COLUMBIA, Mo. — New coach, new approach, same result.
Only somehow worse.
A Florida football team that has been faltering over the past month is now in apparent free fall following a second consecutive SEC blowout defeat, this one an embarrassing 45-16 loss to Missouri, which came into Saturday’s game winless in league play.
It is UF’s fourth consecutive loss and the first time since 1971 that the Gators (3-5 overall and 3-4 in the SEC) have given up 40 points or more in consecutive games. UF fell to Georgia 42-7 a week earlier.
“Today’s game wasn’t representative of the University of Florida,” interim head coach Randy Shannon said. “Like I’ve said before, don’t make excuses, fellas. Don’t make excuses. If you’re a Florida Gator, you line up and you play the game that’s supposed to be played at. And we’ve got to coach it.
“I don’t think anybody that comes to this university is going to accept losing. I don’t think that anybody who is going to compete is going to accept losing. It’s our job to make sure those guys don’t accept that and play hard to get out there and have a chance to win a game.”
Shannon said he did not see Saturday’s poor overall performance coming because the players seemed focused throughout the week and had shown a lot of energy and focus on the practice field.
“No. No. Not at all,” he said. “Guys practiced well. They flew around at practice. This morning, walkthrough was very sharp and everything else (was positive). You just don’t know come game day.
“We’re a very young team, but I’m not going to make any excuses for this football team. When you come to this university, even if you’re young, you have to play to a high standard. We’ve got to instill that in those guys that you have to play at a high standard.”
Maybe others should have seen this coming.
It’s been a difficult week for the Gators. They lost their coach (Jim McElwain) and two SEC games by a combined score of 87-23. All of it has taken a toll on the players, sophomore linebacker David Reese said.
“You could say so,” he said when asked if the players have been worn down mentally. “I feel like, I just want to say one thing. We loved every single one of our coaches that’s been through here. It’s unfortunate what’s happened to them. I hate the way we represented our coaches like that today with this game.
“Those guys really care for us and gave us a real good game plan to do what we had to do. It’s sometimes disappointing when everybody doesn’t want to come together and just play for each other. That’s sad to see. We’ve still got a lot to play for. Me personally and our defense, we want to play for those guys. We can’t have appearances like we just had today. That’s unacceptable.”
The Gators were no physical match for a team that was 0-4 in the SEC and has been having all kinds of problems on defense.
UF’s defense was gutted in the running game and gave up big play after big play in the passing game.
Missouri quarterback Drew Lock threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns and running backs Larry Rountree III and Ish Witter combined to rush for 166 yards and three touchdowns.
Florida got a little offensive spark with dual-threat quarterback Malik Zaire getting his first start. He showed good pocket presence and completed some passes down the field, including over the middle, where UF has been reluctant to go.
“The positive thing is we moved the ball,” Zaire said. “You got to see a little bit about what our playmakers can do when they have the ball. And our o-line blocked well, we didn’t have as many penalties this week.
“I just think we brought a little bit more consistency as a group. We played a little more unified as a unit. We were able to get yards and get out of tough situations.
“But it’s about scoring points at the end of the day. And we were in the red zone a lot and didn’t convert like we should of. That’s something we’re going to work on this week and get before South Carolina.”
Zaire did not finish the game. Late in the fourth quarter, he was replaced by former starter Feleipe Franks, who led the Gators on a 71-yard TD drive that culminated with his 16-yard pass to running back Lamical Perine.
Zaire finished with 158 yards passing and Franks 98.
Shannon said he will re-evaluate the quarterback position and decide what happens next between Zaire and Franks after reviewing the tape of the game.
Zaire said he wants to stay in the lineup.
“Obviously, I want to be able to run the show,” he said. “I feel comfortable back there. I feel like I give the team the best chance. I feel like if you don’t feel like that you shouldn’t even be in the game.”
There were some players that seemed almost disinterested in the game Saturday, lending to the lifeless overall performance.
The Tigers saw the opening and took the fight to the Gators, never relenting.
“We like came out here and let them take over us,” junior defensive tackle Khairi Clark said. “We weren’t playing as Gators. As Gators, we’ve got to play every snap in the SEC because we can’t just give anything away.”
Like a week ago in the loss to Georgia, the Gators fell behind big early (28-3 late in the first half) and never recovered. They hurt their own cause by having to settle for Eddy Pinero field goals on three scoring chances, two late in the first half and another early in the third quarter.
While the Gators have been going through tough times, things have definitely turned for the better for the Tigers (4-5 overall), who have won three and a row and are rolling on offense.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “I’m proud of the resolve they’ve shown. We’re making progress in a lot of different areas, and it’s started to show.”
Up next
Who: Florida vs. South Carolina
When: 12 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia
TV: CBS
Radio: 103.7-FM, AM-850
Same Sh$t, every game. Same Sh$t, every week. Foley really screwed the pooch with Mac. Wow, they are so bad…
Amazing, but there actually was a difference shown here. Florida has regressed even more. Aside from the announcers commenting several times, “This is the difference between a team that wants to play and a team that doesn’t…”, I kept thinking for the entire game, “How would this Florida team stack up in a different conference?”. Well, very quickly I went through all the Power-5 conferences and couldn’t predict any better W-L records among them. Sadly, I couldn’t either with the MAC, Conference USA, AAC, or Mountain West. We’d still be no better than 3-5, and lucky to be there. Now, I have to say that Zaire did produce brief moments of what Florida used to look like (but not enough), and that Franks came in obviously c the play book more open briefly, and produced the only Florida touchdown. But, that was it, period. Watched Memphis-Tulsa last night just to see the Memphis coach—now THAT was traditional Florida football right there! We’re in more trouble than we ever realized, and I don’t think at this moment in time that any new coach is going to elevate this program back to elite–or even just competitive–in any less than 4 to 5 seasons. Sad time to be a Gator, folks.
