The Florida Gators defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon inside the Swamp. Florida leaned on a strong rushing attack and a stifling defensive performance to push the Gators to their sixth win of the season. It was a dominating game from start to the finish for the first time this season.
Gator Country provides five takeaways from Florida’s week 11 victory.
SIX STRAIGHT QUARTERS
Florida’s defense hasn’t allowed an opposing team’s offense to score in six straight quarters. The Gators’ defense has completely flipped the switch since halftime of the TAMU game. We are seeing consistent pressure and better coverage in the secondary. Florida is continuing to find ways to force turnovers. Rashad Torrence, Desmond Watson, and Kamari Wilson were all credited with forced fumbles in week 11. The Gators won the turnover battle for the fourth straight week.
Florida held South Carolina to 1.9 yards per attempt. Florida has been one of the worst run defenses in the country, but they weren’t letting anything by them tonight.
SPECIAL TEAMS BLUNDER
Florida’s special teams unit has been bad all season and they may have hit rock bottom in week 11. Florida had two botched field goal attempts, a fumble on a punt return, and a 48-yard fake punt pass for a touchdown to allow the only points of the game for the Gamecocks. I noticed that Adam Mihalek’s extra points were coming in very low, so I was not surprised to see one blocked.
The bright side is Jeremy Crawshaw continues to put together an impressive season. He punted twice tonight for an average of 58.0 yards, including a long kick of 67 yards, one 50-plus yard punt and one kick inside the opposing 20-yard line.
Ricky Pearsall saw action as the punt returner after Xzaiver Henderson fumbled earlier in the game. I thought Pearsall looked comfortable in this role; I would like to see him there from here on out.
GROUND AND POUND
This has been Florida’s identity all season and it was no different against the Gamecocks. The Gators totaled their most rushing yards (374) in an SEC game in since running for 418 yards vs. Georgia in 2014. This is Florida’s third-highest rushing total in an SEC game since 1996.
Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne both ran for 100+ yards today, continuing to prove why they are one of the best running back tandems in the country.
At one point in the game, Florida had three rushers with more than 100 yards (Anthony Richardson), which would have been the first time that’s happened since 1984. Richardson took a sack in the 4th quarter which brought him down to 96. Nonetheless, Richardson is finally consistently showing his ability and willingness to run the football, which is helping Florida’s offense flow.
The Gators’ 6.1 yards per carry ranks second in the FBS and is on track to set a school record.
FRESHMAN IMPACT
Caleb Douglas and Miguel Mitchell both made their first career starts tonight, becoming the 3rd and 4th true freshman to make starts this season (Shemar James, Kamari Wilson). Douglas finished the game with three catches for 53 yards. Douglas became the first true freshman to start at wide receiver since Kadarius Toney vs. Kentucky on Sept. 23, 2017.
We also saw production from redshirt freshman Jordan Young, who recorded his first career pass breakup in the contest.
GATORS PUT ON A SHOW IN FINAL HOME GAME OF 2022
Billy Napier and the Florida Gators put on a show for the recruits and fans in attendance. This was one of the more enjoyable games to watch because Florida played close to a complete game. The offense totaled over 500 yards and scored 38 points while the defense held the Gamecocks to just 237 yards of offense.
It was an entertaining game in front of a sold-out crowd inside the Swamp, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Florida’s win today makes the program bowl eligible for the fifth-straight season and for the eighth time in the last nine campaigns. Florida will look to ride this momentum going into the final two games of the season.
Who did Mitchell start over ? Dean? Torrence? Someone else?