Saturday’s Southeastern Conference Championship Game is the most concrete evidence to date that the Gators have returned to the national spotlight sooner than anyone could have anticipated.
Even though they aren't competing for a national championship or a spot in the College Football Playoff, coach Jim McElwain has the Gators on track to becoming a mainstay in the top-10.
Despite a tough 27-2 loss to rival Florida State on Saturday that deflated the momentum of a resurgent season, the Gators are arguably stronger than they were in 2012 under former coach Will Muschamp.
UF went 11-1 that year in the regular season, but missed out on competing in the SEC Championship game due to Georgia winning the matchup between the two teams which subsequently decided a tiebreaker in the Eastern division.
More than a day removed from defeat, McElwain said Monday the Gators shouldn’t hang their heads, considering how much the team accomplished in what most considered to be a rebuilding season in Gainesville.
"We’ve got a long ways to go as an organization and a program, and yet the momentum this team has built is something everybody should be proud of," McElwain said.
"I am so proud of our players and all the people in our organization, from the administration on down that have committed to a higher standard and a higher level of expectation and it’s been great."
Quick to credit Alabama coach Nick Saban for his rise up the coaching ranks, McElwain is aware of the accelerated regeneration the program has gone through in less than a year.
Unsatisfied with a slow and gradual build, the Missoula, Montana, native wants the Gators to become accustomed to competing for national championships "in a hurry."
"I just can’t tell you how happy I am that the administration chose to go our direction," McElwain recalled, "and to trust us to help this program get back to where it belongs."
If Florida intends to get back to the championship caliber it was in the mid-2000s, competing against Alabama is arguably the best way for the team to gauge where it is on the rebuilding scale.
"We’re getting ready to play a football team that arguably is the best football team in all of college football," McElwain said.
"And historically, a program that understands how and believes."
Winners of three of the last six national and conference championships and the only team to win a trio of titles in the Bowl Championship Series, the Crimson Tide have been the flagship program of the SEC during Saban’s tenure.
To say Alabama has crushed SEC competition is an understatement.
With an official 386-167-20 record in SEC play, the team’s 69.1 winning percentage is easily the highest mark of any team in the SEC.
Considering the Gators are 318-234-15 against the 13 opponents in the SEC since joining the conference in 1933, Florida is still looking up at Alabama, hoping to achieve an identical level of dominance.
While replicating Alabama’s success is the long-term goal, beating the Crimson Tide is the immediate plan.
A loss wouldn't unravel the progress the Gators have made this season.
But a win over Alabama would go a long way to asserting Florida is a complete team rather than a strong defensive unit that carries a floundering offense.
"I think as we continue playing in these games, you know that have real relevance, it really helps you prepare as you move forward as a program and as a football team," McElwain said.
"We’ve got a long ways to go, but I think the thing that celebrated is how quickly these guys have changed the way they think. And how proud we should be for where we’re at. Now let’s go take the next step and go play in it and see what it’s like. That’s pretty exciting. And at the end of the day, the Florida Gators belong, and these Florida Gators belong in these games."
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
UF coach Jim McElwain walks out of the tunnel prior to Florida's 27-2 loss to Florida State on Nov. 28, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
