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Steve Spurrier says Gators need 'change of attitude' to beat No. 6 Ole Miss

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr22 hours agoOn3Keith
Tramell-Jones-Jr-Florida-Gators
Florida Gators quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. (17) looks for a receiver during the third quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. (Jordan Prather-Imagn Images)

Like most of Gator Nation, Florida legend Steve Spurrier is trying to wrap his head around the 38-7 beating the Gators took last Saturday against a Kentucky team that entered with three wins. Now, he’s wondering which Florida squad will show up this weekend in Oxford, Miss., when the Gators face No. 6 Ole Miss, which is 9-1 and pushing for a playoff spot.

“Can we beat Ole Miss? It would take a change of attitude,” Spurrier, the former UF coach and Heisman-winning QB, said on Monday’s episode of the Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “If we get a change of attitude somehow in practice this week and go over there to really try to win, certainly we would have a chance.”

Florida’s loss to the Wildcats was its worst against Kentucky since 1950. It also was the Gators’ largest margin of defeat to an unranked opponent in decades.

“We got clobbered a few times when I was here, like 45-3 at Tennessee (in 1990),” Spurrier recalled. “But they were ranked then, so I guess that’s not too embarrassing. But after we got clobbered up there, we regrouped and I think we won all of our (conference) games the rest of the season. I don’t know if we’re going to win the rest of ours this season, but we’ll have to find out.”

UF’s offense is one of the worst in the SEC by every metric. The Gators rank 116th nationally in scoring (20.4 points a game) and 107th in yards (341.0).

Steve Spurrier isn’t too impressed with the UF offense

“Long Island, we scored a bunch of points (55). But since then I think our high is 29 against Texas,” Spurrier said. “We can’t score 30, 40 or anything like that.”

Recalling the high-scoring UF teams he coached from 1990-2001, Spurrier noted, “Scoring points was something our guys were good at, put it that way, compared to what you see now.”

Spurrier, who as a coach was never afraid to bench a starting QB if he was struggling, did not comment on the show about UF starter DJ Lagway, who was pulled against Kentucky after throwing three first-half interceptions. True freshman Tramell Jones played the second half. Lagway was 11 of 19 for 83 yards, 1 touchdown and the three picks. Jones went 9 of 17 for 60 with no touchdowns or interceptions.

“They did finally give Tramell a shot,” Spurrier said. “He didn’t have much protection or not many open guys either. I don’t know what they’ll do this week.”

During his appearance, the topic of NIL came up and Spurrier commented about the pay structure of college football. It was clear he finds it odd.

“It is interesting,” Spurrier said. “We’re paying players now. But we don’t pay them for production. We pay them before the season. It’s not based on how well you play or how many games you win. It’s ‘alright, here’s what you get.’ It works for some schools maybe but it doesn’t work for a lot, also.”

Later, he noted, “You always wonder, does he have a two-year, a three-year deal. What kind of deal do all these guys have is what you worry about, or wonder about also.”

“Maybe we can get hot out there against Ole Miss but I don’t think your’e going to catch them flat. They’re in position to win the SEC. Lane Kiffin has not won a conference so maybe this wil be hte year he can go win one.”

I was watching Georgia beat Mississippi State. I thought that would be a close game. Georgia ran that dang counter play where both guys pull. The guard and the tackle both pull. And they were going 20, 25, 30 — they ran for about 240 or so. Something like that. They just took over the game. They didn’t care what it was.

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