Florida won 10 games and the SEC East in 2015, outdoing virtually every expectation for Jim McElwain's first season. And the Gators were occasionally brilliant in doing so, despite losing their best quarterback.
Yet a 10-win season has rarely tasted so sour — and a 41-7 loss to Michigan in the 2016 Citrus Bowl is partly to blame.
Jake Rudock threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns and Michigan ran for 225 yards, as Florida's defense looked as listless as it has this decade. And after a brief spurt of competent, exciting offense in the first half, the Gators' punchless attack returned, leaving virtually every position open for competition in what could be a long, hard offseason.