The Florida program appears to be on the upswing under Dan Mullen as the Gators are coming off an Orange Bowl win over Virginia and back-to-back 10-win regular seasons. But Mullen sees more work ahead, and the degree of difficulty ramps up in 2020.

“It was tough to go from four to 10 wins, it was tougher to go from 10 to 11 wins, it’s even harder to go from 11 to 12,” Mullen said in his post-game press conference after the Orange Bowl, via Darren Stoltzfus. “The mental and physical toughness that it takes, the preparation that it takes, starting January 6th, when we get back, the 2020 team’s born. … The mental toughness that it takes to come in, day after day, work, push yourself to get better. We have to do more than we did last year.”

Each practice and game must be better, he said, because the margin for error is so small, as he referred to the two games Florida lost in 2019 against LSU and Georgia.

“One or two plays can make a difference, so the attention to detail, the grind, we have to work on and we’re going to continue to take the step and we’re going to work harder,” Mullen said. “… Once you get to 12 (wins) you might get a couple extra ones in there.”