Florida
First and 10: Inevitable marriage between Lane Kiffin and Florida now has momentum
Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin press conference after Kentucky
Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin met with reporters after Rebels’ 20-17 home loss to Kentucky
1. Lane Kiffin: There’s no stopping the what-if train
So here we are, in a sport that refuses to live in the now because the future is so undeniably delicious, and the Lane Kiffin to Florida dating game has officially begun.
Lane and Florida sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes a firing, then comes a hiring, then comes Kiffin …
“All of a sudden, our program isn’t terrible,” Kiffin said last weekend in defense of his Ole Miss team after the then-Top 10 Rebels lost at home to Kentucky as a double-digit favorite ― and kicked off the inevitable Florida and Kiffin chase.
Deny it all you want, everyone. This shotgun marriage now has momentum.
Before we go further, Kiffin is absolutely right. The idea that Ole Miss is a fraud, or got exposed or can’t win a big game because of one bad Saturday is wildly shortsighted.
But there’s no chance that’s stopping this train of what-if. If anything, it enhanced it.
It’s all about timing now, and how one more Ole Miss loss sets everything in motion.
The Florida program, once a beacon for all things opulence and arrogance, is a shadow of its former championship self. Gators coach Billy Napier is another discombobulated, dysfunctional loss away from getting tossed on the scrap heap of Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen.
It’s the worst kept secret in college football.
Florida, with every possible advantage to win big, hasn’t done it since Urban Meyer arrived in Gainesville nearly two decades ago and road roughshod over college football with a six-year iron fist that was equal parts remarkable and repulsive.
Then there’s Kiffin, whose coaching career began in 2009 at Tennessee just as Meyer’s run at Florida – and the Gators’ perch on the top of the college football mountain – was starting to fade.
Kiffin began his one-year run at Tennessee by accusing Meyer of NCAA recruiting violations, and then committed multiple violations himself over an 11-month span as the Vols coach before leaving for his dream job at Southern California.
If ever a coach and a program were destined for each other, this is it.
2. Florida’s coaching folly
Let’s dissect Florida’s coaching hires since Meyer skulked out of town after the 2010 season, shall we?
Muschamp: Elite defensive coach and recruiter, couldn’t find/develop a quarterback.
McElwain: Nick Saban assistant, and an expert fisherman.
Mullen: Elite offensive mind, disinterested recruiter.
Meanwhile, the program fell behind in the facilities arms race, and waited a decade before getting serious about spending money because Steve Spurrier and Meyer won national titles without bells and whistles, why can’t everyone else?
Then Napier arrived and was given everything he could possibly want. A new $60 million football facility, and a support staff of 40-plus covering every possible contingency – except the one that mattered most.
What if Napier wasn’t ready for the job?
Now it’s time to hire a true ball coach. One with a track record of recruiting and developing players, who will work the talent-rich state of Florida and organically build a roster into a championship-level team.
Forget what you’ve heard about Kiffin from years past. He made mistakes, who doesn’t?
AT THE END: It’s time for Florida to bid goodbye to Billy Napier
He’s not the carnival barker at Tennessee, or the overwhelmed coach in an untenable situation following Pete Carroll at USC (without 30 scholarships because of NCAA sanctions), or even the unpredictable yet brilliant offensive mind Saban tolerated at Alabama.
He has become a legit ball coach, in every facet of the position.
He has double-digit win seasons (plural) at Ole Miss, including a school-record 11 victories in 2023. He’s as good a quarterback coach/developer and play caller as there is in the game.
Now imagine him recruiting in the state of Florida. Or better yet, coaching Gators talented freshman quarterback DJ Lagway.
3. Chasing Kiffin, The Epilogue
The Kentucky loss isn’t a deal-breaker for the Ole Miss season, but it brings Kffin and the Rebels one loss closer to missing the College Football Playoff. That’s the key to this potential Florida and Kiffin marriage.
Timing is everything.
If Ole Miss is in the playoff, it will be difficult for Kiffin to walk away – and for Florida to wait. If Ole Miss doesn’t advance to the CFP, Florida can hire him the day after the field is set.
We can debate about whether Florida will pay what it takes to get Kiffin (likely $11-12 million a year), and if it’s serious about escaping the college football hinterlands and avoiding the SEC freefall to the depths of Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
But there is no debate about job value.
