Florida-South Carolina Under Weather Delay at Halftime

UPDATE: Play is expected to resume at 3:05 p.m.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As the Florida Gators enter halftime trailing South Carolina, 17-10, hopes for a quick second-half turnaround have been stifled by Mother Nature. The week six matchup has entered a weather delay due to lightning in the area.

Weather has been an issue all week in the Gainesville-area, and it has been no different with rain throughout the first half of the contest. Rain is also expected throughout the rest of the day, with radar showing poor weather until past 3 p.m. UF will continue to provide updates throughout the delay.

The SEC's weather policy dictates that competition may resume after 30 minutes if there are no lightning strikes detected within an eight-mile radius.

Gators Trail in First Half

Needing a bounce-back effort after last week's 28-point loss at Missouri, the Gators are providing anything but that.

Without star receiver Vernell Brown III for the second-straight week, Florida's offense has struggled to gain any momentum, with running back Jadan Baugh held to just 14 yards on seven carries and Aaron Philo limited to 146 yards passing, 59 of which came off a touchdown by Bailey Stockton. He is 9-for-13 for 87 yards and an interception on all other passes.

Meanwhile, Florida's defense has continued its usual inconsistency, with strong results on first and second downs while allowing a poor 7-for-11 mark on third down. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is 14-for-23 for 135 yards and two touchdowns, including a 15-yarder to Nyck Harbor on third down and a 12-yarder to Mazeo Bennett Jr. to take the lead.

Sellers' second touchdown pass was set up by Philo's interception.

Florida kicker Patrick Durkin missed a 43-yard field goal as time expired, finalizing a drive in which boos rang out inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium due to Florida's stagnant offense and three-straight run plays in which the Gators gained a single yard.

Florida will get the ball to begin the second half, hoping to find answers ahead of impending matchups at No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia, while hoping the lightning clears in Gainesville.

"Being at the University of Florida, the pressure of that is a privilege, and it’s something that I embrace," head coach Jon Sumrall said this week. "And the guys that have come before us have set the standard really high when you go back and look at maybe the teams and the players that have come through here. We want to get to that standard. We're not there. I know people, after the first four weeks, wanted to act like we were really good. We have a long way to go to maybe establish where we want this program to get back to.”

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