In keeping with how the season has played out, the Gators did everything they didn’t want to do in getting a sloppy, uninspired win over Furman.

The defense was sleepwalking throughout the first half, digging a 15-point hole early that required most of the starters on both sides of the ball to play into the 4th quarter to ensure the win. The offense was able to score on a multitude of big plays, mostly through the air, which was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was the sporadic running game, where poor blocking led to more short gains than should have ever happened. I give the defense some credit for pulling together after the rough start, mostly due to the fact that the Paladins came out with an entirely new offensive scheme not shown all year. Smart by them, but once Florida made their adjustments after the 1st quarter, they simply out-manned Furman the rest of the game, outscoring them 47-10. Forcier, who transferred from UCLA, is a solid QB that could play on a lot of FBS teams.

On the injury front, a few key players were dinged up as well. Jordan Reed’s ankle injury did not look good, while Matt Elam’s shoulder should be OK this week. John Brantley continues to limp around, and Chris Rainey has a bad ankle as well. The loss of Marcus Roberson in the secondary will be painfully obvious this week. LB Lerentee McCray and OT Chaz Green have been sorely missed recently – unless they are immobilized this week, they need to at least provide some quality snaps. Suck it up, rub some dirt on it, or, more likely, get a pain shot and get your ass in there, young man.

The season mercifully ends this Saturday against F$U. After all the preseason claims of being “back”, the Criminoles are “back” – back to another 4 or more loss season, and once again little factor in the Almost Competitive Conference. They have no excuses, except for continued mediocre OL play, an overrated QB, and the imagined genius of Dumbo Fisher, who still hasn’t put together a potent offense, going back to his underachieving L$U offenses in the mid-2000s.

Sadly, the F$U front seven on defense has outperformed Florida’s group in 2011. DE Jenkins is a tough pass rusher, and their LB corps is very good – light years ahead of the Gator contingent. Nigel Bradham is excellent, but still is as dirty as they come. Their secondary is the weakness, but, can Florida’s OL give Brantley time to expose them? Lemarcus Joyner is a stud at FS, but the rest of that group strikes fear in no one. Their team speed is again very good, and will be tough for the Gators to consistently overcome, given their lack of a power running game. Coach Weis is up against it with his current roster – he’s going to have to develop a scheme that will keep the F$U defense off-balance and make them think (always a challenge for them) instead of just reacting. Just as Reed was finally showing development at TE, he could be no factor this week. A.C. Leonard may have to rise to the challenge – Brantley did target him more last week than all year. All the skill guys have to show up and contribute. Andre Debose has to make a few big plays downfield, and should command respect and enough attention from the F$U secondary to hopefully help the other WRs find some open space. someone out the remaining WRs – Deonte Thompson, Frankie Hammond, or Quinton Dunbar, have to help keep the F$U defense honest and prevent them from crowding the box. Jeff Demps and Rainey need to rip off a few big runs, and perhaps Trey Burton and Hunter Joyer will finally get a few more touches inside the tackles. We may see a little more Wildcat in short yardage this week. It’s all hands on deck for the Gator offense. But unless the OL plays well, it could get ugly.

The Florida DL has to get penetration on it’s own without relying on blitzes to pressure the QB. E J. Manuel scares no one – despite his mobility, he is an inaccurate passer downfield and looks tentative when having to read defenses. The defensive game plan in general may look very similar to what they employed for Georgia – concede the run, and concentrate on the short and intermediate routes. This actually plays to the strength of Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins at LB. Despite the loss of Roberson, I think Coach Muschamp and Coach Quinn can devise some coverage looks that will confuse Manuel.  The secondary has to find some playmakers – Elam can’t do it all by himself, and Jaylen Watkins is still very inexperienced, despite his recent improvement.  Maybe Pop Saunders gets another pick this week – he still gets out of position, but definitely has ball skills.  F$U’s running game is nothing special, their OL is almost as mediocre as Florida’s, and they have no consistent WR threat that the Gators can’t handle in man coverage. The Criminoles will attempt the occasional deep pass that Josh Evans or Josh Shaw must stay in position for.

Special teams are about equal. Greg Reid, despite being a punk, is a dangerous punt returner. Hopkins is a decent FG kicker, but will be coming in off of choking a win away last week against Virginia. FSU’s kick coverage unit is average, but Florida’s KO return game has been dynamite all year. Here’s hoping that the Gators do maximum damage with hopefully only a few attempts. If the Criminoles are smart (risky proposition), they will do what many teams have done recently – kick shorter to the up backs. At least Florida has countered that strategy by moving Debose up.  Kyle Christy has been shaky at punter, but Caleb Sturgis has had a great season on FGs – the game could hinge on him at the end.

