MILLER REPORT: It’s crossroads week for Gators

Crossroads, will you ever let him go… ~ Gregg Allman

It is definitely crossroads week for the Florida Gators and Will Muschamp. The trials and tribulations of last season and the first month of this season have been hashed, rehashed and hashished to the point of insanity so I will not do that again here. I believe that we can all agree that the Florida Gators and head coach Will Muschamp need some good things to happen for a while. That really needs to begin Saturday in Knoxville Tennessee. If the Alabama game was supposed to be the barometer of where the Gator program IS the Tennessee game will be the measuring stick of where the program is going.

Anybody who is watching college football knows that this Tennessee team is getting better under head coach Butch Jones, but we also realize that the Vols are one of the least intimidating teams left on the Florida schedule. If the Gators cannot pick up a victory here, then where? The only lesser teams left ahead are Vandy and Eastern Kentucky. This game is huge. HOWARD HUGE. The Gators players need to gain some confidence. They need to build confidence in the coaching staff, in the team and most importantly in each other. Nothing builds confidence better than winning. Florida has quite of history of winning over the Vols. They need to avoid letting yet another opponent off the hook of history.

More importantly, this game is critical for the psyche and future of Muschamp and his staff. A win in Knoxville would make the team 3-1 (with 4-1 the real story because of the cancelled Idaho game) and could act as a springboard for a run through an SEC schedule that just might be a little more manageable than most thought coming into the season. The SEC East is absolutely up for grabs. A win Saturday puts the Gators right where they want to be going into the gauntlet that awaits. All of the remaining conference opponents on Florida’s schedule appear quite beatable. To this point, so have the Gators. Perhaps expecting a statement game in Tuscaloosa was asking a bit much a bit too soon. Making a statement in Knoxville should be a much more attainable goal.

Muschamp has stuck by his statement that quarterback Jeff Driskel give the Gators their best chance to win. He sees the players every day in practice so I am forced to defer to his assessment. Jeff has had his moments of brilliance in the past and one of them was against Tennessee. Driskel, as much as anyone, needs to have a good game Saturday. He needs for everything to click in this offense for him so he can take advantage of Kurt Roper’s game plan. Jeff has all of the necessary tools. He needs help from the running game. The ground game numbers were not good against Alabama. Matt Jones averaged a mere 3.1 yards a carry in Tuscaloosa and Kelvin Taylor only 2.8 for four carries. The running game must be more productive than that in Knoxville. Of course, showing the ability to pass effectively will loosen up the defense for the running backs. It becomes a sort of Catch 22. Jeff could use some help from his receivers too.

Muschamp has talked a lot about third down since the Alabama game and it is the critical issue. The offense needs to convert third downs to keep the defense off of the field and let it rest. The defense must make stops on third down to get themselves off of the field and to give the offense an opportunity to find a rhythm and hit stride. This is where we find out whether Muschamp and his staff have made good use of the bye week. If the secondary is not more effective than it has been to this point, it will be a long day for the Gators at Neyland Stadium. I have a lot of faith in Will’s ability to coach a secondary so I am hopeful that the unit will look much better Saturday.

It would also help to get a little pressure on Vol quarterback Justin Worley. The Gator pass rush has been less than disruptive so far this season. I expect to see Jonathon Bullard moved inside on the defensive line and Alex McCalister lined up at end to bring some speed to the pass rush. Somebody must step up to take some of the heat off of Dante Fowler. I am quite sure that everyone would be pleasantly surprised to see how much an effective pass rush would help the secondary.

I would not be at all surprised to see the Gators try to establish the run more in this game to take some of the pressure off of Driskel. If the Gators get a lead in the second half I expect to see a healthy dose of Matt Jones to try and wear down the defense, shorten the game and get out of Tennessee with a win. I hate to see the offensive philosophy regress but I would certainly understand it. This is “just win baby” scenario. Florida has reached the survive and advance portion of their schedule.

The absolute bottom line is that this might well be the most important game the Florida Gators have played since the 2009 SEC Championship game. A win could set the stage for a strong run down the stretch and begin an avalanche in recruiting. A loss could severely damage the mental state of this team and begin a downward spiral that ends up forcing Jeremy Foley to go in another direction and take the recruiting hit that comes with that change. Yes ladies and gentlemen this Saturday is the crossroads moment for Muschamp and the Gators. Picture Robert Johson standing at the corner of Hwy 61 and Hwy 49 in the Clarksdale Mississippi, or Hwy 1 and Hwy 8 in Rosedale Mississippi depending on who you believe, hoping that somebody besides the devil shows up. I’ll settle for Lady Luck.

Standin at the crossroads, risin sun goin down…….Robert Johnson.

Mark Miller
Mark Miller's bravery knows no limits. He's a Gator living deep in the heart of Georgia. Mark's weekly columns appear in the Coosa Valley News in Rome, Georgia, where Gators are few and Bulldogs are many. His updates about football and life among the heathens will appear in Gator Country on a weekly basis.

2 COMMENTS

  1. What more can be said? I did learn something, though. I never understood “Crossroads. The sung lyrics are unintelligible to me, now I have learned ‘risin sun goin down. Thanks. By the way I think Cream’s version is the best. “