I had precisely the same reaction to the Memphis game. That was reminiscent of the Spurrier days and what Gator football should look like. It did not take long for me to decide that I would be VERY happy with a Mike Norvell hiring. It would represent a possible “new era” without trying to recapture “days gone by” with Mullen, Strong or Stoops. Also, why would we want to take on all of Chip Kelley’s baggage? We just unloaded excessive baggage.
Yeah, “Carmelo, I think that Memphis coach really has his eye on the ball. The more I learn about that coach at Iowa State, I like him too. Except for WVA handing their asses to them so far today.
In ESPN FPI ranking Memphis is 37th and Florida is 38th. And just think of the difference in recruiting between the two schools.
So who’s better? Memphis or Florida? Had we played them last night instead of Tulsa, I don’t reckon the difference would have been any different in final score.
Florida is ranked 116th in the country. Lots of incentive to come to this Dumpster fire of a mess. No commitment, facilities are lacking, coaches tenure less than 3 years, and 8 other programs in the state alone that are light years ahead of UF. The days of out recruiting any other program in the SEC are long over with.
Yeah I know hate to say it but I called it back in 2010 when he passed on obvious logical choice Mullen for a defensive guy with no head coaching experience and a pro style offense which made no sense with all our seed guys. Wouldn’t it be funny to hire Mullen now just to prove the last 7 years destroying our once mighty football program was literally all for nothing?
Yes, let’s hire Mullen, so we can turn our QB into a running back. MSU averaging a whopping 7 more passing yards per game than UF. No thanks!
Joe, you realize Mullen will adapt the offense to his players’ skill sets, right?
Someone, somebody please explain why Nussmeier is still anywhere near this team
Hard to explain how a team with among the best kicker/punter combos in the country can field the absolute worst special teams in the country! What are we missing? Gators have enough athletes, they just can’t catch/cover/ tackle!
C-O-A-C-H-I-N-G.
So much improvement is needed, one wonders who wants this job. They are absolutely abysmal. What in the F did Mac do during his tenure?
I thought Mac and Nuss were a package deal, Why the he$$ is Pussmeire allowed anywhere near this team
This.Team.Sucks.
Jeremy Foley should be drawn and quartered for this CACA. It’s absolutely embarrassing.
I tried to warn you ppl for years but mostly fell on deaf ears he was the worst AD in the country nothing but a Charlatan
Is it possible to just give up the rest of the season?
I’m with you MactheMook on that. Your statement is what I’ve been thinking. I wish we could just QUIT and FORFEIT the rest of the season. It’s obvious the team has quit.
Is it possible possible to just give up the rest of the season?
Why is our defense so averse to wrapping up???
Shannon has been coaching them all year
Shannon’s defense has hit a new low, we havent been this bad on defense since 1971! 46 years!! Yet jsut as late as last year we had a great defense and it kept us in games! Shannon’s 1st year as DC and this is what he gives us so I dont want to hear anymore of this “he’s great on defense. He sucked as a HC and also as our DC!
Last week McElwain purposely tanked the game by telling his players he might be fired at the team breakfast, knowing he would take the wind out of their sails. It was a move of spite!!!!!!!!!!
Football is so mental and the mental edge makes all the difference. Didnt look like the same team that almost beat A&M and played well against LSU. They continued that same lackluster play today!
I’m 950 miles from Columbia and I can STILL smell the dung heap that is this team. I’m a lifelong gator, born and raised in GNV, and this team is the worst I’ve seen. I was young, but yeah, I remember 0-10-1.
I was too, at least that 1979 team never gave up. This team is done.
I turned the game off shortly after the Powell fumbled punt. The play of this team, and the offensive play calling of Doug Nussmeier, is just too painful to watch. Embarrassing to watch as well as a lifelong Florida fan and supporter. This program is in the garbage can and stinks to high heaven. I will refuse to watch another game until Doug Nussmeier is fired. And team with no coaching or heart. Period.
Mr. Gillmore, exactly who did you pick in this game?
”Anybody can do ‘easy’! How do you handle it (life) when it’s ‘hard’? That’s what defines us in life.”
~Nick Saban.
And we, in the ”Gator nation”, can clearly see that these 2017 Florida Football Gators don’t do ”hard” very well. And it will take a full HOUSE CLEANING to get these young men to play up to their GOD-GIVEN ABILITY! Because this particular team has shown, in their storied Gator uniforms, ZERO SELF-RESPECT as football players, and ZERO RESPECT FOR FLORIDA FOOTBALL… and the SCHOLARSHIPS they’ve been given.
There were some that played hard, dont throw all of them in the same wash! Just enough didnt that it tanked the team.
Not going for it on 4-1 when it was 14-0 is the play, the decision, the mindset that lost this game.
Going for a field goal when down 28-6 was a pathetic coaching decision and that does not make anyone want to proclaim “It’s great to be a Florida Gator.” Gators go all out to win. Shannon basically said to his players that he didn’t care about winning. It won’t happen, but he deserves to be demoted in favor of someone with a winning attitude. Nussmeier should do the honorable thing and step down as AC as well. No Gator fan wants him to run the offense. Trying to do the same things that don’t work over and over has driven everybody nuts and has taken the spirit right out of the players. The team and the fans deserve better. If the AD doesn’t correct this pathetic play calling situation and decision making to not go all out when behind, the stands will start to look empty sooner than later.
