Tag: College Sports Wire

Trio of Gators listed in College Sports Wire’s top SEC performers of Week 7

There is little doubt that these three Gators were big performers in Week 7.

Week 7 saw some superlative performances by a trio of Florida football players, whose team stormed back from a 10-point game with less than 10 minutes remaining to seal a 41-39 victory at the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Gators were en fuego on offense for a good deal of the game, coming out strong, scoring on their first four drives and five of six in the first half. Quarterback Graham Mertz, while still showing some struggles on downfield passes, had one of the best games of his collegiate career — thanks in large part to the efforts of wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and tight end Arlis Boardingham.

Following last weekend’s action, College Sports Wire took a look at the top performers in the Southeastern Conference during Week 7, which includes the three aforementioned Gators. Below is a breakdown of each of their respective efforts.

College Sports Wire names Gators edge rusher for All-SEC team

The junior from Manor, Texas has collected two sacks this season along with the second most tackles-for-loss for Florida with four.

We’ve arrived to the mid-point of the 2023 college football season and it’s clear which players are standing out on the gridiron and destined to be all-time players.

The Florida Gators have plenty of talented athletes on its defensive front and coordinator Austin Armstrong has been utilizing his big weapons of front to hold every opponent (besides Kentucky) to less than 25 points.

College Sports Wire staff writer Ryan Haley listed his choice for the 2023 All-SEC selections. He wrote that the best defensemen are difficult to choose, but he’s giving his votes with confidence.

“Another position easily fooled by the box score, the best defensive linemen don’t always rack up counting stats,” Haley wrote. “Georgia’s Jordan Davis was one of the more dominant defensive tackles in recent years despite only tallying 32 tackles and two sacks his last year in Athens. There’s no perfect way to measure the best, and the SEC always has the best linemen on both sides of the ball, but here are some of its standouts.”

Representing the Florida Gators is edge rusher [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag], who has been getting to the backfield with ease and leads the Gator defense in sacks. The junior from Manor, Texas has collected two sacks this season along with the second most tackles-for-loss for Florida with four.

Umanmielen has racked up 14 total tackles while on the field.

Also on the edge for Haley’s All-SEC list is James Pearce Jr., who’s had just about the same success as Umanmielen, collecting 10 total tackles and getting to the quarterback for five sacks.

Umanmielen and the Florida Gators will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to take on the Gamecocks in a mid-afternoon matchup at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Where LSU stands in College Sports Wire’s power rankings after loss to Ole Miss

The Tigers are barely hanging on to a ranking after their latest loss.

LSU began coach Brian Kelly’s second season ranked as the No. 5 team in the nation by both polls, but after suffering two losses in the month of September, the Tigers are barely hanging on to a ranking, at all.

That’s the case in both polls, and it’s also the case in the latest college football power rankings from College Sports Wire, which ranks LSU’s 21st in the nation after a 55-49 loss at Ole Miss in Week 5.

The Tigers will look to bounce back with another tough matchup on the road this week as they face Missouri in Columbia. Here’s what College Sports Wire said about LSU.

LSU boasts one of the nation’s most explosive offenses, and it is getting a Heisman-caliber campaign from quarterback Jayden Daniels. But the defense has serious issues as it has been torched by the best offenses it has faced this season. The Tigers’ CFP hopes are likely over with two losses before October, and it seems like the program’s most prolific offense since 2019 will go to waste.

LSU certainly has one of the nation’s top offenses, but issues on the defensive side of the ball are really costing it right now. The Tigers will hope to get those issues fixed against a Missouri offense that’s playing very well to start the season.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Should LSU fans be worried about Brian Kelly’s road issues?

There is no doubt that LSU is a different team on the road.

College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley took a look at Brian Kelly’s record on the road while at LSU. Although the Tigers took a trip to Starkville and destroyed the Mississippi State Bulldogs, that is the only time Kelly has won a road game by 10 points or more since he became the head coach at LSU.

Kelly has a 13-6 record at LSU and five of those six losses occurred while on the road. That does count for two neutral site games. LSU lost to Florida State, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida State again and Ole Miss on the road. The only other loss happened at home against Tennessee.

