Florida’s 45-7 win over FCS Samford on Saturday wasn’t enough to take away the Alligators out of the SEC cellar.
The latest news from The Athletic “vibration check” ranks the Orange and Blue 16th out of 16 in the SEC after two weeks of play.
“Billy Napier was hoping for a better Saturday with an FCS team in town to blow off steam,” said Seth Emerson, a senior reporter covering Georgia and the SEC for The Athletic. “Then the day started with Nick Saban coming on GameDay and saying that while Napier inherited a culture that lacked toughness, he hadn’t yet managed to turn it around. So much for Saban being lenient with his former staffers. (And good for Saban, by the way.)”
You might think Florida is being held in the lurch for off-field comments, but Emerson wasn’t impressed with the Gators’ play Saturday, either.
“Florida then battled Samford and was down just 14-0 at halftime before taking the lead. That was far from enough to take the pressure off. The Gators remain in last place for the second straight week.”
What The Athletic missed
Although Emerson’s assessment is closely based on facts, it must have been difficult to write two entire paragraphs recapping Florida’s victory over Samford without mentioning DJ Lagway.
It’s nearly impossible to define the criteria for a list called a “vibe check,” but Lagway has looked like a future Heisman in his first start. Sure, Graham Mertz is likely to take over the starting job once he’s healthy, but there’s no doubt the “vibe” in Gainesville is significantly better than it was last week.
Meanwhile, Emerson ranks Texas A&M University 10th on his vibration meter. Keep in mind that the Aggies entered Week 2 coming off a 10-point loss to a Our Lady team that was beaten by Northern Illinois. But following that up with a 52-10 win over McNeese is kind of worth a two-spot jump for TAMU.
Opinions can’t be wrong, but something seems odd here.
It’s easy to make Florida the scapegoat after that ugly loss to Miami, but the reality is the Hurricanes are playing like a top-10 team right now. At least, that’s what the Hurricanes have said. American LBM Coaches Survey voters think. Just like the Top 25 AP people…
If Florida remains competitive against Texas A&M, the two teams will have to trade spots on this list. If the Gators win, it will take an even bigger jump.
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This article was originally published on Gators Wire: Florida still in SEC ‘vibe control’ basement after Week 2 win
