Furman may be the smallest opponent on Florida’s schedule, but a win Saturday could be the Gators’ biggest of the year.
At 5-5 and with a losing record in Southeastern Conference play for the first time in 25 years, there haven’t been many bright spots for Florida this season. However, a win against the Paladins (6-4) at 1 p.m. will secure a bowl game for the Gators.
“For any competitor, you want to be bowl eligible,” defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. “I definitely don’t want to be, my junior year I didn’t make it to a bowl game at the University of Florida. That’s something I don’t want to be a part of.”
Bowl eligibility hasn’t been a concern at Florida since Ron Zook’s final season, when the Gators needed one win in their final two games to clinch a bowl berth. That team beat both South Carolina and Florida State to earn a trip to the Peach Bowl.
While Florida’s program has enjoyed immense success since Zook left in 2004, including two BCS national championships, three SEC title game appearances (with two wins) and another BCS bowl game, postseason eligibility has become a legitimate concern in Will Muschamp’s first season.
Players have said not only that a bowl game matters to them, but that it would provide a big boost going into next season.
It would extend the careers of Florida’s seniors by one more game, and players have said the extra 15 practices that come with a bowl invitation will help the team, particularly the younger players.
The extended practice sessions will give more time for a stagnant offense to find its identity.
They will allow a young defense more time to jell and perhaps find a way to cure its offside woes and struggles in stopping the run.
Still, Muschamp said his team isn’t focusing on what a win Saturday would mean.
“For me, it’s about playing and coaching better,” Muschamp said Monday. “If you do that, then things will take care of themselves. We’ve had our opportunities to do that the last four weeks, and we haven’t exactly closed it out.”
If the Gators can close out the Paladins in The Swamp, Florida will clinch a bowl berth for the 21st consecutive season and a trip to one of four destinations.
The Gators will likely receive an invite to either Birmingham, Ala., for the BBVA Compass Bowl on Jan. 7; Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30; Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31; or Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.
“That’s not one of your top-notch bowls, but at the same time it’s still a football game,” wide receiver Frankie Hammond said.
“I’m excited. We go to the bowl game, it’s not the national championship, it’s not a big bowl game that you get hyped for, but a bowl game is a bowl game and we’ll get hyped.”
Said Hunter: “We’d love to play in a better bowl, but we’ll take what we’re going to get, and we’re going to finish the season out strong.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Florida coach Will Muschamp (front right) and the Gators have struggled to a .500 mark this year. However, they will become bowl eligible with a win against Furman on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
