Three straight losses and plenty of offensive woes have left Florida football with some big questions going forward, as they now sit at 4-4 (3-3 SEC) on the season. It has been over a month since UF played a game in The Swamp, so the Homecoming matchup against the Commodores this Saturday should be a welcome sight for a team that has won their last 10 home games. Gator coach Will Muschamp says he expects to see the same resiliency from his players this weekend as he saw against Georgia.
“I’m very proud of our players’ effort,” Muschamp said. “To dig yourselves in a hole and continue to fight…I’m very proud of them in battling through the game.”
After going down 23-3 at the half against Georgia, the Florida defense stepped up and shut out the Bulldogs in the second half. But despite being ranked 10th in the country in points allowed (17.1 points per game), Muschamp says the defense is just not up to par.
“We’re just way too inconsistent,” Muschamp said. “I think it just comes back to putting our players in better situations to be successful.”
One big factor that the coaching staff will look to shore up going forward will be unsportsmanlike penalties, of which the Gators had a handful in their loss to Georgia. Muschamp says he will continue to address the situation over this last month of the season.
“It’s something we coach every day, but obviously we’re not doing a very good job of it,” Muschamp said. “We’ve got to learn to walk away from those situations.”
The Gators and Commodores kick off from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at noon on Saturday, and you can tune in to all the game coverage on ESPN 850 WRUF starting at 8 a.m.