By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Florida Gators are 3-3 this season after losing consecutive games at home against Texas A&M and LSU.

Despite winning the SEC East the last two years, they have effectively erased their chances at a threepeat after the being on the wrong side of the 19-17 game against A&M.

More than a few eyebrows have been raised at the state of the team, some being pointed at head coach Jim McElwain. I wonder, however, if it is fair to blame him for the losses, or should he instead be praised for leading a bad team to a .500 record so far?

Their loss to the Aggies was only a loss within the last minute of the game, after several big plays led to fourth-quarter field goals. The collapse could certainly be attributed to the fact that nearly a quarter of their roster was unavailable.

Florida is stretched very thin. There are nine players, including key receiver Antonio Calloway and key rusher Jordan Scarlett, that are suspended pending a felony investigation into a credit card fraud scheme. That isn’t funny per se, but it is almost amusingly indictive of Florida’s cluster of a season.

There are also tons of injuries, including a season-ender to QB Luke Del Rio that has forced redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks into the lineup (despite the availability of Malik Zaire).

Franks has plenty of room for improvement. Although he had a huge run, he missed open receivers and showed little feel for managing a game. Franks completed 17 of 26 passes for 129 yards with 2 interceptions and 5 sacks.

His longest completion against the league’s 12th-ranked passing unit was an impromptu flip to Malik Davis, that the running back turned into a 20-yard gain during Florida’s opening drive.

So maybe Florida should be commended for even being in games? McElwain insists there are no free passes.

Still, the lengthy injury list includes the team’s leading tackler (safety Marcell Harris) from 2016 as well as dynamic receiver Kadarius Toney, deep threat Tyrie Cleveland, safety Nick Washington, defensive end Jabari Zuniga, guard Brett Heggie, linebacker Jeremiah Moon and running back Mark Thompson.

Defensive end Jordan Sherit, a fifth-year senior, joined them on the sideline in the fourth quarter with a hip injury that McElwain said will require surgery. With and without Sherit, the Aggies piled up 127 yards on 27 plays in the final frame.

But Florida’s ongoing issues seemingly go deeper than manpower. McElwain spent seven months raving about his offensive line, even calling it the “true strength” of his team, and the unit has been mediocre at best.

And the guy who once claimed he could win with his dog at quarterback has an offense that has managed four touchdown passes in six games, and that includes an improbable 63-yarder on the final play to beat Tennessee and two in which Kentucky failed to cover receivers.

Meanwhile, the quarterback McElwain encouraged to transfer following his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs in 2015, West Virginia’s Will Grier, has 21 touchdown passes. The Gators are 16-11 since Grier’s suspension, with three of those wins coming against seemingly overmatched opponents in payday games.

Here’s the most telling part for McElwain and Florida: It could be worse. If not for those defensive gaffes by Tennessee and Kentucky, the Gators could be 1-5 heading into their bye week and entering a rivalry game against third-ranked Georgia as huge underdogs.

Undermanned underdogs.