Florida Gators

It was a rough first year for Will Muschamp in Gainesville, but he did pass his first year with the Gators:

OFFENSE: F

A year removed from the offensive disaster that was 2010, immediate improvement was expected. With Charlie Weis and his pro-style offense coming in, quarterback John Brantley was expected to rebound after his first year as the Gators' starter. There was just no way things could get worse for this offense. Florida was near the top of the SEC in offense after the first four games, and had a star in running back Chris Rainey, but after getting blasted at home by Alabama everything changed. Brantley was sidelined for two games after going down with an ankle injury before halftime, and undersized Rainey and Jeff Demps just couldn't get going against SEC defenses. The offense completely fell apart. Starting a young, very thin offensive line, the offense averaged less than 300 yards in eight league games. Florida relied on true freshmen quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel while Brantley was down, but experience was all Florida got from them. Florida also had no consistent receivers and Weis bolted for Kansas after the season, leaving Florida with an offense that's No. 101 nationally.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Will Muschamp said Internet reports that he had hired a strength and conditioning coordinator are incorrect.

"I haven't hired anybody," Muschamp said after the Gators' light workout at Jacksonville University on Tuesday afternoon. "I've talked to a lot of people at the strength position and the offensive coordinator's position, and when I make the hire everybody will know. No one has been hired. No one's been offered a job yet."

Earlier this week, coaching websites CoachingSearch.com and FootballScoop.com reported that Muschamp had hired Jeff Dillman, who is the head of physical conditioning at the IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton, Fla., to replace Mickey Marotti, who is now at Ohio State. Dillman has worked at LSU, Appalachian State and Louisiana-Monroe. His time at LSU (2003-06) overlapped Muschamp's tenure there (2001-04).

McCray, Wenger battling injuries

Muschamp said linebacker Lerentee McCray is doubtful for the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl against Ohio State because of a shoulder injury. Center/guard Dan Wenger, who has been battling a nagging ankle injury, should play, Muschamp said. Both of them, along with injured cornerback Jeremy Brown (knee) did not participate in UF's workout on Tuesday.

"Lerentee, again with his shoulder, we’ve exhausted about every measure we can as far as the shoulder’s concerned trying to work and get total range of motion and strength back," Muschamp said. "It just has not come back to this point."

McCray has started five games and has 24 tackles. Wenger has started 11 games.

Missing practice

Running back Jeff Demps missed practice with what Muschamp said was a personal issue. He will join the team on Wednesday. Receiver Deonte Thompson also missed practice because of illness. He remained at the team hotel.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- You know that feeling after you've eaten way too much food during the holidays? This is The AggreGator's equivalent with links to so much content from ESPN.com, you may need to take a nap afterward.

Boynton on the NBA radar? (Insider)
ESPN's Chad Ford, our NBA draft expert, says Kenny Boynton is emerging as a sleeper in the swampland. His hot-shooting could make him regarded as an Eddie House-type scorer by NBA scouts.

Bilas Index: Vandy lacks heart, drops (Insider)
In Week 2 of the Bilas Index, Jay's top team stays put atop the rankings, but the Vanderbilt Commodores take a nosedive. Mississippi State is the biggest riser, while Florida is holding steady at No. 13. Jay has some suggestions for Florida to improve, which is something he thinks will happen as the season progresses.

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Later this week, the bowl season kicks off for the SEC with three games.

On Friday, Mississippi State faces Wake Forest in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. And on Saturday, Vanderbilt takes on Cincinnati in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, while Auburn meets Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Who in the SEC has the most to prove this season in the bowl games? And we’re talking head coaches, assistant coaches, players, teams and particular units on teams.

Here’s a look:

Florida's offense: Charlie Weis has taken off for Kansas, meaning Brian White moves in as the Gators’ interim offensive coordinator. He could be auditioning for the full-time job. The thing he has going for him is that it can’t get much worse than the regular season. Not counting the Furman game, the Gators scored more than one offensive touchdown in a game only once in their last seven contests. The other bit of good news is that Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey should both be as healthy as they’ve been.

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We’ve picked nearly 100 football games this season, and we’re dead even.

I’m 83-14 for a .856 percentage, and so is my soccer-loving colleague, Edward Aschoff. You know him best as the ATL Kid.

There was a time, not long ago, that he held a three-game lead. Something says you’re already well aware of that given how much he crowed about it.

But that was then, and this is now.

It’s bowl season, meaning it’s time to separate the pretenders from the contenders … and the rookies from the veterans.

Edward has fought the good fight. He’s learned not to pick his alma mater, Florida, every week, and he’s not basing his picks solely on how his Xbox games turn out anymore.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's Bradley Beal was named the Southeastern Conference's Freshman of the Week for his play against Mississippi Valley State and Florida State.

The 6-foot-3 Beal averaged 17 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the Gators' victories. He had 13 points and six rebounds against MVSU and 21 points and six rebounds against the Seminoles. That was the third time this season that Beal has surpassed 20 points.

Florida (10-2) plays at Rutgers on Thursday.

