No. 6 Florida Survives Upset Bid from Louisiana Lafayette in 27-20 Win

In one of the wildest endings of the 2012 college football season, the No. 6 Florida Gators beat the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 27-20 on a last-second punt block returned for a touchdown.

Florida had been trailing 20-13 with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

For Florida (9-1), the near-loss to Louisiana-Lafayette hurts the team's chances of serious BCS contention and exposed the team’s 79th-ranked offense (scoring just 26 points per game) as a weakness the Gators aren't talented enough to overcome.

The Ragin’ Cajuns move to 5-4 on the season, but they have now reached national notoriety for something more than the school’s amazing mascot.

What It Means

The Gators were already trying to solve the issues with their putrid offense, but the team barely overcame its 118th-ranked pass offense and 37th-ranked rush offense; the team is flat-out awful offensively.

With Florida’s mediocre play for the third straight week and the win over LSU not looking nearly as strong now that the Tigers have lost another game, the drop down the BCS Top 25 this week could be substantial.

Look for the Gators to fall to around ninth in the country.

What’s Next?

As much as the win over Louisiana-Lafayette proved that Florida can’t look ahead past any team, next week’s matchup with Jacksonville State should be the easy win the Gators need to get back on track.

After Jacksonville State, though, the Gators must square off with a bitter rival, the Florida State Seminoles, to close the season.

With Florida State climbing the rankings, the battle at Doak Campbell Stadium will be as fierce as ever. Florida is in serious trouble.

Check back for more on the NCAA Football as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s College Football page to get your fill of college football.

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