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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The nice lady who once told Dan Mullen to get lost has been able to rest easy the past couple of seasons.

Mullen left Mississippi State to return to Florida after the 2017 season.
 
"Hopefully, Ole Miss, they're cheering, they like me now," Mullen said this week. "I was at a high school game once and I had a lady come up and say, 'Coach, I pray for you every day.' I said, 'Oh, that's so nice of you.' She goes, 'I'm an Ole Miss fan. I pray somebody comes and gets you the heck out of this state as soon as possible.' So now I left so maybe they like me a little bit."

That might be a stretch. After all, Mullen went 5-4 in the Egg Bowl against the Rebels in his nine seasons at Mississippi State, including a win in his last game there in 2016

For Florida, this is the program's first game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since 2007 and only the second meeting against the Rebels since Mullen left UF after the 2008 season to take over the Bulldogs.

But on Saturday -- 11 a.m. in Oxford and noon in Florida -- the Gators and Rebels kick off their seasons in a much-anticipated, much-uncertain 2020 season amidst the coronavirus pandemic. And while capacity will be limited and The Grove will be much quieter than a normal fall Saturday, it's time to play football.

Mullen's return to Mississippi for the second time in three seasons -- the Gators won at Mississippi State in Mullen's first season two years ago -- adds an extra dose of drama. Oh, and it's the debut of Rebels coach Lane Kiffin, who is never boring.

It's not the Egg Bowl, but Mullen's return and the launch of the Kiffin era is good entertainment for an opener. And it's Ole Miss, which means something much different to Mullen now than when he was Florida's offensive coordinator during a 30-24 win in 2007.

The Egg Bowl changed his perception.

"That game is one of the great rivalries in sports,'' he said. "So to be involved in that, such a huge, huge deal. So, yeah, I have five great memories and four terrible memories. I think of that game, of playing against them. Any time you win, holding that Egg Bowl trophy up, that's really, really, really special. Those are the things that make college football so great and so special — the passion of the fans.

"When I first got there, the teams were kind of fighting for their identity. Then all of the sudden, both teams became top 10, national programs. I don't know if it helped bring it to that level or the rivalry brought it to that level or the intensity got both teams to that level of playing. But it certainly became a big deal and it became a huge game."

Now it's the Gators who are fighting to establish a new identity and perhaps qualify for the College Football Playoff for the first time.

A win at Ole Miss is the first step.

For more on Saturday's matchup between the Gators and Rebels, here is the 2020 debut of The Opening Kickoff:

 
FOUR QUESTIONS WITH ... GATORS QB KYLE TRASK 
 
Q: What is the difference for you related to the higher expectations and the Gators being picked to win the SEC East?

A: I don't really put that added pressure on myself. I just go into this game like I went into any other game last season – that is to prepare to the best of my ability and try to be victorious on Saturday.

Q: How much better are you as a quarterback compared to this point a year ago?

A: For quarterbacks, experience is huge, so to have a whole season under my belt … showed me a lot of things. Hopefully will take my game to the next level.

Q: Do you think your calmness is going to serve you well in a season that is already crazy compared to normal?

A: I think you have no choice but to be patient in times like this. You're going to have to be very flexible this year because things are going to happen that are expected more times than not and I think that, that will help me in the end.

Q: How did recruiters miss on you?

A: I don't know. You've got to go ask them. 
 
THREE STORYLINES

• They started to return to campus May 26 and four months later, following a summer of COVID-19, social unrest and true American angst, the Gators finally have a game. It's going to be different in more ways than we have fingers to count, but it's football. SEC football. The best kind, not that anybody asked. Nobody knows how the 2020 season is going to play out, but it sure is nice to have a Florida football game to talk about, to write about, to watch on Saturday afternoon.
• Now, let's talk about this Gators team. The SEC media considers Florida the favorite to win the East. There's no doubt the Gators look good on paper with a veteran quarterback at the helm, playmakers on offense and defense, and a nice blend of old and new. Florida also has continuity on its coaching staff, a rare occurrence these days. Dan Mullen is 21-5 in two seasons. This is the season the Gators have been building toward, COVID or no COVID. Time to see if the 2020 Gators can fulfill expectations.
• Head coaches are the headliners in college football and first-year Rebels coach Lane Kiffin is playing the lead role in Oxford in 2020. He has a rebuilding job on his hands but Kiffin is considered one of the best offensive minds in the game and is likely to pull off a surprise or two in Year 1. The Gators will do their best on Saturday to make sure it's not at their expense.