Can the Gators pull together after all of the adversity and troubles throughout the season to put together one complete game from all units? Certainly pride has to be on the line, and not just after the debacle in Taliban City last year. Florida can atone for at least some of it’s self-inflicted woes with a win over it’s rival. This is a huge game for recruiting momentum for the Gators, as the staff has put together a solid class so far that will add 10-12 more players before NSD 2012. There is immediate playing time available next year at a multitude of positions for any freshman that takes advantage of the opportunity. Urban Meyer said it himself after last year’s loss to F$U – “We have to hit the recruiting trail hard to build things back up”. That’s a fact that many fans simply have forgotten – the fruits of which were borne out in 2011 and, unfortunately, will still be seen in 2012 as well. It will take 2-3 years of solid recruiting classes to stockpile the roster back to 85 quality athletes that can compete for championships.

It’s a shame that the Gators are so far down in talent and depth that they are a home underdog to Florida St.  The Swamp will be alive early, but ultimately it will be up to the players to keep the crowd in the game to the finish  I think Florida has one final big push in them. The defense has had enough sand kicked in it’s face to last a career – Jaye Howard, Sharriff Floyd, Omar Hunter, and Dominique Easley need to fight back now.  The incredibly overrated Dumbo Fisher could also be a great equalizer.  If the game were in Taliban City, Florida loses by 14-21 points.  At a neutral site, Florida loses by 7-10 points.  At the Swamp?  Ugh – this hurts……

Prediction  – Florida $t. 24        Florida 20

Same as it ever was……

This nightmare season continues to be a broken record, as the Gators find ways to lose, not win, against a ranked opponent. This year’s team is simply not good enough to overcome turnovers, stupid penalties, mental breakdowns at critical times, and a lack of SEC talent on the OL and at DE. The Gamecocks are nothing special, which makes it even more frustrating to watch Florida let another win slip away.

The Gators are a bad football team right now.

On offense, the Pistol formation seems to be the best bet to help Brantley’s effectiveness. The running game was actually pretty good, as Chris Rainey had a big day. However, it was puzzling that neither Burton or Joyer got a chance to pound the ball near the goal line, and no Wildcat formation was used in short yardage situations. The inability to score TDs in the red zone is just another indicator of a bad team. The passing game was only good mostly for short, quick throws, as the OL continues to be a sieve. Jordan Reed is showing some progress at TE, but the lack of pass protection negates any real chance of deep passes, making Debose a non-factor. Another poor game from Nixon, and Wenger needs to be benched. What a mess.

Again, I am having some difficulty understanding some of the personnel packages Coach Weis is choosing to use. He does not seem to have definitized the roles of Burton, Joyer, Leonard, and some of the WRs like Dunbar and Hammond. I like bringing in Brissett to take snaps under center in short yardage and near the goal line, but the seeming lack of play-action passes, bootlegs, and running play variations may simply be an admission of poor OL play that seemingly can’t be overcome. Stunning.

The defense once again played well enough to get a win. After struggling to stop the QB runs the entire first half (bad coaching/preparation by Quinn), they controlled the second half except for one long pass to set up the last FG by Carolina. The one huge failure was not stopping the Gamecocks from basically running out the clock at the end, as a dumb penalty by Easley allowed the drive to continue. The poor play of the LBs continues, as no one seems to fill the holes to consistently stop the run, and they can’t seem to shed blockers. There were some nice short-yardage stops, but then the collapse in the 4th quarter when Carolina was simply playing keep-away. The secondary did a solid job controlling Alshon Jeffrey and the short passes to the RBs. Overall a solid effort, but because of the struggles of the offense, this isn’t enough.

There is almost a sense of knowing that good teams see that they just have to play it safe and conservative, and wait for the Gators to make the mistake that will lose the game. It’s a sad state of affairs right now, but it’s going to take another 2 years to re-build the talent base and establish the kind of style this staff wants. Patience is not the staple of most fan bases – especially in the SEC. The frustration among the players must be a difficult thing for the coaches to address each week.

The hits just keep on coming for Florida. Marcus Roberson is out for the rest of the regular season with a neck injury, which is a huge loss for the F$U game. Easley is banged up, and Brantley is still playing on one leg. Hopefully JB4 sits this week and heals up for F$U. Brissett and Driskel can handle Furman with little problem, and get some more reps for the future. The only concern about playing Furman is……NO MORE INJURIES. The Gators need to just muddle through this game, clear the bench, and start preparations now for Florida St. It’s hard to fathom that it will take a win against Furman to become bowl-eligible.

