If Florida Wants to Crash the Playoff, QB Treon Harris Must Improve

Florida has been one of the best stories of the 2015 college football season. Jim McElwain’s first season in Gainesville has been a smashing success, with Saturday’s 24-14 win over South Carolina improving the Gators, who’ve already clinched the SEC East, to 9-1.

McElwain’s group still has a legit shot at the College Football Playoff, provided it wins the SEC championship. But that won’t happen unless sophomore quarterback Treon Harris improves and shows he can carry the Gators offense when needed.

Redshirt freshman Will Grier’s ascension to the starting quarterback role was a huge factor in Florida’s improvement post-Will Muschamp. Grier is a better fit for the pro-style offense that McElwain prefers, and it showed over the season’s first half.

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While Grier and Harris shared some snaps in the first two games, Grier emerged as the clear No. 1 quickly. In six games, he had 1,204 yards passing with 10 touchdowns against three interceptions, completing 65.9 percent of his passes. But Grier’s season ended in mid-October thanks to an NCAA suspension connected to a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

Grier will be sidelined for a calendar year, handing the Florida offense back to Harris. The Gators are 3-1 since, with the only loss a hard-fought 35-28 loss at LSU. However, Florida has been winning largely despite Harris, not because of him.

Saturday, Harris completed 19 of 33 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. South Carolina was within three points with under four minutes to play thanks in part to Florida’s offensive struggles, which included a very poor Harris interception snagged at the goal line late in the second quarter.

“We can’t turn the ball over,” McElwain told Dr. Jerry Punch on ESPN’s broadcast. “We gave up points in the red area and learned from it. We’ve got our guys playing our tails off. We’re a good football team, and we’ll get a little bit better next week.”

In four games as the starter, Harris has four touchdowns against three interceptions with no 300-yard passing games and is completing 51.8 percent of his passes in that stretch.

Following a gimme game next Saturday against Florida Atlantic, the Gators host archrival Florida State in the regular-season finale, which is followed by a trip to the SEC Championship Game, likely against Alabama.

Florida State’s defense is youthful but improving, and it played Clemson to a 13-13 tie through three quarters before the Tigers pulled away for a 23-13 win. Meanwhile, Alabama, the likely SEC title game foe, has improved each week following an early-season loss to Ole Miss.

The Crimson Tide’s defensive front, anchored by standout defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, is one of the best in college football and proved it by holding LSU tailback Leonard Fournette to 31 yards on 19 carries in last week’s 30-16 win.

If Florida can beat the Seminoles and Crimson Tide, it’d be hard to keep a team with a lone road loss to LSU out of the playoff, a monumental achievement for any first-year coach. But unless Harris raises his game and the Gator offense along with it, there’s no way it’ll happen this year.