For Florida and coach Will Muschamp, the waiting period between Saturday’s 17-9 loss against Georgia and a shot at another opponent is rough.
After being upset for their first loss of the season, the Gators took 24 hours to lick their wounds before turning their attention to Saturday’s matchup against Missouri (noon, ESPN2).
“That’s the tough thing about football is you’ve got to wait seven days,” Muschamp said. “ As a competitor, you ought to want to get back on the field yesterday. That’s what you want to do. But we look forward to it. Our guys will be ready.”
Muschamp’s confidence in his team is a result of its maturity and perseverance, he said. Unlike last season, nobody was pointing the finger in the locker room after Saturday’s loss. Instead, the team banded together, ready to undergo the same weekly process of looking at the tape to identify what it did well and what areas need improvement.
“We’ve got a mature bunch that’s able to refocus and put it behind them,” Muschamp said.
Said quarterback Jeff Driskel: “We’re going to have to bounce back and have a good week of practice and not hang our heads. So far, what we’ve seen in the building, people aren’t hanging their heads.”
Muschamp said he reached out to a few of Florida’s leaders and asked them to relay to the rest of the team the importance of regrouping and coming out fresh.
Although Florida’s loss knocked it from the driver’s seat in the SEC East, UF could still reach its preseason goal of playing for the SEC championship if Georgia were to slip up against Ole Miss or Auburn in the next two weeks.
But, for a UGA loss to matter, Florida has to take care of business against Missouri.
“We’ve got to control what we can control,” Driskel said. “We can’t worry about what’s going on with other teams. Just got to focus on Florida. … What matters is the game in front of you. We’re focusing on Missouri and not looking at the past.”
No discipline: Muschamp said Monday that he does not intend to discipline any of the players or coaches involved in UF's pregame altercation on Saturday against Georgia.
Matt Elam appeared to bump a Georgia player on his way out of the tunnel, which prompted Dominique Easley to begin jawing with three other Georgia players as he took the field. Easley and Xavier Nixon had to be restrained by a group of six assistants, two of whom broke off to restrain Elam as he charged back towards the Georgia players. UF director of strength and conditioning Jeff Dillman was also involved, yelling at Georgia running back Todd Gurley before shoving another player and confronting an assistant coach.
Elam honored: Elam was named one of 16 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player in college football. The Dwyer graduate is also one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the NCAA's top defensive back.
Injury update: Wideout Solomon Patton will miss the remainder of the season with a broken bone in the upper half of his left arm, Muschamp confirmed on Monday. Patton suffered the injury after being tackled high on a fourth-and-1 jet sweep against Georgia.
Defensive tackle Damien Jacobs (hamstring) is expected to return to practice on Tuesday, as are offensive linemen James Wilson (knee) and Xavier Nixon (knee).
Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray (ankle) is probable for Saturday’s game against Missouri.
Noteworthy: Florida's game against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 10 will kick off at 12:21 p.m. and air on the SEC Network.
About the Author
