A year ago, a Florida team given little chance went to Baton Rouge to play a road game that was supposed to be a home game, played physical football at the point of attack and came away winners, celebrating wildly on LSU’s home field.

A year later, an LSU football team and an embattled coach left for dead all week returned the favor, nipping the Gators 17-16 in The Swamp, setting off a wild Tigers celebration on Steve Spurrier Field.

Florida lost its homecoming game for the second time in four seasons Saturday, despite the best efforts of a loud, boisterous crowd at The Swamp. On a humid and steamy October afternoon, the crowd stayed with the team throughout the game, and when they belted out the gone-too-soon Gainesville native Tom Petty’s classic “I won’t back down” just before the fourth quarter began, it seemed Florida’s fans would help the team find another late victory. Instead, they left with their hearts in their throats, witnesses to the first home loss to an unranked opponent in the McElwain era.

For the Gators, it was a puzzling defeat, a collective exercise in frustration and failure that continued to show the systemic issues of a program stuck in the mud for the better part of a decade.

All three phases should be accountable, starting with the obvious extra-point miss that turned a potential tie football game and all the momentum into a one-point deficit and defeat and saw LSU earn a much-needed victory.

The Gators didn’t lose because their best player for two seasons running, punter Johnny Townsend, failed to hold set the ball properly, causing Eddy Piniero to hook an extra-point kick wide. But special teams played a big part in the defeat. The Gators got next to nothing in the return game, nearly muffing two punts. They ran into LSU’s punter with the Tigers pinned deep, negating a shank, and were buried inside the 5 on their final possession by LSU punter Zach Von Rosenberg’s beautiful coffin corner punt.

There were plenty of other failures that impacted the outcome.

Players failed to stay disciplined and in gaps while LSU ran motion after motion to create confusion early. Freddie Swain didn’t dive forward for a first down late. Martez Ivey committed a late, unnecessary hold at the end of a run in the fourth quarter to crush momentum on another possession. Duke Dawson dropped two interceptions and had another wrestled away on a controversial simultaneous possession call that isn’t controversial if he just wins the play.

The theme?

LSU made winning plays. Florida didn’t.

This wasn’t all on the players.

Jim McElwain and his staff are in year three. They shoulder a good deal of the blame.

LSU came out physical, juiced-up and ready to play from the opening bell. Florida didn’t seem as interested in hitting anyone in the mouth until they fell behind by two touchdowns.

Forget that LSU lost to Troy a week ago. This was always going to be a better version of LSU that showed up in Gainesville.

How this staff didn’t understand that and have the team ready to play with urgency against a  desperate, talented opponent is a question that must be asked even if it can’t be answered.

It was a collective coaching failure.

Doug Nussmeier failed.

On the second-to-last Florida possession, needing only a field goal to win, Nussmeier bizarrely went away from the downhill running scheme that helped Florida nearly tie the game, opting instead to dial up the same rollout crossing patterns play the Gators had shown twice earlier. LSU covered it, putting a Florida possession that started with excellent field position behind schedule. The end result was a Townsend punt.

Nussmeier shoulders some blame for the slow development of Franks as well.

LSU has outstanding pass-rush personnel, but Florida surrendered five sacks largely because Franks still can’t make simple secondary reads. Part of the reason for hiring Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier was their history developing quarterbacks. Those are coachable reads, and both Franks and the coaches must do better.

It wasn’t just the offensive coordinator.

Randy Shannon’s defense failed too.

Florida allowed LSU to convert 6 of 14 third downs, and was physically manhandled in the first half by LSU’s perimeter run schemes, despite knowing LSU star running back Derrius Guice would likely be somewhat limited with an ankle injury and knowing Matt Canada likes to use motion to create havoc and defensive confusion. A lack of discipline, coupled with outside linebackers who couldn’t get off blocks, helped LSU’s wide receivers gash Florida for 105 of LSU’s 216 yards rushing.

“They came in and got after us at the line of scrimmage,” McElwain told the media after the game. “The difference in the game was third downs.”

Kind of.

Another difference was that for the third consecutive game, the Gators young defense couldn’t produce a turnover. Without the opportunistic part of the “bend but don’t break” attitude, the Gators defense is simply above-average. That wasn’t good enough Saturday.

Finally, Jim McElwain failed.

He failed to show confidence in his young quarterback on multiple occasions. Failure is part of growing up, but McElwain not only wouldn’t take the training wheels off Saturday, he showed his football team he doesn’t trust Franks to succeed.