It was 7-0 at the time but you are absolutely right.
New coach….demote all players to 2nd, 3rd team, water boy. All incoming recruits will come in as starter and they will be given every chance to keep that job up through the first half of the first game.
The lack of trying is obvious. I see players moving away from tackles or move to side to avoid body to body collision. When it is so easy to see the non trying it is embarrassing. Ivey puts more effort into a BM than he is on the. Put in the third stringers’
Again, one J Foley should be drawn and quartered for this BS of a hire. This program has been IS an embarrassment. Where exactly are the Mac supporters? Please respond….his team is horrid
This is just painful to watch. Where the hell is the defense? Why are they punting from the MO 39 instead of letting Eddy kick a 56 yarder which he could easily make? Why wasn’t Nuss fired at halftime? Mac must be sitting around counting his money and giggling his ass off.
This team is BAD. It gets worse by the drive
I need to gouge my eyes out with a sharp stick so I cannot watch this game.
Perhaps a class action law suit is due for the horrific state this team is in. Foley and Mac owe millions back to this program..#Foleylegacyistarnished
Make mizzou make plays. They need to throw it all over the field and no throw should be for less than 5 yards period. Stop with the screen and the runs wide.
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-$.
#5 QUIT on a TD throw. Bench his sorry lazy a$$.
I posted that on facebook as soon as it happened… he completly just quit on the play!!! It was C.J. Henderson
He sure did Pensacola……he slowed down to a crawl and then stopped before it was caught and in the end zone.
What a lazy bunch of quitters. Players on D not worthy of being called “Gators”
There is more going on within the Florida Football program that meets the eye. There must be at least some things that is not public information that the University, the Athletic Dept. and Football might find embarrassing. Mac was either psychologically unstable and cracked under the pressure or was desperate to get out. The suspensions before the Michigan game ultimately led to a collapse of the program at least for this year. These suspensions certainly were going to show up in the way the season unfolded but a total collapse like this was unimaginable after the 3 – 0 SEC start. Anyway things could be worse like in Tallahassee but FSU should be able to turn it around much faster than UF do to their stable coaching situation.
One factor I have not seen mentioned yet today is that the Gator coaches have had the misfortune to recruit quite a few players who have turned out to be criminals and got suspended for the season, this year including two of the best offensive players. I would like to think that having so many of them this year does not mean that the recruiters “took a chance” on guys they knew had character problems, but I can’t help but wonder what the true scoop is about that. I hope the staff will not recruit any player who already has a record of stealing anything, including credit cards. My understanding is that the 9 players suspended were committing credit card fraud. Not what I want on the team representing my alma mater. I have been rooting for Gator sports teams since 1958, and this is definitely one of the very lowest points in all of those years. Here’s hoping we get a great head coach and great assistant coaches who will be able to rev up the players they inherit, and recruit much better players this year than some of the ones we have, especially the ones who don’t know (or care?) about the difference between right and wrong.
Push off by the wideout. Should have been an offensive pass interference. I don’t mind though because Mizzou wants to score points and UF wants to run out the clock. The whole defense has quit. They realize they are playing the game by themselves. They can hold the Mizzou offense to zero points and UF will still lose because of our offense and special teams. The only part of the team that was playing well this season was defense and they’ve now quit too because we still have the same offense and play calling.
Disagree David. BOTH sides are apathetic.
Absolutely disagree David, for the year this teams defense hasnt been this bad since 1971 allowing more points scored / game since then. This was Shannon’s 1st year as DC, its his defense. for over a decade up to last year we had an awesome defense. This is all on Shannon, he said he simplified the defense. Yea, so simple the other teams run around and over it!
Bunch of lazy coward quitters.
The UF seniors are a below average group and it’s hard to say that any of them are better players than they were as true freshmen.
Mac can giggle all he wants but this team is a REFLECTION OF HIM and his time in Gainesville. His fingerprints are all over it. He has no room to laugh. Caution light 💡 teeth, pot belly, duck-billed platypus walking, can’t put a sentence together, false advertising of an offensive guru, horrible head coach, program obliterating piece of trash.
He certainly got the last laugh, did’nt he?
MAC has been crushed by the press.
Okaaaaaayyyyy, turned the game over to TTU vs KState, need to see a team with offense. Gators suck. Why is pussmeyer still here? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? I have NO IDEA why pussmeyer is near this team. I was curious if it was puss’s or mac’s offense we saw formerly, it’s now obvious mac let puss call the plays, and mac is gone, puss isn’t. Gotta tell ya, this is illogical to me. Sooo, AD says we need offense, yet he didn’t address it. Puss is soooo bad. Shannon’s defense went from bend but not break to Missouri breaks. Anyone here confident we can beat UAB? Bye bye bowl. Gosh I’m angry! You have to go back to 1979 the first year Pell took over to find a team this bad. This looks bad for new AD. Guess Shannon isn’t auditioning anymore.
Does not any coach remember that if the other team believes you can’t throw- you must set up the running game by completing down field passes first!
Is Trask that bad?
Trask had surgery on his foot – out indefinitely.
He has been hurt all year. Stay up to date.
Thanks George. Really appreciate the info.
Thanks. this is the question I have had all season..black coach..black qb??
