Gator Country

Justin Trattout made perhaps the biggest interception of the season Saturday to help Florida to a 24-14 victory at South Carolina./Gator Country file photo by Tim Casey

COLUMBIA, S.C. – With their national championship hopes slipping away entering the fourth quarter Saturday evening at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium, the top-ranked Florida Gators got perhaps the biggest play of their season from an unlikely player – a defensive lineman who probably should be standing on the sidelines with his arm in a sling after season-ending biceps surgery.

Junior defensive end Justin Trattou, who is playing through the pain of a bicep muscle separated from his shoulder bone, came to Florida’s rescue – and perhaps will be forever known in Gator lore as “Justin-Time” Trattou – when he picked a deflected pass out of the air and raced 53 yards to set up the insurance touchdown in the Gators’ 24-14 victory over former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier’s upset-minded Gamecocks.

With South Carolina marching for what could have been the go-ahead touchdown and facing a third-and-3 play at the Florida 22 to start the final quarter, quarterback Stephen Garcia attempted a quick slant pass to Moe Brown. But Gators defender Markihe Anderson managed to deflect it before Brown could find it and the ball went up into the air before Trattou grabbed it and took off the other way with a convey of blockers.

“Every week, someone has to step up. It’s usually someone different every week,” said Trattou, who suffered his injury against Arkansas and was expected to miss 3-5 weeks but instead played against Georgia two weeks later.

The touchdown, a 1-yard plunge by Tim Tebow with 13:25 to play that put Florida up by the final margin, came after the Gators had seen what was shaping up to be a runaway road victory in the second quarter into a tense 17-14 nail-biter. It was Tebow’s 53rd career rushing touchdown, extending his SEC record.

“He (Trattou) looked kind of athletic there,” joked the 6-3, 245-pound Tebow of the 6-3, 265-pound defensive end from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J.

Tebow himself threw for 199 yards (on 14-of-25 passing) with the first 68 yards coming on a touchdown pass to his off-campus roommate Riley Cooper just 2:56 into the game. Cooper finished with 112 yards on three receptions, while Tebow added 26 yards rushing on 16 carries.

“Trattou is playing with a lot of pain—he’s a superstar,” said Florida head coach Urban Meyer after the victory made him the SEC’s all-time winningest coach by winning percentage. The Florida coach was more impressed that his team had earned its 20th straight victory by surviving in a loud and hostile environment against the Ol’ Ball Coach/Swamp Fox himself, Spurrier, who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback and then returned to his alma mater in 1990 and led it through 12 seasons of glory that included the 1996 national championship.

The first 10 victories of the streak, of course, came following Florida’s 31-30 loss to Mississippi in Gainesville on the last Saturday in September 2008, with victory No. 10 Florida’s 24-14 victory over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game. The next 10 haven’t come as easily, but eight of those victories were in the SEC, the nation’s toughest conference. It’s the first time Florida has gone unbeaten in the SEC since Spurrier’s 1996 national championship season. The Gators have now won 14 in a row in the league.

“We did not play perfect—I’m not sure we’ve played perfect in a while,” Meyer said. “But that’s 20 in a row and I’m awful proud of the guys in there.”

After Florida took a 7-0 on the Tebow-to-Cooper touchdown, South Carolina answered with a 14-play, 84-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Brian Maddox. Garcia, who was hounded relentlessly a year ago in Gainesville as Florida whipped South Carolina 56-6, had completions of 24 yards to Alshon Jeffery and 17 yards to Jason Barnes to set up the touchdown.

Florida went up 10-7 on a 32-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis late in the first quarter and then went up 17-7 on an 8-play scoring drive that included four straight Tebow completions and ended with Emmanuel Moody scooting 17 yards with an option pitch from Tebow.

The Gators looked like they might blow the game wide open shortly after the touchdown when Garcia lost the ball on a bad handoff and Brandon Spikes recovered at midfield. Tebow and Cooper connected for a 14-yard pass to the 36 but got no further. Meyer then elected to send in Sturgis to try a 52-yard field goal which just missed.

Starting at the 35, it took Garcia and the Gamecocks just 3:54 and eight plays to close the margin to 17-14. The quarterback connected on 5 of 6 passes on the drive, the last completion a 9-yard touchdown toss to Weslye Saunders in the back of the end zone.

In the third quarter, neither team could really muster any offense despite some good opportunities. Florida reached the South Carolina 30 before again stalling. This time, Sturgis’ 54-yard field-goal attempt missed horribly left. A 49-yard punt return by Brandon James gave the Gators another golden chance to add points later in the quarter, but again the South Carolian defense held and Eric Norwood stopped Tebow on a fourh-and-1 attempt at the USC 28.

South Carolina then began the drive that ultimately decided the game. Almost four minutes into it, the Gamecocks faced a fourth-and-2 at the Florida 35 and called a timeout with 1:02 left in the quarter. When play resumed, Garcia ran away from the Florida pass rush and eventually escaped Spikes and linebacker Ryan Stamper to get a first down that helped the Gamecocks retain possession into the fourth quarter.

As the fourth quarter opened, South Carolina was faced with a third-and-3 at the Florida 22 on the 11th play of the drive. Garcia tried to hit Brown on a quick slant but Anderson got his hand on it, deflecting back toward the line of scrimmage where Trattou was waiting.

