Gators end losing streak, bring fun back to Swamp

GAINESVILLE — Even during the dismal reality of what this season had become, Saturday was at least fun in The Swamp.

Even though the offense slumped through the first half against a Conference USA foe, and quarterback Feleipe Franks delivered a very Franks-ian stat line overall (15 of 30 for 152 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs), at least there was Eddy Pineiro and his four first-half field goals giving the hosts an early boost.

Even though the narrative had already been written for this defense, the worst at Florida in longer than anyone can vividly remember, at least the unit beat up on a lesser opponent like it should — like many wondered if it even could at this point.

Even though Saturday’s 36-7 win over Alabama-Birmingham changes nothing for Florida’s season, at least it wasn’t the alternative. The Gators snapped their five-game losing streak and avoided reaching yet a new nadir.

“I think it was a good win for our team. Our locker room’s happy; we’ve been down a lot,” Pineiro said, alluding to Jim McElwain, who was let go last month. “This whole trouble with Coach Mac getting fired and all this stuff going on in our lives, I think this win was needed.”

The players were convincing this week in their comments, though. They wanted the fans to come out and show support, and for the first time in a while, they gave them a reason. They said they would play with purpose these final two games for the sake of their seniors, and they did.

Running back Mark Thompson spoke about playing with pride for what the front and back of the jersey each represented, and he followed through with one big run after another.

Safety Chauncey Gardner Jr. took to Twitter, imploring fans to come out and cheer on the team’s veteran players, and he did his part with an interception and 42-yard return to set up the Gators’ first touchdown of the day, midway through the second quarter.

There’s no reason to overstate what Florida did: It won a game that most every fan already put a W next to on the schedule back in the preseason before everything that could go wrong did. But there’s also no reason to not enjoy it for what it was, as the fans who filled up about half of The Swamp seemed to do.

It was refreshing to hear the roar of the crowd midway through the third quarter when Thompson broke a 17-yard run to the right side while looking like he could go for even more. And the further approval as Thompson lowered his shoulder to plow over a defender for a 16-yard run to the left side on the next play, followed by the appreciative cheers as tight end DeAndre Goolsby reappeared from some form of witness protection to cap the drive with a 13-yard touchdown catch from Franks.

Lamical Perine closed the Gators’ next possession with a 15-yard touchdown run to make it a 33-0 lead at the end of the third quarter and let fans enjoy the moment, knowing they’d be celebrating a victory for the first time since Sept. 30.

There is excitement for the future of Florida football, but that had nothing to do with Saturday. It has to do with the ongoing coaching search that fans are hoping is nearing a conclusion and agreement with a certain former Oregon and NFL coach. It has to do with a fresh start and a new direction, a chance to hit the reset button and officially close the book on this season.

But Saturday was fun. Nothing more, nothing less.