Team falls to below .500 after the road loss
After a brutal beatdown by the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida head coach Dan Mullen skipped the post-game playing of the UF Alma Mater.
Mullen gave a very short press conference on Monday with dismissive answers which started a media circus around the coach “checking out” after the team earned its fourth loss of the season.
Now it all seems too real.
On Saturday afternoon, the Gators drove up to Columbia, South Carolina to challenge the Gamecocks in what should’ve been a blowout. Florida entered the game as a 20.5 point favorite but South Carolina flipped the script and crushed UF, 40-17.
The loss is Florida’s third in a row.
Redshirt junior Emory Jones started under center for Florida and Mullen’s offensive air raid was in full effect. Jones attempted to connect on 30 passes but only 15 found the hands of his receivers like Jacob Copeland.
Running back Dameon Pierce was only given the rock six times but averaged more than six yards a carry while teammate Malik Davis only gained 17 yards on the same amount of carries.
But the offense wasn’t the overbearing issue that caused destruction for the Gators. The weakness on Saturday was Florida’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
South Carolina running backs Kevin Harris and Zaquandre Wright had zero issues penetrating the trenches and combined for 139 yards on 29 attempts.
Even the South Carolina wide receivers combined to embarrass the Florida secondary, especially during the Josh Vann touchdown in the second quarter. Vann was alone in the end zone with no defender within 20 yards of him.
From the offense to the defense, the team’s lack of emotion is very noticeable on the field. Mullen seems to have the blinders on as well after failing to notice the UF band, Pride of the Sunshine, for a second week in a row.
Mullen ignored the Alma Mater playing last week versus UGA and said in this week’s post-game that he had no idea the Florida band was in Columbia despite walking between them for the pre-game Gator Walk.
With every loss, Mullen’s relationship with the Florida faithful is rotting but Florida returns to Gainesville next week in hopes to redeem the loss when they take on Samford. The kickoff is scheduled for noon from the Swamp and will broadcast to SEC Network+.