Urban Meyer: "The issue is not finding the blame, but it's finding a solution."
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On more than one occasion, Florida coach Urban Meyer referenced the 2005 season during his Monday press conference.
That was Meyer's first season with the Gators.
Meyer said one of the goals that season was to build the fastest team in college football. That's a difficult goal to measure precisely, but with players such as Percy Harvin, Joe Haden and Jeff Demps passing through the program since then, the Gators have won two national titles with some of college football's top playmakers.
The second time Meyer referenced his first season at UF on Monday he spoke of a similarity between his inaugural team and his current team, specifically an uncharacteristic lack of execution that has been costly on Saturdays.
“That's something we've been very, very good at around here,'' Meyer said. “To me, that's efficiency at practice, and it's called competitive excellence. That's something we're lacking right now for the first time since '05.”
In the 2005 season, the Gators entered the Georgia game with two losses in three games and a sputtering offense. Meyer simplified the approach against the Bulldogs, leaving Jacksonville with a 14-10 win after the Gators scored on their first two drives of the game.
A similar outcome on Saturday would be welcomed by the Gators.
Florida has lost three consecutive games for the first time in 11 years – it's the first three-game losing streak of Meyer's coaching career – and Georgia enters on a three-game winning streak after starting the season 1-4. The critics have backed off Bulldogs coach Mark Richt some in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the Gators' recent slide has Meyer's program under the spotlight in a way no one in orange and blue envisioned when then-No. 7 Florida traveled to face then-No. 1 Alabama in a rematch of the past two SEC Championship games. During the Gators' bye week, they returned to practice focused on improving and turning their season around.
“We've obviously had some severe issues here the last three weeks that have been very damaging as far as the won-loss record,'' Meyer said. “The issue is not finding the blame, but it's finding a solution. That's what we're going to do. We began that task last week.''
Meyer pointed out that the Gators have more turnovers (14) in the first seven games than they did in 14 games (13 turnovers) in 2008. In 2009, Florida committed 16 turnovers in 14 games. He also emphasized a drastic drop-off in passing efficiency due to a multitude of reasons, and the Gators' recent struggles in the red zone (11 red-zone drives in last three games, only three touchdowns).
Finally, the big-play factor in the running game has been a non-factor for the Gators in the last five games. Florida has just four big plays – 20 or more yards – from the running backs in seven games. In last year's win over Florida State, the Gators had five.
Florida returned to practice on Monday with Demps hoping to play Saturday and with a renewed focus on improving execution.
“It doesn't look like us out there,'' Meyer said. “It doesn't look like, 'Bang.' We all want that. We have modified [the offense] quite a bit. I'm not going to share much with you.''
Meyer stressed that it's not like the Gators have a secret weapon they are waiting to unleash. Instead, it's going back to the basics, making the most of each snap in practice, and getting players like Demps back into the lineup.
“He loves the word urgency,'' senior defensive back Ahmad Black said of Meyer's current outlook.
Demps has been hampered by a sprained foot since the Tennessee game, taking away the Gators' most dangerous offensive threat. Receiver Chris Rainey is also expected to return Saturday if he fulfills the remaining obligations related to his arrest for stalking last month.
“It's going to turn around,'' starting quarterback John Brantley said. “After these last couple of weeks, we've learned to just let it go and move forward. I think we're starting to figure it out.''
All the Gators have to do on Saturday to see a team that has survived turmoil is to look across the field at Georgia. The resurgent Bulldogs have slowly climbed their way back into contention for the SEC East.
“We did a good job of staying together through the adversity,” Richt said on Sunday. “Our coaches and support staff did a very good job of staying unified and focused on what we could do to get better. The player-coach relationship was outstanding and the players' relationships among themselves were outstanding. … We did a nice job going through that.”
Brantley says the Gators are doing the same despite what outsiders may think.
“We're all sticking together,'' he said. “Even behind the scenes, behind closed doors, no one is pointing fingers. We're all here for each other. This could be our week to turn it around.''
If recent history holds true, this should be the week the Gators get back to winning.
Florida has won 17 of the last 20 meetings against Georgia, and Meyer is 15-1 all-time against Florida's biggest rivals: Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. His only loss came against the Bulldogs in 2007.
The bye week could also help. Meyer has posted a 31-3 career record – including 16-1 at Florida – when he has more than a week to prepare for a game.
“It's a little more of a mystery than if we'd played them without an open date,” Richt said. “With an open date, you have time to make change, radical changes if you choose to do so. So we're not 100 percent what we'll see. But it's hard to change everything. We have some basic idea. I'm sure there will be some things that are brand new to us.”
Senior center Mike Pouncey remembers the 2007 loss to Georgia well. He doesn't want a repeat performance in his final game against the Bulldogs and with the Gators' current predicament.
“If we don't win this game, there's going to be a lot of disappointed faces,'' Pouncey said. “We really need this win.''
