Checking in on the mid-season temperatures in Gainesville, Fla.

HOT

Alex McAlister. The redshirt sophomore defensive end is taking full advantage of his first season with significant playing time. Not only does he lead the team in sacks (4.0), but he’s also tied for the lead in tackles for losses (5.0) with standout junior Dante Fowler. He’s recorded at least 0.5 sack in four out of five games. Dubbed as an athletic freak, McAlister was forced to wait to play until he bulked up his 6-foot-6 frame. But now at 245 pounds, he’s strong enough to contribute and is proving very valuable this season.

WARM

Brandon Powell. While the true freshman’s numbers in just two games won’t blow you away, we saw a concerted effort to get him the ball more in the offense last week against LSU. He racked up nine touches for 72 total yards and was a primary target for Jeff Driskel in the passing game. He even received some important carries late in the game as the Gators were attempting to punch in a go-ahead touchdown near the goal line. With his speed and playmaking ability, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more of Powell moving forward.

COLD

Kelvin Taylor. The sophomore running back came into the season as one of the team’s top running backs. Unfortunately for him, Taylor has yet to really breakout this year and found himself somewhat in the dog house against LSU last week. He got only two carries all game and netted a total of zero yards. According to offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, Taylor’s struggles in the passing game are what contributed to his lack of playing time, so unless he can make some drastic improvements quickly, it’ll be interesting to see how much action he gets this week against Missouri.

FROZEN

Jeff Driskel. Stop me if you’ve heard that before. Driskel is currently the “coldest” commodity on the Florida Gators, thanks to another sub-par performance against an SEC team. No, the loss wasn’t all his fault and the Gators probably win if Tevin Westbrook catches an easy pass for a touchdown, but Driskel didn’t help himself with another three turnovers last week. He’s thrown just six touchdowns and eight interceptions this season and has yet to really develop any sort of rhythm in the offense. More often than not, he looks lost out on the field.

RELATED: Upon Further Review: Jeff Driskel’s poor decision on late INT sets up LSU win