The Gators’ rise to the Sugar Bowl began in the cramped, dingy visiting locker rooms at LSU, South Carolina and Auburn last season. Road losses to those teams — plus Alabama delivering a beating in Gainesville — made it clear how far the program had fallen.
The frustration peaked in a miserable home loss to Florida State, after which coach Will Muschamp called the team soft. He spent the whole season trying to toughen up the Gators, but balanced it with trying to keep the team healthy. As UF headed into bowl practices, he could no longer restrain himself.
“Heck with it,” he said. “This is what we’re going to do and if we have an injury, we have an injury. But we’re going to practice physical. More contact. You can’t just talk about it. You gotta do it.
“We did more live work than we’d done as far as full tackling and a certain mindset. We tried to do it late in the (regular) season to no avail. When we had more time to focus on it, I saw tremendous improvement.”
Those practices, followed by a demanding off-season strength program, launched this season’s success. Florida counter-punched LSU, South Carolina and Florida State on its way to an 11-1 record and the No. 3 ranking in the BCS standings. The same Gators who went 15-11 the previous two seasons can become the sixth team at UF to win 12 games if they beat No. 21 Louisville (10-2) Wednesday night (8:30 p.m., ESPN).
“It was a difficult climb, a lot of hard work in the off-season,” center Jon Harrison said. “It was late nights and early mornings, but we’re willing to do whatever it takes to be where we want to be.”
It seemed unrealistic for Florida to be in a BCS bowl this soon.
Urban Meyer left a program that was full of young, unproven talent and went 8-5 in 2010, the Gators’ worst record since ‘04.
There was no viable quarterback and the offensive line offered little protection. There were rising defensive stars, but none had much of a résumé at the college level.
Those flaws were clear as Florida stumbled to 7-6 last season. The Gators only became bowl eligible after beating Furman in November and avoided their first losing season in decades by handling a mediocre Ohio State team in the Gator Bowl.
They were optimistic this season, but hardly anyone mentioned a BCS berth as a possibility.
“If you’d told me at the beginning of the season you’d have a chance to play in the Sugar Bowl, I’d be fired up,” defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said. “I’d take that.
“There’s other steps to go, but I am really pleased with the development of our team. I like where the arrow’s heading with our club.”
Matt Elam, a safety from Dwyer High School, added, “From the expectations we didn’t live up to last year, this is very big. This is where we’re supposed to be.”
The defense went from sturdy to scary. The Gators were top 10 in the country in fewest yards allowed both seasons, but upped their takeaways from 14 to 29 this season.
Offensively, the transition from Meyer’s spread-option to the run-heavy, pro-style attack is happening quickly. It seemed like Florida might need another year or two worth of recruiting to get the right personnel, but that was not the case.
New coordinator Brent Pease found answers that evaded his predecessor, Charlie Weis. The offense still needs work, but it ranks 34th nationally at 194.1 rushing yards per game.
Mike Gillislee was little used his first three seasons, but gave UF one of the best rushing seasons in its history. His current total of 1,104 yards has only been topped by five other Gators.
New starting quarterback Jeff Driskel, a third-stringer last season, proved to be a major upgrade over John Brantley, a senior last season. He was far less of a turnover liability and added a running threat.
Reaching the game is a worthy reward for a grueling off-season. Winning it would give the Gators even more confidence and put them near the top of the list of 2013 contenders. With a decisive victory over Louisville, UF probably will finish the season No. 2 in the country.
“It’s great as far as building a program and it means a lot,” defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd said. “It’s the stamp on our season if we pull it off. There’s a lot on the table for us.”
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