In the eyes of a Senior: Florida Gators vs South Carolina

 Morning

On a cool fall morning in Gainesville, the University of Florida Gators had a chance to win and possibly secure the SEC East against former head coach Will Muschamp and the South Carolina Gamecocks. If I would have told you that scenario at the beginning of the season, you would’ve taken it every single time. But what you wouldn’t know is the SEC East is the worst it’s been in a while, which is really saying something. You would’ve also never believed that Florida’s offense is – dare I say – worse than it looked going into the last stretch of the 2015 season. Scrapping by inferior teams and still searching for answers, the Gators got another chance next Saturday to show why they should be considered in, at the minimum, a high profile bowl game conversation and possibly the team that could trip up powerhouse Alabama in Atlanta this December.

Those were my thoughts on Saturday morning. Hopeful but not confident; a product of not having an offensive identity for going on six years now.

 

The Tailgate

While most noon game tailgates are rather underwhelming, this one was sure to be one for the books- my last home tailgate as a student at the University of Florida. We got to the site at eight in the morning, about an hour and a half earlier than usual. It was a breakfast and mimosas type morning for the final Gator home stand.

The normal “Tail Gators” made it to the site earlier than usual. It was a good sign because I figured that the morale around the fan base would be lethargic coming off of a disappointing performance against the Arkansas Razorbacks. For the senior’s sake, I was hoping that the fans would show up and get behind some of the most decorated seniors in recent memory. The captain of the defense and the guy that everyone looks to in tough situations, Jarrad Davis will run out of the tunnel for the final time. My next thoughts turn to Marcus Maye- the staple of one of the top defensive back cores in the country. Maye has played in so many games and contributed so much in his time wearing the Orange and Blue… He will be missed.

 

The Game

The walk to the stadium was much more electric than anticipated. A lot of Gator fans were making their way into the stadium to honor the seniors. A lot of the talk leading up to the game was how the crowd would be and how the student turn out would be in the stadium. For the most part, the students arrived – a little later than I wanted—and The Swamp was once again a hostile environment and did not make anything easy for South Carolina freshman starting quarterback Jake Bentley.

The game started and the Gator offense seemed to be striking on all cylinders. Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier’s script was perfect early on. Austin Appleby was taking what the defense gave him, the running backs were getting positive yardage and after a score on the first drive of the game, everything seemed to be going as planned. It wasn’t until Mark Thompson put the ball on the ground that the offensive struggles came about. While the fumble by Thompson caused some discourse and the interception right before half also added some concern, the Gators did what they had to do to win the game.

Defensively, freshman David Reese and Kylan Johnson stepped up and stuffed the run from the Gamecocks. I am hopeful that was a good sign as they are the future for Geoff Collins and the Gator defense. After senior safety Marcus Maye went out with an arm injury, Nick Washington and Marcell Harris handled the load very well, which is huge because those are the two guys that the Gators will look to lead the young defense in 2017.

 

The Aftermath

Feeling a smidge better about the offense, and looking forward to good food and drinks in Baton Rouge next week, the mood was rather upbeat after the Gators defeated the Gamecocks 20-7 in the home season finale. For the most part, I walked away from this day looking back on all of the beautiful memories made in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium over the last three years. It was nice to go out on top in The Swamp, but there is a lot of work left to be done this season and I can only hope, and put my trust in Jim McElwain that the season will end better than the previous one.