With Florida’s 54-16 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game in the books – and the Gators officially set to play in the Outback Bowl against Iowa on Jan. 2 – Inside the Gators now presents three takeaways from this weekend’s events.

1. Florida is fortunate to draw a matchup with Iowa during bowl season.

After Florida finished Jim McElwain’s first season on a three-game slide with losses to FSU, Alabama and Michigan by a combined margin of 97-24, so far 2016 has been a case of déjà vu during the latter stretch of the year. The Gators have suffered losses to Florida State and Alabama once again, this time by a combined 85-29 with bowl season approaching.

Without a bowl win against Iowa, Florida would end McElwain’s first two seasons going 0-3 at the end of the year and a combined 0-4 in the postseason.

“One thing I do know, we've got to go to win this Bowl game wherever we do end up,” McElwain said directly after Saturday’s result. “We're going to put a plan together and get the players out there to go play that and go win a game.

"Obviously, we open up with a big opponent next year in Dallas (against Michigan). So the bowl game itself, we've got to go play hard and put a plan together and win. The guys have got to go compete, not be afraid. And I was really disappointed, obviously, in the effort last year, but this is a different team. We've got some guys that are in it for a lot more than just themselves.”