GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A prominent narrative heading into Florida's home finale on Saturday against South Carolina has revolved around bowl eligibility.
The Gators, 5-4 through nine games under first-year head coach Billy Napier, need one more victory to earn the right to go bowling. It's not where Napier wants to be and not where he plans to be.
Still, it's the reality he inherited when he departed Louisiana for Florida to take over a program in transition.
"At the University of Florida, sure, it's great to go to a bowl," Napier said this week. "We've got bigger aspirations than that."
For now, those goals remain somewhere on the horizon. In the here and now, the 6-3 Gameco*cks stand in the way of Florida not only becoming bowl eligible but its quest to parlay what took place in the second half of last week's victory at Texas A&M into something more.
The Gators overwhelmed the Aggies, dominating the third quarter and limiting Texas A&M to 106 yards after halftime. Florida's defense, soft as warm butter for much of the season on third down, stuffed the Aggies on seven of eight third-down attempts in the second half.
Meanwhile, quarterback Anthony Richardson tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the decisive third quarter as Florida overcame a four-point halftime deficit to win 41-24, snapping a five-game road losing streak against Southeastern Conference opponents.
Outside the electricity created by the season-opening upset of then-No. 7 Utah at The Swamp, Florida's second-half performance against the Aggies generated as much buzz from the fan base as all season.
"That just shows what we can do,'' said outside linebacker Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr., who had a sack and forced fumble in his first career start. "And I know we'll be able to do that for four quarters."
That is what Napier hopes to see when the Gators run from the tunnel on Senior Day Saturday. Florida is honoring 19 players in their final home game.
It should be a festive afternoon if the Gators can match the effort and production of the final 30 minutes at Kyle Field a week ago.
"We're still searching for that complete game when we play with all three parts of our team for all four quarters, and we put together a good quarter or a good half," Napier said. "Certainly hopeful down the stretch here that we can put it all together."
South Carolina defeated the Gators 40-17 last season in Columbia despite being an 18-point underdog. Florida never recovered, struggling to beat Samford at home the following week and then losing in overtime at Missouri, which led to the dismissal of head coach Dan Mullen.
The Gameco*cks arrive in town with five wins in their last six games. Motivation is not a concern for the UF veterans who suffered the humiliating defeat to the Gameco*cks a year ago.
"There's a little bit of vengeance, but we definitely have to win this game for sure for our brothers,'' Gouraige said, one of the seniors who will be honored. "We haven't been working this hard since January for no reason."
The Gators have shown the ability to come back and make games competitive after falling behind, but the strong finish against the Aggies revealed another side. They can finish, too.
They finally put Texas A&M away on a 5-yard touchdown run by Montrell Johnson Jr. in the fourth quarter. Johnson, like his coach, wants to see more of the same on Saturday.
"We had a lot of downsides,'' Johnson said. "It was important for us to get going there and finish out the season strong. The frustration level was really high because we knew we had the talent in the room."
After Saturday's game, the Gators finish the regular season with back-to-back road games at Vanderbilt and Florida State. With Richardson improving each week, the defense coming off a stellar performance, and a rushing attack that cranked out 291 yards against the Aggies, some pieces are beginning to fit into place.
Nowhere more than in the locker room, where Napier's attention to detail and focus on building a solid culture appears to be paying dividends. The Gators have lost four games but put up a fight in each.
Senior linebacker Amari Burney considers the attitude change as significant as anything else in Napier's first season.
"They're in good hands. Great hands, a matter of fact," Burney said of his younger teammates. "I tell Coach Napier and Coach PT [Patrick Toney] I wish I had y'all for four years. I'm not even gonna lie to you. I tell Shemar [James] every day you are in the greatest hands you could be in at the University of Florida right now. These coaches bring so much, not even just in the game of football but just in life in general."
So, while discussing bowl eligibility this late in the season might not be ideal for Napier, duplicating recent results, taking care of the ball, playing aggressively on defense, and creating the foundation for the future is a high priority.
"You're starting to see a little bit of that identity we want to have," Napier said. "Our teams played that way in the past [at Louisiana]. We want to be a physical team."
And a bowl team by early Saturday evening.
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