Gator trouble, Part 2
Already the season has begun badly for the Florida Gators and coach Will Muschamp.
The opener? Postponed by Mother Nature. Muschamp? He went over the edge during the SEC conference call this past week when questioned about bringing back three suspended players, who hadn’t really missed a game.
Then the injury bug, which devastated the Gators last season, bit quickly Saturday against Eastern Michigan.
Tight end Jake McGee, a transfer from Virginia who is in graduate school, was carted off the field with a lower leg injury. He pulled off his helmet in obvious pain as his lower leg and ankle were placed in an air cast. He was carted to the locker room.
Mother Nature, Part 2
For the second week in a row, an SEC game was halted by bad weather.
On Aug. 30, the Florida game was cancelled when the Swamp truly was swamped.
On Saturday, Alabama led Florida Atlantic 41-0 halfway through the fourth quarter when lightning delayed the game, and then the athletic directors decided to call it. By the way, Alabama was a 40-point favorite.
He said it
“We’re learning how to win. Teams find ways to win football games when they don’t play their best football, so I’m very proud of them that way, but make no mistake about it, we’ve got a long ways to go.” — Tennessee coach Butch Jones. The Volunteers are 2-0 for the fourth consecutive year, but they finished below .500 in each of the previous three. And Saturday they travel to No. 4 Oklahoma.
Inside the numbers
- Alabama's Amari Cooper tied the school record with 13 receptions, and he eclipsed 100 yards receiving (career-high 189) for his fourth consecutive game.
- Blake Sims (214) and Jake Coker (202) became the first Crimson Tide quarterbacks to both surpass 200 yards passing in the same game, and the 416 yards total was second in school history (484 in loss to Auburn, 1969).
- Missouri's Maty Mauk, playing 75 miles from his hometown, guided the Tigers to a 49-24 victory at Toledo. Mauk had a career-high 325 passing yards and five touchdowns, tying his single-game record.
- Arkansas State, a loser to Tennessee on Saturday, is 0-45 against the SEC, although the Red Wolves did beat Texas A&M in 2008 when the Aggies were in the Big 12.
Next Saturday
Massachusetts at Vandy, noon
Central Florida Missouri, noon, SECN
Arkansas at Texas Tech, 3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Georgia at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Mississippi State at South Alabama, 4 p.m.
La.-Lafayette at Ole Miss, 4 p.m., SECN
Southern Miss at Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN2
La.-Monroe at LSU, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Kentucky at Florida, 7;30 p.m., SECN
Tennessee at Oklahoma, 8 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Rice at Texas A&M, 9 p.m., ESPN2
