I don't think many expected Urban to win in his second year either and he got some breaks to end up in the title game that Muschamp didn't this year. I read something about Urban's first year, which was better than Muschamps, but still a struggle to get to 9-3 and Chris Leake was hardly a good fit for his offfense. Interesting to note that no Gator team has had an undefeated season, yet you guys have won 3 national titles in 16 years. If you aren't undefeated you usually have to have some things break your way, as Alabama did this year, to get to that title game.
Another thing, and this is just my opinion. If we take the NFL as an example, there was a period of time where the NFC and more specifically it seemed the NFC East, had a big advantage over the AFC. They ran off something like 10 or more Super Bowl winners. There was talk that it was unfair that the playoffs weren't structured differently to allow for the two best teams to meet in the Super Bowl. At the time it was assumed that the winner of the NFC Championship game would win the Super Bowl. The point was that some wanted to restructure the playoffs so that 2 NFC teams could meet in the Super Bowl. Wisely the NFL resisted that thought and we continue to in MLB, NBA, NFL, MLS, and NHL to have two teams meet for the championship from different divisions/conferences even if the two best teams in the regular season are in the same divisiion/conference. That's how I feel about the whole BCS playoffs, it should not be structured to allow 2 teams from the same conference play for the title. If for some reason a "committe" decides that this year that ND, Alabama, UF and Stanford should be the Top 4 in the playoff then Alabama should by rule play Fla in one semi-final and ND/Stanford in the other. And there should also be a rule that would prevent them from sticking LSU into that group over Stanford (or anyother team).
Oh and back to Bill's original post...absolutely great season by the Gators, won a lot of close games and that takes focus by the players and good coaching. Muschamp and the Gators have a bright future. I think they will return to winning the SEC East pretty much every year under Muschamp. I wish Mack had kept his promise and turned the job over to Will a couple of years ago!!
There's no question that Muschamp is an outstanding coach and that this year's record turned around a large segment of FL fans that last year were wringing their hands and maybe even calling for him to be fired. The same thing happened in ND land regarding Kelly. Winning sure can change people's minds in a hurry. Muschamp certainly deserves serious consideration for coach of the year. FWIW, I tend to judge coaches partly on how they handle themselves with the media. From what I've seen and heard, Muschamp conducts himself very well.....even with humor in the case of his comment to his friend, Nick Saban,about playing in the SECCG.
I like this Florida team. I like Muschamp from what I've seen of him. I told Bill during the regular season and I still mean it that they really proved a lot on the field this year. Collectively, they really had a great year. Boom can fuss about not playing for the title, but the bottom line is that they lost to Georgia. If the shoe were on the other foot, he'd be citing his win over Georgia. That's not the reality.
Thank Corey, but I don't think that Muschamp is complaining about not playing in the title, he expressed confidence in his team but there is sure not talk in Gatorland about him being unhappy. We lost to Georgia and that's the way it is. If Notre Dame had lost then it would be different. What Mushchamp did respond to was Saban's comment about something not being fair about playing in the Championship game and being left out of the BCS bowls. Muschamp just remarked that Saban seemed to feel different last year. I am glad to see Champ stand up for his team and let it be known he will not be a doormat for anyone. I love this coach.