COLUMBIA, S.C. — Unlike last week, Florida gave South Carolina all it could handle before falling 28-20 Saturday, the Gators’ fifth consecutive defeat.
This one came to former coach Will Muschamp. Ironically, UF losses to South Carolina in the series this century have come with former Gator coaches leading the Gamecocks.
UF falls to 3-6 overall and ends the SEC schedule at 3-5. South Carolina, already bowl bound, improved to 7-3, 5-3.
First quarter
It didn’t take long for South Carolina to take a 7-0 lead against Florida on Saturday.
After the Gators went three-and-out on the first offensive series of the game, the Gamecocks put together a seven-play, 74-yard march that quarterback Jake Bentley capped with a four-yard run at the 11:30 mark of the first quarter.
Crazy sequence of plays denied the Gators an opportunity to score points. Cornerback CJ Henderson intercepted a Bentley pass and returned it inside the Gamecocks 5-yard line before fumbling. Carolina recovered in the end zone and returned it 24 yards.
Brandon Powell again with a muffed punt to give South Carolina a first down at the UF 13. But safety Chauncey Gardner Jr. saved the Gators this time by intercepting Bentley and returning it 46 yards to the UF 47.
A 24-yard run up the gut by Mon Denson capped a six-play, 75-yard march to give Carolina a 14-0 lead at the 2:08 mark of the first quarter.
Florida recovered a muffed punt by South Carolina at the Gamecock 38. It’s UF’s first fumble recovery of the season.
Quarterback Malik Zaire and Kadarius Toney teamed up for a 23-yard pass play to set UF up in the red zone.
There were five turnovers in the first quarter.
Florida 0 0 0 0 — x
S. Carolina 14 0 0 0 — x
_____________________________________
Second quarter
Eddy Pineiro’s 29-yard field goal gives UF its first points
Mark Thompson with a 31-yard run for UF. Zaire then gains 23 yards but is injured on the play, setting UF at the Carolina 14.
After one play, Zaire returned and went down again with the leg injury.
Pineiro’s 37-yard field goal at 7:47 brings the Gators within 14-6.
Denson put South Carolina up 21-6 at the 3:40 mark of the second quarter, the 12-yard scoring run capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
Feleipe Franks takes over for good at QB for the injured Zaire, who is on the sidelines wearing a brace on his left knee. Franks immediately teamed up with Josh Hammond for a 37-yard gain.
Center T.J. McCoy is injured for the Gators. He suffered a left foot injury.
Lamichal Perine breaks off an 18-yard TD run to bring UF within 21-13, capping a seven-play, 75-yard drive with 1:18 left in the quarter.
Florida 0 13 0 0 — x
S. Carolina 14 7 0 0 — x
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Third quarter
Yet another Gator went down with an injury, this time it’s freshman defensive end Elijah Conliffe. Because of suspensions and injuries, the Gators brought just 56 scholarship players to Columbia.
Linebacker Vosean Joseph intercepts Bentley to end another South Carolina drive.
In case you are wondering, walk-on Nick Sproles is UF’s No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart today.
Bentley put the Gamecocks up 28-13 with 2:08 left in the third quarter when he ran in from seven yards out to cap a six-play, 53-yard drive.
Florida 0 13 0 0 — x
S. Carolina 14 7 7 0 — x
__________________________________________
Fourth quarter
Parker White missed a 47-yard field goal attempt for the Gamecocks when the ball hit the upright.
Franks hit tight end Moral Stephens for a 63-yard pass to the South Carolina 1. Mark Thompson scored on the next play to bring the score to South Carolina 28-20 with 3:43 left in the game.
Franks’ pass is intercepted and South Carolina takes over with 1:06 to end the game.
Florida 0 13 0 7 — 20
South Carolina 14 7 7 0 — 28
Shannon and Nussmier look much improved lol…wonder if they’ll be coaching D1 next year
Interception and nobody on the defense blockers for the INT…love it
Betting if they took a player vote to forfeit the rest of the season, the majority would vote YES. They have quit!