The SEC doesn’t plan on releasing the 2012 schedule until sometime after Christmas, but parts of it are already starting to leak out.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive has said that next season’s schedule will be a one-year deal and that beginning in 2013 a new long-term rotation will be put into place.

One of the things to look for next season is Missouri and Texas A&M both getting some marquee games at home with it being their first year in the league.

For instance, Florida is scheduled to travel to Texas A&M the second week of the season, which would be the Aggies’ first SEC game.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Not much left to do but some last-minute shopping and wrapping presents, huh? Well, there's still some links to peruse on ESPN.com. See you after Christmas, Gator fans ...

ESPNHS Underclass All-Americans
Gator recruitniks have to be pleased with how Will Muschamp is doing with his first full cycle in building his Class of 2012, but next year promises to be even better. Looking at this list, Florida has several 2013 prospects earning major kudos. Among them are RB Greg Bryant (one of the best we've seen in any class), OT Laremy Tunsil (from right up the road in Lake City), DL Robert Nkemdiche (THE prize of 2013 or maybe any year), LB E.J. Levenberry (who has Florida in his top five) and CB Will Likely (Gatorade's state of Florida player of the year from Belle Glade Glades Central).

SEC bowl lineup
The mighty SEC begins its eight-game slate of bowls with tonight's Music City Bowl. Dan Mullen's Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-6) face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-6) at 6:40 p.m. ET on ESPN. SEC blogger Chris Low has the full schedule.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 12 Gators (10-2) defeated Florida State 82-64 Thursday night in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center behind 21 points from silky smooth freshman Bradley Beal.

Florida now has 12 consecutive home wins, while the Seminoles fell to 8-4.

All five of UF's starters scored in double figures, including Patric Young (15), Kenny Boynton (14), Erik Murphy (12) and Erving Walker (11). Florida State was led by Luke Loucks with 15.

Florida came into the game leading the nation with 11.2 3-pointers per game and was fifth in the nation in scoring 86.1 points per game. The Gators again took over the game with long-range shooting, although it took 28 attempts for Florida to hit 10 3-pointers. UF has hit 10 or more 3s in 10 of its 12 games this season.

"This Florida team is at least the most difficult team for us to beat, at least since I've been at Florida State," said coach Leonard Hamilton, whose Noles faced both of Florida's back-to-back national championship teams. "They play so well together. They execute their system almost to perfection. You have very little room for error.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Around these parts, it is said that Florida and Florida State could play Tiddlywinks and it would still draw a crowd. A similar notion is proven correct time and time again, especially on the football fields, basketball courts and baseball diamonds.

Here are some notes from ESPN Stats & Info to get you ready for this year's clash of the Gators and Seminoles on the basketball court (tonight, 7 p.m. on ESPNU) ...

* Florida is 40-22 all time against FSU, 19-6 all time at home.
* Florida is going for its 12th consecutive home win.
* Florida leads the nation with 11.2 3-pointers per game and is fifth in the nation in scoring 86.1 points per game.
* Florida's three leading scorers are all guards -- Kenny Boynton (18.7 ppg), Bradley Beal (15.0 ppg) and Erving Walker (14.5 ppg).
* Florida State is second in the nation in opponents' field-goal percentage at .342 and is fourth in opponents' points per possession at 0.79.
* Florida State is trying to become the fourth team in ACC history to lead the conferenc in blocks per game (7.0) and steals per game (8.9) in the same season.

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Now that you've seen our SEC West surprises from the 2011 season, it's time to take a look at the surprises in the SEC East:

FLORIDA

The offense didn't take a step forward: Even though quarterback John Brantley appeared better suited for Charlie Weis' pro-style offense, the Gators didn't look much better after last year's ugly offensive output. Things looked better during the first four weeks, but the more SEC defenses the Gators saw, the worse they got. A complete turnaround wasn't expected, but improvement was and Florida just didn't have it.

Weis leaving for Kansas: Staying with the offensive theme, Florida received quite the surprise when Weis left Florida to take over as Kansas' head coach. People around the program were pretty surprised when they received the news, but it seemed especially odd considering how outspoken he was about staying at Florida for the long haul.

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Four Florida verbal commitments made ESPNHS All-American teams, which were announced Thursday. Offensive tackle D.J. Humphries and tight end Colin Thompson received first-team honors. Here are their write-ups:

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
D.J. Humphries, Mallard Creek (Charlotte, N.C.), Senior
Rated the nation's No. 1 offensive tackle by ESPNU, Humphries, a Florida commit, was an All-State first team selection.

TIGHT END
Colin Thompson, Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.), Senior
Whether run blocking or catching passes, Thompson made a huge impact for the Vikings, who rolled to the Class AAA state title. Rated the nation's No. 1 tight end by ESPNU, Thompson has committed to Florida.

The Gators also had place-kicker Austin Hardin, of Marist (Atlanta), on the second team and middle linebacker Antonio Morrison, of Bolingbrook (Ill.), on the third team.

Florida also has several top targets scattered throughout the list, including Darius Hamilton (first-team DT), Tracy Howard (first-team CB), Nelson Agholor (second-team S, who is being recruited as a WR) and Stefon Diggs (third-team kick returner, who is being recruited as a WR).