The No. 7 ranked Florida Gators went from favorites to underdogs before kickoff in the Cotton Bowl when they faced the No. 8 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
Seventeen Gators were unavailable for the bowl game. Including star tight end Kyle Pitts.
Gators Heisman Trophy Candidate quarterback Kyle Trask played; however, he did not play well.
The Sooners averaged ten and a half yards per play, the most ever against a power five team in a bowl game.
Sooners rushed the ball for 435 yards.
Can you guess who won the game?
Sooners closed out an adverse season that included their sixth conference title in a row, with a dominating 55-20 win over the Gators on Wednesday night in the Cotton Bowl.
“It’s very meaningful to us with the way the year has gone for everybody to be able to look at the tough things and not see obstacles, but see opportunities,” Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley said. “It’s been our mindset. We felt that way the entire year and really closed so strong.”
Riley gets his first postseason bowl victory since he has been a head coach and first win against the SEC. Sooners end the season on an eight-game win streak after starting it 0-2.
This was not the same Gators team who lost to No.1 Alabama in the SEC title game and had averaged 42 points per game.
AP All-America tight end Kyle Pitts and two other receivers opted out to start preparing for their pro futures, and sophomore receiver Jacob Copeland tested positive for COVID-19. They were among 17 players that Florida said were unavailable.
“There were a lot of guys that end up playing that had not played tonight,” Gators head coach Dan Mullen said. “Part of it was talking to the team, and those guys wanted the opportunity to go play, wanted the opportunity to grow, wanted the opportunity to compete, there is a lot we can learn from those guys in the game.”
The Gators played in their third consecutive NY6 game since Mullen became their head coach. They won the first two.
Trask finished 16 of 28 for 158 yards, three interceptions, while Emory Jones was 8 of 16 for 86 yards — with 12 players catching passes.
Trask had his fourth pick-six in the game, the most in the FBS this season.
“We had two or three days of practice to get the timing down with the next guys up,” Trask said. “The amount of work that goes into this, you don’t just flip a switch, and you end up in the end zone; it takes a lot of work to get there.”
Trask had three interceptions in a game for the first time in his career and failed to throw a touchdown for the first time in his career in 22 career starts. Trask may have played his final game for the Gators to enter the NFL Draft.
Trask set single-season school records with 4,283 yards passing and 43 TDs.
The beat goes on.
Gators open the 2021 season on Sept. 4 at home against Florida Atlantic.
Sooners will be favored to win another Big 12 title and have their streak continue. Their opener next season is Sept. 4 at Tulane.
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