Agree Paul. we’ll see if they bench Powell from punt return..this coaching staff has lost control and still doesn’t have this team ready to play on Saturdays.
yeeeeep South Carolina running over us like the Georgia game..Does anyone realize this is the net result of Shannon’s inability to recruit LBs???!!!
Joseph, Moon, Reese,Rayshad Jackson
-All of these guys were 2-3 star guys, Shannon needs to be held accountable for this awful coaching/non development
couldnt agree more…the linebackers on this team aren’t SEC caliber
Held accountable?? Hahahaha. They are all gone soon.
Astute observation. Very littlw talent there. No speed.
14-0 could be much worse right now..does Shannon even care about this team???
The players should just boycott the rest of the games and quit. They’ve quit on the field, so why not? I would love to see them forfeit the season. It’s like watching a slow death.
This is beyond frustrating. 2 chances at a pick 6 and nothing.
Why is it that SC’s receivers are running wide open and our guys can’t seem to get any separation at all? Now Zaire is done and Franks is going to be running for his life the rest of the game.
Our defense the WORSE since 1946!!!!! Shannon’s defense, his 1st year as DC we go from a great defense last year to the worse since 1946 allowing more points per game since 1946 and I have read uninformed people on here say his defense was adequate!
Can u believe our offense is playing better than our defense, thats a reverse for the Gators!
Again, can someone take that banner off the bottom of this page? I think most Gator fans would like to put as much distance between us and Mac as possible and we don’t need to see him on here every day.
Or could we at least post some funny captions on those pics?
This game is ours for the taking if we can just get the ball in the damn end zone.
😴
Franks is a better basketball player than football player. I’ve never seen him play basketball.
The team has taken the character of the coaches. They don’t care whether they win or not. They are just trying to get through this season without getting hurt. South Carolina can’t give us this game because we don’t want to win. USCe could have 15 turnovers and UF wouldn’t be winning unless the defense returns them for tds. Shannon is pretty much done as a coordinator or HBC. No chance again.
I don’t agree at all. This is the level of play they are capable of, don’t be in denial.
I don’t agree at all. The talent is not there. People keep talking about all the talent, sorry folks it is not there. There are no run stoppers on the DL and LB’s constantly take themselves out of the play. Some is just poor coaching and some is a lack of talent. I think they are working hard this game. No quit in them this week. Carolina rushes 4 against our 5 and still get to the QB. Very little talent on the OL. The WR’s drop passes in critical situations. I just watched 3 DL rush Franks and the OL could not block 3 DL with 5 blockers. This OL is terrible
Garbage, this team played LSU to one point and was winning all the way to the end with A&M till 3 straight dive pays by Nuss gave them the ball back to score a field goal, so they DO have the talent. both of those teams are better then SC! They have Cleveland and Toney today too so dont give me all that about injuries they were missing about just as many in those against LSU and A&M.
An how bad did Miss St. beat LSU? A&M is not very good as well. LSU gets rated based on passed performance. There are only 3 good teams in the SEC. How many of these players will be drafted by the NFL? i doubly that any gator will taken before the 5th round. Tell me one good player on the DL, and do not say Bryant. Watch this guy he is constantly taking himself out of position. The LB’s are average. Tell me one good offensive lineman. This is not a talent laden team
You are wrong – This team has tons of talent, they just don’t know how to use it.
Once again, thank you very much J Foley.
Florida has players. They just are not smart enough to understand or learn the basic fundamentals required for playing college football successfully. They repeat the same mistakes over and over again without correction or improvement. I have given up any hope for improvement this year. Looking forward to having all new coaches (with maybe the exception that maybe the RBs coach should be retained because the RBs have played very well this year) next year. On to basketball.
What an idiotic comment. They have players, but they are not smart enough to learn, etc? If that was the case then by default that would mean having no players. There has been ZERO coaching. And you are just giving up hope now? Most sane individuals not gulping the orange and blue Kool aid lost hope early on in the Michigan game.
Mr. Ed. Maybe you are the idiot since one can have physical skills but no be able to execute because of a lot of mental reasons. Sort of like you, since you got so personal.
