GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we start to preview the Florida Gators game vs. Georgia on Saturday in Jacksonville.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre are joined by Barrett Sallee of CBSSports to get his thoughts on the game, plus what he’s looking for out of the game.
Andrew and Nick also breakdown what Dan Mullen had to say about the game, plus we give our thoughts on Saturday’s game.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew: What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, we’re back and getting ready to talk some Florida-Georgia. Going to be joined by our man Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports, a good friend of the show. Comes on every year. Going to get his thoughts on this game and see what his keys are.
Nick: Yeah. Barrett riled up social media yesterday. Listen, Barrett is good at his job. He’s fair and a good friend to you and I over the years.
Andrew: And not a Georgia fan.
Nick: No. He’s not a Georgia fan. You can’t tell Twitter that.
Andrew: I believe he went to Auburn.
Nick: We’ll ask him. Barrett will say, he hates your team. It doesn’t matter what your team is, he hates your team. That’s his running joke.
Andrew: Exactly. Get his thoughts on that. Then we’re going to come back. Dan Mullen talked to the media on Tuesday, and so did Todd Grantham and Brian Johnson, so we’ll talk about that as well. Just start to dive into this game a little bit more, as we get into now Wednesday of Florida-Georgia week.
Nick: Let’s go.
Andrew: Let’s go to Barrett, and we’ll come back. Then we’ll talk about what Mullen had to say.
Guys, we’re back with our man, Barrett. First of all, Barrett, thanks for coming on. I’ll say it for everyone, we apologize about how Florida fans acted to you this week.
Barrett: It’s all good. Honestly, I’m honest about things, and if people don’t like it, people don’t like my opinions, that’s fine. That’s totally okay. It happens every week for some fanbase that gets all bent out of shape. Look, someone’s got to be the internet’s punching bag. It might as well be me, someone who can have fun with it, and not somebody who can’t, like someone who rhymes with Culkin.
Andrew: He gets a little furious. Here’s the thing with all of it, Barrett. I told this to Nick, and I’ll ask you the same question with the whole Mullen thing. Would it have been as bad had he not been in the headlines the last two weeks? With the whole 90,000 people, the whole voting thing that was nonsense. Would things have been as bad on Saturday had he just not piled mistake on top of mistake?
Barrett: It wouldn’t in my mind. Honestly, I separate all that stuff. I know there are more folks that try to lump everything together, and that didn’t shape my opinion on it. In the national media, yeah. There probably was a little more to that. But no, for me, it was a nonfactor. I kind of take things and segment them out and compartmentalize. I just view it for what it is, and that’s Dan making a couple of big-time mistakes.
Andrew: He’s been known for his …
Nick: I think a lot of it is that because of the comments he’s made, the 90,000 and doubling down, only walking it back kind of after having to go to the principal’s office and be told to walk it back, and then the whole Covid thing. That all happens within like a 72-hour span.
I think you just have you’re under a microscope now from people that interested in college football, but you’ve also made yourself and your program a national story. So, now you have people who maybe aren’t familiar with Dan and kind of the way he talks and does things now paying attention to him. Then what happened Saturday night happened. Not saying that that’s good, but I’ve seen football teams get into fights like that before. I just think you’ve put yourself under a microscope the last couple weeks, and you’ve also put yourself on a bigger stage, where people who aren’t even necessarily college football commentators or fans are now paying attention to the Florida Gators because of other reasons.
Barrett: I think that part of it’s true. You guys have to do it all day long. For me, being based in Atlanta and covering the SEC for the majority of the time, I focus on Florida anyway. But yeah, the folks outside of our little bubble that aren’t even college football fans, or only heard about what Dan’s done over the last three weeks, they probably will have a different opinion, or have their opinions shaped on those things. Like I said, to me it was just a mistake that really had nothing to do with any of that other stuff.
Andrew: I agree. Now that we’re past that a little bit, let’s get into this Georgia game. This is pretty much what we all expected in June or July or August, or whatever it was going to be, that this game was going to decide who goes to the East.
