Bulldogs drop to fourth; FSU No. 1 again
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Despite trying three coordinators and five quarterbacks, Will Muschamp never figured out the offense at Florida. And it cost him his job. The Gators parted ways with Muschamp on Sunday, one day after a gut-wrenching loss to South Carolina that summed up the former defensive coordinator’s four-year tenure as head coach.
Muschamp’s close-to-thevest style proved to be too conservative and too unsuccessful for a school with three national championships, eight SEC titles and sky-high expectations.
Muschamp, who cleaned up a troubled program and made Florida one of the best defensive teams in the SEC, will stick around for the final two regularseason games against Eastern Kentucky and Florida State. He is 27-20, including 17-15 in conference, in three-plus seasons in Gainesville.
“Upon evaluation of our football program, we are not where the program needs to be and should be,” athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a statement.
The decision came less than 24 hours after a 23-20 loss to South Carolina in overtime. It was Florida’s sixth defeat in its last eight games in Gainesville.
CRITICAL LOSSES DERAILED MUSCHAMP
The last two losses sealed Muschamp’s fate.
“I was given every opportunity to get it done here and I simply didn’t win enough games — that is the bottom line,” Muschamp said in a statement. “I have no bitter feelings, but this is a business and I wish we would have produced better results on the field. We have a great group of players and a staff that is committed to this University and this football program. They have handled themselves with class and I expect them to continue to do so.
“As I’ve said many times, life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond.”
The Gators didn’t respond well enough, especially in their last two home games.
The Gamecocks blocked a field-goal attempt and a punt in the final four minutes of regulation Saturday, special teams gaffes that turned what should have been a 10-point lead into a third consecutive home defeat.
The previous loss was equally troubling for Foley. The Gators (5- 4, 4- 4 SEC) turned the ball over six times in a 42-13 drubbing against Missouri at homecoming last month. Chants of “Fire Muschamp” could be heard throughout an emptying Florida Field.
Foley stuck with Muschamp after that one, saying the coach and the season would be evaluated “as it plays out.” The Gators regrouped, benched turnoverprone quarterback Jeff Driskel and won consecutive games in dominating fashion, including a stunner against rival Georgia. They had an outside shot at winning the SEC East.
But that ended against the Gamecocks, which entered with one of the country’s worst defenses.
“Hate to see it about coach Muschamp,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Sunday. “Will is a good person and a good coach. He’s been a bit unlucky. We all, as coaches, complain about close losses and he’s had his share of them. I was telling somebody that in the four meetings we’ve had with his team, we’ve not scored more than 20 points in regulation, but we’ve won three out of four somehow.”
Spurrier also made it clear he has no intentions of returning to his alma mater, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy, spent 12 years (1990-2001) coaching and led the Gators to the 1996 national title.
“I’ve had my run at Florida,” the 69-year-old Spurrier said. “They need to hire a coach that hopefully will be there 10 years.”
Foley extended Muschamp’s contract twice and gave him a raise. Florida owes Muschamp more than $6 million for the final three years left on his deal. Paying off the rest of the coaching staff could cost about another $2 million.
GATORS LIKELY TO SEEK CURRENT HEAD COACH
Foley has twice hired coaches with no head coaching to lead the Gators and it hasn’t worked out.
followed a similar path to Ron Zook at Florida. Zook was gone before the end of this third season. Muschamp’s fourth season will be his last. Foley followed Zook with Urban Meyer, the head coach at Utah with a track record for winning big with creative offenses. Foley is expected to go that route again
Possible candidates? Already mentioned from Power Five conferences are Rich Rodriguez of Arizona, Dan Mullen at Mississippi State — Meyer’s former offensive coordinator — Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State and Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss. From outside the Big Five conferences: Justin Fuente of Memphis, Doc Holliday of Marshall and Mark Hudspeth of LouisianaLafayette.
Mississippi State’s 25-20 loss to Alabama on Saturday dropped the Bulldogs from No. 1 to No. 4 in The Associated Press college football poll.
The Crimson Tide (9-1) moved up four spots to No. 2. The Bulldogs (9-1) had been No. 1 for six weeks. Ole Miss (8-2) moved up from 10th to eighth.
Florida State is No. 1 again. The Seminoles (10- 0) were preseason No. 1 before being replaced by Mississippi State in October.
The Seminoles received 43 firstplace votes from the media panel. Alabama got 16 and No. 3 Oregon got one.
Florida State is the only unbeaten team remaining from the Big Five conferences after Jameis Winston and the Seminoles erased a halftime deficit for the fifth time this season in a 30-24 victory at Miami.
TCU remained fifth after a close call against Kansas. Baylor is sixth, just five points behind its Big 12 rival.
Ohio State moved up to seventh, followed by Ole Miss, Georgia and Michigan State, rounding out the top 10.
The latest College Football Playoff rankings come out tonight.
Notre Dame, Clemson and LSU dropped out after losses. No. 18 Missouri, No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 24 Southern California moved back in.
Mississippi State will play Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.
DEVELOPMENTS
Gurley out for season: Georgia tailback Todd Gurley is out for the season after injuring his left knee this weekend, the latest setback of a year that began with HeismanTrophy hopes.
The school announced the injury Sunday. Surgery will be scheduled to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Gurley, a junior, was hurt in the final minutes of a 34-7 win over then-No. 9 Auburn on Saturday night. He ran for 138 yards and a touchdown.
The loss of Gurley leaves freshman Nick Chubb as Georgia’s top running back. The Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2 SEC) play Charleston Southern this week before closing their regular season against Georgia Tech.
Briefly: Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says starting quarterback Deshaun Watson has no major damage in his injured left knee and could play again this season. Swinney said Sunday that an MRI exam showed Watson had a sprained ligament and a bone bruise. The coach said Watson will be re-evaluated later this week to determine his playing status. ... Michigan starting defensive end Frank Clark is jailed in Ohio on a domestic violence charge. Online records show the 21-year-old Ypsilanti-area resident was being held without bond Sunday in the Erie County jail in Sandusky, Ohio.