Since the Southeastern Conference went to divisional play in 1992, no team has more SEC title-game appearances or title-game triumphs than the Florida Gators.
For the first time in the past quarter century, however, an argument can be made that Florida is the worst team in the league.
The Gators are assured of not having the worst conference record - consecutive September triumphs over Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt assured that - but their nightmare October consisted of three losses and the parting of ways with coach Jim McElwain. Their November began last Saturday under interim coach Randy Shannon with a humbling 45-16 loss at Missouri, which had been winless in conference play and had lost at home to Purdue by 32 points.
"If you're a Florida Gator, you line up and you play the game the way it's supposed to be played," Shannon said in a news conference following Saturday's debacle. "We've got to continue to get better. That's my job, and that's everybody's job on this coaching staff to get there.
Florida offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor watches the final minutes of their 45-16 loss to Missouri in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)"We're a very young team, but I'm not going make any excuses for this football team. When you come to this university, even if you're young, you have to play to a high standard. We've got to instill that in these guys that you have to play at a high standard."
Florida, which had a Sept. 9 home game against Northern Colorado scratched due to Hurricane Irma, is 3-5 overall and 3-4 in league play entering Saturday's SEC finale at South Carolina. The Gators close at home against the nonconference duo of UAB, which already is bowl-eligible after having no program the previous two seasons, and Florida State, which is 3-5 entering this week's trip to Clemson but at least showed a pulse last Saturday in a 27-24 win over Syracuse.
The Gators, who won SEC East titles in 2015 and 2016, have not had such a poor record after eight games since Charley Pell's first team in 1979 finished 0-10-1.
"I hate the way we represented our coaches with this game," sophomore linebacker David Reese said Saturday in a news conference. "Those guys really care for us and gave us a good game plan to do what we needed to do. It's sometimes disappointing when everybody doesn't want to come together and just play for each other. That's sad to see.
"We've still got a lot to play for, but we can't have appearances like we just had. That's unacceptable."
Shannon appreciated Reese's comments, referring to him Monday as a leader of the team. The interim coach also announced that Malik Zaire, a graduate transfer from Notre Dame, would get his second consecutive start over redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks.
Franks started Florida's three October games against LSU, Texas A&M and Georgia, with the Gators managing just 309 combined aerial yards in those contests and one completion of more than 20 yards.
"I want to be able to run the show," Zaire said Monday in a news conference. "I feel comfortable back there. I feel like I give the team the best chance, but I feel like if you don't feel like that you shouldn't even be in the game. I want to help this team get to a bowl game.
"I want to help this team finish on a positive note through all the things we've been through and through all the adversity we've been through."
A setback Saturday would saddle Florida with its second losing season since 1980 but its second in five years. Will Muschamp, the opposing coach this weekend, had an injury-ravaged squad in 2013 that started 4-1 and was nationally ranked before sustaining seven consecutive defeats, including a 26-20 loss to Georgia Southern, which was transitioning from the Championship Subdivision to the Bowl Subdivision.
This season's team has been ravaged as well, with Florida's roster Saturday not containing quarterback Luke Del Rio (collarbone), running backs Jordan Scarlett (suspension) and Malik Davis (knee) and receivers Antonio Callaway (suspension) and Kadarius Toney (shoulder). Another receiver, Tyrie Cleveland, hasn't been at full strength since spraining an ankle against Vanderbilt, and the Gators lost their top offensive lineman, guard Brett Heggie, to a season-ending knee injury last Saturday.
That's just on the offensive side of the ball for Florida, which has yielded 42 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since 1917.
"Obviously, we need to go to a bowl game," Reese said. "Florida always goes to bowl games. We need to play our hardest, play out and do what we can do to get this good motivation for the next year."
Said Zaire: "Obviously, this season hasn't been going like I planned."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.