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Blog: Latest Bama News 10/31/14-11/2 Bye Weekend Edition

kyallie

kyallie

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Re: Latest Bama News 10/31/14 bye Weekend Edition

Will Muschamp buys himself November with huge upset win over UGA-sds


“Let me pull something off my back,” Florida head coach Will Muschamp said to the media as he reached behind his shoulder. “One less thing for you to write about.”

He sounded relieved and ecstatic following Florida’s huge upset over the Georgia Bulldogs — and for good reason. Not only did the Gators trounce the Bulldogs 38-20, but Muschamp earned his first win in the Florida-Georgia game as either a player or a coach.
But Muschamp’s accomplishment tonight was more than just a victory in a rivalry game. It very well could have saved his job.

A complete turnaround

Just two weeks ago, ‘Fire Muschamp’ echoed throughout a half-empty Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during an embarrassing Homecoming loss to Missouri. Muschamp was as good as gone in the eyes of Gator Nation and the rest of the season, well … the fans would have preferred to skip it.
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley publicly offered Muschamp his support, reassuring Gator Nation he would evaluate Muschamp and the coaching staff during the course of the season. Still, with a matchup against No. 11 Georgia looming, Muschamp’s fate seemed decided. Another loss at the hands of the Bulldogs would be the final nail in the coffin.
The Gators didn’t play like 13-point underdogs, however, finally playing with some energy and life.
“This was a Will Muschamp win,” running back Matt Jones said. “We wanted to win for him.”
RELATED: Rapid Reaction: Florida shocks the ‘Dawgs, routs UGA 38-20
A “Will Muschamp win” is the perfect way to describe Florida’s performance. The Gators offense leaned heavily on the run game, riding the shoulders of Jones and Kelvin Taylor en route to 418 rushing yards, by far a season high for the Gators. It wasn’t flashy, but it punched the opponent in the mouth.
Defensively, Florida applied pressure on the UGA backfield, made big stops when needed and avoided big miscues.
It looked more like the 2012 version of the Gators rather than the team everyone’s seen the last two seasons. The confidence, swagger and energy were back.

How does Muschamp keep his job?

As big of a win as this was for Muschamp and the Gators, there’s still four more games left on the schedule and the evaluation of Muschamp is far from over.

  • 11/8 — at Vanderbilt
  • 11/15 — vs South Carolina
  • 11/22 — vs E. Kentucky
  • 11/29 — at Florida State
Following tonight’s performance, games against Vanderbilt and Eastern Kentucky should be easy victories, although I’m not sure those ever were in question.
South Carolina hasn’t been impressive this season, but the Gamecocks offense remains one of the best in the conference. Florida lost its last two home conference games. The Gators may be favored in the matchup, but it’s a toss-up at this point as both teams have fallen way short of expectations.
The Gators travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on the No. 2 ranked team in the nation and defending national champions in the marquee remaining matchup. Muschamp’s only win against Florida State came in Doak Campbell Stadium in 2012, but this year’s game looks much different with how dominant and (literally) unbeatable the Seminoles have been the last two seasons behind quarterback Jameis Winston.
If the Gators miraculously win out, Muschamp keeps his job. Florida’s potential 8-3 record would be the “progress” Foley demanded to see.
In the most probable scenario, the Gators win their next three games, but fall to FSU on the road in the season-finale. While Muschamp wouldn’t get the decisive win against FSU, a 7-4 record still gets the Gators to a bowl game and represents a three-game improvement over a disastrous 2013 season.
Considering Foley’s patience with Muschamp thus far, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Muschamp stay as long as the Gators play decently well. The decision could go either way, but how the Gators win or lose in the final four games will decide whether Muschamp stays or goes.
RELATED: Video: Florida AD Jeremy Foley hugs everyone on sideline
Anything less than a 7-4 record should send Muschamp packing. Muschamp can’t afford to lose another home game to another average opponent like an inconsistent South Carolina. (A loss against either Vanderbilt or EKU speaks for itself.)
That Muschamp keeping his job is now a legitimate discussion represents a step forward. Florida remains mathematically alive in the SEC East race, and if the jubilation Foley, Muschamp and the Florida players showed on the sideline is any indication, this program is confident and reenergized.
Muschamp has earned himself another four games at Florida. Let’s see what he makes of them.
 
kyallie

kyallie

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Re: Latest Bama News 10/31/14 bye Weekend Edition

The ol' ball coach..back to the drawing board.

Steve Spurrier walks away from podium postgame after devastating overtime loss-sds






Not even Steve Spurrier, always good for banter, had answers for South Carolina’s latest loss, a 45-42 setback to Tennessee in overtime Saturday night.

After giving a brief opening statement, Spurrier refused questions and walked away from the podium. The Gamecocks blew a 14-point lead with two minutes to play and missed a potential game-tying field goal in overtime, from 58 yards out, to suffer one of the worst
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