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Pasquali’s Pix: Florida’s climb steeper than it was a month ago

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2016, file photo, Florida head coach Jim McElwain watches from the sideline in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and McElwain become close friends while spending four years together at Alabama (2008-11) and will reunite for a game Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2016, file photo, Florida head coach Jim McElwain watches from the sideline in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and McElwain become close friends while spending four years together at Alabama (2008-11) and will reunite for a game Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

By David Paschall 4 min read

photo David Paschall
photo Running back Leonard Fournette and the rest of the LSU Tigers stand in the way of the Florida Gators and a spot in next month’s SEC title game against Alabama. The Gators play their rescheduled game against LSU on Saturday afternoon at Death Valley.

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Kentucky 42, Austin Peay 15Texas A&M 45, UTSA 28S. Carolina 29, W. Carolina 16Louisville 26, Houston 24Oklahoma 28, W. Virginia 21Ohio St. 31, Michigan St. 19Wisconsin 30, Purdue 13Miami 27, N.C. State 20Pittsburgh 23, Duke 22Florida State 34, Syracuse 17N. Carolina 35, The Citadel 32Clemson 38, Wake Forest 25Penn State 52, Rutgers 7Washington 41, Arizona St. 26Southern Cal 33, UCLA 14Michigan 20, Indiana 17Notre Dame 27, Va. Tech 22

The Florida Gators have experienced good news and bad news since Oct. 6, when their home football game against LSU was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew.

Tennessee was 2-0 in Southeastern Conference games at that time, having rallied past the Gators 38-28 and topped Georgia 34-31 on a 43-yard touchdown pass on the game’s final play. The Volunteers called the shots in the Eastern Division race, but they proceeded to drop their next three SEC contests, including a 24-21 upset loss at South Carolina on Oct. 29.

That enabled the Gators to not only take over the East lead but get some breathing room, yet they lost some of that comfort with a 31-10 loss at Arkansas on Nov. 5. Now they have Saturday’s rescheduled game against LSU, only it’s in Baton Rouge, La., which has made Florida’s challenge significantly steeper than it was a month ago.

Florida would clinch a second consecutive SEC East title with an upset of the Tigers, but a loss would open the door for the Vols should they sweep Missouri and Vanderbilt.