DAN MULLEN

First-year Florida football coach Billy Napier plans, plots and perfects every minute of each day.

Urban Meyer is returning to Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday” college football pregame show after his NFL coaching career lasted less than one full season.

Life at the top of the Southeastern Conference can be difficult, especially when anything short of a national championship in football is considered unsatisfactory.

Isaiah Bowser ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns, Ryan O’Keefe had 85 yards on seven receptions, and Central Florida earned Sunshine State bragging rights by beating Florida 29-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday night.

UCF’s long wait for another shot at Florida is over.

A person familiar with negotiations says new Florida coach Billy Napier agreed to a seven-year, $51.8 million contract that makes him the fifth-highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.

Florida has hired Louisiana-Lafayette's Billy Napier to be the Gators' next football coach.

Anthony Richardson came off the bench and led Florida to a 24-21 victory over rival Florida State on Saturday that made the Gators bowl eligible a week after firing coach Dan Mullen.

In-state rivals Florida and Florida State have bowl eligibility at stake this weekend.

It's rivalry week across the Southeastern Conference, with plenty of stakes beyond bragging rights.

Greg Knox is stepping in as an interim football coach for Dan Mullen for the second time in five years.

Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene.

Florida has fired coach Dan Mullen a day after his sixth loss in nine games.

Florida has fired coach Dan Mullen a day after his sixth loss in nine games.

Connor Bazelak threw a 2-point conversion pass to Daniel Parker Jr. to lift Missouri to a 24-23 overtime victory over Florida on Saturday.

Emory Jones accounted for 550 yards and seven touchdowns, delivering a career performance in Florida’s come-from-behind, 70-52 victory against lower-division Samford.

Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, recovering from a concussion, injured a knee dancing in the team hotel the night before losing at South Carolina.

Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene.

Jason Brown threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns in his FBS starting debut and South Carolina's defense shut down Florida's potent attack to hand the Gators their first three-game losing three since 2017 in a 40-17 rout Saturday night.

All of a sudden, the roof has caved in and coach Dan Mullen is starting to feel some serious heat from outraged fans.

Is Dan Mullen really on the hot seat at Florida.

Georgia and Alabama could be heading for another showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Emory Jones had a career-high four touchdowns passes, potentially quieting calls for backup Anthony Richardson, and No. 20 Florida routed woeful Vanderbilt 42-0.

Emory Jones had two touchdown passes to go along with a career-high 144 yards rushing, leading No. 11 Florida to a 38-14 victory over Tennessee on Saturday night and extending nearly two decades of dominance in the series.

Alabama looked beatable.

Bryce Young’s first collegiate road start was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped top-ranked Alabama hold off No. 11 Florida 31-29 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

It didn’t take Tim Tebow very long to realize Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was different.

Some Southeastern Conference defenses are flexing their muscles after 2020 being a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.

No. 13 Florida tuned up for the start of Southeastern Conference play with a 42-20 rout of overmatched South Florida that did little to answer the question of whether starter Emory Jones or backup Anthony Richardson is best suited to run the Gators offense.

The Southeastern Conference is moving away from early season cupcakes.

The Florida Gators will head to Tampa this weekend to play against the University of South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Florida coach Dan Mullen insists he has no quarterback controversy: Emory Jones is the starter, and Anthony Richardson remains the backup following a 35-14 victory against Florida Atlantic on Saturday night in which one clearly outplayed the other.

In what was otherwise a rough two weeks in Tokyo for NBC Universal, viewers perked up a bit in the second week of the games when the U.S. team's performance did the same.

Florida will spend at least part of its training camp in a hotel as coach Dan Mullen searches for ways to avoid another COVID-19 outbreak within the program.

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey is echoing a call for potential changes in how college athletics are governed.

Florida football coach Dan Mullen received a three-year contract extension worth an additional $1.5 million annually following a disappointing season that closed with a three-game losing streak and included several public relations missteps and NCAA sanctions.

Florida football coach Dan Mullen received a three-year contract extension worth an additional $1.5 million annually following a disappointing season that closed with a three-game losing streak and included several public relations missteps and NCAA sanctions.

Florida coach Dan Mullen, center, watches play against Oklahoma during the first half of the Cotton Bowl NCAA college football game in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A person familiar with the situation says Florida coach Dan Mullen has fired two defensive assistants in the wake of the unit’s worst season in more than a hundred years. The Sooners racked up a whopping 684 yards — the most any team has ever gained against Florida — in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night. The Gators played without three defensive starters in the Cotton Bowl. Even with those give guys, Florida’s defense was mostly a debacle.

(AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida quarterback Kyle Trask made his future plans official Thursday, formally announcing he’s declining an opportunity to return to school and entering the NFL draft. No one thought Trask would stick around following a record-breaking season that included being named a Heisman Trophy finalist. He led the nation in passing yards and TD passes. He broke the previous school record (39) for TD passes (39) set by 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. Fellow defensive tackle Zachary Carter, meanwhile, announced plans to return to school for his senior season.

8 Oklahoma beat 10th-ranked SEC runner-up Florida 55-20 on Wednesday night in the Cotton Bowl. Back in the same NFL stadium where 11 days earlier they won their sixth consecutive Big 12 title, the Sooners (9-2, No. The 55 points were their most ever in a bowl game, while piling up a Cotton Bowl-record 684 total yards. 1 Alabama in the SEC title game, and had averaged nearly 42 points a game. Oklahoma: With Rattler and Mims among the young standouts coming back, the Sooners could again be favored to win another Big 12 title.

WHAT'S AT STAKEBig 12 champion Oklahoma takes a seven-game winning streak into its sixth consecutive New Year's Six bowl game. Florida is playing in its third consecutive NY6 game, having won the Orange Bowl and Peach Bowl the previous two years. ... Oklahoma is 5-2 at AT&T Stadium, including its fourth straight Big 12 title game there 11 days before the Cotton Bowl kickoff. The Gators' three losses were by a combined 12 points. The Sooners are playing in a bowl game for the 22nd season in a row, with Georgia's 24 in a row the only longer active streak.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen speaks with players before the first half of the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game between Florida and Alabama, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida received a year of probation and football coach Dan Mullen was sanctioned Tuesday after the school and the NCAA agreed to resolve an infractions case involving impermissible contact with recruits last year. Mullen was hit with a one-year show cause order, during which he was prohibited from all off-campus recruiting activity this past fall. Because of the pandemic, the NCAA restricted off-campus recruiting for most of this year. Florida has banned Mullen from recruiting for the first 10 days of January.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Oklahoma is going right back to the stadium where the Sooners just won their sixth Big 12 championship in a row to play SEC runner-up Florida in the Cotton Bowl. During a Gators team meeting on Zoom to discuss their bowl destination, one of the first questions players asked Mullen was where the Cotton Bowl was played. Oklahoma is in the Cotton Bowl for only the third time, its first since a 41-13 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 4, 2013. The Cotton Bowl will be played two days before Alabama faces No. Pitts announced is turning pro and won't play in the Cotton Bowl.

The senior leads the nation and has already set the school season record for touchdown passes with 40, despite the shortened, SEC-only schedule. He also ranks second nationally in passing yards per game (360.3), one spot ahead of Jones at 345.9. FACTS & FIGURESThis will be the 10th time the teams have met in the SEC championship game, with Alabama holding a 5-4 edge. The tight end has been a big weapon in Florida's passing game with 16 TD receptions. ... Florida K Evan McPherson is a three-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist who has made 48 of 56 field goal attempts (85.7%) in his college career.

Kyle has certainly done that and has had as fine a season as anybody in the country.”Ditto for Jones. Trask has already set the school season record for touchdown passes despite the shortened, SEC-only schedule. Trask is second nationally in passing yards per game (360.3), one spot ahead of Jones at 345.9. Jones said he looks up to Trask as both a person and a player, especially since both opted to stick it out instead of transferring. “I definitely have a lot of respect for Kyle, for how he’s handled his situation, too,” the 'Bama quarterback said.

But for most of the game, Trask looked nothing like the Heisman Trophy front-runner. But for most of the game, Trask looked nothing like the Heisman Trophy front-runner. Florida: The Gators have all kinds of issues heading into the title game. POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Gators surely will tumble in the next AP college football poll and in the CFP rankings. ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

The Gators have clinched the Southeastern Conference’s East Division and will play top-ranked Alabama in the league title game next week in Atlanta. Losing to LSU in the Swamp would eliminate any chance Florida has of sneaking into the College Football Playoff with a loss to the heavily favored Crimson Tide. Florida: TE Kyle Pitts is Kyle Trask’s top target and the team’s best pro prospect. … LSU self-imposed a one-year ban on postseason play Wednesday as part an effort to cooperate with an NCAA probe into rules violations. … Florida has won 12 straight at home, the team’s longest streak since winning 14 in a row between 2008 and 2010.

