A year ago, Will Muschamp was on top of the world.
Florida had just outplayed No. 13 Florida State on its own field — a stark turnaround from UF’s loss the year before.
The Gators were angling for a national-title bid. Florida still had a shot to play in the BCS National Championship game, if Southern California could beat Notre Dame.
It was not to be, but still, Muschamp was happy.
He joked with the media, saying the Gators’ win against the Seminoles was “sexy,” and he had considered meeting reporters shirtless. His wife and players convinced him otherwise.
What a difference a year makes.
In 2011, FSU dominated UF at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, winning by two touchdowns despite being held to fewer than 100 yards of total offense.
But now it was Florida’s turn. The Gators’ win had all the hallmarks of a Will Muschamp dream team.
A bruising running game led Florida’s offense to 37 points. Senior Mike Gillislee and freshman Matt Jones combined for 221 yards and three touchdowns.
The defense was stout. Freshman Antonio Morrison turned the tide of the game with an earth-shattering hit on quarterback E.J. Manuel.
And, of course, there was a comeback. The Seminoles climbed back from a 13-point deficit only to see the Gators re-emerge and score 24 unanswered points to seal the win.
That was a year ago. What a difference a year makes.
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The 2013 season has been anything but happy for Florida. The calendar year has been a disaster. After Muschamp’s high point at Doak Campbell Stadium, things only got worse.
A month later, fewer than 48 hours after the ball dropped in Times Square, the Gators dropped the ball in New Orleans.
Facing an underdog Louisville squad favored by nobody, Florida caved.
Denied a shot at a national title, the Gators had little but bragging rights to fight for, and they didn’t even get those. The Cardinals showed up to play, unlike the boys from Gainesville.
“We wasn’t supposed to be here in a lot of people’s eyes,” Sharrif Floyd said after the loss, “and we proved the whole country wrong.”
Florida proved the whole country wrong with the loss as well.
There was a mass exodus from the program after the flop in the French Quarter.
Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who competed for the starting quarterback up until the Gators’ 2012 season opener, announced he was transferring.
The Gators also lost several players to the NFL Draft. Some, like Jon Bostic, Josh Evans and Gillislee, graduated. But others, such as Floyd, Jelani Jenkins and Jordan Reed, ceded their final seasons to enter the draft.
Having players leave for the draft is normal attrition every program deals with.
But it proved especially costly for Florida.
Each player who left college early would have played a crucial role on this year’s team.
But despite surely knowing his program would lose many key players soon, Muschamp was hopeful that night at the Superdome.
“We’ve had a great year, and we’re moving this thing forward at a rapid pace,” he said after the loss. “And I’m excited where we are. Very disappointed with the outcome today, but very positive as we move forward.”
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It was not great to be a Florida Gator in the summer of 2013. Between former Gator Aaron Hernandez being arrested on murder charges and current Gator Antonio Morrison being arrested on battery and barking charges, the season could not start fast enough.
The team entered fall camp relatively healthy. Offensive lineman Jon Halapio had a partially torn pectoral muscle, quarterback Jeff Driskel was recovering from an appendectomy, and tailback Matt Jones was out with a viral infection.
Two fluke sicknesses and one weight lifting injury — otherwise, the team was ready.
But the so-called injury bug struck quickly.
Its first victim: wide receiver Andre Debose. The redshirt senior suffered a torn ACL during fall camp. But Florida had a large group of freshman wideouts. Surely one of them would make up for Debose’s minimal production in 2012.
Offensive tackle Chaz Green was next. He suffered a torn labrum on Aug. 20.
No big deal. The Gators had depth at offensive line.
The injuries only got worse from there.
Florida opened the season with a win against Toledo, but after a turnover-driven loss to Miami on Sept. 7, it looked to recover against Tennessee.
One awkward tackle later, the Gators’ starting quarterback was out for the season — Driskel suffered a fractured fibula in the first quarter.
Redshirt junior Tyler Murphy filled in admirably, but the hits kept coming.
