Florida never stood a chance.
The results were in before the points were tallied, like news stations calling an election with only 10 percent of precincts reporting.
The Gators lost before they took the field.
Whether it was the flood of Florida State fans, clad in garnet and gold, sitting in the student section — beneficiaries of a fan base that deemed this season dead weeks ago — or the rumors surrounding a program in a tailspin, Florida marched onto the field dead men walking.
Sure, the Gators fought valiantly.
The defense flew around the field early, making plays like the game mattered, as if Florida could reclaim its place as a top program if it forced enough turnovers and tackled Jameis Winston hard enough.
But the game played out like the rest of the season. The Gators briefly kept the game close before the Seminoles overpowered them, locking up their 37-7 victory by the end of the first half and sending UF spiraling to its seventh straight loss.
“Capitalizing on things has been kind of our struggle the whole year,” offensive lineman Max Garcia said. “It’s just kind of like we need to do something different. We need to make a play. We need to make a change.”
And the changes came quickly.
Fewer than 24 hours after Florida (4-8, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) vacated The Swamp for the last time in 2013, the school announced that offensive coordinator Brent Pease and offensive line coach Tim Davis had been fired.
If Saturday’s game against Florida State (12-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) was the last chance for Pease and Davis to save their jobs, they put up a poor self-defense.
The Gators’ offense was as anemic as it has been all season. Based around power running, the offense totaled a meager 78 yards on 24 rushes. Fifty of those yards came on a Trey Burton run in the first quarter, but following the explosive play, injuries yet again hampered Florida.
The senior wide receiver injured his shoulder on the play and left the game shortly after. He returned to the sideline later in street clothes, his season and college career over.
“I just wish I could have been there to finish it up,” he said.
After Burton exited, the Gators averaged only 1.3 yards per carry.
Coach Will Muschamp said after the game that he planned to have Burton take more than 30 snaps at quarterback — a departure from the previous strategy of using the Wildcat sparingly. The Gators hoped different looks could spark an offensive renaissance, but they never found out if it could work consistently.
“Some of the misdirection runs now go out of the game plan, so you got to make adjustments and you got to change,” Muschamp said. “It just kind of sums up what’s happened this year.”
Instead, the burden fell on quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg’s right arm.
The redshirt freshman performed admirably and met the goals set for him. He completed 80 percent of his passes and showed better poise with the ball, throwing it out of bounds when FSU defenders forced him to scramble instead of forcing passes into coverage.
However, mere completions were not enough. Florida State stopped the short-yardage plays before Florida’s receivers could get into open space. Mornhinweg finished with 115 passing yards, and no receiver tallied more than 23 yards in the game.
“We’ve got find ways to manufacture more points,” Muschamp said. “There’s no question moving forward (that) we need to do that.”
While the Gators struggled, the Seminoles soared. Led by Winston, the presumptive Heisman Trophy favorite, FSU passed its way to 456 total yards.
Redshirt sophomore Kelvin Benjamin received 212 of those yards, the most the Gators have ever surrendered to an opposing wide receiver. Benjamin also recorded three touchdowns — more than all but one Florida receiver totaled this season.
“He’s long, he’s hard to get the ball off of,” safety Cody Riggs said. “He was running some pretty good routes today.”
Although the defense started strong, limiting Florida State to only three points in the first quarter, it was quickly overwhelmed. Short drives ended any momentum the defense handed the offense.
By halftime, the Gators could barely slow the Seminoles’ offensive juggernaut. Florida held Florida State to its lowest point total of the season, but that provides little solace to a team incapable of beating even Georgia Southern — a Football Championship Subdivision team.
“(It’s a) very frustrating, difficult day that ends a very frustrating, difficult season,” Muschamp said. “That’s the best way I can sum it up.”
Florida’s dismantling at the hands of Florida State ended one of the most miserable seasons in UF’s history. It was the first losing season since 1979 and the first time the Gators failed to qualify for postseason play in 23 years.
Even opposing teams seem to be conspiring to torment Florida fans.
Barring any upsets, Florida State, now the top-ranked team in the nation, projects to match up against No. 2 Ohio State in the national title game — a no-win scenario for Gators fans. Whether Winston or Urban Meyer wins, Florida fans lose.
But UF is done with football for the year. The Gators will miss out on helpful bowl practices, and the team will disband for the offseason.
Muschamp remains, however, and has the task of rebuilding the team while on the hot seat. Another season like this, and he will likely join Pease and Davis in the unemployment line.
Muschamp faces a challenge that no Florida coach has encountered since Charley Pell built a winner out of a winless 1979 season. How do you bring a program out of the doldrums of mediocrity?
“We just have to roll your sleeves up and go to work,” Muschamp said. “We’re going to have a good football team next year, I can assure you of that. Sitting in that locker room with those guys, we’re going to be fine. And that’s what’s encouraging for me. It’s damn encouraging.”
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @alichtenstein24.
Skyler Mornhinweg is hit while he attempts to throw a pass during Florida’s 37-7 loss to No. 2 Florida State on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 20 of 25 passes for 115 yards but could not keep the Gators from suffering their seventh consecutive loss to finish the season.
Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (1) runs past Gators defensive backs Brian Poole (24) and Jabari Gorman (21) during Florida's 37-7 loss to FSU on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