“The 2023 sample sizes are too small to really judge yet, especially with the quality of road opponents,” Haley wrote. “But LSU gained 400 yards of offense in five of seven home games last season, a feat they repeated just three times away from Tiger Stadium, including once in four true road games. Their points per game dropped from 37.9 in front of their own fans to 31.1 otherwise, effectively the difference between the 12th-best offense in the country and the 44th. Even defensively, four of the five games they allowed 6.0 yards per play or more were either on the road or in a neutral site.”

There is no doubt that LSU is a different team on the road. If the Tigers lose this week to Missouri, this trend could get even uglier.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

College Sports Wire previews Florida-Vanderbilt matchup ahead of Week 6

Check out what College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley had to say for Florida’s matchup with Vanderbilt.

There are plenty of battles to watch this week if you’re a fan of the SEC. The saying, “It just means more,” will never cease to be true and will especially be the case with the Week 6 slate of conference football.

College Sports Wire staff writer Ryan Haley broke down the top matchups of the week and included the annual bout between Florida and Vanderbilt, closing out his list.

Here’s what Haley had to say regarding Florida’s next home game.

“I didn’t need a fifth game on this list unless one really jumped out to me, and I considered leaving this one off,” Haley said. “The Commodores aren’t the team that went 5-28 from 2019-2021 anymore, but that doesn’t make them fearsome.

“They have one of the conference’s worst defenses, and they’ve given the ball away 12 times already, one of the worst marks in the nation even adjusting for an extra game. But they beat Florida last year, even with star quarterback Anthony Richardson, and he’s not in Gainesville anymore.

“The Gators impressed in their SEC debut against Tennessee,” Haley continued, “but couldn’t stop a nosebleed on the ground against Kentucky in an upset loss a week ago. Now, Billy Napier has a revenge game and a bounceback game in one, and how the Gators respond will set the tone for later matchups, notably Georgia.”

Florida has a winding path until they take on Georgia later in October. They host Vandy this weekend and then travel north to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. Both games are winnable, but not if the Gators continue to play the way they did against Kentucky.

The Florida Gators host Vanderbilt on Saturday and will kick off at 4 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame at Duke

Do the Irish bounce back?

As disappointing as Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State was, the time to dwell on it has passed. If it hasn’t for the Irish, they’ll be in trouble against Duke, and that will mean the end of any College Football Playoff hopes. Their job is to not let that happen. If they’re mentally strong enough, they won’t.

Let’s see if any experts agree that the Irish will be able to move past their last game:

Florida football earns spot in College Sports Wire’s power rankings

The Florida Gators earned a spot in this week’s power rankings from the College Sports Wire.

The Florida Gators are on a three-game win streak and resume the SEC schedule on Saturday as it prepares for a road trip to Lexington, Kentucky.

Before another week of college football chaos begins, College Sports Wire released its power rankings of top 25 teams in the nation. The Gators missed the list in previous entries but earned a spot at No. 22 before Week 5.

The experts at College Sports Wire share confidence with the Florida defense, but not much the offense.

“Florida’s ceiling is higher than many expected in 2023 thanks to the strides it has made on the defensive side of the ball with first-year coordinator Austin Armstrong. Florida has a talented rushing attack, as well, though it has been a bit limited due to some early-season injuries along the offensive line.”

“The Gators’ offense sorely lacks explosive plays, something that will likely cost it as the season goes on, but transfer quarterback Graham Mertz has been hyperefficient so far leading a group that does a good job of minimizing turnovers.”

The defense looks stellar, giving up less than 25 points to every opponent and only allowing 2.8 yards a carry to opposing running backs. The weapons on offense, particularly running backs Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne, keep the ball moving down the field to set up scoring chances.

Quarterback Graham Mertz has been on point, finding and utilizing players like wideouts Ricky Pearsall and Eugene Wilson. The College Sports Wire staff has a good point that a lack of big plays downfield will end up being a crutch as the season moves along.