Three days after the Gators defeated the Volunteers, they suffered arguably their biggest loss of the season.
Defensive tackle Dominique Easley attempted to defend a screen pass in practice and suffered a torn ACL.
It was the senior’s second ACL tear in three years, and the injury ultimately ended his college career. He announced he would not seek a medical redshirt and instead prepared for May’s NFL Draft.
Easley was by no means the last Florida player to go down for the season. The injury report kept growing.
In the two months since Easley suffered his injury, starters Jones (torn meniscus), Tyler Moore (fractured elbow), Antonio Morrison (torn meniscus) and Michael Taylor (sprained MCL) have suffered season-ending injuries.
Others, such as Murphy (shoulder sprain), D.J. Humphries (sprained MCL) and Jonathan Bullard (undisclosed) have missed multiple games but have not been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Non-starters who received significant playing time, such as Alex Anzalone (dislocated shoulder), Jeremi Powell (torn ACL) and Nick Washington (shoulder) have seen injuries shorten their seasons as well.
“I’m pretty sure if we had all our guys this season, [this season] would be different,” senior Jaylen Watkins said.
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Will Muschamp does not make excuses. Throughout the season, his oft-repeated mantra has been, “Man down, man up.”
But there are only so many times a team can man up.
“I don’t know that it’s depth issues,” he said. “I think it’s different moving parts. The starting lineup week-to-week has been different for us in a lot of situations across the board.”
But losing — for any reason — does not sit well in “Gator Nation.”
Muschamp and his coaching staff have become easy targets. Fans want heads to roll, and players and coaches alike are hearing the complaints.
“I try to stay away from it, but it’s everywhere,” wide receiver Solomon Patton said. “It makes me mad.”
While some fans want Muschamp gone, he does not appear to be going anywhere.
Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley issued a statement through the team website on Nov. 13 saying he supported Muschamp “a thousand percent.”
And Muschamp doesn’t have just Foley behind him.
Gordon “Stumpy” Harris, one of five Florida legacy directors (a booster who has donated more than $3 million), says he backs Muschamp as well.
“I’ve known every head football coach at the University of Florida on a first-name basis since Bob Woodruff,” Harris said. “And I liked Muschamp a lot … He’s a little fiery, and I like that.”
Harris, who has been a season-ticket holder since 1956, has seen plenty of mediocre Gators teams over the year — including the winless 1979 squad. And he has words for those calling for Muschamp to be fired.
“If I were in his shoes, I’d try to figure out some way to make it clear that I’m going to make the decisions,” Harris said. “I’m not going to be influenced by fans. I’m not going to be told by fans.”
Harris said a lot of the boosters he has talked to agree.
“It’s sort of like the closing of the ranks,” he said. “Those are the kind of people I associate with … I don’t put up with mean-spirited people.”
Two days after Florida suffered a home loss to Georgia Southern — the first time the Gators lost to a current FCS team since 1946 — Muschamp met with the media. Foley sat in the back of the meeting room.
Two days earlier, Muschamp walked into the same room, defeated. He said the game was “an embarrassment.”
But this time, Muschamp walked into the room with confidence. Was he worried for his job? “Absolutely not.” Would he be back in 2014? “Absolutely.”
Despite the injuries, upset losses and never-ending criticism, the third-going-on-fourth-year coach said Florida was close to regaining the level of play from 2012.
“Regardless of the results Saturday afternoon, which is all disappointing for everyone … I just don’t feel like we’re that far off,” Muschamp said. “I think we’ve got a really good football team.”
What a difference a year can make.
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @ALichtenstein24.
Hunter Joyer (41) drops a pass in the end zone during Florida’s 26-20 loss to Georgia Southern on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators are 4-7 this season.
Tyler Murphy rolls back after being sacked during Florida’s 36-17 loss to Missouri on Oct. 19 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. A year after going 11-2 and making it to the Sugar Bowl, the Gators are not bowl eligible for the first time since the 1990 season.
