After Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley ripped through the Florida Gators, Dan Mullen was full of excuses.
The Sooners ended their season on an eight-game winning streak, and are seen as some as the likely 2021 National Title favorite. With Spencer Rattler, a former No. 1 quarterback recruit, returning as the unquestioned starter, there’s no telling what heights these Sooners will reach next year.
Florida, on the other hand, lost their final three games, two of which came against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 6 Sooners. When tested, Kyle Trask and Florida didn’t play up to their ranking, although they did give Bama their best game to date.
Mullen is convinced this isn’t a significant setback for the Florida program, instead subtly hinting at the number of players missing due to COVID-19 protocol.
Mullen was ready with excuses after getting upstaged at the Cotton Bowl
“I kind of viewed — I don’t know, maybe this is wrong — that wasn’t the 2020 football team that you saw,” Mullen said. “There were 25 guys missing off the 2020 football team out there tonight. That was kind of a kick-start for us for the future, an opportunity for the young guys to play.”
Mullen wasn’t totally off-base. Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes, Jacob Copeland and Kyle Pitts were all out. Kyle Trask was throwing to some unfamiliar weapons out there. Still, to lose by 30-plus and give up over 50 points in a bowl game is an embarrassment of sorts, even if Mullen doesn’t want to admit it.
College football fans would tend to agree.
https://twitter.com/jontweetssports/status/1344501835021905920
Mullen isn’t wrong with his comments, but being shorthanded due to COVID-19 is nothing new. In fact, it’s something most programs have been forced to deal with this season.
Making such comments takes away from Oklahoma’s accomplishment in a season none of us thought was possible to begin with. It’d be best to keep those opinions internal.
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