Barrett: That’s always been the case. Well, not always, but it’s mostly the case anyway. Yeah. I don’t know if anybody expected these teams to actually take the paths they’ve taken. Florida with being unable to stop anybody on 3rd down until last weekend, and Georgia not having a quarterback at all and a defense that is completely banged up. It’s different than I think a lot of folks expected, but it has the same ramifications. It has the same local, regional, and national importance. I can’t wait for it. To me, it’s one of the best games every year on the college football calendar. Even though it’s going to be different this year with the absence of a normal sized crowd, it still means a lot. I said this on HQ on Tuesday. It’s one of those games where you can talk about division and national championship ramifications, but it really is all about bragging rights for both those teams.
Nick: For sure. Go ahead, Andrew.
Andrew: No. I was going to just get into a little bit, and that is we’ve all talked about the struggles of Stetson at quarterback and just how bad things have been at times. Is it really that much of a gap between him and Mathis and JT Daniels and possibly even Carson Beck? What do you hear on that front?
Barrett: They say yes, and I just can’t imagine that being the case though, because they don’t trust Stetson. They game plan around him. They make sure that he does not have a say in the passing game of what happens, or at least they try to do that. There is a gap. I really wonder how bad JT Daniels and D’Wan Mathis are. I don’t understand why, if you’re going to have Stetson be a willing runner, which is what they sort of have evolved into, why not put D’Wan Mathis back there? He ran 10 times in the first half of the game he got benched in. At least he was part of a plan that included a multidimensional rushing attack.
If that’s what Georgia’s going to be, I don’t understand why Stetson’s still in there. If it’s going to be a passing team, I don’t understand why Stetson’s still in there. Maybe JT is not as healthy as he should be. Obviously, he’s cleared to play and practice and stuff, but maybe there’s just not confidence in that. I don’t know, but it’s a major problem. They’re not winning the SEC East with Stetson Bennett at quarterback, especially considering their calling card is winning with defense, and I’m not sure they have that right now.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: Obviously, first off, really just sad news about Richard LeCounte, but then good news that maybe it’s not … and you talk about an accident like that, and you think life threatening immediately. Certainly good news that it’s not that, but a number of Georgia starters out on defense. I see this game being a little different. I think if you look back like the last 14 years whoever runs the ball better is the team that wins this game. I think Georgia certainly with Stetson Bennett at quarterback will try to run the ball. That’s their offense. That’s not really what Florida does. Do you think that this is the year that that bucks the trend, that Florida could win this game with 500 yards passing and 100 yards rushing, and Georgia runs for 170?
Barrett: I don’t know about Georgia running for 170, but yeah.
Nick: Hypothetical numbers there, of course.
Barrett: With LeCounte out and with Jordan Davis out and Rochester out. Monty Rice is banged up, and Tyrique Stevenson got banged up last week. The narrative that Georgia has this great defense is true, or was true earlier in the season, but things change, and a lot has changed on that defense. I think certainly this is going to be one where Florida’s going to put a ton of points, and they’re basically going to say, Stetson, go keep up with us, and if you’re a Georgia fan, that’s got to be concerning, because I don’t think there’s anybody who thinks he can actually do that.
Andrew: Let me ask you this, Barrett. I’m asking this from a dumb standpoint, because I do not know enough about the backups on the Georgia line to say for sure on this. Do you feel like Georgia can get enough pressure on Kyle Trask that if they do decide to go more of just a one-dimensional throwing the ball that they can get pressure? I mean, that’s where Florida struggles is when pressure gets to Trask.
Barrett: I don’t think that it can. They’ve got depth, obviously, and they’ve got ways to scheme around it, but they run a 3-4 scheme that essentially depends on Jordan Davis. That’s what he does. He doesn’t rack up stats. He frees everybody up to do their thing, and they don’t have another nose guard like that. They just don’t have one that can be effective. If there’s one spot that they couldn’t afford to lose a player, it’s at nose guard. So, no, I don’t think they have the bodies to be able to game plan around that. I think just in general the defense is built up the middle, so to speak, and when two of those guys, Jordan Davis up front and Richard LeCounte out back, are hurt, that’s a major problem.
Nick: Just I guess getting away a little bit from the game, the X’s and O’s, Dan Mullen’s 24-6, two New Year’s Six bowl wins, but at the University of Florida there’s some teams that you can’t lose to. You can’t lose to Florida State. You can’t lose to Georgia. You can’t lose to Tennessee. Dan’s not on the hot seat, but what happens if Florida doesn’t win this game Saturday? Just from a fan perspective, from a program perspective, how would that change the thought process or how Dan is viewed, starting 0-3 against Georgia?