No Ricky G, you have proven over and over how you lack mental prowess. Just how long did you actually defend Mcelwain?
Again, a personal insult.
And to set the record straight, I said your comment was idiotic. I did not get as personal as you by calling you names.
Mr. Ed, you insulted my post. That is personal according to my record. You can disagree with me without making it personal, which you did. My last post in relationship to you.
Do not agree with this one. There are many things especially on defense that do not require a great brain, but it does take coaching. If a kid continues to ignore the coaching staff then bench him, but I really believe the coaching just stinks.
As I said, there has been ZERO coaching.
Completely disagree with you Rick – Are you actually writing here that UF players are stupid? you might want to check yourself out in the mirror. This is not about talent or smarts; this is about a lack of coaching.
Ricky G just needs to wipe his vag..
Could we make SOS the QB coach next year?
There really isn’t any player on offense that’s older than a true freshman that’s worth keeping other than cleveland. I wouldn’t mind seeing a new HBC cut the team in half and starting over with a roster of 40 players not including the incoming class. Just not worth keeping any of these guys. They all need a fresh start somewhere else. It’s not fair to florida fans and it’s not fair to these D2 players
I am truly tired of watching receivers drop passes. Swain was one of the players who called out the other players and he drops the ball on a key pass that could have gotten the team back in the game. It just never ends, the poor execution of these players on offense. Just end it.
Have you ever made a mistake Rick? just wondering, like you forgot to reply to an email, or something like that? He has one ball thrown to him all day and he dropped it. Let me bow down before you almighty Rick, you are the KING. All HAIL RICK!
How many procedure penalties can a team possibly have.
LOL. Our running back tackles our TE at the 1 yard line with no USCe player with in 5 yards. It wasn’t like they tripped he literally wrapped up the TE and tackled him. Maybe Thompson should be the defensive coordinator and teach our defense how to tackle. Best wrap up of the season.
actually he grabbed the ball because it was more important to him to get credit for a pass catch than for the team to score, SELFISH!
Wish Franks would have been starting QB. Don’t give up on this guy. We need better receivers.
Franks has all the athletic ability to be a great player. Just needs a new head because he has zero awareness.
We need BETTER COACHED receivers. All those WRs out there right now are 4* talent. Cant believe Swain dropped a TD pass.
Thompson didn’t really try to grab his fumble. Then the OL(taylor) could have fallen on the ball when it was on the ground. But instead he reaches for it, takes a step back then falls down. All the USCe players just try to fall on it and end up recovering it. For a split second on gators new it was on the ground and there was no gamecock that even knew it was there and they still got it. The lack of common sense is just amazing.
David Smith. Mr. Ed will call your comment about this team playing without common sense…..”idiotic.”
Answer my question little Ricky. Just how long did you defend Mcelwain and the horse crap he out on the field each week?
I am not sure we have truly seen him play football. Attempted to yes…
I just watched the gators last offensive play. Two gator O. lineman were knocked on the butt. The center and left guard were knocked backward by the defensive lineman. Second time in this series that an O lineman was knocked backwards and lands on his backside. The OL is just weak.
I did not just finish watching a football game. I believe I read a comic book instead. I just know I laughed a lot between all the tears the laughter caused. This team is utterly embarrassing and very difficult to watch play. High school teams are better coached than this Florida team, and most high school teams play better.
FSU will be Florida’s bowl game. It will be called the “No QB Bowl” and will be promoted at the bowl of the two most inept teams in all of the Power 5 conferences. And hopefully the administration will Frost The Swamp shortly thereafter.
Mcelwain was the exact same story as Frost except a lot more experienced.
If it would have been a choice of Mcelwain or Frost last time around we would have hired Mcelwain anyway.
It’ll be hard to Frost the Swamp when it will be Chip Kelly as next HBC.
But I agree we need to beat fsu, if anything for recruiting sake and not allowing Rape State to win five games against us for the first time ever in the series.
That said, with Nussmeier at OC, we aren’t going to win that one either.
