National columnist Mike Farrell bounces around some college football topics that are inside the Mind of Mike.
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I’ll start with this little nugget. For the first time since 2011 none of the Big Three in Florida — Florida, FSU or Miami — are ranked in the AP Top 25 this week. The Gators are coming off a horrible road loss to a depleted LSU team, and we all know how bad the Hurricanes and the Seminoles are.
Here’s what needs to be fixed for each to succeed.
Florida Gators: Loyalty is a great quality to have, except when it starts costing you football games - and potentially recruits. Dan Mullen doesn’t love to recruit, and that’s a problem. I’ve said it for a couple of years. However, you don’t have to love to recruit at Florida to land elite players, but you need to win key games. Or you need a head coach who loves to recruit and is willing to hold his coaches accountable on and off the field. You can’t be lacking both of those qualities, and that’s what Florida has. So, Mullen either needs to stop the loyalty bit - on the field, with more experienced but less talented players, and off the field with coaches like Todd Grantham, or recruit a heckuva lot better. It’s one or the other.
Miami Hurricanes: This is a program that needs a change from top to bottom. And by top I mean support of athletics by the president of the university down to the athletic director and the head coach. People need to be put in these positions that understand what the football program has done for the university and how important it is moving forward. There are far too many smart alumni who were around during the glory days out there who could get the job done for this ineptness to continue. This isn’t a recruiting or talent problem. It’s a lack of pride and passion problem, and the whole thing needs to be blown up or even hiring a great coach like Mario Cristobal won’t matter. A full-tier change is needed.
Florida State Seminoles: This is tricky because it’s not an institutional problem like it is at Miami, and it isn't a loyalty or recruiting issue as much as it is at Florida. To me, this is actually just about patience. Jimbo Fisher left the program in shambles by not recruiting his final season when he knew he was headed to Texas A&M. Then the Seminoles made a bad hire in Willie Taggart, who recruited even worse and gave up on him very quickly, right or wrong. Mike Norvell needs time, a lot of it, to change the culture and add the depth needed to compete again. By punting him early the Seminoles will just continue to falter. They are, quite honestly, in the best position for success if they just give it time.
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OK, let’s talk Nick Rolovich, shall we? This is simple to me. The state of Washington mandates state employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to remain employed. The deadline was Monday of this week. Rolovich and four of his assistant coaches knew of this deadline for a long time, but they did not get immunized prior to the deadline. Thus they are terminated, per state guidelines. It’s as simple as that.
People want to make this political - and I get the whole “your body, your choice” - but rules are rules and we choose to follow them or break them. Rolovich broke them and he’s gone. End of story.
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Is anyone else wondering why Ole Miss QB Matt Corral ran the ball 30 times against Tennessee? Yes, there were some injuries at wide receiver and the running game couldn’t get going. But 30 times? Corral won the game with his arm and legs, but was his health jeopardized in Lane Kiffin’s lust to win at Tennessee?
What about using John Rhys Plumlee in some zone-read situations if the running game isn’t clicking, to put Corral less at risk? Plumlee did run for more than 1,000 yards as a quarterback one season. It just seems odd to see 30 carries next to the name of arguably the best passer in college football, and I’m wondering about the reasoning behind it. Now Corral is banged up and could miss the next game.
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OK, let’s be real about this. Vols fans can be very difficult to deal with at times. But it’s only about 1% of Vols fans because I’ve met so many great people who live for the program. So before we categorize the entire fan base for the actions of a few on Saturday against Ole Miss, let’s remember this: Every fan base has a 1% knucklehead factor.
I’m not condoning the actions, but let’s not act like this hasn’t happened elsewhere. The SEC fined Tennessee, and we move on. It’s never cool to throw debris - especially things like batteries, bottles and golf balls - on to the field. And it’s never warranted. But let’s not put Tennessee fans in a category by themselves. That’s a bit much.