Barrett: I think he’d be viewed a lot like Mark Richt was at Georgia, where you can build these really solid, really effective teams that are on the cusp almost consistently but can’t get over that hump. So, I think that’s kind of where he would lie, where the narrative would go, is that he’s Florida’s version of Mark Richt, which is a compliment and a slight, because Mark Richt got Georgia into discussion every single year. That’s pretty much what any team wants and needs is to be in the discussion every year, and Dan’s doing that at Florida, but you got to beat your rivals.
I’m sure fans would be upset, and they should be, especially considering the state of the Georgia team right this very instant. Even though they’re #5 or whatever, I think all of us look around and say, they’re not even close to being a championship caliber team, based on the offense and based on the injuries. If they lose this one, it would be the most painful one yet, and I think it would put him in that camp like Mark Richt was at Georgia when he got there.
Nick: That’s a good point.
Andrew: I was going to say, I think that’s exactly what it is. Had this been a Georgia team that was still reeling off the Alabama win and was a true #5 team in the country, it maybe is not as bad, but like you said, Barrett, I think with as bad as the program is, it’s kind of like now or never. If you don’t win now, when do you expect to win?
Barrett: Exactly. Because we know Georgia’s not going away. They’ve obviously, I think, fallen on some really hard times this year, and it has yet to reflect itself in the record, but they’re not going away. The recruiting is there. It’s obviously been the calling card of Kirby Smart, and Dan’s recruiting fine, and he’s a great coach. If he can’t get them now, it’s going to be a lot harder in the future. I think that’s a narrative that is, I think, valid, and I don’t think it’s going to go away, even beyond this year. If Dan wins, what do you view this win as? One that Florida should win, even though Vegas seems to disagree, and I don’t know why. That’s not going to be the case every year. In fact, more times than not I would imagine that Florida’s going to roll into this thinking, you know what, at the very worst this is an even matchup for everybody involved. There’s no doubt. The time’s now.
Andrew: Let me ask you this, Barrett.
Nick: Real quick. Let me jump in real quick, Andrew. Actually, you can go ahead, because I’m probably changing topics here. Go ahead.
Andrew: Well, I’m going to change topics as well. Barrett, when you look at the SEC in general, how close is anyone to Bama? Say Florida wins the game, gets to Atlanta, do you see this being a Jim McElwain SEC Championship game, where it’s just a blowout, or do you think maybe this is a close football game? I think Bama probably rolls by 14.
Barrett: It depends on who the opponent is. If it’s Georgia, then it’s going to be like a McElwain SEC Championship game. If it’s Florida, I think that they’ve got much more of a chance to at least content with Alabama, because they can get into an Alabama-style game. They have the kind of offense that can go into a shootout and potentially win one. I wouldn’t pick them to beat Alabama, but styles dictate fights, and the Georgia style would not compete. We saw that two weeks ago. The Georgia style in Atlanta would not compete with Alabama. In Florida’s case, styles make fights, and they’ve got the right style to win the fight. Now, actually doing it might be different, but certainly I think it would be a competitive game.
Nick: That would be the last Florida and Alabama game in the history of Florida and Alabama playing football. That’s just like we’re jumping into our Ferrari. You get into your McLaren, and let’s just hit the gas and see who gets there first.
Andrew: First one to 60 wins.
Barrett: I’m here for it.
Nick: Yeah. No. Probably just the last offense to have the ball probably wins that game.
Andrew: Punters stay home.
Barrett: It would be like the first half of Florida-Texas A&M.
Nick: Here we go. This is a professional podcast, professional segue from offense to defense. I certainly didn’t expect Florida’s defense to look the way that they did the first three weeks. I think it’s kind of shown that Ole Miss is going to be able to score on whoever they’re playing against. Todd Grantham’s kind of always struggled with good offensive coaches that have senior or veteran quarterbacks, and that’s what A&M had. I have no excuse for what happened against South Carolina.
