Auburn won a game against Oregon in Texas. Auburn won a game at Texas A&M. But Auburn’s undefeated season got stuck in The Swamp. No. 10 Florida (6-0, 3-0 SEC) handed No. 7 Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC) a 24-13 loss fueled by the Gators defense making life tough for Auburn quarterback Bo Nix from the start of the game.
Nix completed just 11 of his 27 pass attempts for 145 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions. Nix was routinely being chased down by Florida defensive linemen in the backfield and too often was unable to make something miraculous happen to save the Tigers. A mix of freshman mistakes and luck drying up for the Tigers may have been bound to happen at some point, and Florida was there to make sure it happened.
The Gators had a scare at the quarterback position of a different kind. Kyle Trask, who passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns, left the game in the second quarter and seemed to be in immense pain and agony after being hit bya defender in the leg at the end of the play (it wasn’t a dirty hit, just how the player was falling down while being blocked). Trask left the field and immediately went to the locker room for medical assistance, but he jogged back on the field with a brace on and returned to the game before halftime.
Auburn hung around for a while despite having a rough offensive performance (four turnovers, 269 yards of offense) but Lamical Perine put the game out of reach when the Gators running back took off for an 88-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, giving the Gators a 24-13 advantage. Perine rushed for 130 yards in the game but had to be patient for his chance to break the big play.
Florida was not without their share of mishaps though. Florida turned the football over four times, all by way of a fumble. Florida also had just four third-down conversions in 15 tries, but Auburn was a lowly 2-for-14 on third down. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins for the Gators, but it was a win over a top 10 team at the end of the day and that is all that mattered.
Now Florida gets ready for a mega matchup on the road next week. The Gators head to Baton Rouge to face No. 5 LSU. Today’s Auburn game was the first of three in four games against opponents that could be ranked in the top 10. Florida faces No. 3 Georgia on November 2 in Jacksonville.
After falling one game behind Alabama and LSU in the SEC West Division standings, Auburn will look to bounce back after a bye week when they return to action at Arkansas in two weeks.