GAINESVILLE — Sunday in Auburn, folks picked up toilet paper.
Per tradition, Tigers fans followed their team’s 27-17 victory over Florida on Saturday night by marching from Jordan-Hare Stadium to Toomer’s Drug Store at the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue. There, they peppered Toomer’s Corner with thousands of rolls of tissue, almost enough to soften a fall from college football’s top three.
Sunday in Gainesville, folks tried to recover from such a plummet. And that involved picking up heads, spirits and all that dragged.
“It hurts right now because it’s our first loss of the season,” Gators cornerback Reggie Lewis said Saturday night. “We had high hopes for this year.”
Florida was sixth in the first Bowl Championship Series standings, released Sunday. The Gators were ninth and 10th in the two polls used to compile the standings, but they also were fourth in the cumulative computer rank, one spot ahead of Auburn. While each of the five teams above them have losable games on the schedule, the Gators’ national-title hopes still are a longshot.
Now, all attention spins to the Southeastern Conference title, which has eluded Florida for all but one of the past nine seasons. The Gators haven’t even won the East Division since 2000. But victories over Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina would change that and send the Gators to the SEC title game Dec. 2 in Atlanta.
“This is real bitter,” wide receiver Andre Caldwell said Saturday night. “But we are going to move forward and stay focused on the SEC championship.”
The anger-optimism tandem dominated Florida’s charter flight from Auburn, which didn’t touch down here until nearly 3 a.m. Sunday. Then, and still today, some players certainly couldn’t shake their many miscues.
There was punter Eric Wilbur’s dropped punt snap, which led to a blocked kick that Auburn returned for a touchdown. There was the defense allowing a season-high 133 rushing yards, including 94 to Brad Lester, who played with a sore groin. And, of course, there were the turnovers that closed each of UF’s final three drives.
The first of them came with controversy. Quarterback Chris Leak’s fumble on third-and-3 from Auburn’s 6 appeared to come with his arm moving forward. A replay official upheld the fumble call after Gators Coach Urban Meyer called timeout to challenge it.
Florida sports information director Steve McClain said Sunday he knew of no plans for school officials to seek a specific explanation for the call. SEC Associate Commissioner Charles Bloom said coaches each week submit a list of plays they would like the conference to review.
But the Gators don’t seem ready to dwell on what was. All that matters is what comes next, and UF hopes that includes a trip to Atlanta.
“We have to get back on schedule,” Meyer said, “and focus on making it to the SEC Championship Game.”
