Muschamp Speaks

Here's Will Muschamp's statement following his dismissal as head coach at Florida.

“I appreciate the opportunity that has been offered to me and my family by Dr. Machen, Jeremy Foley and the University of Florida,” said Muschamp. “I was given every opportunity to get it done here and I simply didn’t win enough games – that is the bottom line. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get it done and it is my responsibility to get it done.

“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.”

Whoa! Just came out of church to the News of Will Muschamp being fired at #Florida. That's a BIG TIME JOB OPENING. And the carousel begins.
— Rachel JOY Baribeau (@RachelBaribeau) November 16, 2014

Will Muschamp fired. Knew he was in trouble when Florida lost to Kentucky for the first time in like 30 years. pic.twitter.com/d9cQB6TzXa
— Not Jerry Tipton (@NotJerryTipton) November 16, 2014

Defense wins championships? Will Muschamp would like to disagree with you. Lack of an offense is getting him fired.
— alpha1906@gmail.com (@alpha1906) November 16, 2014

DEVELOPING: Coach Boom Gets Lowered At Florida

The only thought was: WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, JEREMY FOLEY???!!!

What the entire world thought was going to happen after the Missouri fiasco finally happened after the South Carolina fiasco...

Here's the sheer, shocking end to the game that gifted the Gamecocks the win...
((HT: SDS/SEC Network))


Which led to this...
((HT: GoGamecocks))


And this postgame commentary...


Now, the next questions are twofold:

Does Jeremy Foley even survive this...???
And, as put forth by TBH: Would Muschamp like to be Auburn's defensive coordinator...???

Will Muschamp had proven himself to be a solid Number Two, but a Shaky Number One...

What happens with his resume next will be an interesting subplot to the shenanigans in Gainesville...

And the irony that the Ess-E-Cee Network is showing the Sakerlina-Florida game right now has not escaped the HQ...

Hey, Florida, we know someone who can fill the opening for a few weeks...

"The Fixer" for Florida's Problems...???

If It Wasn't For Bad Luck Florida Would Have No Luck At All, Gamecocks Win Over Gators In OT 23-20

It's been well documented here at OSG Sports what a miserable season the Florida Gators are experiencing.

Today's game at Gainesville against South Carolina with UF alum Steve Spurrier on the opposite sideline was a clear definition of without bad luck the Gators would have no luck at all.

In the fourth quarter with the Gators up 17-10 all Florida kicker Francisco Valez had to do is split the uprights on a 32 yard field goal and the game would have been put on ice.  Except it wasn't.


Brison Williams blocked the kick giving the Gamecocks life.

With a minute and a half left in the game Florida was punting only it was blocked too.


Carlton Heard's big play on special teams led to South Carolina's tying touchdown and forced overtime.

In the overtime the Gamecocks prevailed with Dylan Thompson's four yard touchdown run and it's a 23-20 win for South Carolina.


You just get the feeling that Gator fans are numb to all of this.

That or just waiting to be put of their misery.  At least Will Muschamp's head on a pike.

Great Story: UF Field Goal Holder and His Other Job

((ht: yahoo.com/espn.com))

Nice!

Imagine living in Gainesville, Florida and walking into your neighborhood Publix store night seeing a grocery bagger signing autographs, taking pictures with customers and giving out High Five's.

Mike McNeely worked his shift @Publix just hours after his fake-kick TD sparked Gators. Story: http://t.co/v6zvv8waq4 pic.twitter.com/mv6UHBaRLf
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) November 3, 2014

If that happened to you, it probably means you met University of Florida field goal fake kick star Mike McNeely.

McNeely is a walk-on who just earned a scholarship as a 5th year senior for the Gators. And he happened to be the placeholder on a fake field goal that spurred Florida to a somewhat surprising dominating victory over the confused Georgia Bulldogs.

So yeah, the kid is a pretty good story. And according to Yahoo.com, McNeely is working at Publix until he starts medical school in August of 2015.

Yes, Mike McNeely, instant Gainesville hero, is the type of guy College Football should be about.

