The LSU game had turned into one of the most frustrating games on the calendar for Florida Football since 2018. For five straight years, the Gators were always within striking distance of beating the Tigers, but something always kept getting in the way of winning.
At the center of the losing streak has been one of the most infamous moments in Florida history, but after winning on Saturday, combined with news from Monday, the curse that has been hanging over Gainesville might have been broken.
Florida Football: Shoe is on the other foot
When Marco Wilson threw a shoe on December 12, 2020, it helped derail a potential national championship season, and Florida hasn't been the same since. If one wants to backtrack, Wilson did not play in Florida's 2018 win over LSU but did play in the 2019 loss that started the five-game losing streak.
Fair or unfair, Florida has gone 16-22 since the shoe throw, and one of the running gags has been Wilson casting a curse over the program.
One of the reasons why Wilson has continued to draw the ire of Gator fans, even though the modern-day problems of the program are not actually his fault, has been his unapologetic commentary on the play. That lack of accountability was emblematic of why things crumbled so quickly in the Dan Mullen Era.
Beating LSU was cathartic for Gator fans, but if you want further proof that Wilson's curse over Florida may have been lifted, news came out yesterday that the New England Patriots released Wilson. The defensive back played nine snaps against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and gave up three receptions for 58 yards. His reception rate of 73% is 94th out of 117 defensive backs in the NFL who have had at least 100 snaps in pass coverage.
Marco Wilson made a mistake that has haunted this program for year. But like all curses, they can be broken and Gator fans are hoping they can now worry about the future rather than be consumed with the past.