Will Muschamp isn’t putting much stock in the Gators’ latest win, and neither should you.
Saturday’s 38-0 shutout of Kentucky was not an accurate measuring stick of how the team has progressed.
Muschamp made it clear throughout his press conference on Monday that he was not totally satisfied with his team’s performance simply because the final score looked pretty.
“Pleased where we are, but also realistic that we have a lot of improvements to make with our football team,” Muschamp said. “We met yesterday as a team and I told our guys, starting with me all the way down, we all have room for improvement.”
Outside of Jeff Driskel’s 38-yard run midway through the first quarter on Saturday, the Gators managed only 11 yards on nine offensive plays in their first three drives. Driskel will not get free so easily against the defenses of LSU, Georgia and South Carolina.
Florida has yet to find a consistent offensive rhythm early in games, especially passing. While Driskel threw a few nice passes against Kentucky, he also made several late throws and poor decisions.
In a third-and-5 situation on the Gators’ second offensive possession, Driskel had Frankie Hammond Jr. open to his left on a curl route. He waited a second too long to get the throw off, which gave Wildcats cornerback Martavius Neloms enough time to close the separation and make a play on the ball. Hammond caught the pass once it was batted in the air but only gained one yard.
Muschamp acknowledged the problems with the passing game and said they would be addressed this week, but he didn’t leave it at that. He spent more than half of his opening statement listing issues the team still needed to work on, including areas that obviously weren’t a problem on Saturday, such as red-zone defense.
Florida’s defense didn’t key in on the run early despite the total lack of an aerial attack posed by the Wildcats and backup quarterback Morgan Newton, who completed just 7 of 21 passes for 48 yards and three interceptions. Kentucky ran for five yards per carry and converted 50 percent of its third downs in the first quarter.
“Let’s accentuate on the negatives of our football team right now and understand what they are, and let’s get better,” Muschamp said.
By focusing on the negatives, Muschamp is taking the right approach. Florida was supposed to cruise on Saturday. The positives were expected, while the negatives were concerning.
The Gators started 4-0 last year, defeating the Wildcats by the same margin. UF then lost consecutive games to Alabama and LSU by a combined score of 79-21.
In impressive second halves on the road against Texas A&M and Tennessee, Florida showed more positive flashes than it did through four games in 2011. So an upset against LSU next week is not out of the question, but a win over a Kentucky team that couldn’t beat Western Kentucky shouldn’t be a reason for Gators fans to be more confident.
For some teams, a 38-point shutout might indicate that all is good. For others, it can mask more serious issues. Florida falls into the latter category.
Luckily for the Gators, Muschamp already came to that realization.
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org.
Florida head coach Will Muschamp exchanges words with a referee during a game against Kentucky at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday. Although the Gators defeated the Wildcats 38-0, Muschamp said on Monday that Florida has room for improvement.