I think Saturday was more of what I expected. To me, and we’ve said on our podcast, just wanted to get your opinion on it, I don’t think Kyree Campbell is Aaron Donald or anything, but when you get him back, now you’re playing Zach Carter in the right position. You’re playing Brenton Cox in the right position. I think what we saw from Florida Saturday is what I kind of expected. In your opinion, do you think that that’s the Florida defense we’ll see moving forward, or was that just a good game plan against maybe an overmatched Missouri?
Barrett: That’s the Florida that I think you’ll see moving forward, because you’re right. You got Campbell doing what he’s supposed to do, and Brenton Cox I think is a guy who really in terms of the athleticism there was never any doubt. It’s a matter of does he have his head screwed on straight? Can he focus? Can he do all the things that he needs to do to be a star? Then so far it seems like he has. I think, because of that, yeah. Really you go back and look at Florida when they were “struggling”, really it was only 3rd down. It was awful on 3rd down, but really it was only 3rd down. They held Missouri to what, 3 of 15 or something like that?
Andrew: It was like 1 of 11 first three quarters.
Barrett: Yeah. That’s fine. It’s not going to be the Florida defenses that we saw at times under Urban Meyer and even back to Steve Spurrier, because that was a big part of their success back then. It’s not supposed to be. You’re not supposed to have those kind of defenses anymore. It’d be great if did, but nobody does. You’re supposed to have just enough, and to have just enough you got to be strong on 3rd down. You got to be strong in the red zone. For the most part, Florida looked that part on Saturday, so I expect that moving forward. I think the layoff, Todd Grantham probably self-scouted more than he ever has and figured out exactly what the problem was. I expect a lot of that moving forward. As long as they’re healthy and there are no suspensions or Covid cases or whatever, then I think they’ll be fine.
Andrew: I think what you just said though– Hold on a second, Nick. I’ll say this. I think what you said is correct, Barrett, and that defensive football is frowned upon in this age of recruiting nowadays.
Barrett: Yeah.
Andrew: Go ahead, Nick.
Barrett: You find players who can play.
Nick: You can go ahead and finish there, Barrett.
Barrett: You find players who can play defense, but really all you’re looking for are players who can make big plays. You’re not going to have defenses that give up 300 yards a game. That’s just not reality these days.
Andrew: You want the turnover chain and the robe and everything else, like Missouri has.
Barrett: The robe was pretty solid. Not going to lie. I liked the turnover robe. The turnover chain I’m not a fan of. Turnover robe was good. I still am partial to the scepter that Texas A&M had last year. That was solid.
Nick: I liked that one.
Andrew: I want the selfie. Let’s get the selfie going, Barrett.
Barrett: The Marcell Ozuna selfie. I love it.
Nick: Just a moment of silence for the Tennessee trash can, which really kicked this all off.
Barrett: I loved that trash can. It was awesome. God bless Butch Jones.
Andrew: Life champions.
Nick: Self-awareness levels were at a critical low.
Barrett: I miss that man as a head coach so much.
Nick: It’s Florida-Georgia. It’s going to be different, less fans in the stands, no tailgating, at least on campus. I’m sure the city of Jacksonville’s bars will be open for people, if you want to get a couple drinks before the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, but it’s a lot on the line. Florida-Georgia, whoever wins this is in the driver’s seat for the SEC East. Georgia’s also got a much easier rest of the road than Florida does. Florida still has to play Kentucky and at Tennessee as well. Barrett, what is your prediction heading into this week?
Barrett: Florida fans who yelled at me about my Mullen opinion probably don’t want to hear this, because they hate me now, but I think Florida wins by double digits. You could not pick a worse time, if you’re Georgia, to play Florida, because the defense is in shambles, and Florida’s offense is one of the best in the country. Georgia’s offense is just a train wreck and one-dimensional, and Florida’s defense is getting right. So, I think it’s going to be a situation where Florida’s going to score 30, and does Stetson Bennett have it in him to go throw for throw with Kyle Trask? Absolutely not. Does JT Daniels? If he did, he’d have probably played by now. Does D’Wan Mathis? If he did, he’d probably play, after getting benched. To me, I’m floored, absolutely floored that Florida was and is an underdog. Maybe it’s people who don’t pay attention in depth to what is happening at Georgia, but that is the worst #5 team I’ve seen in a very long time.
