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Post by Mojave Gator on Nov 16, 2014 21:51:32 GMT -5
For as great as his teams were at executing on defense, they were equally as bad on offense. Charlie Weis’ one-year offense did nothing. Brent Pease’s Boise State magic never made it to Gainesville. Kurt Roper’s explosive spread offense has been anything but that this season.
All that really needs to be said is that Muschamp lost two games when his defense allowed less than 120 yards of offense.
Whether Muschamp ever really got out of his own way when it came to offensive play calling or not, the truth is that there was never continuity. Having three offensive coordinators in four years didn’t help, but there was no creativity or adequate development on that side of the ball.
While Muschamp signed some hefty defensive classes during his Florida tenure, he missed on a lot of offensive guys and never brought in the type of game-changers the Gators should be consistently reeling in with the school nestled in the middle of a recruiting hotbed.
For Florida not to sign more than one elite wide receiver or have any consistency at quarterback in four years is inexcusable.
During Muschamp’s 27-20 run at Florida, the Gators have yet to finish a season ranked higher than 103rd nationally in total offense. Currently, the Gators rank 88th nationally in total offense, averaging a paltry 373.3 yards per game. They are 63rd nationally in scoring offense, averaging 29.3 points per game. Both are highs during Muschamp’s tenure.
While Florida’s offense has been statistically better this season, the losses have shown just how inept this offense has been for the majority of the past four years.
In Florida’s four losses this season, the Gators have averaged just 266.8 yards and 20.2 points per game. Conservative play calling with a talent pool lacking substance has continually kept the Gators from advancing.
Clinging to embattled quarterback Jeff Driskel for too long is on the coaching. Driskel showed strides in practice and other coaches have said he has NFL talent, but it never translated to the field.
Even in a new spread offense that was supposed to suit Driskel’s skill set better, the junior looked lost and regressed this fall. Bad losses at home to LSU and Missouri were mired in awful offensive execution that goes back to the quarterback position.
The move to freshman Treon Harris was appropriate but might have come too late. That temporary spark faded Saturday when a limited playbook led to an overly conservative plan that contributed to the final backbreaking loss against South Carolina.
There were no mass injuries to lean on. Muschamp had time to find his quarterback. The excuses are gone, and change is coming.
- Edward Aschoff, ESPN
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Post by Mojave Gator on Nov 16, 2014 2:20:11 GMT -5
It wasn't pretty.
Using a one-dimensional offense that featured 49 rushing attempts and only 11 pass plays, Florida was on the brink of extending its lead to make it a two-score game with 3:31 to go. But a 32-yard field goal from Francisco Velez was blocked by Brison Williams to give South Carolina a chance.
The Gamecocks didn't capitalize.
Florida stopped South Carolina on 4th-and-10 and got the ball back with a chance to drain the clock. But after a drive went nowhere, Kyle Christy's punt was blocked with 39 seconds left to give the Gamecocks another opportunity.
South Carolina punched it in on a speed option that featured a bad snap and a fumbled pitch to force overtime, before quarterback Dylan Thompson strolled into the end zone during the bottom of the first overtime to finish off the Gators.
- Barrett Sallee, SEC Football Lead Writer, Bleacher Report
This time, the train might have left the track.
It now appears it's not a matter of if Will Muschamp will be fired, it's now whether or not he gets to complete his fourth season. The Gators have now lost six of their last eight games at Florida Field. Recruits are dropping like flies.
While UF athletics director Jeremy Foley has maintained he wants to let the season play out, most fans say that time has come. They actually spoke long ago. There are more reasons than just Muschamp — like the SEC Network and some miserable weather at times this season — but Florida's stadium has been filled with thousands of empty seats this season. More than ever before.
An empty stadium can do more damage to a coach's future than most losses. But after last year's misery, now booster money will dry up. Recruits have Caller ID. They aren't stupid. There's no reason to debate. It's time.
- David Jones, Florida Today
The question in terms of his coaching future became not when he would be fired, but was there any way back? Was there any scenario where he could somehow roll up enough momentum to turn around the SEC's worst recruiting class and change the perception of the program both nationally and within his own fan base?
That answer seems clear after another Saturday with another loss, at home, with everything on the line.
Florida's top target, five-star defensive lineman Byron Cowart, was in the house after a late change of plans. He's a guy who is seemingly begging for a reason to commit to Florida.
Donning a white Gators shirt, Cowart simply looked up at the scoreboard following the game with an expressionless face.
He's a defensive star, the kind Muschamp has had no trouble landing previously in his tenure. The kind Florida should lock down 10 times out of 10. And yet it seems anything but certain that he'll end up a Gator.
On offense, the picture is far worse. Who will come to play for a team that looks like this often enough that it never really has a chance to compete for titles? What receivers want to play in an offense like the one a potential star like Demarcus Robinson has had to play in the last two years?
It's been way too easy to negative recruit top talent away from Florida on that side of the ball during the Muschamp tenure, and Saturday was exactly the kind of game that keeps happening to make things all the more difficult just when it looks like there might be away out.
The clock has simply run out. The Gators can't salvage this situation.
