The Road Ahead

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Make no mistake about it that this has been a successful season for the Florida Gators under head football coach Jim McElwain. McElwain took over a Gators squad that was coming off of a disappointing four-year stretch under former head football coach Will Muschamp as McElwain has been out to bring Florida back to respectability. And in just one year, McElwain has done that as Florida is 10-3 and they won the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 2009. But even with a record of 10-3 which is successful, the Gators still have some work ahead of them if they are going to truly emerge as a national power.

This year the Gators were carried by their defense that is ranked sixth nationally in total defense while their offense has struggled mightily. The Gators are ranked 109th in total offense as it has been a struggle for them on that side of the football. The Gators have scored 20 points or less five times this season as they are 3-2 in those games. But the offensive struggles have really shown up for the Gators in their last three games.

On November 21, Florida had to go to overtime at in order to escape with a 20-14 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls at home which was followed up by a 27-2 home loss to the Florida State Seminoles. And there wasn’t a mercy law for the Gators in the Southeastern Conference Title Game as the Alabama Crimson Tide had their way with them in a 29-15 victory. This was similar recipe for the Gators in 2012 under Muschamp when they went 11-2 before going 4-8 in 2013. That Gators squad in 2012 was 104th in total offense as they relied on their defense. But there is more optimism for these Gators under McElwain.

Unlike Muschamp, McElwain is a more offensive minded coach that is looking to return Florida to an offense that is reminiscent of the “fun and gun” style that folks remember under former head football coach Steve Spurrier.

The Gators have one of the top recruiting classes in the nation for 2016 which is led by Feleipe’ Franks who is one of the top high-school pocket passing quarterback prospects in the nation and he is a player will come in and compete for playing time immediately due to Florida’s issues at quarterback.

Treon Harris, Will Grier

Will Grier and Treon Harris began the 2015 college football season competing to be the Gators starting quarterback. Under McElwain, the Gators are running a pro-style offense as opposed to a heavy running game with blend of the spread offense under Muschamp. Grier was more of a fit for McElwain’s system and he was having success which saw Florida win their first six games this season with him as their starting quarterback. But in October, Grier was suspended by the NCAA due to a failed drug test. Grier appealed the decision, but the NCAA decided to uphold their ruling which means that he won’t be eligible to play for the Gators again until next October while also losing a year of his eligibility. Harris is a sophomore, but his skill set as a run-first quarterback doesn’t fit McElwain’s system which was evident due to the struggles of the Gators offense in the second half of the season with him at starting quarterback.

The Gators are good enough to be in contention to win the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. But being that the SEC has been dominated by the Western Division which has produced the last eight conference champions, Florida still has their work cut out if they are once again going become a threat to win their conference along with getting to the College Football Playoff. However this time under McElwain, the Gators appear to be better equipped for the task ahead.

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By | 2015-12-07T11:39:48+00:00 December 7th, 2015|Categories: College Football|Tags: , , |0 Comments

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