No. 6 Florida Gators Steamroll Razorbacks En Route To 63-35 Victory
The No. 6 Florida Gators chomped through the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday by way of a 63-35 victory in The Swamp.
This win extends the Gators' win streak to three, and gives Florida a 5-1 record heading into the final four games of its regular season.
The Razorbacks entered the game without its head coach in Sam Pittman as he was out after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. In his stead was Razorbacks defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
The Gators came out flying on offense tonight with quarterback Kyle Trask leading the way as the team's best offensive player of the night. While the team might have missed tight end Kyle Pitts today, out with a concussion, it didn't appear to be that way as the offense scored seven touchdowns, including six from Trask.
RELATED: Florida Gators QB Kyle Trask Sets SEC Record for Most TDs in Six Games
With six passing touchdowns on the night, Trask surpassed former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the most touchdown passes thrown by an SEC quarterback through the first six games of the season with 28. Tagovailoa previously held the record with 27 thrown through six games in 2019.
Trask would end the day prior to backup quarterback Emory Jones entering the contest in the fourth quarter with 23 completions on 29 attempts for 356 yards and six touchdowns.
Entering the game, all eyes were set on the Razorbacks and quarterback Feleipe Franks, who returned to The Swamp for the first time since the 2019 season, ultimately transferring in January.
While Franks would strike early with a beautiful 47-yard touchdown throw on Arkansas' first possession of the game, pointing to the Florida bench in the process, it would be Florida which had the last laugh, stymying the Razorbacks offense for much of the contest.
Franks would ultimately finish the game completing 15 out of 19 of his passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns on the day.
Florida would force four punts, a fumble and a turnover on downs through Arkansas' first 10 possessions of the game. The Gators would score on the turnover, a fumble by Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd, scooped up by Gators defensive lineman Zachary Carter, who took the ball 35 yards.
While the Gators showcased much of what they've shown through five games prior through the air, it was its ground game and ball-control offense that would set them up for success early in the contest. Top tailback, Dameon Pierce would finish the night with 12 rushes for 69 yards. Florida finished the game with a total of 208 rushing yards on 45 attempts.
The Gators possessed the football for 38:48, while the Razorbacks handled the football just 21:12, marking the best difference in time of possession for the team through the first six games of the season.
The Gators offense without Pitts seemingly didn't skip a beat with plenty of playmakers paving the way. On the day, receiver Trevon Grimes caught six passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Receivers Jacob Copeland, Xzavier Henderson and Justin Shorter also caught touchdowns on the day. Playing in place of Pitts, tight end Keon Zipperer would catch two touchdowns for the Gators, proving his worth as a receiving tight end.
With much of the fourth quarter remaining, Jones, playing in place of Trask, would lead the Gators to yet another touchdown on the day, extending the Florida lead to 35, 63-28. Jones finished the game completing four out of seven of his passes for 29 yards and a touchdown, adding 37 yards and a touchdown on six attempts.
Freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson would also enter the contest, however, throwing an interception on his only passing attempt of the game. He also ran the football once for four yards to close out the contest.
Ultimately, Florida put 63 points on the board along with 593 yards on the board tonight, further cementing itself as one of the best offenses in college football.
