A few things that have me thinking out loud on a Friday: Imagine what Graham Mertz can do if he has time to throw: This time a year ago, Billy Napier was being ridiculed in the SEC and national media for signing Graham Mertz, perceived as a 5-star bust when he was at Wisconsin. After throwing for nearly 3,000 yards, completing better than 72 percent of his passes for 20 touchdowns and completing only three to the bad guys, so many in the media are grudgingly admitting they got it all wrong. Some have even admitted that maybe Billy Napier knows a thing or two about quarterbacks. Imagine that ..read more

  Jac Caglianone awaits a pickoff throw at first base vs. USF (UAA Photo) A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:  There was good news on several fronts Tuesday night at Condron Family Ballpark. First and foremost, the Florida Gators (25-23) got a much needed win in their final non-conference game of the regular season, 4-1, over South Florida. Second, six Florida pitchers scattered five hits, walked only three batters and struck out seven in one of the best outings of the season. Third, Jac Caglianone extended his hitting streak to 27 games in the first inning when h ..read more

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: What kind of effect did that 11-run disaster of a sixth inning against Tennessee Saturday night have on the Florida Gators? We get our first hint tonight (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+) when the Gators (24-23) take on South Florida (23-24) at Condron Family Ballpark.   There can’t be any hangover or lingering doubt for the Gators, who have absolutely zero margin for error if they wish to make the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament. Hosting a regional is totally out of the question, but the Gators still have a shot at being selected for ..read more

Gators celebrate as Katie Kistler steps on home after her 6th-inning home run (UAA Photo) Tim Walton may not be able to quote you chapter and verse what goes into the RPI rankings, much less this new KPI ranking, which is supposed to carry nearly equal weight with the NCAA Tournament selection committee. What happens on the playing field, well that’s an altogether different matter.   Walton knows that for the second straight weekend his Florida Gators (43-12, 17-7 SEC) won a series against a team with a higher RPI. Last weekend the Gators beat Georgia (37-15, 12-12 SEC) two out of thre ..read more

Jac Caglianone has been one of the few bright spots for the Gators this season (UAA Photo) The text from a rather casual acquaintance who is a Tennessee fan came in at 2:13 Sunday morning. “We beat you by two touchdowns! What do you think about that?” After drinking some water, clearing my head and remembering it’s baseball season, I replied with this courtesy of the late, great Yogi Berra:   “If my father was alive to hear that, he’d turn over in his grave.”   The Vol fan answered, “Huh!” I replied, “Exactly.”   A lot of folks are shaking their heads and going huh after Tenn ..read more

By Buddy Martin If laptops could only talk, what a tale my last three could tell. This weekend, my wife bought me another Apple Mac Airbook for my birthday, a midnight blue beauty with a panoramic 15-inch screen and speedy M3 chip — wiping out our emergency savings. After all, it WAS an emergency because my Mac Airbook 3 was gasping for air and words, having endured the Dan Mullen years — hundreds of stories and the launching of the Gator Nation Kingdom which has produced over 1,000 podcasts. This is my fourth Apple laptop Mac since 2006, Volume 6 story #1 Mac Airbook 3 was battle-scarred ..read more

Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan awaits Luke McNeillie from the bullpen in the 9th inning (UAA Photo) They wouldn’t be the Florida Gators if they didn’t at least flirt with the idea of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.   It happened Friday night in the second game of their doubleheader with 3rd-ranked Tennessee (38-9, 16-7 SEC). Having lost game one, 6-2, the Gators (24-22, 10-13 SEC) took a 4-2 lead into the top of the ninth. Because he had already thrown four full innings in relief of starter Liam Peterson, Fisher Jameson was on a very short leash when he faced Tennessee lead ..read more

Jason Zandamela has yet to play a college football game but the fact that he will be a Florida Gator has a ripple effect throughout college football. The big kid (6-3, 305) from Clearwater chose the Gators Thursday after spending one semester as an early enrollee at Southern California. When he signed with Southern Cal back in December, Zandamela was a consensus 4-star prospect that 247Sports ranked the No. 46 player in the nation, the No. 1 interior lineman. In the transfer portal, 247Sports ranked him the No. 7 player in the entire country.   Coming out of high school at Clearwater I ..read more

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: With 11 regular season games remaining, it is a numbers game for the Florida Gators. At 23-21 overall, seven wins will get the Gators to 30, which will make it easier for the NCAA Tournament selection committee to ease them into the 64-team field. More important is Florida’s 9-12 record in the Southeastern Conference. There are nine conference games remaining starting with tonight’s (7 p.m., ESPN) weekend series with 3rd-ranked Tennessee (37-7, 15-6 SEC). Five SEC wins would get the Gators to 14 in league play, and while that would be two ..read more

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: Call Florida’s 10-8 win over Florida Atlantic Tuesday evening exactly what it was – a win by any means necessary. The Gators didn’t look remotely close to the team that should have but didn’t sweep Arkansas last weekend, but Florida is in such dire straits for wins that you take a win any way you can get it.   The pitching, which was so good against Arkansas, looked like it has in midweek games all season. With the exception of redshirt freshman Jake Clemente, who threw very well for 1-2/3 innings and was the only UF pitcher who was ..read more