DaRock, don’t play that game. Franks was my choice at the beginning of the season, but when he started playing ilke Jeff Driskell and NEVER progressed it was time for someone else to replace him, just like Mac needed to be replaced. Now since they din’t send Nuss with Mac last week it’s his turn this week. By the way at least Shannon was willing to try something different. neither Mac or Nuss has tried anything different in 3 years. It’s not always BLACK and WHITE unless that is the only two colors you can see!
DaRock, you are an idiot. No place for that crap here.
DaRock. Da are racist?
We dont play that at Florida, theres no place for that kind of race talk here! race has nothing to do with any of this one way or the other!
Agreed DaRock – do NOT even try to make this about race. That is an idiot’s play and does not belong here. I hope the Mods block this guy before he spews more of his BS and starts down a path that was closed by rational people a very long time ago.
The only thing I blame the players for is quiting and having no self respect or respect for the program. It is sad to see all the talent go to waste. Yes, you have had some bad coaching but, that does not mean you are a bad team. What makes you a bad team is when you give up as a team. Forgive me for saying but, this looks to be the problem with the country as a whole. We listen to what people say we are and quit beleiving in each other. That is where these Gators are right now.
I dont blame the team either, this is all on the coaches, if a team gives up its a coaching problem, period!
In the history of coaching dismissals- players act like battered wives and children. They just love their fallen coaches. Stockholm syndrome I think they call it.
The entire offense lacks the fundamental ability to tackle. The only player that has even a rudimentary understanding of how to tackle is Reeves. 1 out of 11 players. Just stay away from 33 and you can run all day. It’s amazing because he’s only at UF because Meatchicken refused to let him enter early because he wasn’t high enough on their list. He’s our best tackler. Not good enough for Meatchicken, best UF tackler.
defense
You sorry sucks! If you players don’t even care, just forfeit the season. You are getting scholarships to embarrass the people paying for your education. What a bunch of jerks. I have never been so disgusted with UF players. Just lay down on the field and quit, you jerks!!!
Everybody has complained about the offense, the defense is worse. Watching Bryant, he is deep in the backfield have the time. That is okay if it is a pass play but on a run his side he completely takes himself out of the play. Then the LB does not scrap off. Terrible execution. A good H.S. team would execute better than this. Poor coaching and not much talent either.
At least the offensive linemen helped pick Zaire up after the 2 man rush destroyed him. Good team players. LOL
The least they could do, after stepping aside and letting the poor guy get plastered……..
How is Nussmeir still coaching? How is Malik Zaire still in the game?? How can we Randy Shannong still not recruit LBs 3 years in???
These are the open questions I would like Abreu to answer!!!!
4 years ago the team was overmatched and injury-riddled, but they didn’t quit. This is the worst Gator group of quitters I have ever seen. I am shocked by how they performed today.
Lacking discipline. lacking player leadership. lacking coaching leadership..
Fire Nussmeir…Fire Strickland!!!
What does Stricklin (There is no d) have to do with this? He got rid of Mac and is looking for a new head coach. Think before you post.
Stricklin extended Mac this year then fired him during the season with no replacement. I am so far failing to understand his strategy.
Extension was a mistake. Bad one. You have to get first in line fore replacements though. This team is currently performing the same as if MAC were on the sideline.
Get rid of all of the coaches. Obviously none of them of good enough to keep as all phases of the football is horrendous. Most of the players have quit. They don’t deserve to wear the Orange and Blue.
What a mess the next head coach will have on his hands.
Cheap shot on perrine going into the endzone. The tackler new he wasn’t going to stop him but he hit him on the knee anyways. Not thigh. On the knee.
UF should’ve just kicked another pointless FG.
I have been a Gator fan for about sixty years and even though there were some lean years, I have seldom seen as bad an all around performance as today’s. The defense has been just plain pathetic, the offensive line only blocks someone about one play out of five, and the decisions to kick three field goals, with a defense unable to get stops, were just unfathomable. Other than Perrine, and Zaire (who though rusty made a few very nice plays), just about the whole teams gets an F grade today. Even worse than the execution was the apparent total lack of effort by most players. Shannon’s defense was actually even worse than the offense, by the way. An embarrassing display of ineptitude. The new coach will have a daunting challenge ahead of him, to rebuild the football program to respectability.
A prospective new head coach coming in, watching Florida players essentially just quit right from the start, might have serious doubts about taking this mess on. Or crazy enough to try, I don’t know which.
Clearly you are not up to the challenge. The same for so many negative and gutless commenters on this board.
PS: Missouri was 0-4 in the SEC coming into this game.
Again- Foley and Mcelwain have stolen millions the past 2-3 years. Not acceptable. And to think, some were(and are) defending Mac….
There is only one thing you can control as an athlete in sports and that is your EFFORT!! This is the worst effort game i have ever seen from Florida football in all aspects in my 35 years as a fan. They all look soft, undisciplined and not worthy to be part of the tradition of being a Gator. The NFL prospects are too worried about injuries to hit or cover someone ie Dawson, running plays on 3rd and 6, field goals on short 4th downs down by 20. It just doesnt make sense as to what has happened
What NFL prospects? I originally thought the highest gator drafted would be in the 4th round, now not until late 5th or early 6th. No talent , no desire
New coach needs to sandbag the season. Play for the future and not for next year. If you are a current junior and aren’t a star, goodbye! All juniors will have to leave because none of them are worth keeping. Play as many true freshmen as possible. Promise starting jobs to recruits and deliver. Need to get talent. We’ve essentially recruited and taken non P5 type players. We’ve gone into states like alabama and signed players that BAMA/AUB didn’t want. We have a bunch of linebackers who have no ability to tackle. bye bye 11 and 50. We’ve taken some south florida players that FSU and Miami didn’t want. When only about half of your class is being recruited by elite football schools, you are playing with your hands tied.
