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I know a lot of Gator football fans are still smarting over the SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama, and it is certainly understandable.

I don't think anyone, not even the most ardent Alabama fan, could have predicted how dominant the Crimson Tide would be in this game. But facts are facts and Florida got its tail whipped but good.

But now the question that is up for debate...given the lofty expectations this team and its fans set for this season, is the 2009 year going to go down as a successful one?

You can certainly make a case for saying no. This ONE game loss in the SEC Championship Game means no SEC title, no national title, and no rings for this team in 2009.

Nothing.

All the weeks it was ranked number one, all the trials and tribulations this team navigated through to get to Atlanta is all a distant memory. It came down to a de facto playoff game to win the SEC championship and to play for a national title and Florida came up short.

If you are making the yes argument to my question, you can point to a 12-1 season, to appearing in a BCS bowl game (Sugar Bowl) and a chance to win and go 13-1 and end up as one of the top five teams in the country. And, let's face it, that is something Florida has not done a whole lot in its long history of playing football.

Certainly the season would be a bigger disappointment if Florida does not get motivated to play in the Sugar Bowl and loses to Cincinnati, a team that is trying to make history of its own by finishing an undefeated season. You can bet the Bearcats will be plenty motivated to knock off big boy, SEC power Florida on national television much as Utah was last year in beating Alabama.

I always try to be a glass half full kind of guy, but I must tell you, for all that Florida has accomplished this year, the loss in the SEC title game does put a rather large damper on what is on paper a very successful year. Maybe a few years from now when we see a 13-1 or a 12-2 record for the 2009 season it will look better, but for right now I think the Gator players, especially the seniors, and many Gator fans feel the season has ended on a terribly demoralizing and disappointing note.

And I suppose it is very telling as to what many people feel is "successful" with Florida football now; there was a time that going to the Sugar Bowl and ending up with 13 wins and a top five or so national finish would have been wonderful but for many, in this particular season given the expectation levels whether realistic or not, all of those nice numbers will ring hollow.

The stated goal of this team was to get to Atlanta, win the SEC title game and go to the Rose Bowl to play for a national title. The pieces seemed in place but it just didn't happen thanks to an Alabama team that exposed Florida in many areas.

And what about the future? Things will most certainly change. The seniors will leave; a lot of juniors could too. Will Charlie Strong leave for a head coaching job and possibly take other coaches on the staff with him?

Truth be told, this will be an off season to watch very closely as the changing of the guard takes place in Gator football. The Tim Tebow/Brandon Spikes Era has almost ended and it will be fascinating to see what changes are made with this team.

But one more game remains for this group of record setting seniors and the hope is the team will be fully motivated and win. The healing process from the SEC loss must start now but as we saw with Alabama last year that task won't be easy.