As No. 15 Florida prepares for a matchup with No. 1 Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship game on Saturday, here are a few things to know from this week’s conversations with Florida’s players and coach Jim McElwain.
1. McElwain won’t judge this season until it’s over, but defensive lineman Joey Ivie declared it a success:
McElwain has heard the fans’ frustrations: four-straight losses to FSU, one win against a ranked opponent this season and an offense that seems to have made little improvement since last year.
But when McElwain was asked whether he would declare this season a success no matter the outcome of Saturday’s game, the coach was mum on an answer.
“I’ll step back and evaluate it as you do every year,” McElwain said on Monday. “This is a fan base that, at any place that really cares, you’re never going to please them all. I get it. One thing I do know is I believe we’re in the SEC Championship again for the second straight year. Maybe not the way people want it.”
Ivie, a senior, was asked the same question but answered differently, applauding the fact that UF has made it this far but being careful not to dole out much more praise.
“I believe we will (view the season as a success),” Ivie said. “Things didn’t quite play out as well as we would have liked them to. But, like you said, you can’t make excuses. … We gotta accept whatever happens because at the end of the day, it is what it is.”
2. Florida and Alabama always seem to play in the SEC title game, and both team’s players think that’s the way it should be:
The Gators and the Crimson Tide will meet for the 10th time in the 25-year history of the SEC Championship game, by the far the most common matchup in the game’s history.
UF cornerback Quincy Wilson said it’s because both teams enter the season fully expecting to clinch its division.
“Just being that these are the two biggest teams, I feel, in the country really,” Wilson said. “Alabama has always been the top dog, and Florida has always been right there to compete with them.”
Florida owns a 5-4 advantage over Alabama in the series, and cornerback Jalen Tabor said it just feels right for the two teams to play in December.
“When you think of SEC Championship, you think of Alabama versus Florida,” Tabor said. “And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
3. Limiting Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen will be key:
Allen, a senior and one of the nation’s top NFL Draft prospects, leads his team with 13 quarterback hurries and ranks third with seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
And with their starting center injured, the Gators will have their hands full trying to contain him.
“He’s strong. He’s tough. He’s disruptive,” UF quarterback Austin Appleby said. “We’re going to have to get a plan for him.”
And in the biggest games, Allen seems to have the most production.
Of the defensive tackle’s 11.5 tackles for loss this season, 7.5 have come against ranked opponents.
So, McElwain, what makes Allen so great?
“Probably genetics,” McElwain said. “You hear me talk about dynamic playmakers, and a lot of times you don’t talk about that at that position. He’s one of those (players), and you’ve got to be aware because those are the guys that change plays.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Quincy Wilson prepares for a play during Florida's 32-0 win over North Texas on Sept. 17, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
