It’s the calm before the storm for Florida head coach Jim McElwain, and the nerves will surely be kicking in soon.
The Gators and the so-called "Jim McElwain era" begins on Saturday night against New Mexico State.
But McElwain has seen this story play out before. When he was hired at Colorado State in 2011, the Rams dubbed his hiring as "a bold new era for CSU football."
That era started out on a good note as Colorado State beat in-state rival Colorado 22-17 back on Sept. 1, 2012.
More than three years later, McElwain will try to repeat the success he had in his first game, but this time as the coach of the Gators as they go up against the Aggies.
But while others may think the preparation process is different at Colorado State than it is at Florida, UF’s first-year coach doesn't agree.
"You have to be fundamentally sound in your preparation, it doesn’t matter where you’re at," McElwain said. "The unknown of the first game, it doesn’t matter what year it is or where you’re at, there’s always some anxiety because you really aren’t sure."
On paper, New Mexico State doesn’t bring a lot to the table. Doug Martin’s team went 2-10 last year. However, quarterback Tyler Rogers threw for 2,779 yards and 19 touchdowns, albeit against 23 interceptions last season.
Running back Larry Rose III was 25th in the nation last year with 1,102 yards on the ground while rushing for nine touchdowns.
"They’re going to play up-tempo," McElwain said. "Do some things to try to create some explosive plays on a fast tempo so that’ll be really good for us as we get used to what a lot of people are doing today."
The Aggies do return three of their five starting offensive lineman from a group that allowed just 10 sacks, third fewest in the nation last year.
On the defensive side of the ball, New Mexico State was the worst team in the country in two categories — rush defense and sacks.
They allowed 308.75 yards per game on the ground while having just five sacks in 12 games. The Aggies also allowed 40 rushing touchdowns, which was tied for 126th out of the 128 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Junior running back Kelvin Taylor and freshmen running backs Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite will be licking their chops to get a chance to run through the Aggies’ defensive line.
Taylor, however, sees New Mexico State as the first test in a crucial season for him.
"I really don’t know about their defense," Taylor said, "but any team I go against this year I’m going to feel like I can have a great game. I’m just going to go out there, stick with my plans, trust my offensive lineman and everything else should work out for itself."
While the rush defense wasn't good, the Aggies were stingy against the pass last season as they allowed only 174.5 passing yards per game — good enough for sixth in the nation.
McElwain will have the chance to make his mark on the Florida football program agaisnt the Aggies.
McElwain had trouble sleeping before scrimmages during Fall camp, and admitted his sleep schedule gets worst for him the night before games.
But for McElwain, the restless nights and anxiety are things that come with the territory of being a coach.
"I don’t ever sleep real good on Fridays before games," McElwain said. "I guess the day I probably sleep well on that night might be the day we get the heck out of this business and go do something else."
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Jim McElwain watches on during practice on April 6 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
