The SEC west has had a reputation of dominating the East for quite some time now, and a chance for change isn’t looking bright this season. At this point in the season, Kentucky is the only East team with a win over the West.
With two SEC West tests still on the horizon at Arkansas and LSU, the Florida Gators could carry the torch for the division that has become the little brother in the SEC.
The last time the Gators got an SEC West win on the road, Jeff Driskel and Johnny Manziel were both making the second starts of their careers. That was over four years ago at Texas A&M in 2012.
The next four weeks will either make or break Florida’s season. Two more SEC wins and a ticket to Atlanta is punched. Four more wins and the Gators will go into the SEC Championship game with College Football Playoff contentions at stake.
With so much on the line in the coming weeks, head coach Jim McElwain believes this week’s game against Arkansas could define the Gators as a team moving forward in the season. “I’m looking forward to this week of preparation as we go into the game and take another step,” he said. “That’s really what it’s all about. Take another step and an opportunity to define a little bit who we are and what we’re all about. So I look at it as a definition. That’s really what it is.”
Arkansas has struggled in recent weeks, but will still be one of the toughest tests Florida has faced so far this season. A convincing win over the Razorbacks could not only define the Gators to themselves, it could also earn them more respect on a national level. It worked for Auburn, at least.
Florida has earned little respect from national media this season, even as a top-ten team. “I think that’s natural because I don’t think going into it anybody thought much of us anyway,” said McElwain. “And as I told our guys it’s just a matter of going out and proving it each week. You know if you take care of business on Saturdays people are going to take notice, and that’s really what we have to do.”
A road win over an SEC West team could at least turn a few heads.
“I think momentum’s a big deal. There’s something about having confidence in yourself,” said redshirt junior Jordan Sherit. “Something coach Mac talks about a lot is we’re a good team and some guys don’t realize how good we are; how good we can be. So I think that getting a big win away, you saw it with Saturday. When their fans clear out of the stadium, it’s a good feeling. Hopefully we can do that again on Saturday.”
Florida has dominated Arkansas historically, with a 9-1 all-time record. While the Razorbacks haven’t played their best ball lately, they had a bye week last week to work on putting the pieces back together. McElwain knows his team can’t take anyone lightly at any time.
The Gators are continuing to stress the game by game approach this week as they have since McElwain took over. “Coach Mac is so good about telling us ‘focus on the now, win each day’,” said redshirt junior Cameron Dillard. “That’s what we’re going to do all week and that’ll help us prepare for Saturday.”
The Gators are choosing not to look ahead, but that doesn’t mean we can’t. A win this week would make the road ahead a much easier one to navigate. Florida’s best case scenario is to beat both Arkansas and South Carolina the next two weeks and head to Baton Rouge with the SEC East already in the bag.