Here's the play mentioned earlier via CBS Sports:

NCAA: Todd Gurley Has to Sit Two More Games

Oh boy...

If you thought the Georgia natives were restless over the suspension of star RB Todd Gurley before, they are even less thrilled now.

The overlords at the NCAA announced Wednesday morning Gurley will have to sit for two more games, making his suspension a 4-game suspension.

He would be eligible to return November 15th against Auburn.

The NCAA said Gurley, who appeared to have been accepting money for autographs for the past two seasons, has to donate the approximately $3,000 he is said to have received to charity and complete 40 hours of community service.

The school (UGA) also announced immediately after the ruling that they would appeal the decision since Gurley has already sat for 2 games. The NCAA membership committee is supposed to take up the matter by the end of the week.

Which won't help the Dawgs before they play archival Florida....this week.

The NCAA says the suspension is consistent with their rules and it could have been worse had the University and Gurley not been as cooperative as they were.

In the meantime, the Bulldogs will no doubt continue relying on super freshman Nick Chubb who has filled in quite well for Gurley. Chubb has run for 345 yards and 2 TD's in Georgia's last two games.

Coming off a bye week and preparing to play Florida means you will probably see Chubb continue to carry the rock.

Our friends at Saturday Down South give us video of Mr. Gurley in action:

CFB: Florida Survives Kentucky in 3 OT's

It's the longest winning streak by one team over another in any conference in any sport. The University of Florida had beaten the University of Kentucky 27 straight times going into Saturday nights game in Gainesville.

It's now...barely 28.

The Gators held on to beat the Wildcats 36-30 in 3 overtimes Saturday night in a game they were favored in by 18 points.

Jeff Driskel threw for 295 yards and 3 TD's, most of the passes going to Demarcus Robinson who had 15 catches for 215 yards and 2 TD's.

For their part, Kentucky's Patrick Towles threw for 369 yards and 3 TD's.

We don't know if we'd call this a "Great" SEC game, but it certainly was tense and had quite the finish.

Your highlights from ESPN.com:

ICYMI: Florida vs. Idaho PPD Because of Weather

((ht: cbssports.com))

You don't often see or hear about a college football game being rained out.

Yet that is exactly what happened Saturday night in Gainesville, Florida.

The Florida Gators season opener vs. Idaho was delayed for 3-plus hours Saturday night before officials and the teams decided to cancel it. The Gainesville area was pummeled with heavy rain, lightning and thunder most of the evening Saturday. The Gators had requested the later kickoff to try and avoid the heat, instead, they had to deal with the late afternoon and evening thunderstorms that always crop up in the Sunshine State.

Mind you they did TRY to play, at one point the did the opening kickoff, but more lightning and rain chased the teams and fans out of the stadium.

Good shot of why all delays...RT @Andy_Staples: Whoa. RT @OurTwoBits: Yikes! (H/T @pbpsports) pic.twitter.com/HhEYKTLoPf
— Scott Carter (@GatorZoneScott) August 31, 2014

No word yet on when...or if the game will be rescheduled, apparently both teams have Oct. 25th as an open date, the question is, does either team want to play.

Our guess is they will have to play that day. Ultimately, they'll need to have that 12th game to make everything official with the NCAA. Rather than being snarky and saying it won't matter or UF may need it to be bowl eligible, we'll just have to wait and see what they decide to do after a good nights sleep.

Ha! UF Baseball Pulls Hidden Ball Trick on College of Charleston

((ht: espn.com))

Oh, this is embarrassing...

Check out what happened in the first game of the Gainesville regional in the NCAA Baseball playoffs.

The home team, the Florida Gators used one of the oldest tricks in the book to get an out during the 1st inning of their game against the College of Charleston.

Gator pitcher Logan Shore ties his shoe and somehow Charleston's Nick Pappas steps off the bag. What Pappas didn't know was Florida shortstop Richie Martin still had the ball.

Martin reaches over and tags Pappas...who undoubtedly is and will be getting grief for some time to come over this one..

Alas, Charleston got the last laugh, beating the top seeded Gators 3-2....

