Will a close loss to Alabama satisfy you?

[Durty South Swamp]

I'm not a moral victory type of person but I'm also realistic about how far down this team was and how far it probably still has left to climb. I would not ever be "happy" with a loss no matter the situation but I would be satisfied and even encouraged if we played a solid game and gave bama a run but came up short. If both teams play crappy or if we have a stellar outing on defense and ST but the offense stinks it up I would not be encouraged, even if it was close in the end. We need to have an all around good game and give ourselves a chance to win late for me to feel encouraged. Anything else and it's just going to look like more of the same.

And for the love of God can we please, just for once, clean up all the ridiculously stupid penalties! When we were dominant we could afford a few of those, we dont have that margin for error right now.

T Rex, come down bro. I am anything but a muschamp apologizer. Truth be told I wanted him fired a long time ago and nothing has happened to change my mind. But as long as he's here, I'm still hoping we can turn the corner. And I firmly believe the 11 win year was the fluke and the others are about the norm. I tell my wife all the time that he is like a black cloud that hovers over our program. Despite all this, the thread was about what would make us not want to jump off a ledge after the game. I gave my answer. Me thinks thou doth protest too much.

 

[T REX]

I'm not a moral victory type of person but I'm also realistic about how far down this team was and how far it probably still has left to climb. I would not ever be "happy" with a loss no matter the situation but I would be satisfied and even encouraged if we played a solid game and gave bama a run but came up short. If both teams play crappy or if we have a stellar outing on defense and ST but the offense stinks it up I would not be encouraged, even if it was close in the end. We need to have an all around good game and give ourselves a chance to win late for me to feel encouraged. Anything else and it's just going to look like more of the same.

And for the love of God can we please, just for once, clean up all the ridiculously stupid penalties! When we were dominant we could afford a few of those, we dont have that margin for error right now.

My comments were directed at "how far it probably still has left to climb". I guess my thoughts are we should be fine tuning in year four of any coach not still trying to climb back to respectability. I guess it's just me. My expectations are way too high...I finally figured it out.

 

[jmskjrgator]

Ox. I am 69 years old. Been a true gator fan all of my life. I cannot count the number of times we have started the season playing a couple of rinkie-denk. Like Ky they play us close so then we make our selves believe they are a much improved team we have beaten only to find out they are not.

Saturday we will find out if Ky is much better or we are still a weak team. I do believe there is a good possibility Ky has improved significantly. The one player running his mouth predicting a win in the swamp. He might have Seen enough difference in last years team and this years to feel confident they could beat us.

I think Saturdays game was a very physical game(second half). Generally you have two pretty good teams when a game is that physical, not two powder puffs. I am going out on the limb and say Ky is much improved and we have improved a good degree.

I also don't think Bama has fully jelled yet. They could this Saturday. I think we match up with them physically on both sides of the ball. I still think our big question is the OL. They looked better at times Saturday, but not all the time. Matt Jones showed he is a force to be reckoned with.

We have the Demarcus factor now which we needed badly. If Driskell can pick his times to tuck it and run, we have alot for them to prepare for.

I think Roper still has more plays to put in the game plan using speed rather than physically running it.

I won't be surprised if we beat Bama. I know I will get tarred and feathered for stating that.

Bottom line is........

I think the Ky player that run his mouth knew something we are about to find out.

 

[Phineus Maximus]

Yes. Considering where we were just last year and just last week, yes.

 

[ATXGator]

I don't know that I would be "satisfied", but I certainly would feel better about the team and the direction of the program. I don't want to lose, but I also want to show that we are competitive. Losing to Alabama at Alabama while have a shot at winning the game will make me feel better about this team's potential over the course of the season.

 

[URGatorBait]

I'm not a moral victory type of person but I'm also realistic about how far down this team was and how far it probably still has left to climb. I would not ever be "happy" with a loss no matter the situation but I would be satisfied and even encouraged if we played a solid game and gave bama a run but came up short. If both teams play crappy or if we have a stellar outing on defense and ST but the offense stinks it up I would not be encouraged, even if it was close in the end. We need to have an all around good game and give ourselves a chance to win late for me to feel encouraged. Anything else and it's just going to look like more of the same.

And for the love of God can we please, just for once, clean up all the ridiculously stupid penalties! When we were dominant we could afford a few of those, we dont have that margin for error right now.

T REX, I would generally agree with your post #18.4, however, how many teams deal with a year like last year (injury wise). Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to use it as an excuse, but you can't change the fact that something like that is difficult to overcome, and it can, and I believe it did, defeat this teams will.
You're welcome to your high expectations, but as I previously stated, don't you think we need to let these players play the game(s) before we determine where this team is really at? Are we really going to judge everything on the Kentucky game? That's a little short sighted don't you think?