Kiffin’s own success at Ole Miss has moved expectations to the level of Florida. In other words, no matter where he coaches, the bar is the CFP and winning it all.
He could coach Ole Miss, and annually rummage through the transfer portal and hope to hit more times than not. Or he could leave for Florida, and recruit and develop from one of the three most talent-rich states for high school football – and add a few impact players from the portal.
Deny it all you want, the fuse has been lit on this looming shotgun marriage.
It’s only a matter of timing.
4. The Big 12: It’s not just Coach Prime
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Big 12. Left for dead when Texas and Oklahoma escaped for the SEC, the reshuffled deck suddenly looks mighty appealing.
Brigham Young and Iowa State are unbeaten after the first month of the season, and are two of four ranked Big 12 teams (Kansas State and Utah). Meanwhile, there’s the ACC – the other Power Four conference helplessly swirling in the wake of the SEC and Big Ten – making more noise battling its two most important television properties (Florida State, Clemson) in court.
The Big 12, in full desperation mode during conference expansion (and contraction), will play four games with playoff significance over the next two months between the top five teams in the conference: BYU at Utah, Iowa State at Utah, Kansas State at Iowa State, and Texas Tech at Iowa State.
Those games don’t include Colorado and Arizona, who have two of the best quarterbacks (Shedeur Sanders, Noah Fafita) and wideouts (Travis Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan) in the nation, and will be a problem for everyone.
Colorado still has games against K-State, at Texas Tech and Utah, and Arizona plays Texas Tech and at BYU.
The Big 12 may not have major television properties, but its games over the final two months of the regular season will be better than anything the ACC can produce.
CALM DOWN: Georgia, Milroe lead college football Week 5 overreactions
5. The Weekly Five
The top five transfer portal quarterback performances after the first month of the season:
1. Cam Ward, Miami (Washington State): 1,782 yards, 18 TD, 4 INT.
2. Kyle McCord, Syracuse (Ohio State): 1,459 yards, 14 TD, 5 INT.
3. Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh (Alabama): 1,186 yards, 12 TDs, 2 INT.
4. Brandon Sorsby, Cincinnati (Indiana): 1,481 yards, 12 TD, 1 INT.
5. Tyler Shough, Louisville (Texas Tech): 1,114 yards, 11 TD, 1 INT.
6. An NFL scout’s take: Kentucky DT Deone Walker
An NFL scout analyzes a draft eligible player. The scout requested anonymity to protect the team’s draft preparation.
“A giant of a man (6-feet-6, 350 pounds). The sheer power and ability to command double teams and wreck an interior. He’s not a slogger in there. He has an explosive first step, and his hands are heavy and active. He has edge moves; the spin he uses is devastating. A legitimate pass rusher from the interior. He could be the first interior defensive lineman picked.”
7. Power Play: Alabama back on top
This week’s College Football Playoff Power Poll – including the first four out – and one big thing.
1. Alabama: The first half against Georgia was as good a 30-minute stretch as Alabama ever played under Saban.
2. Ohio State: At least we’ll see the Buckeyes’ offense forced to work this week against Iowa’s stout defense.
3. Miami: A critical step for a growing team: finding a way to win a game you shouldn’t.
4. BYU: At some point, the inability to consistently run the ball (against a more difficult schedule) will be a problem.
5. Georgia: The comeback from 30-7 was crazy impressive, and may have set the tone for the rest of the season.
6. Texas: Open week gives QB Quinn Ewers better chance of playing vs. Oklahoma.
7. Tennessee: Can Vols stay focused against Arkansas and Florida to set up huge home game vs. Alabama on Oct. 19?
8. Penn State: Lions need more from QB Drew Allar in big games.
9. Missouri: Want to prove your CFP worth? Roll into College Station and beat a hot Aggies team.
10. Oregon: Can’t get a read on this team. Something is off every week.
11. Michigan: Wolverines better show that USC-level intensity, or they’ll lose after a long trip to Washington.
12. Boise State: Broncos run the ball well enough to control tempo and scare the heck out of the No. 5 seed in the playoff.