Prediction Florida 38 Furman 10

Florida got a much-needed win against Vanderbilt, and maybe found a few things on both offense and defense that could make a difference for the rest of 2011.

That was one of the best Vandy teams in recent memory that came into the Swamp Saturday, and the fact that the Gators dominated until midway through the 3rd quarter was good to see. The Commodores had already taken Georgia and Arkansas to the wire earlier this year, so Gator fans shouldn’t be too concerned about the close final score.

On offense, it looks like the Pistol formation may be the best way to help Brantley out with his limited mobility, and it seemed to be the most effective scheme for both the OL and RBs. Demps came up with a huge effort with Rainey out, and Joyer showed he can be an effective blocking back and can get some tough yards in the red zone. Even the passing game looked a little more settled, with a handful of WRs getting involved, and actually some completions in the middle of the field, which have been sorely lacking all season.

The Gator defense did a good job through 3 quarters containing an very good QB in Jordan Rodgers, who may be a top 3 SEC QB this year. The only disappointing performance came in the 4th quarter, as the defense started to lay back in pass coverage and allowed Vandy to find some rhythm and start moving the ball. The safety play other than Elam continues to struggle, as Pop Saunders again gave up a big TD pass. Unfortunately, there’s no help on the horizon the rest of this season, and somehow Coach Robinson has to get something out of this position. Michael Taylor looked pretty good in his first start at LB, and should be a major contributor from here on out. Roberson was solid at CB again, and Jaylen Watkins continues to improve now that he’s getting more snaps at the other CB spot.

It’s on to Columbia this week to face the Gamecocks and the Pariah. There would be a lot of satisfaction to gain in ruining what hopes they have left to win the East.

The USCeast defense has a solid DL, led by Melvin Ingram and Jadeveon Clowney. The LBs are adequate, but their secondary is beat up right now and has been torched most of the year. The usual formula for winning in the SEC, especially on the road, is to establish a good running game. However, since the Gators have struggled most of the year generating long drives, it may be time to simply air it out deep and often to try and make enough big plays to negate that need, and to loosen up the defense to perhaps create some running opportunities. I expect Andre Debose to get some chances all day to break a long play, and hope to see more crossing routes by the other WRs like Frankie Hammond or TE Jordan Reed. Weis will probably continue to use the Pistol formation to give Brantley and the OL it’s best chance of success. It will be interesting to see if Robey gets more snaps at C, with Harrison sliding over to G and Wenger going to the bench. The bad snaps have hindered the timing of the offense lately, and Wenger simply isn’t good enough. The left side of the OL with Chaz Green out has been a mess – perhaps he plays some this week, because Xavier Nixon has regressed to the point where he needs help on almost every pass play, and isn’t strong enough to be an effective run blocker.

The Gamecock offense looks like it will have Connor Shaw at QB, after he left last week’s game at Arkansas with what looked like a possible concussion. The Pariah will pull out all the stops in this one, and I expect a lot of passing early, especially with Marcus Lattimore out for the season with a knee injury. Brandon Wilds could get some carries, but Shaw actually likes to run as well, and the Gator LBs need to perhaps spy him to try and prevent the QB runs that hurt them the past 2 games. The Gator DL should be able to at least get a draw, so it once again will fall on the LBs and DBs to make some big plays if Florida wants to have a chance of winning. WR Alshon Jeffery is still a tough matchup for anyone due to his size, so expect Roberson to get that assignment all afternoon, with perhaps some safety help rolling to that side occasionally. That leaves the rest of the inexperienced DBs to stop Ace Sanders and the other WRs. USCeast does an effective job of utilizing the RBs in the passing game, so the Florida LBs have to rise to the occasion – Bostic and Jenkins will be busy all day.

The Gators really do have the personnel to win this game, even with some shortcomings in the secondary. However, most road games in the SEC are tough, and until this current group proves it, I can’t see a win in Columbia. We may have to see that smirking face of the Pariah for another year after this game……yeesh.

Prediction – S. Carolina 27 Florida 17

The beat goes on, as the Gators found a way to lose their 4th straight game in 2011, this time to a mediocre Puppy team.

