Tag: Pat Dooley

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 members of Florida football who must get better

There are probably more than a dozen, but here are the 12 members of the Gators football program who simply have to get better.

There seems to be a consensus among Gator fans that, a) they like the roster, and b) the schedule is too difficult to know if progress is being made in 2024.

I disagree with the latter. I think you will be able to tell if Florida is better and it’s not like the back end of the schedule – which is crazy hard – is unsurmountable.

Just take it one game at a time. And hope that the guys living it up in that new facility are putting the work in.

Because for Florida to be great again, Dooley’s Dozen brings you 12 guys (at least) who have to step up. Just so you know, this does not include transfers and true freshmen.

Five takeaways from Florida’s last-minute loss at Texas A&M Aggies

The Gators relinquished yet another second half lead, this time leading to its first loss in the last five tries.

This time, they didn’t go in.

Walter Clayton Jr. had another chance for a shot to remember. So did Zyon Pullin.

But the two Gator guards each missed a shot in the final eight seconds allowing Texas A&M to pull off a 67-66 win in College Station.

“We got a good look,” said Florida coach Todd Golden. “Walt got a good look, ZP pimp faked the guy to get a good look. Just came up short.”

The Gators had a rough second half scoring only 26 points. Two more might have been enough to pull off another Quad 1 win.

Instead, Florida drops to 15-7 and 5-4 in the SEC.

Five takeaways from Florida basketball’s huge OT win at Kentucky

Here’s what Pat Dooley thinks about Florida’s massive upset of the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday.

Florida’s basketball team gave Gator fans something to be proud of Wednesday night: a Quadrant 1 win.

Yay.

That really wasn’t what this was about. Florida beat the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena, which is all you really need to know.

Three Gators scored in the 20s and Florida ran its overtime record to 3-0 with a 94-91 win.

UF is now 15-6, 5-3 in the SEC. Kentucky had at least 13 points from four different players (including 24 from Reed Sheppard, who played all 45 minutes), but it wasn’t enough against the gritty Gators.

Five takeaways from an important win for head coach Todd Golden and his gang of Gators.

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 things that would fix college football’s problems

Pat Dooley offers up a dozen suggestions on how to improve things in the college football realm as the sport bulldozes into a new future.

Now that we are well removed from the end of the college football season, the nation has turned its attention from what is wrong with college football to what is wrong with the Tay-Tay/Trav romance.

However, a lot of us are still thinking about the college game and how we can fix it.

Now there are two ways to attack the problem. We could come up with solutions or just say, “What problem?”

The numbers for the sport are at new highs whether it be ratings or attendance. Why fix what isn’t broken?

Because it’s not sustainable, is the answer you hear the most often. We do know that grandpa is yelling at the clouds about a lot of things, so let’s help him out with a Dooley’s Dozen — 12 things I would change about college football.

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 best quarterback duos in Florida football history

Take a look at the 12 best quarterback duos to have played in the Swamp for the Orange and Blue.

There are a lot of positions of concern with the 2024 Florida team, but quarterback isn’t one of them.

In fact, watching Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway and how they interact might be the best reason to go to the spring game in April.

Many Gator fans have had visions of 2006 dancing in their heads ever since Lagway showed up on campus.

They see this two-quarterback rotation like they had that year when the Gators won the national championship.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Try having a winning record first.

But we do remember some quarterback combos that did work for the Gators, so the Dooley’s Dozen will give you the 12 best that I can remember. You may want to know that Cam Newton does not make this list because he never really did anything at Florida other than throw a stolen laptop out of a window.

Five takeaways from Florida’s OT home win over Georgia Bulldogs

Here are the five keys to Saturday afternoon’s too-close-for-comfort win over Georgia.

The Florida Gators have won nine straight games against the Georgia Bulldogs in basketball. Saturday’s victory was the toughest of them all — though it was not supposed to be.

Oh, the ‘Dawgs never led. And Florida scored a total of 102 points.

But it was one of those games where exhaling felt like a relief. A stressful final 10 minutes of the second half plus an overtime frame put the Gator Nation on the edge of their seats.

The good news is that Florida pulled out a 102-98 win despite allowing 35 points to RJ Melendez and 54 points in the paint by the Bulldogs.

Where do we start with the five takeaways from Florida-Georgia?

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 things Kevin O’Sullivan said about 2024 Gators baseball

Pat Dooley sat down with Florida baseball head coach Kevin O’Sullivan to give us a dozen points ahead of the upcoming season.

You won’t find the trophy in his office. The last thing Kevin O’Sullivan wants in his face every day is a reminder of a season that was almost.

So where is the second-place national trophy the Gators received after taking the 2023 season as far as it could possibly go in terms of games played?

“I don’t know where it is,” Sully said. “I don’t want to look at it.

“You’re only as good as your last game and that makes it painful. You never get over a game like that, but you are forced to move on.

“I’m not motivated because we lost the last game of the year. I’m motivated because we didn’t win the last game of the year.”

The Gators are loaded again after making their first appearance in Omaha since 2018. It ended with an 18-4 loss to the LSU Tigers in the title game, but that was then, and this is now.

The Dooley’s Dozen brings you 12 things O’Sullivan thinks about this year.

Five takeaways from Florida’s double-digit loss at Tennessee on Tuesday

Pat Dooley breaks down the major takeaways from the Gators’ third loss in four tries against SEC opponents.

Remember back in football season when Gator fans were complaining about Billy Napier’s road record?

Well, that vitriol has shifted because Florida’s basketball team is now the team that can’t win away from home.

Todd Golden’s Gators dropped an 85-66 game at No. 6 Tennessee in a game that was moved up because of weather. No shame there.

OK, maybe some shame.

Florida is now 3-9 in SEC road games under Golden and have lost two SEC road games this season by a combined 37 points.

Dalton Knecht continued his hot run for Tennessee scoring 39 points with very little resistance.

Here are the five takeaways from Florida dropping to 11-6 overall and 1-3 in the SEC.

Five takeaways from Florida basketball’s win over Arkansas Razorbacks

Here are Pat Dooley’s five takeaways from Florida basketball’s big win at home over Arkansas on Saturday.

It may be too early in the third game of the season to say that Florida’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks was a must-win for both teams.

If it truly was, the Gators must have figured out a way to win.

Florida rolled to a 90-68 victory over the Razorbacks for UF’s first Southeastern Conference win of the year in its third try.

The Gators are now 11-5 and 1-2 in the conference with plenty of basketball left to play. The Hogs falls to 9-7 and 0-3 with a brutal schedule looking them square in the face.

With the dust settling, here is a look at five major takeaways from Florida’s big win over Arkansas.

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 things that must happen for Florida football

Not all of the latest Dooley’s Dozen has to happen right away, but some of them absolutely must in 2024.

I have never been one to put a number on a coach in terms of the victories he’ll have to get to retain his job.

OK, well, if Billy Napier wins three, he’s probably collecting his buyout money.

But unless things go crazy, a lot depends on what you see on the field and whether progress is being made.

On the other hand, anybody who doesn’t think about wins and losses is in trouble because they accumulate on both sides like ants at a picnic.

When it is going good, you can’t lose. And when it’s bad, it’s awful.

But let’s not talk about the specifics of the Billy III monarchy. Let’s talk about what has to happen.

Not all of the latest Dooley’s Dozen has to happen, but some of them absolutely must in 2024.