Robert Craft
Memorable Moments
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The city of Jacksonville will get its annual rowdiness booster this weekend when Florida and Georgia come to town.
About time Jacksonville gets excited about some football. If top-ranked Georgia wins, it will be a game closer from claiming the SEC East and continuing its unbeaten season.
If the Gators are able to spoil all of that momentum, it will make up for what I’m forecasting to be a mediocre season.
Here’s a look at the five best all-time moments from the World’s Largest Cocktail Party.
- THE TIMEOUT: Let’s start it off with one of the most controversial endings in college football history.
In a game which featured consistent rain, the Bulldogs were down 33-26 in the fourth quarter. But with the help of quarterback Eric Zeier, the Bulldogs drove into Florida territory with 1:30 left.
With five seconds left, Zeier threw what was thought as the game-tying touchdown to Jerry Jerman, but Gators cornerback Anthone Lott called timeout right before the ball was snapped.
Zeier’s next and final pass fell incomplete, and Florida held on to the victory and went on to win the SEC and Sugar Bowl.
- THE GATOR STOMP: After years of Gator wins, Georgia’s head coach Mark Richt decided to change things up.
To start, Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno scored to give the Bulldogs the 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Then, the entire team came into the end zone to celebrate with Moreno, which is now referred to as the “Gator Stomp.”
That move gave the Bulldogs the motivation it needed to take down the defending national champions with a 42-30 win.
Moreno ended the day with 188 yards on the ground, and the Bulldogs defense sacked Florida’s Tim Tebow six times.
- HALF A 100: In 1994, the battle was moved to Gainesville because Jacksonville’s stadium was being used by the Jags and in return the battle took place in Athens in ‘95.
Georgia was 5-3 and limping through head coach Ray Goff’s final year.
Florida was undefeated and coach Steve Spurrier – at the height of his cockiness – decided he wanted the Gators to be the first team to “hang half a hundred between the hedges.” The Gators scored seven touchdowns and accomplished that goal with 1:21 left in the game.
- TIMEOUTS: Georgia had won the year before in a game where the entire team ran into the end zone to celebrate the first touchdown.
Although the Gators did not discuss their anger, they were seething and a picture of the celebration hung in every player’s locker.
Each team had one loss when they met in 2008 and the winner would be in the driver’s seat to win the SEC East and have a possible shot at the national title.
The Gators jumped out to a 14-3 halftime lead and then Georgia imploded in the second half, turning the ball over four times.
Florida capitalized and scored 35 unanswered points. The vindicated Gators then went on to win the SEC title and national championship.
1.RUN LINDSAY, RUN:
The most memorable moment had to be when the Bulldogs went on their championship run in 1980.
The Bulldogs were down 21-20 in the fourth quarter, facing third-and-long at their own 7-yard line.
Backed up in his own end zone, Georgia quarterback Buck Belue found Lindsay Scott at the 25-yard line. Scott was able to blow past the Florida secondary and score the game-winning touchdown with seconds left on the clock.
The 93-yard touchdown pass kept the Bulldogs’ title hopes alive. They moved to No. 1 in the polls the following week and went on to win their second consensus national title.
All in all, this is a historical matchup that college football fans look forward to every year. There have been plenty of memorable moments from this series, but these are five that really stand out from the rest. Let’s hope for a safe and sportsmanlike battle- although no one ever anticipates it.
Grounded War Eagles
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Auburn wrapped up their five-game home stand to start the season. Auburn prepares to travel to No. 2 Georgia and No. 9 Ole Miss in back-to-back travel weeks.
Offseason discussions centered around what the Tigers needed to produce during the first five games to position themselves for a successful season. The consensus was no worse than 4-1.
After Auburn blew another double-digit lead, they finished their five-game stretch at 3-2, with two of those wins being single-digit victories over San Jose State and Missouri.
Auburn is one of the worst turnover margin teams in college football, sitting at -9 for the season. The Tigers’ average of -1.80 per game has them 129th nationally, ahead of only Temple and Stanford.
Looking to the near future, it’s time for Athens: a place Auburn hasn’t won since 2005 off a last-minute kick off the foot of John Vaughn.
In total, the Tigers are 3-14 in this rivalry, including their recent five losses. Auburn has lost eight of nine games in the series, and has failed to top 14 points in each of their eight losses.
To make matters worse, Auburn hasn’t scored more than 10 points in Athens in any of their last five trips. The last time the Tigers scored more than 10 points in Athens was a 31-24 loss in 2009.