Maybe, David, we’ve even taken players that UCF & USF didn’t want either? I see a lot of heart, energy, and urgency among players on those teams, that I haven’t really seen on Florida all season.
The last time Florida gave up 40 points in back to back games in the SEC was 1971. This program has been taken back to the stone age! Not sure there is a big name head coach out there that would want to wrap his arms around this dumpster fire and call it his own. Scott Stricklin is going to have to do one heck of a sales job on somebody.
Also there is going to be at least 4 or 5 big name schools looking to hire a big name coach and there are not enough to go around.
I don’t think there’s any position I rather not take, were it me, other than Vice President of America.
Well, THAT WAS EMBARRASING!!!!!.
At least Shannon removed himself from consideration by halftime.
Hey, what’s everyone complaining about, we are ranked #5….in the state of Florida. 😡 I can only imagine what the attendance will be for the UAB game, oh, I mean disaster.
Apparently Mizzou fans felt the same way about there team, GatorMike…did you notice all the empty seats there from the get-go? If the Swamp ever looks like that, I’ll lose the will to live!
How many more funerals are left to watch this season?
P. S. – UAB is gonna beat us. Mark my words.
I’m wondering about that too, Key.
What did I say after the Michigan loss? That it was just a matter of time before more Nussmeier blow-outs.
I heard the scuttlebutt building up about Mac before the UGA game and knew something was in the works about dismissing him, but I was hoping against hope Nuss was going with him.
I said when Mac got here in 2015 that hiring Nuss was a bad hire, these last two games?
Certainly we can promote another one of our quality control coaches to OC and move Nuss out.
I honestly expected to see a lot of read/option today with Zaire starting. Nothing.
Nuss is a control freak who absolutely refuses to alter his offense for anything.
MY GOD what an embarrassment today.
Scott Frost…. come on down
I was wondering during the game if Shannon has the authority to fire Nuss. If he does, it would be a great move no matter who might replace him to the end of the season. Or, are they great friends too, like c Mac and Nuss?
Why would Scott Frost or any other current head coach want to leave to come to this sorry excuse of a football team. To lose to Missouri by that score is beyond embarrassing.
Because they are up for a challenge and not a p**ssy like you. Your comments reveal so much about you.
Rick, which means absolutely NOTHING to an in-coming coach. A new coach sees UF as a career-building challenge, an incredible recruiting resource with lots of money and national exposure.
Wins-losses have NOTHING to do with his decision.
Please explain to me how they are going to automatically get Scott Frost ? Has he said anything ?
Yeah…where was the read option? I guess Nussmeier doesn’t want to try the approach that would match his players skills and abilities.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse………………………………
I have commented before about how truly inept these players are. Now, for at least two games in a row, we can confirm that they CAN’T play football at this level and WON’T even TRY to play football with any amount of pride, effort, and courage.
I have to admit that I was wrong about (at least) one thing – our once proud Gator football program has, in fact, become a dumpster fire that is unlikely to attract a top tier coach. It is one thing to lose. It is an entirely disgustingly different thing to QUIT. There will be too many programs with good athletes who have what it takes to be molded into winners for us to compete for a quality coach with the players we have.
I have been a Gator since 1967, and while I have seen more poor Gator teams than I care to recall, I have never seen a bunch of QUITTERS like the sorry prima donnas that disgraced the Gator uniform today and last week.
You aren’t gonna get a Saban, Meyer or Spurrier, you’re gonna get a coach like McElwain, someone who is having moderate success at a program like UCF, Memphis, Texas Tech or Mississippi St. It’s gonna take 2, 3, or 4 years to build a program, but Gator fans won’t allow that much time, they want success NOW, so get ready for another coaching change in 3-4 years. Florida is the new Nebraska.
Kevin – Help me out with the math here. “It’s gonna take 2, 3, or 4 years to build a program, but Gator fans won’t allow that much time…so get ready for another coaching change in 3-4 years.” So we change coaches in 3-4 years, but we won’t wait the 2, 3, or 4 years it takes to build a program? Huh? Maybe we are using different calendars, but the last time I checked, 3-4 years = 3-4 years.
Wish I could write this in a coloring book, then maybe you’d understand. You see Trooper, some coaches can turn a program around in just 2 years, while others take 3 or 4, but it’s quite obvious that you and other Gator fans will never give any coach that much time, you want instant success, which just isn’t gonna happen, although with the Gators weak schedule next year, anything is possible. Try not to get hung up on the numbers, wouldn’t want to confuse you anymore than you already are. I hate being right all the time!
Kevin I agree with most of your comments you reap what you sow. This team lacks twenty percent of roster due idiotic decisions and injuries. A head coaching change was never going to fix that overnight. I believe this recruiting class will begin to erode as negative recruiting begins. I support the firing of Mac he made it impossible for himself to continue, but I never thought a coaching would have any impact on this current roster. Now it appears we have a team that is not playing hard. I would not want to play hard for most people that leave comments on this site.
Here’s the coloring book version Kevin, and with no disrespect intended of course… There was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes for well over a year between Mac and UF officials. He did and said a lot of things that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Of course, Mac should be commended on expediting some of the facility upgrades we’ve had, but in actuality, almost all of those were already in the planning stages under Muschamp.
What got Mac fired wasn’t impatience by Gator fans or UF, it was his total lack of control over his players, his inability to consistently win big games, his average recruiting, hiring his buddies and pals as assistants and not qualified coaches (Nussmeier in particular), and his issuies with the UAA and UF officials.
