With LSU coming to town in the final game of the regular season in a game that was rescheduled from October, many expected Florida to do the same. LSU had a true freshman quarterback making his first start, and the Tigers defense had struggled against top offenses.
But it didn’t play out like that. Despite outgaining LSU by almost 200 yards, Florida turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions from Trask (one of which was a pick-six). Quarterback Max Johnson threw for three touchdowns and, set up by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on UF’s Marco Wilson for throwing a cleat, LSU nailed a game-winning field goal.
Before that game, the Gators looked to enter the SEC Championship against Alabama knowing a win would all but seal its spot in the College Football Playoff. With the loss to LSU, though, those dreams were a longshot, and not many expected Florida to be able to compete with Alabama.
For a half, that looked to be the case. Heading into the locker room, the Crimson Tide led 35-17, and it appeared the rout was on. But Florida fought back in the second half. A fantastic game from Trask brought the Gators to just a six-point deficit. Florida had a chance on the last play of the game, but it couldn’t capitalize. Alabama may have won 52-46, but it was its closest game of the season, and it showed that Florida isn’t too far off from competing with the big boys.
Obviously, the aforementioned Cotton Bowl loss was a setback. Sure, the Gators were missing a lot of players. But most of the players who were missing are guys who won’t be on the team next year. Against Oklahoma, we got a look at many of the players who will be stepping into bigger roles in 2021, and the early returns there are a bit concerning.
Florida has to replace its most prolific passer in school history with Trask, and quarterback Emory Jones, who has been a backup since he arrived in 2018, is the heir apparent. He’s seen limited action and has shown signs of promise, but he hasn’t had an extended opportunity to run the offense in a meaningful situation.
More concerning for Florida, though, will be its defense. Florida’s defenses in Mullen’s first two seasons were nothing to write home about, but they got the job done. But this year’s defense was one of the worst in recent memory, and there’s not much sign it will improve in 2021. It appears Mullen has made the decision to keep defensive coordinator Todd Grantham while dismissing safeties coach Ron English and cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray.
The decision to keep Grantham is one that could go on to define Mullen’s tenure, either good or bad.
In a lot of ways, the 2020 season felt like progress. Beating Georgia and capturing a division title were big milestones for Mullen, and this team was a part of the playoff race much later into the season than his first two were (all of this in spite of a 10-game, conference only schedule). But at the same time, this team could’ve done a lot more. A historic offense was wasted on a defense that had no answer for even the SEC’s weaker offensive attacks.
And at the end of the day, it’s hard for 8-4 to feel like anything other than a disappointment.
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