Florida, which has a path to the College Football Playoff and easily won the SEC East, just needed a stand in overtime to defeat the 2-8 Florida Atlantic Owls, 20-14.
SEC East champion Florida just needed overtime to beat a horrendous FAU team
The No. 8 Gators almost eliminated themselves from Playoff contention with a very silly loss to Florida Atlantic.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Gators struggled offensively all day. Treon Harris went 8-for-17 passing, and the team only got 123 yards on 43 carries. Florida’s offense even helped the Owls score. A late sack on Harris led to a game-tying Owls fumble recovery.
Plus, the Gators’ still-shaky kicker situation haunted them. Austin Hardin missed two field goals and had his extra point attempt in overtime blocked, leaving the Owls in line to win with a touchdown and extra point.
But the Gators defense came through, as it did all day. It only allowed one offensive touchdown and had a fumble recovery that put the Gators a few yards from the end zone.
While a loss wouldn’t have hurt the Gators in the SEC standings -- they’re still headed to the championship game thanks to their dominance of the strugglefest that is the SEC East -- this would’ve been the new worst loss by a team in line to make the bracket. The eighth-ranked Gators still have a road to participate if they win out and beat Alabama in the championship game. A loss to FAU would’ve wrecked that.
Florida Atlantic had been absolutely horrible coming into Saturday. The Owls were just 2-8, with their only wins over Florida International and first-year FCS program Charlotte. But that doesn’t quite explain how bad they’ve been. They’re ranked 141st in the Sagarin ratings, below quite a few FCS teams. This would’ve been a worse loss than Florida’s famous failure against Georgia Southern.
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