On the surface, it might’ve seemed like the Gators had nothing to play for in their regular season finale against Florida State on Saturday.
Head coach Dan Mullen was fired earlier in the week, and a new coach will be hired soon. That new coach will likely bring in an almost entirely new staff. So, the players didn’t have the motivation of trying to impress their coaches and improve their standing heading into the offseason.
There was no championship at stake, just a spot in a lower-tier bowl game.
But, as the Gators proved on Saturday, though they’ve been battered and beaten this season, they haven’t been defeated.