Saturday’s game against Georgia is a must-win for Will Muschamp and Florida.
I’m not just talking in terms of this year. I’m talking about the long haul.
The Gators are still in contention to earn a spot in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, but they would need help even if they manage to win out.
But there’s more than that at stake on Saturday.
Regardless of how this season turns out, Muschamp needs to get over the Bulldog hump.
If Georgia beats Florida for the third straight time at EverBank Field, it spells trouble for the Muschamp Era at Florida.
From the moment Muschamp took over for Urban Meyer in January 2011, Georgia has been in his head. The former Bulldogs safety has promised a victory in this game a couple of times at Gator Club meetings.
“I certainly can,” Muschamp said in 2011 to an Atlanta Gator Club member and bride-to-be who asked him to guarantee a victory against the Bulldogs on her wedding day.
Two losses later, he again stirred up the Georgia talk at a Jacksonville Gator Club meeting in May, promising a win against the ‘Dawgs.
“Well, it’s not going to be a long winning streak, I can assure you,” Muschamp said of Georgia’s two straight victories against Florida. “We feel very comfortable.”
If you’re going to play to the crowd at these things, you’ve got to back it up.
Failing in Jacksonville again this year will make the next Bulldogs question at a Gator Club meeting more awkward and pointed than lighthearted.
Another loss to Georgia this season could drop Muschamp into a funk similar to what Mark Richt endured during his first 10 seasons in Athens, Ga.
Richt won just two of 10 meetings against the Gators from 2001-2010. Losses to UF in 2002 and 2005 derailed two promising national title contenders.
Richt tried his share of gimmicks to snap out of it.
He sent the entire team onto the field to celebrate the Bulldogs’ first touchdown in a 42-30 win against the Gators in 2007, but UGA ended up dropping its next three contests.
In 2009, he tried firing up his team by outfitting them in black helmets and blacks pants. But those were quickly ditched after a 41-17 loss to Florida.
Imagine the can of worms Richt would have opened had he started guaranteeing wins.
Maybe Richt has finally figured it out with two straight wins. Or maybe, in Muschamp, he has found an opponent even more unlucky than him.
Last year’s six-turnover effort by a team that won 11 games largely due to a strong turnover margin would qualify as unlucky, right?
No matter what the coaches say, Florida and Georgia are not playing for a championship on Saturday. Not without Missouri’s help, anyway.
This year’s entry in the rivalry marks only the second time in the past 34 years that both teams enter the game with three or more losses. At this point, it’s all pride.
Muschamp will have another shot to reach Atlanta in 2014, but every chance he misses against Georgia, the harder it will be to turn the tide in his favor.
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
Florida coach Will Muschamp walks off the field following Florida’s 36-17 loss against Missouri on Oct. 19 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. Muschamp is 0-2 against Georgia since taking over at Florida.