- Thomas Goldkamp, GatorBait.net
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Post by Mojave Gator on Nov 15, 2014 20:38:55 GMT -5
You can’t lose six of eight home games and survive.
You just can’t.
The LSU loss earlier in the season was crippling. This loss Saturday to a mediocre South Carolina team was a killer.
This wasn’t the straw, it was a whole bale of ineptitude. And yet, it was right there for the taking, a win that would have been huge for a coach trying to salvage a season.
Somehow, some way, this team and these coaches found a way to lose a game that didn’t look losable.
It wasn’t as if Florida was doing anything special to be in position to win. This was Muschamp Football 101. Run the ball and play defense and try to win 17-10.
But when you try to win by a touchdown, you’re always one touchdown away from overtime.
So of course, it happened.
Of course, Florida was called for holding on a game-clinching touchdown run.
Of course, the Gamecocks blocked a field goal that would have basically put the game away.
Of course, they blocked a punt with 39 seconds to go when you knew they weren’t going to drive 70 or 75 yards against this defense.
Of course, they did.
With an offense that chose to ignore all of those gaudy numbers allowed by the South Carolina secondary and throw only 11 passes.
With an offense that has become so predictable, the writers in the press box were calling the plays before they happened.
With an offense that managed all of five second-half first downs.
With a coach who talks about making the opponent one-dimensional yet self-inflicts it upon his own team.
Muschamp talked about the fact the Gators were in position to win the game. Ah, but they were also in position not to win it because of their inability and stubbornness when it comes to going for the jugular.
It’s difficult to make sense of this train wreck of a season right now. Florida is 5-4, 4-4 in the SEC. The chances are pretty good they will go 6-5 and end up in something like the Duck Commander Bowl, but is anyone counting a win over Eastern Kentucky (9-2) as an automatic?
So that’s four seasons of Muschamp as the Florida coach. And three of those years will be 7-6, 4-8 and 6-5.
Sorry, but that’s not Florida football.
Neither is the boring style of play that has permeated this program.
This is where I usually throw in the caveat that I like Muschamp and think he’s a pretty smart football coach when it comes to defense. But there is also this — sometimes you just have to cut your losses.
I don't have the answers as to who the next head coach should be. I just know this is not working.
And that I don't want to watch it anymore.
I think most of you out there will agree. Some of you have been all over me to demand that Florida fire its football coach. I have tried to be fair. And it’s not like this column is going to influence Jeremy Foley.
I just know the time has come to move in another direction.
I hate it for Muschamp and his family and all of the coaches here who are good people.
But this is an awful product that needs to be recalled.
- Pat Dooley, GatorSports.com
Spurrier may be the greatest Gator of all time, but he certainly doesn't speak for the vast majority of UF fans, who are rightfully ready for Muschamp to go. They've had enough of Muschamp losing home game after home game (he's only won two of his last eight at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) and turning the once-proud Swamp into scorched earth.
This is why I say it's good the punt was blocked — because it will expedite the inevitable firing process. As UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley likes to say, "What must be done eventually should be done immediately."
The plan was to fire Muschamp after Georgia, but the Gators shocked everyone by dominating the Dawgs 38-20. And then came another victory last week against Vanderbilt. And, suddenly, it appeared Muschamp could save his job by simply beating Spurrier on Saturday.
But, appropriately, Muschamp was done in by his own stubborn conservatism — because, once again, he didn't trust his offense to make a play. If the Gators could have recorded just one first down before the blocked punt at the end of regulation, they could have run out the clock and won 17-10. Instead, they called three running plays and attempted to punt.
Then, in overtime, the Gators got the ball first, ran on first and second down and threw a sideways pass for no gain on third down. They ended up kicking a field goal, South Carolina scored a touchdown, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Florida quarterback Treon Harris completed only five passes for 60 yards, which to Muschamp is no big deal. As he kept saying afterward, "We were in position to win the game."
This philosophy has been part of Muschamp's downfall. He never understood that Gator football isn't just about winning; it's about winning a certain way. It's about excitement and energy and passing pyrotechnics.
- Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel
Hopefully, it is the final season of Muschamp's excruciating tenure, as there is no longer any hope for his team to make the SEC Championship Game or play in a bowl somewhere other than Birmingham or Memphis or Shreveport. There are no excuses, no defenses, no words left to say anything in support of Muschamp. He must go, even if his team takes down Florida State or something with him, because his team took the hopes it had restored with wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt and smithereened them on this day.
