There are plenty of questions surrounding the Gators this week as they head in to Death Valley to take on No. 1 LSU. Who will start at quarterback? Will Florida be able to establish the run? How will the defense respond after last week’s beating?
Naturally, none of those are questions you submitted.
@cwoodfin: Do y’all think it’s time to start rethinking the Muschamp thing if we lose two straight? #Panic
Absolutely. First of all, there’s no “if” about it. Florida will lose to LSU on Saturday. And when Will Muschamp steps up to the mic after the game and says, “We got beat by a better team,” again, reporters like us will be asking him how it feels to be sitting on the hot seat.
The Gator Nation doesn’t deserve this. All the loyal fans that come to games early and don’t leave until the final whistle deserve a win every time. Every season should end with Muschamp holding up the crystal, especially his first as a head coach in the toughest conference in the nation.
We’ve already started the website. Tell your friends. FireCoachBoom.com. #Sarcasm.
@AlligatorArmy: If the Gators had to turn to one lineman at quarterback (and don’t rule it out!), who would be the best at it?
You always seem to hit us with the random, lighthearted questions that really make us think. This one falls into that category, and we appreciate it.
After some serious consideration, the Gators should turn to left tackle Xavier Nixon when they get absolutely decimated at quarterback.
Nixon is easily the most athletic of the team’s linemen, and if it comes down to it, Florida is going to need to turn to its best athlete to run the offense. In the offseason, Nixon dropped 55 pounds — and no one is quite sure why — but he regained it and is back to a svelte 292. Still, he has shown the ability to slim down if need be.
Imagine a 237-pound Nixon running Florida’s offense. It would be glorious.
@anostro: After back-to-back blowout losses to far superior teams, will these guys pack it in? How likely is a 0-4 spurt?
While a 0-4 spurt isn’t completely out of the question, it won’t happen because the Gators packed it in. Muschamp and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis are serious motivators. They’ve also been around the block a few times. Responding to adversity is part of the job, and it’s also part of the reason both of them have been successful at every stop along their coaching trail. Alabama, LSU, and maybe even Auburn and Georgia, are better teams this year, and losing games to them is not an indictment of the Gators’ toughness or mentality.
@PhilipGaryTalks: I asked for long passes and Weis answered. Now how about running backs Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown getting more play time?
Weis is obviously a man of the people (and an avid alligatorSports reader), but we don’t think you’ll be seeing too much of Gillislee and Brown this weekend. Weis loves Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps — his “rug rats” — and they are Florida’s best two weapons on offense, so don’t expect the Gators to venture from the norm.
However, if you follow the logic of one of our writers, Florida should just start backups because the team doesn’t have a chance in Death Valley. If that’s the case, expect a lot of Gillislee and Brown.
@gatorzgal24: (Chris Leak led Florida to a road win against an undefeated LSU team in 2003). Can lightning strike twice?
We know this is the easy answer, but no, it cannot.
Lightning never strikes twice, or so they say. This weekend in Death Valley will be no different. Whether Florida starts Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett or even Tyler Murphy, as one of our columnist’s contests the Gators should, the chances of Florida leaving Baton Rouge, La., with a win courtesy of a freshman quarterback like it did in 2003 are very slim.
Driskel and Brissett are likely to have bright futures in college. But the forecast for them this weekend is gloomy.
But don’t expect lightning.
Submit questions on Twitter: @alligatorSports.
