Florida: Shane Beamer's Postgame Comments Should Bother Gators Players

The September Florida Gators were one of the most exciting teams in college football.

First-year head coach Jon Sumrall raced off to a 4-0 start, including earning a 52-28 win over then-No. 4 Ole Miss at "The Swamp" on Sept. 26. The last two contests have been painful. 

Florida was blown out 45-17 to Mizzou on Oct. 3 before suffering a 38-19 loss to South Carolina at home on Saturday. The Gators lost to a Gamecocks program that had lost three consecutive games (all in the SEC) entering the contest and had questions surrounding head coach Shane Beamer. 

One of the criticisms for Beamer had been his team's inability to hold onto leads. South Carolina blew leads to Mississippi State and Kentucky. USC took a 17-10 lead into halftime before extending the lead to 31-13 in the third quarter.

But South Carolina didn't fold. 

Per Jordan Kaye of The State, Beamer told his players before the game that USC's goal was to empty "The Swamp" of Gators fans. He believed The Gamecocks could build a lead they wouldn't relinquish, unlike several of their past conference games.

Those comments should be an eye-opener for Florida. South Carolina saw something heading into the week that showed Florida was not ready to handle serious adversity. 

Two weeks in a row, the Gators didn't show much fight late in the game when they were trailing.

Beamer told reporters after the game that he figured people around the country were waiting for the Gamecocks to collapse in the second half. But his players had the mental toughness to play all 60 minutes.

Saturday's game was a wake-up call for Florida. 

Entering October, Florida looked like a challenger for the College Football Playoff. Two weekends into October, the Gators have a lot of problems still to fix if they want to make a bowl game.

The Gators must fix problems with the offensive line and the secondary if they want to compete with some of the top teams in the SEC over the next month.

UF's four games will come against No. 7 Texas, No. 1 Georgia, Oklahoma, and No. 15 Kentucky.

None of those teams are feeling sorry for Florida. And frankly, based on Beamer's comments, some in the SEC seem to think the Gators don't respond well to being punched in the mouth.

Sumrall didn't put up with that mindset at his last two programs. It remains to be seen if he can get this group of Gators to buy in.