Gators Notebook: Florida Plans to Get Physical Before Bowl; Muschamp Thanks Seniors in Swamp Finale
Sunday, November 27, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the wake of a disappointing 21-7 loss to Florida State on Saturday night to conclude a 6-6 regular season, the Gators want to toughen up before playing in a bowl game.
Florida's bowl destination is not finalized, but the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville or the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta seems the most likely landing spot for the Gators.
Regardless of where they go, Florida head coach Will Muschamp wants to see a more physical team take the field after calling the Gators “soft'' on Saturday.
“I thought we had a physical training camp. I thought we amped up as physicality as far as practices are concerned, but we need to take it to another level obviously,'' Muschamp said. “When you can't convert third-and-1, fourth-and-1, when teams have continually run the ball against you throughout the season, it's very disappointing.''
Muschamp has talked all season about how the Gators must add depth and size on the line of scrimmage to win consistently in the SEC. That will be a top priority in the offseason heading into National Signing Day in February.
He said that recruiting will primarily be his focus in the next couple of weeks before the Gators hold 15 practices in preparation for a bowl game.
Junior linebacker Jon Bostic, the team's leading tackler, agreed with Muschamp that the Gators can be more physical as they head toward a bowl game and quest to extend their streak of consecutive winning seasons to 24.
“We've just got to man up. There is no question about it,'' Bostic said. “When we get back to practice we've got to work on those things. It hit home [what Coach Muschamp said], but it is what it is. Basically the outcome shows it. We've got a lot more in front of us to play.''
Fellow linebacker Jelani Jenkins viewed Muschamp's remarks as a motivational tool.
“It was basically saying we've got to get better. We have a couple of weeks of bowl practice and we have a lot of time to get better as a team, send the seniors out the right way. You don't want to be considered soft ever. We consider ourselves a tough team.''
SENIOR RECOGNTION
Senior Day obviously didn't go the way the 19 seniors recognized prior the game had hoped.
The Gators lost to FSU for the second consecutive season and for the first time at The Swamp since 2003. Still, Muschamp praised the players who made up one of the Gators' smallest senior classes. At the beginning of camp, only nine scholarship seniors were on the roster, the fewest in 30 years for a Florida team.
“I'm proud of our seniors. They accomplished an awful lot of here at the University of Florida,'' Muschamp said. “They won a national championship and SEC championship. Proud of them, but we need to get better.
“That's what we are going to do as a program. We didn't improve our football team from last year's record and I felt like we should. You are what your record is.''
ON THE BOARD
The Seminoles apparently were cognizant of the fact the Gators had not been shut out (home or away) since Oct. 28, 1988, a 16-0 loss to Auburn at Florida Field.
Fortunately for the Gators, linebacker Michael Taylor made a play in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble by FSU tailback Jermaine Thomas that gave the UF offense a much-needed short field. The Gators got a second favor on a pass interference penalty and Jacoby Brissett capitalized by hitting Quinton Dunbar with a touchdown pass and get on the scoreboard.
“We were trying to make history,” FSU defensive lineman Everett Dawkins said. “But you know we still got the win, so it's all good.”
For what it's worth, with just seven points the Gators were held to single-digits by the Seminoles for just the ninth time in the series history -- the second straight year, UF was held to seven -- but for just the third time in the last 34 meetings.
DEPLETED LINEUP
By the time Saturday's game ended, several Gators were done for the night due to injuries, most notably starting quarterback John Brantley after taking a hit to the head.
Running back Chris Rainey (possible hip injury), defensive tackle Dominique Easley (knee), offensive lineman Jon Halapio (undisclosed), offensive lineman Kyle Koehn (knee), linebacker Darrin Kitchens (concussion) and tight end A.C. Leonard (lower body) also left the game.
Kitchens' injury appeared the most serious, requiring a trip to Shands Hospital. (Click here for an update on his status).
“You never want to see one of your players like that, or any player for that matter,'' Jenkins said of Kitchens' frightening injury.
