Instant Recap: Florida Falls to South Carolina for Second Straight Loss

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators needed a bounce-back win after last week's 28-point loss to Missouri, and South Carolina, a team holding an 0-3 record in SEC play with a head coach seemingly out the door, seemed like a prime opportunity for that.

Instead, it was Florida looked like the team with a winless record in conference play led by a soon-to-be-fired head coach, falling 38-19 to the Gamecocks for its second straight loss.

Florida's offense was stifled, the defense gave up third down conversions and any momentum was taken away quickly as South Carolina controlled most of the contest. The Gators' rushing attack was held to just 120 yards, including a lowly 59 yards from star back Jadan Baugh, while the passing attack failed to attack downfield as an injured Vernell Brown III (knee) watched from the sideline for the second straight week.

Quarterback Aaron Philo was 21-for-28 for 227 yards, one touchdown, one interception and two fumbles, one of which was recovered by South Carolina. 59 of those yards came on a touchdown pass to Bailey Stockton (eight catches, 127 yards) on the Gators' second offensive drive, and the Gators managed just 12 points and 321 yards across its next 10 drives after the score.

Florida did not score a touchdown until a two-yard rush from Baugh with 1:01 left in the game, only scoring off a pair of field goals from Patrick Durkin. The ensuing two-point try was failed.

Meanwhile, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers had Florida's secondary on the ropes for most of the game, throwing for 279 yards and four scores as he completed 66 percent of his passes. A 15-yard touchdown to Nyck Harbor on third down tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter, while a touchdown to Mazeo Bennett Jr. in the second quarter gave the Gamecocks a 17-10 lead after a Philo interception.

He added a 26-yarder to Donovan Murph early in the third quarter to extend the lead to 11 after Florida opened the half with a field goal, while a one-yard score with 1:08 in the third quarter put the Gamecocks up 31-13.

Florida came close to scoring early in the fourth quarter with a drive in the red zone, but a fumble forced by Dylan Stewart on a Philo run was recovered by the Gamecocks at the 16-yard line. A turnover on downs from an incomplete pass at South Carolina's 27-yard line ended any little hope that was left for a comeback.

Sellers added a 21-yard touchdown to Lex Cyrus after the turnover with 8:07 left to officially seal the win, and South Carolina intercepted a Tramell Jones Jr. pass off a drop by Evan Chieca to add insult to injury on the ensuing drive.

Florida (4-2, 2-2 SEC), likely to fall out of the AP top 25 after Saturday's loss, hits the road next week to face No. 1 Texas before a bye week that provides a break ahead of a matchup against No. 2 Georgia.

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