Nick: They don’t build palaces for being wrong, Barrett, but I agree with you there. I’m also not building palaces in the desert by making lines.
Andrew: I have to ask you this.
Barrett: That’s right. You know what, if we were right about everything, we’d be living in our penthouses in Vegas and having our staff make picks for us in the sports book.
Nick: You’re not in your penthouse as we talk to you right now?
Barrett: No. I’m in my office. My tiny little office with a tiny little TV.
Andrew: Barrett, I have to ask you this real quick, and then I promise we’ll get you out of here. I know you follow everyone around the country a lot, and specifically the SEC. Would you have Kyle Trask in your top five of the Heisman right now?
Barrett: Yeah. For sure. No doubt. I would have him top five. I think you’d have to put him in there with Mac Jones. I think you’d still have to put Trevor in, even though he sat out last week. I think you’d have to put Justin Fields in, because in two games he looks awesome. I’d probably put those five. I know I hate to put all quarterbacks in, but I’m kind of frustratingly regressing into the mindset that it’s a quarterback award and only a quarterback award. Yeah. I think Kyle would definitely be in that mix.
Andrew: Are you okay with our Falcons drafting Justin Fields?
Nick: No, no. Let’s not turn this into a Braves, Falcons podcast. I see what you’re trying to do here.
Barrett: I’m fine with the Falcons doing anything that’s not stupid, which they will do, because they’re idiots.
Andrew: Yeah. Barrett, listen man, we really appreciate it, as always, man. I know you’re a busy man, and we appreciate it, as always. Look forward to talking to you hopefully about an SEC Championship game.
Barrett: Absolutely. Thank you guys for having me. Nick, sorry about your Marlins in the NLDS. Not really. I’m not sorry.
Nick: I knew you were not.
Andrew: He’s used to being terrible.
Nick: The least genuine thing I’ve heard.
Andrew: He’s used to being terrible.
Barrett: That’s true. I suck.
Andrew: Barrett, take care, man.
Nick: Barrett, tell everyone where to follow you. I’m sure they already know where to follow you on social, but your stories and everything else.
Barrett: Just download the CBS Sports app. Watch CBS Sports HQ streaming, Sirius XM. BarrettSallee on all the social medias. All of them, I think. I had Tik Tok, but I deleted it off my phone.
Nick: I was just about to ask, what’s your Tik Tok like?
Barrett: I do have the Tik Tok. I did like one or two, and then I said, you know what? I don’t really want China having access to my stuff, so that got deleted really quickly.
Andrew: At least you guys remember to put the game on. I’m watching the game from home on Saturday, and ESPN forgets to put the SEC Alternate Network on Direct TV.
Barrett: Did they really?
Andrew: Yeah. It came on in the middle of the second quarter.
Barrett: I had it on the iPad. I have YouTube TV, so I never expected it. I had it on the iPad the whole time.
Andrew: Middle of the second quarter before it comes on.
Barrett: Lovely. Absolutely lovely.
Andrew: Definitely. Barrett, listen, we really appreciate it, man, and we’ll talk to you soon.
Barrett: See you guys.
Nick: Thanks, Barrett.
Andrew: Guys, we’re back. Good stuff from our man, Barrett. Always appreciated. Fellow Braves fan, so he knows what he’s talking about.
Nick: He does. Listen, I think it’s just part of the job. Barrett covers nationally, but he knows his stuff. Like I said before, good friend of ours. He’s going to have a fanbase mad at him every week. I’m if Georgia fans listen to that segment from the podcast that’ll be the team that hates him this week.
Andrew: Like we said before, I can understand where some people get upset about it, and that’s their way of thinking, and that’s okay. At the end of the day, that’s the freedom we get is to disagree with people and not hurt somebody’s feelings. That’s kind of where I’m at. I don’t hold anything against Barrett for having that opinion. I think that a lot of people have that opinion, and it is what it is.
Nick: Right. Someone’s always somewhere not going to like your opinion.
Andrew: I think what he said though is exactly what you and I have talked about, and that is if any of the guys that were behind Bennett was worth a crap, they’d be playing. So, to say they may play this week, I don’t see it. Unless this is some Kirby mastermind plan, which it wouldn’t shock me. He does some dumb things to just get at Florida, just like Mullen does sometimes. Unless he’s just been saving one of the guys, which I don’t see why he would do that. If any of those guys were better than Bennett, they’d be in by now.
