Quarterback Treon Harris has failed to move Florida’s offense over the last month.
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.
With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, the No. 12 Gators (10-2) will head to Atlanta for a matchup against No. 2 Alabama (11-1) with the Southeastern Conference Championship on the line.
Florida’s 27-2 loss to FSU in the team’s regular-season finale temporarily erased the memories of a promising season in Gainesville under first-year UF coach Jim McElwain.
Prior to No. 12 Florida’s second possession of its 27-2 loss to No. 13 Florida State on Saturday, a former UF great, running back Fred Taylor, took the field to be honored as UF’s 2015 Southeastern Conference Living Legend.
For yet another week, the Gators’ offense struggled to support its defense.
Technically, the Gators avoided the trap by beating Florida Atlantic, albeit barely.
Florida’s rush defense is one of the best in the country, but going into its rivalry game against Florida State, and against one of the best running backs in the country, the Gators’ defensive line will be limping into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Site: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Cap. 88,548)
What Johnny Townsend has done for the Gators this year is incredible.
Antonio Morrison fits the part of a linebacker.
Florida should have had no problems on Saturday.
While the rest of his team’s energy level was comparable to that of dead seafood, as coach Jim McElwain put it, wide receiver Antonio Callaway was quite alive on Saturday.
Florida quarterback Will Grier has lost his appeal to reduce a year-long suspension by the NCAA, the school confirmed Friday night.
Florida and Florida Atlantic don’t have much in common.
With Florida clinging to a 31-24 lead against East Carolina, ECU quarterback Blake Kemp dropped back to pass.
Jim McElwain doesn’t cut corners in life, and that holds true for the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he’s making for any of the 105 players on Florida’s football team.
With regular season conference play over, the No. 8 Florida Gators (9-1) now turn their attention to Conference USA opponent Florida Atlantic (2-8). The Gators are 2-0 all-time against the Owls, who will return to The Swamp for a noon game on Saturday.
Antonio Morrison came to UF in 2012 with a group of players to look up to.
A few days after the Gators defeated Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt and locked up the SEC East, first-year Florida coach Jim McElwain addressed the team about the weeks that were to come.
Solutions by The State News