Nobody predicted Robby Ashford would throw for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns in his second career start, one week after throwing for barely over 100 yards. Eight completions accounted for 270 of Ashford’s 337 yards. Ashford’s other 11 completions accounted for 67 total yards. Also, to note, six of those eight big plays came in the first half.
Can Auburn’s offense create more big passing plays? Was the first half indicative of confusion in the secondary (does LSU ring any bells)? We will certainly know more after playing the 18th-ranked pass defense in Georgia. The Bulldogs allow 175 yards per game through the air and have six interceptions in five contests.
Auburn’s defense in their last two games (Missouri and LSU) produced an average of 3.5 sacks per game. If this were compared to the national average, it would rank top ten.
In the same two games, the Tigers have 15 tackles for loss, which would rank them top 15 nationally by the same comparison.
Auburn takes positive defensive momentum facing Georgia, who ranks 12th nationally in sacks allowed (4 total) and 11th nationally in tackles for loss allowed (16 total).
We’re entering week three of negative noise surrounding Bryan Harsin’s job security as Auburn’s head coach. When the clock hit all zeroes following the 41-12 loss to Penn State, Harsin’s fate appeared all but sealed.
The most common question is: when will a change be made? Auburn faces two tough road tests before a bye week.
Auburn returns home against Arkansas following a bye week. If a change is to be made during the season, and if minds are made up (which we believe they are), heading into the bye week looks like a logical inflection point.
The Dawgs come into this next game as 29.5 point favorites over Auburn.
Georgia doesn’t like looking bad, and this game against one of their biggest rivals should fire them up.
UGA is still probably the most well-rounded team in the nation, yes, Georgia will still be the team to beat in the SEC East. Let’s watch Kirby put the last nail in Harsin’s coffin.
Georgia 52 Auburn 13
The Miami Sprinkles
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
At his lowest point of his time at Miami, Mario Cristobal, down three touchdowns to Middle Tennessee State (the 2022 edition of 2019’s FIU debacle) he decided to welcome a quarterback controversy.
And there it was, at the 7:55 mark of the third quarter, “finally” in the minds of the freaked-out fans in attendance- screaming and chanting for Jake Garcia; Cristobal benched Tyler Van Dyke and brought Garcia into the action.
You can’t make this drama up. Garcia came in absolutely on fire. He threw a 39-yard pass in stride to Keyshawn Smith (Smith also had a kickoff return for a touchdown).
Garcia was one of the few Hurricanes to show individual skill progress this week. Thad Franklin scored on a one-yard run the very next play and Miami was down 31-17 with 6:08 left in the third quarter.
The Garcia show continued to some degree for the remainder of the game – he finished 10-19 for 169 yards – but by now we all saw; it was not enough.
Miami lost 45-31 to Middle Tennessee State in a complete, utter and embarrassing organizational failure. This loss negated much of the hard work Mario Cristobal and his staff have put in since arriving in December.
Teams lose a game like this, and frankly, it ends up not being the end of the world- as long as they bounce back. Texas A&M lost to Appalachian State at home and then beat Miami and Arkansas.
If the Hurricanes rally to still win the Coastal, this nightmare will be washed away. Right now, however, the nightmare is piercing the soul of fans wondering if that will happen because of the way the week has evolved.
Here’s some real talk: Van Dyke really is the same guy who had six 300-yard games to end the 2021 season. Nothing else from 2021 to now is the same. Absolutely nothing, and dealing with that has been the key component in this mass decline of QB performances.
New head coach. New offensive coordinator. New offensive system. Best receivers from last year, Charleston Rambo and Mike Harley, gone without suitable replacements.
Even with the encouraging improvement Saturday of Key’shawn Smith and Frank Ladson, it’s not working.
All the quarterback talk has masked the fact that Miami seemed to have nothing in the tank at the line of scrimmage. Some will call that an excuse, but these were the same guys who got pushed around last week against Texas A&M.
The issue in the game was that the passing game wasn’t there. Chemistry and depth are the main receiver issues. That’s compounded by a new offensive system by Gattis, not to mention, it is still quite early in the season.
The cloud looming above Coral Gables is the Gattis offense. Let’s see if it’s a good fit for Van Dyke or if the transfer portal is on the horizon.
So far, through four games, the answer seems to be leaning toward the second option.
That, however, can change quickly if Van Dyke can get things back on track with the rest of the offense.
