COLUMBIA, S.C.
As has been hashed and rehashed across these pages during the past six weeks, Florida is bad.
It’s really, really simple. Anybody who has watched even one of the Gators’ last six games recognizes it.
But that obvious fact doesn’t mean UF shouldn’t be expected to find ways to win.
For all their struggles, the Gators could easily be 8-2.
Florida’s losses to Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina were all one-score games in the fourth quarter.
But UF could never finish, an extremely common symptom among bad teams.
Against Auburn, Florida gave up 10 points, couldn’t convert a fourth down and muffed a punt in the fourth quarter.
In the fourth against Georgia, Florida had 17 yards and let the Bulldogs run the final 5:32 off the clock on a single possession.
And most recently, against South Carolina, Florida couldn’t close out an unexpectedly winnable game, failing to come up with a difference-making play as hopes of a .500 finish in the Southeastern Conference vanished.
“We had three opportunities to win games, and we didn’t get it done,” coach Will Muschamp said. “That comes back on my shoulders.”
Maybe it does.
Muschamp could be taking the blame just for the sake of doing so, but to some extent it’s on him to keep Florida’s intensity level high throughout the contest.
In their last six fourth quarters, the Gators have moved the ball only 271 yards compared to 644 for their opponents. UF has been outscored 62-12 during the same span.
Decreasing production as the game goes on could be a sign other coaches are doing a better job of adapting and making adjustments than Muschamp is.
Or it could fall on the players.
The fourth quarter is where stars are supposed to be born and legends are supposed to shine.
In any of Florida’s three close losses, the Gators only needed one play to change the outcome.
But, without any true playmakers, they found themselves on the losing end.
“This team has to learn how to finish,” junior defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. “When I was on that ’08 team, you had some guys like (Brandon) Spikes and (Tim) Tebow, and they were able to finish out in close games.”
Florida doesn’t have those type of players this year, plain and simple.
There isn’t a vocal leader or a guy who can be expected to make a difference when the game is on the line.
And it’s not just the starters. Depth is limited across the board, perhaps another factor in UF’s end-of-game futility.
A gassed defense hasn’t been able to get off the field, killing any shot at a comeback.
Gators opponents have held the ball for a combined 55:03 in the last six fourth quarters, compared to just 34:57 for UF.
Whether it’s youth, depth, inexperience, bad coaching or a lack of talent, the Gators flat out haven’t gotten it done in critical situations.
Opponents have converted nine of their last 10 fourth-down tries.
Florida has scored touchdowns on just 45.2 percent of its trips to the red zone, No. 116 nationally.
By every definition, the Gators have crumbled under pressure and have not closed in crunch time, leading to losses in three games senior running back Chris Rainey said the Gators should have won.
“It’s killing me,” Rainey said. “Just got to finish.”
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
