Florida Gators coach Dan Mullen was not graceful in defeet defeat after his second loss of the season.
His team fell to the LSU Tigers, 37-34, on Saturday night. Technically speaking, Florida lost after they a missed field goal as time expired. But really, Gators defensive back Marco Wilson’s fourth-quarter shoe toss was largely what sunk Florida.
With 1:51 on the clock and a tie at 34, the Tigers got just four yards on a third-and-10 — until Wilson’s shoe-throwing outburst, which gave LSU a new set of downs. An LSU player lost his shoe, and Wilson tossed it. Naturally. The Tigers finished the drive with the go-ahead field goal, which eventually proved to be the game-winner.
So when Mullen was asked about the shoe toss, he didn’t seem thrilled at the question or the call from the official.
Dan Mullen asked about Marco Wilson throwing the shoe to extend #LSU's go-ahead drive: "I guess that's a penalty. I have no idea what happened — I didn't see it. … Did you guys see it?"
Reporter: "Yea, he threw a guy's shoe."
Mullen: "OK. They called a penalty on it. So…" pic.twitter.com/vkjk6x71sP
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) December 13, 2020
During the press conference, he was asked about the College Football Playoff. Had Florida won on Saturday, they had a clearer path. With two losses and a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship next week, the Gators’ road to the playoffs gets more complicated.
But it seems Mullen thinks his path is more legitimate than other teams that haven’t played as many games this season, largely due to cancellations from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s what he said, via AL.com:
“I know we’ve played 10 games, so I guess probably the best thing to do would have been to play less games,” Mullen said, “because you seem to get rewarded for not playing this year in college football.”
Salty.
It’s likely he’s talking about Ohio State (5-0), the biggest beneficiary from Florida’s loss. Of course, he could have just done his job, and beaten an LSU team that lost, 55-17, to Alabama last week. He could have advised his players against open demonstrations of taunting their opponent. But Mullen chose to point the blame elsewhere.
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