Arkansas acting head coach Barry Odom, center, watches a stadium video monitor after Florida scored a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Trask repeatedly torched the Razorbacks (3-4), who were without coach Sam Pittman and without much of a chance by halftime. It was the second time this season Trask tossed six TDs in a game. “I think I did a great job of executing and being efficient,” said Trask, who now has an SEC-record 28 TD passes and just three interceptions in six games. He became the third player in school history with at least 25 touchdown passes in multiple years, joining Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel. Florida: The Gators have the offense to beat anyone and the defense to keep everyone in games.

His Florida teammates took it to another level, running and leaping into the stands. Trask had another four-touchdown night, becoming the first quarterback in Southeastern Conference history to accomplish the feat in five consecutive games, and the eighth-ranked Gators beat No. Trask and the Gators took advantage, burning Georgia repeatedly with wheel routes while overcoming a 14-0 deficit. If they’re going bracket and take away and double people, he’s going to go to who you’re not doubling or covering.”Once Trask and Florida got going, the Bulldogs did little to stop them. Florida notched a signature win for Mullen, but likely can't afford a slip-up down the stretch to remain in play for a CFP spot.

He’s hard to block. … What he’s really good at is rushing the passer like all the Florida guys they’ve had over the past. …“He’s playing really well for them. He’s playing physical. He’s playing hard.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Southeastern Conference fined Florida coach Dan Mullen $25,000 on Monday for his role in a benches-clearing brawl against Missouri. Each of them will sit out the first half of Missouri’s next game, against No. Missouri linebacker Tre Williams was ejected for a flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct foul and will not be punished further. “There is no place in college football for the kind of incident that took place at halftime of the Missouri at Florida game Saturday night," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. Florida’s faithful dismissed Mullen’s strong and somewhat questionable stances as typical brashness for an outspoken coach who’s focused on winning.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida coach Dan Mullen dressed as Darth Vader was fitting considering his last three weeks. Mullen showed up following a 41-17 victory over Missouri wearing a full “Star Wars” villain costume, complete with a red lightsaber. Mullen’s month concluded with a lopsided victory that was marred by a benches-clearing melee at halftime. So did Mullen, who started screaming at the officials and in the direction of the opposing sideline. “Never know with Coach Mullen,” safety Brad Stewart said.

It could be costly for Florida (3-1), which plays rival and fifth-ranked Georgia next week in nearby Jacksonville. The referee huddled Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and Mullen near the goal line and then announced the ejections. Missouri defensive lineman Tre Williams, Florida defensive end Zach Carter and Florida linebacker Antwuan Powell were tossed. Florida forced a fumble on the ensuing play, and Toney was at it again. Florida plays Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, which will be limited to about 18,000 fans.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___California’s men’s basketball team is pausing workouts after an unidentified player tested positive for COVID-19. ___The NFL and its players' union say eight players and 11 other personnel tested positive in the latest round of screening for COVID-19. Coach Dan Mullen, at least two assistants and more than two dozen players tested positive following a road trip to Texas A&M earlier this month. FIU has seen more than 30 players miss time this season because of positive coronavirus tests or a need to quarantine after potential exposure. Last Sunday’s game between Lens and Nantes was postponed after 11 Lens players and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen reacts during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. 10 Florida is planning to start returning to its football facility Monday, nearly two weeks after the program shut down because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Coach Dan Mullen, one of more than two dozen Gators who tested positive for the coronavirus last week, sounded congested as he said the team had a new positive Wednesday. '”Mullen suggested Florida would look at potentially changing its road routine, especially in regards to the size of visiting locker rooms around the league. It certainly was from the trip, but I don’t think it was from one specific aspect of the trip.

The Florida Gators football team reported 25 more positive COVID-19 tests among the team in the past week, according to school officials. This past Saturday coach Dan Mullen posted on Twitter he had tested positive for the virus. [TRENDING: How to turn off Facebook election reminders | Big rig with police lights pulling over drivers | Voter Guide 2020]The Southeastern Conference has rescheduled the Oct. 24 Florida vs. Missouri football game, according to officials with the Gators. Last week, 19 players and coaches tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a report from the Associated Press. [RELATED: SEC postpones Florida-LSU game as Gators deal with COVID-19 outbreak]The Gators were supposed to play against the LSU Tigers on Oct. 17, the Florida vs. LSU game will now be on Dec. 12.

