Coveted spotlight
No. 7 Gators are back in national conversation heading to game against No. 5 LSU
GAINESVILLE – The national spotlight has been warm and welcoming for the Florida Gators.
“It feels good,” UF senior receiver Tyrie Cleveland said.
It should.
Two years since one of the nation’s blue-blood programs was in disarray and all but forgotten, No. 7 UF has worked its way back into the top 10 under coach Dan Mullen, become an ESPN College GameDay regular and is unbeaten at the season’s midpoint entering an SEC showdown Saturday night at No. 5 LSU.
“I think it just says a lot about how much everybody buys into coach Mullen’s philosophy,” redshirt junior linebacker Jeremiah Moon said.
Yet, many still question the staying power of Mullen’s squad.
The ultra-resilient Gators (6-0, 3-0 SEC) are a 13.5-point underdog against the high-octane Tigers (5-0, 1-0).
UF has overcome the loss of starting quarterback Feleipe Franks, weathered key injuries on defense and rose to the occasion during the fourth quarter in wins against Miami, Kentucky and Auburn despite a shaky offensive line and a sputtering run game.
Mullen sees his team’s warts, but he also recognizes its talent and fight as it prepares to face a Tigers offense that averages 54.6 points per game and has embarrassed all comers.
“I mean, we’ll see,” he said of Saturday’s outcome. “We have some good players, too.”
Mullen also has a group of players with a chip on its collective shoulder.
Noting the point spread and their yo-yo-ing in the national rankings, the Gators realize they have few believers outside of Gator Nation.
“Absolutely. They’re playing with us right now,” Moon said of the pollsters. “But after the game, we’re going to see.”
After pulling out a season-opening nail-biter against Miami, UF actually dropped three spots to No. 11 in the Associated Press top 25 poll.
A week after making a statement with a 24-13 win at home against a favored, higher-ranked Auburn team, the Gators aim to take down an even fiercer foe that few expect to lose.
“I mean it’s great motivation,” UF defensive tackle Kyree Campbell said. “But at the end of the day … they wanna label us underdogs, then we cool with that. We’ll play as underdogs.”
Campbell and a defense allowing an average of 9.5 points and leading the SEC with 26 sacks and 17 takeaways will pose the toughest challenge to date for LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and a Tigers offense that has turned every game it’s played into a track meet.
UF has avoided getting in any shootouts, but the Gators are confident they can do whatever it takes to silence a sold-out Tiger Stadium.
“I think our offense is capable of scoring as many points as we need to do to win,” senior receiver Josh Hammond said. “I think our defense is capable of shutting out how many times we need to shut out to win. Whatever we’re thrown at, whatever adversity we have to deal with, I think we’ll be prepared for it.”
Hammond is one of six current players who played during the Gators’ last visit to Death Valley, a 16-10 win in 2016. The upset win — also as a two-touchdown underdog — clinched the SEC East title for UF. A year later, coach Jim McElwain was let go amid a four-win season.
The climb back to relevancy has been both grueling and gratifying for the players who endured it. The Gators now have the chance for their most significant win under Mullen and perhaps of the 2019 college football season to date.
Whatever the case, an upset win at LSU certainly would put UF firmly into the College Football Playoff semifinal conversation. A loss would not ruin the Gators’ season, either, with half the SEC schedule still ahead of them, including a Nov. 2 date in Jacksonville with Georgia.
Cleveland, one of the stars of the 2016 win in Tiger Stadium, is happy he’s helped return the program to the national stage. He now plans to stay there.
“That’s why you come to Florida to play in big games like this; you expect that,” Cleveland said. “Just to have the program back at that level feels great. We’re not satisfied yet.”