GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They were once up-and-comers calling the plays in the Florida-Florida State rivalry.
Gators head coach Dan Mullen was in his third season as UF's offensive coordinator in 2007 when Jimbo Fisher, already familiar to Mullen as the offensive coordinator at LSU, bolted Baton Rouge to become head coach-in-waiting at Florida State. By the time the transition from Bobby Bowden to Fisher took place after the 2009 season, Mullen was in his first season as head coach at Mississippi State.
Over the course of the next decade, both Mullen and Fisher ascended to the top of their profession. They meet for the first time as opposing head coaches on Saturday when the No. 4 Gators (2-0) visit No. 21 Texas A&M (1-1) at Kyle Field.
"I've talked to him a little bit. I know him from the SEC meetings, know him as a head coach, talking that way,'' Mullen said this week. "Never spent significant amount of time with him. Always thought he does a great job. Obviously, a great offensive coach, puts his guys in good position to make plays, innovative, understands how to utilize the personnel he has to build the offense around the personnel."
They say the same about Mullen, who took over the Gators in 2018, the same season Fisher arrived at Texas A&M. When Mullen returned to Florida, one of his primary goals was to lift the Gators back ahead of Florida State, a task that both Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain were unable to accomplish with Fisher leading the Seminoles.
Fisher went 7-1 against the Gators, his only loss coming in 2012 in Tallahassee. Some of the losses were ugly. However, Mullen has defeated FSU the past two years and the Gators are undoubtedly the program in better shape as the 2020 season digs deeper into the calendar.
Meanwhile, Fisher has faced some turbulence in trying to take the Aggies to the heights he led the Seminoles, most notably the 2013 national championship. Coming off last week's 52-24 loss at Alabama, Fisher faced some pointed questions about where the program is. While Mullen is 23-5 in his first 28 games at Florida, Fisher is 18-10 with the Aggies.
"At the end of three years, we'll look and see where we are, and our evaluation of what we need to do," Fisher told reporters this week. "We love our young players, the older players have gotten better. But until you when them all, you're never satisfied. We have to learn to make the critical plays in critical moments."
In their head-to-head meetings as assistants, Fisher won in 2005 while at LSU, but Mullen won the last three meetings, including a 45-12 win at the Swamp over FSU in 2007 and a 45-15 win in Tallahassee in 2008.
They finally meet again.
For more on Saturday's game between the Gators and Aggies, here is The Opening Kickoff: FOUR QUESTIONS WITH ... GATORS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN ANDREW CHATFIELD JR.
Defensive lineman Andrew Chatfield Jr. pressures South Carolina quarterback Collin Hill in Florida's 38-24 win over the Gamecocks. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Q: How much of an emphasis is there on keeping Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond in the pocket?
A: It's very important right now. We're just not over-rushing and leaving open lanes and creating lanes.
Q: How dynamic of a player is he?
A: He's definitely very athletic. When he gets out of the pocket, he really, like, makes things happen, so our best thing right now is to try and keep him in the pocket.
Q: How many times have you watched that pancake sack you had against South Carolina?
A: I think I probably just watched it like five or six times. You just got to move on to the next.
Q: There was also a play where you and Brenton Cox Jr. had a meet-at-the-quarterback sack. How much can that become part of your game with someone like Cox on the opposite side?
A: It's very inspired. We always, every time after practice, we come up with different moves every single day. Always trying to get better. Always getting after it. Rushing with him, you learn a lot. We both teach other. Like, we figure out, 'what's your weakness, what's my weakness?' And how we can make that stronger.
THREE STORYLINES
The Gators face their stiffest challenge of the young season. The Aggies are projected to contend for the SEC West title but failed their first test of the season in last week's loss at Alabama. For the Gators, they spent much of the week talking about developing a killer instinct to close out games, something they lacked in wins over Ole Miss and South Carolina. If this one is close late with the Gators in front, a lackluster finish could cost them.
Gators quarterback Kyle Trask grew up in Texas in a family full of relatives who attended Texas A&M, including his parents. Oh, and according to family lore, they named him after Kyle Field, home of the Aggies. Expect to hear more of the story on ESPN's broadcast Saturday.
The Gators offense is averaging 44.5 points through two games, fourth nationally and second in the SEC. Still, much of the chatter around the team this week focused on tightening up a defense that has allowed 59 points and an average of 471.0 yards per game, ranked 13th in the SEC. The Gators improved against South Carolina but to have a great season, they know they have areas to improve, most notably getting off the field on third down. Florida ranks 10th in the SEC in third-down defense (15 stops in 31 attempts, 48.4 percent).
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond needs 125 yards passing to supplant Jerrod Johnson (8,011 yards) as the school's all-time career passing lead. Mond is a dangerous dual-threat with 38 career games under his belt. He's currently one of two players at Power 5 schools with more than 7,000 career passing yards and 1,200 rushing yards.
Gators tight end Kyle Pitts has become a focal point for every defensive coordinator in the league. Pitts has six touchdown receptions in the first game games, which according to ESPN Stats & Info, makes him only the second SEC player over the last 25 years to have six or more touchdowns over a two-game span behind only Vanderbilt's Earl Bennett (seven in 2005).
UF linebacker Ventrell Miller, who leads the team with 21 tackles, will be tested in reading Mond in the backfield and preventing Texas A&M sophomore running backs Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith from bursting through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary.