Nick: Yeah. That would be, speaking of Darth Mullen, that would be some Jedi mind tricks for Kirby to play Stetson Bennett all year long over these other guys, and then all of a sudden, this week be the week to flip it and throw a guy in there against a Florida defense, which I think found its footing last week against Missouri. To throw a guy into the wolves like that, I don’t see it.
Andrew: Right. That’s what I’m saying. I don’t see it either. That’s kind of where I’m at in my opinion. If those guys were better, they’d have been playing by now. Obviously, they’re not, because they haven’t been. I’m like Barrett, and I hate to go this route, because we kind of went that route with A&M, but I don’t know that Georgia can keep up with Florida. Again, my biggest key into the game is seeing how Florida will stop the running game, just because that’s something Florida did struggle with. They weren’t tested a ton last week, but I think definitely having Kyree Campbell back helps the situation overall. That’ll be the key overall is just how they stop it.
Nick: Exactly what you were able to do against Missouri last week, hold them to 40 yards. You don’t have to hold Georgia to 40 rushing yards, but you have to, like you said on our Monday podcast, you have to make Georgia one-dimensional. If they’re going to beat you, it has to be because Stetson Bennett and the Georgia passing attack did so.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Like Barrett said, you know. It feels nice to cover this team, because I go in every week, I expect Florida’s offense to score 30+ every single week. If that’s my expectation, which it is, even against, or not even against. Georgia’s defense, they are great, but we’ll see what they look like and how great they still are with all the players they’re missing and the players that they have banged up. I still think Florida scores 30. It’s like what Barrett said. Florida’s going to score 30. Stetson, can you score 30 on our defense now? That’s what it’s going to come down to. I don’t think so.
Andrew: I don’t know that he can score 30 on routes on air. That’s just how bad of a quarterback he is. I mean, it reminds me a little bit of that game for McElwain, where they started their punter. Remember that game? It was like their third-string quarterback. It was their punter.
Nick: What was that kid’s name?
Andrew: He was from [INDISTINCT] high school.
Nick: He had a weird name.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: He had a weird name. That’s for sure.
Andrew: That’s what it reminds me of.
Nick: It’s going to be weird. It’s going to be a weird environment. It’s not the same kind of pageantry. There’s only going to be well less than 30% of the stadium full, so it’s going to be an interesting environment. You also have some guys that need to kind of just check yourself. This is going to be an emotionally charged game. I can’t imagine. Brenton Cox isn’t a robot. I can’t imagine the emotions he has with going to Georgia, leaving Georgia, not being able to play last year, having to watch the game as it unfolds from Gainesville or from wherever he was, not on the field, and then going in and finally getting an opportunity to beat your former team. It’s going to be a game where Florida’s going to have to manage those emotions.
There’s a fine line between playing fast and aggressive and playing reckless. I think that’s where Florida needs to find that line and stay there. You need to play fast. You need to be aggressive. You need to be nasty, but if you play recklessly, that’s when you get a busted coverage or a blown gap in a big play.
Andrew: You got to play fundamental ball and be ready, be in the right spot. Mullen talked a little bit on Tuesday. He didn’t want to get into his fine talk. Nick? Nick, we’re here.
Nick: I can hear you.
Andrew: Okay. I said, Mullen didn’t want to get into his fine talk on Tuesday.
Nick: No. He said, we made our statement, and we’re on to Georgia. He Bill Belichick’d us. That’s what he did. Listen, I didn’t expect him to get into anything more than that. I released a statement. It is what it is. He’s not going to go, I mean, I was hoping that he would go the Lane Kiffin route and start counting pennies.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: Maybe would have walked into his Zoom press conference with a wheelbarrow full of them. I think that’s a smart route to take. Just say, we’ve addressed it, and we’re moving forward.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s over with, done with. You kind of want to turn the attention elsewhere, and he did. What else did he have to say?
Nick: We talked to all three coordinators today. Dan Mullen and Todd Grantham both really kind of brought up what I brought up, and what you and I have talked about on the podcast, that Kyree Campbell made a huge difference. Not necessarily just, I mean Kyree Campbell played a good game in his own right, but being able to put guys where they’re supposed to be, after having to play out of position for three weeks. That’s really what helped Florida’s defense. They were both very complimentary of the defense.
