Florida Gators Football: Outback Bowl Win Means More Than Face Value

The Florida Gators finished the season strong with a dominant 30-3 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl. It meant more than it seems.

The Florida Gators finished off the season strong by thwarting the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl, but why does the bowl win mean more than just an extra trophy and tally in the win column?

Let me tell you.

Finally, Some Momentum For Recruiting

The Gators currently have the 19th ranked recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports, which puts them at No. 8 in the SEC—right smack in the middle. The problem is that the class lacks any true star power and really is below average for a team trying to contend for an SEC title.

Florida definitely has some solid talent locked up, but it’s going to need a lot more to keep winning.

The 30-3 win should give them a lot of momentum. With reported recruiting battles with top recruits Tedarrell Slaton, LaBryan Ray, Levi Jones, Elijah Conliffe, and Kai Leon-Herbert, this should put them over the top.

I’m not saying this guarantees a commitment from all of those guys, but it will definitely help sweeten the deal in contrast to a blowout bowl loss like last season.

The Offense Actually Has A Lot Of Talent

I know what you’re thinking. Florida is ranked near the bottom of the FBS (128 teams) in almost every category for offense. The reason for that, though, is because they lack a quarterback.

Other than that, they have NFL prospects at every other position.

The receiving corps is one of the best in the country. It’s headed by two monsters in Tyrie Cleveland and Antonio Callaway. Callaway is also considered the No. 1 wide receiver for next year’s draft by Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller.

The stats don’t back up that argument because they lack someone to get them the ball, but if you watch the film, those two burned some NFL-caliber cornerbacks all season.

From names like Desmond King to Marlon Humphrey, they all caught the dust of Callaway and Cleveland at some point, even if they didn’t get the ball. The wideouts should only get better with Joshua Hammond and Freddie Swain taking bigger roles next season, as well a some quality wideouts coming in via recruiting.

The runnings backs are also something serious. Jordan Scarlett finished the season with 889 yards in a running back rotation that saw four backs get relatively equal snaps until mid-season. He also averaged 5.0 yards per carry behind one of the worst offensive lines in the SEC.

The offensive line should get a hell of a lot better next year.

Lamical Perine is also no slouch. The freshman showed numerous signs of great life this season.

Florida also has a quality depth back in Mark Thompson, who set the tempo in the Outback Bowl after he “Cribbed” a screen before halftime.

The Young Kids On Defense Showed Out

The Gators were missing more players on defense this past weekend than I can count on my hands, and they still held the Iowa offense that put up 40 the Nebraska Cornhuskers to three points.

Young bucks like Kylan Johnson, Vosean Joseph, and Chauncey Gardner played tremendous the whole game and made massive impacts. Marcell Harris also picked up where he left off, finishing his season on a fantastic note after filling in for Marcus Maye.

Florida should definitely be happy with Maye’s successor for next season in Harris. Even walk-on linebacker Cristian Garcia who started the game got in on some action.

He finished the game with five tackles.

The defensive line also showed real progress. Caleb Brantley led the way, and even though he will most likely be leaving for the NFL, some others on the line stepped up. Both Keivonnis Davis and Jordan Sherit had quality games, as well as CeCe Jefferson.

The Gators also still have ends Jordan Smith and Antonneous Clayton in the program. Both are ready to take the next step next season.

The defense will likely have some depth and experience problems to start off next year, but the young talent is definitely there for the taking.

Randy Shannon Is The Right Man For The Job

I know it was only one game, and Iowa isn’t the most profound offense, but Shannon showed what he was capable of from the booth this past Monday. The Gators held the Hawkeyes to three points and Shannon dialed up the linebackers the whole game.

For a team that has a relatively good offensive line, Shannon sent the heat and it got there more often than not. Those blitzes also attributed to Florida’s three interceptions and only giving up 55 passing yards.

Shannon showed he isn’t afraid to trust in his elite corners and leave them on islands while he sends the pressure—and it worked. He did a fantastic job and should now be the leader for the defensive coordinator job if he wasn’t already.

The Outback Bowl was a fantastic outing for the Gators for more reasons than one. This should give fans a lot most confidence than they had to going into the bowl game.

Must Read: Duke Dawson will return for his senior season

Let’s hope Florida can close strong on signing day.