Your video from ESPN.com:

ICYMI: UConn vs. Kentucky Is Your NCAA Tournament Finals Matchup

So, outside of the UConn and Kentucky fans reading this, who actually picked these two teams to face off for the NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship?

Be honest.

Yeah, thought so.

Semi-Final Saturday provided some good drama and some pretty good (for the most part) basketball in the largest venue ever to host the tournament.

The first game was a slugfest.

Connecticut outslugged the top seeded team in the tournament, Florida 63-53. The game featured two teams known for their defense and that was a reason the game was so low scoring.

Four Huskies, lead by DeAndre Daniels with 20, scored in double figures as UConn led a good portion of the game. The Gators couldn't get closer than 6 points down the stretch and in the end, the Huskies pulled away.

Oddly enough, UConn a #7 seed, was seeded higher than the team they'll face Monday night in Jerry World, the Kentucky Wildcats.

Your Connecticut/Florida Highlights from CBSSports.com:



And your other finalist, Kentucky.

Nobody is sure why the Wildcats were a #8 seed with all the talent on the court other than the fact they underachieved during the regular season.

But when it counted in March, they were good. Very good.

UK got all they wanted and more against a game Wisconsin team but in the end, it was a Harrison twin that was the difference.

The most clutch guy on the team did what he's done all month long, hit game winning 3-pointers.

This time, with 5.7 seconds left and a hand squarely in his face, Aaron Harrison got a swing pass from brother Andrew and drilled a 3-pointer giving Kentucky a 74-73 win.

All we will say from here is Monday night should be quite the spectacle as two unlikely teams square off for College Basketball's biggest title.

Your Kentucky/Wisconsin highlights from CBSSports.com:

Gators And Seminoles Brawl, Jameis Winston Gets Involved

It's a fact of life in Florida, Gators and Seminoles don't get along.

Tuesday night in Jacksonville the top ranked Florida State Seminoles faced Florida in a college baseball game and the fireworks went off in the eighth inning.

FSU's D.J. Stewart collided with UF left-handed pitcher Danny Young hustling down the line.  Gator first baseman Zack Powers took exception shoving Stewart.

Then it was on.




What makes this more interesting is that Heisman Trophy winner and FSU closer Jameis Winston was involved in the brawl.

Florida ended up winning the game 4-1.

Florida State head coach Mike Martin who is known to deliver some great quotes had some good ones summing up this game for the Florida Times-Union.

There's no doubt that the testosterone and the adrenaline kicked in." Martin said. "Those men are very strong and very active.  The hands got a little quicker. The motivation rose. Just very proud of our baseball team, and the way that we fought. We certainly didn't back down from anything, and that makes every Seminole proud, because that's what we're about." 

Gamecocks Give Frank Martin One Game Suspension

((HT: WLTX-TV))

South Carolina head men's basketball coach Frank Martin has been known to be a little intense on the sidelines...

It has gotten him into trouble and it has gotten him a reputation as a hothead- and a lot worse terms...

He did this Tuesday night in his team's 26-point loss to Florida


Athletics Director Ray Tanner, in a statement, said:

"The one-game suspension is a result of inappropriate verbal communication as it relates to the well-being of our student-athletes."

The HQ would like to know how many times Tanner used inappropriate verbal communications when he coached the baseball team in Columbia, but we'll digress...

Here's Martin's comments on what went down...

Martin will not accompany the team to Starkville for the season finale against Miss State. Associate head coach Matt Figger will serve as the acting coach as South Carolina is 11-19, 4-13 in the SEC.

Delta Bumps Passengers For Gators Hoops...

((HT: First Coast News))

Morgan Watkins over at The Gainesville Sun reported the Gators basketball team's charter was grounded by maintenance issues as the team was heading to UConn for their game Monday night.

From Watkins:

The airplane originally meant for the basketball team required maintenance, he wrote, and, "due to operational need and aircraft routing requirements as a result of the busy travel holiday," Delta decided to use the other airplane and cancel the commercial flight for which it had been initially scheduled.

"Delta apologizes to those customers on Delta Connection flight 5059, operated by ExpressJet, who were impacted by the resulting cancellation of their flight," he stated.

