Tag: The Atheltic

Gators inch up a spot in The Athletic’s Week 4 college football re-rank

Florida moves up a spot in The Athletic’s Week 4 re-rank.

Billy Napier temporarily escaped the rising flames from his head coach hot seat on Saturday with a Week 4 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, snapping a seven-game losing streak to FBS opponents in the process.

The victory also evened the Gators’ overall season record to 2-2 as well as their mark in the Southeastern Conference, which now sits at 1-1.

Following last weekend’s action and the release of the two major polls, The Athletic’s Chris Vannini updated his weekly re-rank of all 134 Football Bowl Series teams, giving the Gators a wee bit of a boost thanks to the 45-28 triumph.

Florida’s re-rank after Week 4

Vannini lifted Florida a single spot in his re-rank this week from No. 67 to No. 66, putting the Gators between the No. 65 Maryland Terrapins and No. 67 Colorado Buffaloes. Florida was previously ranked No. 48 two weeks prior.

The Florida State Seminoles also gained some ground, moving up from No. 87 to No. 75 after Week 4.

The Athletic’s Week 4 Top 10 re-rank

The Texas Longhorns remain in the top spot, followed by the Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Ole Miss Rebels, respectively, to round out the post-Week 4 top five.

The Miami Hurricanes, Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon Ducks, Utah Utes and Penn State Nittany Lions round out the top 10, respectively.

Up next for the Gators

The Gators will be out of action for Week 5 due to their bye week. Florida’s next opponent will be the UCF Knights on Oct. 5. The time is yet to be determined.

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Florida basketball surges into The Athletic’s power rankings

Since Jan. 17, Florida has been the 12th-best team nationally in Bart Torvik’s metrics-based ratings, with a top-10 offense and top-40 defense.

The college basketball season is nearing its end as March Madness begins to set in. The Florida Gators have presumably punched their ticket to the Big Dance thanks to a second-half surge that saw them win 10 of their last 13 games — all against Southeastern Conference opposition.

As a result, the various rankings and bracketologies have grown bullish on the Orange and Blue, elevating Todd Golden’s team in each successive update. The latest one to praise Florida is The Athletic’s power rankings penned by Brendan Marks and Kyle Tucker, who bumped the Gators up from a not-ranked status to No. 13 on their 16-school list.

“This might be a bit of a surprise, given the overall body of work, but the Gators merit some extensive discussion in our final Power Rankings of the season — because they’re one of the hottest teams in the country over the last seven weeks,” Tucker begins.

“They look like a team clicking at precisely the right time for Todd Golden (the sharp young coach we bought stock in a long time ago),” he continues. “They’re 10-3 in that span, with four wins over NCAA Tournament teams: at Kentucky and against Auburn, Alabama and Mississippi State. Since Jan. 17, Florida has been the 12th-best team nationally in Bart Torvik’s metrics-based ratings, with a top-10 offense and top-40 defense.

“(Walter) Clayton Jr., the Iona transfer and last year’s MAAC Player of the Year for Rick Pitino, has led the charge. He has six 20-point games in the last eight and during the 13-game heater, he’s averaged 18.6 points and shot 39 percent from 3, 92 percent at the free-throw line. He hit seven 3-pointers in the win at Rupp Arena, including one to force overtime and another to give the Gators a lead for good in OT. When he’s cooking, he can beat you single-handedly.”

As one might expect after reading that last passage, Clayton was named the most indispensable player on the roster as well.

Florida wraps up its regular-season schedule on Saturday, March 9, in Nashville as the Gators travel for a rematch with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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The Athletic predicts Chargers to sign top offensive lineman, lose three in free agency

The Los Angeles Chargers make a splash signing but lose out on three of their top in-house free agents.

With free agency kicking off next week, The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia made his signing predictions for his top-50 free agents.

In this scenario, Kapadia predicts the Chargers to make a splash by signing center Corey Linsley.

The Chargers made the right move not using the franchise tag on Hunter Henry. They need to prioritize their offensive line above all else. Linsley started 99 games in seven seasons for the Packers and went from underrated to first-team All-Pro in 2020. He’s great in zone-blocking schemes and in pass protection. Pairing him with Justin Herbert for the next few years is a no-brainer. As for fixing the rest of their line, the Chargers might need to look to the draft and the trade market.

With Dan Feeney set to be free agent, it creates a glaring hole at center. Adding Linsley would go a long way to remodeling a weak offensive line.

Voted first-team All-Pro and rated Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 center, from 2020, Linsley didn’t allow a sack or a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage vs. the run, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Los Angeles is in good standing from a financial perspective, and they should be prepared to pay him in the ballpark of $10 million per year. However, he would be worth that amount.

While L.A. signs one of the top players on the market, they lose three of their own to other teams; tight end Hunter Henry, edge defender Melvin Ingram and cornerback Michael Davis.

Henry signs with the Jaguars, giving the presumed No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence a top target. Ingram goes to the Seahawks to add a much-needed pass rusher. Davis joins the Cowboys to shore up their secondary.

I believe L.A. will re-sign one of their own, with Davis being the most likely option out of the three.

Buckle up. Free agency, which begins on March 17, is going to be quite the ride.