BATON ROUGE -- So much for the Florida Gators being the Florida Chickens.
So much for a handful of trash-talking LSU players trying to get into Florida's head by purposely coming over to the Gators' side of the field Saturday and starting a pregame scuffle that thankfully didn't turn ugly.
So much for all of the message board madness emanating from Baton Rouge when this originally scheduled Florida-LSU game was postponed because of Hurricane Matthew.
And, mostly, so much for LSU's hare-brained athletics director Joe Alleva shamefully trying to claim the Gators were ducking the Tigers when Florida thought better of playing the game as a Category 4 Hurricane bore down on our state in early October.
"Can you believe that?" McElwain said of Alleva's ridiculous rhetoric following No. 23 UF's ecstatic, dramatic SEC East-clinching 16-10 victory over 16th-ranked LSU. "It just shocks me that somebody would question the Gators. The way I look at it, they [LSU] got what they deserved. And it should have been worse."
McElwain and his injury-ravaged team deserve to feel vindicated and validated, justified and rectified after this monumental victory clinched a second consecutive trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Not only will this shut up LSU's fans; it will shut up many Gator fans as well.
"You're not going to hear anybody complaining about Coach Mac now!" said a bare-chested Kasey Faver, a construction worker from Orlando who partied with thousands of other UF fans who remained in the stadium well after the game was over.
He's absolutely right, too. No more sniping and griping, Florida fans. Before McElwain arrived, the Gators hadn't been to the SEC championship for six years. McElwain has taken them to Atlanta twice in his first two years on the job.
"I'm happy for our Gator fans who don't think we're very good, but all we do is end up back in Atlanta," McElwain said. "It's no small feat to go to that championship game back-to-back. ... I don't think people give us much credit for having good players; guys that care; guys that do it right; and guys that are committed to something bigger than themselves.
"We came here to build a program and build it the right way. And that's the way we're doing it. Things aren't always pretty, but, I tell you what, this time of year is pretty in Atlanta. The future is bright for the Gators."
Gator Nation translation : Shut up and enjoy the ride; savor one of the most dramatic, cathartic victories in UF history, accomplished by two of the most historic, euphoric plays in the annals of Florida football.
It doesn't matter that Austin Appleby completed only 7-of-17 passes; not when he dropped back in his own end zone and completed a crucial 98-yard touchdown to true freshman wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland, who shook off LSU's Donte Jackson to complete the second-longest touchdown pass in school history.
It doesn't matter that LSU's offense ran over Florida's defense for 423 yards; not when the Gator defense rose up on the final play of the game and stuffed LSU running back Derrius Guice on a do-or-die run from the 1-yard line.
Who would have ever thought that Death Valley could breathe so much life into Florida's program? Who would have ever thought the Gators, who were two-touchdown underdogs, would turn Tiger Stadium into Pussycat Pavilion? Or, as UF defensive tackle Cece Jefferson called it, "The Swamp West."
Just as McElwain drew it up.
After all, this was originally scheduled as a home game for the Gators, but Hurricane Matthew had other ideas. Even so, McElwain drilled into his players all week this was still Florida's home game. Usually, when the Gators travel to a road game, they dress up in a coat and tie for the flight. This time, though, McElwain let them travel in sweats.
"This was supposed to be a home game," McElwain said and smiled, "so we're now 6-0 in the Swamp this year. That's pretty cool."
Sports on 11/21/2016