Harris struggles, No. 10 Florida loses 27-2 to No. 14 FSU
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Treon Harris was Florida's biggest problem - again.
Harris was inaccurate and indecisive for the fourth consecutive week, this one proving costly as the 10th-ranked Gators lost 27-2 to No. 14 Florida State on Saturday night.
Starting his 12th game and sixth straight since Will Grier was suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Harris missed wide-open receivers all over the field, held the ball too long and played with the awareness of a freshman.
He completed 19 of 38 passes for 134 yards and was sacked four times.
Coach Jim McElwain said he never considered benching Harris.
"He could have played better, but so could some other guys, so could some other guys around him," McElwain said. "He's our quarterback and he's going to get a little bit better this week as we go into the SEC championship game."
It didn't help that leading receiver Demarcus Robinson was suspended for the fourth time in three seasons.
The Gators (10-2) announced the suspension about 75 minutes before kickoff. Robinson leads the team with 47 receptions for 505 yards and two touchdowns. The junior from Fort Valley, Georgia, has talent, but has been benched and/or demoted twice this season and suspended twice as a freshman and for the 2014 season opener against Idaho, a game that was canceled because of thunderstorms.
It's unclear if Robinson will be reinstated before the SEC title game.
"It's up to his teammates," McElwain said. "And who knows whether he can choose to do what's right or not. I don't know."
The Gators might want to find a new kicker, too. Austin Hardin was wide left from 51 yards out and had a low trajectory on the one that was blocked. He has missed eight of 13 field-goal attempts this season.
"We'll get a kicker," McElwain insisted. "That's our responsibility and we'll get one. And we'll get a good one."
Probably not by next week, when the Gators will be huge underdogs for the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta against second-ranked Alabama.
Florida's lone bright spots were running back Kelvin Taylor and a defense that allowed 158 yards through three quarters. Taylor ran 24 times for 136 yards. The defense did plenty, just not enough to carry an inept offense.
The unit faded down the stretch, though.
"They played their tails off," McElwain said. "Gave us every opportunity to win the game."
Florida State (10-2) had considerably fewer issues in the teams' 60th meeting.
Dalvin Cook ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns, including 150 yards in the fourth quarter, and Roberto Aguayo kicked two long field goals.
The Seminoles won their third consecutive game at Florida Field - the first time that's happened in the storied rivalry - and ended any chance Florida had of making the College Football Playoff. The Gators entered the week 12th in the CFP rankings.
"You just don't come into Gainesville and win three in a row here," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. "Our players know how hard it is to do that."
Florida avoided its first shutout in the Swamp since 1988 when FSU quarterback Sean Maguire recovered a fumble in the end zone for a safety with 8:58 remaining.
Florida State, ranked 13th in the CFP, now awaits its bowl assignment. The Seminoles, who didn't make the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, probably locked up a spot in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 in Atlanta.
The Gators flirted with losses in their last three games - against Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida Atlantic - so struggling against the Seminoles was no surprise.
Florida reached the red zone twice Saturday, but failed to convert a fourth-and-2 play and had a 37-yard field goal blocked.
"Give them credit. They won the game. I guarantee you we'll show up there next year," McElwain said.
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AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org