Florida Gators vs. South Carolina Gamecocks live updates
Live results from No.3 Florida's college football game today against South Carolina at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field:
On ESPN's GameDay, UF coach Dan Mullen said quarterback Kyle Trask did a good job of moving on from his production (416 yards and six touchdowns) last week at Ole Miss and focusing on South Carolina this week. He also said the defense emphasized getting out of "practice mode" and going hard every play today.
Note: Gators unavailable today: Kyree Campbell, Lamar Goods, Quincy Lenton, CJ McWilliams, Ethan Pouncey, Jordan Pouncey, Jahari Rogers, Brad Stewart and Ethan White.
FIRST QUARTER
South Carolina took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 12 plays and capped by Kevin Harris' two-yard scoring run.
"We thought Florida's defense would be different today. SC rolled right down the field to a touchdown. Only faced one third down in the drive," Sun sports columnist Pat Dooley tweeted.
The Gators answered with a Dameon Pierce 2-yard TD run at the 3:45 mark. The scored capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive. Evan McPherson botted the point after.
Gators first drive looks even easier. 7-7. 3:35 to play in the first quarter. Pierce running like a man possessed. 27 tough yards in the drive on five carries and the touchdown.
The Kyle Trask-Kyle Pitts combo worked for another TD, this time from 13 yards out with six seconds remaining in the quarter. It's Kyle Pitts' fifth score of the season.
South Carolina 7
Florida 14
________
What went right: After USC took a 7-0 lead on the game’s first possession, the Gator offense had the necessary answer: a 75-yard TD drive to tie the game. Just like a week ago, there was a big Kyle-to-Kyle connection, with Trask completing a 20-yard pass to Pitts to put the Gators inside the 20. Running back Dameon Pierce ended the drive with a walk-in TD from two yards out. Trask was three-for-three on the drive. After the score, the defense, which got off to a really shaky start, forced a quick three-and-out to give the ball back to the offense. The offense said thank you very much and drove right down the field to give the Gators a 14-7 lead. Trask completed a 20-yard pass to Pitts and a 21-yard pass to Trent Whittemore, then closed out the drive with a 13-yard TD pass to Pitts.
What went wrong: All those problems on defense a week ago in Oxford showed up right away. The Gamecocks took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for a touchdown and the early lead. The Gators gave up chunk plays on the ground and through the air, the biggest being a 22-yard pass from Collin Hill to Xavier Legett that converted a third-and-10 on the fourth play of the drive. It was the only third down of the possession.
Play of the quarter: A leaping 21-yard reception by Trent Whittemore that set up the second UF TD.
Trending: Kyle-to-Kyle.
— Robbie Andreu
_________________________________________________________
SECOND QUARTER
South Carolina 7 7
Florida 14 10
Following a Trask fumble, South Carolina went down to score on a Collin Hill pass to Shi Smith for a 4-yard TD and a 14-all tie at the 9:31 mark.
Evan McPherson kicked a 26-yard field goal to put UF up 17-14 at the 3:33 mark.
The Gators get a stop with a third-down sack by Zach Carter. Gators will have a chance to build on their lead with 3:11 left in the half.
Trask to Pitts again for a TD with 1:22 remaining, this from four yards out and a 24-14 Gators lead.
__
What went right: After the Gamecocks tied the game after recovering a fumble near midfield, the UF offense responded with another positive drive. A 23-yard pass from Trask to true freshman wide receiver Xzavier Henderson moved the Gators inside the 20. A few plays later, after the drive stalled inside the 10, Even McPherson was true on a 26-yard field-goal attempt to put the Gators back on top 17-14. Then the UF defense came up with a three-and-out, Zachary Carter getting a sack on third down, and the offense got back on a roll. Trask had a 19-yard run on an option play, then completed a 14-yard pass to Jacob Copeland. From there, Trask threw a 4-yard TD strike to Pitts to put the Gators up by 10, 24-14, with just 1:22 left in the half.
What went wrong: Just when it looked like the Gators were in a position to take control of the game, Trask lost a first-down fumble on his own 48 that seemed to ignite a USC offense that had stalled since its opening drive of the game. The Gamecocks gutted the Gators on the ground and culminated the drive with a 3-yard TD pass from Hill to wide receiver Shi Smith to tie the game 14-14.
Play of the quarter: The 19-yard run by Trask that set up the touchdown.
Trending: Trask, Pitts and the UF passing game.
— Robbie Andreu
________________________________________________
THIRD QUARTER
South Carolina 7 7 3
Florida 14 10 14
Redshirt freshman receiver Trent Whittemore, a Gainesville Buchholz High grad, caught his first TD pass for the Gators, a four-yard toss from Trask that puts UF up 31-14 at the 7:47 mark. The score followed a fumble by the Gamecocks.