Gainesville Airport spokesperson Laura Aguiar told the Sun that passengers were either given vouchers for later flights or were re-routed to other flights out of the city. Some of those Sunday passengers, however, didn't leave Gainesville until Monday.

Gators team spokesman Denver Parler told the newspaper he wasn't aware passengers were displaced.

Of course...

Here was the end result for the Gators in Storrs...
((HT: GatorZone))

But Watkins seems to stumble on passengers who were initially told that the Delta plane the Gators eventually boarded had "mechanical problems," and then (magically) the Gators basketball team started boarding the flight...

Not a surprise...

No Pease In Gainesville, Florida Fires Offensive Coordinator

You knew if Will Muschamp"s head wasn't going to roll following Florida's first losing season since 1979 someones would.

Sunday Brent Pease was called into the office for the bad news.

Pease has been fired as Florida's offensive coordinator first reported by the Associated Press.

Florida fires OC Brent Pease via @APMarkLong http://t.co/HER3AwXxtJ
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) December 1, 2013

Peace came to Florida in 2012 after a successful six years as Boise State's offensive coordinator.  

Gator offensive line coach Tim Davis was let go too.

"I have a lot of respect for Coach Pease and Coach Davis,'' Muschamp said. "They are both
good football coaches and even better people. There have been a lot of unfortunate
circumstances this year, but that is part of the game sometimes. I want to thank each of them for their contributions to the program both on and off the field."

"I am grateful for the opportunity to come to the University of Florida and work with a bunch of great coaches, administrative staff and players,'' Pease said. "I know we came up short of our ultimate goal, but I will carry on knowing I gained valuable friendships and relationships during my time here."

You knew it was coming, Florida's offense has been just awful this year ranking 112th in the NCAA in total offense.  

When you lose you top two quarterbacks, three offensive tackles and your starting tailback to injury you are going to be weakened offensively.

Somebody had to write a big check to buy Pease out who still had two years remaining on his contract and is owed $1,18 million.  Pease was to receive a longevity bonus of $100,000 on January 31st.

CFB Recap: FSU Stakes Claim to #1 After Whipping Florida

The game was over shortly after Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo drilled a 49-yard field goal in the 1st quarter.

FSU scored as needed and the University of Florida--well, they barely scored at all as the Seminoles beat their in-state rivals 37-7 in Gainesville.

Jameis Winston threw for 327 yards and 3 TD's, all to WR Kelvin Benjamin as Florida State climbs to 12-0 and after Alabama's loss, likely becomes the #1 team in all the land.

As for Florida, the loss, their 7th straight drops them to 4-8 and an offseason of change. The Gators offense, injuries aside struggled in every game and the defense while good, wasn't good enough to make a difference.

FSU moves on to the ACC title game next Saturday vs. Duke, a game where they likely will be heavily favored. And while the specter of Winston possibly being charged in a 2012 incident still hangs over the team, it doesn't appear it will change their status.

ESPN provides your highlights:

Ga. Southern Beats Florida: Yes, This Really Happened

In a season of bad luck and things gone wrong, we're pretty sure for the once-proud and always big-talking Florida Gators have hit rock-bottom.

The Gators got beat Saturday afternoon by FBS (D-1AA), Georgia Southern 26-20, in the Swamp.

We could go on for a long, long time about all the mistakes Florida and coach Will Muschamp made and how they got beat by a team that threw for 0 yards, but that would be piling on. Wouldn't it?

The now 7-4 Eagles were expected to be a playoff team on their level and are making the move to the FCS (D-1) Sun Belt next season.

But there still isn't a universe that exists where they should beat Florida, yet they did.

429 yards rushing was more than enough for Southern, who up until Saturday afternoon, had never actually beaten an FCS team, never mind an SEC team some thought might compete for a title.

We won't go into too much detail in this story, I will file a column when I have more time, but suffice to say, Florida coach Will Muschamp has a lot to worry about this holiday season. And as for Florida fans. Well, there's always basketball....

