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Gators Don't Want Skid To Reach 3

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By ANDY STAPLES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2007

GAINESVILLE - Greg Johnson couldn't help but chuckle when he heard how some followers of the University of Florida's football program are treating the first losing streak of Gators coach Urban Meyer's tenure.

'Oh-and-two is not the end of the world,' said Johnson, now coach at NAIA school Langston University in Oklahoma. 'At Prairie View, when you'd lost 77 in a row, that could feel like the end of the world.'

In 1997, Johnson inherited a Prairie View A&M program that had lost 68 consecutive games. The streak would reach 80 before Johnson finally led the Panthers to a 14-12 win against Langston on Sept. 26, 1998, to snap the longest skid in college football history.

Sort of puts Florida's attempt to stave off consecutive loss No. 3 Saturday at Kentucky in perspective, doesn't it? Oh, who are we kidding?

'At a program like this, dropping two games is huge,' Florida linebacker Dustin Doe said Monday. 'It's devastating to us.'

But not as devastating as dropping a third, a dubious feat only two Florida teams have pulled off in the past 20 years. In 1999, the Gators closed the season with losses to Florida State, Alabama (SEC title game) and Michigan State (Citrus Bowl). In 1988, Florida lost consecutive regular-season games to Memphis State, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Georgia.

So how does Meyer, whose only previous losing streak as a head coach came at Bowling Green in 2002 when the Falcons lost to Northern Illinois and USF in consecutive weeks, keep a tiny streak from turning into a full-fledged slide? Meyer said he didn't consult any of his coaching mentors about the topic. Instead, he chose to take a micro view - get the receivers healthy, find a defensive line rotation - rather than a macro view - holy cow, this team could lose three consecutive games - to work through the issues that caused Florida's losses to Auburn and LSU. It also doesn't hurt, Meyer said, that the Gators probably must win their next four if they hope to repeat as SEC Eastern Division champs.

'There's enough issues to worry about, and I think there's a complete understanding the SEC East is wide open,' Meyer said. 'There's enough motivation out there. We just have to get better.'

In the midst of Prairie View's losing streak, Johnson had to get creative to keep his players - none of whom were on scholarship - motivated.

'I had to come up with something new every week,' Johnson said. 'I had to be inventive.'

For Johnson, that meant shuttling players between offense and defense to keep them interested. For Meyer, it meant lightening the mood prior to last week's open date with a coaches-against-players touch football game before Thursday's practice.

The players came away smiling. And happy, motivated players are important when trying to snap a losing streak, which Johnson said is 'like trying to fight a bear with a stick.'

The Gators' streak is a mere cub at this point, and they'd like to stop it before it grows teeth. The only way to do that, Doe said, is to stay confident and stick with a formula that has worked in the past.

'You can't get out of your routine,' Doe said. 'You can't stop being who you are. You've just got to face those losses and go.'

But if Meyer and the Gators need more advice from the ultimate streak-snapper to ensure their skid ends at two games, Johnson is happy to offer his services.

'If Meyer needs a consultant, he can give me a call,' Johnson said. 'I work pretty cheap.'

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com.

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