Florida’s margin for error is shrinking fast, and Josh Pate says the Gators need to treat this week like a warning flare after getting blasted 45-17 at Missouri.
For much of the early season, Florida got by because Jadan Baugh kept the offense afloat. That held true in wins over FAU and Campbell, and it helped carry the Gators through bigger moments too, including a 44-39 win over Auburn and a 52-38 blowout of Ole Miss.
But in Columbia, that safety net disappeared. Baugh managed just 13 yards on 12 carries, and Florida never found a way to steady itself.
The bigger issue, though, looked familiar. The Gators were flagged eight times for 80 yards, and the defense allowed 340 passing yards. Those same kinds of breakdowns have followed Florida through the first month, and against Missouri they turned into a lopsided loss.
On Monday’s "Josh Pate's College Football Show," Pate said Florida has to clean things up immediately if it wants to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation, especially after a week in which “some” people were talking about the Gators in the same breath as 2019 LSU.
Pate described Florida as a "high-variance team" under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall. That label fits the ride so far: the Gators flashed against Ole Miss, then hit their lowest point against Missouri.
He also pointed out a familiar pattern in college football, where teams catch fire in September only to fade in October. Florida, he said, could become that kind of team if the errors keep piling up.
There is still a path, but it depends on getting specific problems fixed. Pate said Sumrall needs better play from the secondary, fewer penalties, and more consistency from quarterback Aaron Philo and the offensive line.
The schedule gives Florida one more chance to settle in before the heavy hitters arrive. The No.
16 Gators host South Carolina, a team that has dropped three straight SEC games and looks disorganized under Shane Beamer, before back-to-back showdowns with No. 1 Texas on Oct. 17 and No.
2 Georgia on Halloween.
That makes the South Carolina game feel less like a breather and more like a must-execute spot. Florida needs clean football and, ideally, a convincing win.
After that, the stakes rise sharply. Pate said the Gators will need to beat either Texas or Georgia to remain in the CFP picture. Florida has already shown it can hang with elite SEC teams when it plays at its best, and Texas looks like the more vulnerable of the two even with a defense Pate described as legit.
If Florida drops both games, it can still call the season a success. But it will not be the season it could have been.
In Other News...
Greg McElroy Just Added To Floridas Misery After Mizzou Rout
Missouris 45-?? rout of Florida only deepened an already rough stretch for the Gators, and the Tigers left little doubt about where they belong in the national conversation. Missouri improved to 4-1 and was rewarded in the AP Poll, climbing from No. 25 to No. 14 after piling up 560 total yards and smothering Florida on the ground, where the Gators managed just 42 rushing yards.
The damage kept building as the game wore on, with Missouri outscoring Florida 25-7 in the second half. Austin Simmons carved up the Gators for nearly 240 passing yards in the first half, and Jamal Roberts punished them on the ground with 211 rushing yards and three touchdowns, the kind of performance that leaves Florida searching for answers long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Snap Count Shifts Raise Tough Questions After Missouri Loss
The snap counts from Floridas loss to Missouri offered a clearer picture of how the Gators are sorting through their roster than the final score did. Several players who figured to have larger roles were used sparingly, with Eric Singleton Jr. and JVari Flowers among the names whose playing time stood out, while the staff also mixed in different combinations across the depth chart as it searched for answers in a difficult game.
Tramell Jones brief late appearance at quarterback added another wrinkle to a night full of questions about usage and rotation. For a team still trying to settle on dependable pieces, those snap-count shifts matter because they can hint at where the coaching staff is leaning next, and where it still isnt sure who fits best when the games get tight. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Just Got Another Harsh Reminder Of How Bad This Is
Floridas rough start got another jolt after Week 5, when ESPN refreshed its FPI rankings and the Gators slid five spots following Missouris 45-17 win in Columbia. The loss only deepened the sense that Florida is still searching for traction, while other contenders around the country kept stacking convincing results and moving up the board.
Ohio State took over the top spot in the updated rankings after a 31-14 win over Iowa, and Jeremiah Smiths record-setting night only underscored how sharply the hierarchy can shift. For Florida, the latest drop serves as another blunt reminder that the margin for error is already thin, and the climb back will not get any easier. [Read more 🡒]