Garcia, who had entered the game with three straight 300-yard passing performances, would finish with 186 yards (17 of 32) but with interceptions by Trattou and junior cornerback Joe Haden, who had 11 total tackles (10 of them solo), forced two fumbles, one pass broken up and a quarterback sack.

Once again, the Florida defense, No. 1 in the nation, was tough when it had to be. After allowing 206 offensive yards in the first half, the Gators allowed just 41 after intermission thanks to the two interceptions and season-high six sacks, two by Jermaine Cunningham and 1.5 by safety Will Hill. South Carolina ran two more plays (66-64) than Florida and controlled the clock for 31:21, but the Gators managed 339 yards (140 rushing, 199 passing) and did not turn the ball over for the third straight game.

Florida concludes its regular season with home games against Florida International (Nov. 21) and Florida State (Nov. 28) before traveling to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome to meet No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 5. CBS, which will televise the SEC title game at 4 p.m., also will televise the FSU game at 3:30 p.m. That game, which comes on Senior Day in the Swamp, could also be Florida State coach Bobby Bowden’s final walk on the sidelines at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

HOW THEY SCORED
No. 1 FLORIDA 24, SOUTH CAROLINA 14

At Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
Scoring 1 2 3 4—Total
Florida Gators 10 7 0 7—24
South Carolina Gamecocks 7 7 0 0—14

FIRST QUARTER
FLA—Riley Cooper 68 pass from Tim Tebow (Caleb Sturgis kick good) at 12:04. Drive: 4 plays, 86 yards, 2 first downs, 1:35 time elapsed following South Carolina punt. Key plays: Tebow ran for 11 yards on the first play for a first down at the Florida 25; Touchdown came on a third-and-3 play, a quick slant. Score: Florida 7, South Carolina 0.

SC—Brian Maddox 1 run (Spencer Lanning kick good) at 5:51. Drive: 14 plays, 84 yards, 6 first downs, 6:13 time elapsed following Florida kickoff. Key plays: South Carolina was 3-for-3 on third-down conversions on the drive, including Stephen Garcia completions of 13 yards to Weslye Saunders and 24 yards to Alshon Jeffery. Garcia followed the completion to Jeffery with a 17-yarder to Jason Barnes to the Florida 1. Score: South Carolina 7, Florida 7.

FLA—FG Sturgis 32 good at 1:18. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 3 first downs, 4:33 time elapsed following South Carolina kickoff. Key plays: On the third play of the drive, Tebow hit Cooper for 30 yards and a first down. Four runs produced two more first downs before a 5-yard illegal formation penalty stopped the momentum. Score: Florida 10, South Carolina 7.

SECOND QUARTER
FLA—Emmanuel Moody 17 run (Sturgis kick good) at 10:28. Drive: 8 plays, 70 yards, 4 first downs, 4:10 time elapsed following South Carolina punt on the final play of the first quarter. Key plays: Tebow completed four straight passes, the first a third-down pass completion of 11 yards to Aaron Hernandez, two to Brandon James for 14 yards and the final to Omarius Hines for 12 yards and another first at the South Carolina 25. Following an 8-yard run by Tebow, Moody broke free for the touchdown. Score: Florida 17, South Carolina 7.

SC—Weslye Saunders 9 pass from Stephen Garcia (Lanning kick good) at 2:10. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 4 first downs, 3:54 time elapsed following missed 52-yard field goal by Florida’s Sturgis. Key plays: Garcia completed 5-of-6 passes on the drive for 59 yards, including four that gained first downs, the last a toss to Saunders in the end zone that he caught, juggled and re-caught before going out of bounds. Score: Florida 17, South Carolina 14.

THIRD QUARTER
No scoring.

FOURTH QUARTER
FLA—Tebow 1 run (Sturgis kick good) at 13:25. Drive: 4 plays, 26 yards, 2 first downs, 1:35 time elapsed following Justin Trattou’s interception of a pass intended for Moe Brown that was deflected by Markihe Anderson and returned 53 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter. Key plays: Tebow’s quick pass to Brandon James, who ran for 11 yards for a first down; two Demps runs of 5 and 9 yards set up Tebow’s touchdown plunge. Score: Florida 24, South Carolina 14.

GAME SUMMARY
Attendance: 79,297.
Officials: Hubert Owens, referee; Daniel Pulley III, umpire; John Langlois, head linesman; Terry Walters, line judge; Greg Thomas, field judge; Bobby Moreau, side judge; Michael Watson, back judge; Johnny Crawford, alternate; Ron Leatherwood, communicator; Doyle Jackson, replay official.
Weather: Sunny skies, 74 degrees and winds from the North at 5 miles per hour.
Coin toss: South Carolina won the toss and elected to receive; Florida defending North end zone.
Game start: 3:30 p.m. Game ended: 7:06 p.m. Time of game: 3:36.
Records: Florida 10-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference East Division; South Carolina 6-5, 3-5 Southeastern Conference East Division.
Next games: Florida vs. Florida International, Saturday, Nov. 21 at 12:30 p.m. (PPV); South Carolina vs. Clemson, Saturday, Nov. 28 at TBD (TBA).

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http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=293182579

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