If they lose the rest of the season will they get a higher draft pick? 🙂
Said it when Mac first hired Nussmeier when he got here…
“Nussmeier is a terrible hire, he can’t develop QB’s, and it will either make or break Mac in a couple of years. We could have done much, much better”.
I was right.
Said after the bowl game last season…
“Two straights UF offenses ranked outside of the top 100. Mac needs to part ways with Nussmeier. It will be a disaster next season if he retains him”.
I was right….But they still gave that idiot a raise as OC.
Said after the Michigan debacle…
“Mac needs to replace Nuss asap and promote someone else on staff to OC or takenover play-calling himself. Nuss is another blow-out or two waiting to happen”.
I was right.
I also said aftervthw LSU loss…
“Mac will hangbhis hat on Nuss or go down in flames for his good pal Nuss”.
I was right.
Replace him now Shannon. Promote from within and replace him now before we lose to UAB or fsu.
Nuss is only a symptom of the problem which is that Florida does not hire big name coaches.
Nuss was a major factor in Mac’s failure here. Interestingly enough, Mac was successful at both Bama and Colorado St. when he didn’t have Nuss on staff.
But macs insistance on hiring his pals and buddies instead of qualified assistants was another strike against Mac at UF.
Mac recruited and coached at UF like he was still at Colorado St.
We hired the coach of Colorado State.
We hired a small time coach and he turned out to be a small time coach.
Watching this year’s team with it’s poor execution and this pitiful QB Franks who can’t seem to do anything right is breaking my heart as a Gator fan. Way to many dumb penalties at the most inopportune times. OL can’t protect or run block to save their lives. A defense, that I’ve grown to love over the years, gets gashed for big run plays over and over again. And then there is Franks….i would gladly give up his strong arm just to have some competence. The lack of time management, not being able to read receiver progressions, his inability to secure to ball properly, his lack of knowledge of where he is at on the field are all examples of him being the worst QB that I’ve ever seen at UF (fan since 1990) No leadership skills what so ever. This team and coaching staff has lost all confidence in him to be a successful QB….in my 27 years of being a die hard Gator fan, I’ve never turned the game off in disgust until today….I Am Broken
Nuss is pathetic. If you took plays and posted them on the wall and let an 8 year-old throw darts at them and ran those place, I guarantee they would be better than what Nuss calls. He is telling money when he cashed his check and should be ashamed…33 yds in the 2nd half before Franks bomb speaks for itself…great halftime adjustments.
I am with “todd” and have been extremely critical of Nuss from the start. His track record was crap, Saban ran him off and there’s a reason he was so readily available when Mac-tasting hired him.
Maybe time to stop hiring the coaches that are “readily available”. That’s what has happened for 7 years, 2 head coaches, working on the second athletic director.
Where were all the offensive players Muschamp apparently has now when he was at Florida? Maybe he did learn something from all the misery he dealt while at Florida. As bad as this team is, I am thankful I do not have too a his mug decked out in orange and blue.
Florida was just the training ground for Muschamp, he is a good coach now. We hired somebody with no experience as if we were UCF or something. Now we are supposed to want to hire the coach of UCF who has 2 years experience.
What? I don’t think Muschamp has done anything at this point to prove he’s a good coach. He will likely lose to Clemson meaning his team will have 4 loses before a bowl game. Hardly the record of a good coach. I think he really lucked out with Bentley considering he’s only a true sophomore and 2 year starter. His marque win will be against Arkansas who has 3 wins with 2 wins by 1 point and will likely be looking for a new coach. All the other wins other than 1 has been by 8 points or less. Sounds pretty much like his UF days. He might be a good coach now but IMO there is nothing he’s done at USCe that proves that.
