Florida Gators Earn Bowl Eligibility with 38-6 Win Over South Carolina
The Florida Gators (6-4, 3-4 SEC) are officially bowl-eligible in year one of Billy Napier's tenure.
Following a lopsided first half that saw Florida run over the Gamecocks with a strong offensive start, the Gators continued that dominance through defensive excellence to steamroll over Shane Beamer and Co.
On the first defensive possession out of the half for UF, as South Carolina looked to gain its footing after a lackluster first half, Florida continued to haunt the Gamecocks offense as they forced a turnover on the first play from scrimmage.
Spencer Rattler received the snap and hitched to throw a swing pass to Antwaune Wells Jr. toward the right sideline. Catching the ball and pushing upfield, Wells was met by Florida defenders Miguel Mitchell and Rashad Torrence. Instead of a routine tackle, Torrence forced the ball free before recovering it himself to set Florida up with the ball at the SCAR 31.
The Gators failed to convert Torrence's takeaway into points as the offense moved just 12 yards in six plays before kicker Adam Mihalek's 36-yard field goal attempt was blocked by defensive back Cam Smith.
But, that fumble commenced a string of one-play drives by the Gamecocks, all of which resulted in turnovers forced by Florida's defense.
On the ensuing possession, Desmond Watson got in on the action with a forced fumble and recovery of his own to set up an eventual four-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Richardson to tight end Jonathan Odom to give him his first career score and extend Florida's lead to 31-6. Watson's strip of ball carrier Jahiem Bell made him just the second Florida player to be credited for forcing and recovering a fumble since Taven Bryan in 2016.
Torrence was the first player to do just three game minutes prior.
True freshman safety Kamari Wilson then popped a ball free from wideout Jalen Brooks on a ball thrown over the middle into the hands of Trey Dean III. He returned it to the 24-yard line of South Carolina, but Florida failed to score again after another botched play in the kicking game.
UF held onto the 31-6 lead over SCAR for the remainder of the third quarter.
Just as the third quarter came to an end, the Gamecocks had an opportunity to cut into Florida's lead following a 37-yard punt return by Josh Vann to set up a drive deep in UF's territory. However, they stalled to turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert on 4th and 8 with 13:41 remaining in the contest.
Florida put the nail in South Carolina's coffin with an eight-yard rush by Montrell Johnson to extend the Gators' margin of victory to 38-6 midway through the fourth quarter. That carry gave him a new career-high in rushing yards with 161.
The Gators were powered by the three-headed monster in the rushing game with Johnson and Trevor Etienne each eclipsing the century mark on the evening and Richardson following closely behind with 96 yards on the ground. He and Etienne (100) combined for 261 yards to propel the Gators to their impressive 374 total yards on the ground.
Richardson finished the contest with 96 rushing yards and a score of his own. He went 11-for-23 through the air with 112 yards and two scores.
The win gives the Gators a crucial sixth win of the year and extends their year into bowl season. They will travel to Nashville in week 12 to take on Vanderbilt following the Commodores' victory over No. 24 Kentucky to snap a 26-game SEC losing streak.
That contest is scheduled to kick off at noon ET next Saturday as Florida attempts to grab its seventh win of the year.
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