It doesn’t get any easier for Miami, who begins conference play with North Carolina after a bye week.
Luckily, the Hurricanes will avoid heavy hitters like Clemson and Pittsburgh until the final weeks of the season, yet nothing is guaranteed for Miami after losing to Middle Tennessee State.
Is this the most embarrassing loss in modern Miami history?
New Chiefs
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Here are my latest observations about the Seminoles after their 3-0 start this season.
1 — This team’s toughness is legit. Every time things begin to look bleak; these guys find a way to fight back. Whether it’s the defense making a stop or creating a turnover or the offense stepping up to make a play.
Remembering Norvell’s Memphis teams, when we learned that FSU was targeting him for their vacant head coaching job in late 2019, what stood out most was how hard Memphis competed snap by snap.
They were physical on both sides of the ball, and seemed unfazed by the score or situation. Whether ahead or behind, Memphis seemed to play with the same high level of energy and intensity.
It’s such a positive thing to see a strong program battle back after challenging years. FSU fans should be falling in love with this team.
They know there will be times this season when the offense sputters or the defense has major lapses — heck, that’s already happened in the last two games (double heck, this ain’t even pro football! Kids mess up all the time). However, toughness is something that shouldn’t come or go. You have it or you don’t. Grit is absolute.
2 —Trey Benson’s break out. Even though he had 100-plus yards in the season opener against Duquesne, I didn’t think we saw the real Trey Benson in either of Florida State’s first two games.
I don’t know if maybe it was taking a little time to get acclimated to the speed of the game against teams like LSU and Louisville. If that was the case, it would be understandable. Remember, he missed nearly all of last season due to a catastrophic knee injury when he was at Oregon.
Maybe he’s just still getting comfortable with Norvell’s offense. Whatever the case, the guy is 6-foot-1, 215 pounds and built differently than everybody else FSU has in the backfield.
FSU got game(plans). As much credit as Florida State’s players deserve, the coaching staff prepare excellent strategies.
Despite the fact that QB Tate Rodemaker struggled several times in critical situations, Norvell was convinced that he would eventually turn the corner. Rodemaker may have actually done just that.
Injuries + Recruiting. Florida State has been dealing with several injury concerns. Then the list got much longer during the trip to Louisville, with QB Jordan Travis, DE Jared Verse, DL Malcolm Ray, OT Robert Scott, LB Tatum Bethune and others either leaving the game completely or missing time.
I also see the drop off in recruiting the past three years costing the Seminoles for the remainder of this season. With injuries mounting, the lack of depth will hurt the Seminoles as they navigate the remainder of their schedule.
FSU is off to a great start. The was the last time FSU had a 10-win season was 2015.
Will Norvell lead the Seminoles back to glory or will their lack of depth have them come up short?
Hurricane Warning
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Following a humbling defeat at the hands of Appalachian State, Texas A&M dropped all the way to No. 24 in the AP Poll this week.
You won’t hear Miami Hurricanes Coach Mario Cristobal talking much about that, not before Miami makes a ‘business trip’ to College Station this weekend.
The first-year Miami head coach harped on that term repeatedly in his press conference on Monday ahead of Saturday’s big road game.
Miami, of course, has been excellent through two weeks. The Hurricanes have smashed both Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss.
Neither will present the kind of challenge Texas A&M will, but the Aggies have not been firing on all cylinders so far this season. The Hurricanes are aware of that, yet seem primarily focused on themselves this week.
Cristobal was quick to heap praise on the Aggies, even though their starting quarterback Haynes King has struggled mightily (even Jimbo Fisher stated there may be a quarterback change).
To that end, Cristobal simply needs to show players A&M’s recruiting results.
Even if the talent hasn’t gelled just yet at Texas A&M, it’s clear the Aggies have it in spades. Texas A&M’s 2022 recruiting class ranked No. 1 nationally.
Whatever happens Saturday, one thing is sure: Cristobal will learn a lot from Miami’s business trip.
The Miami Hurricanes have won 5 of their last 7 road games. Tyler Van Dyke is completing 73.9 percent of his passes for 456 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Xavier Resterpo and Michael Redding III have combined for 248 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Brashard Smith has 6 receptions.
The Miami Hurricanes ground game is averaging 241 yards per contest, and Henry Parrish Jr. leads the way with 217 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Defensively, Miami is allowing 10 points and 286.5 yards per game. Corey Flagg Jr. leads the Miami Hurricanes with 10 tackles, Jacob Lichtenstein has 1 sack and James Williams has 1 interception.
