The shock and shame of Florida’s season sunk to a new low as the Gators watched Georgia Southern celebrate a decisive victory on their home field.
It seems anyone can beat UF this year, even a mediocre team from the Football Championship Subdivision. Georgia Southern owned Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the Gators, running over them for a 26-20 victory. It is Florida’s first loss to an FCS or Division I-AA team in program history, and it is assured of a losing record for the first time since 1979.
“It’s all disappointing,” said coach Will Muschamp, the man responsible for this mess. “It’s hard to really measure it. I’m very disappointed, and we’ve got to get it fixed and we will.”
This was not even one of the good FCS teams. Georgia Southern, which was paid $550,000 to make the trip, came into the game at 6-4 with losses to Wofford, Samford, Appalachian State and Furman. Those teams were good enough to beat the mighty Eagles, but the Gators were not. They became the eighth Football Bowl Subdivision team to lose to an FCS program this year.
Florida can blame injuries — at least 14 players were out — but Georgia Southern’s scholarship limit is 73 compared to the Gators’ cap of 85. Plus, the Eagles were missing 19 injured players.
GSU’s triple-option offense stumped the Gators and ran for 429 yards on the nation’s No. 7 defense. It was the fourth-highest rushing total UF has ever allowed and 75.5 yards better than what the Eagles averaged against FCS teams this season.
They did not need a single pass completion to earn the win. They gained all of their yardage on the ground.
Muschamp was concerned about his players’ ability to read the triple-option and his fears came to life when they never figured it out.
“This is what they do for a living,” he said of the Eagles. “It’s hard to defend them. They’re going to gain four or five yards. That’s what they do. They bleed you to death.”
The Gators were abysmal on offense, too. They managed 279 yards, with 139 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Georgia Southern allowed an average of 368.6 yards to FCS teams this year. Third-string quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg completed 14 of 25 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Florida was ranked 113th in the country in total offense entering the game. The season-long ineptitude puts second-year offensive coordinator Brent Pease in a dangerous position going forward.
“We’re struggling offensively and it has infected our entire team,” Muschamp said.
The Gators took a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, but GSU scored three straight touchdowns to go ahead 20-10. The Eagles helped UF by botching a punt at their own end of the field and missing two extra points, but that was not enough.
Florida rallied to tie the game at 20 on Mornhinweg’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Solomon Patton with 5:41 remaining. Georgia Southern answered with a 75-yard drive on five plays, including a 53-yard run by quarterback Jerick McKinnon. McKinnon scored from 14 yards out with 2:57 left to secure the victory.
Florida’s last desperate charge to win the game ended at the Georgia Southern 17-yard line. Mornhinweg’s final two throws toward the end zone fell incomplete, and the Eagles rushed onto the field for a post-game party. The Gators could not get to the locker room fast enough.
“We expect to win every game in The Swamp,” linebacker Darrin Kitchens said. “It was extremely difficult.”
It is particularly difficult for Muschamp, who two weeks earlier received a “thousand percent” backing from athletic director Jeremy Foley. The defeat to Georgia Southern dropped his record at Florida to 22-15, and he is presiding over just the fourth losing season UF has had since 1961.
After starting the season 4-1, the Gators have lost six straight and will not reach bowl eligibility. They snapped a 22-year run of playing in the postseason, the second-longest active streak in the country.
And it gets worse. If Georgia Southern was too much for Florida to handle, what will happen when No. 2 Florida State storms into The Swamp for the regular-season finale? The loss to the Eagles provided little hope for improvement.
“We came out flat as a team,” offensive guard Jon Halapio said. “They came out here and played their tails off. This was their ballgame. We took them lightly and we got outworked, outplayed.
“Very shocking. The morale on this team is at an all-time low.”
