Gators Notebook: Attendance rankings, bowl swag, more
Tuesday, December 20, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
The Gators maintain their place among the leaders in national attendance.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators finished undefeated at home (5-0) for the first time in four years and are 11-1 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in two seasons under head coach Jim McElwain.
Still, Florida's 2016 home schedule will be remembered perhaps as much for what didn't happen at The Swamp than what did. First, on Oct. 8 when the Gators were scheduled to host SEC West rival LSU, the Gators' home was quiet and empty.
Hurricane Matthew's brush along the state's east coast postponed the most-anticipated home game of the season. After much wrangling, the game was rescheduled at LSU on Nov. 19, a date Florida was originally set to host Presbyterian.
Florida bought out the contract with Presbyterian and reached an agreement with the SEC to go to LSU in return for back-to-back home games against the Tigers in 2017 and 2018.
The final outcome proved to be the highlight of Florida's season: a goal-line stand on the final play and a 16-10 victory to clinch a second consecutive SEC East title. In the end, the abbreviated five-game home schedule (and no home game against LSU) did impact attendance as Florida's average announced crowd was 87,846, a dip of 2,219 from the previous season.
It marked the first time in 36 years the Gators played only five games in Gainesville, Charley Pell's second season in 1980.
However, while plans were disrupted on two home weekends, according to the latest CBS Sports analysis of NCAA attendance data, the Gators maintained their place among the best draws in college football (No. 11 in home attendance) and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was filled to 99 percent capacity (88,548).
Overall, the SEC averaged a national-best 77,565 fans per home game, down 1 percent from a record-breaking 2015 season).
*****
BACK IN MIX
The Gators were decimated by injuries late in the season, including the loss of starting quarterback Luke Del Rio and linebacker Alex Anzalone in a 31-10 loss at Arkansas on Nov. 5.
McElwain said both have an opportunity to contribute in the Outback Bowl based on recent events. Anzalone (broken arm) has returned to practice and Del Rio, who graduated on Saturday, continues to improve from a shoulder injury. Both have missed the last four games.
"He should be able to throw, I'm hoping, when we get down there,'' McElwain said of Del Rio. "He's been doing footwork stuff and that kind of thing with us. All indications, he should be ready to throw after Christmas."
The return of Anzalone would give a lift to the defense, which will be without true freshman David Reese (wrist surgery) for the Jan. 2 matchup with Iowa in Tampa. Reese stepped in during the absence of Anzalone and senior Jarrad Davis (ankle) down the stretch.
Anzalone, who was having his best season by far before getting hurt, still ranks third on the team in tackles (53) despite missing a third of the season.
*****
BOWL SWAG
A week after Florida and Iowa play in the Outback Bowl, the College Football Playoff National Championship Game takes over Raymond James Stadium. According to the SportsBusiness Journal's annual report on bowl gift packages, players in the national championship game will receive an "iconic gift."
Sounds like a gift bag with potential.
Meanwhile, the Outback Bowl isn't giving out burnt toast. In fact, the bowl features a solid gift package for the Gators and Hawkeyes: a $150 Best Buy gift card, an Outback Steakhouse gift card (of course), a Fossil watch, a Jostens ring and a bowl hat.
Not bad. For a complete list of what bowl gives out what gifts, check out this link.
*****
COACHING DEPTH
More than one Gators fan on Twitter has asked why McElwain seems in no rush to round out his coaching staff following the departure of defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. McElwain announced Monday that Randy Shannon will serve as defensive coordinator against Iowa and that defensive quality control specialist Mark DeBastiani will coach linebackers.
Pretty simple, really. Much like Nick Saban has done at Alabama – offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin leaves for Florida Atlantic, former USC coach Steve Sarkisian (formerly as offensive analyst working behind the scenes) takes over play-calling for the Tide – McElwain has added depth in the football office with some veteran coaches.
McElwain reiterated Shannon is "absolutely" a candidate to replace Collins permanently, but with DeBastiani around, there's no rush to find a linebacker coach. DeBastiani has more than 20 years of college coaching experience.
"We're fortunate enough to have coaches like that in support roles," McElwain said. "We're not missing a beat with that group."
The situation is similar to McElwain's first season when longtime college assistant and former Oregon State offensive coordinator John Garrett was an offensive quality control specialist and could have stepped in quickly if Doug Nussmeier or another offensive assistant had left prior to the bowl game. Garrett was hired as offensive coordinator at Richmond after last season and McElwain brought in program assistant Brett Ingalls, another veteran coach with NFL and college experience.
