With losses in three of their last four games, the Gators needed to beat South Carolina on Saturday night in Columbia to help lift the fog of negativity that’s been hovering over the program for nearly a month and generate some positive momentum.
They didn’t get it. Instead, all of that noise will be turned up to an even higher level this week, if that’s even possible. The Gamecocks (5-4, 2-3 SEC) humiliated Florida, 40-17.
Here is our instant recap.
How the game was lost
For the second week in a row, this game got away from the Gators thanks to a turnover late in the first half.
Trailing 23-10 with about a minute to go until halftime, quarterback Emory Jones dropped back to pass on second-and-10 from the UF 19-yard line. After not seeing an open receiver, he decided to scramble.
He carried the ball way too loosely, which allowed Aaron Sterling to jar it free upon contact at the 20. Jabari Ellis scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown to make it 30-10 at the break.
That was basically the nail in the Gators’ coffin.
Player of the Game
Jason Brown
Brown, a transfer from FCS St. Francis University in Pennsylvania, became South Carolina’s third starting quarterback of the season.
He looked like an All-American against Florida’s defense. He torched them to the tune of 14-for-24 for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
He looked poised and in command of the Gamecocks’ offense, and the Gators couldn’t get consistent pressure on him to fluster him.
Play of the Game
Late in the first quarter, South Carolina running back ZaQuandre White took the handoff and bounced the play to the left side. The Gators didn’t set the edge at all, and he sprinted down the field for 54 yards.
Later in the drive, Juju McDowell scored from two yards out to give the Gamecocks the 10-7 lead.
That play opened the floodgates and helped turn this game into a blowout.
Stat of the Game
459 total yards/284 rushing yards
The Gamecocks entered the day ranked 13th in the SEC in total offense at 327.9 yards per game and 12th in rushing at 117.2 yards per game.
They surpassed their season average for rushing yards in a game in the first half and nearly matched their total yardage average.
Florida’s defense looked soft, confused and lethargic from the opening kickoff, with multiple long runs right up the middle and coverage busts.
It all added up to about the worst game imaginable on that side of the ball.
Up next
UF (4-5, 2-5) will play its first home game in over a month next Saturday against Samford. It will be just the third all-time meeting between the Gators and the Bulldogs (4-5), out of the FCS Southern Conference, and the first since 1922. Florida won the first two meetings.
Kickoff is at noon on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.