Chalk Florida’s blowout loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on Friday to the Gators simply not caring. At least that’s the takeaway after head coach Dan Mullen spoke with the media on Wednesday night.

Florida was embarrassed by Oklahoma in Wednesday night’s New Year’s Six Bowl, as the Sooner steamrolled the Gators 55-20 to close out the season. After the contest, Mullen made it pretty clear that, the Gators team on the field was not the one that played all season long.

“The last game the 2020 team played was 11 days ago,” Mullen said after the game.

The “they really didn’t want to be there” excuse is something that has become a common theme when teams lose bowl games — particularly as it pertains to the SEC. Well, that’s how a good number of people in B1G country feel, anyway. It’s a built-in excuse to downgrade the significance of bowl games and a chance to explain poor performance on the field.

Yes, Florida did have several players opt out of the Cotton Bowl, which undoubtedly played a role in Wednesday night’s thrashing. But Oklahoma obviously played pretty well to hang a 50-burger on the Gators on a neutral field.

“I give our guys credit…they wanted to go play in that game,” Mullen said. “Wanted to get that experience, wanted to be on that stage.”

With the loss, Florida dropped to 8-4 on the season, while Oklahoma ended the year 9-2.