GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There was still a chance that one of the most turbulent weeks in Gators football history could end on a positive note and set the tone for the rest of the season.
Yes, even after the roller-coaster ride the Treon Harris case launched, and the third-and-25 LSU converted, and the touchdown pass Tevin Westbrook dropped, Florida had an opportunity to finish off a long, draining week for Gator Nation with a victory Saturday night.
But that storyline was ripped to shreds.
You probably watched it on TV, or read it on social media, or heard your neighbor throw the remote at the wall. More than 88,000 inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium witnessed it in person.
Tie game. The Gators force LSU to punt. Florida takes over at its 42-yard line with 54 seconds left. Plenty of time to set up a game-winning field goal.
Back-to-back passes from Jeff Driskel to Brandon Powell move the Gators to LSU's 45. Driskel drops back, throws a quick slant to Latroy Pittman, who collides with a defender and leaves the field on a cart. Meanwhile, the ball ricochets into the air and into the hands of Tigers safety Rickey Jefferson.
Jefferson returns the interception to Florida's 36. A handoff to Terrence Magee for three yards. The clock appears about to run out. Officials call a timeout and add seven seconds. A spiked ball by LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings.
And here comes 176-pound LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye, who instantly becomes Colby Effin' Delahoussaye for eternity in the UF annals.
Delahoussaye's 50-yard field splits the upright with three seconds left, giving LSU a 30-27 victory.
Silence inside The Swamp.
"It was definitely an emotional wreck," Gators kick-return specialist Andre Debose said. "But this is what you come to Florida for -- these types of games. There is definitely an empty feeling. We didn't get the W."
A dejected Gators team walked off the field at 3-2 overall, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Afterward head coach Will Muschamp, quarterback Jeff Driskel and others mentioned that the season is not over. In fact, it's only halfway over.
The Gators have six regular-season games remaining starting with Missouri next weekend on Homecoming.
There's a lot of football left, and a lot of questions to answer.
First, with Harris reinstated, how will the quarterback battle shake out?
Harris replaced Driskel at Tennessee and led the Gators on a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives to pull out an improbable 10-9 win.
In the wake of Harris' suspension last week due to a sexual-assault investigation, Driskel was the clear-cut starter heading into the LSU game and had an up-and-down performance.
Driskel accounted for 83 percent of Florida's 306 total yards. He threw for 183 yards and rushed for a team-high 71.
Overall, Driskel's performance was hit or miss. He lost a fumble, threw a pair of interceptions, had multiple passes dropped by receivers, and connected with Demarcus Robinson for two of his best passes of the season -- an 11-yard touchdown pass to put Florida up 24-20, and a 73-yarder to set up the game-tying field goal by Frankie Velez.
Driskel was impressive running the ball in the first half and his 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave Florida a 14-7 lead.
He was as disappointed as anyone afterward.
"It's a really tough loss," Driskel said. "We would have liked to have pulled it out, but all of our goals are in front of us. We did a lot of nice things and a lot of things obviously we need to get corrected."
There are also questions about the defense.
The Gators cleaned up communication issues in the secondary at Tennessee after blowing multiple assignments and allowing a school-record 672 yards at Alabama.
Florida defended the pass well against LSU but Travin Dural's 41-yard reception from Anthony Jennings on third-and-25 proved a backbreaker.
A visibly frustrated Muschamp was pleased at the fight the Gators put up, but that wasn't good enough on a warm and muggy Saturday night against LSU.
The Tigers arrived in town fresh off a 41-7 loss to Auburn, the program's worst loss under head coach Les Miles. But as usual, LSU didn't let the performance impact them Saturday. The Tigers improved to 25-1 under Miles coming off a loss.
Miles did a victory dance in LSU's locker room.
The mood was much different in Florida's.
"Our guys fought their butts off," Muschamp said. "They had an opportunity to win the game. We didn't get it done, that's the bottom line."
The Gators could have used a win after the week they had. Instead, it was LSU celebrating its first SEC win of the season.
Perhaps the biggest question facing the Gators is this: Where do they go from here?
They have time to distance themselves from the disappointment of Saturday night and climb toward the top of the SEC East.
The first place to start is with a win over Missouri. It doesn't matter who plays quarterback. Or if the secondary has another costly communication issue. Or if a receiver drops a touchdown pass.
No, none of that matters much.
But a win does. That matters a lot.