Kadarius Toney took a short pass from Trask, then somehow eluded the South Carolina secondary to compete a 57-yard scoring pass play to put UF up 38-14 with 4:44 remaining in the quarter.
Trash is now 20-for-24 for four scores and 259 yards
Parker White nailed a 45-yard field goal to cut the USC deficit to 38-17 with 28 seconds remaining.
__
What went right: Penalties. Against South Carolina. After driving to the UF 37, the Gamecocks had back-to-back penalties (holding, false start) that pushed them back to their own 38. Then a muffed pitch was recovered by UF linebacker Ventrell Miller on the 37. From there, it took the Gators only four plays to find the end zone on a 4-yard TD pass from Trask to Whittemore for a 31-14 lead. Oh, yeah, UF got a 15-yard assist from the Gamecocks on the drive on a pass interference call. Later in the quarter, following a three-and-out by the defense, Trask found Kadarius Toney open over the middle and he raced 57 yards for a touchdown to put UF in command, 38-14. Fifty of those yards came after the catch.
What went wrong: The offense, which was so consistently good in the first half, got off to a sluggish start, going three-and-out on the quarter’s opening possession. The defense gave up a field-goal drive late in the quarter.
Play of the quarter: The catch-and-run for a touchdown by Toney.
Trending: Trask-to-Toney.
— Robbie Andreu
_______________________________________________
FOURTH QUARTER
South Carolina 7 7 3 7 — 24
Florida 14 10 14 0 — 38
Hill completed a 9-yard scoring pass to running back Kevin Harris to pull the Gamecocks to 38-14 with 10:21 remaining in the game. The score followed an interception of Trask.
Florida's defensive momentum early in the second half seems to have vanished. We have a game at 38-24. This is where Florida has issues because they can't run five or six minutes off the clock.
---
What went right: The Gators managed to get a stop on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line with :48 seconds to finally secure the win. Hill was flushed from the pocket and threw behind his receiver. Other than that, not much at all went right, accept the Gators found a way to escape with the win.
What went wrong: The quarter got off to a bad start for Trask, whose underthrown pass in the flat was intercepted by cornerback Israel Mukuamu on the UF 39. From there, with the help of a pass interference penalty on safety Trey Dean, the Gamecocks drove for a touchdown, the score coming on a 9-yard pass from Hill to running back Kevin Harris to make it a two-score game, 38-24. From that point on, the offense produced almost nothing for the rest of the quarter, allowing the Gamecocks to mount a comeback that saw the UF defense staying on the field for most of the quarter.
Play of the quarter: The fourth-and-goal stop.
— Robbie Andreu
The Gators improved to 2-0, while the Gamecocks fall to 0-2.
Florida plays at Texas A&M next week.
_______
South Carolina 7 7 3 7 — 24
Florida 14 10 14 0 — 38
First Quarter
SC_Harris 2 run (P.White kick), 8:04.
FLA_Pierce 2 run (McPherson kick), 3:45.
FLA_K.Pitts 13 pass from Trask (McPherson kick), :06.
Second Quarter
SC_S.Smith 4 pass from C.Hill (P.White kick), 9:31.
FLA_FG McPherson 26, 3:31.
FLA_K.Pitts 4 pass from Trask (McPherson kick), 1:22.
Third Quarter
FLA_Whittemore 4 pass from Trask (McPherson kick), 7:47.
FLA_Ka.Toney 57 pass from Trask (McPherson kick), 4:44.
SC_FG P.White 45, :28.
Fourth Quarter
SC_Harris 9 pass from C.Hill (P.White kick), 10:21.
___
SC FLA
First downs 25 18
Rushes-yards 36-117 24-80
Passing 212 268
Comp-Att-Int 28-47-0 21-29-1
Return Yards 0 63
Punts-Avg. 4-41.8 2-49.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-55 4-44
Time of Possession 36:23 23:3
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING_South Carolina, Harris 22-100, Fenwick 6-32, C.Hill 8-(minus 15). Florida, Pierce 9-51, Trask 6-22, M.Davis 4-9, Wright 1-3, (Team) 2-(minus 1), Ka.Toney 2-(minus 4).
PASSING_South Carolina, C.Hill 28-47-0-212. Florida, Trask 21-29-1-268.
RECEIVING_South Carolina, S.Smith 12-85, Fenwick 5-24, Harris 4-27, Muse 2-21, Powers 2-19, Legette 1-22, Mullins 1-9, Vann 1-5. Florida, Ka.Toney 6-86, K.Pitts 4-57, Whittemore 2-30, Grimes 2-26, Shorter 2-16, M.Davis 2-13, Henderson 1-23, Copeland 1-12, Wright 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.