No Bulldog game?
No problem! There’s still plenty of news to catch up on this Monday morning.
Among the biggest news of the day is the series of Bloody Sunday firings, including Billy Napier’s ouster in Gainesville. It feels like letting Napier go after the Gators’ 23-21 win over Mississippi State was a move calculated to keep Napier from either losing once again to Georgia or, perhaps worse, stumbling butt first into a victory in the WLOCP that would have made it harder to follow through on the decision to fire him that had already been made. Either way, fair thee well, Sunbelt Billy. Of all the recent Florida coaches who couldn’t beat Kirby Smart with a baseball bat and a flame thrower, you were my favorite.
The odds on early favorite to replace Napier is none other than Lane Horatio Kiffin, who has long been reputed to want out of Oxford at the first reasonable opportunity. Kiffin makes sense at UF from a cultural perspective. Like most Gator fans he loves scoring points in buckets and can’t stop running his mouth. That being said, he’s also likely to stumble into the occasional victory in the series, which is mildly concerning.
Over in Auburn Hugh Freeze remains employed, and defended himself following the Plainsmen’s overtime loss to Missouri by arguing that he and his staff ““fit what Auburn is all about.” If he meant losing football games while still engaging in a morally flexible approach to life, I quite agree.
On the recruiting front, Georgia picked up a very early commit from 2028 tight end Asa Wall out of Milledgeville’a John Milledge Academy. Wall is the son of John Milledge head coach and beloved former Bulldog fullback JT Wall. I know we try not to count our recruiting chickens before they hatch, but trust me, this one’s likely to stick.
On the injury front the news isn’t so good, as we now know that Colbie Young, who left the game on Saturday’s first series, actually suffered a fractured leg and is likely out for the remainder of the season. Young is the Dawgs’ second leading receiver behind Zachariah Branch with 23 catches for 336 yards. In his absence I’d look for big transfer receiver Noah Thomas, who’d already been coming along in recent weeks, to get even more snaps on the outside. Mike Bobo also seems to have re-established a passion for throwing to the tight ends again, which may also take up some slack.
That should just about get your day started. Go make it a great one. And…
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
