COLUMBIA, S.C. — There were moments when the offense shined, and there were others that made Gator fans scratch their heads and wonder how the bright spots were possible.
The defense was smothering, making up for any offensive struggles and keeping No. 11 Florida on the winning end of the field-position battle throughout the day.
And when it was needed, the team found a way to make a play and get the job done.
Those three sentences can be applied to both Florida’s performance against South Carolina on Saturday and the makeup of the team’s entire season.
"That’s how we’re built," coach Jim McElwain said. "If you look at games that we win, we’re usually plus turnover (margin), and we’re plus time of possession, which allows our defense to be fresh and play really hard."
After 10 games and nine wins, that’s the formula this team has proven it needs to be successful.
There isn’t anything wrong with that fact — it’s simply this team’s identity, and it’s an identity this coaching staff has wisely realized and subsequently tailored the team’s entire approach around.
"That’s how we’ve got to play," McElwain said. "Part of what we do as coaches is try to figure out what’s gonna give the Gators the best opportunity to win the football game with the parts that we have, and if we play that way, we’re pretty darn good."
Barring injuries, there won’t be any drastic changes to the parts this team has for the rest of the season.
And through the last three games, the team has evolved into a grind-it-out, stingy football team that finds enough explosive plays to win.
It may not look pretty, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less impressive what this group has accomplished so far.
"The art of winning is hard, guys," McElwain said.
"That’s what I really like about our guys. There’s never really any panic. They play in the moment, they play in the now, and they’ve figured out a way to sweep the East."
It may sound simple, but it’s a big change from the past.
"Last year we didn’t know how to win," defensive back Jalen Tabor said. "You saw us in a lot close games — LSU, Florida State, South Carolina — we just didn’t know how to win the game.
"That’s all it was last year. And this year, going through that, that’s how we learned how to win the game."
Learning how to win comes from the top down, and it’s one of the main reasons why McElwain is one of, if not the, favorite for coach of the year, not just in the conference, but also in all of college football.
Even former coach Steve Spurrier has stated his support of McElwain for the honor, a notion the current UF coach said was "humbling" and a more of a compliment to the entire program than just to himself.
"What it does do is it speaks to the organization," McElwain said.
"It speaks to the players, the coaches, all the people that have kind of figured out that the difficulty lies not in the new ideas but in escaping the old ones. We’ve got a whole organization that’s moving in a new direction."
But with a roster largely similar to rosters of unsuccessful seasons of the recent past, there’s no denying the impact that having a coach with the ability to accentuate his team’s strengths has made on the organization.
With the season winding down, and matchups against Florida Atlantic, Florida State and likely Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, it’s tough to say if those strengths will be enough to make a championship run.
But if Florida can stick to its formula and identity, this group will be a tough out for any opponent.
"I gotta tell you something about that locker room, man we got a bunch of winners," McElwain said.
"We’ve got guys that have it figured out."
Follow Graham Hack on Twitter @graham_hack24
UF players celebrate with running back Jordan Cronkrite after his 41-yard touchdown during Florida's 24-14 win against South Carolina on Nov. 14, 2015, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
