After losing to the Missouri Tigers last week, the Gators enter a Week 13 matchup with Florida State ranked 11th in the conference, according to the latest SEC vibes update from The Athletic.
Most of the talk this week involving Florida has focused on the quarterback situation, but The Athletic’s Seth Emerson reminds us that the defense failed to close out the win last week against a now top-10 opponent.
“Fourth-and-17. That’s all the Florida secondary had to do, keep Missouri from getting 17 yards on one play, and it was over,” Emerson wrote. “Maybe keep an eye on Luther Burden and put a man or two on one of the best receivers in the country just in case Missouri thought of passing the ball to him. That’s all. Not asking for much. And yet … sigh.”
Emerson didn’t pull any punches, and he shouldn’t have. Florida had that game in its hands and couldn’t put a bow on it. Good teams win in those scenarios.
Upsetting Florida State, which is also down its starting quarterback, would be a nice way to close out a disappointing season. Hopefully, Year 3 under Billy Napier sees Florida finish the season in the upper half of these rankings.
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