Calm down, everyone.
From the ever-irrational everyday fan, to college football "experts" like ESPN's Mark May, people are hopping aboard the Gators bandwagon.
Hoping to catch a glimpse of the next unforgettable Will Muschamp moment, or hoping to ride Florida's coattails to another national championship celebration, people are predicting just that - that the Gators are back in the discussion with the best teams in the country, that they will be in position to compete for a BCS bowl by year's end.
But if there's anything history can teach us, it's patience.
Especially when it comes to winning football games in the Southeastern Conference.
Before last year's meteoric fall from grace, Urban Meyer could do no wrong as the leader of Gator Nation. He was a coaching icon. But even Urban lost to Alabama in his first year at Florida.
And it wasn't even close. The 15th-ranked Tide destroyed the fifth-ranked Gators, 31-3. That was the last time a Florida team failed to score a touchdown in a game — until last year's Alabama matchup. That season ended at the Outback Bowl.
Ron Zook beat two top-five teams during his first year. But in his first real SEC test, in the month of October 2002, Zook and the Gators dropped consecutive games. First, on the road to unranked Ole Miss, then, a laugher at home against LSU. That season ended at the Outback Bowl.
Even The Ole Ball Coach experienced his fair share of conference frustration.
Florida beat a mediocre Alabama team in the second game of Steve Spurrier's first season, but then, in October, the Gators got embarrassed in front of the entire nation when Tennessee whipped them 45-3 on ESPN.
Spurrier piloted his team to a 9-2 mark that season, but because of lingering NCAA probation issues, the Gators didn't play in a bowl game.
Had it been eligible, Florida would have likely played in the Gator Bowl instead of Ole Miss.
This trend, however, isn't limited to coaches residing in Gainesville.
Nick Saban, Muschamp's mentor and counterpart this week, had a 7-6 record in 2007, his first year at Alabama. The Tide played Colorado in the Independence Bowl that season, winning 30-24.
Les Miles had arguably the best season of a first-year coach in the SEC, winning three games against ranked conference opponents, but the Tigers lost in overtime to a Tennessee team that finished 5-6 that season.
Florida fans should use this template to temper their expectations this season.
Don't listen to Mark May. Don't listen to The Worldwide Leader.
Even if Muschamp pulls off the improbable, beating Alabama on Saturday, beating the man who taught him most of what he knows, he still has the remainder of the SEC slate in front of him. And that includes a trip to Death Valley next Saturday.
Plus, the rest of October isn't much easier.
If history is any indication, the chance of the Gators playing in a BCS bowl in January isn't very good. The same goes for winning Saturday's game against Alabama.
Don't make those Fiesta Bowl reservations just yet.
Contact Matt Watts at mwatts@alligator.org.
