The Gators still have a pulse after Saturday's chaos

The obituary was being penned and haggling had begun to get the right price for the coffin. That was three weeks ago when plans were in progress to lay Florida’s 2026 football season to rest. That was before all hell broke loose not only in the Southeastern Conference but in college football nationwide.

The Gators beat Texas, Auburn beat Georgia and Tennessee beat Alabama. That was two Saturdays ago when the Gators rediscovered their pulse and suddenly found themselves back in contention for both the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

The Gators’ chances got a boost yesterday when both Ole Miss and Tennessee were tagged with their second loss, leaving upstart Kentucky and Georgia as the only one-loss teams in the conference. The Gators are among the eight teams still in contention with two losses. For Florida and everyone else in the pack every game from here on out is an elimination game.

The way things are shaping up for the playoff the only way a three-loss team makes it to the College Football Playoff is to suffer the third loss in the conference championship game.

Prior to Saturday’s chaos, the 12-team CFP was shaping up for three teams each from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 with the bracket filled out by Miami, Notre Dame and the highest rated conference champ from the Group of Six.

Then UCF stunned No. 2 BYU and No. 8 Texas Tech was whacked by Cincinnati, leaving Utah on top of the league and one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the country (Miami and UCLA are the other two). Rather than three teams in the CFP, the Big 12 might land only one.

If the Big 12 cannibalizes itself, the door could swing wide open for both the SEC and Big Ten to sneak a fourth team into the playoff picture. If Notre Dame loses to Miami, would the playoff committee pick a two-loss Notre Dame over a two-loss team that had run the SEC scheduling gauntlet?

Among the two-loss teams in the SEC, Florida is the only one with two wins over then top ten teams (Ole Miss and Texas). Beating Georgia, which seemed a teensy bit hallucinogenic three weeks ago seems do-able now. By the time the Gators travel to Kentucky, the Wildcats could be staring down their first SEC championship since they shared it with Georgia in 1976 and before that, 1950, a couple years before they ran Bear Bryant off.

Could the Gators pull it off? Stranger things have happened and it should be lost on no one that Jon Sumrall has played for four consecutive conference championships (two at Troy, two at Tulane). The Gators would have to win their next five games to make the SEC Championship Game. Difficult for sure. Impossible? Maybe but maybe not. Sumrall has had winning streaks of 10 and 11 games during his career so he knows what it takes to get a team on a roll.

Three weeks ago we wouldn’t have even given a second thought to the notion that the Gators could make the playoff. That was then. This is now. For the moment, at least, it does seem possible.

SEC CONTENDERS (TEAMS WITH ONE OR TWO LOSSES)

No. 12 Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC)

The Wildcats are living large in rarefied air but the three games after the bye week will determine if they’re contenders or pretenders.

Saturday: Open. Other remaining games: at No. 11 Tennessee; No. 20 Florida; at No. 22 Missouri and Louisville.

No. 5 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC)

Georgia is capable of running the table. The Bulldogs are also capable of losing two of the next three.

Saturday: No. 20 Florida in Atlanta; Other remaining games: at No. 7 Ole Miss. Other remaining games: No. 22 Missouri; at South Carolina and Georgia Tech.

No. 13 Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC)

Get past LSU in two weeks and Alabama has one of the easier paths to the playoff.

Saturday: Open. Other remaining games: at No. 18 LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC); at Vanderbilt; Chattanooga and Auburn.

No. 20 FLORIDA (5-2, 3-2 SEC)

This isn’t rocket science. Just win the next five games and the Gators are in the College Football Playoff and perhaps even the SEC Championship Game.

Saturday: No. 5 Georgia in Atlanta. Other remaining games: Oklahoma; at No. 12 Kentucky; Vanderbilt; at Florida State.

No. 7 Ole Miss (5-2, 3-2 SEC)

The only ranked team remaining is No. 5 Georgia in two weeks. Otherwise it is a do-able schedule.

Saturday: Auburn. Other remaining games: at No. 5 Georgia; at Oklahoma; Wofford; Mississippi State.

No. 11 Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC)

The game with Kentucky in two weeks is an elimination game for the Vols.

Saturday: Open. Other remaining games: No. 12 Kentucky; at Texas A&M; No. 18 LSU; at Vanderbilt.

