Citrus Bowl 2016: Despite Loss, Jim McElwain's First Year at Florida a Success

It's hard to imagine based on how things ended, but the possibility existed in November—at least on paper—that Florida could contend for the College Football Playoff.

But the unstable quarterback situation after Will Grier's suspension, Treon Harris' regression in his stead and an offensive line that got banged up down the stretch sent Florida into a late-season tailspin that included three straight losses to tie a bow on Jim McElwain's first season as head coach.

The Gators were dominated 27-2 by Florida State in the regular-season finale and lost the SEC Championship Game 29-15 to Alabama. The trifecta came  on Friday afternoon in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, where Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines dominated the Gators 41-7 in Orlando, Florida.

McElwain didn't hold back in the postgame press conference, according to Zach Abolverdi of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

As was the case for pretty much the entire months of November and early December, the offensive line struggled to find consistency, Harris was erratic and the running game couldn't find room to work with so much attention being paid to it.

McElwain pointed out, per Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, that the process is still ongoing.

It leaves a sour taste in the mouth of McElwain, the players and Gator fans, but that shouldn't take away from what this season truly was.

A success.

A success by just about every possible measure.

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This wasn't supposed to be the year that Florida got back into the national conversation, but it was there for two whole months. Sure, a lot of that had to do with the emergence of quarterback Will Grier before he was suspended after Game 6. But he wasn't the only reason McElwain's crew found itself in the spotlight.

Two legitimate playmakers emerged alongside wide receiver Demarcus Robinson in sophomore slot receiver Brandon Powell and freshman Antonio Callaway. Powell caught 29 passes for 390 yards after moving from running back in the offseason, while the true freshman Callaway finished with a team-high 678 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

"This is a guy that this conference is going to hear about for a while to come and rightfully so," McElwain said prior to the SEC Championship Game. "Not only what he does as a receiver, but obviously as a return guy. He's energized us and he is a true playmaker. He's a get-it-to-guy and we're going to make sure he gets his touches."

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Even after Grier left the lineup, Callaway proved to be one of the conference's most dangerous players.

Defensive coordinator Geoff Collins didn't miss a beat in his first season at the helm. Sure, it helps when you have monsters like defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard, linebacker Antonio Morrison and defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III waiting at the new gig. But Collins also saw Jalen Tabor emerge as a star alongside Hargreaves, helped defensive end Cece Jefferson earn SEC All-Freshman honors and still has a loaded roster returning in 2016.

McElwain laid the foundation, the team earned a taste of success and brought the program back to relevance for the first time since the 2013 Sugar Bowl following the 2012 season.

If you copied that last paragraph and pasted into a story for Florida fans reading in May 2015, how many would have taken it?

Ten out of 10.

McElwain's first season as the head coach of the Gators was a rousing success, Friday's result notwithstanding.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.