Dooley’s Back Nine: Stubborn Money Don’t Make Money
The Back Nine comes at you after a beautiful weekend unless you were DJ Lagway or Billy Napier. Yeesh, this is getting ugly.
10. All I could think of Saturday night after Lagway threw his fifth interception was the late John Reaves. He still has the record with nine interceptions thrown in a game at UF and like LSU did Saturday, that Auburn team was effective when it played zone defense. If Saturday’s game had a few more possessions, Lagway might have broken the record. It’s one thing when you throw five tipped-ball picks, but these five were just a result of a guy who can’t see the field. I get Napier’s explanation that Lagway is still a young quarterback who missed so much time that he’s about to have his fifth week of practice this year. Then, maybe rely a little more on the run instead of handing the ball to your strongest and fastest player only 10 carries and chunking the ball 49 times.
11. The Lagway-Napier dynamic is going to be dissected all week, because Florida has invested so much in him that he can’t be benched. Clearly, he is struggling, but part of the issue is that Florida’s vaunted offensive line is not getting the job done. LSU sent pressure and the line couldn’t handle it. Neither could the quarterback. I know, you all want the backup quarterback in there. You know, stubborn money don’t make money.
12. The question I was already getting before the game and certainly will after it is the obvious one. When? When will Florida decide that enough is enough and while we appreciate everything Napier has done off the field, he isn’t getting it done on the field and in the end, that’s all that really matters. We all appreciate players with good character and high GPAs, but when your team has had more touchdowns called back (three) than it has scored (two) in the last two weeks, you have a problem. When your defense has allowed two touchdowns all season and you’re 1-2, you have a problem. When there is a real chance you could go all-FSU-2024 on us and win only two games this season, you have a problem.
Loading ...13. You might think Napier would have been a little salty after this loss like when Urban Meyer welled up after losing in Red Stick. Instead, the coach sniping at what he called “stupid questions” was LSU’s Brian Kelly. He didn’t like questions about an offense that is averaging 17.7 points a game. He prefers the stat that matters – 3-0. “You’re spoiled,” he bellowed. “This is ridiculous for a group of seasoned reporters. That kind of question is so out of line.” Well, it might not have been the best first question, but the offense is an issue. But it’s also not my problem. Neither is getting yelled at by millionaires.
14. Last week, I was so upset I couldn’t watch any football for a couple of days. Thankfully, I didn’t let it bother me this week and it was a spectacular weekend for great games. The best thing I saw was the ACC giving a peek behind the curtain at the replay review, something they first started in the XFL or UFL or USFL or whatever that pretend league is now. It was so fascinating, I kept wanting reviews of calls. Boy, can you imagine if the SEC did that?
15. It was a week when The Picks actually finished above .500. OK, Dr. Football isn’t crowing over a 3-2 mark, but it is now 8-10 on the season against the spread. Hey, Napier is one game below .500 and I’m two, but nobody wants me fired except my wife. On to this week:
- Florida is a 7.5-point underdog at Miami (all spreads courtesy of MyBookie.ag) and you may want to jump on that early. The Hurricanes did to South Florida what good teams do to inferior teams – blow them out of the stadium. I’ll take the Fighting Ibis to cover.
- Auburn is a 6.5-point dog at Oklahoma and I don’t think Aubie is all that good. So, I’m going with Boomer Sooner to cover.
- Illinois is at Indiana in what should be a rock fight. The Hoosiers are favored by 4.5, but I like the Illini to win outright.
- Who would have thought Texas Tech at Utah would be a big game? The Utes are favored by 3.5 points and I will take them to cover.
- Because of the head injury to South Carolina’s quarterback, Mizzou is a 13.5-point favorite over the Gamies. Those points are tempting. Too tempting. I’ll take SC.
16. Man, it didn’t take a huge sample size this season for the chopping block to cut off the heads of two Power 4 head coaches. DeShaun Foster, who felt like an odd hire at UCLA, and Brent Pry at Virginia Tech were both fired after 0-3 starts. Of course, neither had Long Island on their schedules.
17. Very nice win for volleyball against No. 20 Baylor and I watched it so I will receive a participation trophy. No? Well, the Gator coaching staff gets to go home this weekend as Florida takes on coach Ryan Theis’ old team in Marquette on Friday at 7 p.m. on FS1 and plays at Wisconsin on Sunday.
18. The weather turned just enough to get the grill fired up and listen to this playlist:
- “Don’t Let Me Go” by Tom Odell.
- “Call Me (Whatever You Like)” by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.
- And for an old one, “Psychotic Reaction” by the Count Five, although I liked it better when Stan Lynch sang it live for the Heartbreakers and the Dirty Knobs.
WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, Pat Dooley
