Florida reigns supreme in the SEC East
The 21st ranked Florida Gators stopped the 16th ranked LSU Tigers on the goal line to clinch a meeting with top ranked Alabama in Atlanta for the SEC Championship game on December 3rd.
Now, I can argue all day long about the questionable play calls for the Tigers on third and fourth down to potentially win the game. At the end of the day, they had their chances and they didn’t capitalize. The running back (Guice) and quarterback (Etling) just weren’t on the same page on that last toss play and frankly, the Tigers should have won today. Fournette was not scheduled to play but due to a pre-game scuffle where he was shoved, he asked to suit up and did. Unfortunately, Fournette’s lingering ankle injury held him to just 40 yards. After their fourth loss, where do the Tigers go from here? They have an interim head coach in Ed Orgeron who could have solidified his job for next season with a win, but now has no idea what will happen in the coming months. Their record now has four losses so what bowl game are they going to end up in? A lot of questions now loom in Baton Rouge about what’s next for their Tigers after this six point loss. The results of this season were definitely not expected by their loyal fans and they still have the Aggies to close out the year.
Enough sorrow, let’s congratulate the Florida Gators and Jim McElwain for a great season. Somehow, they squeaked out a win with just 126 rushing yards. They only scored 16 total points in a smash mouth, tight game with their SEC East rivals. It didn’t help that their passing attack wasn’t extraordinary today either. It seemed like they were incapable of completing a pass for more than two yards in the first half. However, they did get it together. Appleby threw for 144 yards and 1 touchdown, good but not great. The LSU Tiger defense, only allowing 10 touchdowns up to this game, did their job against the Gators but it didn’t seem to be enough. The 98-yard touchdown pass by the Gators from Appleby to Cleveland sparked this team and carried them to victory. It was an emotional win for McElwain and his club as we saw him shed tears in his post game interview telling the nation how they were banged up but stayed together and never worried. He has never been prouder of his guys. Congratulations Florida Gators, you earned it.
