Bits & Pieces: *Cotton Bowl* Florida vs. Oklahoma

CGgater

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Another tell tale sign for me about Mullen’s incompetence are the excuses he made after last night’s game. He said Oklahoma had an unfair advantage because they’ve played in this stadium before. He said this gave them a higher level of comfort being in a familiar environment. He also said the prior experience playing here gave the Sooner players knowledge about how the lighting impacted visibility, they knew where the small holes were in the field and they knew where the dead spots were in the turf that affected the football bounce on punts & kicks.

He then griped about this being a home game for the Sooners and it wasn’t fair that they had more crowd noise in their favor.

What a loser.
This is what really surprises and infuriates me. Making excuses by itself is embarrassing enough, but the ones he gives are complete bs. With reduced crowd capacity, he has NO ROOM to complain about "home field advantage" for atm or ou. That's insanely stupid to mention at a press conference.

And I say "surprises" because I would expect him to know better because he's seen what it takes to win championships... and accountability is one. His tendency to deflect is a big red flag.
 

lizardbreath

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Nov 5, 2016
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Thanks, @cover2. Absolutely disgusting performance.

I understand the mentality about avoiding injury when the nfl draft is in play and the CFP isn't, but it still hurts to watch a class act like Trask get abandoned by his top 3 targets.

Of course, granthem is still granthem no matter who is on Offense. I dread the thought of another year with him around, especially while we likely take a big step back in offensive production. 2021 could be a miserable year.

In general, the entire team with few exceptions looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there.

I'm really not happy with the laundry list of red flags popping up with the coaching and leadership issues. The lack of accountability is absurd.

The biggest bright spot was Richardson's 4th qtr drive. Hoping he turns out to be the real deal, but also wondering if EJ has what it takes.

Go Gators, I guess...
Excellent post. Agree on all points.
 

lizardbreath

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Nov 5, 2016
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I must admit, even with all the warning signs that have been accumulating since long before this season, that I allowed the UGA win to revive a level of hope and confidence in DM that simply wasn't justified. I held out hope, until the LSU debacle at least, that DM could still possibly be the guy. Mea culpa. I was the victim of my own "magical thinking" and it is my own damn fault that I chose to buy into that bullschytt in the first place. I was frankly relieved a bit that we seemed to be at least marginally competitive in the SECCG - which serves to demonstrate just how far we have fallen as a program and just how low my current expectations truly are. But facts are facts and there is no ignoring the reality that DM is not up to the task of leading UF to greatness - and almost certainly never will be.

He can fire Grantham, English, Hevesy, etc., etc., and he will still be the same arrogant, over-matched, clearly incompetent excuse-maker that he has shown himself to be on numerous occasions. His recruiting will still be second-rate at best and he will continue to rely on a gimmick offense that will be virtually unwatchable next year with EJ at the helm. I didn't like the hire in the first place and said so in no uncertain terms. But I decided to give the guy a chance and to support my Gators, for better or worse. I still love the Gators. They've been my team since I was a kid and I'm too old and too loyal to switch horses now. But the probationary period is over and Dan Mullen has failed. We can't move on soon enough to suit me. End of rant.
 

Durty South Swamp

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doodley doodley doo!
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I must admit, even with all the warning signs that have been accumulating since long before this season, that I allowed the UGA win to revive a level of hope and confidence in DM that simply wasn't justified. I held out hope, until the LSU debacle at least, that DM could still possibly be the guy. Mea culpa. I was the victim of my own "magical thinking" and it is my own damn fault that I chose to buy into that bullschytt in the first place. I was frankly relieved a bit that we seemed to be at least marginally competitive in the SECCG - which serves to demonstrate just how far we have fallen as a program and just how low my current expectations truly are. But facts are facts and there is no ignoring the reality that DM is not up to the task of leading UF to greatness - and almost certainly never will be.

