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Florida-Florida State: How Gators climbed back into College Football Playoff picture

 
Florida Gators fans cheer at the start of the fourth quarter of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sat., November 12, 2016 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. The Gators defeated the Gamecocks, 20-7. MONICA HERNDON   |   Times


Florida Gators fans cheer at the start of the fourth quarter of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sat., November 12, 2016 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. The Gators defeated the Gamecocks, 20-7. MONICA HERNDON | Times
Published Nov. 26, 2016

GAINESVILLE — In a hollow room somewhere underneath the stadium at Arkansas, it seemed as if the toll from Florida's three-touchdown loss would linger for weeks.

Standout linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone were injured. Jim McElwain's worst SEC loss left the Gators' reputation damaged, their championship hopes dented.

"Obviously," dejected defensive tackle Caleb Brantley said then, "we're out of the playoffs."

Except three weeks later, they're not. As the Gators head to Tallahassee tonight, they have a daunting but conceivable path to the College Football Playoff.

"If we keep winning," quarterback Austin Appleby said, "I don't think you can keep us out."

Getting there seems like a long shot, given the challenges the No. 13 Gators face at No. 15 Florida State and against No. 1 Alabama in next Saturday's SEC title game. But the fact that UF is in this position is an achievement, considering the 31-10 loss Nov. 5 at Arkansas that was painful in every sense of the word.

The transformation started in the locker room in Fayetteville, not far from where Brantley wrote off his team's final-four hopes. Defensive end CeCe Jefferson reminded his team that the season was not over; UF was 6-2, not 2-6.

"You learn from failure," McElwain said. "All of us do."

UF has learned from September's second-half collapse at Tennessee, when McElwain said players were trying to win the game by themselves rather than trusting teammates. Receiver Antonio Callaway fielding two punts inside the 5 — and muffing one — was the most obvious example.

Contrast that to last Saturday's selfless showing at Tiger Stadium, where Callaway, Tyrie Cleveland and Brandon Powell asked coaches to let them keep blocking while running back Jordan Scarlett was plowing through LSU's defense.

"I haven't seen it like that ever," receiver Ahmad Fulwood said. "Being receivers, you always want the ball. You always want the ball in the air. But this week it was just different."

So was the beleaguered, banged-up offensive line that the Razorbacks destroyed.

Of Florida's 11 rushes in Fayetteville, six failed to gain more than 1 yard; that doesn't include the three sacks UF allowed, plus the hit that sidelined quarterback Luke Del Rio with a shoulder injury. The Gators' line was called out.

"It was a personal challenge," center T.J. McCoy said.

And Florida answered it.

McCoy, thrust into the starting rotation because of injuries, has rejuvenated the rest of the line. UF played with better fundamentals and kept chipping away at LSU. A Tigers defense that hadn't allowed a 100-yard running back all season watched Scarlett pick up 108, including 80 in the second half.

"They dominated the line of scrimmage," Appleby said. "I had never seen an offensive line impose a will upon another team like I saw on Saturday."

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UF has made other changes, too, once the sting dissipated from the Arkansas loss.

Appleby's stronger arm and flashes of mobility have spread the field in ways Del Rio never did. A four-deep running back rotation has been boiled down to Scarlett and Lamical Perine. A defensive front that Arkansas thrashed made the biggest goal-line stand in program history at LSU.

All of that has helped Florida squeeze into the playoff picture in the final weekend of the regular season — a thought that seemed impossible three weeks ago, even to the Gators themselves.

Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.