Gators Playing for P-R-I-D-E

The Gators are back home Saturday against UAB, their first game in 'The Swamp' since an Oct. 14 loss to Texas A&M. (Photo: Miguel Rivera/UAA Communications)

Gators Playing for P-R-I-D-E

Wednesday, November 15, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter

Florida enters Saturday's game against UAB on a five-game losing streak.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – If you are a fan of the Nexflix show "Stranger Things," you know how weird it gets in The Upside Down. If not, feel free to skip a couple of paragraphs.

It sort of feels like the Gators are stuck in a similar type of parallel world this week as they prepare to face UAB on Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

As the Gators practiced Wednesday, the latest Florida coaching rumors kept the internet abuzz. There was even a crowd hanging out on a YouTube link attached to a camera at the University Air Center, the online voyeurs waiting to see if Chip Kelly or perhaps Elvis exited the next plane to arrive.

Welcome to college football's upside down, or a coaching search, circa 2017.

All the Gators can do is conduct business as usual and try to take care of business on Saturday. Florida (3-6) has lost five consecutive games entering its final two games of the season, both at home.

"Play for yourself, play for your pride, play for the name on your back, play for the name on the front of the jersey,'' senior running back Mark Thompson said. "We came here to play football, so just cause our season isn't going the way we thought it would go, doesn't mean that we're not going to continue to play hard."

The Gators were 3-1 and atop the SEC East on Oct. 7 when LSU visited The Swamp. The Tigers won 17-16, and the following week the Gators lost to Texas A&M, 19-17. The season really took a downward turn after a bye week.

Florida lost 42-7 to Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 29. Next, head coach Jim McElwain and the University Athletic Association parted ways the following day, and interim head coach Randy Shannon took over. In the first game under Shannon, the Gators lost 45-16 at Missouri. They lost again at South Carolina on Saturday, 28-20, but played with more focus and determination.

The plan is the same on Saturday except for the outcome.

"Obviously, the season hasn't gone the way we wanted it to. But we're not letting it affect the way we prepare,'' linebacker Cristian Garcia said. "There's a lot of juice out here. Coach Shannon has done a lot of things to help us bring the juice. Regardless of what's happened, we're still gonna try and win these next to games. Because it means a lot to us and it means a lot to our fans."

For his part, Shannon has worked to keep the team prepared amidst the distractions and mounting injuries.

Offensive lineman Antonio Riles is the latest player to go down with an injury and not expected to play Saturday. The Gators finished the loss at South Carolina with only 55 healthy scholarship players on the 70-man travel roster.

The ones still standing are the ones Shannon is concerned with against the Blazers on Saturday and then Florida State on Nov. 25.

"They're not tanking at anything,'' Shannon said. "They don't quit. Coming off a tough loss, you know, the situation that happened at Missouri, they came back against South Carolina. A lot of good things going on. Very competitive. Like anything, a team can shut it down. They're on time with everything. They're doing the things they're supposed to get done. That's all you can ask for."

Whatever the Gators do in their final two regular-season games, they will have their first losing season since 2013. Still, Shannon is urging them to finish strong so they can walk off Florida Field with their heads held high as the curtains close on the season.

"At this point, guys are not thinking about bowls or [that] we cannot go to the bowl,'' he said. "They're thinking about is coming back to 'The Swamp,' two home games that they can go and play for their fans and friends and their family – things that they've been talking about and what we've been addressing."

A win Saturday might help restoring normalcy for a change.