Will Muschamp is the head coach of the Florida Gators

Will Muschamp will bring that fiery attitude to Gainesville

What we know:

• No head coach experience. Has served as a successful defensive coordinator for Auburn, LSU and Texas. At Texas, he was the coach-in-waiting behind Head Coach Mack Brown, but who knows when Brown will step down.
• Is known for being a good recruiter and that will help him in his new position. He has met with the recruits coming in this year and has introduced himself. He already has a commitment from the No.1 quarterback for 2011 class (Rivals.com), Jeff Driskel. So it’s very evident that he is not wasting anytime hitting the recruiting trail.
• Is a fiery, energetic person that will motivate his players; it’s easy to fall in love with his infectious personality.
• Muschamp can be successful at Florida with the right staff assembled. It is public knowledge that Major Applewhite, the former assistant coach and running backs coach of Texas, has been targeted as the next offensive coordinator. Nothing has been finalized yet, but sources say he will be the guy. Also Kirby Smart has been targeted as the defensive coordinator. Muschamp and Smart are good friends and this could lead to Smart leaving Alabama and signing for more money in Gainesville.

What we don’t know:

• Who were the other candidates for this job? Dan Mullen (of Mississippi State)?   Charlie Strong (of Louisville)? Chip Kelly (of Oregon)? Bobby Petrino (of Arkansas)?  Jim Harbaugh (of Stanford)?
• How will Muschamp handle being the head coach? With all the meetings, banquets, and other necessary things head coaches have to do, will he handle it well? What about the pressure from the media to perform?
• What will his recruiting classes look like?
• How will he fair coaching against Bobby Petrino, Les Miles, Houston Nutt, Steve Spurrier, and Nick Saban?
• Will the offense change to more of a pro-style offense? Less option-spread attack? Where does QB John Brantley fit into all of this?
• How will he game plan against Cam Newton considering how they tried to steal his spotlight on the day of the Heisman inauguration? There is definitely bad blood between these two programs, especially when reports came out of Florida about academic cheating by Newton. You can be sure he will be fired up to make a mockery of the Gator defense.
• Did Mack Brown’s push Muschamp out of the door?  After a dismal season (5-7), Brown was asked if Muschamp was going to have a say in personnel decisions and Brown soundly said “no.”

My Two Cents (11/12)-What is wrong with Alabama?

The Alabama Crimson Tide will not repeat as national champions; this season will not shape out like 2007 where a two-loss team gets into the national title game. With Boise and TCU still undefeated, one of them will certainly (I can hear Lee Corso saying, “Not so fast”) get the nod to play for the national title if Oregon or Auburn lose, over a one-loss or two-loss team.  However, if Oregon and Auburn remain undefeated then all bets are off for the two Non-AQ teams.

This year the running game has yet to get on track, who
are you looking at/for? We are looking for  you, Mr. Ingram.

With two losses on the season, Nick Saban can rally the troops for one last hurray with a win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl. I think the nation and me included have been spoiled by the running game with Mark Ingram (former Heisman winner), Trent Richardson along with impact wide receiver Julio Jones and QB Greg McElroy. I really thought that Richardson was going to trump Ingram in production and have the nation talking Heisman but it has not panned out that way.

After Alabama’s come from behind win at Arkansas, I stated that they would not lose another game all season long. I just did not see it and strongly believed it. They showed much resolve being behind and not panicking and that is a testament to the players and Saban and his staff. However, South Carolina made it look too easy jumping out to a large lead and holding the Crimson Tide at bay for the win. I really think the game in Fayetteville, AR took a lot out of ‘Bama, physically and mentally they were drained. Think about it, a team trying to repeat as national champion; the amount of pressure and scrutiny from the press is insurmountable. But who does not believe in Saban and how he has his guys dialed in like are a platoon ready to storm the coast.

Staying on top in any sport involves luck to some degree; you have to have a nugget of it while going through the weekly grind of games, meetings and practices. A two-loss Alabama team is not the end of the world for the people in Tuscaloosa, but they want more and deserve that much. The problem lies in the offensive line, which is not getting the push and is not dominant like last season, And a very green secondary is also the problem. Gamecock wideout Alshon Jeffrey (who I believe is the best in the SEC) made them look silly in their Oct. 9^th showdown, pulling in 127 yards on seven catches, yikes!!!

The young defense is not as formidable like the veteran-led squad from last year. The secondary needs some time under their belt to gain confidence and experience. Teams now know that they need to bomb away on the secondary and you will find success. And what is so important in football is making tackles, playing the ball (as a defender) and playing smart (no costly penalties); not doing any of these things can lead to six points or change field position. It really is vital that players stick to their assignment.

Nick Saban is a very good coach and approaches his craft like Bill Belichick (of the Patriots) with determination and focus. But anyone can be out coached and schemed; no one is exempt from that. So yes, Les Miles got one up on Saban and his crew and Steve Spurrier with his athletes put it to them. But it still remains that Saban is a good coach and his track record speaks for itself and his players buy into him. Without a good running game, the pass cannot be set up and vice versa. A decent quarterback will be good if he has a good running game, for this will set up play-action passes and open up passes to the flats and underneath.  No one can say that McElroy is a game-manger at the quarterback position (maybe that was true last year); this year you can see his level of maturity and knowledge of the offense.

The Crimson Tide need to find ways to resurrect their running game, get better offensive-line play, spruce up the play-calling on offense (use some trick or gadget plays), take some risks and hopefully than can flourish. Consistency is the key with this squad and playing hungry. 

LSU barely hangs on to beat UNC, 30-24

I don’t know what to say about LSU’s win. I think the most impressive thing is the tenacity of UNC with 13 players not playing because of NCAA violations, seven defensive starters out; and there secondary had all new faces for this game. As many football pundits will tell you, you cannot win if you turn the ball over, whether in the pros or the collegiate level. However, LSU did. They hung on to a prayer and were rewarded, just barely. Everyone glued to the television sets saw how dominant The Tigers were in the first half. Jordan Jefferson looked very efficient, Russell Shepard displayed how dangerous he is going to be this year (wherever he lines up), and Patrick Peterson was phenomenal with 257 all-purpose yards. I did not know how special Peterson is but now I know, and he can flat out fly. At halftime, the score read 30-10 LSU but the second half was a different game and different team. The Tigers only generated 78 yards of offense in the second half, yikes!! This is a major problem and it’s only going to get tougher for them when they play their conference games. If you cannot beat a depleted team in UNC, what does that say for your team going forward against the likes of Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas?! Turn the ball over against these teams and you will pay. I like what I saw from Steven Ridley in the spring game, but you have to secure the ball. Two fumbles in the same game. After the first fumble in the third quarter, he would have been benched for the rest of the game. Maybe LSU thought they had the game all wrapped up going into the second half and all they had to do was coast and not take care of the ball but they were sorely mistaken. I tip my hat to T.J. Yates who passes for 412 yards with 3 touchdowns and no picks but he does have a fumble to his name though, a super effort by the entire team. Les Miles has to figure out how to keep his team motivated and focuses when they are leading big. Jefferson is not an elite quarterback, nor will he ever be, but he has weapons and can play when he makes the right decisions. That boneheaded pass, he threw up before halftime that was picked off, was so ill-advised. Its one thing to struggle against a team at full strength, and everyone has heard about how tough UNC’s defense was going into this season. But to barely hold on against a team down thirteen players is not good. Let’s hope the Mad Hatter can turn his team around in the right direction after this performance.