13. USC: Another trip to the Midwest, another test of USC’s toughness vs. physical Minnesota.
14. Clemson: Time to make a statement against FSU ― even if the Noles are a shadow of their 2023 self.
15. Ole Miss: The passing game is too dangerous to file away the Rebels.
16. Kansas State: Despite ugly loss to BYU, Wildcats still may be Big 12’s most complete team.
8. Mail Bonding: Texas vs. Alabama (and Georgia)
Matt: Can you explain to me how Texas, after winning by 48 and 22 points with a backup quarterback, fell behind Alabama in the polls? – Darrel Crutchfield, San Antonio.
Darrel:
Let me break this down like it has never been broken down before: because voters think Alabama is better. Especially after dissecting Georgia for 30 minutes, playing keep away, and then figuring out how to avoid blowing a 28-point lead.
College football is a glorified eye test until the CFP begins, and I can’t see how any voter came away from that epic show thinking Alabama and Georgia aren’t the two best teams in the nation.
The entire poll process is flawed from the jump, based on some inane idea that an unbeaten team is better than a team with one loss. And one loss is better than two losses, and so on.
Texas gets its shot at Georgia on Oct. 19 in Austin, and we’ll then have a better read on the Longhorns.
9. Numbers Game: Texas A&M’s QB quandary
6.73. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko says injured quarterback Conner Weigman (shoulder) could be cleared to play this week against No. 9 Missouri.
This, of course, means backup Marcel Reed – who led the Aggies to three consecutive wins and has played nearly flawless football – is on the bench. It also means Texas A&M’s most dangerous and dynamic player isn’t on the field.
Not only is Reed completing throws at a better percentage, and has six touchdown passes and no interceptions, he has rushed for 230 yards and two more touchdowns. He’s a dual threat who stresses defenses, and averages 6.73 yards every time the ball is snapped and he’s either attempting a pass (7.4 yards per attempt) or running (5.5 yards per carry).
10. The Final Word: Miami’s wakeup call
The game-winning Hail Mary that wasn’t last Friday for Virginia Tech was the best thing that could’ve happened to Miami.
Without it, the Canes are traveling 3,100 miles to Berkeley, Calif., this weekend without the scars of what almost happened, and sitting around a hotel and waiting and waiting and waiting – until 10:30 p.m. ET to play a dangerous team that has had two weeks to prepare.
This will, by far, be the best defense Ward has played all season. The Bears are No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense (12.8 ppg.), and lead the nation in interceptions (10).
Florida
‘I am so proud of January 6th:’ Former Central Florida police officer gets pardon from President Trump
APOPKA, Fla. – Nathan Tuck told News 6 he got a call from his attorney around 11 p.m. on Monday that President Donald Trump pardoned him and others for charges stemming from the attack on the US Capitol.
It was Jan. 6, 2021, when some of the supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol building – some of them trying to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
“I’m so proud of it. I am so proud of January 6th. I have no remorse for it, I am very proud of it,” Nathan Tuck said.
Tuck also proudly tells News 6 he is a member of the Proud Boys and a former police officer of almost 9 years in Apopka and Longwood.
He was facing about 14 months behind bars for his role after pleading guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges.
“So I went into the Capitol. I participated in a protest that was very peaceful, and the cops are the ones that instigated the entire thing… I just protested and entered the Capitol building that I paid for my entire life through my taxes. So I’m not sorry,” Tuck said.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Nathaniel Tuck was the sole member of his co-defendants who successfully pushed his way past a line of multiple Capitol Police officers, making physical contact with at least one officer as he did so…and he “…spent most of the next hour inside the Capitol building, where he berated officers, shouting at them and calling them “communists.”
Later he sent a text to his father saying, “Politics won’t save us. Violence is the only way we will win.”
His father Kevin Tuck was with him that day and also charged.
He was an officer with the Windermere Police Department and also pleaded guilty for his role in the 2021 insurrection at the U.S.Capitol.
He was sentenced to six months is prison and had yet to start his sentence.
Last night Nathan celebrated with fellow Proud Boys members. He told News 6,
“We just drank and had a good time last night. Picked up a lot of guys from prison last night,” Nathan Tuck said.
There were about 45 local arrests made in connection with Jan. 6. Three Central Floridians were charged with some of the most serious crimes.
Joseph Biggs, a Proud Boy from Ormond Beach, and Kelly Meggs – an Oath Keeper from Dunnellon – were both convicted of seditious conspiracy.
And Kenneth Harrelson, and Oath Keeper from Titusville was convicted of lesser charges, and was sentecned to four years in prison.
All three have now been released.
