Tag: weekly

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 important facts about Florida’s game vs. USF

Here are a dozen fun facts about Florida’s upcoming home game against the Bulls.

The Gator Nation is still mourning the impact of the soul-stealing loss to Kentucky, but there is another game to be played Saturday against a team that would love to make Florida fans more miserable.

Nobody is saying the Bulls can or will, but USF certainly will play with a little bit of a chip as all schools from the state do when they play the mighty Gators.

Saturday night will be more about Florida’s improvement than anything else. South Florida is a 24-point underdog.

Florida fans are wondering about the promise to get them off this decade-long and disappointing roller-coaster ride. Two games in, and you can hear the click-click-click as the Gators’ car tries to climb back up the hill.

South Florida is an interesting story. So, let’s get to it with the latest Dooley’s Dozen which is, of course, 12 things you need to know about the University of South Florida.

Heisman Trophy Odds: Anthony Richardson among top candidates, per Tipico

The bookmakers are feeling bullish about Florida’s star quarterback, including our sponsor Tipico.

Florida football’s star quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] dazzled the nation last weekend as he put up a [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag]-esque performance in the Swamp to open the 2022 season. Traditionally, the Gators have faced a cupcake team to start the schedule, but this year they opened up against a Utah Utes who were ranked in the top 10 as well as the reigning Pac-12 champs coming into Gainesville.

The redshirt sophomore’s performance electrified the crowd in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium while also profoundly affecting both the national media’s and the bookmakers’ outlook on the talented student-athlete. Among those was our betting partner, the Tipico Sportsbook, which has Richarson among the leaders in the betting odds for the storied Heisman Trophy after Week 1.

Take a look below at the top nine candidates for the Heisman Trophy this season and their odds, according to the Tipico Sportsbook at the time of publication.

The Napkin: Week 0 gambling picks headlined by Big Ten matchup

It’s time to (hopefully) make (I really hope this works out) some money.

The time has come. The college football season is officially here. There is no better feeling than waking up on a Saturday morning, sitting down to watch your pregame show of choice, and placing your bets for the day.

Week 0 is our training camp. It’s our dress rehearsal. It’s the day we use to make sure that our gameday setup runs smoothly. It’s when we make sure that our TV, laptop, tablet, and multi-screen devices are ready to go for the official start of the season next week.

If the Week 1, five-day stretch of games from Thursday to Monday of Labor Day weekend is the “grand opening” of the season, then Week 0 is more like a “soft opening”, a soft launch, if you will.

While Week 0 may not have the pomp and circumstance that Week 1 has, given the much more limited slate of games, that doesn’t mean we can’t sink our teeth into the Week 0 games made available to us.

All odds are provided by Tipico Sportsbook, our current official partner here at Gators Wire.

I’d like to give a special shoutout to my good friend Steven McAvoy for helping me out with The Napkin graphic. You can send him a DM on Twitter @StevenMcAvoy_ for all your design needs.

Without further ado, The Napkin for Week 0.

Weekly schedule for Florida Gators sports starting March 21

Take a look at how the week of March 21 through March 27 lines up for the Florida Gators. 

The men’s and women’s basketball teams saw their seasons come to an end this weekend with losses in the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, respectively, but Florida athletics will still continue on. Highlighted by an SEC Championship title earned by the gymnastics team to go with its regular-season conference crown, there is still plenty for the Gator Nation to get excited about as the spring season continues to unfurl.

Over the coming week, ten sports programs will compete for the glory of the Orange and Blue, including the men’s swimming and diving team, which is heading to the NCAA Championships starting on Wednesday. The track and field team will also be busy, splitting in half to take part in two outdoor tournaments also starting in the middle of the week.

The baseball, softball, volleyball and lacrosse teams continue their seasons, while the men’s and women’s tennis teams engage in dual meets, and the men’s and women’s golf teams see some tournament action as well. Here’s a look below at how the week of March 21 through March 27 lines up for the Florida Gators.

Florida remains outside of USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll

The Gators received even fewer votes in the coaches poll this time around.

Florida dropped out of the USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll last week after a rough few games that saw the team lose to previously winless Texas Southern and a Maryland team with an interim head coach. With finals week in full swing, the Gators had this week off before returning to action against South Florida.

Though UF beat the Bulls 66-55, it wasn’t a particularly impressive performance in a Quadrant 4 game, and it wasn’t enough to get Florida back into the top 25. In fact, the team received just two votes this time around, much fewer than the 17 it received last week.

The rest of the SEC didn’t fare particularly well in this week’s update, either. Alabama fell outside of the top 10 after a loss to Memphis and now ranks No. 11, followed by Auburn at No. 12. LSU is up to No. 16, while Kentucky rises to No. 18 after a win over North Carolina in blowout fashion. No. 19 Tennessee rounds out the rankings, dropping one spot from the latest update, and Arkansas dropped out after losses to Oklahoma and Hofstra.

