70-52.

Quite the second-half turnaround.  The Gators got hot from behind the 3-point line, hit the boards hard, and…..wait……what?!

The descent into hell accelerated Saturday, as FCS Samford embarrassed Florida by taking a 42-28 halftime lead, making the Gator defense look, well, even worse than the previous week.  It took a record-setting day from Emory Jones and the Gator offense doing what it should have done anyway to get the win, dominating the entire afternoon and rolling up those 70 points on over 700 yards of offense.  The sad thing was…..they HAD to in order to win the damn game!  And, of course, with Jones close to the passing yards record in addition to the total yards record he had just broken, Dan Mullen pulled him for a few garbage-time snaps from Anthony Richardson.  He is completely oblivious.

At least dead-man-coaching Mullen put it in proper perspective, claiming it was a “hard-fought and ‘good’ win.”.  LMFAO – how clueless can you be?  And then, to double down, he leads a dance party in the locker room after this “big win” that’s released on social media……just to be completely ripped by the national media and other schools and coaches around the country.  That will definitely turn around the 2022 recruiting class.

Samford set records for a FCS school scoring on a FBS school, a SEC school, and Florida in particular.  Their 42 points was the most allowed in a half by the Gators……EVER.

Dance on, Danny Boy.

Mullen continued his string of good decisions by allowing Christian Robinson, coach of the terrible LB corps and Todd Grantham disciple (LOL) to call the defensive signals.  Yeah – that was gonna change things.  Thank god former Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni is on staff as a defensive analyst – it appears he put on a headset in the second half and “helped” with the defense.  That group was horrific – again.  No energy, poor tackling, and lack of effort.  As I feared, a lot of these guys have mentally and physically checked out over the past month.

And to think I always laughed at the crap defenses in the Big 12.  The past 2 weeks have made those Big 12 defenses of the past two decades look like the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers, or the 1985 Chicago Bears……or (sadly) the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs.

Ace RB coach and Special Teams coach Greg Knox, not to be outdone, limited Dameon Pierce to only 7 carries for “only” 78 yards, watched as Samford cashed in a 98-yard kickoff return TD, and then mind-numbingly didn’t have the kick team ready for an onside attempt in the second half after Samford cut the lead to 56-52.  Pierce has not had double-digit carries in a single game in 2021!  At least he’ll be fresh for the League when he’s drafted, and that team won’t believe their good fortune in getting such a solid player with so much tread still on his tires.  I can’t wait for Florida’s Pro Day, when teams will see Pierce up close, watch how good he looks in drills and catching the ball, and view the (limited) film from his career.  The comments will be pure gold – “Wow – where did they hide this guy?”  “He must have been the number 1 RB on the depth chart.  Wait……what?!”

We are witnessing criminal malfeasance perpetrated by most of this coaching staff.  I’m just glad there is solid, definitive leadership at the Athletic Dept. and at the University level to fix this mess.  Oops……

It’s on to Missouri, who somehow held last week’s juggernaut South Carolina to 28 points in a 31-28 win.  I pray Pasqualoni is allowed to take over the defense.  The main priority is to stuff the box with 8-9 guys to try and slow down RB Tyler Badie, who just racked up his 4th 200 yard game of the season.  It all starts with stopping the run – fail that, and it’s another loss, and more embarrassment.  If Missouri chooses to throw, then so be it.

Florida’s offense had better be ready to run the ball in the cold as well, if for no other reason than to keep the horrific defense on the sidelines.  The O-line has to open some lanes for whomever Knox deems fit for carrying the ball.  That should have been the formula at Carolina, but Danny Boy chose to go rogue and try “shock and awe” with Jones throwing almost exclusively the first half.  Missouri has one of the worst run defenses in the Power 5 – that trend has to continue this week.  Jones will start, and likely again go the distance barring injury or another blowout loss.  The Tigers are nothing special on defense, and the Gators should find success……if they care to play hard and are given a smart game plan by the smartest man in the room.

It’s hard to watch Mullen and the Mississippi St. Mafia continue to tear down what Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer built.  These clowns need to be shown the door ASAP, but I have zero confidence his buddy and fellow MSU stalwart Scott Stricklin has the guts to do so.  Maybe……maybe the defense can show some pride this week, and perhaps the team can rally.  It’s really hard to see it happening given the body of evidence to the contrary and the lack of coaching leadership, but since this season has descended so quickly into chaos, I suppose anything is possible.

How Florida can be favored on the road this week is just crazy to me, and shows (again) what a weak schedule they could have feasted on this season.  Missouri is just as bad as Carolina, which could be the death knell.  Referencing last year’s big fight at the start of halftime between these teams at the Swamp, of which Darth Mullen was a prime participant, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz got in some barbs during SEC Media Days in August and specifically pointed to this game on the schedule.  What is the next act in the Theater of the Absurd?

Prediction: Missouri 31 Florida 24