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Let’s reopen some old wounds shall we? I decided to give this game some time seeing as to how dumb it was. The Gators can still move up another rung on the ladder with a win in Atlanta. However, they played themselves out of accomplishing anything more than that last Saturday.

Offense: C

Dan Mullen said it in his postgame presser: “This game is on the offense.” It’s really hard to say that with 34 points on the board. But, the man has a point. The Gators squandered several opportunities to take control of the game or put more points on the board. There was failing to score on the goal line on the opening drive, punting three straight times late in the game after taking the lead on back-to-back endzone trips and even the Heisman candidate quarterback accounting for three turnovers. Trask said it himself, his pick six and his fumble on Florida’s final drive of the first half spotted the Tigers 10 points. Neither of those happen and Florida possibly pulls that game out. But, this isn’t a game where one mistake cost the game. There were a litany of them. The offense moved the ball and put up points (609 yards and 34 points should win you a game) but it failed in ending this game when it could.

Shout out to Florida wide receivers Kadarius Toney and Jacob Copeland though. They made several clutch plays and provided a spark for the Gator offense. Toney finished the game with 182 yards and one touchdown on nine catches along with three rushes for 57 yards while Copeland posted a score and 123 yards on five snags.

Defense: D+

The Gators defense returned to early season form Saturday night. It allowed 418 total yards and 30 points on 86 plays. More of the same from Florida: trouble lining up, blown coverages off blitzes and allowing LSU to go 8-for-18 on third down. One Tigers drive ate up over six-and-a-half minutes to open the second half and ended in points. Now, the defense stopped LSU when it needed to get back into the game and give Florida the opportunity to take over the game on offense. The defense actually got the big stop it needed to give Trask and Co. the ball with fewer than two minutes left. Unfortunately a flying cleat nullified that, the Tigers went on to kick the go-ahead field goal and they held on for a win.

Ventrell Miller seemingly played the game of his life posting 16 total tackles with two tackles for loss including a sack. It’s a testament to how much he’s improved at the middle linebacker position.

Special Teams: B

Florida punter Jacob Finn put on a show Saturday. He averaged over 55 yards a punt with three eclipsing 50 including a 67-yard bomb. Three of his four punts ended up downed inside the 20 yard line. Finn definitely did a great job at flipping the field for the Gators. But, even special teams wasn’t impervious to mistakes. Despite the disaster of a game it played Florida still had a shot at sending this circus into overtime. A 51-yard field goal seems well within Evan McPherson’s range right? Not that night. As that kick flew to the left side of the goal post so did Florida’s playoff chances — right out the window.

In conclusion:

Everyone will talk about Marco Wilson. He made a critical error in a major moment of a close game his team couldn’t afford to lose. But let’s not act like the Gators didn’t do this to themselves as a team. Vital miscues in all three phases cost Florida this game and a chance at the College Football Playoff. And where does that fall? Not just the players but the coaches too. But it wasn’t like this team didn’t display signs earlier. This Gators team flirted with disaster seemingly all year and now it’s struck twice. Not to mention the slow starts the last three weeks against inferior opponents. Florida ended up winning those three games but they didn’t need to be as close for as long as they were. Most fans would assume earning a playoff spot isn’t an easy task, especially for this team. It’s more the Gators played themselves out of that chance to earn a spot against Alabama, no matter how slim it was, by losing to LSU.