Questions worth pondering as the football fan bases in north Florida deal with pathetic starts by the Jacksonville Jaguars , Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles , saddled by a 1-7 record that represents their worst combined record at mid-September in history:
Have we ever seen Trevor “We suck right now” Lawrence be more vocally annoyed or calling everybody out like he did in a postgame press conference than after the 18-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns ?
After Shad Khan shelled out $253.4 million in guaranteed money on contract extensions for Lawrence and hamstring-impaired cornerback Tyson Campbell, how much is the Jaguars’ owner fuming about this 0-2 start?
Will Campbell’s absence be a lot more noticeable the next two games when the secondary must deal with quarterbacks Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) and CJ Stroud (Houston Texans)?
MORE FROM GENE FRENETTE: Jaguars stumped to explain disheartening 18-13 loss to Browns
Is there any picture more indicting for the Jaguars’ offensive line than seeing Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Alex Wright blow past left guard Ezra Cleveland, then overpowering center Mitch Morse, to sack quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the first safety of his career?
Or maybe it was the previous Jaguars’ fourth quarter possession, when right tackle Anton Harrison got hurt being rag-dolled backward on third-and-goal from the 7 by Browns’ defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo, resulting in an incomplete pass?
Is there a bigger red flag for the Jaguars right now than how the offense operates in the red zone? Or will that get fixed when tackles Cam Robinson and Harrison perform better?
Christian Kirk's disappearing act
Does Christian Kirk need to be reminded that it’s better to pull a disappearing act as a magician’s prop than as one of the biggest weapons in the Jaguars’ offense?
How badly did Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who held the same position when Doug Pederson was head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles (2016-20), take his former boss to school Sunday?
Could there be a more frustrating experience for Jaguars fans than seeing their team lose for the sixth time in the last nine home games and sit there in intermittent pouring rain?
How concerning should it be that the Jaguars have lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2014 (Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans) despite holding opponents to 20 or fewer points?
Was there an unluckier bounce for the Jaguars in the Browns game than seeing a Corey Bojorquez punt hit at the 1-yard-line, then bounce sideways out of bounds at the 2 right before Lawrence got sacked for a safety?
When will an otherwise solid Jaguars’ defense — which allowed a 21-yard completion on a pass that went through the hands of cornerback Ronald Darby on Cleveland’s only touchdown drive — force its first turnover?
Will these Jaguars, who made the playoffs after a 4-8 start in 2022, become the first team in franchise history to make the playoffs after an 0-2 start (10 previous teams finished with an average of 4.2 wins)?
Can panicky Jaguars’ fans who want to put Pederson on the hottest NFL coaching seat or Lawrence getting benched for Mac Jones please take Aaron Rodgers’ advice and relax?
Have you forgotten the Jaguars had their first back-to-back winning seasons with Pederson and Lawrence the past two years since the George Bush administration?
Guessing when UF pulls plug on Billy Napier
Is there anybody outside the Florida football program who doesn’t think Billy Napier is living on the coaching version of death row ?
Would losing to a deplorable Mississippi State team on the road Saturday, with a bye week before playing UCF on Oct. 5, compel Florida to part ways with Napier or will the administration wait until the Gators are officially out of the bowl picture?
Despite Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin having a higher-profile name as a possible successor to Napier, how can UF not look at another SEC boss, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, who also went 11-2 last year and beat a Big Ten team in a bowl game?
If both Kiffin and Drinkwitz make the 12-team College Football Playoff and want to coach in the CFP, does Florida move on to other candidates or wait on either one ?
How can the Gators expect DJ Lagway or Graham Mertz to consistently move the offense when the running game, outside of Montrell Johnson’s 71-yard TD run in Week 1, has averaged 2.3 yards per carry combined against Miami and Texas A&M?
When you look at UF’s third-down offense being 120th in the country (8 of 29, .276) and its defense being 105th in the same category (16 of 38, .421), how is that supposed to get better against the remaining schedule?
Is there any chance Lagway resists putting his name in the transfer portal without Napier as his head coach?
Rise, descent of FSU's Mike Norvell
Would anybody have believed when this season started that Florida State, playing underdogs in their first three games, would only hold a lead for under 15 minutes (all in the first half against Georgia Tech)?
Has any coach’s image in the country gone from program savior to questionable in a shorter time than FSU’s Mike Norvell, now leader of the only 0-3 team in the Power 4?
Did anybody think Jordan Travis’ departure to the NFL would cause the Seminoles ’ offense to descend into bottom-10 nationally in points scored (15.3 ppg) and total yards (274.0)?
With Norvell’s $65 million buyout , is there any football program more stuck with its head coach than FSU, even if it finishes with a 3-9 record?
How thankful is Miami that when they were recruiting FSU quarterback and Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei, he committed to the Noles two weeks before the Hurricanes landed Washington State transfer Cam Ward?
If the Canes don’t win the ACC Championship and an automatic CFP berth this year, with Ward restoring their reputation as Quarterback U, when will it happen?
How good is dark horse UCF?
After that gutsy road comeback from a 21-point deficit to beat TCU 35-34 , will it propel dark horse UCF , which faces Big 12 favorite Utah at home in the season finale, into being a CFP contender?
How stoked will Knights fans be for UCF’s next two games — a home date with Colorado and Deion Sanders on Sept. 28, followed by a road matchup against Florida?
Does UCF quarterback and Arkansas transfer KJ Jefferson pull off the rare feat of beating the Gators two years in a row while playing for two different teams?
What would be an appropriate consolation gift for the Houston Texans to send the Carolina Panthers by leaving quarterback CJ Stroud available to them with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft, while Carolina gave up a king’s ransom to the Chicago Bears to land the top pick in the now benched Bryce Young?
How sad is it that New York Mets’ first baseman legend Ed Kranepool, who passed away on Sept. 8, didn’t live long enough to possibly see the 36-115 Chicago White Sox break the record of the expansion 1962 Mets (40-120) for modern MLB futility?
Will the next pro athlete ready to proclaim he or she doesn’t play with a “chip on their shoulder” please raise their hand?
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Why are Jacksonville Jaguars, FSU football and Florida football all struggling? | Analysis
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