The Texas A&M Aggies have won 5 of their last 6 home games. Haynes King is completing 64.7 percent of his passes for 461 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Ainias Smith and Evan Stewart have combined for 290 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Yulkeith Brown has 4 receptions.
The Texas A&M Aggies ground game is averaging 99.5 yards per contest, and Devon Achane leads the way with 108 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensively, Texas A&M is allowing 8.5 points and 256.5 yards per game. Antonio Johnson leads the Texas A&M Aggies with 17 tackles, LT Overton has 1 sack and Jardin Gilbert has 1 interception.
Neither team looked great last week, but I’ll chalk some of it up to both clubs looking ahead to this game, which has playoff implications.
With that said, there’s some real concern for the Texas A&M Aggies, who haven’t gotten any offense going through 2 games. Texas A&M can’t run the ball and is 102nd in total offense and 102nd in scoring offense.
The Miami-FL Hurricanes have one of the better quarterbacks in the country, and he currently has a top-20 rushing attack supporting him.
Texas A&M is currently 86th in run defense. Miami will steal this game on the road.
Miami 27 Texas A&M 17
Chomping Gators
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida Gator football started out strong in its season opener against Utah on Saturday, in which the Orange and Blue put up a gritty, 29-26 win.
The victory represents the first for the program in the Billy Napier era, while extending the Gators’ longest-active home-opener win streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, which stands at 33 straight games.
With the big win now in the rearview mirror, Napier and company turn their attention to their SEC opener against the Kentucky Wildcats at home this coming Saturday.
The ‘Cats, led by Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Will Levis, represent another top-25 matchup for the Gators that will test their revamped squad.
The main concern the Cats have going into Gainesville, however, will be the play of the running back and the offensive line.
Let’s first start with the running backs. With the absence of Chris Rodriguez due to suspension, I didn’t think the Cats’ running backs would struggle against Miami of Ohio. On the night Kavosiey Smoke led the rushing attack with seven carries for 32 yards, while the other trio of Ramon Jefferson, JuTahn McClain, and La’Vell Wright all combined for 11 carries and a total of 36 yards.
That won’t be enough to help push the Cats over Florida. Here’s why:
For the offensive-line, it seemed their youth played a huge role against Miami of Ohio. After giving up four sacks on the night, the question now changes to; can they hold up against the Gators front seven?
It will be interesting to see, but Coach Zach Yenser has his work cut out for him this week as he tries to help the young O-line process through the different schemes and stunt recognition they will see Saturday night.
Defensively, it comes down to whether the Cats can contain the run game or not.
Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson stole the show in week one. The highly-touted recruit from Gainesville was only used sparingly as a true freshman under Dan Mullen.
In his first start for Napier, Richardson completed 17-of-24 passes for 168 yards, while he rushed for a team-high 106 yards and 3 touchdowns.
For Florida to reach their ceiling, the young quarterback has to carry the team.
Utah was unable to slow Richardson down and wasted a solid offensive performance due to the defense’s inability to limit quarterback runs.
Kentucky must find a way to make the NFL prospect play strictly from the pocket. With that being said, it’s way easier said than done.
In many ways, the game on Saturday will come down to Kentucky limiting Florida’s ground game. That is only done if the Wildcats can get Anthony Richardson on the ground.
The Gators O-line performed well opening holes for the running game and allowing no sacks.
Florida went 31 years without suffering a loss to the Kentucky Wildcats but has a 2-2 record in the last four games. Credit to Mark Stoops. He took over a program that was second-fiddle to basketball and has built a culture that they recruit and play to consistently win. Stoops has two 10-win seasons and more wins over Florida than his six predecessors combined.
With that said, it is going to be a battle on Saturday night. The crowd, weather (heat, rain & humidity) and overall team talent leads me to pick the Gators by 2 scores.
Florida 31 Kentucky 20
Gator Bait?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There is a new era beginning for the Florida Gators football program.
Billy Napier’s era will officially begin on September 3, as the Gators host the No. 7 Utah Utes.
Utah finished the 2021 campaign as the Pac-12 Champions. Kyle Whittingham’s team finished the regular season with a 9-3 record. They beat Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game and fell three points short of beating Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. They finished 10-4.
Whittingham has a small connection to UF. He took the head coaching job at Utah in 2005, replacing Urban Meyer.
