Florida football: Missouri has kicked the door wide open for Gators
The gifts for Florida football just kept pouring in Saturday. Not only did Oklahoma lose, but so did Missouri.
I have to admit, I was a bit lazy this weekend if, for no other reason than because Florida football was off.
But, I was taken aback not once, but twice when I checked my ESPN app for the latest scores.
In the afternoon, I saw that Kansas State knocked off Oklahoma in Manhattan (which, originally coming from Kansas, I took a little bit of pride in).
Later in the evening, I did a double-take after noticing that Kentucky beat Missouri in Lexington, 29-7.
Whaaaaaa?
The loss also exposed a lot of weaknesses in the Missouri game plan. For one, Kentucky rushed for nearly 300 yards. Oh, and the Tigers’ rushing and passing game were, well, lackadaisical at best.
The Tigers were tied with both Florida football and Georgia atop the Eastern Division until the trip to Lexington.
Now, the loss has literally cleared a path for Florida to win the division and play for the conference title in Atlanta.
Missouri now has two losses and still has Georgia and the Gators to play.
If Florida football knocks off No. 8 Georgia this Saturday in Jacksonville, the Gators will be in the driver’s seat — with just Missouri (in Columbia) and Vanderbilt left on the SEC slate.
It would leave Georgia with two losses and Missouri with two losses heading into their Week 11 showdown in Athens.
Florida would lead the division with one loss and have Vanderbilt on Nov. 9 and at Missouri Nov. 16.
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What all of this means is that Florida football is in the driver’s seat for the East Division title. Win at Georgia and you have a game up on both the Bulldogs and the Tigers.
That doesn’t mean you can afford to lose to either Vanderbilt of Missouri, but the positioning is much better.
Remember, Missouri still has Georgia and Florida on the schedule while Georgia has Florida, Missouri and at Auburn. By far, the Bulldogs have the tougher schedule ahead of them.
Florida football seems to have an “easier” path to the conference title game. I say “easier” because it’s the SEC and nothing is really easy. South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky have proven that anyone can beat anyone at any given time.
Another big question is who will come out of the West? Right now, LSU is the favorite, but not by much. The Tigers jumped Alabama for the No. 1 spot in the polls this week (Florida football moved up to No. 6, by the way), but the margin between the two teams is minuscule.
Plus, they still have to face each other on Nov. 9 — considering they both have a bye week this week, it should still be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.
But, in regards to Florida football, the importance of beating No. 8 Georgia this weekend in Jacksonville is all the more now. Win and the Bulldogs are likely out of contention.
Lose and the road for the Gators becomes very difficult and doesn’t come without some outside help from Missouri.
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No. 6 Florida football will take on No. 8 Georgia at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Jacksonville.