re: If not for "the Shoe", would the Gators have snagged the 4th playoff spot

No. As well as UF played, the 6 point margin was a little misleading. Bama led by 10+ most of the 2nd half and by 14 with 9 min and 4 min left. UF never had the ball with a chance to tie or win except with 16 sec and 88 yards away at the end. I think few really thought UF was ever going to win other than UF fans.

UF would have ended up with 2 losses and no team with 2 losses has ever made it in. Not saying they would not have have been one of the top 4, just that the Committee would not have included them because of the 2 losses.