 

[Zambo]

I'm not sure if Kentucky at home is a fair comparison to Alabama on the road.

I'm not comparing Kentucky to Alabama. I'm comparing the idea that a win sucked because the opponent was crappy to the idea that a loss on the road to a quality opponent is unforgivable. The very idea that we can get down about a win because the opponent/conditions favored us is directly analogous to the idea that a loss in poor conditions to a highly ranked opponent is ok. In both views, the actual outcome is secondary to the way we played and the score.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

I'm not a moral victory type of person but I'm also realistic about how far down this team was and how far it probably still has left to climb. I would not ever be "happy" with a loss no matter the situation but I would be satisfied and even encouraged if we played a solid game and gave bama a run but came up short. If both teams play crappy or if we have a stellar outing on defense and ST but the offense stinks it up I would not be encouraged, even if it was close in the end. We need to have an all around good game and give ourselves a chance to win late for me to feel encouraged. Anything else and it's just going to look like more of the same.

And for the love of God can we please, just for once, clean up all the ridiculously stupid penalties! When we were dominant we could afford a few of those, we dont have that margin for error right now.

I agree that we should be fine tuning in year four. Hell, I firmly believe in year 3 if you arent making waves, then the coach isnt getting it done. But we are where we are whether we think we should be there or not. Based off last week, if we play a really good game against bammer on the road and lose, I'm not going to jump off a cliff afterwards. I also agree about the expectations factor... we have gone from expecting to win every game and being disappointed with an occasional loss to hoping we can just make it respectable against good teams and hoping not to embarrass ourselves against bad ones. It's not where we should be as a program, no question. But regardless, it is where we are right now.

 

[soflagator]

Similar to us and Uk, I'm not sure you can definitively say what Alabama is at this point. Obviously, they're considerably better than the Uk's of the world, but they don't exactly look peerless as they have in recent years. I'm not conceding anything to them at this point. We can reference the rebound from 4-8, and new coordinators, etc. all day. But based on what I've seen in the first 2 weeks, we absolutely have the talent to hang with the Tide. As is usually the case, a loss--especially in their house--wouldn't be the most shameful thing in the world. But I think it becomes dangerous to start thinking that a loss to any team is acceptable.

One of my biggest requirements for me in the offseason was looking like a functioning team again. While far from perfect, or even good, I do think we've seen that in the opening weeks. That should continue this Saturday. When two good teams collide, inevitably one of them must leave a loser, most often the visitors. If that should happen, and Alabama ends up being a great team that just got the better of us at home, that's one thing. But if we turn in a performance like plenty of the other big games under WM and get embarrassed, then no, I will absolutely not be ok with it.

 

[gardnerwebbgator]

Yes. We haven't won in the ****hole since 1998.

 

[Himey]

Wow...in year four of Will Muschamp we should be BACK not hoping for moral victories and close losses. At what point are we supposed to expect to win instead of hope to win?

I like Muschamp and want to see him do well, but this is pretty much the truth of it if you take a step back and look at it. We are not Georgia or the Vols....we should be in the discussion almost every year for the SEC East. Here we sit talking about rebuilding and hoping to show progress after 4 years of a coach's tenure. How far we have fallen. Some people have suggested that it takes a lot to come back from all the injuries last year....are we really at a point that we will blame losses this year on injuries that happened last year? As Ox said in one of his podcasts...my biggest fear is lowering our expectations to Georgia's and being happy with being a team each year that is just above average and never being in the discussion for a National Title. I truly fear that kind of mediocrity.

 

[T REX]

I'm not a moral victory type of person but I'm also realistic about how far down this team was and how far it probably still has left to climb. I would not ever be "happy" with a loss no matter the situation but I would be satisfied and even encouraged if we played a solid game and gave bama a run but came up short. If both teams play crappy or if we have a stellar outing on defense and ST but the offense stinks it up I would not be encouraged, even if it was close in the end. We need to have an all around good game and give ourselves a chance to win late for me to feel encouraged. Anything else and it's just going to look like more of the same.

And for the love of God can we please, just for once, clean up all the ridiculously stupid penalties! When we were dominant we could afford a few of those, we dont have that margin for error right now.

UR: Now last year's injuries are affecting this year's record? Seriously? Do you hear yourself?