Mac got Mac fired, not Gator fans, who filled The Swamp loyally only to be repeatedly disappointed by a hbc who was obviously not UF material.
Kevin, I am sure you do miss your coloring book! No doubt it is quite therapeutic for you. Why did your nanny take it away from you? It must have frustrated you even more than simple math and basic English composition. Just don’t worry about coloring between the lines or eating the crayons, and you should be just fine.
I’ll take UCF’s “McElwain” in a heartbeat! If he comes this same bunch of loser quitters will go 9-3 next year, at worst. Frost took UCF from winless to undefeated in 2 years. It’s all about coaching – ALL about coaching – and this dumpster fire is the responsibility of our multi-millionaire MacTard, Nuss and our current stellar HBC Shannon. Our 4-stars just got punked by a SEC-winless team full of 2-stars. When a team QUITS on you it doesn’t matter, they are gonna lose like the dirtbags wearing orange and blue yesterday. Forfeiting the season at this point is not a bad idea. The only thing these coaches and players do well is QUIT.
I feel very bad for these players. They are overmatched against Georgia, get blown out and their coach that recruited them is fired the next day after only 2 1/2 seasons. Backup coaches take over an obviously did not get them mentally prepared.
If you are going to attack the players please go be an FSU fan.
Frank, you are wrong. It was evident watching this game that these players had no effort, no passion, no heart. I’ll cheer for the Gators no matter how badly they are losing. But this bunch flat-out quit. Quitters should not be immune from criticism.
If players quit its a coaching problem, period. McElwain tanked them by telling them at the team breakfast in Jax that he might be fired, seems he did it on purpose to hurt the University since they were going to fire him. This week Shannon couldnt motivate them to play for him!
Understand how you feel Frank…..but they did quit. Trooper has a point there.
Sounds like you are the fsu fan Frank. Get a clue. You apparently know nothing about football. According to a guy like you, it’s all the terrible fans in Gator Nation that caused this team to disintegrate into nothing. You’re a pumper and your problem is you have run out of things to defend.
Where did all of the Jeremy Foley cheerleaders go ??????? “Best AD in America ” lol yeah why Alabama and fsu were building all sorts of things to impress recruits …. and developing talent we were building a women’s athletics powerhouse! Despite having the worst facilities in the sec the state still has lots of insane talent yet foley hired absolutely terribly coaches who ditched our ultra successful spread option offense for John Brantley ! But wait ! After mushchsmp foley decided to go hire someone even much worse ! So now not only do we not have a offense but we also don’t have a defense ! We don’t have any indoor water falls to wow recruits with like nick saban does , we have a indoor practice facility built a decade too late and just for the sake of having one , it’s not very fancy compared to the rest of conference! We have so much offensive talent in this state had #1 recruiting class in 09, were winning titles and stuff but jeremy foley decided to burn it all down! But great news ! Softball and field hockey are starting back up soon ! Best athletic director ever right guys ?????? You idiots let this happen hopefully our new ad can prove to be much more competent in the mean time you ppl who supported all his man child ego antics can shut up and and not post anything the last thing we want to do is make another stupid hire and scare corral off
Dooley had it right. They waited a year too long to get rid of Chump. There was an awful pool once they did get rid of him and MAC was the best of the rest. An experiment that failed. The smart fans saw it in he first year. The pumpers defended him till the georgia game.
can we hire mac back so we can fire him again? that was awful!
Hey Rob…..that’s just crazy enough to be fun!
OMG you guys, chill out. So many people wanting to hang these poor kids out to dry. They just lost their coach, they’re obviously going to be down and not have a lot of heart, it’s no reason to make em water boys. Things’ll get right again, everybody goes through rough times. Just be glad we’re not Nebraska after Osbourne. And the Noles suck this year, too, and they’ve had the same coach long enough they should be able to avoid this kind of season. I didn’t like watching it anymore than the rest of you but have some empathy for these kids. Fan boards suck.
Wallace-“Empathy” means to understand and share the feelings of another. I personally do not, and will not understand and share the feelings of QUITTERS! If you want to share the feelings of QUITTERS who feel sorry for themselves and “not have a lot of heart” go right ahead. No doubt your empathy will improve the quality of the team and the fan board that both “suck”.
It’s the coaches responsibility to get the team ready to play. Obviously the players don’t want to play for these coaches. That in itself says a lot. Coaches that are getting paid hundreds or thousands, in some cases million +. Disgraceful.
I can’t stand to watch.
Scott Frost please
I think our fans suck too!! Name a coach (be realistic) who wants to come to Gainesville and get hung, cussed, spit on when we run on second and long. If our fans think we are more than a middle of the pack SEC program, then a delusional fan is an appropriate label. This is going to take a long while. If you have a weak stomach, FSU (3-5) has more 5 star players on their roster. Go get you some!
I missed the hangings and the spitting. When did that happen? Was it before or after the death threats?
You’re right Troop! We can get any coach we want.
Look in the mirror. You are part of the problem.
David – in what way? I may be ugly but I am not sure how that pertains. Actually, I don’t think we can get any coach we want. Please review my previous comments. My point is that exaggerations like coaches getting “hung” and “spit on” are gross misrepresentations of the fans, and are significantly more harmful to the hiring process than the real (and mostly accurate) criticisms by the fans. It is one thing to comment on the quality and results of the players and the coaching. It is another thing altogether to make dire and unfounded predictions of murder and disgusting behavior. Those that criticize the self control of the fans would be well advised to exercise a little control of themselves.