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Florida
Our way-too-early Florida college football rankings for 2025
We know, we know. College football’s national title game ended only a few hours ago. The celebration in Columbus, Ohio, is just now cranking up. Heck, Kirk Herbstreit’s pooch is still prancing somewhere in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
So why are we already making projections for the 2025 season? Because it’s a tradition like no other. Way-too-early forecasts have become embedded in the sport’s fabric, much like portal season, the Pop-Tarts Bowl and profanities by Nick Saban on live TV.
Who cares if they should be taken with a grain of salt? Our guess is, they’ll still make more than a few fans feel salty. All part of the fun.
Here then, is our way-too-early 2025 ranking of Florida’s seven Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
7. Florida International
2024 record: 4-8
3 key returners: DB Brian Blades II (six pass breakups), QB Keyone Jenkins (2,557 passing yards, 22 TDs), RB Kejon Owens (team-best 392 rushing yards, five TDs)
3 key departures: LB Travion Barnes (Baylor), S JoJo Evans (Louisville), WR Eric Rivers (Georgia Tech)
Impact newcomer: RB Ajay Allen (Miami)
Outlook: New Panthers coach Willie Simmons did arguably his best recruiting job of the winter by convincing both Jenkins and Owens to withdraw their names from the portal and remain at FIU. On the flip side, Simmons lost a procession of talented defensive players to the portal and must do some significant replenishing. Simmons, a Tallahassee native who posted four consecutive seasons of at least nine wins at Florida A&M, has the coaching and recruiting chops to succeed down south, but this will take time.
6. Florida Atlantic
2024 record: 3-9
3 key returners: DB Wendel Philord (42 tackles, four pass breakups), WR Jabari Smith (17 receptions), DB Jayden Williams (two interceptions)
3 key departures: RB C.J. Campbell (Rutgers), QB Cam Fancher (UCF), S CJ Heard (Vanderbilt)
Impact newcomer: QB Caden Veltkamp (Western Kentucky)
Outlook: New Owls coach Zach Kittley practically had to pilfer the transfer portal to replenish FAU’s decimated roster, but he pulled off a bonanza by signing Veltkamp, a 3,000-yard passer at Western Kentucky last season. As a bonus, he also landed one of Veltkamp’s top targets last year, Hilltoppers slot receiver Easton Messer (55 catches, 793 yards). Widely regarded as one of college football’s brightest young offensive minds, Kittley, 33, has the energy and ingenuity to turn around FAU. But his overhauled roster will need time to jell.
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5. UCF
2024 record: 4-8
3 key returners: Edge Nyjalik Kelly (team-high 5.5 sacks), RT Paul Rubelt (lone returning OL starter) DT John Walker (injured in 2024)
3 key departures: LB Xe’Ree Alexander (Washington), DL Lee Hunter (Texas Tech), RG Marcellus Marshall (Minnesota)
Impact newcomer: QB Tayven Jackson (Indiana)
Outlook: Count us among those who remain convinced Scott Frost didn’t forget how to coach. Also count us among those who believe he never really was crazy about leaving UCF for his alma mater (Nebraska), where he went 16-31 in four-plus seasons. Frost has some significant rebuilding ahead of him in his second stint in Orlando, and he has been forced to tap heavily into the transfer portal (more than two-dozen transfers) since his return in early December. But don’t be shocked if the Knights make some rumblings in the Big 12 in 2025. And if his second season (2026) remotely resembles the Year 2 of his initial go-round at UCF (see Colley Matrix), watch out.
4. USF
2024 record: 7-6 (topped San Jose State, 41-39, in Hawaii Bowl)
3 key returners: QB Byrum Brown (12 school records), WR Keshaun Singleton (428 receiving yards, three TDs), S Tavin Ward (team-high three interceptions)
3 key departures: S Tawfiq Byard (Colorado), RB Kelley Joiner (NFL draft), LB Jamie Pettway (NFL draft)
Impact newcomer: RB Cartevious Norton (Charlotte)
Outlook: Presuming Brown is healthy and still here, the Bulls should eclipse the seven-win plateau in Year 3 of the Alex Golesh era. The backfield must be replenished, but there’s proven talent on the perimeter and up front. The big question involves the defense and whether USF can develop more consistency on that side. After two .500 regular seasons, Bulls fans want to see Golesh’s “process” produce titles, or at least title-game berths.
