Mike Gillislee has new goals.
He predicted a 1,500-yard, 24-touchdown senior season in July at Southeastern Conference Media Days. After rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns in Florida’s 14-6 win over LSU on Oct. 6, he was on pace to finish within 100 yards and six touchdowns of those marks.
But, in the four games following his explosion against the Tigers, Gillislee’s averages have fallen off. He has neither scored a rushing touchdown nor run for more than 80 yards in a single game since.
None of that matters to Gillislee now. Instead, he has shifted his focus away from numbers.
“No,” Gillislee said when asked if he had new statistical goals in mind. “I just want to finish the season and win out.”
With at least four games left to play, Gillislee would only need to average slightly more than 50 yards per game to become the Gators’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Ciatrick Fason ran for 1,267 yards in 2004. That statistic doesn’t interest Gillislee either.
“No, not really,” Gillislee said regarding whether or not the 1,000-yard mark was on his mind. “I just want to finish the season with a good record.”
Florida followed the win against LSU with a 31-17 victory at Vanderbilt and a 44-11 win against South Carolina in The Swamp. Gillislee was held to just 104 yards on 2.9 yards per carry in the two games. During UF’s 5-0 start, he averaged 5.3 yards per rush.
Still, the Gators reached his goal of simply getting the win.
But they did not do so against Georgia. In UF’s 17-9 loss, Gillislee ran for just 77 yards on 22 carries.
He may not have matched his gaudy early-season numbers on Saturday, but he still keyed Florida’s offense in a 14-7 win against Missouri. Gillislee caught a 45-yard game-winning touchdown on a screen pass in the fourth quarter.
“I already knew it was a touchdown,” Omarius Hines said. “As soon as he caught it, I already knew, because that’s Gilly. That’s what Gilly does.”
In addition to the game-winning touchdown, Gillislee rushed for more than 4 yards per carry for the first time since UF’s win against LSU. Gillislee notched a game-high 23-yard run on his second touch. The gain was his longest since he recorded a 45-yard carry in Florida’s win against Tennessee on Sept. 15.
“I told [offensive coordinator Brent Pease] going into the game we were going to be a little hardheaded with Gilly today,” coach Will Muschamp said on Saturday. “We were going to get him today.”
Gillislee wore a shirt on Monday that read, “Run more than your mouth.”
Whether the gaudy statistics return or not, he’s not likely to comment much. At this point, he just doesn’t want his contributions to count toward losses.
“I’m not a guy that likes to talk a lot,” Gillislee said. “(I) just go out there and do it.”
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org.
Running back Mike Gillislee (23) runs toward the end zone while being chased by Missouri linebacker Will Ebner (32) during Florida’s 14-7 win on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
