Florida is going to have a new head coach next season. We know that. But for this week, Florida has a coach, and it’s Will Muschamp, and his Gators face their biggest rival of all this Saturday.
I know, I know. I wanted Muschamp out last year. And yesterday, I was told that Bob Stoops was the favorite to be the next Gators’ head coach (which my source tells me that as of this publishing remains the same).
But the fact is, he’s not right now. (And he may never be, unfortunately). So instead of spending the entire week debating who will be, won’t be, could be, should be, or shouldn’t be the next head coach, we need to instead focus on the game we have at hand. It’s Florida State. You know. That sketchy school to the northwest that just about the entire country has labeled “evil” and is now begging Florida to beat and keep out of the College Football Playoff. (Actually, the words Saturday Down South used were: “Help us, Florida Gators. You’re our only hope.”) The team that has won 27 straight, but has looked mighty vulnerable all season.
Ten years ago, Ron Zook was a dead man walking, but he guided his Gators to a victory over 8th ranked Florida State in Tallahassee. Now, the circumstances are eerily similar. Florida has another lame duck in Muschamp, FSU is chasing another national championship… etc.
Can Florida pull the upset? I’ll say this for now: I think they have the ingredients to do it. FSU’s biggest threat all year has been its offense, while its defense has been suspect at best. Meanwhile, Florida’s defense has been outstanding all year, and could pose some problems for Jameis Winston (remember, they harassed him early in last year’s game). In fact, Florida’s defense is probably the best FSU will have faced all year. Combine that with a solid running game and the fact that Florida has nothing to lose, and I really do believe that Florida has a chance.
So let’s worry about that this week. This is, after all, one of the game’s biggest rivalries. And Florida has a history of ruining FSU’s seasons, such as 1991, 1996, 1997 and 2004. The opportunity this current team has to wreck another one should be the primary focus of the week. We’ll have the entire month of December to debate our next head coach.
For now, let’s focus on doing the world a favor, and beat FSU.
