Florida Gators' Trip to Mississippi State could be Ideal Tonic

The Florida Gators hitting the road and get out of the pressure cooker that is Gainesville right now could be the cure for what ails them.

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier has come under fire in Gainesville / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

Normally, people view football as an escape from the stressors of everyday life. The upcoming Florida/Mississippi State game promises to take the minds off the tumult of surrounding the Florida Gators football program. For those three-plus hours between the lines will matter more Saturday. Not the future or recruits. 

This small period of respite gives the chance to forget how sad of a state that the football program currently resides in. No one knows the future of the program outside of the athletic facility. Even then, everything feels cloudy and uncertain. What doesn't seem murky is that fact that the Florida Gators will play an SEC football game against the Mississippi State University Bulldogs. 

Mental Prep

Fourth-year junior offensive tackle Austin Barber remains a a team leader. Despite the head coach sitting on a seat made of gasoline-soaked charcoal set ablaze by the fire of disappoint, the game could spiral fully out of control with early bad play. However, the linemen expects a forward-thinking team. Barber fully grasps the situation. At media availability, he discussed his state of mind. 

"I think it starts with the week coming up now.  Like it's back to looking at Mississippi State and going forward from there.  Can't look in the past.  We got the guys in the building that come in every day and want to win, want to turn it around," said Barber.

Away From Home

After the disasters of Miami and Texas A&M, the Gators hit the road for Starkville, Miss. Away from the firestorm and rumors circling could give the Gators a break from the mounting pressure within the program. Barber sees this as a positive. 

"Yeah.  I have full confidence in this team that we're going to go in there and perform," said Barber. "That's my opinion.  We got guys in the building that want to win. Like I said, it doesn't matter where we play.  Just got to go there and perform.  I think it's just going out there and performing.  I mean, take the things that happened in the past three weeks and apply them that we can be better at and go and do it on the road."

Diversion

For those 180-plus minutes, the Florida Gators have no ancillary issues. From kickoff to final whistle, nothing matters. The players get to play for their own future, not a head coach and certainly not an athletic director, holding on like a combination of Wilson Phillips and En Vogue.