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Gators... It's TIME We Had A SERIOUS Conversation About Florida & the College Football Playoff | CFP · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to A Peek Inside Gator Football. Allie Peek here.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: This video is brought to you by PrizePix. Don't forget,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: if you haven't downloaded the app yet, do it. Go
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: ahead and do it. And if you're a new user,
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  Speaker 1: you can play a $ 5 lineup. Use our code. It's HMA.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: And if you win, you'll get $ 150 in lineups instantly.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Jaden Baugh got me some money this weekend. You should
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: be over there checking it out. All right, so I
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: know that it's September, and I know that Florida has
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: played literally four football games. And I know Coach Summerall
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: stood at the podium last night after beating the number
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  Speaker 1: four team in the country and said, we have not arrived.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: And I agree with him. Florida has not arrived. But
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  Speaker 1: I think after what happened Saturday in the swamp, we
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  Speaker 1: have reached the point where there is another conversation that
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  Speaker 1: we have to start having. The college football playoff. Because
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  Speaker 1: whether Florida Gator fans are ready to say it out
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  Speaker 1: loud or not, and listen, it kills me to be
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: sitting here saying this out loud, but it's true. Florida
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  Speaker 1: is now in that conversation. And honestly, how could they
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  Speaker 1: not be? They're 4-0. They're 2-0 in the SEC. They
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: went on the road at Auburn. They just beat the
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  Speaker 1: number four team in the country by 24 points. And
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  Speaker 1: this wasn't some weird upset where Florida got three huge
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  Speaker 1: defensive touchdowns, recovered every fumble, and then just hung on
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  Speaker 1: for dear life. Florida physically dominated Ole Miss. They ran
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  Speaker 1: for 302 yards. They scored 52 points. They didn't turn
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  Speaker 1: the football over. They scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions
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  Speaker 1: in the second half. And they made the number four
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  Speaker 1: team in America look completely overwhelmed at times. So yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it's September. There is a long way to go. But
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  Speaker 1: Florida is absolutely a college football playoff contender at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: So now the question becomes, how real is this? Let's
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  Speaker 1: start with how dramatically the national perception of Florida changed
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  Speaker 1: in about four hours on Saturday. Florida entered the weekend
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  Speaker 1: ranked 21st in the AP poll. And by Saturday night,
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  Speaker 1: CBS Sports was projecting Florida to jump all the way
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  Speaker 1: into the top five from 21 to potentially five. Think
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: about how insane that is. And honestly, I kind of
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  Speaker 1: hope that doesn't happen. But whether Florida ends up fifth, sixth, seventh,
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  Speaker 1: or whatever it ultimately is, the exact number almost doesn't matter.
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  Speaker 1: The point is that Florida went from, hey, maybe John
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  Speaker 1: Summerall has things moving in the right direction, to wait.
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  Speaker 1: Is Florida one of the best teams in the country?
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  Speaker 1: And that's a completely different conversation. Four weeks ago, we
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: were trying to figure out what this team was going
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  Speaker 1: to look like under a new staff. Now we're discussing
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  Speaker 1: whether they compete for a spot in the playoffs this year.
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  Speaker 1: That escalated quickly. And here's why I think there's more
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  Speaker 1: to this than just emotion in this one big win.
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  Speaker 1: The way Florida is winning looks sustainable. I think that's
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  Speaker 1: the important part. Florida isn't depending on one quarterback throwing
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  Speaker 1: for 500 yards every Saturday. They aren't relying on trick plays.
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  Speaker 1: They aren't surviving because the opponent keeps turning the football over.
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  Speaker 1: They have developed an identity. They are physical. They can
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  Speaker 1: run the football. They have multiple backs who can hurt you.
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  Speaker 1: The offensive line is moving people. Aaron Filo is protecting
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  Speaker 1: the football. Special teams is a weapon. And defensively, even
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  Speaker 1: when Florida gives up yards, they are finding ways to
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  Speaker 1: make game-changing plays. That travels, especially in the running game.
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  Speaker 1: When you get into SEC play and you start playing
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  Speaker 1: good defenses and going into difficult road environments, being able
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  Speaker 1: to line up and run the football is really important.
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  Speaker 1: Florida rushed for 302 yards against Ole Miss. Jaden Ball
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  Speaker 1: had 142. Duke Clark had 126. That wasn't Florida beating
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  Speaker 1: an FCS team in September. That was Florida doing it
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  Speaker 1: against the number four team in America. And we need
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  Speaker 1: to talk about Ball for a second because he is
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  Speaker 1: becoming a national story on his own. Five straight 100-yard
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  Speaker 1: rushing games. The only other Florida backs who have done that,
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  Speaker 1: Emmitt Smith, Fred Taylor, now Jaden Ball. That's it. And
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  Speaker 1: as I said in my postgame video, I'll say it
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  Speaker 1: again though, we got to stop qualifying it. Jaden Ball
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  Speaker 1: isn't just having a nice start. It isn't that he's
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  Speaker 1: playing some easier teams. He He isn't just becoming one
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  Speaker 1: of Florida's best players. He is becoming the best running
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  Speaker 1: back in college football. And having that guy changes what
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  Speaker 1: Florida can be. Now when Florida gets into fourth quarter
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  Speaker 1: with a lead, you have a running back and an
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  Speaker 1: offensive line that can go ahead and just finish the game.
