Restore the order.
It might seem like three simple words, but those words have become the calling card for coach Jim McElwain and the Gators.
The program adopted the slogan, which McElwain has used as motivation to get Florida back to the heights the team is used to seeing.
"We were right up there at the top of the order," McElwain said.
"Yet, for some reason, the order has been skewed. It’s because other teams are getting really good now."
The last time Florida was this relevant in the college football landscape, the team was coming off an 11-2 season and got off to a 3-1 start in the 2013 season.
But that season ended in disaster as the Gators went 4-8.
UF’s football brand took a hit the last two seasons and the state of the team was in limbo before McElwain was brought in.
Florida’s first-year coach has stressed the importance of building it back up and the legacy that the players on the team carry is larger than the name on the back of the jersey.
And through five games, McElwain has helped build the brand back up, evidenced by UF’s No. 11 ranking in the country, and the expectations for the program are high once again.
Rebuilding the brand is part of the mantra McElwain brought with him and he’s made it a point to make the team buy into it so he could change the culture surrounding the program.
"When he first came in, that was one of his first big things. We have to get back to where we used to be," safety Marcus Maye said.
"He doesn’t let us take a step off anything. Just doing all the little small things he wants us to do."
With the team getting off to a 5-0 start, the chatter outside the program is picking up once again.
The challenge for the team is to ignore it and continue to do the same things it has done for the first five weeks of the season.
After not being relevant for more than two years, Maye said it’s a breath of fresh air for the Gators getting back into the rankings.
However, he said the coaching staff has warned the team not to get caught up where it's at and to ignore what is being said outside of the locker room.
"We just go out each day at practice. Coach says don’t let the outside stuff distract us with what we have going on," Maye said.
"Just going out and practicing every day and getting back to the drawing board, taking each day at a time."
Now, as Florida enters this week’s practice preparing to face the Missouri Tigers on Saturday in Columbia, McElwain said the game will be the biggest test the Gators have faced all season.
Not only because the Tigers are the next opponent on the schedule, but he wants to see how his team will respond after being praised for its upset win against then-No. 3 Ole Miss.
"(I’m) excited for where we’re at," McElwain said.
"At the same time, it’ll be really interesting to see how we handle the praise from all the people that obviously said they weren’t worth a hill of beans and now are talking about them. People rubbing their bellies and making them feel good."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
UF safety Marcus Maye goes in for a tackle during Florida's 38-10 win against Ole Miss on Oct. 3, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