ESPN gives us a look at the last play of the game (And yes, I'm still laughing)

 

Vandy Beats Florida in Gainesville: Is This The End of Coach Boom?

So…how far have the once mighty Florida Gators fallen?

Wasn't it just yesterday when Tim Tebow was leading the Urban Meyer run Gators to a National Title?

Well, to the Florida faithful, that probably seems like a century ago. Especially in light of Saturday afternoon's 34-17 loss to Vanderbilt. In Gainesville. And it was the first time Vandy's won in the Swamp…since 1945.

Mind you, Vandy is not bad. 5-4 on the season and 2-4 in the SEC East, they are not the pushovers of Vandy teams past.

But this loss was about Florida ineptitude as much as was Vandy capitalizing on it. The Gators had 4 turnovers and only 39 yards running the ball.

The loss dropped the toothless Gators to 4-5 on the season and 3-4 in the SEC East. It also probably lowers the chance they make a bowl game. Aside from a game with Georgia Southern, the Gators finish with South Carolina and Florida State, neither game, one likely they'll win.

And the loss has raised the volume on people screaming for coach Will Muschamp's head. Muschamp has managed to avoid heat up to this point, despite a 22-13 record in his now 3rd season. And even more importantly, he's 0-3 vs. arch-rival Georgia and only 13-10 in the SEC.

Yes, that type of record got Ron Zook run out of town a decade or so ago.

Sure, the team has been wrecked by injuries, but so have other teams, some of whom have struggled. But none have looked so pathetic.

We will also add, this is a bit of karma paying the Gator faithful a visit, they got a bit smug during the Tebow years. This should serve as a reminder the rest of the world can easily catch you.

Carousel season is quickly coming up and we suspect come the second week of September, you can find Florida on it, watching and looking for riders.

Though we seriously doubt they can take back Urban Meyer. (ooooh, yeah, we said it)

Here's your highlights from the game. (Thanks SEC Digital Network)

CFB Saturday: Wrapping Up SEC Upset Craziness

Anybody still want to argue that the SEC is the best conference in college football?

Saturday's game action proved one thing--They're not.

Pretty much every "name" program in the conference lost. And not for the 1st time this season.

We start in Vanderbilt where the limping Georgia Bulldogs continue their tumble down the polls. And ironically, the Dawgs were up 13 going into the 4th quarter in Nashville.

But that's when the wheels fell off.

A fumbled punt, a botched punt snap and a solid performance by Vandy's backup QB Patton Robbinette was all it took for that lead to evaporate and Vanderbilt to get the their 1st win over a ranked team since the 2008 season, 31-27.

Your highlights from CBS Sports:



The craziness continued just 3 hours East in Knoxville when Tennessee knocked off media darling South Carolina when Michael Palardy drilled a 19-yard field goal at the buzzer giving the Vols a 23-21 win.

The Gamecocks didn't exactly help themselves with 3 turnovers and 9 penalties. This despite a big game by star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

But Tennessee stayed close, and a circus catch by freshman WR Marquez North was enough to put Palardy in position to give his team their 1st win over a ranked team since 2009.

Your highlights from our friends at ESPN:



And while that was happening, Missouri took full control of the SEC East by dominating an outmanned Florida team in Columbia, Missouri.

QB Maty Mauk stepped in for the injured James Franklin and threw for 295 yards and a TD, Henry Joseph ran for 136 and a score and the Tigers defense sacked beleaguered Gator QB Tyler Murphy 6 times and was in his face pretty much the entire game.

The 36-17 win will get Missouri a place in the Top 10 and a now 2 game lead over their closest competition in the SEC East.

Your Highlights again from our friends at ESPN:



And finally Auburn continues in run towards regaining relevance by taking down Johnny Football and Texas A&M in College Station early Saturday evening.

Auburn QB Nick Marshall threw for 236 and 2 TD's and ran for 100 yards and two more to lead the Tigers to a crazy 45-41 win.

The Tigers were winless in the SEC in 2012 and arguably one of college football's worst teams. The change this season under new coach Gus Mazlahn is nothing short of miraculous.

