Advertisement

Gators vow to fight to the finish

 
"We've taken some devastating losses the past two times we went out - the heartbreaking LSU loss and then Missouri - but I wouldn't say it's like last year," sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood said. "Last year I felt like we were defeated before we ever got on the field. This year, we're still fighting. We're just trying to win the rest of these games." [EVE EDELHEIT | Times]
"We've taken some devastating losses the past two times we went out - the heartbreaking LSU loss and then Missouri - but I wouldn't say it's like last year," sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood said. "Last year I felt like we were defeated before we ever got on the field. This year, we're still fighting. We're just trying to win the rest of these games." [EVE EDELHEIT | Times]
Published Oct. 30, 2014

GAINESVILLE — With a 3-3 record midway through the season and bearing the weight of having lost 11 games over the past two seasons (with only seven wins), there's no denying times are tough for Florida coach Will Muschamp and the Gators football team right now.

But as the Gators prepare for Saturday's annual rivalry against Georgia in Jacksonville, they insist there's still fight left in this team and are telling anybody who'll listen they don't plan on giving up easily.

"We've taken some devastating losses the past two times we went out — the heartbreaking LSU loss and then Missouri — but I wouldn't say it's like last year," sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood said. "Last year I felt like we were defeated before we ever got on the field. This year, we're still fighting. We're just trying to win the rest of these games."

Florida defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin said the Gators' practices in the two weeks following a 42-13 loss to Missouri have been as intense and productive as any all season. And no, he said, he's not surprised by that.

"That's their makeup and how they are," Durkin said. "They're going to come out and keep swinging. I think our guys played really hard in the last game, did some things very well. Obviously some things didn't go our way in that game, but they bounced back. They're resilient. There's not discouragement. We've had two really good weeks of practice. They know what this game means and how big this game is no matter what's going on outside of it. Our guys are ready to go."

The Gator players have acknowledged that last year, as the 4-8 season unraveled, the team crumbled, but said it's a much different attitude this year.

"I feel like we're still hungry," linebacker Jarrad Davis said. "I said that a couple of weeks ago. We're a hungry team and we still are. I don't feel like that's changed at all. Last year, I feel like it was later in the season when everybody knew it was actually over, I feel like that's when that sense of giving up came in. But I don't feel that will ever come in this season. We know what we need to do and I feel like we go after that at practice every day with that in mind. We try to harp on things and focus on those things as we practice and try to get better. We never want to look at anything and dwell on it. We keep moving on to the next one every time."

The next "one" is No. 9 Georgia which enters this game with SEC East title implications on the line and still possibly in the picture for a college football playoff berth. The last time the Gators were on the field, they heard chants of "fire Will Muschamp" at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. And although most said this week they've tried hard to avoid social media, they know discontentment is at an all-time high and Muschamp's job status is uncertain.

That, they say, has made them even more determined.

"I don't think the right word is desperation, I just think the word is 'want to,' " senior center Max Garcia said. "The word is 'want to.' We want to do it. We want to play for each other. When everyone is not behind us, when everyone is saying this and that about our team, you know, we're the guys on the field putting in the work. We've put in the work in the offseason. We're the ones who have bled, sweat and cried for this team. We want to play for ourselves first and foremost."

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Muschamp has refused to entertain much talk about his job status and he has said he doesn't want his players worried about any of the "outside stuff." Instead, he wants their focus on Georgia. Afterall, he said, that's really all they can control.

"I constantly tell our players the circumstances can't define who you are, how you handle those situations," Muschamp said. "My father always told me 10 percent of life is what happens to you and 90 percent is the way you deal with it and how you handle it. That's the way we move forward."

Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3389. Follow @TBTimes_Gators.