Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The final blow came when Florida State running back Trey Benson dashed into the secondary, broke free from Gators freshman safety Bryce Thornton, and outraced another freshman safety, Jordan Castell, for the game-sealing touchdown with less than three minutes to play.

On a pulsating Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the annual rivalry game between Florida and Florida State, the Gators endured too many jolts — many of them self-inflicted — to avoid a third consecutive losing season and second consecutive loss to the fifth-ranked Seminoles.

While Benson's 26-yard touchdown run with 2:48 remaining served as the knockout punch in FSU's 24-15 victory in front of an announced crowd of 90,341, the mood on the UF sideline afterward was all too familiar.

Too many penalties. Too many undisciplined mistakes. Too many wasted opportunities.

"We haven't been able to finish,'' Gators head coach Billy Napier said. "That's the bottom line. I think we're learning how to do that. We've been in position to do that."



Florida (5-7) capped Napier's second season with five consecutive losses, the program's longest losing streak since a five-game skid during Jim McElwain's final season in 2017. Meanwhile, FSU (12-0) kept its perfect season intact and its bid to earn a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The Gators did what they needed to do in the first half: start fast, with redshirt freshman quarterback Max Brown making his first career start in place of injured Graham Mertz. The Gators drove down the field on the game's opening drive but came up empty when Trey Smack missed a 48-yard field goal.

Still, a stout defensive effort against the Seminoles and backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker helped the Gators open a 12-0 lead late in the first half. Rodemaker, making only his second career start in place of injured starter Jordan Travis, had trouble moving the offense in the game's early stages.

Florida took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter when Montrell Johnson Jr. scored on a 5-yard run, capping a 13-play, 70-yard drive. Smack connected for a 35-yard field goal on Florida's next possession for a 10-0 lead.

Later in the second quarter, the Gators extended their lead to 12-0 when Princely Umanmielen and Derek Wingo combined to sack Rodemaker in the end zone for a safety.

The Swamp roared at the potential of the Gators spoiling FSU's perfect season, and after four unsuccessful attempts, Florida winning its elusive sixth game to become bowl-eligible.

"Right after that safety, we understood,'' said linebacker Teradja Mitchell. "We've been in those games before where we were up and playing well, and then we dropped in that performance. After that safety, the message for the team was let's keep going. Let's try to get this win.

"We didn't come out with that, and that's frustrating for us as players." The momentum began slipping away from the Gators when FSU drove 90 yards on 10 plays before halftime, capped by Benson's 1-yard touchdown run. A costly mistake by the Gators came after Benson ripped off a 16-yard run on first down. On the next play, Rodemaker's short pass to Benson lost two yards. However, after the play, Gators redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jamari Lyons was issued a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and ejected for spitting on an FSU player. Two plays later, Rodemaker hit tight end Jaheim Bell for a 29-yard pass to UF's 32. The drive ended six plays later on Benson's plunge to give the Seminoles the momentum heading into halftime.

FSU opened the second half with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive that Benson polished off with a 36-yard scoring run and FSU's first lead, 14-12.

Florida regained the lead on Smack's 37-yard field goal with 6:33 left in the third quarter. From there, both teams sputtered until FSU retook the lead 17-15 on Ryan Fitzgerald's 19-yard field goal midway into the fourth quarter.

After a three-and-out by the offense, the Gators committed another costly penalty when defensive back Jaydon Hill was ejected for targeting Rodemaker as he slid short of a first down. The 15-yard penalty on third-and-14 kept the Seminoles on the field, and Benson iced the game four plays later.

Late blunders plagued the Gators during their season-ending losing streak, including at Missouri last week when the Tigers converted a fourth-and-17 to win 33-31 on a last-second field goal.

"Tonight, it was a handful of decisions or a handful of execution opportunities, missed plays," Napier said. "It's been a little bit different each week. I think a number of things contribute. But the penalties, obviously, those are things that we need to address. There's no excuse for those. Some of those were technical, and some of those were decision-making."

The Gators committed eight penalties for 90 yards on Saturday, including four for 50 in the decisive fourth quarter when the offense managed minus-15 yards against an FSU defense that finished with six sacks.

Brown faced constant pressure in the limited times he dropped back to pass. He finished 9 of 16 for 86 yards and an interception. Florida rushed 44 times for 146 yards and outgained the Seminoles 232 yards to 224.

"It just comes down to being able to put points on the board in the red zone in our territory," Brown said. "Make it easier on our defense. They played lights out."

Instead, the Gators departed Florida Field for the final time this season with thoughts of what might have been if they had been able to execute more effectively and avoid the critical mistakes that plagued them throughout the season.

Napier is 11-14 in his first 25 games at UF and faces a crucial offseason to turn the program around. Florida had not suffered three consecutive losing seasons in 76 years before Saturday night's loss.

"We anticipated this being a challenge," Napier said. "I think that we felt like it was going to be a challenge going in, and then when we got here, we realized we were in for a battle. I think we're in the middle of that process.

"I have a tremendous amount of confidence, ultimately, because of the people I'm around every day, that group of players being at the core of that."