FIVE DIGITS
3 – Quarterbacks in SEC history, according to ESPN Stats & Info, to throw for 10 touchdowns through the first two games (Trask in 2020, Kentucky's Tim Couch in 1998 and Florida's Terry Dean in 1994). 5 –Consecutive wins in SEC play for the Gators if they beat Texas A&M, which would be the program's longest streak in conference play since a six-game streak to open the 2012 season. 342.0– Average passing yards per game for Trask, ranked tied for fourth nationally with Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who threw for 435 yards in last week's win over the Aggies. 17 –Tackles for loss by the Gators, which leads the SEC. 13-0 – Texas A&M's record under Fisher when leading at the end of the first quarter. INJURY REPORT
The Gators and Aggies have split four all-time meetings. Texas A&M won the last meeting 19-17 at the Swamp in 2017 as kicker Daniel LaCamera hit four field goals, including the game-winner with 58 seconds left.
Fourth-year junior running back Malik Davis led the Gators with 97 yards rushing in the 2017 matchup, which capped a streak of five consecutive 90-yard games for Davis prior to his season-ending injury against Georgia in the next game. Finally healthy, Davis is averaging 5.3 yards on 11 carries in the season's first two games.
A freshman in 2017, Aggies quarterback Mond was 8 of 24 for 180 yards and an interception and rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown in his only career outing against the Gators.
The Gators are averaging 7.8 yards per play, which leads the SEC and ranks second nationally.
First-year Gators tight ends coach Tim Brewster was an assistant on Fisher's inaugural Texas A&M staff in 2018.
Gators defensive back Marco Wilson and starting offensive tackles Stone Forsythe and Jean Delance each has started 15 consecutive games, which leads the team. Wilson has the most career starts (28) for anyone on the roster.
THE OTHER SIDE
The Gators are making only their second visit in school history to Texas A&M, the most-western stop in the league. The program's first trip to Texas A&M was in 2012, which marked the Aggies' first game as a member of the SEC.
A lot has changed. Back then, good buddies Will Muschamp and Jimbo Fisher headlined the Florida-Florida State rivalry. Dan Mullen was in his fourth season as Mississippi State's head coach and KevinSumlin in his first at Texas A&M, aided by a freshman quarterback named Johnny Manziel.
Florida won 20-17 at Kyle Field, which has undergone a significant renovation since that steamy afternoon eight years ago.
Let's see, the quartet of aforementioned coaches are now at other schools and at last check, Johnny Football was out of the game.
For a pulse on what's happening with the Aggies and a look at some of scenery in College Station, here is this week's 'The Pulse' from Texas A&M athletics:
THEY SAID IT
"At first I was originally going to be committing to Florida, but there was a mix-up in communication with my interest in coming here. They moved on. I wasn't communicating enough with them (about) my interest. And at the time, I didn't understand the extent of the situation I was in at the time, so I was just going about it lackadaisical and then realized that, you know, there's a deadline the day after meeting that if you don't show an interest, they're going to move on. So, that was the majority of my fault, but, you know, take it to the chin and move on." -- Gators starting offensive lineman Stewart Reese, a graduate transfer from Mississippi State who is playing his final year of eligibility at Florida after receiving interest from the Gators coming out high school in Fort Pierce
"I'm not sure about that one. And he's got a lot of touchdowns here at Florida, so I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to catch up, but yeah, I do know him, and he's a great guy. I know his son as well — he's tight with my little brother — so there's a connection there, and he's a great guy. I like to watch him on SEC Network." -- UF redshirt freshman receiver Trent Whittemore on comparisons to former Gators receiver Chris Doering, whom like Whittemore, grew up and played high school sports in Gainesville
"Obviously, he throws a very catchable ball. He has the ability to drive it, to touch it. But I think the biggest attribute is obviously he plays with such a great sense of anticipation and understanding when things are supposed to come open -- and he does a great job of playing with eyes and trusting what he sees. And guys have made plays around him. It helps obviously when you have guys who have great catch radiuses. We try as a staff to put those guys in position to where we can highlight what they do well, and they've done a great job of executing so far." -- Gators offensive coordinator Brian Johnson on Trask's high rate of efficiency in the first two games
"I saw them play right with Alabama with the exception of explosive plays. You look at some of the big-number plays, it wasn't like Alabama was just driving up and down the field on them. They hit some explosives to kinda pull the game away." -- Gators head coach Dan Mullen on Texas A&M in last week's 52-24 loss at Alabama
"I definitely think that starts in practice. We gotta work hard, we gotta work harder and finishing. Finishing is a big thing for us. As the season goes on, we'll connect, we'll come together. We'll come together for the win. I mean, the first two games, it's always tough for any team. And I feel like we'll get it together." -- Redshirt sophomore linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. on the Gators developing a killer instinct
They won at Ole Miss. They took care of South Carolina at home. Next for the Gators is their biggest challenge yet, a road trip to Kyle Field to face Texas A&M. The Aggies have offensive firepower with Mond at quarterback and a talented backfield, but their defense is suspect. Some are saying the same about the Gators after two games. However, no one is questioning Florida's offense, which has rolled up yards and points behind Trask and Pitts. Florida is favored in this one for a reason. The Gators are the deeper, better team. Expect a better defensive performance and enough big plays on offense for Florida to improve to 3-0.