Muschamp is expected to provide updates on the other players prior to the bowl game but sounded optimistic immediately after the game that most were not serious.
Prior to his injury, Leonard had the best game of his young career with three catches for a team-high 65 yards. Leonard was used more prominently in the passing game due to the absence of tight end Jordan Reed (ankle), who did not play. Reed leads the team with 28 receptions.
RESPECT FOR MEYER
According to multiple reports in recent days, former Gators coach Urban Meyer is expected to be named head coach at Ohio State, possibly as early as Monday.
If that happens, redshirt junior defensive tackle Omar Hunter said he has nothing but respect for Meyer, who stepped down at Florida last December to tend to health concerns and spend more time with his family after winning two national titles in six years at UF.
Meyer spent the 2011 season working as an analyst for ESPN.
“Not a problem with me at all,'' Hunter said. “If he wants to be at Ohio State, good luck to him. I love Coach Meyer. He brought me here at Florida. I could never say anything bad about Coach Meyer. I respect him a lot and love him as a coach.''
QUOTE OF NOTE
“I have the utmost respect for Brantley. He's a tough quarterback. I wouldn't rather have anyone else back there at quarterback. I'm proud of him. He does his best every time he goes out on the field.'' – Jenkins on Brantley's injury plagued season.
MORE MUSCHAMP
“You put a guy in that situation against a well-coached and good defensive football team. He did a nice job for the most part. We're very excited about the future of that position at Florida with Jacoby and Jeff.'' -- On performance of freshman quarterback Jacoby Brissett against FSU and future of position with Brissett and fellow freshman Jeff Driskel.
“It's a lot of things. You can't just put your finger on one thing and say this is it. It's a lot of things. We're working through that. We've made improvements in areas but obviously not enough. I know everybody wants to put their hand on one thing and say, 'this is it.' That's not the way it works.'' -- On turning program around moving forward.
“We were kind of new. It doesn't take long in this league for people to adjust to what you do and how you do it. You can't run laterally in this league. The defenses are too good. We've tried to run the ball inside to the frustration of me. We tried different things.'' – On offensive woes after 4-0 start to season.
“I think more players on our football team need to take ownership in the team. I think we have made tremendous strides in that area. We've got a long way to go. We're going to get there.'' – On developing leadership and more accountability.
SWAMP NUGGETS
--The Gators held FSU to 95 yards of total offense, the sixth-best defensive performance in school history and most dominant effort since holding Ohio State to 82 yards in the 2006 national championship game.
--According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the last time FSU had less than 100 yards of offense was a 29-7 loss to Auburn on Nov. 23, 1957.
--Freshman fullback Hunter Joyer rushed for a career-high 30 yards on three carries, including a 23-yard run in the first half.
--UF held FSU to seven first downs, tied for the fourth-lowest in school history and the fewest since allowing five vs. Louisiana Monroe in 2001.
--FSU's six completions was its fewest since in a game since 1989.
--Tampa's George Edmondson Jr., better known as Mr. Two Bits, returned to Florida Field on Saturday to lead a cheer prior to kickoff. Edmonson retired as a regular performer at Gators games in 2008.
--The Gators honored late Georgia football radio announcer Larry Munson prior to kickoff with a moment of silence. Munson, 89, passed away earlier this month.
--The Gators had a season-high 13 tackles for loss for 76 yards and tied their season high with four sacks.
--Florida's four interceptions – three by Brantley and one by Brissett – were its most since throwing four against LSU in 2002 when Muschamp was LSU's defensive coordinator.
--The Gators' captains were Brantley, Rainey, defensive tackle Jaye Howard and defensive end William Green, all seniors.
--The announced attendance was 90,798, fifth-all time at The Swamp and second-most for an FSU game, trailing only the 2009 game (Tim Tebow's final game). That game drew 90,907 fans, most in Florida Field history.
--The 2010 UF volleyball team was honored during an on-field moment of recognition for winning the SEC title with a 20-0 conference record.
GatorZone.com Contributing Writer Chris Harry contributed to this report.