Agree, Trooper!
We didn’t have any trouble backing Meyer. We thought we had a dynasty in the making. Then he freaked out. Then he made the Dazz offensive coordinator. He also completely mishandled Cam, for the sake of Timmy.
Sharp fans know when coaches are screwing up a good thing.
Example – no knowledgeable fan believes you can continually run the bubble screen without a downfield threat. Nuss does.
Gator Steve…let’s put this Cam thing to rest once and for all. Can Newton was about to be expelled from UF by his student peers for CHEATING on tests, after having just gone thru the stolen lap top episode.. Urban worked out a way he could transfer before Cam was exposed to this embarrassment,. He did this FOR Cam….not for “Timmy”. Obviously, at that time, Cam had some serious character issues.
Embarrassing to be a Gator football fan today.
The season is over & why anyone is calling for Nussmeier, or anyone else, to be fired is just ludicrous. It doesn’t matter who is coaching this year’s team. Even a blind man can see that the team lacks talent & it shouldn’t surprise anyone since McElwain was a horrible recruiter. Even highly ranked players sucking & don’t develop. An example is Marred Ivey, the consensus top offensive lineman in the nation. He’s been awful ever since he stepped on campus.
FSU has the same record as UF, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they dominated IF just like Missouri. Why would anyone coaching want to come to this dumpster fire?
Florida is officially the Nebraska of the south, a once proud, dominant program drowning in mediocrity, I’d take mediocrity at this point, Gators stink with no end in site, good chance they’ll lose out, I see a lot of transfers coming and several recruits jumping ship.
Everyone seems to forget that Alabama had decades of Mediocrity till Saban came. After Bear Bryant they lost their glory for decades and were a middle of the pack team. Oh what a difference a great coach makes!
who cares
We are now hue Nebraska/Kansas of the SEC. hooray!!
Help is on the way! We will have a new coach soon. We have so many injury’s and thief’s not playing it is a wonder we are able to field a team. I hope new coach brings a new strength coach to slow the injury’s. We need to save as many commits as we can! Give coach Mac credit for that! Coach them up and let them play
Go Gators!!
I just finished watching the replay. I turned off the game after Powell’s fumble today. And maybe my eyes were fooling me, but Franks looked a lot more calm out there and threw some balls with a lot of touch and in rhythm. That was encouraging to see. But, sadly, about the only positive from this game today.
Why is everyone pushing for Frost to take the reigns? Why not go after the tried and true? Stoops? Miles? Kelly? We need an established name, not someone who has never coached at the top 5 level. It will only be more of the same. Like it or not the Florida job is a name-label position, not some up and coming hopeful.
Old guys no longer interested in the recruiting grind.
Meyer came from Bollinggreen and Utah……not exactly heavyweight programs
ok, I thought Shannon would do better. the situation is bad, I had thought with mac we were looking at.500 at best after the Michigan game. was right the first time. I will no doubt like the coach but lets lower our expectations. building this back will take time. if it, turns around quickly, great, but realistically that’s unlikely imo. for this year, lets start giving toney a shot at qb, and I think you might see some improvement, little else about the rest of this decade looks interesting.
No idea who they will get , but they better get at least 3 whole seasons or Florida will become a job nobody wants.
If the next coach gets fired in 2 1/2 seasons then fire the Athletic Director at the same time. That should be part of his employment contract.
Fact! This was a depleted team before the first snap of the season. Cannot afford to lose nine players to suspension. Depleted team is going to lose even more players to injury. Did the y give up? YES…..Too bad these boys are being looked at for Sunday playing potential.
No emotion, no desire and now no heart…..sad state of affairs…..what can be done to salvage any kind of a season? Probably nothing….but it boils down to having so many suspended pre season and then players getting hurt and not able to come back……Gator Nation it is time to take a good look and reflect, coaches need to become dedicated, players need to recoup some pride …Fans need to stop whining and giving solutions that will not work…..Mac had to be let go…he lost it, the players lost it and what is left of Gator Nation needs to continue to support even in a season that cannot be salvaged…..Things have to get better…just not this year…
Let’s see – we need fans that won’t whine and offer solutions to protect the safe space of our millionaire coaches.
Sounds like my Aunt Edna.
Well Steve your Aunt Edna sounds like a pretty sharp cookie!
Can you read? Do you read? or do you choose to bellyache until the next hiccup in this so called season. Whining fan base is more useless than anything. Keep whining and that is what Gator Nation becomes. like so many sports, the fan base cannot affect the way players play and coaches coach…..Please can we just get through this season and anticipate winning the big ones next year just like Tennessee now does, is that what we have become? It will be interesting to see who gets the best head ball coach after this season, us or the Rocky Toppers……
Way back in the day, Billy Cannon and Shug Jordan’s nine-man line came to Florida Field and barely beat the Gators. They were saddled with a coach then named Bob Woodruff. When he was buried in effigy the sign on his tombstone read “Here lies Woodhead. He is no more, he passed three times on 2nd and 4.” This was from a game lost (or tied) to Vanderbilt! The irony was that he hardly ever passed. Just another plodding mediocrity who coached not-to-lose defense, ball control. Sound familiar? It’s probably no coincidence that two of the Gators who succeeded in the NFL from the 50’s were Don Chandler and Bobby Joe Green (punters).
