Well, there’s really no other way to put it.
Florida sucks.
The Gators have been a frustrating puzzle to try and figure out this year, but Saturday night’s loss to Mississippi State (read those last six words again) exposed the answer. They just aren’t good.
It might sound harsh, and surely no player would want to hear it, but deep down, there’s no way they could argue otherwise.
The loss bounced Florida from the AP poll for the first time under Urban Meyer. The Gators didn’t even receive one vote, something Kentucky, Air Force and East Carolina managed.
Until now, Meyer had never been beaten three times in a row. And this is the first time Florida has lost at home in consecutive Saturdays since 1979, meaning we are witnessing a peak of suckage, unless things somehow get worse.
True, there are excuses for the sucking. Injuries have certainly played a role. At one point this weekend, the Gators were without all three tailbacks and hybrid receiver Andre Debose, leaving an already struggling offense even more toothless. And kicker Caleb Sturgis’ absence is looming larger and larger.
But, as the saying goes, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.
In this case, if you lose to Mississippi State, 10-7, on homecoming, against a team that threw just one pass in the second half and ran the ball 24 times in a row, you suck.
Luckily for Florida, most teams suck this year. South Carolina couldn’t handle Kentucky a week after toppling No. 1 Alabama, leaving the door open for the Gators to win the Southeastern Conference East if they win out.
Do that, and they could still end up with an SEC title and playing in a BCS bowl game.
Then again, with the way they’ve looked lately, a loss to Appalachian State and an appearance in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl or AutoZone Liberty Bowl are still on the table as well.
What will make the difference?
Sure, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio could be fired, perhaps even sacrificed to a pit of live alligators on campus. But that won’t fix the problem.
Florida has a lot of holes and a bunch of pegs that are either too square or too small to fill them.
The offense has to be changed to suit John Brantley’s strengths, and he has to take control and stop, as he likes to say, “taking what the defense gives him.”
Short-yardage and red-zone solutions have to be found — fast — because an end-around to Robert Clark is not the answer to the question: “What’s the best way to gain a yard on 4th and 1?”
And the offensive line needs to start playing like the veteran unit everyone expected.
Those are problems that stem from execution, not just game-planning.
Blame Addazio all you want, but this is a team effort.
Maybe Addazio didn’t make all the right play calls. Maybe he didn’t make any good calls.
But that doesn’t matter when the blockers, catchers, runners and throwers don’t block, catch, run or throw well.
Make no mistake, lots of people pitched in.
Special teams lent a hand by missing two field goals and being penalized on two first-quarter kick returns.
The offense did its part by being shut out through halftime at home for the first time since 2007, amassing 17 first-half rushing yards and coming away with just 7 points on three red-zone trips. Once again, no one made the big play to swing momentum.
The defense contributed by, well, not intercepting that one second-half shovel pass and returning it for a touchdown, I guess. As safety Ahmad Black said, “We gave up 10 points,” and there isn’t much more that unit could have done.
Times are bad in Gainesville right now, but somehow, the season isn’t lost yet.
The Gators’ goals are still ahead of them, but only if the sucking stops here.
