Austin Appleby never saw Josh Sweat coming.
With the FSU linebacker breathing down his neck, Florida’s quarterback was hit from behind. The ball flung loose into the hands of DeMarcus Walker.
Two handoffs later, running back Dalvin Cook slashed past UF defenders and strutted into the end zone.
Just as Cook often slipped away from defenders in the No. 13 Gators (8-3) 31-13 loss to the No. 15 Seminoles, so did Florida’s distant shot at a College Football Playoff berth Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium.
And for a fourth straight year, Florida fell to Florida State.