 
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH 

• He has gone from a relatively unknown career backup to a cover boy on those preseason magazines that flood the newsstands in the summer. What will Gators quarterback Kyle Trask do for an encore? By now Trask's story has been told nearly as often as the one about Adam and Eve, but it's a good tale and Trask has an opportunity to add another memorable chapter starting Saturday. He has shed some weight since last season and is focused on not letting his breakout 2019 be his college highlight.
• Is this the season fourth-year junior running back Malik Davis stays healthy and touches the ball consistently? Florida's most dynamic running back in 2017 as a true freshman prior to a knee injury, the injury-prone Davis missed the second half of 2017, most of 2018 and was a non-factor in 2019. He has received a slew of positive reviews for his training camp and is primed to help pick up some of the load left behind from the departure of Lamical Perine.
• This is cheating, but Gators fans are interested to see a trio of newcomers: defensive end Brenton Cox Jr., receiver Justin Shorter and running back Lorenzo Lingard. Cox transferred from Georgia and sat out last season, Shorter arrived over the summer from Penn State and Lingard in the spring from Miami. The three former five-star recruits are banking on a fresh start and the Gators gladly welcome the intrigue around them to produce production.

 
FIVE DIGITS
   
INJURY REPORT
 
OUT: OL Ethan White (knee), DL Lamar Goods (foot), DB Fenley Graham (arm), DB Ethan Pouncey (hip, out for season), ATH Nicolas Sutton (undisclosed), ATH Joshua Tse (undisclosed).
 
NOTES FILE
 

• In his 12th season as a head coach, Mullen can move above .500 in SEC play with a victory. Mullen's 11-5 conference record in two seasons at Florida has upped his overall record in conference games to 44-44.
• Mullen went 5-4 against Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl during his nine seasons at Mississippi State. Ole Miss leads the all-time series (12-11-1) against the Gators. Florida won the last meeting between the schools, 38-10, in 2015 by upsetting then-No. 3 Ole Miss at the Swamp.
• This is the first time the Gators have opened the season against an SEC opponent since beat Kentucky 35-19 in 1992, their third season under former coach Steve Spurrier.
• Former Gators linebackers coach and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, who led Florida to a win over East Carolina in the 2014 Birmingham Bowl as interim head coach, is in his first season as Mississippi's defensive coordinator.
• Rebels quarterback John Rhys Plumlee has been clocked at 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash, faster than the 4.39 by former Gators cornerback CJ Henderson
• Ole Miss finished third in the SEC and ninth among FBS schools in rushing last season (251.3 yards per game), led by Rhys Plumlee (see below) and the returning backfield tandem of sophomores Jerrion Ealy (6.9 yards per carry) and Snoop Conner (6.3 ypc).

 
THE OTHER SIDE
 
As the Gators prepare to face Ole Miss in the Rebels' first game under Kiffin, there are plenty of unknowns about their opponent. Don't include Ole Miss quarterbacks John Rhys Plumlee and Matt Corral in that category.

While Kiffin has not named a starter, both Plumlee and Corral have experience and flirted with the idea of joining Mullen coming out of high school. Plumlee, a Mississippi native, told reporters this week that when Mullen was at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs were the first to offer him a scholarship. As for Corral, who is from California, he committed to the Gators in 2017 prior to Mullen's return to UF. He later changed his mind, but not before a visit from Mullen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson in December 2017.

"I remember going to see Matt," Johnson said. "I got hired that Sunday and I was on a plane from Houston to L.A. to go see him first thing Monday morning. I met Coach [Mullen] out there, we got a chance to visit with him for a little bit. I don't think he ever made it to his official visit here. He decided to sign with Ole Miss."
 

