travisduncan
Gator Fan
By Travis Duncan
As the Gator football program comes to grips with the elation of a 4-0 start and then the disappoint of losing senior quarterback John Brantley, possibly for the season, bigger questions start to emerge.
Can the Gators offensive line give Jeff Driskel enough time to throw the ball? Can they open holes for Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey? Defensively, can the Gators stop the run?
Though he did not say so, Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis probably blames himself more than anyone for Brantley's. Could he have called a different play, was the protection scheme appropriate and more.
The offensive line was an issue against Alabama, but Tuesday afternoon in the Florida Gators football conference room Weis vigorously defended against the notion that blame would be passed around the team or coaching staff.
"It isn't like panic sets in, pandemonium sets in," Weis said. "It's a very matter a fact evaluation of what they do and what they do."
"It's not a finger-pointing situation, saying here's what I could have done different, here's what you could have done different. [It's] let's be objective about what things we could have done better. Here's what we are going to do fix and let's move one."
Weis surely, in a three decade coaching career, has experienced his share of finger pointing.
"Our coaching staff, at least the veteran coaches on our staff, have all been through experiences like this and we have a good idea how to handle it."
Weis acknowledges that what happened against Alabama was a failure on the line of scrimmage.
"We can't lose the line of scrimmage," added Weis. Summing up what happened against Alabama he said, "I think they coached better than I did, and I think they played better than we did."
Muschamp explained the lack of run production against the Crimson Tide this way: "We were throwing the ball extremely well, so we kind of went with what was working at the time and that was throwing the football. We threw for close to 200 yards in the first half, and John was completing over 70% of his passes. That's what was working for us at the time and that's what we went with."
Jeff Driskel
Driskel is the starter for LSU without a doubt, but Muschamp or Weis won't name a starter at this point in the week.
The Gator coach explained the team is "repping all three guys" [Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, and Tyler Murphy]. But interestingly, if Driskel starts, Brissett will be the backup with Murphy as the third QB, he said Wednesday.
Both Weis and Muschamp said that the gameplan for Driskel compared to what would have been prepared for Brantley will be different. How much neither coach would say.
"I think more than anything you do what he can do and what he does well," said Muschamp.
"That’s what Charlie Weis will do. We talked about it as far as how we will approach the game. There is no question that you hit it with the mindset of doing the things he feels comfortable with. It’s no different that we did with John. Do the things he feels comfortable with regardless of the experience level. It may not be as much, because of the experience. But we’re going to do the things that he does well and the things he feels comfortable with."
Colin Thompson
As the Muschamp era at Florida continues, recruiting the line of scrimmage will be of paramount importance. Muschamp and his staff are going to go out and get the biggest and baddest offensive linemen in the country.
Colin Thompson is a big bad tight end. He's also the No. 1 rated tight end in the nation for 2012 and has given his verbal commitment to the Gators. He's a tight end that has NFL potential and a big enough body to still block when needed.
The Class of 2012 recruit could see playing time next fall as a true freshman.
ESPN's Jared Shanker has a nice profile of Thompson up now at ESPN.com
Thompson tells Shanker he has been working on "Blocking, receiving, mismatches in the back of the end zone, intermediate routes, long routes."
Top Ranked Defense
Both LSU and UF boast two of the top defenses in all of college football. UF is tied for seventh
among FBS teams in total defense, allowing 258.6 yards per game. Florida ranks 12th against the pass (168.2) and 18th against the run (90.4). The LSU defense ranks ninth in the nation in total defense (262.20), third in the country in rushing defense (60.40) and 38th against the pass (201.8)
Easley investigation
According to a report by the AP and other media outlets, the UF police dept. is investigating a claim that defensive tackle Dominique Easley "attacked" Reggie Myles, a former Alabama football player, outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after Saturday's game. Myles himself was charged with public intoxication and criminal mischief.
Police say they have attempted to interview Easley, but his attorney rejected that request.
UF has declined comment at this point. It is noticeable how "little" attention the incident has received. It has been noted, but not in comparison to other incidents regarding legal matters. For one, at this point, it is just an accusation with no official charges.
Stopping the run
Muschamp was not happy with the run defense against Trent Richardson and Alabama (226 total yards. LSU is another great ball running team. They feature three sophomore running backs Spencer Ware (323 yards, 3 TDs), Michael Ford (322 yards, 6 TDs) and Alfred Blue (148 yards, 3 TDs)
LSU's road to 5-0
LSU has scored 35 or more points in four of its five games. It has scored 40 points in three games and twice against ranked opponents.
LSU has outscored opponents 190-64 and has not really played a close game yet.
Sept. 3 40-27 over No. 3 Oregon
Sept. 10 49-3 over Northwestern State
Sept. 15. 19-6 over No. 25 Mississippi State
Sept. 24 47-21 over No. 16 West Virginia
Oct. 1 35-7 over Kentucky.
Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson
QB Jordon Jefferson was re-instated to the LSU football team last week after he was suspended on Aug. 26th for the first four games of the season as a result of an Aug. 19 bar fight. A grand jury reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and he was reinstated with teammate Josh Johns last week.
Jefferson came in for Lee last week for two series against Kentucky. As for now Lee is the starter this Saturday against the Gators. But there is a good chance the Gators will see both players Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge. LSU coach Les Miles says Jefferson will be a "new wrinkle" in the offense.
But Jefferson would like to be more than a wrinkle. He'd like to get his starter's job back.
"It's a personal goal of mine [to start]," Jefferson said. "It's very important to me. I would do whatever it takes to get to that situation, but as of right now it's for what's best for the team."
A Basketball Note
Gators basketball will be tipping-off in just about one month, so here's one hoops note. Sophomore forward Patric Young has been named to the Wooden Watch list for National Player of the Year.