They won’t come out and say it. Game week, they won’t come out and say, this game is different because it’s Georgia. We got some of the same, it’s important because it’s a conference game. It’s important because it’s the next game. I think that if you read between the lines, these guys know that it’s different. Not only is it a conference game, not only is it a rivalry game, this is a game that you need to get over the hump.
That’s why I asked Barrett, Dan Mullen can’t start 0-3 against Georgia. He’s built so much good will through winning and winning those bowl games, but if you start 0-3 against Georgia, I thought the Halloween costume was funny on Saturday, that crap’s not going to be funny to Florida fans if you’re 0-3 against Georgia anymore. Dan Mullen’s kind of gruff. He’s cocky. He’s arrogant, and you start losing leash, I think, in the fanbase, if you start 0-3 against Georgia.
The stuff the fans think is funny in press conferences and the things that you do becomes less funny when you start losing to these teams. I remember when Will Muschamp was so fiery on the sidelines. Everyone loved it. Florida starts to lose games, and the program starts to take a downturn, and it’s like, look at our whiny head coach on the sideline. He’s a big baby with his temper tantrums. If you’re winning, winning cures all. You liked it when you were winning, and now that you’re losing it’s a whiny temper tantrum. I think this is a huge week and Saturday and game for Dan Mullen and his career and perception at Florida.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s huge for several reasons. The biggest is you get over the hump. You get a chance to go to Atlanta, and you show you can win one of these big games that matters and is one of those top ten matchups that you need to win. I agree with Barrett in a way, and that is if you keep losing these games and finishing second in the SEC and just winning New Year’s Six bowl games, then you get that Mark Richt tag put to you, and that’s not what you want to be.
Nick: No. I remember when Mark Richt, was he fired or they mutually agreed? Whatever. However they said it. However they framed it, I remember saying at the time to you, and you and I think disagreed on this, I was like, these teams are run like Fortune 500 companies. They make a lot of money. I was like, Mark Richt was a good CEO. You might never win CEO of the year, but you’re not going to have huge losses. You’re not going to have a year where your profits sink because of something he did. You might never be the best, but you’re going to be in the upper echelon pretty consistently.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Like Barrett said, it’s almost like a backhanded compliment to call him a Mark Richt.
Andrew: Not to me.
Nick: I don’t know if Florida fans want Mark Richt or any coach at Florida to be compared to him.
Andrew: Not me. I think he was terrible. I think it is what it is. You can make the case Kirby’s kind of doing the same thing. Yeah, he got to the playoff, but he hasn’t won anything. At the end of the day, you’re only compared to how many championships you got and how many championship appearances you got, and right now Mullen has zero. Big week. Big game. We’ll have our Friday podcast, and we’ll pick some players. We’ll get into a little bit more depth with it.
Nick: Yeah. I think for Dan, just am I going to far? Like legacy game?
Andrew: I don’t think so. I think it’s just because Mullen does have that stigma around him that he’s been at Mississippi State and he hasn’t done much, because he was at Mississippi State. You have that opportunity now.
Nick: That whole perception. You can’t beat top ten teams and stuff like that.
Andrew: Right. The thing about it is the narrative of this game is so changed because of how bad Georgia’s offense is and how good your offense is that it even hypes it up even more.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: Nick, tell everybody where they can find us. We’ll get out of here, and we’ll see everyone on Friday.
Nick: Just came across, before I do that. New good news. No new positive Covid cases for the Gators this week.
Andrew: That means most everyone should be back.
Nick: Yup.
Andrew: Tell them where they can find us.
Nick: We’ll be back on Friday for an action-packed prediction podcast. As always, you can find the podcast at www.GatorCountry.com. All your Florida Gator news. Wherever you listen to podcasts, just search Gator Country. Hit subscribe. Never miss an episode. On social media. @GatorCountry, Facebook and Twitter. @TheGatorCountry on Instagram. I’m @NickdelaTorreGC. He’s @AndrewSpiveyGC.
Andrew: There you go. As always, go Braves and chomp, chomp.
Nick: You stay classy, Gator Country.