The search for respect continues for the Florida Gators and Jim McElwain.

It’s hard to believe that this program would be in a position where it needs to earn respect.

If you had a top 10 list of programs since 1990, there’s little doubt the Gators would be on there somewhere and probably around the top five. Three national championships, nine SEC championships, a couple of Heisman winners, and a laundry list of NFL players. The Gators check everything needed to be considered an elite program.

But the narrative began to change a few years ago. Maybe it was the loss to Georgia Southern and the 4-8 record in the 2013 season or maybe it was the SEC East’s period of ineptitude against its West counterparts. Florida was no longer the feared opponent it once was. The Swamp remains a tough place to play, but it’s doesn’t have the mystique it once did.

The Gators’ road to regaining respect led them to Arlington to play Michigan in their first opener against a ranked, non-conference opponent since 1987.

Florida was embarrassed by Michigan in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, losing 41-7. On Saturday the Gators had a chance to avenge that loss and send a message to the rest of the college football landscape.

Instead they laid an offensive egg.

“They physically took it to us,” McElwain said in his post-game press conference. “They beat us every which way you can.”

The 33-17 loss to Michigan wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Florida rushed for 11 yards and could only manage nine first downs. Florida is now 2-8 against top 25 opponents under McElwain. Six off the losses are against Florida State, Alabama and Michigan by an average score of 35-11.

It was the cherry on top of an embarrassing couple of weeks for McElwain and the Gators program. The program had to suspended 10 players, nine for credit-card fraud including top offensive starters Antonio Callaway and Jordan Scarlett. Both players are suspended indefinitely and there’s a prevailing opinion around the program that Callaway, a multi-time offender, shouldn’t suit up for Florida again.

But he will. Because McElwain desperately needs him. That in itself is a sad state of affairs.

Callaway and Scarlett are very good players, no doubt about that, but this is Florida. It is supposed to recruit elite-level skill players. When Florida is right, its third-team receivers and running backs should be able to start at 95 percent of the other programs in the nation.

Right now, the program isn’t right and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why they can’t put it all together.

“I still believe in this football team,” McElwain said. “I believe in these guys.”

The circle of belief in McElwain, however, continues to shrink.

For Florida to regain the respect it once had, the Gators have to beat top-level teams. They have to beat teams like Michigan and become competitive against Florida State again.

Winning the SEC East Division in back-to-back years is nice, but it’s not going to placate a fan base that wants their program to be part of a bigger discussion. It appeared that Florida turned a small corner last year at LSU. The program was openly disrespected when the narrative circulated that McElwain and then-AD Jeremy Foley were not exactly aggressive in their desire to reschedule a game against the Tigers.

The fact that anyone would have believed Florida was afraid to face anybody was laughable, but there it was. The Gators responded to the criticism with a goal-line stand and a 16-10 victory that earned them a second straight SEC East title. It should have been a turning point.

Instead Florida has lost three of four since then, all three losses were blowouts against Top 15 opponents.

In all three losses, the Gators looked unprepared and timid. They were pushed around and never appeared to be a threat to win with the exception of a couple of minutes Saturday when the defense scored on consecutive pick-sixes. As bad as losing is, there’s nothing worse than watching a team that doesn’t look like it’s ready to compete against the big boys.

Florida will bounce back and win this week against Northern Colorado. Heck, it might win its next several games and have a gaudy record by the middle of the season. But the Gators won’t get another chance to make a first impression in a nationally-televised game against a top opponent.

Maybe this is what the Gators are now: Good enough to beat the teams they are supposed to beat but not good enough to beat the teams that will decide if they can compete for championships.

“We’ve got to look at things at a lot of things, McElwain said. “And yet it’s not time to panic button, we’re got a good football team.”

Maybe they are a good football team, but being good isn’t good enough for the Florida Gators.