GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The evidence was scattered everywhere. Not even Frank Drebin or Junior could have missed it.

The glum expressions on the Gators’ faces as they walked off the field Saturday in Jacksonville gave the story away. So did receiver Eugene Wilson III’s tears and the silence of a defeated locker room.

Florida’s losses have piled up this season at a rate that cost Billy Napier his job. Still, the 24-20 defeat to fifth-ranked Georgia was arguably the worst. The Gators had a victory within their grasp. They played well enough to snatch their first win over the Bulldogs in five years if they could have made a critical play or two in the fourth quarter.

Instead, they tried to keep their heads up as they snagged bags of lasagna for the bus ride home, left to stomach another loss to their longtime Southeastern Conference rivals.

“This game really meant a lot,” junior safety Jordan Castell said Monday afternoon. “Not winning it, it hurts. We can’t even hide it. That’s a game we really wanted, and I felt like we showed it.”

When the Gators opened the season ranked No. 15 and in the College Football Playoff conversation, media and fans constantly analyzed what everyone knew was one of the most challenging schedules in the country. The consensus was that if the Gators could go 9-3, they would have an opportunity to earn the first CFP berth in program history.

The chatter went something like this: Open with wins over Long Island and USF, and then split road games against LSU and Miami. And then, after a bye week, split against Texas and Texas A&M, and then beat Mississippi State and end the losing streak against Georgia. Finally, win three of the final four games — at Kentucky, at Ole Miss, and home against Tennessee and Florida State — and the Gators had a chance to crack the playoff considering their strength of schedule.

Two months later, the tone has changed dramatically.

The Gators (3-5, 2-3) head to Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) in need of three wins in their final four games to become bowl eligible. Interim head coach Billy Gonzales said it’s something he hasn’t spoken to the team about, but then again, he doesn’t need to.

“I like to focus week to week,” defensive lineman George Gumbs Jr. said. “Win every game we can, and then if there’s a moment of proof, a moment arises, I guess that’s what we’ll be doing.”

Of course, not so long ago, making a bowl game was an afterthought for UF. The Gators played in 22 consecutive bowl games from 1991 to 2012, including four for the national championship. The Gators won three of them.

However, that streak ended in 2013 when the Gators finished an injury-marred season with a 4-8 record. They missed out on a bowl berth again in 2017, but made four consecutive from 2018 to 2021. If the Gators are unable to rally for a bowl berth this season, it will mark the second time in four seasons they will watch the bowl season from afar.

Castell has no interest in being a spectator.

“This is Florida. That’s the standard,” he said. “We play for the patch. I feel like it’s bigger than the team. We’re playing for the logo.”

When Gonzales took over for Napier, that was a message he drove home to the Gators. Sure, the season was not going the way they wanted, but there was too much football to play to check out. The Gators responded with an inspired performance against Georgia.

Florida led 10-7 late in the second quarter when the game turned. The Bulldogs added a field goal for a 10-10 halftime tie, and then scored on their first possession of the second half to grab a 17-10 lead. The Gators countered with a 12-play, 79-yard drive to tie the game, and took a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 54-yard field goal by Trey Smack.

“I thought the players played hard, and I thought the communication was really good during the game,” Gonzales said. “Like I said in the press conference after the game, moral victories are not what we’re chasing here. We’re chasing victories.”

Their next opportunity is against the Wildcats, who are facing their own issues. Kentucky won at Auburn on Saturday for its first SEC victory of the season, but has lost 10 consecutive SEC games at home since beating the Gators in 2023. Under Mark Stoops, who in his 13th season is the SEC’s longest-tenured coach, the Wildcats have won four of seven against the Gators since snapping Florida’s 31-game winning streak in the series in 2018.

What Gonzales wants to see is better execution over the middle portion of the game that cost the Gators dearly against Georgia, and better execution at critical junctures. Gators quarterback DJ Lagway overthrew Tank Hawkins for a potential touchdown late in the second quarter, and on third-and-4 from UF’s 31 with less than four minutes remaining in the game, Lagway underthrew J. Michael Sturdivant, who was wide open beyond Georgia’s coverage. Officials ruled the pass incomplete as Sturdivant slipped trying to reach back to make the catch.

Those two plays were not the only ones that dented Florida’s upset bid, but they stood out as glaring missed opportunities.

“We gotta make plays,” Castell said.

They must try to do that the rest of the season without injured receiver Dallas Wilson, who suffered a season-ending foot injury Saturday. Wilson, who missed the first four games due to injury, caught 12 passes for 174 yards and three scores in the last four games.

Wilson joins fellow receivers Vernell Brown III and Aidan Mizell on the injured list. Gonzales is “hopeful” Brown can return Saturday. Brown leads the team with 32 receptions and 451 receiving yards.

In his absence, junior Eugene Wilson III emerged as the go-to target against Georgia with a season-high nine receptions for 121 yards and a 40-yard touchdown catch.

Still, after the game was over, Wilson’s emotions overflowed over another loss to the Bulldogs. The Gators are ready to change the narrative on a season that has gone astray.

“The challenge is to continue to keep pushing the guys, continue to put them in the best possible position,” Gonzales said. “These guys want to win, so getting them motivated, I don’t think that will be an issue. They were fired up last week, and they will be fired up this week.”