to beat and most everyone else was playing for second place.
With Kentucky’s early struggles it feels as if a number of teams have an opportunity to feel what it’s like to be the top dog.
Don’t get me wrong, going to Six Flags can be great, but it’s Disney that most everyone is after.
High Tide
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC Championship Game saw #1 Alabama (10-0) face off against #7 Florida (8-2).
These two programs played in the first SEC Championship Game in 1992. This was a matchup of two historically great programs, but it also determined the Heisman winner.
Mac Jones and Kyle Trask were the two frontrunners to win the Heisman and they did not disappoint.
This was the first real test for the Crimson Tide against a Gators team that would not quit. This is the case of the best player on the best team versus the best player in college football.
Mac Jones threw for 418 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Najee Harris rushed for 178 yards and scored five TD’s. DeVonta Smith caught 15 receptions for 184 yards and two scores. It was enough to win a 52 – 46 shootout in Atlanta.
“Those guys are pretty phenomenal. They have been all year,” Nick Saban said. “They certainly delivered tonight when we needed them to.”
The Gators trailed 35 – 17 at halftime but they scored a couple of third quarter touchdowns and held Alabama scoreless. They scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but Bama scored 17 points.
Kyle Trask threw for 408 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“We were rolling pretty good,” said Trask. “We just ran out of time.”
Harris was the MVP of the game. He had 31 carries for 178 yards, but he also caught 5 passes for 67 receiving yards and turned three of those into scores.
“I’ve been catching the ball since birth,” he quipped. “People don’t expect it because of the running back name, but I can catch.”
Harris set an SEC championship game record with his five touchdowns, breaking the mark of four scored by Auburn’s Tre Mason in 2013. The Alabama senior also broke a couple of school records, setting new standards for career rushing TDs (44) and overall TDs (54).
Kadarius Toney led the Gators with 8 receptions for 153 yards 1 TD. Tight end Kyle Pitts had 7 catches, 129 yards and a touchdown. Florida’s leading rusher only had 2 carries for 24 yards. I think the lack of offensive balance has been a problem all season that came back to haunt them in this game.
“I thought we showed a lot of character,” coach Dan Mullen said. “That was an excellent team we played … give them credit. That’s why they’re ranked No. 1 in the country.”
This win completed an undefeated season for Alabama. They are the clear favorites going into the College Football Playoff.
“This has been a year with a lot of disruptions,” said Saban, who had his own bout with COVID-19. “The resiliency this team has shown this season to win 11 games is pretty phenomenal.”
The only team that I think is capable of beating Alabama is Clemson. The Tigers would not see them until the National Championship, assuming both teams win. They beat #2 Notre Dame 34 – 10 in the ACC Championship Game.
Striking the Pose
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Heisman race is narrowing down to a two-man race, but it’s tightening up at the same time heading into the final week before conference championship games begin.
Mac Jones and Kyle Trask have separated themselves from the pack, but players like Desmond Ridder, (QB, Cincinnati) Najee Harris, (RB, Alabama) Zach Wilson, (QB, BYU) Trevor Lawrence, (QB, Clemson) Justin Fields, (QB, Ohio State) Jaret Patterson, (RB, Buffalo) and Breece Hall, (RB, Iowa State) have made major impacts in the 2020 season.
The Heisman trophy went to the best player in college football once upon a time. Today, the Heisman goes to the top quarterback on any winning team.
Last year at this time, Joe Burrow was being announced as the 2019 Heisman trophy winner after putting up early-gen PlayStation stats.
Burrow completed 402 passes for 5,617 yards and 60 touchdowns in 15 games. He also threw 44 touchdowns in the regular season.
The two front runners in this year’s Heisman race will have only played 10 regular season games, and only against SEC teams.
The voting deadline has been moved back to December 21st with finalists announced on Christmas Eve.
For the first time, voters will judge a Heisman winner on his conference championship game. That game being the SEC Championship in Atlanta on December 19th.
Mac Jones runs the Alabama offense at an exceptionally high level while putting up crazy numbers in the process. Against LSU, Jones completed 20-28 passes for 385 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Now that gives the first-year starter over 3,100 yards passing with 27 touchdowns and only three interceptions. It obviously helps having a stacked offense including DeVonta Smith and Najee Harris, but Jones puts throws on the money and is a tough quarterback to stop.
Kyle Trask has brought the Fun & Gun back to Gainesville. Trask has no problem chucking the ball around without much of a running game.
Trask’s ability to make smart decisions and avoid mistakes helps make that a winning formula for the Gators offense.
As absurd as it may sound, Trask is on a better scoring pace and on the same yardage pace as last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow. Trask ignited the Heisman talk by leading the Gators victory of Georgia Bulldogs 44-28.
Trask was 30-43 for 474 yards passing 4 touchdowns and a pick. Trask’s ability to place the ball where only his teammate can make the catch is amazing.
That’s how good the Gators quarterback has been with over 3,200 yards and 38 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions with the season finale against LSU this Saturday.
The Heisman race might come down to the SEC Championship game in a couple weeks, but barring a complete drop off from Kyle Trask against LSU, it’s hard to imagine Jones catching Trask in this race.
One question to all my readers, if you took both quarterbacks off their respective teams, which team would be affected more?