TALLAHASSEE — The pocket was closing, so Austin Appleby ran.
The quarterback rolled to his right and looked up: There, down the field, a UF receiver was running open.
Finally.
Appleby drew back his arm and launched it forward, but there was FSU defensive back Marquez White. There were his outstretched hands, reaching for the pass. And there was the ball, bouncing off White’s arms and straight back into the face of Appleby, who flinched and watched it bounce to the ground, incomplete.
The play blew up in Appleby’s face.
And so, it seemed, did any fleeting hopes of Florida’s College Football Playoff hopes.
“I know this Gator team, I know this Gator offense,” Appleby said. “It stung.”
The Gators (8-3) lost to Florida State (9-3) Saturday night, 31-13, for the fourth-straight time.
Afterwards, UF’s players were dejected.
“Heartbroken,” defensive lineman Joey Ivie said.
But for most of the night, as Florida failed to piece together anything resembling a competent offensive attack, the crowd in Tallahassee was elated.
They cheered after FSU receiver Travis Rudolph raced across the middle of the field and waltzed into the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
They cheered after each of Dalvin Cook’s explosive running plays — and there were plenty, including one where it seemed as if the future NFL player had shot out of a cannon for an 18-yard gain through the middle of UF’s defense in the second half.
And they cheered as two Florida receivers collided with each other while running their routes during the fourth quarter, leaving Appleby with no choice but to tuck the ball into his stomach and fall to the grass for a sack.
“It’s on all of us,” Appleby said. “We got to get it fixed.”
The only time it seemed as if the Gators had a chance was during the first possession of the game, when they marched down the field from their own 25-yard line to the Seminoles’ 2, going for it on fourth down but failing to convert.
Florida was unable to score an offensive touchdown on Saturday. Over the last four years against FSU, UF has scored two offensive touchdowns in its last 50 drives.
And next week against No. 1 Alabama, which has the nation’s best scoring defense and rushing defense, it will only grow more difficult.
“I’m hoping everyone just realizes this is our shot to win a championship,” Ivie said. “If that doesn’t motivate you to win a championship, you shouldn’t be playing.”
The Crimson Tide haven’t lost since Sept. 19 of last year, and haven’t lost to the Gators since 2008.
UF knows Saturday will be the toughest challenge it has faced all season. And after last week’s loss, coach Jim McElwain openly doubted if his players will bounce back.
“I don’t know if they will come back or not,” McElwain said. “It’ll be a heck of a test.”
But Florida’s players, despite beating just one of their four top-25 opponents this season, expressed confidence that they can win against Alabama, the top team in the nation and defending NCAA champions.
“I believe we’re the type of team that can beat (them),” Ivie said. “We just need to fix some things.”
The Gators will have less than a week to do so.
But with its playoff hopes gone and a difficult challenge looming on Saturday, UF will be playing for much less than what it expected just a few days ago: a shot at its first national title in eight years.
“We’re going to come back and get everything fixed,” Appleby said. “We’ll be ready to go win an (SEC) championship this week.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois reacts to scoring a touchdown in front of Florida linebacker Kylan Johnson during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. Florida State defeated Florida 33-13. (AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)
