Florida gators end season on a high note

TAMPA — His hair matted to his head from a celebratory Gatorade bath Jim McElwain took a sigh, smiled and reflected on the first Florida Gators win in 44 days.

The Gators (9-4) beat the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-5) 30-3 in the Outback Bowl, quite a different outcome than Florida’s bowl showing last year.

“My hats off to a lot of guys that chose to play in this game the way the Gators play and ended up helping themselves in the long run as they look forward to the NFL Draft,” McElwain said following the game. “Some guys should be really proud of what they put on film, the energy that they played with, the excitement they played with, and the way that they put in the work to prepare. It was really good to see.”

The game started slow. Austin Appleby started the game off with an interception on tipped passes on each of the first two possessions. “It was about as unlucky as I’ve been at the casino this week,” Appleby joked about the tipped passes. The Gators defense was able to limit Iowa to just three points off of those turnovers, but it was beginning to look a lot like the offense that hadn’t put up 300 yards in a game since November 11 against South Carolina.

Despite the early struggles, Appleby remained poised. The graduate senior, playing in his first bowl game, took the field with his head still held high. He fired a pass to Antonio Callaway for 34-yards. He found Brandon Powell for eight more yards two plays later. The drive stalled but the offense had gained enough yards to let Eddy Pineiro tie the game with a 44-yard kick.

“We knew that they weren’t going to be able to stop us if we just kept being patient and taking what they give us,” said Appleby. “This was a huge game for me to have mental endurance in the sense of planning before, they’re going to let us take the underneath stuff. You’ve got to be patient because there’s going to be times where you have a chance to squeeze one in there and take those shots, and we did.”

Florida and Iowa traded punts, the Gators defense had another goal line stand, harkening memories of the LSU game and Appleby and his crew went back to work with 2:02. Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier dialed up a screen to running back Mark Thompson. Throwing off of his back foot while falling away from three defensive linemen in black jerseys he found Thompson and let the running back do the rest.

Thompson made everyone miss on an 85-yard touchdown that was not only the longest touchdown reception in Outback Bowl history, but the longest reception ever as well. It was just the back’s fourth catch of the season and it gave Florida the lead and necessary momentum heading into halftime.

“He’s had his ups and downs. He’s learned what it’s all about,” Appleby said of Thompson. “He’s had his hiccups. But the sky’s the limit for that dude. He’s very strong. I mean, you see him, he’s a freak.

The Hawkeyes came out of the locker room at halftime and promptly ran the ball down Florida’s throat. They ran 13 plays for 63 yards, 34 on the ground, but missed a 30-yard field goal wide right. Florida responded with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took 6:47 off of the clock. If the new 17-3 lead didn’t feel like an insurmountable lead Chauncey Gardner — the MVP of the Outback Bowl — slammed the door shut with an 58-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“It was really what we game planned because we knew they was going to go two by two and three by one. Quarterback, he’s a good quarterback,” Gardner said. “He’s pretty accurate. Older guys back there were talking around, like hey, he’s coming this way, he’s coming this way, he’s coming to the left. He’s a one-look guy, and we jumped on him early. First pick six, really just is a credit to the D-line again because they put up phenomenal pressure, and the linebackers.”

Gardner would get another interception leading to another Eddy Pineiro field goal. It was all Florida in the fourth quarter and, really, the second half altogether. The win was a must. The Gators needed some good PR and a change of the perception of the program that had been blown out in the previous two games.

So standing there in front of a podium, next to the crystal Outback Bowl Champions trophy, McElwain couldn’t help but smile. It ended quickly, though. McElwain is still a football coach, so he’s already turned his attention to the 2017 Gators.

“I will tell you, going through this offseason, we’ll become a lot more physical up front than we were this year,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting Swamp Life going.”

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC