Gators Cutting Through Expectations Clutter
Monday, November 2, 2015 | Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It's been three decades since Jim McElwain graduated from Eastern Washington University, but the Florida football coach referenced that time in his life Monday when asked about his philosophy relative to expectations for his teams.
He recalled asking his parents if they were coming to the commencement ceremony.
Their response?
"You're supposed to graduate. What's the big deal?"
“It's instilled along the way that it doesn't matter what the task is. That's what's your supposed to do,” McElwain said. “Go out and do your job.”
As in, go win the Southeastern Conference East Division.
That was the task put to the Gators when they reported for practice back in August. What happened last year didn't matter. Neither did all those preseason prognostications that put Florida fourth or fifth in the seven-team divisional standings. Outside expectations meant zero. The job at hand -- and the longterm goals tied to it -- was clear-cut and the only way to do that job was to focus on the details.
Daily.
“You can't get too high and you can't get too low,” said McElwain, not even 48 hours removed from UF's 27-3 bludgeoning of rival Georgia that put the Gators firmly in the SEC East driver's seat. “You've got to understand [that] you have to take care of what you can take care of now because whatever the event is, you're preparing for success. Our guys have kind of understood that. And if there's a game that probably will test that more than anything, let's face, it'll be this one.”
As in Saturday, when No. 11 Florida (7-1, 5-1) faces Vanderbilt (3-5, 1-3) in UF's homecoming date at The Swamp. The Gators will be more than three-touchdown favorites for the noon kickoff and can wrap up their first divisional title and berth in the SEC Championship Game since 2009 with a victory.
McElwain knows the high stakes coupled with the high praise being heaped upon his program right now come with a price. It's the job of the UF coaches to keep the team level-headed and on point.
“They'll know we aren't looking towards Atlanta because if we do, we won't get there," he said. “There's a lot of clutter out there, a lot of white noise out there, a lot of stuff that means absolutely nothing.”
Instead, the focus will be on a Vanderbilt team that ranks in the top half of the league in virtually every defensive statistical category in SEC competition. The Commodores are fourth in scoring (20 points per game), seventh in total defense (376.5 yards), eighth against the run (159.0 yards per), sixth against the pass (210.5 yards per), plus first in third-down conversion defense (a sterling 17 percent) and fifth when opposing offenses reach the red zone (73 percent, with just four touchdowns allowed in 15 visits).
UF, meanwhile, is coming off one of its more complete games of the season, striking for just enough big plays on offense while the defense, currently ranked third in the league and 15th nationally, stymied the Bulldogs and came away with four interceptions.
The Gators rolled to 413 yards of offense against a very good Georgia defense, including 258 yards on the ground for a unit that was struggling to run the ball. Junior tailback Kelvin Taylor was good for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
“It was something that we put a lot of focus on and it was something we really wanted to get going,” senior tight end Jake McGee said of a rushing attack that averaged just 99.4 yards in the five previous SEC outings. “It's something, as an offense, you need to take pride in. You need to get the run game going because a lot of these games are going to be close and you have to run the ball to win.”
And throw it eventually. Better than Florida is right now.
Sophomore quarterback Treon Harris completed just eight of 19 attempts for 155 yards. His improvised and under-duress 66-yard touchdown strike to freshman wideout Antonio Callaway helped break the game open in the second quarter. Still, Harris' completion percentage for the season sits at just 56.4 -- and only 49 percent in the two games since taking over the starting job from the suspended Will Grier.
“Shaquille O'Neal might have liked it for his free-throw percentage,” McElwain said of Harris' digits. “[But] here's the interesting thing; we're going to pick this apart and that's great. You've got to do what you've got to do. But I think at the end of the day, we were on the right side of the scoreboard. He did what it took to win the ballgame and that's how we go into every ballgame.”
The date with Vandy will be no different.
The Gators have defeated the Commodores in 24 of the last 25 meetings, save the infamous homecoming loss of 2013 -- Vanderbilt 34, Florida 17 -- that marked the Commodores' first win in the series since 1988 and certainly will be recalled by a slew of current UF players as one of the low points of their careers.
More clutter, perhaps.
“There's a lot of reasons that we might not play good this week,” McElwain said. “We'll see.”
Some actual football reasons, as well.
Starting left tackle David Sharpe and left guard Martez Ivey emerged from the Georgia game banged up, which leaves an entire side of the line in question for Saturday. That means true freshman Fred Johnson and sophomore Antonio Riles could be called on at tackle and guard, respectively, with Mason Halter likely flipping from the right to the left tackle spot.
UF will be without backup tailback Jordan Cronkrite for the game's first half after the true freshman was ejected from the Georgia game for a targeting penalty.
The Gators will adjust their daily routine and preparation this week in advance of the first noon kickoff of the season, but the day-to-day mentality cannot (and will not) be altered. It's gotten them to this point. And can get them to Atlanta with one more victory.
Who thought that possible way back when?
Besides McElwain and the Gators, that is.
“Last year, a lot of times the seniors were like, 'I want to leave college. I'm done with it,' and it kind of showed on the field,” sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor said. “But now that we're playing for each other, we became more of a unit than we did in past years. And I feel like that's showing on the field.”
If the head coach has his way, it'll show up Saturday with a division flag on the line.