Meyer, of course, left Utah to accept the head coaching job at Florida and went on to win two National Championships in Gainesville.
The Gators don’t have a coach entering their 18th season at the helm, like Whittingham at Utah. Billy Napier was hired 276 days before the game kicked off. There are much easier ways to begin your tenure, something Napier jokingly acknowledged at SEC Media Day.
One of the biggest question marks for the Gators in 2022 is: Can they stop the run? Last season Florida finished 10th in the SEC allowing 163.92 yards per game. That was nearly 100 yards more than Georgia and nearly 78 more than Alabama.
The Gators have a ton of pass rushers but they’re thin on the interior defensive line. Is Florida stout enough to plug up the middle and stop Utah from running it up the gut? It won’t take long to find out what kind of defense the Gators will have this season.
Cameron Rising and Tavion Thomas are a very tough combo to beat. Rising was a 64% passer last season with 20 TDs and just five picks, while Thomas added a school-record 21 rushing touchdowns, third-most in the FBS last season, with a 5.4 ypc average.
Returning that core, which tortured Ohio State’s D in the Rose Bowl, is vital in a cross-country road opener, especially against a soft Gator front.
This game is incredibly conflicting to me. If we know anything about the Pac 12 in recent years, it’s that they will eliminate themselves from playoff contention as soon as possible. The best team in the conference suffers a big loss at the beginning of the year almost every year. This would be that spot.
Last year, however, Florida was one of the worst teams against the spread because they were simply given credit for being Florida; even though they were a bad team. They went 6-7 and played in the SEC, yet they were only a home underdog once.
Now, Billy Napier comes to town after an incredible run at Louisiana and has Anthony Richardson at quarterback. Richardson only attempted 64 passes last year and is already considered a potential first round pick in the NFL draft. That’s how good he is.
Napier brought in a lot of transfers from Louisiana on the offensive line and in the backfield. The team should become familiar with his system quickly and the offense could hit the ground running.
The Swamp will be sold out and the weather should be welcoming. Game time temperature is expected to be 81 degrees with 88% humidity and 50% chance of rain with close to 89,000 hyped up Florida fans.
The weather, crowd and The Gators will make this a miserable trip for the Utes.
The Utes Don’t Care About The Weather or The Crowd, this is the most important opening game in Utah’s history. UTAH 31 FLORIDA 24
The Knights Conquest
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The UCF Knights play seven home games during the 2022 football schedule; four of the first five games are inside the Bounce House at FBC Mortgage Stadium.
The most attractive home games from a fan perspective are likely Power 5 opponents Louisville and Georgia Tech, as well as in-conference foes SMU and Cincinnati.
The road games feature an in-state battle with Florida Atlantic, as well as trips to East Carolina and USF.
The road game for the Knights against the Bulls might be the last between UCF and USF for quite some time, as UCF heads off to the Big XII on July 1, 2023.
To win the AAC title in the last year of the AAC’s existence, the Knights will need to be very good during the back end of their schedule. Starting with the road game against East Carolina (Oct. 22), UCF played six consecutive conference games that contained their own pitfalls.
2022 UCF Knights Football Schedule
Sep. 1, South Carolina State: The HBCU National Champions are no match for The Knights. UCF wins in a blowout.
Sep. 9, Louisville: This is Louisville’s first ever trip to Orlando. As we learned first-hand in last season’s match-up, Cunningham’s dual-threat ability has been a problem for UCF historically.
The Bounce House will be Rocking for revenge after last season’s heartbreaking loss. This is a measuring stick game for The Knights. The crowd and humidity will play a big role in this game. UCF 31 Louisville 27
Sep. 17, @ Florida Atlantic: This is UCF’s only true road game in the entire first half of the season. UCF flies by the Owls 48-17
Sep. 24, Georgia Tech: This game in Orlando was initially scheduled for September 16th, 2017, but was canceled due to Hurricane Irma. This is Georgia Tech’s first-ever trip to The Bounce House and they’ll get bounced back to Atlanta. UCF 38- GT 20.
Oct. 1, SMU: The Knights kick off conference play against a team that blew them out last year. Tanner Mordecai has found a home at SMU after sitting on the benching at Oklahoma for three years.
He’s a Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien, and Maxwell Award Watch-lister coming into 2022. With that being said, UCF has never lost to SMU at home. UCF 34 SMU 30
Oct. 13, Temple: The Owls new coaching staff will bring a new energy, but this is a bad football team. UCF smokes another parliament of Owls.
