Florida
Gators, KSP In High-Energy Lockstep Again – Florida Gators
![Gators, KSP In High-Energy Lockstep Again – Florida Gators Gators, KSP In High-Energy Lockstep Again – Florida Gators](https://d2b5htfb6s9xp9.cloudfront.net/images/2022/5/13/TeamPostgame_220512_1886_HannahWhite.jpg?preset=large.socialmediaimage)
Very similar to they did to Texas A&M about 24 hours earlier, fifth-seeded UF jumped on Kentucky, the tourney’s No. 4 seed, within the first inning, obtained the Pressly Stadium devoted immediately into the sport, and rolled to a powerful 9-3 quarterfinal-round victory Thursday that moved the Twelfth-ranked Gators (43-15) in Friday evening’s semifinals to face league regular-season champ, tourney top-seed and fourth-ranked Arkansas (42-9).
“Identical as final evening. I assumed our our crowd did a very nice job, was actually energetic earlier than the sport even began,” Walton mentioned. “It is much more enjoyable to play in an environment like that. It is clearly not simple to do and be in step with that, however, man, it certain is good on the sphere to listen to that roar and the cheers to really feel the dugout’s depth develop every time the followers within the stands get after it.”
The house staff, in fact, did its half. Not in a small method, both.
Walton believes the Gators discovered somewhat one thing additional about themselves again on April 30 of their 2-1 extra-inning win at LSU, courtesy of a homer from Cheyenne Lindsey within the ninth. There was an air of late-season confidence that has carried over into the early postseason. It was there from the leap in Wednesday’s second-round win, and erupted towards the Wildcats (35-17) with among the finest collective variations of this UF squad in weeks.
“Taking part in in entrance of Gator Nation is simply big,” junior shortstop Skylar Wallace mentioned.
Gators advance ?
It is nice to be a Florida Gator ??#GoGators | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/uThXOeD9bw
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 13, 2022
Speedy freshman leadoff hitter Kendra Falby, like Thursday evening towards the Aggies, obtained the Gators going with an infield single to begin the sport. Earlier than the inning was over the Wildcats had modified pitchers and UF led 3-0. And even after UK, two batters into its first inning, reduce into the lead on a moon-shot homer from Lauren Johnson that landed on Museum Highway, the Gators responded with three extra runs of their second on a bases-loaded ground-rule double by Charla Echols and a RBI single from freshman Reagan Walsh to make it 6-2.
When it was accomplished:
* UF had 9 runs (with eight RBI) on 11 hits, the second-most towards a league opponent since April 3.
* Falby had three hits and scored 3 times. Walsh had three hits and three RBI. Tremendous senior standout Hannah Adams, who returned to motion Wednesday from a hand harm after lacking 14 video games, went 1-for-2 with a torched RBI double into the left subject hole.
* Wallace broke out of a 6-for-26 stoop during the last 11 video games with a homer to dead-center.
* Although she gave up three runs on 4 hits by way of the primary 9 batters she confronted, starter Elizabeth Hightower settled down to permit no runs after a lead-off second-inning homer, then gave approach to Rylee Trilcek, who held Kentucky scoreless and with simply two hits over her 2.2 innings. Not unhealthy, contemplating the Wildcats got here into the sport with the SEC’s second-highest staff batting common (.334) and with 72 homers on the season (in comparison with Florida’s 30).
* The Florida protection was terrific, as traditional.
* Oh, and Echols (that is huge) was again to being her smiling sarcastic self, based on Walton. Apparently, when Echols smiles, it is a signal. An excellent one for the Gators.
She wasn’t the one one beaming, both. It was enjoyable on the market, and it confirmed on the faces of the gamers and echoed with enthusiasm all through the bleachers. The coach, too.
“There’s not one individual on this staff that is even near being pretty much as good as they’re able to being,” Walton mentioned. “They simply should believe in themselves. This sport, it is a grind. It has been a grind. If we had a pitcher who was placing everyone out and making it simple, however nothing’s been simple for this staff for 2 years. That is the half.”
He nodded.
“That smile. This sport at all times finds a approach to reward exhausting work and actually good teammates.”
For these sporting orange and blue, it was a enjoyable evening at KSP. Make that two in a row. And due to it the Gators might be on the market once more Friday.
Here is betting their followers might be out in drive for a 3rd evening, as properly.
