It was the worst of days, it was the crappiest of days for the SEC East.
First and foremost, No. 8 Florida may have played itself out of any chance of a spot in the playoffs despite winning, looking very much like a middling MAC school in barely getting past two-win Florida Atlantic 20-14 in overtime. In Gainesville.
The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half, but the Gators seemed to have righted the ship by taking a 14-0 lead late in the third quarter. The UF offense decided to rest for the remainder of regulation, however, as two FAU scores -- one late in the third, one in the middle of the fourth -- sent the game into overtime.
With the first possession, the Gators took the lead on a Treon Harris touchdown pass -- and subsequently missed the extra point, leaving the door wide open for the upset. Unfortunately for the Owls, they couldn’t quite get through it as four possessions inside the 10-yard line resulted in four incompletions to allow the Gators to escape.
One could say that the Gators were looking ahead to a rivalry game, and certainly the steady rain didn’t help. Simply put, though, UF doesn’t look like a playoff team, especially on offense. It’s imperative for Alabama, if it beats Auburn and wins the division, that Florida beats Florida State next week, although the Tide beating the Gators in the conference championship game likely won’t do much for UA’s playoff résumé, if anything.
And then there was this: FCS Citadel 23, South Carolina 22. I think it’s safe to say that Shawn Elliott will not be one of the interim head coaches who gets a look for the permanent job.
The last time the Gamecocks lost to an FCS team was in the early nineties to... The Citadel.
The loss was yet another pock mark on the SEC East, which, again, doesn’t help ‘Bama when it comes to comparing playoff résumés with other potential contenders.