Oct. 20, 2012

Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery

GENERAL

• Captains for the Gamecocks – No. 36 D.J. Swearinger, No. 54 Shaq Wilson, No. 55 T.J. Johnson, No. 87 Justice Cunningham
• With the loss South Carolina is now 6-2 on the year with a 4-2 record in the SEC. South Carolina’s 12-game winning streak over Eastern Division opponents was snapped in Saturday’s loss to Florida. The Gamecocks had previously not lost to an SEC East team since falling at Kentucky on October 16, 2010. The loss also snaps a two-game South Carolina winning streak over the Gators.
• South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is now 3-5 all-time in games vs. Florida.
• South Carolina has 10 players that have started all eight games this season: Reginald Bowens, Jadeveon Clowney, Bruce Ellington, DeVonte Holloman, Byron Jerideau, T.J. Johnson, Ronald Patrick, Ace Sanders, Devin Taylor, Shaq Wilson.

OFFENSE

• Senior center T.J. Johnson now owns the school record for career starts. He has started 48 career games and surpasses Cliff Matthews (2007-10) for the record.
• With the loss, junior quarterback Connor Shaw now has a 13-3 record as a starting quarterback for the Gamecocks.
• Senior wide receiver D.L. Moore doubled his season total for receptions. Moore had three catches for 23 yards that increased his season total for receptions to six for the season.

DEFENSE

• Senior linebacker Reginald Bowens set a season-high tied a career-high with 11 tackles on the afternoon. He previously had 11 tackles on October 1, 2011 vs. Auburn.
• Senior spur DeVonte Holloman tied a season-highs in tackles with eight for the afternoon. He also had eight last week at LSU.
• Senior defensive end Devin Taylor added to his career sack total with a sack in the first half. He ranks fifth in school history with a career 18.0 sacks. Sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney moved into top 10 with a sack in the first half.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Senior field goal kicker Adam Yates doubled his field goal total for the season on Saturday as he was 3-for-4 in field goal attempts. He is now 6-for-9 for the season in field goal attempts. He also had a career-long 51-yard field goal at the end of the first half.
• South Carolina blocked Florida’s extra point attempt in the third quarter and returned it for two points. The last time South Carolina blocked an extra point for a 2-point conversion was Stephon Gilmore vs. Nebraska on Jan. 2, 2012 at the Capital One Bowl. The last time that Florida had an extra point blocked and returned for two points was Oct. 6, 1990.