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  Speaker 1: That is a playoff caliber trait. The other reason I
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  Speaker 1: think Florida belongs in this conversation, they've already shown that
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  Speaker 1: they can win in different ways. That Auburn game was chaos.
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  Speaker 1: Florida had to go on the road, deal with Jordan Hare,
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  Speaker 1: deal with the shootout, and find a way to win 44-39.
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  Speaker 1: Then against Ole Miss, completely different game. They were more physical.
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  Speaker 1: They possessed the football for 37 minutes, which I guess
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  Speaker 1: they possessed it for 39 against Auburn, so maybe that's
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  Speaker 1: the same. But they ran it 53 times. They forced turnovers.
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  Speaker 1: They controlled field position. They beat Ole Miss in all
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  Speaker 1: three phases. If you're going to survive a nine-game SEC schedule,
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  Speaker 1: every Saturday isn't going to look the same. Sometimes you're
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  Speaker 1: going to win 44-39. You're going to fight the refs.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to give up garbage touchdowns. Sometimes you're going
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  Speaker 1: to have to grind somebody down. Sometimes your special team
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  Speaker 1: is going to have to make a huge play. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: your defense is going to have to bail you out.
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  Speaker 1: Florida is starting to show that it has multiple ways
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  Speaker 1: to beat you. Now, here's where we have to pump
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  Speaker 1: the brakes just a little bit. I'm going to take
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: a quick break from this video to let you guys
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  Speaker 1: know about something really exciting. We are now available on
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  Speaker 1: audio platforms, Apple Podcasts, Spotify. We're there. So if you
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: would prefer to listen to the audio version of this show,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: many of you guys have messaged us, reached out to us,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: talked to us about being available on an audio platform.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: So that's why we did this. So if that's your preference,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: go on over there. Make sure you subscribe. Make sure
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: you tune in there. And if there's a platform that
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: we're not on that you think we should be on,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: let me know down in the comments as well. And
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  Speaker 1: we'll see about getting on that. I appreciate you guys.
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  Speaker 1: Everything on Florida's schedule coming up is tough. It starts
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  Speaker 1: next Saturday. They go to Missouri. And Missouri suddenly looks
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  Speaker 1: like a different team than it did 24 hours ago.
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  Speaker 1: They went into this weekend ranked number 19. Then they
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  Speaker 1: went to Mississippi State. They lost 31-24. So instead of
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  Speaker 1: Florida going into Columbus against another undefeated ranked team, now
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  Speaker 1: Missouri's coming off a loss and is going to be
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  Speaker 1: desperate to make sure that its season doesn't start slipping away.
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  Speaker 1: This game has been locked in for 3.30 on Saturday
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  Speaker 1: on ABC, and I think this is a fascinating test
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  Speaker 1: for Florida. Missouri is not a team that Florida has
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  Speaker 1: done well against since they've joined the conference. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: Florida has a losing record on the road to Missouri.
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  Speaker 1: This is actually a game I pick Florida to lose.
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  Speaker 1: over the summer when we did our picks. Florida's got
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  Speaker 1: to be careful. This is a test. Emotionally, how do
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  Speaker 1: you come down from what happened on Saturday? You just
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  Speaker 1: beat the number four team in the country in Ole Miss.
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  Speaker 1: The swamp was insane. Everybody's suddenly telling you how good
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  Speaker 1: you are. Your ranking is about to skyrocket. National shows
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  Speaker 1: are talking about you. Your players are starting to get
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  Speaker 1: national recognition. Now go on the road and play Missouri.
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  Speaker 1: That is where we can learn something else about Coach
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  Speaker 1: Summerall's team. Can they handle success? That's the next step.
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  Speaker 1: Beating Ole Miss was enormous. But if you turn around
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  Speaker 1: seven days later and lose at Missouri, suddenly the entire
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  Speaker 1: conversation changes again. That's college football. That's the SEC. That's
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  Speaker 1: how this works. You don't get to celebrate for three weeks.
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  Speaker 1: And I guarantee you Summerall's going to spend this entire
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  Speaker 1: week telling his players exactly that. His message after Ole
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  Speaker 1: Miss was basically, we haven't arrived yet. I think that's perfect.
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  Speaker 1: I think that's exactly what this team needs to hear.
