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Chomping at Bits: Will Jim McElwain's outburst fade from view for Florida?

The Gators' head man sure hopes so.

By Andy Hutchins
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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Jim McElwain's outburst may have a shelf life: It's hard to tell what more can really come as fallout for Florida coach Jim McElwain's profane upbraiding of Kelvin Taylor last Saturday. Taylor has spoken on it via tweet, McElwain has appeared chastened — if not formally apologetic — for his actions, and Fred Taylor has spoken on it to Dan Le Batard, both explaining that he understood why McElwain did what he did and terming it "a little bit of an overreaction." (Notably, the elder Taylor did take issue with McElwain "challenging (Kelvin's) manhood.") And the younger Taylor has been demoted on Florida's depth chart, which appears for all the world to be a response to the original sin of throat-slashing.

But now comes a week before a game in which Florida is favored to extend a decades-long winning streak, against an opponent that Gators fans have feared enough to care about maybe once or twice in their lives. And though I've seen more than a little "Can we move on now?" sentiment related to the sideline incident, I'm not convinced it will go away until that game begins — and, surely, if Taylor does anything notable in the game, and/or in subsequent ones, it will be brought up again. This is the peril implicit in doing things on camera, especially early in a prominent life — the kind McElwain has now that he is the coach at Florida — those memories last as first impressions, and first impressions are hard to shake.

The best way for McElwain to distance himself from his tirade? Continued winning. It doesn't "fix" everything (or anything), but it sure makes some things easier to swallow. (Thomas Goldkamp, 247Sports | Luis Torres, The Alligator)

Recapping Florida commits' Friday nights: Again, I hope to have one of these recaps of our own started up shortly. (Andrew Spivey, Gator Country)

Quarterbacks still splitting time: Oh, yeah, that's happening. (Robbie Andreu, The Gainesville Sun)

A Sea of Blue thinks McElwain's tirade is no big deal: More objectionable: The throat-slash in the first place. (Jason Marcum, A Sea of Blue)

Your Gators moments of zen:

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