October 06, 2003
Florida's Sinking Swamp
As a post at my old site becomes the new FireRonZook.com, it's tempting to join the bandwagon, especially after Ole Miss beat UF, 20-17, at home in the Swamp. St. Pete Times columnist Gary Shelton, who previously said Zook should be given until 2005 to work things out, retracts that statement in a big way on Sunday: "Remember all those things the Gators used to feel above? They are uphill from here. Welcome to Baylor. Welcome to Missouri. Welcome to darned-near-Duke." Ouch. One can argue whether "your Aunt Martha" could throw for 300 yards against Ole Miss, as Shelton says, but certainly there were some head-scratching moments. After a long run by Ran Carthon set up a first-and-goal inside the Rebels' 10, the Gators came away with exactly zero points. You get the feeling that Steve Spurrier would have gone for the touchdown instead of the field goal, even backed up to the 25 yard-line.
Florida's road only gets harder from here on out, and the future schedule of LSU, Georgia, Florida State and Arkansas has Gator fans in a panic. There's not much that Zook can do to cure that; realistically, this team will be lucky to get seven wins this year, and it's hard to expect more. But for those folks who take heart in ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit's refrain of "wait 'til next year," this team needs to show progress, and it isn't. Injuries haven't helped - none of the three starting linebackers on Saturday were in that spot at the start of the season - but neither has the penchant of Zook and offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher to try out dozens of players and options in their quest for production.
In that vein, I'm in favor of Zook's choice to start freshman Chris Leak at QB. But this team has no real go-to back or go-to receiver (with the possible exception of the startling TE Ben Troupe), and the inconsistency is killing Florida. As a freshman, Leak needs to be able to rely on others, and he can't. That's just one of the things that needs to change in Gainesville.
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From SEC College Football - Fanblogs.com
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