Five reasons Gators are back among SEC's top-tier teams

It has been a year since Florida collapsed in a 23-20 loss to South Carolina that led to coach Will Muschamp’s dismissal.

As the No. 11 Gators prepare to face the Gamecocks again Saturday, UF has the same stifling defense and struggling offense, but the results have been completely different. A team picked to finish fifth in the SEC East already has clinched the division. A win would keep the Gators in the playoff conversation.

“We should be excited about where these guys have come, and how far they’ve come … to help this football program get back to where it belongs,” first-year coach Jim McElwain said.

Here are five of the biggest keys in Florida’s 363-day transformation:

Better quarterbacking

Although the Gators’ scoring and total yards per game have dipped slightly from last season, the quarterback play has improved.

UF’s completion percentage (61.4 percent) is up 9 percent, jumping from No. 119th nationally to 41st. Passing yards per game and efficiency are also up. Even if sophomore Treon Harris isn’t making many big plays – UF’s 15 touchdown passes are one more than the SEC average – he’s not making many bad plays, either. Only 12 teams in the country have thrown fewer interceptions than UF (four). That leads to …

Turnovers

The Gators ranked in the top 35 nationally last year in turnover margin but have fared even better this season. Their plus-9 turnover differential is tied for 13th best in the country.

Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves’ interception set up UF’s first touchdown in a 14-9 win over Kentucky. The Gators scored 19 points off four Ole Miss turnovers to upset the then-No.?3 Rebels, and they forced five more to smother rival Georgia.

Money downs

Even when UF’s offense and defense aren’t clicking, they have thrived on third and fourth downs. The Gators’ conversion rate has improved three percentage points on offense and four on defense since last season.

If those statistics don’t sound impressive, consider the specifics. UF erased a 13-point deficit against Tennessee by going 4-for-4 on fourth downs in the second half. The defense squashed Missouri by forcing five consecutive three-and-outs. UF overcame its four turnovers last week by holding Vanderbilt to 6-of-20 on third down.

Late recruiting push

When McElwain took over in December, the Gators had only seven oral commitments. UF’s late recruiting run salvaged a top-25 national ranking and snared enough talent to make an early impact. Six true freshmen have started at least one game for the Gators. All six of them committed or flipped to UF within a week of signing day. Those late recruiting coups include:

– Receiver Antonio Callaway, who caught the winning touchdown against Tennessee and set a UF true freshman record with three 100-yard games

– Offensive lineman Martez Ivey, a top-five national talent who has started the past three games

– Defensive end CeCe Jefferson, a five-star recruit who is one of only three Gators with at least one sack, one tackle for a loss and one fumble recovery

Offensive tackle Mason Halter wasn’t in that recruiting class, but the Fordham transfer is new to UF. Halter and Callaway are among the seven Gators who have started every game.

The mental shift

There’s no way to quantify it, but perhaps the most important change happened mentally in a locker room that was 11-13 the previous two seasons.

“Nobody wants to feel that way anymore,” Hargreaves said.

At some point in the offseason – whether it was because of the new coaching staff or internal frustration – players began working harder to fix it.

“I’ve been here for three years, and guys are tired of losing,” running back Kelvin Taylor said. “We were willing to do whatever it takes to have a great season this year.”