GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Senior tight end Jake McGee's 13-yard touchdown reception in overtime allowed No. 8 Florida to avoid a major upset and post a 20-14 nonconference victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

McGee caught a pass from sophomore quarterback Treon Harris in the left flat and sidestepped two tackles at the 10-yard line to score the winning points for the Gators (10-1).

"They might have tackled each other, I don't know if it was all me," McGee said after the contest. "I think they let me go."

The victory made Jim McElwain the first Florida coach with 10 wins in his first season, but also wasn't the most impressive per the College Football Playoff rankings.

The extra point was blocked after McGee's touchdown and the Owls (2-9) came up empty on their overtime possession when a fourth-down pass from senior quarterback Jaquez Johnson deflected off the hands of senior receiver Jenson Stoshak in the end zone.

The Gators knew they escaped and McElwain didn't try to sugarcoat it.

"That team that came in here played their tails off," McElwain said. "Give them all the credit there is. They beat us to every punch up front. They had more energy. They played the way the game should be played -- physical, point of attack and beat the heck out of us.

"That's just the way it was. You guys watched it. Very disappointed with our effort."

Harris threw two touchdown passes and one interception for Florida, one scoring pass going to true freshman Antonio Callaway. Junior running back Kevin Taylor rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The Gators were stout on defense. The unit recorded five sacks, forced three turnovers and allowed 299 yards -- the seventh time this season an opponent had fewer than 300.

But Florida mustered just 252 offensive yards as Florida Atlantic controlled most of the contest.

"This was a game that we thought we had some matchup opportunities," Owls coach Charlie Partridge said. "We were able to execute the game plan and we were able to slow the game down in parts and have tempo plays in other parts.

"Overall, I am proud of the effort. At the same time we are building and working on a lot of things that we can learn from today."

With the Florida offense sputtering, the defensive unit made a big play early in the second half to set up an easy touchdown that broke a scoreless tie.

Senior linebacker Antonio Morrison sacked Florida Atlantic redshirt freshman quarterback Jason Driskel and forced a fumble. Redshirt freshman defensive end Taven Bryan picked up the ball at midfield and returned it 48 yards to the 2-yard line, and Taylor plunged it from the 1 two plays later with 9:44 remaining in the third quarter.

The Gators finally moved the ball at ease on their next possession when they traveled 91 yards on four plays. The touchdown came when Harris threw a deep ball that Callaway corralled for a 53-yard score to make it 14-0 with 5:34 left in the third.

Florida Atlantic answered immediately and moved 75 yards on nine plays, with Johnson tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Kalib Woods with 2:06 remaining in the quarter.

The Owls' defense got in the act in the fourth quarter when junior defensive end Trey Hendrickson delivered the strip-sack of Harris at the Florida 9-yard line.

The ball rolled into the end zone and freshman defensive back Ocie Rose fell on it for a touchdown to tie the score 14-14 with 8:03 left in the game.

The Gators had only four first downs and 69 total yards in a scoreless first half. Florida Atlantic totaled 150 yards in the half.

Both teams missed a field goal in the first half.

Florida junior Austin Hardin had a 33-yard attempt carom off the left upright with 10:18 left in the second quarter and Owls junior Greg Joseph was wide right from 45 yards with 5:47 to play.

NOTES: Florida junior DE Alex McCalister (foot) sat out after being injured a week earlier against South Carolina. He leads the Gators with 6.5 sacks. ... Owls redshirt freshman QB Jason Driskel is the young brother of Jeff Driskel, former Florida quarterback and current Louisiana Tech QB Jeff Driskel. ... Gators redshirt freshman QB Will Grier lost the appeal of his one-year suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Grier will next be eligible to play in Florida's seventh game of the 2016 season.