- Andy Hutchins, Alligator Army
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Post by Mojave Gator on Nov 7, 2014 0:18:41 GMT -5
I do indeed, having spent two years with this esteemed organization. I played under Frank B. Wickes, who was hired before my freshman year after the retirement of beloved director Richard Bowles. Bowles conducted my playing audition in the summer on 1973 at the old music building on campus. He knew that I was nervous, and he took out his trombone and played along with me. I never forgot his kindness. Wickes put this formation into pregame in 1973. When we started to play Orange and blue, the people standing in the vertical line at the top right side of the F and the people in the horizontal line at the bottom would move aside and the team ran onto the field through our formation. Somewhere around the house I have an 8X10 color photo of the 1973 Gator Band in this formation. Ironically, Frank Wickes left UF and directed the LSU band for many years. He retired from LSU about two years ago. When he was hired at Florida one of the applicants was Bill Swor, who was then director of the LSU band. Everyone assumed that Swor would get the job. In my first road trip with the Gator Band to Baton Rouge in September of 1973, we showed the LSU crowd why he was passed over. The LSU band played a lot of marches and marched military formation drills. They were good at what they did, but it wasn't exciting. We played things like Scarborough Fair and Pinball Wizard that were more up tempo and modern. Our finale was a tribute to Louis Armstrong, Old Man River. When we fanned out in front of the crowd on the home side and began playing the final few chords, the stadium erupted. People stood, and there was so much noise that the LSU band had to delay their entry onto the field because they couldn't hear their drum major's whistle. After the game we met with the LSU band at their band room. One of their members said that he had never seen a visiting band get that kind of reaction from their crowd. To this day it remains one of my greatest thrills ever, and one of my best memories from college. These aren't terrific shots, but some I found of the uniforms of my era.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 28, 2014 22:29:33 GMT -5
We can add another: The biggest point spread in the history of Georgia - Florida, Georgia -13.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 21, 2014 0:05:25 GMT -5
That was a very special place.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 20, 2014 22:11:55 GMT -5
GAC, that time may return. As soon as we are past the current crisis, we will have to determine what our role is going forward. Hopefully the people who have joined us in recent months will have seen enough that they like that they will hang around even after we're rid of Will the Thrill.
Glad that you stopped by.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 20, 2014 0:40:28 GMT -5
The Southeastern Football magazine depicted came out in advance of the 1973 season. The writers picked us to win the SEC, which would have been a first. The player on the cover is Nat Moore. If you look closely, you will see that the opponent is North Carolina. UF played UNC in Jacksonville in the last game of the 1972 season. By that time I knew that I was going to UF the following fall, so I went to that game to see my new team. UNC won by four points, as I recall.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 19, 2014 18:19:56 GMT -5
Additions in 2014:
First back-to-back homecoming losses since 1946-'47 (Vanderbilt 2013, Missouri 2014)
New school record for most yards surrendered in a game (Alabama, 645 yards 9/20/14)
Only two losses in school history when holding an opponent to less than 120 yards of total offense (147-2 in such games). Florida State 2011, Missouri 2014
Ranked 124th (dead last in FBS) in total offense for the week of November 3. 2014.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 18, 2014 0:31:17 GMT -5
I remember a lot of the players listed in this section, but I knew them as pros in the NFL. I first became aware of football when I was about eight or nine years old, which was early to mid 1960s.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Oct 16, 2014 0:00:14 GMT -5
This was my era on campus. The black and white shot with the two K-State players was from my first game as a freshman at UF, the 1973 season opener.
I was at the last game Ray Graves coached at Florida and simultaneously the last game Doug Dickey coached at Tennessee - the 1969 Gator Bowl. Carlos Alvarez caught a late TD pass from John Reaves in a 14-13 Florida win. I had no idea at the time that I would be attending UF, and my father and I were at the game primarily because he was a big Tennessee fan (born in Chattanooga, grew up in Knoxville just down the street from the campus).
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Post by Mojave Gator on Aug 16, 2014 22:21:55 GMT -5
I'm not looking forward to it whatsoever, but it is almost upon us. We will have our preseason meeting with the manager at our sports bar next Saturday.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Aug 16, 2014 22:02:51 GMT -5
Drink for every home game that is not sold out. Take 5 shots for every game we lose by 20 or more points. Would you like a side of onions with that fried liver?
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Post by Mojave Gator on Aug 13, 2014 23:06:52 GMT -5
I was just thinking how ironic it is that SD would be the one to post this.
If I were to follow this game to its conclusion, I would need a case of Jack Daniel's just to get me through the first half of the first game.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Apr 23, 2014 13:00:14 GMT -5
According to former Florida Gators center Jonotthan Harrison, a fifth-year senior in 2013 who was starting in the middle of the offensive line for his third-straight year, Florida’s continuously declining play and subsequent 4-8 record had as much to do with the team’s off-field issues as it did on-field performance.
Discussing the situation with Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Harrison provided insight into locker room incidents, pre-game distractions and significant infighting that derailed the Gators as they dealt with mounting injuries, a growing number of losses and increasing fan unrest.
Dunne begins by relating Harrison’s view of an incident that occurred following Florida’s embarrassing loss to Georgia Southern in its second-to-last game of the season.
Pads were still on. Tempers were flaring. Head coach Will Muschamp ordered a player to talk to the team. Anyone. So, being a fifth-year senior, center Jonotthan Harrison stepped into the middle of the circle.
And then one defensive lineman — Harrison won’t use names — yanked him out and shoved a freshman linebacker to the center. The two shouted at each other with coaches grabbing Harrison and pulling him out of the locker room before punches were thrown.
“We were falling apart,” Harrison said, “crumbling as a team.”
Dunne then explains, in his own words, that Harrison painted a picture of “complete chaos top to bottom” within the locker room with “players point[ing] fingers” at each other and the coaching staff for the team’s problems.