After an 11-day stretch where the team lost three of four games, UF has a lot of work to do to get back in the top 25. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) the SEC schedule presents a lot of opportunities for big, resume-boosting wins. But if Florida continues to slip up in big games, it could be a long couple of months.

Here are the full rankings for this week.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Baylor 10-0 800 –
2 Duke 10-1 754 –
3 Purdue 10-1 689 +1
4 Gonzaga 9-2 673 –
4 Arizona 11-0 673 +2
6 UCLA 9-1 670 -3
7 Kansas 9-1 639 –
8 Iowa State 11-0 501 +3
9 USC 12-0 480 –
10 Michigan State 9-2 446 +2
11 Alabama 9-2 422 -3
12 Auburn 10-1 412 +2
13 Ohio St 8-2 400 +2
14 Houston 10-2 398 -1
15 Seton Hall 9-1 383 +1
16 LSU 11-0 254 +4
17 Texas 8-2 243 –
18 Kentucky 8-2 217 +3
19 Tennessee 8-2 215 -1
20 Xavier 11-1 204 +5
21 Colorado St 10-0 203 +2
22 Villanova 7-4 158 -12
23 Providence 11-1 149 +4
24 Wisconsin 9-2 129 +2
25 Texas Tech 8-2 89 -1

Schools Dropped Out

No. 19 Arkansas; No. 22 Connecticut.

Others Receiving Votes

Arkansas 36; Connecticut 34; Illinois 24; West Virginia 23; Oklahoma 21; Loyola-Chicago 16; Minnesota 15; San Francisco 12; Wake Forest 9; Saint Mary’s 3; Florida 2; Brigham Young 2; Michigan 1; Indiana 1.

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Monday Brunch: Top 5 stories from Florida football this week

Pat Dooley does his run-down of the latest Gators football news in a delayed Monday Brunch feature.

Now that the regular season is over, Pat Dooley will be presenting his Florida football opinions on a regular basis every Sunday morning in a continuation of his Sunday Hash feature. However, things did not go exactly as planned this week. 

A day late and hopefully not $12 million short, the Sunday Hash comes to you as Monday Brunch this time around. Here’s a dive into the latest news on the Orange and Blue.

Gators crack top 15 in latest Basketball Power Index from ESPN

UF ranks No. 15 in the BPI after Oklahoma loss

Florida’s men’s basketball team suffered its first setback this season on Wednesday night, falling on the road to a good Oklahoma team 74-67. In spite of that slipup, the Gators still sit at 6-1 on the young season. With the only remaining Quadrant 1 game in non-conference play coming against a Maryland team that has parted ways with head coach Mark Turgeon, taking a one-loss record heading into SEC play is a very strong possibility.

In spite of that loss, UF ranks No. 15 in the latest Basketball Power Index from ESPN, the fourth-highest ranked SEC team behind No. 6 Kentucky, No. 9 Tennessee and No. 11 LSU. The Gators have just the No. 111 strength of schedule, but their strength of record ranks No. 26.

Florida gets back in action on Monday night with Texas Southern coming to town, and North Florida is up after that on Wednesday night before the team travels to play the Terrapins in Brooklyn next Sunday.

The Gators saw an interruption to their momentum, but they still have the chance to have the best record in non-conference play during coach Mike White‘s tenure.

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Florida basketball sees major rise in latest USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll

Take a look at where Florida basketball landed in the latest Coaches Poll.

Florida basketball is off to a fantastic start to the 2021-22 season. The Gators are 6-0, snapped their seven-game losing streak against rival Florida State and took down the Ohio State Buckeyes on a buzzer-beater to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday night.

After a hot start for a team that didn’t begin the year with high expectations, UF is quickly rising in the polls. In the latest update to the USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll, the Gators saw a 12-spot rise from No. 24 all the way up to No. 12. This is the highest Florida has been ranked in the Coaches Poll since the preseason poll to begin the 2019-20 season, in which it ranked No. 6.

The Gators are now the third-highest ranked team in the SEC, behind No. 9 Arkansas and No. 10 Kentucky. UF ranks ahead of No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Alabama (who fell seven spots after a loss to Rick Pitino’s Iona team), and No. 21 Auburn. LSU isn’t ranked, but it was the third-highest vote recipient of teams outside the top 25.

Florida coach Mike White is off to perhaps his best start with the Gators, and though the next game is a difficult one on the road against Oklahoma, this team could enter conference play with a lot of momentum (and potentially, an undefeated record).

