Florida Gators Officially Clinch the SEC East

The Florida Gators have punched their ticket to the SEC Championship for the first time under head coach Dan Mullen.

Photo credit: University of Florida athletic association

The Florida Gators have officially won the SEC East and punched their ticket to the 2020 SEC Championship game on Dec. 19 in Atlanta, Ga., after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 31-13 on Saturday.

Florida advances to an 8-1 record on the SEC's ten-game, conference-only 2020 schedule with the win in Knoxville, Tenn., finishing off its SEC East slate at a perfect 6-0. 

UF's lone loss on the season came against Texas A&M by a score of 41-38 on Oct. 10, shortly before a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak for the Gators. Florida has won six consecutive games since the that game. 

Behind the Heisman-caliber season quarterback Kyle Trask has put together, the Gators have found ways to score at will against every opponent that has stepped in front of them. Florida has scored 30 or more points in every game this season, win or lose.

This will be Florida's first SEC Championship appearance under head coach Dan Mullen. UF won two SEC Championships with Mullen serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach Urban Meyer in 2006 and 2008, advancing to and winning the BCS National Championship each time. 

The Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0) are expected to face Florida in Atlanta, however, that has not officially been determined yet. Alabama is set to face the LSU Tigers (3-4) tonight at 8 P.M., and a win for the Crimson Tide would set the title game in stone after Texas A&M (7-1) defeated Auburn (5-4) by a score of 31-20 earlier on Saturday.