 

[URGatorBait]

I'm not a moral victory type of person but I'm also realistic about how far down this team was and how far it probably still has left to climb. I would not ever be "happy" with a loss no matter the situation but I would be satisfied and even encouraged if we played a solid game and gave bama a run but came up short. If both teams play crappy or if we have a stellar outing on defense and ST but the offense stinks it up I would not be encouraged, even if it was close in the end. We need to have an all around good game and give ourselves a chance to win late for me to feel encouraged. Anything else and it's just going to look like more of the same.

And for the love of God can we please, just for once, clean up all the ridiculously stupid penalties! When we were dominant we could afford a few of those, we dont have that margin for error right now.

TREX...take a deep breath, and then read what I said again.

 

[Zambo]

You know when you can EXPECT to win? When you establish a history of winning. If we rattle off a nice string of wins over this year and next, then yeah I will EXPECT more wins to come every week. But we lost 7 games in a row last year including to such powerhouses as Vandy and GSU. I won't expect to win these type of games until we establish dominance on the field. We are 2-7 in our last 9 games. At this point, I would be lying if simply showing a trend towards obvious improvement wasn't acceptable.

 

[soflagator]

You know when you can EXPECT to win? When you establish a history of winning. If we rattle off a nice string of wins over this year and next, then yeah I will EXPECT more wins to come every week. But we lost 7 games in a row last year including to such powerhouses as Vandy and GSU. I won't expect to win these type of games until we establish dominance on the field. We are 2-7 in our last 9 games. At this point, I would be lying if simply showing a trend towards obvious improvement wasn't acceptable.

See, I'd disagree. Spurrier went to Alabama with his first squad and expected to win, something we hadn't done ever(I think). He did the same in Jax, despite our having dropped 3 straight and being generally owned in the series. He did this with largely the same cast as a year prior, minus the school's all time rusher at the time.

To me, we went 4-8 last year, largely due to a staff issue. We could technically show improvement and still barely be .500. That's simply not acceptable to me. Because there is no reason a team with this much talent should be .500, and certainly not in a coach's 4th year. It's the current staff that set that standard, so I'm not content letting the same staff trend towards improvement. Not when there are numerous coaches out there that would take this team and win 9+ games. Our schedule hasn't gotten tougher than it was from '05-'09. we've simply lost our edge and now pencil in losses where we would've penciled in wins. That's a problem.

 

[Coach9]

If we beat bama, which will be larger? The number of spots we move up in the polls, Or the number of spots they drop?

 

[TheDouglas78]

You know when you can EXPECT to win? When you establish a history of winning. If we rattle off a nice string of wins over this year and next, then yeah I will EXPECT more wins to come every week. But we lost 7 games in a row last year including to such powerhouses as Vandy and GSU. I won't expect to win these type of games until we establish dominance on the field. We are 2-7 in our last 9 games. At this point, I would be lying if simply showing a trend towards obvious improvement wasn't acceptable.

See, I'd disagree. Spurrier went to Alabama with his first squad and expected to win, something we hadn't done ever(I think). He did the same in Jax, despite our having dropped 3 straight and being generally owned in the series. He did this with largely the same cast as a year prior, minus the school's all time rusher at the time.

To me, we went 4-8 last year, largely due to a staff issue. We could technically show improvement and still barely be .500. That's simply not acceptable to me. Because there is no reason a team with this much talent should be .500, and certainly not in a coach's 4th year. It's the current staff that set that standard, so I'm not content letting the same staff trend towards improvement. Not when there are numerous coaches out there that would take this team and win 9+ games. Our schedule hasn't gotten tougher than it was from '05-'09. we've simply lost our edge and now pencil in losses where we would've penciled in wins. That's a problem.

Steve also walked into a team loaded with talent. I love Steve but that fact is clearly forgotten. How much talent was brought in due to Hall in his first recruiting class and the one before it that didn't contribute the previous year.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

If we play toe to toe with Alabama in their house four games after losing at home to Georgia Southern, that's reason to be optimistic about the future. Losses happen, but as others have said, it's all about how you play the game. One thing that is in our favor is we have absolutely no pressure on us, so we can play loose and free. I like our chances playing a game like that rather than being timid and trying to sneak out with a win (which I feel like we did in both 2005 and 2010). Puff your chest up and take the fight to them, we all saw what good it did for Kentucky to do the same to us last week.

 

[URGatorBait]

If we beat bama, which will be larger? The number of spots we move up in the polls, Or the number of spots they drop?

Us up in the polls, but oddly, they'd still be ranked ahead of us.
Anyone else noticing this little trend in the polls? Like South Carolina being behind Georgia...

 

[t-gator]

This is muschamps 4th year and he's had enough time to build a team of"his guys". We shouldn't be hoping for a moral victory or a close loss. So I hope a close loss satisfies nobody. This is just sad really