Mullen brings sizzle to Georgia-Florida rivalry
Florida-Georgia needs no extra sauce to sizzle. The Gators and Bulldogs stage one of college football’s best rivalries. They’ve played 96 times (Georgia leads 51-43-2) and are the South’s version of OU-Texas, with the game being played in neutral-site Jacksonville all but two years since 1932.
But the rivalry is juiced anyway. Last February, new Florida coach Dan Mullen said, “Listen, winning one SEC Championship Game doesn’t make you a dominant program … in two of the last three years, we’ve been to the SEC Championship Game. So even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile.”
Any guess who won the 2017 SEC Championship Game? Yep, Georgia, before beating Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl to reach the national title game.
And even without the stoking by Mullen, GeorgiaFlorida 2018 would roar. For the first time since 2008, both teams are in the top 10. Georgia is ranked seventh, Florida ninth and both teams are 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC.
The surprise is, the Gators probably enter with more confidence than does Georgia.
Both teams were off last week. But on Oct. 13, LSU thrashed Georgia 36-16. The Saturday before, Florida stunned LSU 27-19.
"I think kids are a lot more resilient than you give them credit for,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “It's the leaders of the program and the organization and the coaches that have to get over it. We're the ones that deal with a loss sometimes harder than the players.”
This is a series, much like OU-Texas, that runs in streaks. Florida won three straight from 2008-10. Georgia won the next three. Florida won three straight from 2014-16. Then Georgia won last year and went on to find a nut in the SEC Championship Game.
Upset Special
Penn State appeared to be a national-championship contender on the night of Sept. 29, when it took a 12-point lead on Ohio State.
But the Nittany Lions squandered that lead and lost 27-26. Then Penn State lost at home to Michigan State and had to squirm past Indiana 33-28.
Meanwhile, Iowa is staging one of its anonymous marches through the Big Ten. Every few years, the Hawkeyes very quietly roll to a fabulous record. This year, Iowa is 6-1, with its only loss 28-17 to Wisconsin.
The Hawkeyes have easily dispatched three straight mediocre Big Ten foes — Minnesota 48-31, Indiana 42-16 and Maryland 23-0.
Saturday, Iowa is a sixpoint underdog at Penn State. But the Hawkeyes have played more consistently. Let’s go with Iowa in the upset.
Coach on the hot seat
Controversy follows Bobby Petrino everywhere. As the Louisville head coach, he politicked to replace his former boss, Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, even though Tuberville still was employed. Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons after 13 games and informed his players by note.
Petrino was fired as head coach at Arkansas when an adulterous affair came to light with a staff member he had recently hired. Now back in his second stint as head coach at Louisville, Petrino has come under fire for playing Kemari Averett in a game four days after Averett was accused of rape.
Despite his many problems, Petrino always lands another job, usually a good job, because he wins. But now Petrino isn’t winning.
The Cardinals are 2-5, with victories only over Indiana State and Western Kentucky.
Saturday, Louisville hosts downtrodden Wake Forest. A loss could the ‘Ville to a 2-10 record, since the schedule is brutal in November.
Petrino’s contract inexplicably calls for a $14 million buyout if he’s fired without cause, but the rape charge looms. Petrino has been forgiven for many things. But Louisville won’t look past losing.
Ranking the games
1. Florida vs. Georgia in Jacksonville, 2:30 p.m., CBS: Jacksonville has hosted this rivalry every year since 1933 except 1994 and 1995, when the series went home-andhome while the Gator Bowl was renovated for the NFL Jaguars
2. Washington State at Stanford, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network: If the Cougars win, they could stay awhile in the national spotlight. The next three games are California, at Colorado, Arizona.
3. Wisconsin at Northwestern, 11 a.m., Fox: The Badgers are considered the best team in the Big Ten West, but the Wildcats actually lead the division, a half-game ahead of Wisconsin.
4. Clemson at Florida State, 11 a.m., ABC: The Seminoles have been playing better, but they’re still a so-so 3-3 with a brutal schedule ahead.
5. South Florida at Houston, 2:30 p.m., ABC: Combined records, 13-1. The Cougars could spoil the American Conference’s dream matchup of unbeaten USF vs. Central Florida.
6. Kentucky at Missouri, 3 p.m., SEC Network: UK is 6-1 and ranked 12th; Mizzou is 0-3 in the SEC. But Kentucky is a 7-point underdog. That’s what happens when there’s a big quarterback edge — Del City’s Terry Wilson has struggled for the Wildcats.
7. Iowa at Penn State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN: Iowa doesn’t have to play Michigan or Ohio State. Win this game, and the Hawkeyes could win the Big Ten West.
8. Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 6 p.m., ESPN: A&M has two great losses — close to Clemson and moderate to Alabama. Now the Aggies want to start piling up some good wins.
9. Purdue at Michigan State, 11 a.m., ESPN: How did Purdue lose at home to Eastern Michigan on Sept. 8 and rout Ohio State 49-20 on the same patch of grass six weeks later?
10. Notre Dame vs. Navy in San Diego, 7 p.m., CBS: The Midshipmen have been playing Notre Dame tough for years — four victories in the last 11 seasons, plus three close losses — but this Navy team is down from the Annapolis standard.