Gators Suffer Ugly Loss at Auburn

Defense Hangs Tough; Offense Pathetic

A tenacious Gator defense hung tough in a crucial SEC battle at Auburn, but another less than lackluster performance on offense doomed Florida in an ugly 17-6 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the site massive Gator suffering over the past 80+ years.

Florida trailed 7-6 after a hard fought first half, where Auburn's TD came on a short field after a controversial fumbled punt by Chris Rainey. Rainey signaled for a fair catch and then appeared to be interfered with by an Auburn defender, causing Rainey to fumble, but no penalty was called and the ball was awarded to Auburn. Three Gator turnovers, including 2 fumbled punts doomed the Gators on a night when the offense was completely stymied.

Freshman QB Jacoby Brissett started and played the first half.The dreaded 3-headed QB monster reared it's ugly head in the second half, as O-Coordinator Charlie Weis inserted Freshman QB Jeff Driskel to start the second half and Trey Burton also took snaps at QB throughout the game. The Freshmen QBs stats were respectable considering the circumstances, but the complete lack of a running game made achieving any kind of consistent success, including scoring a touchdown, futile. The Gators coaches continued what has become a new tradition at Florida---keeping effective RB Mike Gillislee on the bench (3) carries. Gillislee and Soph WR Andre DeBose were among a large contingent of Gators, including excellent SR K, who spent time on the sideline due to injury.

The short take on this game is the D put up a valiant effort stopping Auburn on the ground and through the air, but special teams miscues coupled with a non-existent offense resulted in Florida's 3rd consecutive SEC loss.