Week 5: Top 25 and SEC Scores

[Escambia94]

This week features a few ranked matchups: Utah at Oregon State, Notre Dame at Duke, and LSU at Ole Miss. Florida starts goes back on the road for the first time since Utah.

Post game edit:
The college football landscape is starting to take shape. Georgia survived a scare from Auburn. The Dawgs look beatable by any of the true contenders. Texas had a slow start but eventually pulled away. Colorado put up a much better fight than anticipated. Coach Prime is showing that he is the real deal. Utah is falling apart and sorely misses Cam Rising. Notre Dame held on to beat Duke in this week’s most expensive game to watch in terms of ticket prices. Alabama is still a mystery as QB Jalen Milroe blows hot and cold more than any other QB I can recall. Ole Miss pulled off the only major upset of the day despite some of the best pinpoint passing I have ever seen from LSU QB Jayden Daniels. The game between Tennessee and South Carolina provided some hope to Florida fans that although the SEC East is trash that Florida might be able to dig some wins out—just not against Kentucky, which completely overmatched Florida in all phases of the game today.

Matchup	Prediction	Result
#1 Georgia @ Auburn	42-17	27-20
#2 Michigan @ Nebraska	32-10	45-7
#3 Texas vs #24 Kansas	36-32	40-14
#4 Ohio State	bye
#5 FSU	bye
#6 Penn State @ Northwestern	36-10	41-13
#7 Washington vs Arizona	42-14	31-24
#8 USC @ Colorado	45-17	48-41
#9 Oregon @ Stanford	48-10	42-6
#10 Utah@ #19 Oregon State	21-32	7-21
#11 Notre Dame @ #17 Duke	32-21	21-14
#12 Alabama @ Mississippi State	34-3	40-17
#13 LSU @ #20 Ole Miss	34-30	49-55
#14 Oklahoma vs Iowa State	36-13	50-20
#15 North Carolina	bye
#16 Washington State	bye
#17 ^	^
#18 Miami	bye
#19 ^	^
#20 ^	^
#21 Tennessee vs South Carolina	32-30	41-20
#22 Florida @ Kentucky	21-17	14-33
#23 Missouri @ Vanderbilt	21-10	38-21
#24 ^	^
#25 Fresno State vs Nevada	32-3	27-9
Texas A&M @ Arkansas	30-24	34-22

 

[Leakfan12]

Utah lost and I wish the Gators were able to do this against the Utes

 

[Escambia94]

Utah lost and I wish the Gators were able to do this against the Utes

I figured Oregon State would win, but not in dominating fashion.

 

[Escambia94]

Future opponents Missouri and Vanderbilt battled to a 38-21 score. For reference, the stat lines between Florida and Kentucky looked somewhat similar, except Vanderbilt scored more points.

Stat	MIZ	VAN
Score	38	21
1st Downs	28	15
3rd down efficiency	6-12	2-10
4th down efficiency	0-1	1-2
Total Yards	532	300
Passing	395	259
Comp-Att	33-41	20-31
Yards per pass	9.6	8.4
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Rushing	137	41
Rushing Attempts	34	20
Yards per rush	4.0	2.1
Penalties	9-75	4-25
Turnovers	1	1
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Possession	35:58	24:02

 

[Escambia94]

South Carolina did not look very good against Tennessee.

Stat	SC	TENN
Score	20	41
1st Downs	11	24
3rd down efficiency	2-14	7-15
4th down efficiency	2-5	1-1
Total Yards	333	477
Passing	201	239
Comp-Att	25-36	21-32
Yards per pass	5.6	7.5
Interceptions thrown	1	2
Rushing	132	238
Rushing Attempts	27	40
Yards per rush	4.9	6.0
Penalties	5-35	7-58
Turnovers	1	2
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	1	2
Possession	30:15	29:45

For comparison, here is the box score for Florida vs Tennessee. By the transitive property, Florida does look better than South Carolina.

	UF	TENN
Score	29	16
1st Downs	21	17
3rd down efficiency	7-14	8-15
4th down efficiency	0-1	0-3
Total Yards	349	387
Passing	166	287
Comp-Att	19-24	20-34
Yards per pass	6.9	8.4
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Rushing	183	100
Rushing Attempts	43	30
Yards per rush	4.3	3.3
Penalties	5-03	10-79
Turnovers	0	1
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Possession	37:28	22:32

 

[DRU2012]

