It does not look good for the Gators.
Florida has enjoyed two good weekends of football this season. It beat Long Island University in the season opener, and last week the Sunshine State's favorite football reptiles had a bye week. Hey, 1-0!
The other three outings were disappointing.
The Orange and Blue were taken down by South Florida in a classic trap game, then outplayed LSU, but lost because of mental mistakes (FIVE interceptions) and drive-killing penalties.
Misery loves company, so when the Gators tried to bounce back against the Miami Hurricanes, it happened again – mistakes and penalties. The score was 26-7, but the 'Canes scored 13 slop points in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, the Gators must now run the SEC gauntlet with games against 9th-ranked Texas, (6) Texas A&M, Mississippi State (4-1), (12) Georgia, Kentucky (on the road), (4) Ole Miss, (15) Tennessee, and (18) FSU.
On paper, it looks like Florida and Vanderbilt have traded positions as far as league status. The undefeated (5-0) Commodores are ranked 18th and proved their SEC mettle by whipping (11) South Carolina 31-7.
Floridabilt?
The Gators desperately need a win, but there isn't one gimme on the schedule. Suppose Head Coach Billy Napier can pull the team out of the whirlpool against Texas. In that case, Florida may have a chance to regain its footing and have a modestly successful season (A Gasparilla Bowl invite would look mighty good right now).
Napier on the hot seat? No, it's more like a creaky swing over a pool of lava. Yeah, it's that bad.
"As the season goes, it's about coming up with solutions," Napier said. "Your team has to improve as you go. An open date presents that opportunity, and we certainly got a lot of good work done."
"It's a big week," he added. "It's good to be back at home after being away for a couple of weeks, and a good Texas team comes to town. They are 3-1 with a loss to Ohio State."
Replace that Chomp! with a GULP!
Will returning to The Swamp be the tonic Florida needs to return to the win column? You can't coach crowd noise.
If the magic doesn't return Saturday, then the Gators better get used to the "Floridabilt" tag.