___The Italian swim team’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympics are in crisis with 10 more athletes testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini was already at home in isolation after testing positive last week. The federation says all of the swimmers are asymptomatic and that no staff members have tested positive. ___The Mountain West football game between New Mexico and Colorado State has been canceled due to COVID-19. Overall contenders Simon Yates and Steven Kruijswijk had already been withdrawn from the race after testing positive.

Mullen made the announcement Saturday on Twitter, saying his initial positive result was confirmed by a second test. The 10th-ranked Gators had at least 21 players and coaches test positive earlier this week, an outbreak that prompted the Southeastern Conference to postpone Florida's next two games. Two assistant coaches also tested positive for the highly contagious virus. Florida has started administering daily tests since it first suspected an outbreak following last week's loss at Texas A&M. Mullen raised eyebrows after the loss to the Aggies by saying he wanted to pack the Swamp against LSU.

University of Florida football coach Dan Mullen announced on Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. In his tweet, Mullen said he self-isolating with his family and following guidelines set forth by the CDC and public health officials. The news capped off a whirlwind week for Mullen, who drew criticism for comments after last Saturday’s loss at Texas A&M that he hoped Ben Griffin Stadium would be at full capacity for a scheduled Saturday game against LSU. The game ended up being postponed until Dec. 12 after 21 Florida players (18 scholarship, 3 walk-ons) tested positive for COVID-19.

10 Florida's game against defending national champion LSU was postponed Wednesday to tentatively Dec. 12 after the SEC postponed Missouri-Vanderbilt on Monday. Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason is going through a similar situation. To play, the SEC requires at least 53 on game days. Timing is critical depending on the day of the week a positive test or tracing result returns. “Every time you’re taking a test," Mason said, “you're crossing your fingers ... you don't have anybody in harm's way."

10 Florida and defending national champion LSU a day after the Gators had 19 players test positive for COVID-19. The game was tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 12, the league's built-in bye week before its title game. It's the second SEC game bumped this week, following Missouri-Vanderbilt. Gators coach Dan Mullen said two assistant coaches also tested positive for COVID-19. Now, the Gators are trying to trace the origin of the outbreak.

10 Florida and defending national champion LSU are now scheduled to play in December. Unfortunately for coach Dan Mullen, the stadium still won't be packed. The Southeastern Conference postponed Saturday’s LSU-Florida game a day after Mullen had 19 players and coaches test positive for COVID-19. Florida hosts Missouri next, on October 24, and that game also could be in jeopardy. Mullen said two assistant coaches also tested positive.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen reacts during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. 10 Florida paused all team activities Tuesday following “an increase in positive COVID tests among players," putting Saturday's home game against defending national champion LSU in jeopardy. The Gators had 19 positives following Tuesday morning testing, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. He brushed aside criticism and praised his players for how well they have handled COVID safety protocols. The Gators test student-athletes three times a week, with football players getting tested Sunday at noon as well as Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

10 Florida has five new COVID-19 cases. Coach Dan Mullen praised the way his team has handled coronavirus protocols Monday, avoiding a major outbreak with the highly transmissible virus. I think we’re a model of safety of what we’ve been doing during this time period,” Mullen said. “I’m really proud of how we’ve handled everything and how safe we’ve been with everything we’re doing and all the precautions we’ve had in place during this time.”The team had 21 positive cases once players returned to campus in late May, but it has dealt with 16 positive cases since. It is not known at this time if the Gators vs. Tigers game will be postponed or canceled.

With a defense giving up nearly 500 yards and five touchdowns a game, Florida’s preseason title hopes are in jeopardy. Florida’s defense ranks 13th in the Southeastern Conference and 72nd in the country (only 76 Football Bowl Subdivision teams are currently playing). “Well, first of all, as a defense we’ve got to take responsibility,” junior defensive tackle Zach Carter said. Now is a great time for us to come together.”It’s been a weekly debacle, really, with the team’s offensive prowess masking many of the defensive deficiencies. “I think we’ll be fine.”The schedule doesn’t get much easier, if at all, with defending national champion LSU (1-2) up next.

The Champions Hockey League was due to begin next month in an already-shortened format with a knockout bracket and no round-robin. ___Senegal’s friendly soccer match against Mauritania has been canceled after eight members of the Mauritanian delegation tested positive for COVID-19. It says the results showed eight positive tests among the Mauritanian delegation. ___Slovakia coach Pavel Hapal has tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss the Nations League game against Israel on Wednesday. Two players, Milan Skriniar and Jaroslav Mihalik, and a staff member tested positive before Sunday’s Nations League against Scotland that Slovakia lost in Glasgow 1-0.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida coach Dan Mullen was given several more chances Monday to clarify any confusion regarding his comments about wanting to pack 90,000 screaming fans inside Florida Field during the coronavirus pandemic. He declined each of them, brushing aside criticism and insisting he's focused on defending national champion LSU. “I think Texas A&M actually, they created a great atmosphere at the game, created an exciting atmosphere, you know?," the coach said. The Gators had 2,000 of a nearly 17,000 allotment unsold for their home opener against South Carolina two weeks ago. But Mullen apparently believes crowded bleachers would be OK.“These preventative measures remain the most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Fuchs said.

