Florida football: Thanks to South Carolina, SEC East open

I never thought I, as a Florida football fan, would ever want to thank Will Muschamp for anything except finding the first ride out of Gainesville.

Today, Florida football fans can thank South Carolina and head coach Will Muschamp for knocking off Georgia in double-overtime between the hedges.

And with the exception of Muschamp leaving Gainesville, there will not likely be much more to thank him for.

The loss by Georgia does one big thing: It keeps the SEC East division race up for grabs.

Win or lose tonight against No. 5 LSU, and Florida remains in the race along with Missouri for the top spot in the division.

But, it also means the next two games for the Gators — at South Carolina and against Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville — that much more important.

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One more thing: That game at Columbia against South Carolina doesn’t seem all that easy for Florida.

Despite an injury to starting quarterback Ryan Hililski, the Gamecocks’ defense intercepted Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm three times.

On the day, Georgia had more than 400 yards of total offense, but it was missed field goals by Rodrigo Blankenship that sealed the game for South Carolina.

For Florida football, it can breathe a sigh of relief as beating LSU isn’t absolute. It doesn’t hurt, but losing isn’t the end of the world.

That said, beating LSU would be great for confidence for Florida football.

A dark horse is Missouri. The Tigers lead Mississippi at home and have Vanderbilt and Kentucky in the next two weeks.

It could come down to their road game at Georgia on Nov. 9 — if Georgia beats Florida football the week prior — or the home game against Florida — if the Gators beat both South Carolina and Georgia.

Regardless, Saturday’s win by South Carolina created quite the potential wrinkle for the SEC East title.

Don’t even get me started about potentials in the West.