Here’s the full top 25 in the Coaches Poll this week.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Duke 7-0 761 (16) +5
2 Purdue 6-0 742 (10) +2
3 Gonzaga 6-1 706 -2
4 Baylor 7-0 693 (2) +1
5 UCLA 6-1 627 -3
6 Villanova 4-2 563 +1
7 Kansas 5-1 524 -4
8 Texas 4-1 500 –
9 Arkansas 6-0 473 +3
10 Kentucky 5-1 436 +3
11 Arizona 6-0 431 +8
12 Florida 6-0 425 +12
13 BYU 6-0 399 +5
14 Houston 5-1 321 -3
15 Tennessee 4-1 304 +2
16 Alabama 6-1 231 -7
17 Connecticut 6-1 222 +4
18 USC 6-0 205 +7
19 Memphis 5-1 184 -9
20 Auburn 5-1 145 +2
21 Wisconsin 5-1 140 –
22 Michigan State 5-2 138 +7
23 Iowa State 6-0 134 –
24 Michigan 4-2 123 -11
25 St. Bonaventure 5-1 96 -9

Schools Dropped Out

No. 15 Illinois; No. 20 Seton Hall; No. 23 Oregon.

Others Receiving Votes

Seton Hall 86; Texas Tech 68; Louisiana State 66; Illinois 65; Ohio St. 43; Marquette 42; Colorado St. 38; Indiana 29; Iowa 28; Xavier 25; Florida State 22; Utah St. 13; Providence 11; West Virginia 5; San Francisco 5; Saint Louis 3; Oklahoma State 3.

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Here’s where SEC teams stand in the Week 14 USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Here’s a look at how Florida’s Southeastern Conference peers fared in the Coaches Poll this week.

It was a fairly chalky week in the SEC, aside from the strange game that took place in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday evening. In the first Iron Bowl game to ever go to overtime, Auburn led 10-0 over No. 2 Alabama for most of the game, but the Crimson Tide stormed back to tie it on a touchdown with less than a minute left.

The game eventually went to quadruple overtime, bringing the new college football overtime rules into play. Alabama eventually held on for a 24-22 win with a walk-off two-point conversion.

The only other semi-surprising result was Florida’s slight upset over Florida State in interim coach Greg Knox’s first game. The victory gave the Gators bowl eligibility, though they’re not even close to cracking the top 25 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

With Georgia’s 45-0 shutout against Georgia Tech and ‘Bama’s win over the Tigers, the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide held on to the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively. Meanwhile, Ole Miss held on to its No. 8 spot after a win in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State despite some movement above the Rebels.

Kentucky blew out Louisville 52-21, and that moved the Wildcats up three spots from No. 25 to No. 22. They’re directly followed by Texas A&M, whose three-point loss to LSU on Saturday night dropped the Aggies to 8-4 and down nine spots to No. 23. Finally, Arkansas is back in the top 25 after a convincing 31-17 win over Missouri. The Razorbacks received the most votes last week, and they’re back in at No. 25 this week.

Mississippi State, whose 10-point loss to Ole Miss dropped it to 7-5 on the season, received two votes, the fewest of any vote-getting team.

We’ll have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle in Atlanta next Saturday between Georgia and Alabama for the SEC Championship, and that game could have a significant ripple effect on the potential playoff field. Here’s how things stand in the rest of the poll.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Georgia 12-0 1,550 (62) –
2 Alabama 11-1 1,440 –
3 Michigan 11-1 1,408 +3
4 Cincinnati 12-0 1,399 –
5 Oklahoma State 11-1 1,285 +2
6 Notre Dame 11-1 1,250 -1
7 Ohio State 10-2 1,133 -4
8 Ole Miss 10-2 1,097 –
9  Baylor 10-2 1,046 +1
10 Oregon 10-2 932 +1
11 Oklahoma 10-2 851 -2
12 Iowa 10-2 845 –
13 Michigan State 10-2 840 –
14 BYU 9-3 741 +1
15 Pittsburgh 10-2 640 +2
16 Houston 11-1 607 –
17 Utah 9-3 596 +2
18 Wake Forest 10-2 531 +3
19 San Diego State 11-1 396 +3
20 NC State 9-3 334 +4
21 UL-Lafayette 11-1 268 +2
22 Kentucky 9-3 226 +3
23 Texas A&M 8-4 202 -9
24 Clemson 9-3 170 +3
25 Arkansas 8-4 128 +1

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 18 Wisconsin; No. 20 Texas-San Antonio.

Others receiving votes:

Wisconsin 100; Texas-San Antonio 36; Appalachian State 30; Air Force 16; Minnesota 13; Purdue 11; Utah State 8; Coastal Carolina 8; Penn State 5; UCLA 3; Fresno State 3; Mississippi State 2.

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