Three things Gator fans learned during the bye week

The bye week had come and gone, and Florida managed to emerge with a mostly quiet weekend that was probably what Gator fans needed after all the noise surrounding the 1-3 start.

But even though Florida did play, there were still plenty of takeaways from the weekend for Gator fans who were paying attention.

There are no dominant teams

Part of what this weekend embodied is that there are no truly dominant teams in college football in 2025, which is why Florida's distance from the pack and seeming inability to join the national conversation is so frustrating.

FSU was brought back to Earth after its loss to Virginia. Georgia lost to Alabama, the same Alabama that got embarrassed by FSU.

Ohio State had to pull away late from Washington, Texas A&M had to struggle against unranked Auburn, and Tennessee had to survive OT against Mississippi State.

Lane Kiffin actually believes scared money don't make money

One of the key moments from the weekend was Ole Miss knocking off LSU 24-19. Mind you, the Rebels were able to move the ball against the Tigers with former D2 QB Trinidad Chambliss while Florida could only manage 10 points, five interceptions, and a pick six.

Faced with 4th and 3 from the LSU 35 and 1:46 to play, Lane Kiffin opted to go for it, knowing a 1st down would win the game even though a made field goal would have made it an eight-point lead.

The play worked, Ole Miss won, and it was a reminder that in fact scared money don't make money, something we once had hope of in Gainesville.

Organization matters

For the second week in a row, Georgia Tech showcased a level of organization on special teams that makes the continued lack of organization on Florida's special teams look like a clown show.

Down three wth 22 seconds left and no timeouts, Georgia Tech was tackled on a running play. Rather than panic, the Yellow Jackets got their field goal unit on the field and calmly drilled a 33-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, where they would eventually win.

This followed their game-winning field goal against Clemson the week before.

And considering Florida has notably screwed up this sequence twice in the Billy Napier Era (2023 against Arkansas and 2024 against Tennessee), it's a reminder of what coaching and organization can do for a team.