Thank you Coach Mullen and Coach Johnson for coming to visit.

I will see you this weekend in the Swamp. 🐊 pic.twitter.com/imPHGFcXq6

— M A T T Y (@corral_matt) December 11, 2017

Last season, Corral made four starts and led the Rebels with 1,362 passing yards and six touchdowns. Plumlee, a speedster and more of a dual-threat quarterback, started eight games and rushed for a team-high 1,023 yards and accounted for 16 touchdowns (12 rushing, four passing).

UF defensive coordinator Todd Grantham won't be surprised to see both play and has stressed that message to the Gators.

"They're both very good players, and you've got to respect both of them," Grantham said. "When you look at Matt, he's a guy that has mobility, he can escape and do those things. But he can throw the ball down the field and make some throws that way. And then when you look at Plumlee, he's a guy that was really dynamic last year against LSU, Auburn, Alabama as far as running the ball. He can really extend plays with his feet."

 
THEY SAID IT
 

• "C.J. is a guy that people kind of overlooked, I feel like, after that Georgia game [in 2018]. Everybody was just bashing him, but that's not the real C.J. The real C.J. is how he's playing now, 100 percent. First game, everybody is going to be kind of shocked seeing him out there making plays." – Gators tight end Kyle Pitts on defensive back C.J. McWilliams, who missed all of last season due to injury but is atop the depth chart at Florida's STAR position in the secondary
• "I kind of joked the other day, but really, I just spent three years in Conference USA so I've been kind of used to socially distancing crowds at a lot of places. So, I don't think it'll be that strange for me." – Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on limited crowd for Gators-Rebels on Saturday
• "I don't know if we have anyone as fast as him on our team. When he first came up, we were looking at him as a corner. He wasn't starting at quarterback. He was playing DB and he can fly. He has elite, elite, elite speed and is a game-breaker." – Gators head coach Dan Mullen on Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee
• "I feel like I owe every quarterback some picks. I'm just ready to compete against him. I know he's a good player. His decision to leave Florida, that's on him. I hope he's successful at Ole Miss, just not this week." – Gators cornerback Marco Wilson on Ole Miss quarterback and former UF commit Matt Corral
• "I think he's the top kicker in college football." – Mullen on Gators junior Evan McPherson, who had made 34 of 38 career field goals (89.5 percent), the best mark in school history for kickers with 35 or more attempts

   
THEY WROTE IT
 

• Ten bold predictions for an unpredictable SEC football season from Joseph Goodman of AL.com.
• How does SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey define a successful season in the coronavirus era? Question posed in story by Matt Baker of TampaBay.com.
• With Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss looks for creative ways to deploy its talent writes Andy Staples of TheAthletic.com.
• Stranger Things: Florida's rivalry with Ole Miss has had everything writes Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun.
• If you missed this over the summer, a good read from Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel on Gators quarterback Kyle Trask's football roots tracing to his grandfather Orville Trask, a former player with the Houston Oilers.
• Dan Mullen says Gators defensive tackle Kyree Campbell and safety Brad Stewart are available for Ole Miss writes Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports.com.
• Three observations on Florida's initial depth chart at offensive line writes Demetrius Harvey of SI.com/AllGators.

 
BOTTOM LINE
 
This section of The Opening Kickoff has had a much better record the past two seasons. In fact, like the Gators, the record was 11-2 last season. Funny how that works sometimes. The fifth-ranked Gators are a deeper, more talented team than the Rebels. If reports out of Oxford are true, Kiffin got so ticked at the success of the Rebels scout team quarterback emulating Trask that he pulled the defense off the field in practice the other day. That could be a very good sign for the Gators since Trask is expected to air it out his fair share on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. It's going to be very interesting to see how both teams react to the altered environment and what, if any, players are unable to play due to COVID. That's going to be an ongoing storyline in 2020. In this one, the story that should play out is that the better team wins, and that's the Gators.