TEAM NOTES

• With its 44-11 victory over No. 7 South Carolina Saturday, Florida improved to 7-0 (6-0 SEC); the Gators are 7-0 for the sixth time in school history and the first time since the 2009 season.
• Florida improved to 13-1 in Gainesville all-time against the Gamecocks, 4-1 over USC when both teams are ranked and snapped USC’s SEC East win streak at 12 games.
• With the victory Saturday, Florida improved to 3-0 against ranked teams (including two straight wins over top-10 teams at home) and improved to 11-1 under head coach Will Muschamp when leading at halftime.
• The Gators have yet to allow a touchdown in their three home Southeastern Conference games so far this season and made it two straight home games holding their opponent to less than 50 yards rushing (USC 1.4 rush avg).
• The Gators continued to limit its opponents’ fourth-quarter scoring, having racked up a 61-13 advantage over opponents in the fourth quarter including a 7-3 edge today.
• Florida’s 44 points in the win over No. 7 South Carolina were the most against a ranked opponent for the Gators since its 51 versus Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 1, 2010.
• UF’s 44 points additionally marked the most against an SEC team since 48 versus Kentucky Sept. 24, 2011.
• Florida was 6-for-6 in the red zone against the Gamecocks (does not include taking a knee at end of UF vs. USC game), marking its fifth straight game with a perfect 1.000 scoring percentage. In its 26 trips to the red zone, Florida has 17 touchdowns and eight field goals, resulting in a .962 scoring percentage and a .654 touchdown percentage on the season.
• After allowing 11 first downs in the first half, the Florida defense held South Carolina to two three-and-outs in the third quarter. The Gators did not give up a play over 20 yards to the Gamecocks Saturday.
• The Gator defense held the Gamecocks to just 42.5 completion percentage, the fifth time this season UF has held an opponent at 50 percent or lower.
• UF won the time-of-possession battle (35:28) over its opponents for the sixth time this season, and had the ball over 35 minutes for the fourth time on the year.
• After 29 yards of offense in the first quarter Florida bounced back with 154 yards of total offense in the second half, finishing the day with 183 yards of total offense, compared to USC’s 191.
• For the third time this season, Florida held an SEC opponent to under 100 yards rushing (Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina).
• Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel tossed a career-best four touchdown passes, two to junior tight end Jordan Reed for a career-best game for the tight end. For Driskel, it marked his second-consecutive game accounting for at least three Florida touchdowns.
• The last time a Florida quarterback threw four touchdown passes against an SEC opponent was Tim Tebow vs. Kentucky in 2007. The last quarterback to toss four touchdown passes in a non-conference game was John Brantley against Furman in 2011.
• Driskel first hooked up with junior tight end Jordan Reed for a three-yard touchdown pass with 14:01 on the clock in the first quarter – the score for the Gators marked UF’s quickest to start a game since Andre Debose’s 65-yard touchdown catch versus Alabama Oct 1, 2011 (14:41 on the clock in the first quarter).
• For the second-consecutive game against the Gamecocks in Gainesville, Florida scored in the first minute of play, as Debose ran the opening kickoff 99 yards for a Florida touchdown Nov. 13, 2010.
• Florida rallied to force four South Carolina fumbles in the first half alone, two from sophomore Loucheiz Purifoy and one each from juniors Trey Burton and Solomon Patton. Entering the game, the Gators had just four forced fumbles on the season.
• UF was +4 in turnover margin against the Gamecocks and is now +11 on the season – UF capitalized with 21 points off turnovers.
• The four opponent turnovers marked a season-best for the Florida defense and special teams.
• UF’s special teams showed up for the Gators, forcing three of four forced fumbles on the day, two of which were recovered by Florida, while the special teams also rallied for a blocked field goal, 37.0 kickoff return average and one punt return for 19 yards (Debose).
• Sophomore Kyle Christy booted a career-best seven 50-yard punts against the Gamecocks for a single-game school-record 54.3 avg. Christy aided the special teams’ efforts, booting a 62-yard punt with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, marking a season-long. Christy owns 24 total 50-yard punts in his Gator career, including three over 60 (62 vs. USC 2012; 61 vs. LSU 2012; 67 vs. Auburn 2011).
• For the second-consecutive game, the Gators blocked a field-goal attempt thanks to junior Sharrif Floyd, marking the eighth blocked kick under head coach Will Muschamp (in 20 games). For Floyd, it marked his second career blocked field goal after also blocking a field-goal attempt versus Vanderbilt in 2011.
• Junior Trey Burton became the first Gator since Jermaine Cunningham Sept. 12, 2009 to force and recover a fumble in the same game, after forcing and recovering USC’s third fumble of the contest with just over six minutes remaining in the first half.
• Driskel has had at least one rush that gained 20 yards or more in five of UF’s seven games this season, the exceptions being a long 17-yard advance against LSU 10/6 and a 12-yard gain versus South Carolina.
• In the third quarter, Reed scampered down the field for a career-long 39-yard reception to set up Florida’s second score of the quarter. Reed’s previous long was 31 yards versus Georgia in 2011.
• Driskel then found sophomore Quinton Dunbar in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass that took the Gators up, 14-3, with three minutes remaining in the half, marking Dunbar’s second receiving touchdown this season, the fourth of his Gator career, while also accounting for Driskel’s second passing touchdown of the game.
• On Florida’s ensuing kickoff, junior Solomon Patton forced Florida’s fourth fumble of the day, which sophomore Chris Johnson recovered and returned for 13 yards to set up the Gators’ third touchdown of the afternoon.
• For the second time on the afternoon, Driskel found Reed in the end zone for a one-yard post pass to take the Orange and Blue ahead, 21-3. For Driskel, it marked his career-best third touchdown pass of the day, while also marking Reed’s career-best second touchdown reception of the game.
• Senior tight end Omarius Hines ran for a six-yard touchdown for the 30-6 lead to start the third quarter for UF, his first rushing score of the season, third of his career, and the first since the 2011 Outback Bowl against Penn State to cap off a 10-play, six-minute drive for the Gators.
• After just two first downs in the first half alone for Florida, the Gators rallied for four first downs on their first scoring drive of the third quarter. UF finished with 14 first downs on the day.
• Driskel connected with senior wide receiver Frankie Hammond, Jr., for his fourth touchdown in the air of the day on a six-yard success. For Hammond, the score marked his third receiving score this season, sixth of his career.
• Freshman Matt Jones punched in a one-yard touchdown run for his first career touchdown donning the Orange and Blue with 5:54 remaining in the game to extend the UF lead, 44-11.
• Sophomore Jabari Gorman picked off USC quarterback Dylan Thompson with just over four minutes remaining in the game for his first INT as a Gator
• Florida played host to ESPN’s College GameDay Saturday morning, the Gators’ nation-leading 35th appearance on the show and the third this season. It marked UF’s first appearance in Gainesville since Nov. 28, 2009, a 37-10 victory over Florida State.
• For the first time since 1990, a Florida opponent blocked a Gator PAT and returned it for a defensive two-point conversion when the Gamecocks’ Byron Jerideau blocked senior Caleb Sturgis’ PAT at the 9:00 mark in the third quarter. USC’s Victor Hampton returned the ball for the Gamecock defensive PAT.

OTHER

• This afternoon’s attendance: 90,883 (fifth-largest all-time).
• Game Captains: Senior Jonathan Bostic (LB), sophomore Jeff Driskel (QB), junior Solomon Patton (WR) and senior Omar Hunter (DL)
• Weather at Kickoff: 79 degrees, sunny, winds WNW at 11 mph, humidity 23 percent
• Prior to kickoff, Michael Redding, CEO of Halifax Media Group presented Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley with the 2011-12 SEC All-Sports Trophy. The Gators swept the overall, men’s and women’s titles for the 12th time in program history. Florida is the only school to collect all three titles in a single season, having earned 22 of the last 25 titles.
• During the second timeout of the first quarter, Florida’s 2012 SEC Champion gymnastics team was honored for the program’s eighth SEC title and its second in the last three years. The Gators were additionally the runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Championships, matching the program’s highest finish.
• Between the first and second quarters, Florida’s 2012 Women’s Track & Field SEC Indoor Champions were honored for winning the program’s seventh all-time SEC title and the school’s second indoor league title in the last three years.