Saturday, 4 a.m.
It's about a trophy. It's about a memory. Heck, at the University of Florida, it might be about a statue.
For the Gators, and for Kyle Trask, all that's riding on the next three games is immortality.
Win or lose, Trask is quite the story. From being another guy named Ned on the sidelines, he has moved to the short list of Heisman candidates. Personally, I think he's still behind Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, and probably Mack Jones of Alabama. But he's been good enough to get a trip to New York for the awards ceremony, and that in itself isn't bad.
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Thirty-four touchdowns? Almost 3,000 passing yards? That'll do.
But if you know Florida football, perhaps that begs the question: Where are the other statues?
I'm serious. If Florida insists on giving out statues willy-nilly, then why stop at the three Heisman-winning quarterbacks?
How about Emmitt Smith? Wouldn't he look good in a statue? Wilber Marshall? Wes Chandler? Jack Youngblood. That's the thing about statues. You start carving, and pretty soon, they're everywhere.
For now, however, Florida draws the line at Heisman winners. Which can put Trask in the conversation if the Gators can get on a run and beat (in order) Tennessee, LSU and Alabama. That's a tough month of work, of course, but for Trask to win the Heisman, he has to win them all.
Today, the Gators play against Tennessee in a game that used to be quite the rivalry until the Vols gave up being a team that mattered in the SEC. Now, as cool as the Volunteer Navy is, and iconic as those checkerboard end zones are, it's just another building.
Prediction: Florida 29, Tennessee 17.
In other college games:
Notre Dame 35, Syracuse 10.
Alabama 38, LSU 20.
Miami 41, Duke 14.
Ohio State 45, Michigan State 21.
And in the NFL:
New Orleans 31, Atlanta 20.
Tennessee 24, Cleveland 21.
L.A. Rams 34, Arizona 32.