Talk about embarrassing – it took 2 Florida turnovers inside their own 20, 2 4th down TD passes, zero running game, 7 sacks allowed, an injured QB, and 14 penalties, for Georgia to barely pull out a win in the 4th quarter. The UGA kicking game was awful – and even that wasn’t enough for the Gators to take advantage of. It’s hard to believe that this Gator offense, despite it’s limitations in talent and personnel fit for the schemes Muschamp and Weis want to run, could still be performing this poorly.

The defensive gameplan was spot-on:

1) Controlled the TEs, and made Murray use the WRs, which he’s not comfortable with. Got some fortunate (to say the least) 4th down TD throws.

2) Conceded the run to some extent. It worked some for the Puppies, but they are a passing team first, and aren’t comfortable running too much. Allowed some yards between the 20s, but stiffened there. The Gator defense just didn’t close the door due to some shaky PI penalty calls and poor technique (and lack of size) by the CBs on the 4th down TD throws.

3) Controlled the screen game to great extent – again, making Murray look downfield. His stats were pretty bad.

Sharriff Floyd was a man in this game. The DL in general did more than enough to win. The secondary, less Roberson and Elam, was the unit that cracked at critical moments. Jaylen Watkins made some plays, taking advantage of the most playing time he’s received to date. Riggs and Saunders won’t be playing much in 2012 at this rate. Overall, the defense again played well enough for a decent offense to pull out a victory……which unfortunately isn’t the case in 2011. Yeesh.

The offensive gameplan was, as odd as this sounds, good as well. Spreading the field with Brantley the surprise starter at QB opened up a lot of opportunities the first half. However, poor execution, penalties, and horrid pass-blocking eventually doomed the Gators by not putting the game away early. The lack of any semblance of a running game, even with the smallish backs, was particularly alarming – an even worse performance than against Bama, LSU, or Auburn. If Burton is going to run some Wildcat plays, he has to properly execute the zone read, and keep the ball occasionally……he can make things happen with the ball in his hands. Since Brantley had limited mobility, he couldn’t execute the run game out of the I-formation, which really hampered the offense in scoring territory.

The fumbles by Rainey and Hammond were killers, and ultimately decided the outcome. I’ll give Hammond a pass because he hasn’t had fumbling problems before, but Rainey has zero excuse – he simply doesn’t protect the ball in open space.

One note on the late-game coaching strategy……I have to disagree with Muschamp taking a delay penalty and punting the ball with a 4th down and 2 at Georgia’s 33 yard line. That decision shocked me, and practically all of Gator Nation. Maybe even a worse call than against Auburn when he eschewed a late FG to go for it on 4th down in the red zone down by 8 points with more than 6 minutes left. 2 decisions that show how little confidence he has in the offense – but still poor strategy, and the second-guessing is justified. That couldn’t have helped the morale of the offense. Based on their crappy second half output, there really was no choice but to go for it that close to getting some points.

What a disaster all around. Maybe the silver lining in all of this is that Mark Pricht may actually stick around a few more years to continue the tradition at Georgia of underachieving.

The good news? Florida is dead last in the SEC and 114th in the nation in turnover margin, and dead last in the nation in penalties. YAY!!!

It’s Homecoming week for the Gators, as they welcome what has usually been a more-than-accommodating visitor in Vanderbilt. All bets are off this year, though, as Florida’s offense continues to be a mess, and the entire team continues to be an undisciplined bunch.

The Commodores have been very competitive this season, giving Georgia and Arkansas all they could handle before losing late. Their offense is not explosive, but has been steady with a good season from QB Jordan Rodgers, who is a good runner out of the Spread. Their defense leads the SEC in interceptions, which could be a bad sign for the Gators, as they will primarily be a passing team the rest of this year due to the struggles of the OL and RBs.

The Florida defense has executed the gameplan fairly well the past 2 games, but still cannot generate turnovers, and the secondary breaks down due to inexperience or lack of talent/physical play at critical times. I don’t think Vandy can exploit the secondary too much this week, but the front seven will have to play the run game out of the Spread well. The Gator DL should have the physical advantage, so the LBs can actually fill some gaps for a change and make plays.

I’ll continue to say it – the hardest thing for a young team that is struggling is to get off of a losing streak and to break the bad habits they have formed. It cost them wins against Auburn and Georgia, and could lead to a stunning loss at home this week to an opponent who they have not lost to since 1988. Expect a lot of empty seats, and a nasty crowd if things turn ugly in the first half. Despite the fact that most Gator fans knew it could be a struggle in 2011, the poor play and mental mistakes have stretched what little patience they have very thin.

Prediction – Florida 27        Vanderbilt 20