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  Speaker 1: Enjoy Saturday. Absolutely. That was special. But don't start believing
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  Speaker 1: that you've accomplished something in September because look at what
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  Speaker 1: is still coming at Missouri, South Carolina. Then you go
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  Speaker 1: to Austin, Georgia and Atlanta, Oklahoma back here at home,
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  Speaker 1: at Kentucky, Vanderbilt, at Florida State. There are massive opportunities
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  Speaker 1: on this schedule. There are also plenty of places where
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  Speaker 1: Florida can get beat. But here's the difference now. A
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  Speaker 1: month ago, you looked at that schedule and you wondered
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  Speaker 1: how Florida was going to survive it. Now you look
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  Speaker 1: at it and you start wondering how many of those
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  Speaker 1: teams are looking at Florida and thinking, oh, crap. Because
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  Speaker 1: Florida suddenly looks like one of those teams that nobody
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  Speaker 1: wants to play. They are physical. They have explosive players.
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  Speaker 1: They have a quarterback playing within himself. They have two
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  Speaker 1: running backs who can take over games. They have dangerous
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  Speaker 1: special teams. They've already shown they can win an SEC
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  Speaker 1: game on the road. And the swamp looks like one
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  Speaker 1: of the most intimidating environments in college football. It's a
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  Speaker 1: pretty good formula. And then there's the bigger picture with
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  Speaker 1: the SEC. There is going to be absolute chaos in
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  Speaker 1: this league. There already is. Ole Miss now has a loss.
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  Speaker 1: Missouri has a loss. Texas A & M has taken losses.
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  Speaker 1: LSU has a loss. You're going to have these teams
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  Speaker 1: beating each other all season. Florida does not need to
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  Speaker 1: go 12-0 for us to have a playoff conversation. And
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  Speaker 1: that's an important part of all of this. With this schedule,
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  Speaker 1: if Florida keeps stacking quality wins and remains around the
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  Speaker 1: top of the SEC standings, They are going to have
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  Speaker 1: a resume that gets taken very seriously. And the Ole
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  Speaker 1: Miss win is now the centerpiece of that resume. The
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  Speaker 1: number four team in the country. You beat them by 24.
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  Speaker 1: That sticks out. And the most exciting part, if you're
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  Speaker 1: a Florida fan, I don't think Florida played a perfect
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  Speaker 1: football game on Saturday. Actually, not even close. They had
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  Speaker 1: eight penalties for 92 yards. Ole Miss threw for almost 300.
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  Speaker 1: Florida gave up explosive plays. BB3 got hurt. There were
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  Speaker 1: scoring opportunities that Florida didn't capitalize. There are absolutely things
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  Speaker 1: to fix. And they still scored 52. And they still
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  Speaker 1: rushed for 302 yards. And they still won by 24.
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  Speaker 1: That is why this feels different. We're not watching Florida
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  Speaker 1: play its absolute best game imaginable and saying, well, hopefully
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  Speaker 1: they can recreate that every Saturday. There is still room
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  Speaker 1: for this team to get better. And maybe that brings
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  Speaker 1: us back to Summeroff's quote, the beast isn't fully awake yet.
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  Speaker 1: Normally coaches say something like that and you roll your
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  Speaker 1: eyes a little bit. All right, coach or whatever. But
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  Speaker 1: after watching Florida put 52 on the number four team
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  Speaker 1: in the country, I'm listening. Four games into this thing,
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  Speaker 1: Florida has already changed the expectations. They are 4-0. They
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  Speaker 1: are 2-0 in the SEC. They have a signature win.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: They have a road conference win. They have one of
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: the best running backs in America. I think the best
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  Speaker 1: running back in America. They have an identity. And now
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  Speaker 1: the national conversation is changing. So are the Florida Gators
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  Speaker 1: officially a college football playoff team? I'm not saying that yet.
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  Speaker 1: It is way too early. But they are a college
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  Speaker 1: football contender now. In September, that conversation is no longer premature.
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  Speaker 1: Florida earned that right to be in the conversation on Saturday.
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  Speaker 1: And now comes the hard part. Now you've got everybody's attention.
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  Speaker 1: What do you do with it? For the first time
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  Speaker 1: in a long time, Florida isn't trying to convince people
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  Speaker 1: it's coming back. People are starting to see it on
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: their own. Now you have to prove that Saturday wasn't
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  Speaker 1: the destination. It was the beginning. The next stop is Columbia,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Missouri at 3.30 p.m. on ABC and suddenly every Florida
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: game feels a whole lot bigger. Appreciate you guys for
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: tuning in. Let me know. Does it make you nervous
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: to hear Florida discussed in the national conversation? It does
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: make me a little bit concerned. And as Florida ranked
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: fairly this week, let's talk about it down in the comments.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Big thank you to price picks for all their support.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Don't forget, download the app. If you haven't signed up yet,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: do it. Use our code HMA, play a $ 5 lineup.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: And if you win, you'll get $ 150 in lineups instantly.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in and go Gators.