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Florida
Ex-Florida coach Dan Mullen appears to shade Billy Napier after disastrous opener
![Ex-Florida coach Dan Mullen appears to shade Billy Napier after disastrous opener Ex-Florida coach Dan Mullen appears to shade Billy Napier after disastrous opener](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/newspress-collage-3xjx31orj-1725201156331.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1725186892&w=1024)
With Florida fans chanting for his firing amid a blowout loss, head coach Billy Napier wasn’t about to find any sympathy from predecessor Dan Mullen.
Mullen, a college football analyst, recirculated a post on X from his ESPN colleague Matt Barrie that read, “The Florida coach that got fired went to three consecutive new years six games in his first three years. And was let go in his 4th season.”
The facts check out that Mullen posted a 29-9 record with appearances in the Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl (2-1 bowl record) over his first three seasons — climbing as high as No. 4 in the polls — before he was fired for going 5-6 in 2021.
His reluctance to fire defensive coordinator Todd Grantham until it was too late in powerbrokers’ eyes was a major contributor.
With one retweet on Saturday, Mullen suggested he’s still not over it.
Time seems to be ticking on Napier, whose tenure has been a disaster so far.
He was 11-14 through his first two seasons, including a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl, and he opened Year 3 with Saturday’s 41-17 loss at home to rival Miami.
Chants of “Fire Billy” and “Billy, you suck” reportedly rang out from the stands during the second half.
Napier was a hot Power Five coaching candidate after he went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana, but the success hasn’t carried over in the SEC.
To add insult to injury, Miami quarterback Cam Ward — a Washington State transfer — took a shot at Gators fans and the renowned atmosphere at the “Swamp.”
“I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed, but it was louder than this,” Ward said. “I played at Oregon and it was louder than this. The Pac-12 is misspoken for. That’s where I believe real football is played. Coming from Washington (State), Washington is one of the loudest environments I’ve played.
“Some advice to the fans: I would say if you’re going to be loud, be loud when we’re huddling. You can’t just be loud when we break the huddle. By that time, there’s no point. We hear the play and we communicated already. But it was a good atmosphere to play in, and I was just excited that we were able to get a victory.”
What figures to get louder is the sound of the pressure on Napier.
Florida
College Football Week 1 Takeaways: Florida Gators Entering Crisis Mode
![College Football Week 1 Takeaways: Florida Gators Entering Crisis Mode College Football Week 1 Takeaways: Florida Gators Entering Crisis Mode](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3259,h_1833,x_0,y_17/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/si/01j6nvgv79s8b8b7x5t9.jpg)
College football is back in full swing as the majority of FBS teams took the field for the first time on Saturday.
It’s always hard to get a gauge on Week 1 performances when there’s so much to learn about each team as the season progresses.
With that said, here are five takeaways from the first big Saturday of the year.
Billy Napier’s hot seat is scorching after a no-show loss to in-state rival Miami
No. 19 Miami walked into The Swamp with transfer quarterback Cam Ward and looked every bit the part of an ACC title contender. Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, as the Hurricanes rolled over Florida 41–17.
But as impressive as the victory was for Miami—a team that appears to be the class of an underwhelming ACC—this game signals more about the state of Florida’s program than anything else.
Through two seasons (and one game) of the Billy Napier era, the tenure has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. The Gators posted a 6–7 record in Napier’s first season, and followed that up that with a 5–7 record in 2023.
Napier’s predecessor, Dan Mullen, took Florida to New Year’s Six bowl games in each of his first three seasons, but was fired at the first sign of trouble in Year 4 due to uneven recruiting, athletic department politics and an underwhelming on-field product in 2021.
Three years later, the Gators appear worse off for it. After an 0–1 start, Florida now must navigate one of the toughest schedules in college football to try to make a bowl game in Napier’s third season.
As if things weren’t bleak enough in Gainesville, Napier’s buyout is $26 million, making for a tricky situation for a program that deserves better.
No. 14 Clemson posts a program referendum loss to No. 1 Georgia
Clemson lost four ACC games in 2023 for the first time since the ‘10 campaign—Dabo Swinney’s second full season as head coach.
If you thought that would be enough for Swinney to change his well-documented aversion to using the transfer portal, think again.
Instead, Swinney doubled down on his program’s culture and doing things his way, while the rest of college football embraced the transfer portal as another method to roster building.
Swinney’s defiance of the current state of affairs in college football has led to his program falling swiftly from the ranks of the sport’s elite class. The Tigers have not made a College Football Playoff appearance since Trevor Lawrence’s junior season in 2020, and the program now seems far more susceptible to losing multiple conference games per year than it does to dominating the ACC like it once did.
