Play.
Florida seniors are praised for playing hard.
The interim coach knew the team's leaders were prepared for the Florida State game. 1:07
6:14 PM
After the Gators met in the team hotel on Saturday morning, interim coach Greg Knox could sense something was different.
It had been a rough six weeks for Florida, with losses, adversity, and the dismissal of coach Dan Mullen. The Florida seniors led the team to a 24-21 win over Florida State, which ensured bowl eligibility, while denying the Seminoles their own chance to get to six wins.
"We had a great senior class with some leadership," said Knox. They understood the situation they were in and we talked about opportunity in chaos. I think they pulled together and made them stronger after a chaotic situation that started with Dan getting dismissed and me being put in place. It made me stronger because I was with them.
When we watched our highlight video, we walked out of that hotel room and I knew they were ready to play.
The Florida team appeared to be more beaten down than the other team. The firing of the defensive coach and offensive line coach was one of the ways that Florida was able to stop the downward slide.
That didn't help the situation. The Gators lost to Missouri 24-23 in overtime last weekend, dropping them to 2-6 in SEC play. Before the Florida State game, Florida had lost four of its previous five games, and the only win in that stretch was a highly ridiculed 70 52 win over FCS Samford.
Florida State had gone 5-5 since the start of the season and was poised to get to six wins. Two teams made the same mistakes in a sloppy game. The teams combined for 21 penalties and six turnovers, but Florida took control in the second half behind quarterback Anthony Richardson, who entered the game permanently after Emory Jones threw an interception in the end zone.
Richardson has been a fan favorite all season because of his ability to make big plays on the ground, and his entrance seemed to change the energy on the sideline and in the stands. Dameon Pierce ran for 62 yards and a touchdown as Florida became the aggressor.
Florida State fought back after being down by 17 in the fourth quarter. With 49 seconds left in the game, JordanTravis led two touchdown drives to get the Seminoles back in the game.
The kicker tried to hit the ball over the onside kick, but he accidentally hit it. Florida State had no choice but to fall on the ball even though it did not travel the required 10 yards. "I've never seen that before in my life," she said.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell said special teams mistakes were one of the reasons they lost. A fumbled punt by Ontaria Wilson in the third quarter led to a Florida touchdown that broke the game open.
"There were some critical mistakes that were made," Norvell said. We need special teams to be something positive for us, not just one moment, not just one play. I don't know if we displayed the investment that we make and the time we put into it, there were too many times this year.
The 304 total yards and two touchdown performance by Travis was not enough against the inspired Florida defense, which has taken its share of criticism throughout the season. The improvement was credited to Christian Robinson.
The standard here is that we don't lose to Florida State. We've come together as a defense over the last couple weeks. Everybody is going to celebrate with one guy if you notice. It wasn't like that all the time in the early part of the season. C-Rob asked why it wasn't like this. It was a conscious effort by all of us to do that.
The Florida team is still alive for one more game.
"We knew what was at stake," Carter said. They were fighting for something. We were trying to get a bowl. We wanted more. We wanted to go to the bowl.
