It caught Jim McElwain by surprise.

On Wednesday, I asked him a question on the SEC Coaches Teleconference about his team’s ability to win close games. After last week’s thriller in Lexington, Florida is 9-1 in one-possession games in the McElwain era.

“9-1. Wow,” McElwain said. “Let’s just keep it at one. How’s that?”

Somehow, McElwain’s team has kept it at one for two years. Florida hasn’t lost a one-possession game since it fell in its first Will Grier-less game at LSU in 2015.

McElwain obviously knew his team won some thrillers the past couple years. Shoot, each of the past two games were heart-stoppers for Florida fans. One of those games was won on a Hail Mary. The other was one after Florida took advantage of an uncovered receiver.

Not every one of McElwain’s nine one-possession wins at Florida has happened in unconventional fashion like that. There was the goal-line stand at LSU in 2016. And who could forget the Grier-to-Antonio Callaway catch and run that sunk Tennessee in 2015 (how did the Vols not tackle him?).

Florida’s nail-biter victories have come in all shapes and sizes in the McElwain era. The important thing is that they’ve come at all. Lord knows Florida has needed every one-possession win possible to make consecutive trips to Atlanta. Given the way Georgia played so far, it’s safe to say the same will be true in 2017.

But has McElwain really been that good in close games? Or is that surprising 9-1 mark more lucky than good?

I don’t want to discredit a coach’s knack to make the right calls in winning time. The ability to do that can make or break a coach.

Part of that obviously falls on the players, too. McElwain said that in that Kentucky game, he saw that sense of calm because his team was so familiar with being in those spots. That wasn’t the reason the Wildcats made an inexplicable gaffe in the game’s defining moment, but it certainly helps.

The fact that Florida was even in that situation was troubling for Gators fans. While the spread was microscopic by kickoff, Kentucky was still a team Florida beat 30 consecutive years, yet McElwain’s team had to rally in the final minute to pull out a victory.

That’s part of the problem with that 9-1 stat.

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when McElwain won five one-possession games in his first season? Those victories came against East Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Florida Atlantic. Any Florida fan would look at that list and think their team would pummel at least four of the five squads, especially considering four of those games were at home.

Far too often, Florida plays down to its competition and prevails late. McElwain was well aware of that trend following the Kentucky game.

“More so for us is our ability to say, ‘Does it really have to come down to that? Does it have to be right there at the end or can we take care of some of that business up front?’” McElwain said. “To me … there’s some good things to say about being able to play this way the first and second quarter. How about not just sparring but let’s come out of the gates firing.”

It’s not just that Florida played down to its competition and won all of those one-possession games.

The 2016 victory against LSU and the Hail Mary game against Tennessee this year were the Gators’ only one-possession wins against ranked foes in the McElwain era. In Florida’s other nine games against ranked foes, his team is 2-7 having been outscored 266-166.

Wow, indeed.

Let’s go to an alternative universe in which Florida lost just one more one-possession game per year. For argument’s sake, let’s say Tennessee doesn’t somehow let Callaway slip away in 2015, the Gators allow Derrius Guice gets that extra push into the end zone against LSU in 2016, and Kentucky covers one more receiver in 2017.

I know. That’s a lot of things, but not really. If that happened, Florida would still be a solid 6-4 in one-possession games. It just wouldn’t have that SEC East title (Tennessee would’ve been 6-2 with the tiebreaker) or a Top-25 finish in 2015. The Gators also would’ve had eight wins in 2016. Oh, and we’d be looking at a 1-2 start for Florida in 2017.

Obviously that universe doesn’t exist, but that’s how close McElwain has been to a much different scenario than the one he’s in. Has his team been extremely fortunate late in games? Sure. Does it frustrate Florida fans that they’re even in those heart-stopping situations? Absolutely.

The 9-1 stat might’ve caught McElwain by surprise, but it should’ve served as a reminder.

It wouldn’t take much for the situation in The Swamp to be a lot murkier.