Oct. 22, @East Carolina: The Knights first real road game. The Pirates have 14 returning starters, East Carolina is poised for another winning season and will be a tough out in the American Athletic Conference.
This is a trap game with the Knights looking ahead to the showdown with Cincinnati. ECU 30 UCF 28
Oct. 29, Cincinnati: This will be the big one for American Athletic Conference play.
The Bearcats have lost a ton of talent especially at the skill positions.
Who is going to replace Desmond Ridder, Jerome Ford, Alec Pierce on offense and Sauce Gardner, Coby Bryant and Bryan Cook on defense?
There will be an electric atmosphere at The Bounce House and The Knights will feed off the crowd in a shocker. UCF 27-Cincinnati 24
Nov. 5, @Memphis: The 2022 Tigers are full of veterans on offense, Memphis should be strong in the defensive backfield, and overall, they should be just a wee bit motivated by being left out of the BIG 12 expansion. This should be a true American Athletic Conference shootout. UCF 48 Memphis 38
Nov. 12, @Tulane: The Knights will surf the Green Wave. UCF 37- Tulane 16
Nov. 19, Navy: Navy can play! Their offense can still control the clock, the running game was ninth in America, and their defense even finished 34th in the nation and wasn’t bad.
The Knights sail easily by the Midshipmen all things considered. UCF 31 Navy 10
Nov. 25, @USF: The Cows are still crying about being left out of the BIG 12. This may be the final ‘War on I-4” and the Knights will sacrifice the Bulls. UCF 53-USF 13
Gus Malzahn overcame a rash of injuries to put together a solid 9–4 season in his UCF debut. With 14 returning starters and a host of plug-and-play transfer additions, The Knights will leap back into the AAC championship game.
Return Of The Chomp?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are under new management for the fourth time in the last decade. That much turnover can be necessary and detrimental to a program.
There’s not much debate that Florida needed to move on from Will Muschamp in 2014. Or that Jim McElwain’s self-destruction and death threats didn’t warrant a change.
Dan Mullen’s recruiting incompetence was written off because the team was winning. He was the first head coach in UF history to win 10 games in each of his first two seasons. In the end, it became clear that the direction of the program under Mullen was going the wrong way — and just on the trail.
Billy Napier was hired to rebuild the Gators. He was tasked with reviving UF recruiting and getting talent back to Gainesville. He called college football a “talent-acquisition business” and began by building the biggest support staff UF ever seen. The Gators hauled several blue-chip recruits like Kamari Wilson, Shemar James, and Chris McClellan.
The team also has Anthony Richardson returning, who should give the Gators a chance anytime he’s on the field.
The Gators only leave the state of Florida three times in 2022. Their home schedule is fantastic. Utah, LSU and Kentucky are all great games to host in The Swamp.
With that being said, the opponents are strong. The Gators draw, somehow again, Texas A&M from the West. UF has played the Aggies three times since they joined the SEC and 2022 will be the fourth matchup. Meanwhile, Florida has played a former yearly rival in Auburn just once in that same time period.
The Gators also begin a home-and-home series with Utah. The Utes are the reigning Pac-12 Champions. Utah returns 60 letter winners and 17 total starters in 2022.
Billy Napier prescribes to a motto of “put the ball down and let’s play” but it would be easy to put the ball down against a small directional school rather than a loaded defending conference champion.
The Gators have also lost twice to Kentucky in the last four seasons. Mark Stoops has built that UK program for a decade. What was once an assured win, is now a presumed toss up.
Every year the SEC is tough. This year, will be a very difficult one for the Gators, thanks to their tough season opener and road trip to College Station.
Optimistic: 9-3, with three straight wins to end the year and all sorts of hype heading into 2023. Anthony Richardson proves to be the perfect dual-threat quarterback in Billy Napier’s system.
Tailback Lorenzo Lingard looks like the 5-star who signed with Miami out of high school, same for wideout Justin Shorter.
The Gators’ defense takes a big step forward without Todd Grantham calling the shots. Gervon Dexter emerges as the best defensive lineman in the conference.
Pessimistic: 5-7 and no postseason appearance in Year 1 for Napier. Florida opens the year 0-2, with home losses to Utah and Kentucky. After dismantling South Florida, the Gators lose at Tennessee for just the second time in 18 years.
They stumble at Tallahassee against Florida State to end the season. Richardson is up and down — or worse, gets hurt again and Jack Miller isn’t up to snuff. The lack of explosiveness at receiver is problematic all season.
