After his team was decimated by injuries, and after his starting quarterback threw two interceptions, Jim McElwain stated the obvious.
“There’s a lot of positions we need to evaluate,” he said.
There’s the linebacker position, where No. 22 Florida lost two of its most important starters — Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone — to injuries.
There’s the offensive line, where center Cameron Dillard fell to the ground in the first half screaming in agony after a teammate rolled on his leg.
And then there’s the quarterback, Luke Del Rio, who had his third-straight inconsistent start in UF’s 31-10 loss to Arkansas on Saturday, who McElwain said he considered benching mid-game, who threw a pick-six on his first play and was sacked for 7-yards on his second to last one. It was the final thud from a bitter afternoon, and Florida is looking to scrub out the taste as soon as possible.
Where do the Gators go from here?
“The season’s not over,” Del Rio said.
Technically, no. But all of UF’s hopes of making it to a potential College Football Playoff — those can be put to bed.
Even a spot in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game — a prospect that seemed all but inevitable just a week ago — isn’t assured, as Florida still has to play No. 19 LSU on the road. There’s also Saturday’s game against a Will Muschamp-led South Carolina team, a matchup that would have signified a sure win a couple weeks ago but seems anything but guaranteed now.
“It’s not like we’re 2-7 here. We’re a good team,” Del Rio said. “We didn’t play well (Saturday), but we’re a good team.”
But if Florida’s injuries, ones which McElwain said will be updated on Monday, turn out to have season-ending implications, UF will be forced to turn to a handful of inexperienced players to fill the void.
This week, Florida will try to pick up the pieces of a road game that swept through it like a tornado and left nothing but destruction in its wake. At least five regular contributors were injured, including emerging freshman receiver Tyrie Cleveland and kickoff returner Chris Thompson. If they all miss substantial time, it will be devastating for Florida, a team that relies heavily on its veteran players.
So many of them were hurt on Saturday that it took a sophomore — defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson — to stand up in the locker room after the game and address the team.
“Just to see the injuries we had today was brutal,” left tackle David Sharpe said. “CeCe just told the guys to keep their heads up. We’ve still got a lot to play for.”
Yes, there’s Senior Day next week. Yes, there’s a rivalry game against the Seminoles on Nov. 26. And there’s even the hurricane-postponed battle in Baton Rouge against LSU, which held No. 1 Alabama to just 10 points in the Tigers’ home loss on Saturday.
Still, it’s clear, while there is still some postseason recognition to play for, the ultimate reward is gone, having slipped through UF’s fingers the same way Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams slipped through the Gators’ defense on Saturday for 170 total yards and two touchdowns.
There’s a little bit less to play for.
And after Saturday’s loss, each Florida player knew it.
“You can’t afford to have your head down and go in the tank right now,” redshirt senior safety Marcus Maye said. “We can’t afford it as a team.
“We gotta stay together.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Florida's Luke Del Rio (14) looses the ball before being taken down by Arkansas' Deatrich Wise Jr. (48) and Randy Ramsey (10) during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Nov. 5, 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Arkansas beat Florida 31-10. (AP Photo/Samantha Baker)