Nussmeier is bad, no doubt, but he does not teach Franks to throw the ball from the pocket at 6’6″ tall directly into his own OL’s helmet. And he does not teach receivers to fight each other for the ball and tackle each other at the one yard line when no defender is anywhere near them. Nor does he teach Hammond and Swain to drop wide open passes on third down. And he does not teach the offensive line to repeatedly jump off sides or move before the ball is snapped. And he does not teach running backs to fumble the ball going in from the one yard line. Watching this Florida team play is a laughable as watching the roadrunner (if any of you remember that comic book character) repeatedly get drilled by a falling rock while flashing through the open road. I am sick of this comically coached and comically performing team. I wish they would just forfeit the last two games and eliminate any more comical acts that this team can act out on a college football field. Just horribly embarrassing this team is. But no excuse for it. None. But hopefully help is on the way in a qualified and successful head coach that will simply not put up with comical behavior from players or coaches any more.
“hopefully help is on the way in a qualified and successful head coach”
Scott Frost does not qualify due to lack of experience.
Norville doesn’t have the experience.
Charlie Strong failed at his last big time job
Lane Kiffin fired from everywhere he ever worked.
Mullen, qualified but already worked here and doesn’t want the job.
Correct me if I am wrong but there is nobody left but Chip Kelly. Fortunately he is also the most qualified. If we don’t get him better become a basketball fan.
Rick, great observations but if the Gators had even a decent QB like South Carolina they could win a game like this especially getting some turnovers. The players on both sides of the ball would know that they had a decent QB and it would inspire them to play hard. The next coach will see from this post-McElwain part of this season who has heart and self respect and who doesn’t. Either way I think Zaire’s football career ends soon and he doesn’t even seek an extra medical redshirt year. I also believe that Franks will transfer out of Gainesville when he sees the writing on the wall that he is not in the next HC’s plans going forward. Yep, “if they don’t bite as puppies, they don’t bite.” Franks’ audition at QB this year grades out as a D-. He will see better days with some average level FCS program like the Tennessee-Martin Sky Hawks.
Actually saw some fight in the team that has been absent for 3 weeks. Poor play calls, poor execution, but at least they had some heart today. Go Gators!
Bring on Brent Venables!! Would be the next Bob Stoops!!! imho
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Venables
I just followed your link and it says he has zero years of head coaching experience.
Frank does that mean he wouldn’t be a great head coach? Good Grief man nether did Bob Stoop when he took the job at Oklahoma!! Look at what Kirby Smart is doing…Scott Frost ect.
We have no idea if he would be a great head coach, that’s my point.
If we had a choice of hiring Mcelwain or Scott Frost last time we would have hired Mcelwain anyway. Scott Frost does not have any more chance of success than Mcelwain did.
If you’re that short sighted so be it! My point is Oklahoma made the right hire with no head coaching experience Stoops! The Gators must get this Coaching hire right..can’t just look one way!
Food for thought…
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/5/16403562/ncaa-football-coaches-year-1-losses
I’m waiting to hear the same old “Post Game comments” from the coaches and Players: “We gittin’ better………….we still got a lot more game to play…………we still got goal(s) to reach………….we dis gotta go out and x-ugh-coot”……………..Bla Bla Bla……………………………
I don’t know if I am more angry at losing at South Carolina or at some of these juvenile posts in this forum. Jesus Christ guys, this team is beat, plain decimated both with suspensions and injuries. What in heavens do you expect?, it’s like getting into a fight with one hand tied behind your back, you are willing to fight, but you know you are going to get get your brains knocked out. That’s exactly where this team finds itself, the fight is there, but nothing to fight with!! Come on, this is our team, give them some slack!!!
I’d love to blame all of this stuff on the coaches, and the only way I could is the fact that they let these guys play although they make completely unacceptable decisions on any level of football middle school and above. Do you really have to coach a qb to throw the ball away instead of him running out of bounds for a 4 or 5 yard loss? Do you really have to coach your player to run for a first down instead of sliding and make our anemic offense try to pick up a 3rd down? Do you really have to teach the qb to not throw it into your OL’s head?
We have plenty of problems caused by coaching but there is no doubt we have lots of skilled players that don’t make plays even when the ball hits them in the hands and make no YAC. There’s no fight. It’s the coaches fault that these guys are still playing and don’t progress beyond their abilities as true freshmen unless they like this style of play.