At the end of the 2012 regular season, Will Muschamp was the toast of Gainesville.
Muschamp posted a 7-6 record in his first year as head coach of Florida, which included a Gator Bowl victory over Ohio State, which was the last time the Buckeyes lost a game. In his second season, he led his team to an 11-1 record and a BCS berth in the Sugar Bowl.
Then came the disaster in New Orleans when Louisville beat Florida 33-23 in what appeared to be a totally disinterested effort by the Gators.
The Gators appeared to have put the Sugar Bowl embarrassment behind them as they won four of the first five games this season but trouble was on the horizon. One-by-one key players suffered season-ending injuries; in total 10 Gators were lost, including quarterback Jeff Driskel and defensive tackle Dominique Easley, who was arguably the top player on Florida’s defense.
Over the past month Florida has lost four consecutive games, the second time in Muschamp’s tenure his team has endured a four-game losing streak. The latest loss came Saturday against Vanderbilt at Florida’s Homecoming game. Muschamp expressed what the problem was against the Commodores.
“It’s really very simple – four turnovers and 21 points – it’s very difficult to overcome those things as far as field position is concerned, as well as momentum in the game and self-inflicted wounds,” he said. “But we need to learn to overcome our circumstances and that’s something we’ve had a hard time doing. As far as a slow start, a turnover and overcoming those situations, that’s my job to get it right and that’s what we’re working on.”
This has been a season of continually having to overcome adversity for Muschamp.
“I just have to coach through it. We have to find ways to put our guys in better positions and situations to overcome the psychological battle of getting our guys in the right situations so they can be successful. And that’s our job as coaches, and that’s what we’ll do,” he said.
Muschamp knows the mounting injuries have had an effect on more than just the depth chart.
“I certainly think it has had its effect, but we have to find ways to get it right,” the coach said.
The defense has been a critical factor in the losing streak.
“I think so. I mean I think that just playing blocks up front, we’ve been inconsistent across the board. We’ve done some nice things at times, but not consistent enough to be able to stop the run consistently especially when you need to in some critical situations,” Muschamp said.
“I felt really good going into the season where we were and certainly it has not had the results we wanted it to consistently through the year, and that’s been frustrating. I said it when it happened, you don’t replace Dominique Easley. It’s not just from a play making standpoint, it’s from a leadership standpoint and it’s the heart of your team.
“So it’s tough, but we certainly have capable players to come out and play well, and play better than we’ve played in some situations. You don’t put your finger on one thing and say it’s because of this; I think it’s a cumulative effect of different things that have occurred, and we just have to overcome them.”
Florida has the unenviable task of trying to break the losing streak against South Carolina, and that is not going to be an easy assignment.
“They’re balanced offensively, Connor Shaw is a guy that has played a lot of football for them and can hurt you throwing it and running it, they’re huge up front and they do a good job in staying balanced in the run and the pass,” Muschamp said. “Mike Davis is an over 1,000-yard rusher, averaging six yards a carry, 117 yards a game; he’s also their second leading receiver. They’re very talented at the receiver position with (Bruce) Ellington and (Damiere) Byrd and (Shaq) Roland, so they’ve got some guys that can stretch the field vertically.
“Defensively, obviously Jadeveon Clowney is an outstanding player, one of the best players to play college football, but they’ve got a lot of other talented guys. (Kelcy) Quarles and (Victor) Hampton and those guys play really well, they’ve really played well as the season’s gone on. They were very young at linebacker early in the year, and those guys have continued to come on and play well for them,” he said.
The game is set for Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium and there’s a lot on the line for South Carolina, who is still hoping for a shot at the SEC East championship.
There’s a possible small bowl bid hanging in the balance for the Gators, but there may be a lot more on the line for Muschamp, who is hoping to still coach Florida in 2014.