No, there wasn't a lot of defense played in this game, Manziel threw for 434 yards and 4 TD's and his WR Mike Evans caught 11 passes for 237 yards and a couple of scores. But when Manziel went down with a shoulder injury, the Aggies defense couldn't stop Auburn. Manziel would return, but had a hard time throwing.

The loss pretty much eliminated the Aggies from SEC West or any national title contention.

Your highlights from CBS Sports (There are a lot of them):

Florida's Mistakes Cost The Gators, Miami Prevails Giving Head Coach Al Golden A Signature Win

It's hard to win a football game committing five turnovers.

It's impossible when three of those turnovers occur inside the red zone.

The Florida Gators found that out in Sun Life Stadium Saturday.  The Gators five turnovers cost them in a 21 to 16 loss to Miami.


The numbers say Florida should have dominated this game.

Florida's offense put up 413 yards of total offense almost doubling Miami's total output of 212

Miami was just 1-11 on third down conversions

Giving the ball up killed the Gators.

Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel threw for a career best 291 yards but his two interceptions were very costly.

"I thought he hit some balls down the field."  Florida head coach Will Muschamp said. "I thought he did some nice things in the run game. But you can’t have the turn overs, especially in the red zone. You can’t do that. You can’t make those decisions. We can’t afford to take points off the board in those situations and that’s such an emotional lift for the other team. So that just can’t happen.”

When Miami needed to make plays on defense, the 'Canes got it done coming up with a key fumble or an interception.

Miami head coach Al Golden sprinted off the field with his first signature win as the Hurricane's head coach.

We’ve been through so much."  Golden said.  "It was almost cathartic, to be honest with you. It was 26 months just unleashed there in the last four or five seconds. I’m proud of these guys. You guys watched us grow – we couldn’t handle this setting a year ago."

It's an important win for the ACC in their "rivalry" with the SEC.  If you are keeping score of such things it's SEC 3, ACC 2

Wait until the rivalry games are played on Thanksgiving weekend to see if the ACC can get the best of the SEC with three head to head match-ups.

ICYMI: U of Florida Has Six Suspended for Opener (UPDATE: Muschamp Slams Media)

((ht: palmbeachpost.com))

If you are a Florida Gators fan, you are probably breathing a sigh of relief your season starts with a practice game vs. Toledo.

The reason: You'll be without six players for the season kickoff due to a rash of suspensions.

Previously suspended starting linebacker Antonio Morrison will be joined by star cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy and 5 backups.

According to a report in the Palm Beach Post, Purifoy and backup WR Latroy Pittman won't get to play due to failing drug tests.

You can read the entire Palm Beach Post story RIGHT HERE

Florida head coach Will Muschamp isn't saying much about what happened, but this doesn't really send a good signal after what was a "difficult" camp. From starting QB Jeff Driskell's appendectomy to 4 starters who won't play Saturday due to injuries, things haven't exactly gone according to plan.

The Gators kickoff the season Saturday at 12:20 p.m vs. Toledo. It will be very interesting to see how all the backups perform.

SUNDAY UPDATE: Coach Boom went after the media postgame for the inaccurate reporting of the Jay-nard Bostwick suspension- specifically calling out something called GatorCountry.com, the Palm Beach Post, and the Gainesville Sun

Here's Muschamp's answer for them...


So there...

Rolling Stone Has "New Revelations" On Hernandez

((HT: MyFoxBoston))

Which surprise some and are skeptical by others...

The Rolling Stone article on the ex-New England Patriots tight end claims that Hernandez was into angel dust, was one move away from getting cut by head coach Bill Belichick, and had a mother who married a drug dealer and had him move into her home after his father died.

It also disclosed that Florida head coach Urban Meyer made have covered up some indiscretions while he was on campus as a gator tight end...

Here's the early thoughts from MyFoxBoston
Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

But Patriots beat writer Andy Hart doesn't buy the assessment...especially the Belichick part...
((HT: CSNNE.com))


According to the article, Hernandez met with his head coach in February thinking he was in over his head. He went to California to rehab his shoulder, but stood up Tom Brady at a receiver camp and skipped appointments with his therapist.