- Adam Silverstein, Only Gators Get Out Alive
Will Muschamp has displayed no ability to hire a competent staff or evaluate and recruit offensive players. His brand of football is horrendous viewing, a constipated half-game played by NFL game management rules with a hopelessly overburdened defense asked to carry the entire team on their backs. Muschamp will now attempt to save his job by moving entirely out of his comfort zone and running a spread offense with one qualified quarterback and no threats at receiver AND a line learning a new scheme, all done against the usual meat grinder of a schedule. It will end just as well as that experiment did, and then none of us will have to watch this horrible bullzook ever again. The sooner this ends, the better.
- Spencer Hall, EveryDayShouldBeSaturday.com
If the size of a coach's signature is commensurate to his team's performance the previous season, you'd need a microscope to read Muschamp's John Hancock on those 2014 SEC footballs. The injury-ravaged Gators lost their last seven games to finish 4-8, their worst season since 1979, and bottomed out in a dreadful home loss to Georgia Southern. That leaves Muschamp's record at 22-16, the worst of any three-year period in school history since the Gators were 20-16 from 1987-89 coming out of major probation sanctions.
Thus if the '14 season bears any resemblance to the '13 season, there will be a different Florida coach signing the SEC footballs at this time next year.
- Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports
Upbeat evaluations are as common that time of year as springtime allergies. Optimism also does not hide the facts. No returning Gator wide receiver caught more than one touchdown in 2013, while the tight ends (not including Virginia transfer Jake McGee) combined for four receptions. Tailback Kelvin Taylor, son of former NFL star Fred Taylor, displayed a hard-running style as a first-year player, but the Gators lack a home-run threat anywhere on offense to change a game in one play.
“They don’t have a receiver on their football team that would start at another SEC school right now,” Scout.com national recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg says. “Think about that. This is the University of Florida.”
Offensive talent flocked to Gainesville during those days. Lately, top recruits are jumping ship. When five-star running back Dalvin Cook of Miami changed his commitment in January from Florida to Florida State, the Gators lost the kind of big-play threat they have lacked since Harvin. Cook also left Florida fans with a bad taste in their mouths when he explained his decision. “Coach Roper is a great coach, but I don’t think Florida has the athletes like Duke got,” Cook said. “That’s all I can say.”
- Athlon Sports
So while it’s probably too soon for Gator fans to give up on Muschamp, it’s a fair bet that some have. As modern college football history dictates, the big name coaches (Steve Spurrier, Bob Stoops, Lou Holtz, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown and yes, ex-Gator coach Urban Meyer, to name just a few) who’ve thrived usually had dominant teams by year three, and often year two.
Also notable about the successful coaches mentioned is that they replaced failed coaches, and in doing so, inherited relatively failed recruiting classes. In Muschamp’s case he inherited the blue chips lured to Gainesville by Urban Meyer; Meyer the Pete Carroll and/or Nick Saban of his time. Florida fans are not used to this kind of losing, and they’re surely impatient.
- John Tamny, Forbes Magazine
In the past three seasons, there hasn't been a more inconsistent coach in college football than Muschamp. His teams have a combined record of 22-16, including a 4-8 season last year. It was the Gators' first losing season since 1979.
If Muschamp wants to save his job, he needs to consider changing the way he thinks. There's nothing wrong with being confident, but if he truly feels there isn't any pressure, it's possible that this season could be his last considering the teams Florida will play in 2014.
- Matt Maddux, AL.com (Alabama site)
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Post by Mojave Gator on Mar 2, 2014 21:49:03 GMT -5
Foley almost has to give up on Muschamp.
He can’t risk falling farther behind Florida State.
Miami is showing signs of life.
Central Florida is now the best team in the middle of the state.
I expect Muschamp to finish the season and then be fired after next week’s inevitable loss to Florida State.
- Andy Johnston, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Want to know the current state of Florida's football program? Take a look at the tape of Florida's home loss to Vanderbilt.
You don't have to look at what's happening on the field. It certainly paints a bleak, unpleasant picture of what this team isn't capable of, but the real eye-opener is in the stands. There were too many empty seats to count and too many boo birds out to ignore.
Even coach Will Muschamp, who keeps his head so buried in football that he usually only notices fans after the final whistle, couldn't help but hear all the chirping after a 34-17 loss to the Commodores.
Right now, it isn't great to be a Florida Gator, and it's clear that if changes aren't made this program could become a laughingstock in the same conference it once sat atop.
- Edward Aschoff, ESPN.com
The fans in Austin who were upset when Will Muschamp bolted Texas for the head coaching job at Florida should be rejoicing that he is no longer set to replace Mack Brown.
Instead of being locked in to an unknown entity at head coach, Texas got to find out from afar that Muschamp might not make a great head coach. Now if, and when Brown is out of a job, the Longhorns can hire the best available candidate instead of rolling the dice with an unproven Muschamp.
- Sean Frye, Bleacher Report
While it's easy to criticize with the benefit of hindsight, the hiring of Muschamp really never fit the image of Florida football in the first place. Florida made its name as an innovative program among major colleges, with the Fun 'n' Gun and spread option giving the program a defined identity. In between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, Florida failed by hiring Ron Zook, a defensive coach and accomplished recruiter who has flamed out as a gameday coach, and now, for the last three years, the reins have been in the hands of Muschamp, the former Texas defensive coordinator who probably would have fit best a Woody Hayes staff. A good head coach is a good head coach, and a good defensive coach could succeed at Florida, in theory. Still, it's an odd shift in direction, given that the fan base came of age with Florida on the cutting edge of offensive football. It just makes it easier for fans to grow disenchanted with the direction of the program, sooner rather than later.
