Nearly two months ago, Will Muschamp led No. 12 Florida into Sun Life Stadium as a three-point favorite against Miami. Now, the Gators are fighting to avoid both their first postseason without a bowl bid since 1990 and their first losing season since 1979.
“Everybody is real disappointed right now,” defensive back Jaylen Watkins said. “We’ve lost three in a row and definitely canceled out our chances in the (Southeastern Conference) East. Now the main goal is to become bowl eligible.”
Numerous injuries to key players such as quarterback Jeff Driskel, defensive tackle Dominique Easley and running back Matt Jones have compounded a precipitous decline. Florida has already doubled last year’s total in the loss column with at least four games to go.
While the offense — ranked 113th nationally with 334.6 yards per game — sputters much like it did in 2012, the inexperienced defense has failed to overcome the loss of seven starters from last year’s team. If you count Easley, who played only three games in 2013 before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in September, that number increases to eight.
One glaring struggle for the Gators on the defensive side of the ball is starting slow. Through eight games, 45.3 percent of the points Florida has given up have come in the first quarter. On Saturday, Georgia added 17 more.
Muschamp said correcting the problem is difficult because the slow starts result from several different issues, ranging from third-down effectiveness to being cut off from gaps.
“We’ve just got to go back and put our guys in better situations to play,” Muschamp said. “And that’s on us as coaches. We’ve got to put our guys in better situations to feel more comfortable and react as opposed to think in some situations.”
Given the continued ineffectiveness of the offense and the uncharacteristic struggles of the defense, Muschamp has faced criticism for failing to match or come close to the results of an 11-2 season that ended with a Sugar Bowl berth in New Orleans.
The Gators have even failed to match the expected drop-off predicted by media members during SEC Media Days in July.
Florida was picked to finish third — behind Georgia and South Carolina. Only 19 media members in Hoover, Ala., selected UF to win the Eastern Division.
But in last week’s AP Poll, only 14 media members deemed the Gators worthy of a ranking. This week, Florida failed to receive any AP Poll votes for the first time since the 7-6 Gators were left out of the final rankings in 2011.
“We expected to have a much better record this time of year, but we haven’t played that way,” quarterback Tyler Murphy said. “It’s just unfortunate.”
Florida’s players say Muschamp’s support has helped them deal with disappointment.
Muschamp’s backing of his players ranges from passionate defense of Sharrif Floyd against the NCAA in 2011 and Jay-nard Bostwick in the face of inaccurate media reports this season to saying Saturday’s loss to Georgia “falls on my shoulders.”
Now that Muschamp is under fire, the Gators are more than willing to stand behind him.
“To see somebody like that to really have our backs means a lot,” Murphy said. “We try to put it all on the field for a coach like that.”
Watkins added: “We definitely love the support he gives us, and we’re going to support him right back.”
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
Will Muschamp speaks at a press conference following Florida’s 23-20 loss to Georgia on Saturday at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The Gators have lost three straight games and are in jeopardy of failing to become bowl eligible.
