Gator Bites, Week 11: Florida Gators vs Vanderbilt Commodores

[Escambia94]

The Mighty Gators crawl back home at 4-4 (2-3) after losing three straight conference games on the road and with a schedule that includes SEC games with Vanderbilt (home) and South Carolina (away) to go with #2 Florida State (home) in the season finale. What is at stake, other than our Gator Pride?

• A very important streak of 34 consecutive years without a losing record
• 22 straight years going to a bowl.
• Beating feisty Vanderbilt for a 25th straight year. Remember that this same team beat Georgia, and some of these players have been within a touchdown of being Florida.
• Protecting the Swamp. If the Gators can rebound against the Commodores at home and not screw up against Georgia Southern in a couple weeks, the Gators will be 5-0 at home going into the impending doom-and-gloom match against FSU.

Florida has been established as a 10-point favorite to win this game, but with the restless Gator Nation (drunken or sober) saying that Will Muschamp’s job is on the line (even though Jeremy Foley says it isn’t) you can know the Gators will be feeling the heat. How they react to the pressure will tell us a lot about the entire football program moving forward. How many of you felt like flipping Will Muschamp the bird after last week's game?

**** YOU WILL MUSCHAMP!

I will keep flipping off the coach until I see signs that he and his staff are coaching up the team. I get it-- injuries, 11-2 last year, blah blah blah. There is no excuse for how lethargic and unprepared the Gators were in the first half, and there is no excuse for the repeated buzzkill penalties.

I will back off the ledge slightly and call for a Gator victory, 21-20. That second half last week should energize the locker room for this game. Realistically we were two missed field goals and two boneheaded penalties away from a win. Heck, we may have been one Burton-Cat away from a win. Get rid of the Burton-Cat formation, tell Kelvin to stop cutting against the grain (that same advice turned Matt Jones around last year), alternate Mack Brown in, and hope for a receiver to pick up the slack for the still-injured Tyler Murphy.

 

[Dale J. Rodriguez]

I got Florida 14-7

 

[Escambia94]

Trying to be optimistic. .. The Gators still have hope to get into a decent bowl game. The Gators are currently 4-4.

• Outback: Beat Vanderbilt and South Carolina to finish 7-4 (4-2) before dropping a nonconference game against FSU. With the loss to Georgia, this one would be hard to get even at 7-5. Beat USCe and upset FSU, and this slot is ours.
• Chik Fil A (SEC #5): The Gators have not been there since 2004. If we go 7-5 and the Outback passes, this is our destination. This could happen if we beat FSU (ha ha) but lose to USCe.
• Gator (SEC #6): Very likely with a 6-6 record. They love having the Gators in town. Georgia and Ole Miss can steal this slot with a better record. We shall see.
• Music City (SEC #7): If we go 6-6 and are in a tie with another SEC team at-large, this would be the lowest I want to drop as far as bowl games go.
• BBVA Compass (SEC #8/9): Experts have us playing Rutgers or Cincinnati at 6-6. This is most likely.
• Liberty (SEC #8/9) or Independence (SEC # 10): If we finish 6-6, count our blessings that we made it to a bowl game.

 

[Leakfan12]

Vandy played the Gators tough the last two seasons.

 

[Escambia94]

Vanderbilt also plays a multiple, disguised defensive front like Missouri. They return most of their defensive starters from the same units that have handled Florida's offensive line very well for two successive years. In short: just because the offensive line looked better last week does not mean we have fixed our o-line woes! Georgia's defensive line is not that good, and runs a simple attack. Florida better not underestimate Vandy's defensive front, or else they will embarrass the Gators at homecoming.

Florida, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee are fighting for that Compass Bowl slot.

 

[DocZaius]

I'm gonna sit this one out. I don't think I could watch us lose to Vandy and still keep my sanity.

