GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Not even having Urban Meyer back in the Swamp could recreate the magic of the Gators’ teams he coached. Florida, hoping for a bounce-back win after last week’s blowout loss against Georgia, instead found themselves on the losing end with a 23-7 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma.
The loss marked Florida’s fourth in its last five games after a 4-0 start to the season and officially ends the Gators’ hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Its seven points are tied for the lowest in a game since the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl, which ended with the Gators scoring just three points.
Coming into Saturday’s game, both teams made major changes to its offense with Florida electing to start Tramell Jones Jr. at quarterback and Oklahoma moving tight ends coach Jason Witten to offensive coordinator after firing Ben Arbuckle. The Sooners’ changes were more effective.
John Mateer threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns in a turnover-less performance, keeping the chains moving and keeping the Sooners in control. A field goal on their first possession and a short touchdown pass to former Gator Hayden Hansen gave them a 10-point lead early in the first half that Florida could not overcome.
The Sooners had 20 first downs in the game to the Gators’ nine, converting 10 of its 18 third-down attempts as Florida’s defense failed to capitalize on key opportunities.
Meanwhile, Jones Jr., in his second start of the season, completed just 10 of his 22 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions as the Gator offense sputtered in yet another key game. The Gators found minor success behind running backs Duke Clark (four receptions, 70 yards) and Jadan Baugh, who is now tied for second all-time in program history with 14 rushing touchdowns this season.
However, offensive line struggles and the lack of a vertical passing attack cost Florida, which was held to 200 yards and was forced to punt five times. Baugh was held to just 35 yards on eight carries.
A long drive in the third quarter provided the opportunity to cut into the lead with the Sooners up 13-7, but after failing to convert on third down, the Gators elected to go for it on fourth. However,
disaster struck as Jones Jr., throwing off his back foot, threw an interception in the end zone to keep the deficit at six points.
Two drives later, Oklahoma iced things with a 20-play, 89-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Mateer to Isaiah Sategna III. The Sooners drained 12:45 of clock while converting six third downs. A 31-yard field goal from Tate Sandell, his third of the game, after Jones Jr. was sacked for 16 yards on fourth down added insult to injury and gave Oklahoma a 23-7 lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Jones Jr. ended the onslaught with an interception.
Florida (5-4, 3-4 SEC) travels to No. 6 Kentucky next week, searching for a longshot third top 10 win of the season and hoping to get past its midseason slump.
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