Fans really care only about winning, but if you're going to lose, there at least needs to be some entertainment value. Watching your team lose 49-38 may be unsatisfying, but at least scoring points creates the illusion of competence, offering some sort of hope that you'll someday out-score an opponent. Losing 17-6 in this era of football screams everything is hopeless, creating an existential crisis of fandom, in which one wonders why it's worth investing so much time, energy and money on such an unsatisfying product.
- Matt Brown, Sports on Earth
Florida’s offense is not bad. It is not abysmal. It is nonexistent.
Even the most ardent Muschamp supporters, the folks who have clamored that “he doesn’t have his own players,” are running thin on excuses for his team’s terrible offense.
In three years, Meyer took the Gators from 49th to 4th in points per game. Even in his first season, without “his own players,” Meyer put up a touchdown more per game than the group now.
Beyond that, how long is a coach given to find his own players? Florida’s defense is otherworldly. Those guys are Muschamp’s players. What about the offense?
The difference between Muschamp and the legends he’s chasing are that, while those coaches were more concerned with offense (and special teams in Meyer’s case), they found the proper assistants. Bob Stoops and Charlie Strong took their bosses to the promise land. Muschamp’s hires have not worked out well.
So where does this leave us with Muschamp? He’s a player’s coach who recruits well, but just can’t make ends meet. He sounds a lot like Ron Zook.
- Jonathan Bass, Gamedayr
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Post by Mojave Gator on Feb 17, 2014 15:12:07 GMT -5
Good to see you again, Wabash.
I wouldn't mind being proven wrong, but I see no possibility of that happening. We were right about Zook, and Muschamp is worse. The main difference is that Zook didn't have a fluke season (like he did at Illinois) that bought him more time. Our idiot AD, apparently completely forgetting the lessons of the Zook debacle, rushed in and handed Muschamp a contract extension and a raise after one good year.
As far as the board goes, it was dying because there is little enthusiasm for Florida football. It just occurred to me one night that perhaps the answer was returning to our roots, since our services are apparently needed again.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Feb 1, 2014 15:17:49 GMT -5
From people who make a living from following, and writing about, college football.
It doesn’t matter that Muschamp is trying hard to lay all the blame at the feet of offensive coordinator Brent Pease. He hired Pease, and Charlie Weis before him. In three seasons, the flagship program in the state that produces more football talent than any other in the Southeast hasn’t yet had an offense that ranks even 100th nationally in total yardage. That’s a firing offense – for the head coach as well as the O.C. – right there.
It doesn’t matter if these Gators suffered a slew of injuries. So did Georgia, and the Bulldogs are 7-4, which isn’t great by their standards or their expectations but beats the heck out of Florida’s 4-7. And nothing excuses losing at home to Georgia Southern. Muschamp should have been able to win that game with his walk-ons.
It doesn’t matter that the Gators were 11-2 in 2012. That season was a fluke born of defense and special teams. Yes, Florida beat four very good teams – Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina and Florida State – but the turnover margin in those games was a staggering 12-3. (The Gators led South Carolina 21-3 after a half in which they’d gained 29 yards.) When Florida made six turnovers of its own against Georgia, it lost 17-9 and couldn’t manage a touchdown.
- Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Of course, the 2013 Gators are not only falling short of expectations but are finding historical lows as their benchmark. The Gators have not reached these depths of losing since 1979 and losses at home to schools like Vandy and Georgia Southern reach back into ancient history for precedents.
- Brian Goff, Contributing Writer, Forbes Magazine
FCS Georgia Southern upset Florida 26-20 in Gainesville. The Eagles attempted three passes, none completed. They ran all over Will Muschamp’s defense, amassing 450 yards on 54 carries. There was a reasonable case for firing Will Muschamp before this game. Now, the Gators have suffered the worst loss in program history. Is Florida AD Jeremy Foley still 1,000 percent committed to the Muschamp regime?
- Ty Duffy, The Big Lead
University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley has so far been supportive of football coach Will Muschamp in public comments, and in private conversation.
Whether Foley can maintain that stance after one of the most embarrassing moments Saturday in program history – a 34-17 home loss to Vanderbilt for the first time since 1945 – is another matter.
This marks the second time in Muschamp’s three seasons that his Gators have lost four consecutive games. That explains why the UF crowd was booing before halftime, then again in the third quarter after Tyler Murphy threw his third interception that led to a third Vandy touchdown.
Things got so bad at one point, the Commodores were leading 24-3 despite accumulating just six first downs and 96 total yards. Not the kind of day the Gators want to be on display for recruits taking visits to Florida Field.
- Gene Frenette, (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union
The embattled third-year coach could only rub his forehead and eyes in disgust as Georgia Southern players went running across his field celebrating their improbable 26-20 win.
