No matter what the board with the Southeastern Conference standings in the UF locker room implies, every game is going to be a challenge.
Regardless of the fact that the Gators are six points ahead of second-place South Carolina, No. 10 UF (11-2-1, 6-0-0 SEC) knows each game has to be taken seriously.
It will take this mindset to the matches this weekend at Auburn (7-6-2, 3-2-1) on Friday and Alabama (8-5-1, 3-3-0 SEC) on Sunday, where it expects both teams to play at a much higher level than they have all season.
"Auburn always comes out to get us and so does Alabama," junior Ashlee Elliott said. "We have a target on our backs, and we need to not take that lightly and stay on our game."
With each match the Gators win to remain undefeated in conference play, that target gets bigger and bigger for opponents.
SEC rivals are not just trying to knock off UF, they are also trying to get into the SEC tournament.
"We are everyone's biggest game," UF coach Becky Burleigh said. "We are a ranked team, and they see that as a ticket to the postseason if they can beat us."
Burleigh has been vocal about reminding her team what is at stake every game, but she said the team takes what the veteran players say to heart more because they are the ones living it.
Last season, when the Gators opened conference play with two losses, they were forced to win the remaining games to win the regular-season SEC title.
Burleigh said this has kept the upperclassmen grounded and more focused on every match.
Staying grounded will be important, as the last five games on the schedule could be the hardest games the Gators have played in-conference.
"We've gotten through the easier part (of the SEC), so we got to stay focused because we are the only team that is in control of its destiny," junior Lauren Hyde said.
It may be the toughest part of the SEC, but UF enters these games battle-tested from its non-conference matches and knows what to expect. Before conference play started, the Gators faced four teams currently ranked, including No. 3 Portland, who has the No. 1 RPI ranking, and one other team ranked at the time.
"(The hard out-of-conference games) showed us what we have to be prepared for," Elliott said. "We can't just come out and think we are going to win, we need to come out with the right state of mind."
The next time the Gators will get a chance at a team of Portland's caliber will be the NCAA tournament, but they are not ready to talk about anything further than what they have to do in SEC play.
When UF heads to the state of Alabama this weekend, the team will have an SEC Championship on its mind.