Pearsall’s recent one-handed catch against Charlotte is the most excitement the Gators have displayed. That might change this weekend when Florida tries to take down the Kentucky Wildcats on the road.

Kickoff on Saturday is set for noon EDT and the game will broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida-Kentucky among Week 5 matchups that could change the SEC

Ahead of the Week 5 slate of SEC matchups, College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley put together his five games that could change how we see the SEC.

Billy Napier and Co. earned Florida football its first three-game winning streak since 2020 with the home victory over the Charlotte 49ers last Saturday, but it was an otherwise inefficient affair for the Gators. Now, the Orange and Blue enter a critical part of the season in which they will face the heart of the Southeastern Conference schedule.

Ahead of the Week 5 slate of SEC matchups, College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley put together his five games that could change how we see the SEC, including the UF-UK matchup.

“The Florida Gators have flown high since a season-opening loss to Utah,” Haley noted. “A blowout of McNeese State, a huge home upset of Tennessee and a hum-drum victory over Charlotte have the Gators up to No. 23 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

“They’re last in the SEC in scoring offense, but they’re tied for second in scoring defense with just 13.5 points per game allowed,” he continued. “The Wildcats are also undefeated, though, and this matchup has carried some weird vibes for the Gators in recent years.

“After 31 straight wins from 1987-2017, Florida has dropped three of its last five to Kentucky, including each of the past two years. Does Stoops have UF’s number? Or are the Gators truly noise-makers in the SEC East?”

Florida travels to Lexington this coming weekend for a Week 5 Southeastern Conference matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats. The action starts at noon EDT and can be watched on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Where Graham Mertz’s QBR ranks among SEC QBs after Week 3 win

Mertz made a modest jump in the SEC QBR rankings following the Tennessee victory.

A large reason for Florida football’s victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in the Swamp last Saturday was the success of the offense — particularly in the first half — headlined by Trevor Etienne’s efforts on the ground. But quietly, the Gators’ game manager under center put up a performance that nearly rivaled his running back.

Starting quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] had received a lot of criticism for his underwhelming value on the field heading into the Vols game, and the numbers supported that negativity. However, the former Wisconsin Badger showed why Billy Napier entrusted him with the most important position on the team.

With a quarter of the regular season having been played, College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley once again ranked the Southeastern Conference’s starting quarterbacks by QB rating. Florida’s primary passer got a good bump after the win, moving from No. 13 to No. 9 with an overall passer rating of 65.1 — up from 40.1 last week.

Here is what Haley had to say about the quarterback’s improvement.

Another Week 3 riser, Mertz posted one of the higher QBRs of the week (91.6) in Florida‘s home upset over Tennessee. He scored twice and completed all but five of his 24 attempts despite dealing with a hand injury for most of the game. The most accurate quarterback in the SEC so far this year, Mertz is 33/41 over his last two games.

Next up for Napier and the Gators are the Charlotte 49ers who come to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida running back among College Sports Wire’s top performers in Week 3

Not much of a surprise that Florida’s sophomore running back earned a weekly honor from College Sports Wire.

The ground game showed up big time for Florida football in Week 3 against the Tennessee Volunteers, led by true sophomore [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] — brother of NFL standout Travis Etienne — who ran all over the visitors inside of Benn Hill Griffin Stadium.

The running back amassed 172 yards on 23 carries including a 62-yard scamper for a touchdown in his best collegiate game so far. As a result, College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley anointed Etienne as the top rushing performer in the Southeastern Conference last weekend.

Haley explains his pick below, with the caveat that he is a Florida Gators alumnus and had a vested interest in Week 3’s outcome.

The sophomore made his presence felt in front of the home crowd immediately on Saturday, taking his first carry 12 yards for a first down. He then one-upped himself a drive later, bouncing off tacklers and rumbling 62 yards for a score to tie the game. The Gators relied on him to salt away their upset over Tennessee, with 10 carries for 47 yards in the final quarter, including a pair of 19-yard daggers to keep the UT offense on the sideline.

Next up for Napier and the Gators are the Charlotte 49ers who come to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.