The 2018 Gators — despite what you saw on the field in the first half of their 37-27 win over Vanderbilt — are a good football team. Good football teams respond after an opponent with inferior talent goes up 18. Good football teams win consecutive ball games against ranked SEC opponents.
I can hear the hedging now. “It was just Vandy,” “Franks still makes mistakes,” “Dan Mullen gets too conservative in his play-calling.”
Salient arguments, imaginary straw man. But here’s a narrative to wrap your noggin around: What if Florida goes undefeated until the SEC Championship game?
You can picture it, right? Heck, you can practically feel it in your bones.
The argument for it isn’t absurd. It isn’t even unreasonable.
Four out of the next five teams on UF’s schedule (Missouri, South Carolina, Idaho and FSU) have a combined record of 11-13. None of them have a winning record, and the Gators will play all of those games in the state of Florida.
All those cherry-picked circumstances aside, it’s still out of the question, right? I’m intentionally leaving out the Georgia matchup to enhance my shenanigans, right?
Nah, fam. Georgia showed it has its own flaws against LSU. The Bulldogs defense isn’t what it once was. The running game didn’t pan out with its multiple talented backs.
Jake Fromm looked shaky in his attempts to be both game-manager and gunslinger. He posted a career-high in passing attempts (34) while completing a season-low 47.1 percent of them.
Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham should be salivating at Fromm’s stat line. LSU sacked Fromm just twice and couldn’t apply consistent pressure. That should make the Gators’ secondary feel more at ease since Grantham is unapologetically trigger-happy in calling different blitzes. The Georgia game is winnable. It’s far from a sure thing, but it’s basically a toss-up.
So what happens after all five games break UF’s way? There’s no analysis needed to tell you Alabama is going to steamroll anything short of an NFL team, but as we learned last season, a conference championship isn’t necessary to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
What happens is a combination of panic and drafting of public statements by the playoff committee. What happens is Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State claiming the top three spots with a fourth going to either Notre Dame or… LSU. The Tigers can claim the same resume as Florida, minus the head-to-head loss. But by benefit of an earlier loss to the Crimson Tide as opposed to later, they’ll be able to put distance between that and the selection. They’ll cap off the season with a solid road win against Texas A&M.
And Florida will be robbed of a rightfully earned playoff berth.
Morgan McMullen is the sports editor at The Alligator. Follow him on Twitter @MorganMcMuffin or contact him at mmcmullen@alligator.org.
Receiver Kadarius Toney celebrates with teammates and fans after Florida’s win over Vanderbilt. Toney recorded nine yards on four catches and added a 27-yard run from the wildcat position.
