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Todd Golden: National title appearance is ‘surreal,’ says Florida is ‘ahead of schedule’
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Todd Golden sat down with ESPN’s Rece Davis for an interview that aired just before Monday night’s national championship game and said his Florida program is ‘ahead of schedule.’
When Golden took over the Gator program in 2022, he stepped into a rocket waiting to launch in some respects. With a national championship pedigree and major brand power, the Gators had the necessary tools to compete with the elites. But they’d suffered at least 7 conference losses in 5 straight seasons under the previous regime and hadn’t made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament in any of those years.
In the 17 seasons prior to White, Florida had only 5 seasons total with 7 or more conference losses.
Golden, just 3 years in, has restored what Billy Donovan built.
“We’re 40 minutes away, man. We’re gonna enjoy and do everything we can to cut down the nets,” Golden told Davis.
Entering Monday night, Florida’s 35 wins were tied for the second-most in a single season in program history. With a win over Houston in the national championship game, the Gators would match the 2013-14 squad for the most wins in a single season in Florida basketball history.
“Sometimes when you’re playing on this big stage, you get caught up in different distractions or different things going on,” Golden said. “But we’re here because we’ve been the Florida Gators all year. … We have a great team that deserves this opportunity.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