 

[Escambia94]

Here are the current SEC power rankings. This will help figure out which bowl game the Gators go to, assuming they win two of the last four:

1. #1 Alabama (8-0, 5-0). #13 LSU and #9 Auburn are all that stand in the way between Bama and another BCS championship game, which most assume will include #2 Oregon.
2. #9 Auburn (8-1, 4-1). #9 Auburn is one of the two big surprises of the year, with the other being Mizzou. NR Georgia and #1 Auburn will shape Auburn's bowl game future.
3. #12 South Carolina (7-2, 5-2). Knocking off #8 Mizzou helped restore order to the universe. As long as they do not stumble, they can fight off Mizzou for the SEC East.
4. #8 Missouri (8-1, 4-1). Their Cinderella run was spoiled by USCe. Then again, they do not have to face a ranked opponent until #15 Texas A&M later in the month.
5. #15 Texas A&M (7-2, 3-2). Oddly enough, Johnny Football has no wins against ranked opponents. Yet. He can get the Aggies into a good bowl game by polishing off #13 LSU and #8 Mizzou.
6. #13 LSU (7-2, 3-2). I find it odd to see LSU ranked this low in the SEC power rankings and dropping games against Georgia and Ole Miss.
7. Georgia (5-3, 4-2).
8. Ole Miss (5-3, 2-3). The Rebels have surprised many of us, despite dropping three in a row to highly ranked #1 Alabama, #9 Auburn, and #15 Texas A&M.
9. Florida (4-4, 3-3). My head hurts just thinking about the injuries to this team and how it has cost us so much this season. Despite how much our eyes bleed watching this team, they can still overcome 22 injuries (9 season-ending), the 104th-ranked offense, and the 999th-ranked offensive line and *still* fight to become bowl eligible. It is a three-way race amongst Florida, Vandy, and Tennessee to get the Toilet Bowl. Assuming we do not lose another 50 players to injury, the Gators could still land in the Outback Bowl by winning out in the SEC, or the Chik Fil-A Bowl if the Gators beat USCe but lose to FSU. The more likely scenario is that the Gators will finish at 6-6 and let the SEC rankings and bowl selection committees determine whether we go to the Gator Bowl (SEC #7), Music City Bowl (SEC #8/9), BBVA Compass Bowl (SEC #8/9), or Liberty (SEC #10).
10. Vanderbilt (4-4, 1-4). If Vandy beats the Gators this weekend, then I will burn my couch with my mother-in-law and all my Gator gear on it.
11. Tennessee (4-5, 1-4). More than likely will miss out on a bowl.
12. Mississippi State (4-4, 1-3). More than likely will miss out on a bowl.
13. Arkansas (3-6, 0-5). Eliminated from bowl game contention.
14. Kentucky (2-6, 0-4). Eliminated from bowl game contention.

 

[Dale J. Rodriguez]

WOW we are down 10-0 this is looking like a loss.

 

[miltongator]

This ought to be the final nail for Muschump

 

[miltongator]

hopefully

 

[awebbf5]

Lol I just woke up and found this game down 10-0 muschamp has to go the gators are the laughing stock of football rt now.

 

[miltongator]

He has lost total control of this team. Should fire him behind closed doors and let him finish out the year.

 

[miltongator]

Changed my mind....fire him at halftime.

 

[Escambia94]

Yeah. I just woke up here on the west coast. I think the Gators did not wake up yet. Do they realize there is a football game on?

 

[Escambia94]

Why wait until halftime? Call a time out, fire him, and throw him out of the stadium. Heck. Forfeit the game and have our two healthy players pack up his office while the injured players all go to the clinic.

 

[awebbf5]

This is bad guys how do we get a new coach , somebody find a phone number we can call and heckle someone till they fire this idiot.

 

[miltongator]

At least we have solidified our ranking as worst in the SEC in penalties. Got to be #1 in something.

 

[Escambia94]

Yay. Fumble. What is this trash fire?

 

[Escambia94]

Florida has not come back from a 14-point deficit since the days of Spurrier.

 

[miltongator]

I don't know how we could look any worse. This season has become a complete embarrassment. We have been coached into oblivion.