After seven long, grueling weeks, the bye week is here for the Florida Gators football team
The Gators head into the off week with a 6-1 record and have rolled off five straight wins. Four of those wins have come against SEC competition and has catapulted the Gators to the top of the SEC East. Those marks have garnered the Gators the 11th spot in the AP Top-25 poll.
The bye week gives the Gators a chance to look back on the first half of the season and prepare for the latter half.
Time to get healthy
One of the most important parts of the bye week is getting players healthy. Injuries haven’t been a huge issue for Florida so far this season, but the bangs and bruises that accumulate throughout the season can begin to wear on the players.
Elijah Conliffe suffered a minor ankle injury early in the season. He’s recovered from it, but the extra week off allows him to get fully healed.
For starting quarterback Feleipe Franks, this allows him to heal from hits he’s absorbed from defensive lineman and linebackers over the course of the season.
Down time
With Saturday off for the first time since mid-August, that gives the players plenty of time to relax and take a day for themselves.
πΈ #SeasonReview πΈ
π Fun
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π #RelentlessEffort
π #GatorNation #GatorStandard π #GoGators pic.twitter.com/g68COOypJS— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 18, 2018
C.J. Henderson said that despite the off day, he’ll still get a workout in before watching his former high school teammates at Miami.
Other players will be spending their time in different ways. Aside from watching Saturdays slate of college football, there will be other activities going on. Conliffe will be spending it with Call of Duty.
Looking ahead
#GatorNation — Thank you for all the support so far this season! Can't wait to see you all in Jacksonville next week and back in #TheSwamp during the month of November!
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— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) October 18, 2018
The bye week also gives the Gators an extra week to prepare for Georgia. The nations eighth ranked team will be one of the biggest tests for Florida this season.
Along with resting, extra film study and preparation will go into getting ready for Georgia.