As the Gator football program comes to grips with the elation of a 4-0 start and then the disappoint of losing senior quarterback John Brantley, possibly for the season, bigger questions start to emerge.
Can the Gators offensive line give Jeff Driskel enough time to throw the ball? Can they open holes for Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey? Defensively, can the Gators stop the run?
Though he did not say so, Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis probably blames himself more than anyone for Brantley's. Could he have called a different play, was the protection scheme appropriate and more.
The offensive line was an issue against Alabama, but Tuesday afternoon in the Florida Gators football conference room Weis vigorously defended against the notion that blame would be passed around the team or coaching staff.
"It isn't like panic sets in, pandemonium sets in," Weis said. "It's a very matter a fact evaluation of what they do and what they do."
"It's not a finger-pointing situation, saying here's what I could have done different, here's what you could have done different. [It's] let's be objective about what things we could have done better. Here's what we are going to do fix and let's move one."
Weis surely, in a three decade coaching career, has experienced his share of finger pointing.
"Our coaching staff, at least the veteran coaches on our staff, have all been through experiences like this and we have a good idea how to handle it."
Weis acknowledges that what happened against Alabama was a failure on the line of scrimmage.
"We can't lose the line of scrimmage," added Weis. Summing up what happened against Alabama he said, "I think they coached better than I did, and I think they played better than we did."
Muschamp explained the lack of run production against the Crimson Tide this way: "We were throwing the ball extremely well, so we kind of went with what was working at the time and that was throwing the football. We threw for close to 200 yards in the first half, and John was completing over 70% of his passes. That's what was working for us at the time and that's what we went with."
Jeff Driskel
Driskel is the starter for LSU without a doubt, but Muschamp or Weis won't name a starter at this point in the week.
The Gator coach explained the team is "repping all three guys" [Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, and Tyler Murphy]. But interestingly, if Driskel starts, Brissett will be the backup with Murphy as the third QB, he said Wednesday.
Both Weis and Muschamp said that the gameplan for Driskel compared to what would have been prepared for Brantley will be different. How much neither coach would say.
"I think more than anything you do what he can do and what he does well," said Muschamp.
"That’s what Charlie Weis will do. We talked about it as far as how we will approach the game. There is no question that you hit it with the mindset of doing the things he feels comfortable with. It’s no different that we did with John. Do the things he feels comfortable with regardless of the experience level. It may not be as much, because of the experience. But we’re going to do the things that he does well and the things he feels comfortable with."
Colin Thompson
As the Muschamp era at Florida continues, recruiting the line of scrimmage will be of paramount importance. Muschamp and his staff are going to go out and get the biggest and baddest offensive linemen in the country.
Colin Thompson is a big bad tight end. He's also the No. 1 rated tight end in the nation for 2012 and has given his verbal commitment to the Gators. He's a tight end that has NFL potential and a big enough body to still block when needed.
The Class of 2012 recruit could see playing time next fall as a true freshman.
ESPN's Jared Shanker has a nice profile of Thompson up now at ESPN.com
Thompson tells Shanker he has been working on "Blocking, receiving, mismatches in the back of the end zone, intermediate routes, long routes."
Top Ranked Defense
Both LSU and UF boast two of the top defenses in all of college football. UF is tied for seventh
among FBS teams in total defense, allowing 258.6 yards per game. Florida ranks 12th against the pass (168.2) and 18th against the run (90.4). The LSU defense ranks ninth in the nation in total defense (262.20), third in the country in rushing defense (60.40) and 38th against the pass (201.8)
Easley investigation
According to a report by the AP and other media outlets, the UF police dept. is investigating a claim that defensive tackle Dominique Easley "attacked" Reggie Myles, a former Alabama football player, outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after Saturday's game. Myles himself was charged with public intoxication and criminal mischief.
Police say they have attempted to interview Easley, but his attorney rejected that request.
UF has declined comment at this point. It is noticeable how "little" attention the incident has received. It has been noted, but not in comparison to other incidents regarding legal matters. For one, at this point, it is just an accusation with no official charges.
Stopping the run
Muschamp was not happy with the run defense against Trent Richardson and Alabama (226 total yards. LSU is another great ball running team. They feature three sophomore running backs Spencer Ware (323 yards, 3 TDs), Michael Ford (322 yards, 6 TDs) and Alfred Blue (148 yards, 3 TDs)
LSU's road to 5-0
LSU has scored 35 or more points in four of its five games. It has scored 40 points in three games and twice against ranked opponents.
LSU has outscored opponents 190-64 and has not really played a close game yet.
Sept. 3 40-27 over No. 3 Oregon
Sept. 10 49-3 over Northwestern State
Sept. 15. 19-6 over No. 25 Mississippi State
Sept. 24 47-21 over No. 16 West Virginia
Oct. 1 35-7 over Kentucky.
Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson
QB Jordon Jefferson was re-instated to the LSU football team last week after he was suspended on Aug. 26th for the first four games of the season as a result of an Aug. 19 bar fight. A grand jury reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and he was reinstated with teammate Josh Johns last week.
Jefferson came in for Lee last week for two series against Kentucky. As for now Lee is the starter this Saturday against the Gators. But there is a good chance the Gators will see both players Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge. LSU coach Les Miles says Jefferson will be a "new wrinkle" in the offense.
But Jefferson would like to be more than a wrinkle. He'd like to get his starter's job back.
"It's a personal goal of mine [to start]," Jefferson said. "It's very important to me. I would do whatever it takes to get to that situation, but as of right now it's for what's best for the team."
A Basketball Note
Gators basketball will be tipping-off in just about one month, so here's one hoops note. Sophomore forward Patric Young has been named to the Wooden Watch list for National Player of the Year.
