Florida falls late, but we've seen this before

Interim head coach Billy Gonzales brought Florida to the brink of victory against Georgia, but once again the Gators couldn't close the deal.

By Carlton Reese

GatorBait Media

At 4^th-and-1 from the Georgia 18 and leading 20-17 with around 8 minutes to play, the game was on the line for the Florida Gators. Convert and you’re set up to kill more clock and are just 17 yards from the end zone and putting the game away. Fail to convert and you set Georgia up with a scenario they’ve become all too comfortable.

In any other world, with a 3-point lead and half a quarter to play with your opponent at its own 18, confidence would still be pretty high and the analytics would state you’re still in control. Not against Georgia, though. The Bulldogs have played this entire season teasing their opponents into thinking they were on the canvas for good, only to get up and play their best football.

That’s exactly what happened Saturday in Jacksonville. The Florida Gators handed off to Jadan Baugh, but he was stuffed for no gain to give Georgia possession and a new lease on life. Such is the life of the Georgia Bulldogs in 2025, and such is the misfortune of the Florida Gators.

On the ensuing drive, Georgia did what everyone expected: It marched 82 yards when its offense had been manhandled much of the second half. Taking a 24-20 lead with 4:36 to play, about the only thing the Gators could hope for was a favorable replay ruling on its next possession which, of course, went Georgia’s way. Several weeks ago, the Auburn Tigers, which had dominated the Bulldogs before officials made enough bad rulings that led to firings, saw what happens when video evidence seems to matter little, and this time it was Florida’s turn.

On 3^rd-and-4 DJ Lagway’s pass to J. Michael Sturdivant at the Georgia 22 was ruled incomplete, meaning that even though video replay did not show the ball hitting the ground, Georgia escaped a dagger… again. And now, Florida has lost five straight games to Georgia, which is too much suffering as far as I’m concerned.

It was the first game for Florida without Billy Napier, the head coach who never beat Georgia and had trouble beating anybody else. With a new play-caller, Florida seemed to have an energy and optimism normally not afforded an unranked team with a losing record going up against a rival ranked fifth in the country.

There was no Vernell Brown, no Aiden Mizell and not long after the game there was no Dallas Wilson, either. Fortunately for Florida, there was also no Napier. That may have provided some energy, but the result looked familiar – a winnable game that was lost when the offense couldn’t close the deal.

Looking back, it’s two fourth-down conversion failures that have ruined this season for the Gators. The first was down in the parking lot in Miami. Trailing by six midway through the third quarter, the Gators faced 4^th-and-3 inside the Miami 35 and had the Hurricanes on their heels, but instead of attempting a field goal to pull within three, Florida went for it, failed, then saw Miami steal momentum and roll from that point.

It happened again against Georgia and it spoiled the game of Trey Wilson’s life. Asked to carry the load with three of his receiving comrades out with injury, Wilson stepped up and pulled the Gators into the sphere of potential victory. He finished with nine receptions for 121 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown strike from Lagway on Florida’s second possession. As good as that stat line is, it was not as impressive as his leadership and reliability under dark circumstances.

Now that Georgia has beaten Florida, one can close the book on the Gators for 2025 – officially, that is. Holding on to a victory Saturday in Jacksonville portended a spirited end to a season that would most likely end in a bowl game. Now, one must wonder how much is left in the tank for this team. On paper, it seems only Ole Miss is clearly a strong favorite against Florida while everyone else on the schedule (including Tennessee) should probably lose to the Gators. But is Florida going to finish this thing or will the Gators mail it in the way most teams that have little at stake seem to do?

For me, just don’t let Florida State come to Gainesville and steal a win here. Once a win over FSU is notched, then I will close the book on 2025 and hope we win all that offseason nonsense.

Georgia was there for the taking Saturday and certainly did not look to be the superior team on that field. Even without the three star receivers, Florida had the personnel to match up with the Bulldogs, but this has been the story all year. We hoped with a new person calling plays and Napier’s “I hope we win” attitude no longer around, that the Gators could put away Georgia – we knew they would have that chance. Alas, we are sitting here on a Saturday night and a Sunday morning with that sick feeling of wondering why a team with this talent can’t win such a game?

This wasn’t a matter of Florida playing the perfect game and nearly knocking off a Georgia team not at its best; no, this was exactly as we thought – Florida is pretty good and Georgia is not that great. But Georgia seems to make the breaks it needs while Florida surrenders those breaks.

Here we are at 3-5 and hoping these kids decide to play hard the rest of the way. If they play with the same enthusiasm the rest of the way as they did Saturday in Jacksonville, Tennessee and FSU are in big trouble. That’s a big ‘if,’ though.