It was embarrassing for Florida and the lowest point for the program that probably didn’t think it could get lower following a loss to Vanderbilt two weeks ago.
- Graham Watson, Yahoo Sports
I’ve advocated giving Muschamp one more year, but getting thumped at home by Vanderbilt is a bit of a game-changer. Under no circumstances, even with Vandy's program on an uptick under James Franklin, should Florida ever get punked by the Commodores at home.
- Gene Frenette, (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union
The Gators had all their troops in place during a loss to Miami when the offense _ and particularly quarterback Jeff Driskel - fell apart. Driskel threw two interceptions and fumbled during critical points of the game.Muschamp can’t play the injury card for that one.
Muschamp also must be held accountable for recruiting whiffs. For a team that is a perennial Top 10 on recruiting lists every year, the Gators seem strangely devoid of playmakers, particularly at wide receiver. Busts like Latroy Pittman and Raphael Andrades come to mind.
Muschamp must also be held accountable for his failure to recruit a quality kicker. If you expect to win close games with a solid defense, a dependable kicker is a must. Florida’s field goal unit of Larry, Curley and Moe _ Austin Hardin, Frankie Velez and Brad Phillips _ seems to be a 50-50 proposition from the 30-yard line and beyond.
Muschamp also must be held accountable for all the silly and stupid penalties _ some of them the costly 15-yard type for unsportsmanlike conduct and such (see Georgia game) that speaks 100 percent to the ability to prepare players not only physically but emotionally for the weekend grind.
And finally, Muschamp must be held accountable for his emotional demeanor. Passion is a great thing, and when he’s at his best, “Coach Boom” can energize his players and the fan base. But when things are going south, as they did this season, the fire in Coach Boom is detrimental. You can’t have a coach teeing off on disgruntled fans.
- George Diaz, Orlando Sentinel
The staggering thing about Muschamp’s tenure is that he’s had talent to work with. Urban Meyer’s final three recruiting classes according to rivals.com were #3 (’08), #11 (’09) and #2 (’10). So it’s not like Meyer left the cupboard empty. Add that wealth of talent to Muschamp’s haul while in Gainesville: #12 (’11), #3 (’12), #4 (’13) and all the losing is dumbfounding.
It doesn’t look like the Gators have a talent problem. It looks like they have a coaching problem.
It’s better to fire Muschamp a year too early than a year too late. I don’t want my next article to be an obituary about the Gators’ football program at the end of 2014.
- Jim Lighthall, CBS Tampa Bay
Under no injury circumstances can Florida unravel like it did Saturday, losing 26-20 to a pedestrian Football Championship Subdivision team like Georgia Southern. That should never happen.
This wasn’t the late Erk Russell’s Eagles, a one-time Division I-AA power, that slayed the Gators in their own house. This was a middle-of-the-pack Southern Conference team that lost 38-14 to 4-8 Appalachian State.
In the aftermath of UF’s sixth consecutive loss, easily the worst in program history, Muschamp spouted the same tiresome explanations for the Gators’ malaise. He talked about how his team struggles to score points every week, adding: “My job is to get it fixed, and we will get it fixed.”
Sorry, but that sales job looks more like a coach with no answers on how the Gators can be repaired. It certainly doesn’t look fixable by next year, by which time Muschamp will already be sitting on the hottest seat in the country. That is, if Foley doesn’t succumb to the rising public criticism, call an audible, and dismiss his coach after Florida State ends UF’s miserable season in a rout on Saturday.
The problem with retaining Muschamp after the latest debacle is there’s little evidence of hope on the horizon. Florida has a pitiful offense that nobody wants to watch. Muschamp, with a 22-15 record in his third season, admitted recently that his team had a “woe-is-me attitude.” On top of that, boos and empty seats are increasing at Florida Field.
Losing at home in the same month to Vanderbilt and Georgia Southern is 100 times worse than Ron Zook falling on the road at Mississippi State, which got him fired midway through the 2004 season.
Foley has a huge mess on his hands. He either has to go back on his word and fire Muschamp, or stick with a coach that appears lost for answers.
The noise in the system is deafening. Hiring Muschamp is looking more and more like Foley’s Folly.
- Gene Frenette, (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union
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Post by Mojave Gator on Feb 1, 2014 15:07:32 GMT -5
Our mission, as it was in 2002, is to rid the University of Florida of an inferior, unqualified football coach who should never have been hired. Since our athletic director will not act, it is our responsibility as fans and alumni to take action and let our voices be heard.
We reject the argument that railing against a bad coach amounts to not supporting the team. We support the Gators not only by cheering for the players on the field, but also by insisting upon the hiring of competent, high quality individuals to recruit and coach the young men who represent the University of Florida on the football field. Will Muschamp had his worst season three years into the job, making it abundantly clear that 2012 was a fluke. The Georgia Southern game negated the injury excuse for our record in 2013. Will Muschamp lost this team, and they quit on him.
We are not a bunch of chronic complainers who want the coach fired after every loss. We only become involved to this degree when it is plain that the man leading the Florida football program is not up to the job.
