HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Dan Mullen made a big leap in his second season at Mississippi State, but his Florida program doesn’t have quite so much room to grow.

Unless, of course, the Gators can jump to national contender status. That’s what another four-win improvement would mean.

The Bulldogs won five games after Mullen took over in 2009 and nine the following season. The Gators went 10-3 in his debut season and finished with a No. 7 ranking, a spot shared with Georgia.

As Mullen says, going from 10 wins to 14 “would be pretty good.” After all, his players are more familiar with the programs and coaching staff and quarterback Feleipe Franks returns.

All that raises expectations for this season when Florida hopes to challenge defending Eastern Division champion Georgia.

Florida gets a big early test, opening the season Aug. 24 against Miami in Orlando.

The Gators finished last season with two emphatic wins. They beat Florida State 41-14 and then routed Michigan 41-15 in the Peach Bowl.

Missouri coaches and players feel good about the Tigers’ football team, especially after adding former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant to a veteran offense during the offseason.

That’s led to lofty goals for the Tigers. Whether those goals include postseason appearances is unclear.

Missouri is currently ineligible for the postseason after receiving a one-year ban from the NCAA as part of the punishment for academic misconduct involving a tutor. The school has appealed that ruling and hopes to get a final verdict soon.

Coach Barry Odom said Monday that he looks forward to closure, but no matter the outcome, his program is focused on “having absolutely zero excuses.”

Bryant spent four years at Clemson, where he threw for more than 3,300 yards in his career. He lost his job to Trevor Lawrence early last season and decided to transfer for his senior year.

Odom says the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Bryant is a “very selfless person” and “one of the best competitors I have ever been around.”

Commissioner Greg Sankey opened Southeastern Conference media days talking about everything from a connection between sports gambling and athletes’ mental health to football officiating and the event’s future venues.

Sankey says he’d like to see “uniform practices” on college sports gambling in every state and elimination of specific in-game wagers or proposition betting. He also talked about the connection between sports gambling and mental health, with potential extra pressure on a field goal attempt, 3-point shot or ball-strike call.

Sankey also said Monday that trends in mental health should give officials pause before betting on specific college events is legalized.

The commissioner says athletes frequently want to discuss mental health issues and calls this “a wave of new reality, which faces all of us in intercollegiate athletics and higher education.”

Officiating was another hot topic. He says officiating crews will visit each football camp for two days during preseason practice, including sitting in for position meetings and discussing rules and techniques with coaches and players.

Sankey also announced that media days will return to Atlanta next year and be held in Nashville for 2021.