He can fire Grantham, English, Hevesy, etc., etc., and he will still be the same arrogant, over-matched, clearly incompetent excuse-maker that he has shown himself to be on numerous occasions. His recruiting will still be second-rate at best and he will continue to rely on a gimmick offense that will be virtually unwatchable next year with EJ at the helm. I didn't like the hire in the first place and said so in no uncertain terms. But I decided to give the guy a chance and to support my Gators, for better or worse. I still love the Gators. They've been my team since I was a kid and I'm too old and too loyal to switch horses now. But the probationary period is over and Dan Mullen has failed. We can't move on soon enough to suit me. End of rant.
:exactly:
 

Swamp Donkey

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7-14 vs P5 Fire Stricklin First
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, did Florida break another coach, ...
:lmao2:

No, this is the same dorky moron he has ALWAYS been. His resume says three or four stupid losses per season, dumb press conferences, garbage staff, and still losing to Burp Bielena, Matt Luke, or South Alabama in year six.

No Florida didnt break him.

He was leftover heap garbage when we hired him.
 

gatorev12

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I must admit, even with all the warning signs that have been accumulating since long before this season, that I allowed the UGA win to revive a level of hope and confidence in DM that simply wasn't justified. I held out hope, until the LSU debacle at least, that DM could still possibly be the guy. Mea culpa. I was the victim of my own "magical thinking" and it is my own damn fault that I chose to buy into that bullschytt in the first place. I was frankly relieved a bit that we seemed to be at least marginally competitive in the SECCG - which serves to demonstrate just how far we have fallen as a program and just how low my current expectations truly are. But facts are facts and there is no ignoring the reality that DM is not up to the task of leading UF to greatness - and almost certainly never will be.

He can fire Grantham, English, Hevesy, etc., etc., and he will still be the same arrogant, over-matched, clearly incompetent excuse-maker that he has shown himself to be on numerous occasions. His recruiting will still be second-rate at best and he will continue to rely on a gimmick offense that will be virtually unwatchable next year with EJ at the helm. I didn't like the hire in the first place and said so in no uncertain terms. But I decided to give the guy a chance and to support my Gators, for better or worse. I still love the Gators. They've been my team since I was a kid and I'm too old and too loyal to switch horses now. But the probationary period is over and Dan Mullen has failed. We can't move on soon enough to suit me. End of rant.

It reminds me of Muschump after his worthless azz wasn't fired post 2013. Everyone knew his weaknesses and everyone knew he would never make the changes needed to be successful. The 2014 season was an utter waste--an exercise in delaying the inevitable.

Next year is already shaping up to be similar.
 

StPeteGator

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You articulated everything that was going through my mind while I was watching the game, except the parts where you knew what you were talking about, which was obviously the entire piece .

I went from Dan Mullen supporter to Dan Mullen doubter in that one game. Three losses to end the season isn’t what winning looks like. LSU was telling. But then the SECCG happened. If the Gators had the ball for another 90 seconds in that game they would’ve probably won, the way that game was going. I wonder if that would’ve been worse for the program, if it meant suffering a 1995 Nebraska style beatdown in front of the entire College Football country. And seeing what transpired in the Cotton Bowl, it’s hard to imagine a different outcome.
 
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Homer J

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Am I the only Gator fan that is still on the Mullen bandwagon?

Of the 3 game slide to end the season, the only one that hurt was the LSU loss.

Before the LSU game, I really thought we could beat Bama and we played the best game against them that anyone had seen all year. Losing to them hurt but it was expected by everyone outside of the Gator Nation.

As for the Cotton Bowl, no realistic Gator fan thought we would win that. But, we also didn't think we would get blown out. I wish Trask would have opted out but he wanted to play his last game in front of his family and friends. No team can win with what we were up against. Even in the best of years, we played 8 games in 8 straight weeks. When CDM gave the team the week off over Christmas (which I thought was a good thing), I knew there was no chance of a win. 3 practices before a bowl game against the Big 12 Champions is not enough. The bad thing is we made Oklahoma the preseason favorite for the playoffs. All they did was play against our backups but most sports writers won't acknowledge that.
 

rogdochar

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Cotton Bowl = no lessons learned, - not by players, certainly not by HC/DC. As for our brand = branded quitters ... esp UF's HC.

2021-22 >>> only can hope EJ runs, scrambles, & passes well. Then gotta have Lingard break out ... along with other ground gamers to get those 45 points Grantham insists on.
 

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