We were not looking for an excuse to return. It was our fervent hope that a board like this would never be needed again. We truly believed that after the disastrous Ron Zook hiring, Jeremy Foley learned the lesson not to hire a defensive coordinator who had never been a head coach before and who did not appear to have the requisite skills to be successful. We also aren’t buying the argument that Muschamp was going to be handed the Texas job when Mack Brown retired, because there was no timetable for Brown’s exit. This was just an excuse to pay him enough to keep him from taking a coordinator job elsewhere.
We do not advocate contacting Coach Muschamp or any member of his family directly. We do not support harassment or threats of any kind against Muschamp or his family. Our purpose is to provide a forum for discussion, and a place for Gator fans to voice their opinions on the matter of Coach Muschamp’s continued employment at the University of Florida. Our purpose is not to intimidate or harass anyone.
Will Muschamp has had three seasons to make this program his own. His worst season came right after the last top class recruited by Urban Meyer graduated and left. Approximately three-fourths of the players on the 2013 roster were recruited and coached solely by the current staff, and the result was our worst season since 1979 and a loss to a 6-4 FCS team who had lost to 4-8 Appalachian State by 24 points. They beat us without completing a pass.
Ron Zook had no business being the head coach at Florida. Will Muschamp has been worse. The difference is that, for whatever reason, our AD is digging in on Muschamp and insisting that he is doing a good job. We're not quite that blind.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Feb 1, 2014 15:05:53 GMT -5
It's an awesome legacy, one that even Ron Zook couldn't match.
The Gators’ first losing season since 1979
Seven straight losses to close the season
First loss to Vanderbilt since 1982, and the first in Gainesville since 1945
Broke the nation’s longest streak of consecutive bowl games at 22 years
The school’s first loss to an FCS opponent (Georgia Southern)
The nation’s 114th ranked offense (out of 123 FBS teams) and the worst in the SEC. Kentucky outgained us by 25 yards per game.
Finished 112th in the nation in scoring at 18.8 points per game (Baylor led the country at 52.4 PPG)
Three consecutive losses to Georgia, the first time that has happened since 1987-89
Most lopsided loss to FSU since 1988
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Post by Mojave Gator on Feb 1, 2014 14:57:38 GMT -5
1. This is first and foremost a Florida Gators board. Our history explains why. Consequently, most of our discussions will be about issues concerning University of Florida athletics. We welcome fans of other teams and their positive contributions. As long as non-Gators are reasonably civil, you will find us an accommodating bunch.
2. We ask that profanity be kept to a minimum. The same goes for displaying pornographic, partially nude or sexually explicit photos or video clips. While none of us are prudes and most of us like eye candy as well as the next person, we necessarily have limits on such things. Some people read this board at home when there are young children around, and some read it at work. Some posts and avatars may be edited or deleted if these rules are violated.
3. Unlike many other sports boards, we do not censor or ban users for disagreeing with majority opinions. We also do not delete posts unless they violate one of the rules of the board. One of our main strengths is our openness and acceptance of dissenting opinions. State your case well and you will be given respect. State your case badly and you can expect to be called on it.
4. Please refrain from personal attacks on other users. Attack the message, not the messenger. Repeated personal attacks on others is grounds for being banned from the board. There is nothing wrong with a spirited disagreement, but keep it civil.
5. When posting a new topic, especially when reporting a news item, please make sure that no one else has started a similar topic. It is confusing to carry on the same conversation in multiple threads.
6. The moderators on this board are MojaveGator, ALGator, FishFanGatorMan and csgator. The moderators clean up the trash, try to guide unruly users (who are relatively few) and try to keep conversation civil. We are not here to control discussions or to censor opinions. You will not be chastised for disagreeing, but if it becomes personal, refer to Rule 4.
7. We have several different forums. When starting a topic, please make sure it is in the correct one. If it is not, a moderator may move it to the correct forum.
8. When posting articles, it is fine to quote passages and comment on them. Please do not post entire articles, as that is a violation of federal copyright laws. It is all right to post a link to an article.
9. If there is a topic that users want to discuss and there isn't an appropriate forum for it, just ask. We will gladly add forums as needed.
10. You will notice that when you use a profane word, the board will often substitute the word "Zook" for it. The reasons are simple. First, it helps to keep us in compliance with TOS regarding profanity on the board. Secondly, Ron Zook represents everything that we cannot forget quickly enough regarding the lost seasons of 2002-2004 in Florida football. It seems a fitting tribute to the man who almost destroyed a program in three years that took 12 years to build to national prominence. You are welcome use the word freely in discussions.
11. This is not the place to post links to ads or money making schemes. If you post them, you can expect that your account will be deleted pronto, along with your post. The only exception is Gator-related merchandise, such as game tickets or apparel.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Aug 24, 2013 18:45:26 GMT -5
Bits from Ron Zook's Twitter account, circa 2009 (apparently the last time it was added to)
"About to head out and talk to students at the UI law school. Probably going to hit on topics like agents, contracts, etc."
I can't imagine what Zook would have to say to law students that would be of any use to them whatsoever.
How about the NCAA saying U can communicate with recruits using twitter?
Pretty cutting edge stuff, Ron.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Feb 11, 2012 15:33:57 GMT -5
Upon learning that he was canned at Illinois
"I think our program is very close; I really do. We just didn't finish a few games here and there."
