Due to the unique circumstances that led to the postponement of the Florida versus LSU game, some of the narrative centered on the idea that the Gators and Jim McElwain were “scared” of the Tigers. That somehow they would do anything to remove LSU from the schedule in favor of taking an easier path through the SEC. That Jeremy Foley, one of the highest-regarded athletic directors in the country, would duck Florida’s permanent SEC West rival as one of his last decisions before retiring.
Yet, as far-fetched as it sounded at the time, that was still a big part of the conversation in the days before the game.
Somehow, Florida was able to overcome all of that fear and all of those injuries to execute a 4th down goal line stand for the ages.
The final play. #UFvsLSU#GatorsWin #SECATL pic.twitter.com/DGmlvQtjkn
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 19, 2016
Fear, and perceived disrespect, are powerful motivators.
Two things that stood out to me were: I loved Mac’s decision to put it all on that 4th down play. Earlier, it looked like he might try to preserve as much of the clock as possible, but Florida isn’t exactly a quick-strike offense. Instead, he leaned on the defense once more, and they came through again.
The second thing was that the late game push up front from the offensive line was impressive. After seeing inconsistent play there throughout much of Mac’s first year, primarily due to injuries, it was great to see running backs picking up big chunks of yards. Yes, not having to contend with Kendell Beckwith was probably a factor, but if anyone understands the importance of “next man up” it’s the Florida Gators.
I don’t anyone would argue that the SEC East has been down the past two seasons, but you still have to win games and that’s exactly what McElwain has done. Securing back-to-back SEC Championship Game berths is a great way to start your tenure at the University of Florida.
To close this out, I was searching through GMail the other day looking for an old GChat regarding McElwain’s hiring when I came across something even more interesting.
Apparently, back in April of 2012 (that’s 2 years and 8 months before being hired by Florida) I sent an e-mail to the Solid Verbal (love those guys, give them a listen) regarding Jim McElwain. Here’s an excerpt:
In your opinion, which newly hired head coach(I believe there are 28 of them for 2012) will prove to have the most positive impact on their program a number of years into the future? Obviously we have the big name coaches like Urban Meyer, RichRod, Mike Leach, etc. that should have some type of positive impact, but I was thinking more about some of the “lesser known” guys that might have less talent to work with in the beginning but long term could really build a competitive program. My picks would be Larry Fedora & Jim McElwain. I believe both of those coaches are good enough to bring in a decent level of talent, and make their respective programs competitive(at least within the “tier” that their program resides). Thoughts?
At that point, McElwain had just gone from offensive coordinator at Alabama to head coach at Colorado State. Three years after that he won the Mountain West’s coach of the year award. A little less than two years after that he beat LSU to take Florida back to Atlanta for the second year in a row.
Maybe I should be consulting college football programs on their head coach hiring?
In all seriousness, I love what Coach McElwain has done with the program so far and hope he continues on this upward trajectory.