GAINESVILLE — Playing their first SEC night game in The Swamp in three seasons, Florida did its best to return to the proven formula that has helped the program win two consecutive SEC East division titles: Play great defense, be sound on special teams and do just enough offensively to win.

It’s a formula without much margin for error, but it’s one that helped Jim McElwain win 19 football games in his first two seasons on campus.

And for three and a half quarters Saturday night in front of a rollicking, electric crowd at The Swamp, it worked.

Then, late in the fourth quarter, Florida’s offense sputtered, and for the second consecutive week, the usually strong special teams made a critical error.

A long Johnny Townsend punt to the center of the field, coupled with poor, late-arriving coverage allowed the SEC’s most dangerous returner, Christian Kirk, to break a long return and set up Texas A&M in Florida territory. The Gators defense held valiantly, but the Aggies moved the ball 24 yards over nine plays and took their first lead of the game, 19-17, on a 32-yard Daniel LaCamera field goal with 58 second remaining. The field goal was LaCamera’s fourth of the game, and it proved to be the game winner when Feleipe Franks threw his second interception of the evening on Florida’s first offensive play of the next series.

For the Aggies and Kevin Sumlin, the win was another testament to the team’s toughness.

Left for dead after a mind-boggling season opening collapse against UCLA, they weathered a tough environment and ferocious defensive effort by Florida to leave Gainesville with a hard-fought win and a 5-2 record, still very much alive for a New Year’s Six bowl game, especially after LSU’s stunning win over Auburn.

For Florida, it’s another crushing blow in what is increasingly looking like a lost season.

Instead of wrapping a three-game SEC homestand 2-1 and heading to Jacksonville with the SEC East likely on the line, the loss drops Florida to 3-3 entering their scheduled bye week. With undefeated Georgia looming, the Gators are staring a winless October in the face and will need a November turnaround just to get bowl eligible.

The defense played an outstanding game, limiting an A&M running game that entered Gainesville in the Top 25 nationally to 83 yards. On the evening, A&M gained only 4.24 yards a play, which was a season best for the UF defense. Florida produced several three-and-outs and surrendered only 10 first downs. The Gators also produced a turnover on an early interception in the second quarter, which resulted in a quick three–and-out by the offense. All these numbers are good enough to win most nights.

Florida did allow Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond to do some damage with his legs in the second half, but his long run was only 18 yards, and the defense did plenty to contain him in the opening half, only to see their offense fail to capitalize.

Hard questions must be asked of this staff about why.

Despite a physical power running game that tallied 242 yards, Florida’s offense couldn’t capitalize on consistently good field position provided by their defense.

That’s because Franks played his worst game as the starting quarterback at Florida, outdueled on his home field by a true freshman, Mond. Franks gave the Gators almost nothing down field, rendering the run game less effective in the second half, especially late, when Florida looked to chew clock and salt away the game.

Franks took sacks and losses when he could have thrown the ball away, and when he did get the ball out of his hands, he averaged a meager 5 yards an attempt — a season low for any Gator quarterback — too often locking in on his primary read on a night when secondary reads were running free throughout the secondary.

Make no mistake, this wasn’t a play-calling failure.

Doug Nussmeier’s passing plays created open men early and late. Franks just missed them. That’s a coaching and development failure, and it’s one that cost Florida a football game it should have won Saturday evening.

Franks has been on campus two years, but he isn’t getting better. Saturday night, he seemed to regress.

And on a college football Saturday where Will Grier threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns, hard questions will be asked about why this staff can’t develop any quarterback who doesn’t transfer or isn’t the athletically-limited son of a NFL head coach.

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge this staff already for the slow development of Franks, who was woefully undercoached in high school and always deemed a project. After all, Franks is just a redshirt freshman. And it’s fair to note that Florida played the game down 18 scholarship players, and really 19, as the Gators again played mostly without their top wide receiver, Tyrie Cleveland, and best change of pace playmaker, Kadarius Toney.

But such is life at Florida, where the field is named after Steve Spurrier, the man who revolutionized offense in the SEC. In Gainesville, even above average offenses are judged not against contemporaries but against the memories and ghosts of great offenses past. It’s isn’t enough to move the chains. A certain swagger and style is nearly mandatory.

And whatever historic echoes and ghosts Florida offenses are constantly chasing, Saturday night, mere competence would have won the day.

On 3rd-and-2 late in the fourth quarter, needing a couple of first downs to seal the win, Florida was stuffed on a weakside off tackle play. The fateful Townsend punt and Kirk return came one play later.

On a night The Swamp wouldn’t back down and a young Gators defense grew up and stood tall, the offense remained mired in its decade-long malaise.

And now a season so full of promise in the summer has a staff searching- or worse- lacking answers, and a season crumbling at the seams.