No. 18 LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC)

Nobody has a more difficult schedule than the Fighting Kiffins. The next three games are brutal.

Saturday: Open. Other remaining games: No. 13 Alabama; No. 19 Texas; at No. 11 Tennessee; at Arkansas.

No. 19 Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC)

Saturday: Mississippi State. Other remaining games: at No. Missouri; at No. 18 LSU; Arkansas; at Texas A&M.

No. 22 Missouri (5-2, 2-2 SEC)

Saturday: at Arkansas. Other remaining games: at No. 5 Georgia; No. 12 Kentucky; Oklahoma.

Oklahoma (4-3, 2-2 SEC)

Saturday: South Carolina. Other remaining games: at FLORIDA; No. 7 Ole Miss; Texas A&M; at No. 22 Missouri

SEC PRETENDERS (THREE OR MORE LOSSES)

Mississippi State (4-3, 2-3 SEC); Auburn (4-3, 2-3 SEC); South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC); Arkansas (3-4, 1-3 SEC); Texas A&M (4-4, 1-4 SEC); Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5 SEC)

SATURDAY IN THE SEC

No. 19 Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) 34, No. 7 Ole Miss (5-2, 3-2 SEC) 27

Texas built a 24-3 lead at the half, then held on for dear life to remain in contention for as Arch Manning played the best two quarters of his collegiate career. In the first half, Manning connected with Ryan Wingo for a 50-yard touchdown pass and ran for another TD. The defense, meanwhile, held Ole Miss to 139 first half yards while keeping the Rebels out of the end zone.

South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) 27, No. 11 Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC) 24

Dylan Stewart hit Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre, forcing a fumble that teammate Tomiway Durojaiye recovered with 33 seconds remaining, setting up Malik Orsan’s game-winning 48-yard walk-off field goal.

South Carolina tied the game at 24-24 with 2:18 left in the game when LaNorris Sellers capped a six-play, 61-yard scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Sellers was sacked five times but still threw for 210 yards and a TD and ran for 96 and two TDs as the Gamecocks knocked off their second straight ranked team.

No. 12 Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC) 34, Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5 SEC) 17

The Wildcats outscored Vandy 20-7 in the second half to remain at the top of the SEC standings and probably crack the top ten for the first time since 2022 when they made it up to No. 7 before absorbing a loss to Ole Miss. Kentucky’s defense eliminated Vanderbilt’s run game (15 yards), forcing the Commodores to throw every down. Kentucky converted 8-13 on third down, kept the chains moving and prevented the Commodores from mounting a comeback.

No. 13 Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) 31, Texas A&M (4-4, 1-4 SEC) 20

Keelon Russell threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead Alabama to a come from behind win over Texas A&M. Trailing 20-17 going into the fourth quarter, Russell connected with Marshall Pritchett from five yards out for the go-ahead touchdown and sealed the win with an eight-yard TD pass to Kaleb Edwards.

Russell finished the game with 311 passing yards for three touchdowns. Dijon Lee had a 39-yard pick six in the first quarter, his second TD on an interception return this season and the sixth defensive touchdown of the season for Alabama. The Aggies were held to 278 yards by the Alabama defense.

Aggie QB Marcel Reed threw two interceptions and fumbled three times, losing one.

No. 18 LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC) 38, Auburn (4-3, 2-3 SEC) 17

LSU sacked Byrum Brown seven times while holding Auburn to a single touchdown and 204 yards of offense. Brown, whose mobility was the critical factor in Auburn’s upset of Georgia last week, was credited with 21 rushing yards on 19 attempts.

Meanwhile Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns while running for 54 and another TD as LSU racked up 552 offensive yards. LSU is the only team in the country that ranks top ten in both total offense and total defense.

Oklahoma (4-3, 2-2 SEC) 23, Mississippi State (4-3, 2-3 SEC) 15

First and foremost, John Mateer didn’t throw an interception. Secondly, Oklahoma ran for 184 yards. Combine that with Kamario Taylor tried but couldn’t get past the first quarter and you have in a nutshell how it is Oklahoma won on the road in Starkville. Mateer threw two touchdown passes, one of them to Isaac Sategna, who caught eight for 164 yards. Fluff Bothwell returned for Mississippi State, gaining 111 yards on 17 carries, but it wasn’t enough.

Original illustration: GatorBait Media.