Remember that moment when Gator Nation was warm and fuzzy all over? When Florida football fans were giddy beyond words for the first time in years and the resounding optimism for the program’s future was nearly palpable?

No?

If not, it’s somewhat understandable, given that it’s been nearly two months since the Gators won at South Carolina to clinch the SEC East crown and assure the school’s first appearance in the SEC Championship Game since 2009.

The euphoria that followed has since given way to a six-week malaise of sorts, the kind of sour taste that is left in your mouth following an ugly three-game losing skid to close the season, the latest being Friday’s 41-7 thumping at the hands of Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl. Florida now limps into the offseason having lost its final three games by a combined score of 97-24 while managing just two offensive touchdowns along the way, making that warm, fuzzy feeling of nearly two months ago into little more than a distant memory.

It doesn’t take away from all first-year coach Jim McElwain and his team accomplished, but it’s hardly the season’s conclusion the many Gator faithful had in mind back in the dizzy days of early November when anything seemed possible.

Fans were giddy then as McElwain, the eventual SEC Coach of the Year after becoming the first in school history to win 10 games in his first season, had proven the naysayers wrong with an unlikely season that seemingly had the program back on track to greatness far quicker than anybody might have believed.

An improbable 28-27 come-from-behind win over Tennessee, a thorough 38-10 dismantling of then third-ranked Ole Miss and a convincing 27-3 beatdown of rival Georgia made Gator Nation think the magic would only continue.

But fate had other ideas, especially following quarterback Will Grier’s yearlong suspension in mid-October for the use of performance-enhancing steroids.

Florida was lucky to escape SEC doormat Vanderbilt 9-7 at Homecoming on Nov. 7 and needed overtime to slip past lowly Florida Atlantic 20-14 on Nov. 21.

Things began going south in hurry from that point on, with consecutive double-digit losses to rival Florida State (27-2) on Nov. 28 and to Alabama (29-15) in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on Dec. 5.

The loss in Orlando to the Wolverines was the worst setback yet as Michigan simply abused a Florida defense that had been the team’s strength. The game served as further harsh reminder as to just how far McElwain and his staff still have to go before the Gators rejoin the nation’s elite.

Help is on the way in the form of several prized recruits, several of whom figure to play prominent roles from the outset this coming fall.

But knowing as much hasn’t helped make things any easier the past two months.

Where’d the magic go?