But then, after he was fired after ten years, in came Gator Ray who turned things around in one season! See the picture of him raising his fingers to go for two to beat his mentor, Bobby Dodd. But in those days, the games were always sold out, and the refrain “Wait til next year,” was all about hope and faith and love for the Gators. All kinds of weather means all kinds of weather. You sunshine patriots ought to get a hold on yourselves. These Gator kids have played hard all season. Not well, but hard. Think of Perine and Davis, and yes, Duke Dawson, and even poor Fellipe Franks. How about Cleveland? They were coached by a loser/buffoon. What you saw out there in Columbus wasn’t a group of quitters; you saw confused, bewildered, probably over confident kids get behind early and lose their heart because they knew there was no way they could win. They didn’t know how. They haven’t known how to score a lot of points against air for seven seasons! Football hurts and it’s why teams who are losing bad at the start of the second half play even worse and the score gets padded. Football, unlike baseball and tennis, sometimes is over way before it’s over. And who among you hasn’t quit a time or two when you shouldn’t have?
And it doesn’t have to take years and years to turn these guys around. I’m not plugging for Scott Frost necessarily, but UCF was O-9 year before last with a lot of the same players. Look how long it took Urban Meyer to win a championship with Ron Zook’s players.
So, stop all this whining, pull up your socks y’all and tell those young men to go out and beat the snot out of the last Gator mistake. Maybe they won’t be able to, but tell them you stand behind them and believe that they can even without a credible quarterback or a decent game plan and no depth and linebacker and no leadership. Just remember that the fans are not the only Gators who were sold a bill of goods.
Very well said, I put it all on the coaches, when players quit its a coaching problem. Go Gators, beat S.C.
great post. spot on.
Very well said, indeed. Although I observe that the “wasn’t a group of quitters” is in contradiction with the “who among you hasn’t quit?” and the euphemism “lose their heart”. Before solving a problem you have to call it what it is and not paper it over with fluff and kisses. That said, this team has a chance to prove that they are far better than they have been coached to be, and the fans have a chance to get behind them in full-throated roars of support. The catharsis can subside, and the players can get the message if we stay with them “through all kinds of weather.” This is when player leaders step-up and demand effort, excellence and accountability. At the very least, these guys know the fundamentals of blocking, tackling, and good old-fashioned hustle. At this point, I don’t care what the scores are, I just want to see some of that lost heart. I am not giving up on these guys, and I hope the Gator Nation does not either. Go Gators!
Hey Coach Shannon, wake up. The team that played Saturday not only accepted losing, but they looked like they were completely fine with it. This team is a bunch of quitters. What a joke.
Mr.Gilmore you told me last week I was a prophet of doom, we’ll all of you guys posting ain’t seen nothing yet! The real problem with Gator football is the AAU. Coach Mac was let go because he embarrassed them for their lack of financial support for the football program! We were last in the league to build an indoor facility, our athletic dorms were slum condition. Recruits stayed away or went somewhere else because they could see that Florida football was on the cheap. Look at the money Kentucky, south kakalki,Mississipi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Georgia. Put into their progra,s with new facilities. The AAU sits on the money they get every year from the SEC pool of football proceeds not to mention the monies they collect for football at the Swamp! Are the rest rooms facilities up to date I have not been in the Swamp in some time due to health conditions. It was hard to get a toilet to flush at one time. This last fiasco by the AAU of not working with the coaching staff and the coach leaving has set the program back at the least 7 more years in recruiting and there is only one person I know that could turn Florida football around in one or two years. Is not walking thru the door because he is at Bama! Gator fans don’t blame the players, don’t blame the coaches,blame the AAU! They are the real crux of the problem at Florida!
Why is critiquing the performance of the team and coaches considered “whining’? To be honest, they just plain stunk it up the last two games, and won two others more by luck than by coaching and performance. Why is discussion of this whining? What are we supposed to talk about? The band sounds great! The turf was in really good shape for the games! The stadium crew did a great job of cleaning-up after the last game. The ticket takers were all very courteous and cheerful. I would love to be commenting about how much fight and determination the team showed. I would love to be commenting about the creativity and the go-for-broke daring of the coaching game plan. I would even love to be writing that although we lost we showed great heart and a total team effort. The problem is that we are confined to writing about what is actually happening with our beloved Gator football team. It doesn’t make us “bad” fans. It doesn’t make the program worse because we describe it as it is. I guess we are supposed to just watch the program self-destruct and enjoy it. In the final analysis, it is only a bunch of young men playing a GAME! It is not life and death. That said, the purpose of forums is to discuss and enjoy the back and forth and give and take of the common interest. Nobody here is either a good fan or a bad fan. We are just fans with opinions and observations that we would be expressing over coffee, beers, or some other way if this forum were not available. Can’t we just do this, have a little fun with it, and recognize it for what it is? – fans talking about their football team. The alternative is apathy, and that’s no fun. It will also kill a program quicker than any poor coaching, uninspired playing, and fan comments. Let’s respect each other’s opinions, express our own, and be thankful that we live in a country where all this is even possible, while billions of folks in the world don’t even know where their next meal is coming from, or how to get a drink of clean water.
A bunch if grown persons getting so angry at the wrong target is all I was talking about. Whining was the wrong word, sorry. I’ve watched these youngsters play really hard all season for a hack who was clueless and as it turns out venal and arrogant. People like that leave destruction in their wake. But the all the doom and gloom is misplaced. There is a good or maybe great team waiting for the right coach to come along to wright the ship. We’ve all seen it happen over and over. Cfb is a coaches game more than any other sport.
I’m done. I’ll check in every now and then but I cant watch this any more.
Too much for this old Gator. Someone said above, “losing is one thing” but what I witnessed Saturday was more than just losing a ballgame.
I’m done.
Wait till next year! I crack myself up.