Saturday’s 34–3 loss to top-ranked Georgia would have been shocking five years ago.
Now? It’s expected when the Tigers contend with elite competition.
And that’s a problem.
No. 8 Penn State found a passing game, making it an actual Big Ten contender and College Football Playoff threat
On paper, No. 8 Penn State entered 2024 as the third-best team in the Big Ten and a program that appeared primed to battle for one of the last handful of spots in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Based on a 2023 season that saw the program go 10–3 behind a stout defense but an offense that lacked a legitimate passing game against top-flight competition, a similar formula seemed reasonable enough to get Penn State into this year’s playoff.
But if the passing game in 2024 takes as big of a step forward for the entire season as it did on Saturday against West Virginia, then look out.
Penn State head coach James Franklin hired Andy Kotelnicki away from Kansas in the offseason to become the program’s primary play-caller and spearhead an improved passing game, and the early returns on Saturday were phenomenal.
Junior quarterback Drew Allar tossed three touchdown passes as the Nittany Lions cruised into Morgantown and came away with a convincing 34–12 victory over West Virginia.
Allar looked more comfortable in the pocket than he did at any time last season, and if Saturday is any indication, Penn State looks primed to not only seriously compete for a Big Ten crown, but perhaps win a game or two in the College Football Playoff.
No. 3 Oregon and No. 9 Michigan left plenty to be desired in their season opening victories
No. 3 Oregon was a 44-point favorite against theIdaho Vandals of the FCS, while No. 9 Michigan was favored by three scores against Fresno State. Both teams escaped with victories, but neither was particularly pretty.
For Michigan, this was somewhat expected, given the turnover on the coaching staff and across the roster following last year’s national championship. Even so, the Michigan quarterback situation appears to be a total mess. Former walk-on Davis Warren earned the starting nod over junior Alex Orji, a former four-star recruit, which probably says more about the staff’s lack of confidence in Orji throwing the football than anything else.
Warren completed 15 of his 25 passing attempts for a mere 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception. That was good enough on Saturday night to earn the Wolverines a 30–10 victory over Fresno State, but certainly won’t be good enough next Saturday when Michigan hosts the Texas Longhorns in the Big House.
Oregon, meanwhile, couldn’t gain separation from Idaho in their 24–14 win thanks to plenty of sloppiness. The Ducks had a missed field goal, a fumble on the edge of the red zone and two failed fourth down conversion attempts despite outgaining the Vandals by nearly 300 yards.
Michigan’s issues can be easily tied to a downgrade at quarterback, while Oregon simply could not stop stepping on its own feet against an overmatched opponent. But more will be expected in the near future.
No. 7 Notre Dame’s offensive line struggled, but the Irish defense was still elite in a road win over No. 20 Texas A&M
Much of the talk entering the game of the day in college football between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M in College Station revolved around the Irish’s inexperienced offensive line going up against an Aggies defensive front featuring plenty of future NFL talent.
Notre Dame struggled offensively throughout the night as expected, but came through in the clutch when it needed to the most. With the game tied at 13 with 6:12 remaining in regulation, the Irish embarked on a back-breaking eight-play, 85-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 21-yard touchdown scamper by running back Jeremiyah Love.
The Irish defense, like it did all night, closed out the Aggies on their final offensive possession of the night with less than two minutes remaining, and added a late field goal to cap off an impressive 23–13 road victory to spoil Mike Elko’s Texas A&M debut.
Notre Dame is a likely favorite in each of their remaining 11 games, and earned an early feather in the cap to their College Football Playoff resume.
Extra Points
Florida
College football games, scores, updates: Miami vs. Florida, Ohio State vs. Akron and more
It’s the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, which means the full chaos of college football has truly arrived.
There were 21 games on Thursday — including Colorado’s win against perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State — and six games Friday before a full slate on Saturday.
No. 1 Georgia got things started with an absolute show of force, blasting No. 14 Clemson 34-3 in their season opener. Heisman favorite Carson Beck was on point throughout, throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
The nightcap is a showdown between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M.
(All times are Eastern.)
Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: Texas A&M -3 | Total: 46.5
Notre Dame doesn’t shy away from tough openers, and this is no exception. Saturday night is QB Riley Leonard’s first game in a Notre Dame uniform after transferring to Duke, but he’ll be playing behind a revamped offensive line that lost three starters from 2023. First-year Texas A&M coach Mike Elko brings a defense that has lots of new faces but is still plenty talented. And QB Connor Weigman returns as the Aggies’ starting quarterback with the goal of staying healthy for the whole season.
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