Yesterday I watched a Gator squad thoroughly BEAT ITSELF. At this point in the second year of our "new Coach's complete rebuild" I feel we have seen enough of our own up'n'down play, and that of our once and future scheduled opponents, to say that this is a Gator team making somewhat miniscule progress--two steps forward, one-and-a-half-PLUS steps back--and is eminently capable of doing EITHER (winning OR losing badly) against all but the elite teams--the latter I fear they will simply lay DOWN for.
This is, thus far, the kind of team I most hate to find us having represent us: One that stirs increments of hope, only to shatter those (and make us feel foolish for even harboring them) in the very next outting.
At the moment, it is difficult for me to envision even FOLLOWING this program for the rest of this season. Oh, I am sure I WILL...but I will also endeavor to PROTECT MYSELF EMOTIONALLY the rest of the way as well.
I suggest the rest of you try to do the same.
For sanity's sake alone.
This is simply NOT a good team.
Not yet. Maybe not ever, at the current rate.

 

[Escambia94]

The college football landscape is starting to take shape. Georgia survived a scare from Auburn. The Dawgs look beatable by any of the true contenders. Texas had a slow start but eventually pulled away. Colorado put up a much better fight than anticipated. Coach Prime is showing that he is the real deal. Utah is falling apart and sorely misses Cam Rising. Notre Dame held on to beat Duke in this week’s most expensive game to watch in terms of ticket prices. Alabama is still a mystery as QB Jalen Milroe blows hot and cold more than any other QB I can recall. Ole Miss pulled off the only major upset of the day despite some of the best pinpoint passing I have ever seen from LSU QB Jayden Daniels. The game between Tennessee and South Carolina provided some hope to Florida fans that although the SEC East is trash that Florida might be able to dig some wins out—just not against Kentucky, which completely overmatched Florida in all phases of the game today.

The Gators are likely headed to a 5-7 or 6-6 record this season. The victory over Tennessee may have been a fluke, or more accurately attributed to our 12th man—the Swamp. Napier does not know how to coach a team on the road, which is alarming since the Gators have 3 more true road games and a neutral site matchup against the defending national champion. The Gators are slightly better than they were a year ago, but most of their opponents got better than Florida—even in a down year for the SEC. Optimistically there are 4 reasonable wins possible to get to 7-5. Realistically the Gators look like trash and will not get better unless Napier pulls his head out of his ass and tweaks the offensive play calling strategy right now and gives an on-field defensive coach some special teams duties.

 

[DRU2012]

The all-too-predictable and expected din of "Fire the Coach!" is of course rising out of Gainesville and throughout Gator Nation today...
The sad part for ME PERSONALLY is that given the true realities of the visible and available evidence, there is a certain portion of the criticism that I must agree with.
The point about him not being able to take our team on the road resonates. Still no OC to help our stubborn Coach upgrade an offense stuck mainly in a "cloud-of-DUST"-mentality that is weekly wasting what has turned out to be some powerful talent, instead steadily deteriorating into a "loose collection of potent weapons" whose potential is so far mainly unrealized.
Still no Special Teams Coach, just a guy named "Couch" with some weird bureaucratic title sitting watching FILM of it all in a different city, for God's sake: It's just one more stubborn absurdity ...ANOTHER stupid personal foul penalty turns a 4th down change-of-possession into a first down for the opponent--and Davis runs 75 yards to put them up 17-0 on that very next "bonus play" (that's when I turned the game OFF, by the way--still in the first quarter!).
Look, I know what a disaster this whole teetering house-of-cards will truly be if we are forced into abandoning "The Napier Experiment" now, this EARLY in what was ALWAYS somewhat of a "patient gamble"...I KNOW most of these shallow young spoiled, entitled and short-attention-spanned Gator fans, and the latest generation of "We want what we want and we want it NOW!!!" rabble-rousing online media mouths egging them on, look at Deion and the suddenly quick-change upheavals taking place seemingly on a daily basis nowadays in college football, and think that simply "fire/hire, repeat as necessary--eventually find the latest flavor-of-the-moment" is somehow a viable path to organizational success and stability, but WE know it isn't so.
Our Coach was never a Saint, nor is he now some bumbling Sinner. I don't KNOW how or why he has gotten bogged down, trapped in a seeming "blind alley" where certain clear difficulties are somehow currently beyond his power to see his way clear of...He NEEDS HELP--and must somehow grit his teeth and ACCEPT IT IN SOME FORM.
It is that simple--AND that "hard", at least for some. But if he doesn't, this can all only end badly.
The scary part is that I really believe that he must act positively and decisively NOW--in clear fashion THIS WEEK, the sooner the better.
I just don't know if Billy has that dynamic IN him. Does he even SEE THE NEED? Have a plan, can move quickly to reinvigorate this team and program? HIS "TEAM AND PROGRAM"!