UF proved two things with its 28-24 loss to LSU on Saturday.
The first: The Gators are just not a championship-caliber team.
The second: They will be very soon.
The Gators proved how talented they are in front of a national audience Saturday, but their performance was also a classic example of how youth and inexperience can be costly.
It's not that UF made countless silly mistakes. For the most part, the team corrected problems that led to its loss to Auburn the week prior.
In fact, only two penalties were enforced against the Gators despite playing in one of the sporting world's most hostile environments.
But when your defense allows the opponent to go 5 for 5 on fourth-down conversions and your offense commits two turnovers in the second half, it's awfully hard to win games.
For most of the game, the Gators outplayed the No. 1 team in the country, and UF proved there is really no talent gap between the two rosters. The Gators matched the Tigers athlete for athlete.
But it was a combination of LSU's poise and the Gators' inability to make plays when they were needed most that led to a UF loss.
If the Tigers needed two yards, they got three. When they needed a turnover late in the game, they got two.
The Gators defense did a good job containing LSU's offense for the most part, but they just couldn't get them off the field.
UF's soft coverage is partially to blame.
Ever notice how far off the receivers the Gators' cornerbacks tend to play?
The funny thing is, nobody seemed to notice last year, when they did the exact same thing.
It's all about big plays.
Last season, UF allowed teams to dink and dunk on it but were successful because it constantly came up with sacks to put opposing offenses in horrible down and distance situations. The Gators also forced plenty of turnovers and had an eraser of a safety who could play the role of two men in the defensive backfield.
The Gators forced one turnover (if you can consider an open receiver mishandling a pass into Joe Haden's arms to be "forcing" a turnover) and came up with a grand total of zero sacks against LSU.
But even with that, UF still wins the game if not for two late turnovers.
The Gators were driving with a 10-point lead late in the third quarter when running back Kestahn Moore fumbled, giving the ball - and all the momentum - to LSU.
While LSU didn't capitalize with points on the ensuing drive, Moore's fumble was the key play in the Tigers' comeback.
The fumble changed everything, and a mental mistake by the Gators shortly after blasted things wide open.
Tebow's pass bounced off tight end Cornelius Ingram's helmet and into the hands of an LSU defender.
The quarterback was trying to complete a pass to a receiver behind Ingram, but according to Tebow, the tight end ran the wrong route and got in the way of the pass.
The Gators' loss had nothing to do with talent and especially nothing to do with effort.
As UF fans learned last season, great teams always seem to find breaks.
Unfortunately for the Gators on Saturday, that team turned out to be LSU.