The front-seven once again struggles to stop the run. Penalties, team character and chemistry remain lingering issues despite the coaching change.
Realistic: 7-5 with one signature upset against either Utah, Kentucky, Tennessee or Texas A&M.
The Gators certainly could go 0-2 to start the year, but I see a split. While the roster has depth issues (particularly at receiver, defensive line and linebacker), there’s a lot of quality talent in Gainesville.
The pass rush, led by Brenton Cox Jr., is fierce, and cornerback Jason Marshall is one of the better defensive backs in the SEC.
Richardson has flashes of brilliance and frustration, ultimately leading him to return to the team in 2023.
Arizona State transfer Ricky Pearsall has a solid season but is not the band aid solution to Florida’s receiver problems.
Key Points: Starting out against Utah isn’t a given at home, and finishing up at Florida State in Tallahassee will be tough.
In between there’s a road game at Tennessee, LSU – as always – is on the slate, and then there’s the killer two-week stretch against Georgia and at Texas A&M.
It’s Florida. It’s going to be a problem for the other teams in those tough games, too. It’ll work its way to eight wins in an improved year, but factor in three losses somewhere in the mix to go along with one 50/50 game.
Seven wins will be okay, eight will be fine, nine or more would be terrific, but …
It’s the Florida Gators. It’s time to start winning more.
War Path
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida State football program has suffered a severe fall from grace over the past few seasons. With that newfound mediocrity, comes an automatic lack of promise entering this season.
Can the Florida State Seminoles take advantage of a manageable schedule and return to some relevance as a result? Or, will they once again fall victim to bigger fish in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Let’s find out.
Vs. Duquesne (W)
Sure, the Florida State Seminoles have seen better days than the ones currently surrounding them, but they haven’t fallen so far that this matchup is a toss-up. Anything less than a 40-point win here would be a darn shame, even for a season opener.
Vs. LSU (L)
The LSU Tigers may have seen a downgrade in 2021, but they will be led into New Orleans by new head coach Brian Kelly. With that said, there is a very small chance that the Noles come out of this one with a win. Kelly should take this one by two or three scores, making an early impact in his still-young tenure at LSU.
@ Louisville (L)
Following a dog fight in New Orleans with LSU fails to make things any easier. The bye week placed between the games will help, but not really. The Noles will lose a close one here.
Vs. Boston College (W)
BC will be heading to Tallahassee while Florida State is desperate to make an impression. Expect a convincing Noles win from this one.
Vs. Wake Forest (L)
To put things delicately, the Demon Deacons were not nice to FSU last season. In a 35-14 loss that included a plethora of turnovers, the Seminoles were dealt what ended up being their worst loss of 2021. The Noles may not lose by 21 again, but a disheartening defeat is almost a guarantee, nonetheless.
@ North Carolina State (L)
Now FSU will travel to Raleigh, where they have not prevailed since 2016. If Wake Forest is going to down the Noles on the road, what NC State has in store for them at home the very next week feels almost unimaginable.
Vs. Clemson (L)
Boy, the punches just keep on coming. The Tigers are still expected to be a top-tier contender in the ACC for 2022. And especially with who all they will face leading up to this game, the Seminoles will fail to stay at Clemson’s level .
Vs. Georgia Tech (W)
Finally, we can see a rainbow through the storm. Most GT fans will probably end up praying for this one to end as soon as possible.
@ Miami (L)
Nothing about this matchup leaves the Seminoles with a positive outlook when entering it. Yes, they won the 2021 battle, but the Hurricanes have new head coach Mario Cristobal and they also look like the better team.
Due to the stigma of any big rivalry, the game will probably be closer than it should be. However, Miami should still be the victor by the time the game clock hits zero.
@ Syracuse (W)
This won’t be a blowout, but the Noles are a better team.
Vs. Louisiana (W)
The game should start out good, but FSU will most likely pull away in the second half.
Vs. Florida (L)
The Gators have also won the last three meetings with the Seminoles. The Gators will keep Florida State out of the bowl season again. The Gators are more talented and better coached. This game will not be close.
Conclusion:
The Florida State Seminoles will finish their 2022 regular season slate with a final record of 5-7. It will be their 3rd-straight season without a bowl appearance, and their 5th-straight season with a losing record.
The Real Question:
Will Mike Norvell keep his job if my predictions come true?