You're always close. Just one more year and you would have been national champions.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Dec 11, 2011 15:22:35 GMT -5
Some final Zook tidbits to close out this thread:
"I didn't know we were down by 20, ... but I told them all along, the score doesn't count until it's over."
Good to know he's on top of the situation.
"We had opportunities to stand up and make plays and we just didn't do it. I'm tired of it. I know the coaches are tired of it, and I know a lot of guys in that locker room are tired of it."
It was always the players' fault - if it wasn't the fault of the assistant coaches.
"I think that maybe in Florida, the expectations were a little out of sync where they were talent-wise."
That's why we won a national championship two years after we fired you.
"I just told them we're not ready to play, but then again we don't have to be ready to play. We still got some time, so -we've got to continue to improve and get better."
Preparation is everything.
A year ago, I didn't know exactly where we were. I don't know that I know exactly where we are now. I "do know we are improved from the fall and that the amount of work we were able to get done this spring was two-fold from last spring."
As is a coach who has a firm grip on the progress his team is making.
"The future of Gator football is very, very bright."
With you gone, I would say that the chances are significantly improved.
Here's hoping that ESPN doesn't hire this idiot to analyze college football (we all know how much they love hiring failed coaches). My head might explode having to listen to this drivel all over again.
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Post by Mojave Gator on May 8, 2011 13:31:27 GMT -5
Roundabout Coaching - Ron Zook shows you how to squander scoring chances late in close games in the hope of being in the same situation later in the game with less time on the clock. Against the backdrop of the 2010 Illinois-Ohio State game, Zook explains why kicking a field goal inside the opponent's 15 yard line trailing by seven with four minutes left is the right play. After all, you may be back down there again after hopefully holding your opponent to a field goal, which is the same thing, right?
Update: In the newly-added Retroactive Victories, Zook gloats over winning the 2010 Ohio State game nine months after the final whistle when OSU vacated all of their 2010 victories retroactively. "If you look at Ohio State's record for 2010, it says 0-0. They didn't win the game. Now all of my critics can shut up", Zook said.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Apr 17, 2011 16:11:28 GMT -5
2010 Ohio State game
"When you look at that, I felt that if we get the field goal, we're only down four, and if you hold them to another field goal we're only down seven."
Zook explains kicking a field goal from the 13 yard line against Ohio State with his team down by seven points with 4:40 left in the game. His hope was to be back in the same situation he was already in, but with far less time left on the clock. It was a stretch to believe that his team would even get the ball back in the remaining time, let alone score points.
Quote from the same game: "I just felt like we should take the points we will for sure have and then count on the defense to get the ball back. If you hold them to a field goal, now it's a seven point game which is still a manageable game."
The problem is that it was a seven-point game on the previous drive, so the best that Zook could hope for was to be no better off after scoring points than he was before - essentially wasting a scoring chance.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Nov 11, 2010 17:46:07 GMT -5
After a 67-65 overtime loss at Michigan on November 6, 2010 "The defense proved they could play."
They also proved they could surrender almost 700 yards of total offense in one game.
"I thought about it, even though punting was the conventional play."
Zook explains why he didn't go for it on fourth and one from his own 42 with a seven-point lead in the waning minutes of the game against a defense who hadn't stopped his offense all night long. The decision to punt led to Michigan's game-tying drive that sent the game into overtime. He has no problem going for two for no apparent reason, but if it's something that can actually help him win a game, forget it.
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Post by Mojave Gator on Aug 17, 2010 13:31:27 GMT -5
"If it keeps it cold, isn't it a good freezer?"
Zook educates us on choosing kitchen appliances
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Post by Mojave Gator on Aug 2, 2010 20:53:00 GMT -5
From the article Ron Zook Looks To Stimulate Fan Support by Jack Lyman, InsideIllini.com
"I can't please everybody. I can't please those people. If I try to coach, if I try to make decisions, if I try to recruit to please those people, I ain't gonna be here."
You're right. If you win, you will be fired. Might as well keep on doing what you're doing. It's what got you where you are
"I may not be here anyway, but I guarantee I'm not gonna be here. Those people don't know. They don't know. Because if they did know, they wouldn't be so negative."
This is gibberish, even by Zook's standards.
"Quit thinking about the way it's happened in the past 20 years. We've got an opportunity to get up in the polls quick because of who we're playing. We've just got to go win."
Playing teams you can't possibly beat should move you up pretty fast.
"It's just like in the Fresno State game. It wasn't a full house, but it was the loudest game of the year. We don't need a full house, we just need those people."
Full stadiums are such a drag. Who needs them?
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Post by Mojave Gator on May 30, 2010 20:57:56 GMT -5
From the article Zook: It's all about team in military too by Tom Dienhart on Rivals.com, in which Zook gives his thoughts on a trip to Iraq in May 2010 to visit the troops.
And I think the neat thing that we talk about and try to take back is that football is a team game and you usually only are as good as your team is.
You just can't get information like this unless you travel overseas.
I wish my players could see all of this. I think it would help any team get better if they could see how our Armed Forces work.
Yes, if you had artillery and could call in air strikes it might help you stop somebody for once.
You have body armor for a reason.
I thought they just handed it out because they have a lot of it.
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