Florida coach Urban Meyer is dealing with his first jolt of adversity in six seasons of guiding the Gators, which is why this may be the most important open date of his career.
Does he stick with junior quarterback John Brantley, who has looked uncomfortable running the offense? Does he turn to freshman Trey Burton? Or does he retire with his two national titles and recommend Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen as his successor.
That last bit is a stretch for now, but as Meyer said Wednesday, “Obviously we’ve got to get this thing turned around.”
The Gators are 4-3 for the first time since 2004, when Ron Zook was canned, and the same program that averaged 44.9 points in SEC games two years ago has been held under 10 twice this season, a first since 1988. In Florida’s last three games, all losses, one third of drives ended in punts, one third in turnovers and one third in scores or missed field goals.
“We used to be 50-plus percent scoring, No. 1 in the country,” Meyer said. “We’re down to 19 percent scoring on drives. That’s all being evaluated. That’s all on paper. That’s all up on our board, and now we’re addressing how to fix all those issues.”