3. FSU
2024 record: 2-10
3 key returners: S Shyheim Brown (team-high 70 tackles), DT Darrell Jackson (32 tackles, 3.5 sacks), S KJ Kirkland (46 tackles, two pass breakups)
3 key departures: QB Luke Kromenhoek (Mississippi State), edge Patrick Payton (LSU), RB Lawrance Toafili (NFL draft)
Impact newcomer: QB Thomas Castellanos (Boston College)
Outlook: As promised, coach Mike Norvell has orchestrated a brisk overhaul in the wake of a disastrous autumn, bringing in two new coordinators (Gus Malzahn, Tony White) and an infusion of veterans from the transfer portal. The returners and replenishments on defense, along with White’s 3-3-5 scheme, should foster optimism, but the big question is whether the Seminoles will regain an offensive pulse. Castellanos, a 5-foot-9 dual threat, played briefly for Malzahn at UCF and possesses the skill set that meshes with Malzahn’s no-huddle scheme.
2. Miami
2024 record: 10-3 (lost to Iowa State, 42-41, in Pop-Tarts Bowl)
3 key returners: DT Rueben Bain (3.5 sacks), RB Mark Fletcher (545 rushing yards, eight TDs), LB Francisco Mauigoa (team-high 88 tackles)
3 key departures: DL Simeone Barrow (NFL draft), WR Xavier Restrepo (NFL draft), QB Cam Ward (NFL draft)
Impact newcomer: QB Carson Beck (Georgia)
Outlook: The Hurricanes got a coup of sorts by luring Beck — 24-3 as a starter at Georgia — from the portal. Beck, who likely will miss spring practice while recovering from elbow surgery, doesn’t have Ward’s hair-trigger release, but he possesses far more big-game experience than Ward had upon his arrival to Coral Gables. He’ll also be complemented by what projects as a solid offensive line and sturdy run game (see Fletcher, Jordan Lyle). The prevailing question is how the beleaguered defense will progress under new coordinator Corey Hetherman.
1. Florida
2024 record: 8-5 (topped Tulane, 33-8, in Gasparilla Bowl)
3 key returners: QB DJ Lagway (6-1 as starter), edge Tyreak Sapp (team-high seven sacks), C Jake Slaughter (first-team All-American)
3 key departures: WR Chimere Deke (NFL draft), LB Shemar James (NFL draft), edge Jack Pyburn (LSU)
Impact newcomer: WR Dallas Wilson (Tampa Bay Tech)
Outlook: Few SEC teams ended 2024 with more momentum than the Gators, whose season-ending four-game win streak included home upsets of ranked foes LSU and Ole Miss. Moreover, coach Billy Napier replenished his roster with a top-11 prep signing class in December. This is Lagway’s team now, and he’ll be flanked by talent both proven (Slaughter) and promising (Wilson). The most formidable challenge: a schedule every bit as ruthless as last year’s.
• • •
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Florida
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 on Starlink mission Tuesday morning at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Brevard Space Coast launch sites rockets spaceX ULA NASA
A quick look at which rockets lift off from various Brevard launch sites.
In the Space Coast’s eighth launch of 2025 thus far, a SpaceX Falcon 9 took flight on another Starlink mission early Tuesday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 12:24 a.m. EST from pad 39A, ascending into low-Earth orbit to deploy a payload of 21 Starlink internet satellites.
In light of the cold front gripping the Sunshine State, risks of thick cloud layers and cumulus clouds spurred the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron to spell out unusual variance for a 4½-hour Starlink launch window.
The squadron predicted an 85% chance of favorable weather early during the launch window, which opened at 12:13 a.m. — with those odds dropping off to 40% by the window’s conclusion.
However, no significant Central Florida cloud cover was present at liftoff across the Tampa Bay-Orlando-Space Coast corridor, per a National Weather Service radar loop from the Melbourne Orlando International Airport station shows.
The post-midnight mission marked the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s eighth flight, SpaceX reported.
The booster previously launched Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, and three Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the booster settled for a landing on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean a bit more than eight minutes after liftoff.
Next SpaceX mission targeted for Friday
Next on the Eastern Range schedule, another SpaceX Starlink mission is slated to lift off Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows.
That Starlink launch window is scheduled to extend from 5:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
Space is important to us and that’s why we’re working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.
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