Tyrie Cleveland slumped in his locker with a towel covering his face. Antonio Callaway fell to the floor and stayed there, his jersey pulled up to cover his eyes.
Minutes before, Jalen Tabor had to be helped off the field by the two of them as he fought back tears.
“It just hurts, man,” Tabor said. “I can’t explain this feeling.”
The scene was the aftermath of Alabama smacking Florida in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game on Saturday for the second season in a row, this time by a decisive score of 54-16. The loss cost the Gators a chance at the Sugar Bowl, which went to Auburn.
Instead, No. 17 UF will play the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium — the site of this year’s national championship game — on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. And entering the game, the Gators find themselves in familiar territory.
A season ago, they headed to the Citrus Bowl following back-to-back losses to Florida State and Alabama by a combined score of 56-17. This year, they’re heading to Tampa coming off back-to-back losses to the same teams by a combined score of 85-29.
In the Citrus Bowl, the Gators got demolished by Michigan — which the Gators will play to open the 2017 season — in a 41-7 debacle. But in the Outback Bowl, UF coach Jim McElwain is hoping for a different result.
“I was really disappointed, obviously, in the effort last year,” he said, “but this is a different team.”
Iowa is also a different team from last year’s Michigan. The Wolverines finished the 2015 season ranked No. 4 in total defense and No. 69 in total offense. Iowa, meanwhile, enters the Outback Bowl No. 24 in total defense and No. 120 in total offense.
For comparison, Florida ranks No. 6 and No. 115, respectively.
Florida’s matchup with Iowa will mark the fourth-ever meeting between the two teams, with the last coming in the 2005 Outback Bowl. The Gators lead the series 2-1.
Regardless of the opponent or the records or the rankings, though, McElwain stressed the importance of a win and continuing to build the Florida football program.
“We open up with a big opponent (Michigan) next year in Dallas,” he said. “So the Bowl game itself, we’ve got to go play hard and put a plan together and win. The guys have got to go compete, not be afraid.”
Some Florida players are guaranteed to play their final collegiate game in the Outback Bowl while others could join them if they choose to.
Seniors Jarrad Davis, Bryan Cox Jr., Chris Thompson and Austin Appleby, for example, will all end their UF careers at the Outback Bowl.
Meanwhile, players who aren’t seniors but could still declare for the NFL Draft — Tabor, Quincy Wilson, Caleb Brantley and even redshirt junior punter Johnny Townsend, among others — could also suit up as college athletes for the final time.
But as some careers come to an end, others could begin.
After the loss to Alabama, McElwain was asked about the possibility of playing a freshman quarterback — either Feleipe Franks or Kyle Trask — in the bowl game.
And the second-year coach, knowing that his team needs an injection of offensive playmaking, didn’t rule out the possibility.
However, after addressing that deficiency, McElwain added that there are some positives to take into the bowl game. Nobody expected his team to make it to the SEC Championship Game again this season, he noted, and that his players can use that as motivation moving forward.
“They’ve just got to close out the noise from the outside and bond together,” he said, “and let’s just go win and not worry about anybody else.”
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ebaueri.
Jim McElwain looks on during Florida's 54-16 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3, 2016, in Atlanta.