3 Florida to a 38-24 victory over South Carolina on Saturday. The next performance comes at Kyle Field, where Texas A&M will try to become the first Southeastern Conference opponent to slow down Trask and Pitts in 2020. Kevin Harris was one of the few bright spots for South Carolina, which flubbed a chance to make it a one-score game in the final minute. DROPPED PASSESA big reason South Carolina couldn’t keep up in the first half was dropped passes. Florida takes its “Kyle to Kyle Show” to Kyle Field to play Texas A&M next Saturday.

Florida tight end Kyle Pitts (84) breaks away from Mississippi linebacker Jacquez Jones (32) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. 5 Florida won 51-35. (AP Photo/Thomas Graning)

The star tight end caught four of Kyle Trask’s six touchdown passes and No. 5 Florida spoiled the head coaching debut of Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin with a 51-35 victory Saturday. Trask completed 30 of 42 passes for 416 yards including touchdown passes of 1, 16, 71 and 17 yards to Pitts. Trask modestly chose to deflect the attention to 6-foot-6, 240-pound Pitts, who consistently found seams in the Ole Miss secondary. Ole Miss (0-1) tied it at 14 midway through the second quarter before yielding to the Trask-led Florida outburst.

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, file photo, Lane Kiffin speaks to Mississippi fans after being announced as the new head football coach during a introductory press conference in Oxford, Miss. In attendance were his children, daughters Presley Kiffin, 13, left, Landry Kiffin, 15, second from left, and son Knox Kiffin, 10. Mississippi State's Mike Leach and Mississippi's Lane Kiffin brought big names and offensive pedigrees to the Magnolia State. But they drew huge challenges for their debuts, with the Bulldogs visiting defending national champion and No. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Mississippi State's Mike Leach and Mississippi's Lane Kiffin brought big names and offensive pedigrees to the Magnolia State. Mike Leach expected to start his first season at Mississippi State versus New Mexico. Instead, both coaches — and their respective offenses — will encounter stiffer challenges in their Magnolia State debuts. 5 Florida and ex-Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen as two-touchdown underdogs. Before Deion Sanders made a prime-time splash when he was hired by Jackson State on Monday; Leach and Kiffin were splashy hires in the state.

It also could be Mullen taking over-the-top precaution as the eighth-ranked Gators get ready to begin a championship-or-bust season. We have the potential to go compete for a championship and be a championship team, said Mullen, who is 21-5 in two seasons in Gainesville. Florida won 10 games in Mullens first season and 11 in Year 2. Despite Franks' departure, the Gators still have as much depth at the position as they've had in years. This season, Wilson has All-SEC potential and fellow cornerback Kaiir Elam is considered a rising star after a breakout freshman year.

College football teams from Florida will travel across the nations for the upcoming bowl season. The Gators defeated both in-state rivals in the Florida State Seminoles (40-17) and the Miami Hurricanes (24-20). Head coach Dan Mullen is the first coach with two 10-win seasons in his first two seasons in school history. Florida State SeminolesFlorida State mustered to a 6-6 finish with head coach woes and road struggles. Florida State will aim to win its 27th bowl win since 1980.

– Kyle Trask threw two touchdown passes after a sluggish first half by No. 11 Florida and the Gators beat Missouri 23-6 on Saturday. That was plenty of offense for Florida (9-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference), which held Missouri to 204 total yards. Missouri: The Tigers had been two different teams this season based on the location of the game. Florida: The Gators have a week off before finishing the regular season on Nov. 30 at home against Florida State.

It was a humbling, two-week stretch that threatened to derail coach Dan Mullen’s first season in Gainesville. Mullen and the ninth-ranked Gators (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) don’t want to experience it again. Florida, coming off a 14-point loss at LSU , hopes to regroup and rebound at South Carolina (3-3, 2-2). It’s the first of four consecutive games against Eastern Division foes that will determine the Gators’ season. The Gators allowed 511 yards and 42 points against LSU — both the most surrendered during Mullen’s two seasons.