JACKSONVILLE — On Saturday, Florida finally broke.
The Gators had struck a perilous balance in 2012. UF rode big plays, good defense and a one-dimensional offense to the No. 2 ranking in the BCS standings and the brink of a Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title.
However, six turnovers, a stagnant offense and yet another slow start were too much for Florida (7-1, 6-1 SEC) to overcome in a 17-9 loss to Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) at EverBank Field.
Now, instead of pressing onward in the national championship race, the Gators will need help just to play for the SEC title. Florida must defeat Missouri and then hope Georgia slips up against either Ole Miss or Auburn.
“I’ve said all season long: We’re not a team that has a lot of margin for error,” UF coach Will Muschamp said. “Six turnovers — wow. That’s tough to overcome.”
In just one week’s time, UF slipped from the driver’s seat to the back seat.
From “Florida never breaks” to “Hotty Toddy” and “War Eagle.”
“It just comes down to the basics,” quarterback Jeff Driskel said. “Football is about taking care of the ball, and we didn’t do that tonight. When you have six turnovers, it’s hard to win any game.”
The Gators took pride in their turnover margin, which stood at plus-11 entering Saturday’s game. Despite picking off UGA quarterback Aaron Murray three times, UF lost the turnover battle by three.
The giveaway onus fell on Driskel, who had turned the ball over only twice in his first seven career starts. Against the Bulldogs, Driskel
committed four of the Gators’ six turnovers.
“I made some critical mistakes,” Driskel said. “That’s what it comes down to. When you have a defense like we do, you can’t turn the ball over. They’re going to make stops. You can’t force things. You’ve just got to take points, and there were a couple of times there where we took points off the board and put our defense in tough spots.”
Despite numerous mistakes and a slow start, Florida still had chances to escape with a victory. The Gators’ failure to seize opportunistic moments proved heartbreaking.
Trailing by eight points and facing second-and-6 from Georgia’s 18-yard line with just more than two minutes remaining, Driskel hit tight end Jordan Reed over the middle for a 13-yard gain.
As the play neared completion, Reed jumped from the 5 and attempted to break the plane of the goal line.
While airborne, Reed took a hit from UGA linebacker Jarvis Jones and fumbled, losing a grip on both the ball and Florida’s control of the SEC East race. The Gators could not recover.
“It wasn’t one play that lost the game for us,” Jon Halapio said. “It was a team effort. There was no play here or there that could have definitely taken us out of the situation that we were in during the fourth quarter.”
The football was not the only thing Florida lost a grip on during Saturday’s game. Tempers flared early and often between the Gators and the Bulldogs.
A pregame scuffle between the teams became so heated, even Florida strength coach Jeff Dillman got involved, yelling at Georgia players and coaches.
Overall, UF racked up 10 penalties for 95 yards. Referees called four unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and five personal fouls against the two teams.
Under a coach renown for losing his cool on the sidelines, Florida lost control of its emotions.
“There was a lot of penalties,” Jon Bostic said. “Some of them we couldn’t control. Some of them we definitely could control. We got to play better in those areas.”
In Jacksonville, the Gators had a chance to preserve their perfect season.
They had an opportunity to finally put the hardship of the past two seasons behind them.
With both the game and the SEC East title on the line, UF could not deliver.
Gone is the dream of Florida’s first undefeated season in school history. Gone is a straightforward path to the BCS Championship Game in Miami.
All that was left was sadness.
“Everybody had tears,” Jon Halapio said. “Everybody was disappointed.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Tight end Jordan Reed (11) fumbles on Georgia’s 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter during Florida’s 17-9 loss to UGA on Saturday at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The Gators’ six turnovers proved costly in the defeat.
