Florida Gators won’t overlook FAU

The Florida Gators (9-1, 7-1 SEC) are rolling. The Orange and Blue are enjoying resurgence under first year head coach Jim McElwain and a new coaching staff. They’re ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff poll, won the SEC East title for the first time since 2009 and after several years of irrelevancy are once again being recognized on a national level.

McElwain has preached restoring the order in the SEC, making Florida a team to be feared once again, and he has done just that in the 11 months that he has been in Gainesville.

“We’ve won a few ball games now and we should be excited about this,” McElwain said following Florida’s win over South Carolina. “We really should. We should probably celebrate this day. I mean, guys, it’s kind of exciting. Right?”

Don’t expect them to celebrate just yet.

Part of the turnaround this season has been McElwain’s attention to detail. He’s ingrained into his team and into the coaching staff around him the importance of winning the now. That’s every practice rep, every film session, every step that anyone takes in the organization. Win every moment and watch the results come.

“We’ve got a whole organization that’s moving in a new direction. We aren’t sitting still. We’re continuing to build, create and not just sit there and say ‘we’re Florida and you’re not.’ That’s what I love about it,” McElwain said. “We’ve energized a whole organization to move forward, and it starts with those players.”

This week the Florida Gators will host Florida Atlantic University. The Owls are just 2-8 this season and a 31 point underdog. This would be an easy week for the Gators to take off, there’s no way that FAU will come in to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and hand the SEC East Champions a loss.

“All of those guys would love to be in our shoes,” Jalen Tabor said of FAU. “So they’re going to come out and give us their best shot.”

It’s true. Every player on FAU would love to play at the University of Florida or Miami or Florida State. That gives their players an added edge when they play one of the big three instate teams.

Frankly, the Gators can’t afford to overlook anybody. You don’t have to go back that far to remember Lafayette almost sneaking out of Gainesville with a win in 2012. Florida enters this week against FAU with even more on the line than they did when Lafayette came to Gainesville. By that time in 2012 the Gators were already eliminated from the SEC East race, but were still holding on hope for a chance to play in the National Championship, a game they almost snuck into.

Before the season Jim McElwain noted that Florida would have 15 opportunities to play football this season and most laughed and dismissed this statement. Thanks to the way the Gators have played this season, the opportunity to play 15 games is still a real possibility. The Florida Gators hold the keys to their destiny and their legacy. They’re in the driver’s seat with a berth in the College Football Playoff still a possibility, unless they fall asleep at the wheel this Saturday against FAU.

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

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