Texas-Sized Upset: Gators Shock No. 7 Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas — The saying goes that everything is bigger in Texas. Perhaps that quip rings true in regards to upsets as well. 

As Florida took the field amid a sweeping cold front, the Gators defense froze the No. 7 Longhorns. Florida packed up Saturday and left The Lone Star State with a 27-24 win against Texas, stopping a two-game slide.

It’s the Gators’ first road win against an Associated Press Top-10 team in 5,075 days, the last occurrence coming in 2012 at No. 10 Florida State, 37-26.

Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) sophomore quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. shined in his debut as the starter, completing 22 of his 35 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Aaron Philo. Jones, who also rushed for 41 yards on 10 carries, is the first Gators quarterback to win his starting debut against a top-10 team in a true road game since Jesse Palmer did so for Florida in 1997.

“I could not be more proud of Tramell, firstly by staying the course,” Sumrall said postgame on the Gators Sports Network. “He has kept battling, and he kept showing up, and when his number was called, he was ready to go lead us and play well and compete.”

As much as Jones stood out, the Gators’ defense supported his effort in every way imaginable. Defensive coordinator Brad White and his unit rebounded after allowing 83 points across the consecutive losses, holding Texas’ offense under 300 yards and keeping the Longhorns running backs below the century mark. Florida defensive lineman LJ McCray was one of the key disruptors, notching 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss in the upset.

Texas  (5-2, 1-2) elected to receive after winning the coin toss and proved why that was the right decision, establishing a 10-0 lead at a rapid pace. It only took the Longhorns just more than three minutes to storm down the field and strike first on a 32-yard run from running back Raleek Brown.

Texas tacked on another score after a Gators three-and-out, driving 60 yards down the field before stalling out and settling for a 38-yard field goal.

The tough start for Florida went from bad to worse, as the Gators were hampered by penalties and miscues throughout the first half. Once the first 15 minutes wound down, Florida’s 43 total yards narrowly outpaced its 40 penalties yards on four flags. 

“We played about as awful as we could in the first quarter, and we kept fighting. We didn’t do that the past couple of weeks,” Florida coach Jon Sumrall told ABC. “When things got tough, we flinched the last couple weeks.

“Our team grew today — without the win — because we fought.”

The Gators were able to get on the scoreboard after a 45-yard field goal from Patrick Durkin, but that momentum was promptly cut short as the second quarter continued. Following Florida’s third unsuccessful drive, Texas punt returner Ryan Niblett took Alec Clark’s boot 63 yards to the end zone to extend the Longhorns’ lead to 17-3 at the 11:27 mark of the second quarter.

Despite Florida’s struggles, the Gators’ offense found life in the dying moments of the second quarter. Texas was held up on fourth down just one yard into Florida territory, making way for Jones to showcase his abilities. 

Jones found wide receiver Dallas Wilson for a 17-yard snag on fourth-and-12 before extending the drive as the clock ticked under the one-minute mark. The pressure did not faze the sophomore passer, who found tight end Lacota Dippre three plays later in the end zone to make the score 17-10 in Texas’ favor heading into halftime.

The Gators opened the second half with a methodical, 15-play drive that used up more than eight minutes to start the third quarter. The result was another Jones-to-Dippre connection from eight yards out for seven points to tie the game at 17-17.

“We stayed resilient,” Jones told ABC. “We kept the energy up at halftime. We knew we had mistakes, and we finished in the second half — we closed it out.”

After 11 minutes and 10 seconds of scoreless action, Florida broke through yet again. A 14-play drive fizzled out in the red zone, but stretched far enough for a 28-yard field goal from Durkin that gave the Gators their first lead of the game with 10:40 left in the game. 

Texas quarterback Arch Manning was stuffed on back-to-back runs shortly after, turning the ball over on downs to give Florida a chance to take control. After many instances of failure to capitalize across the pair of losses for Florida, the Gators finally did.

With 6:22 remaining in the game, Jones and company charged down the field before an 11-yard burst for running back Jadan Baugh found himself in the end zone to give UF a 27-17 lead. While the energy for Florida’s second top-10 upset of the season was palpable, the sun had not set on the Longhorns with 6:22 left in the game.

A fast-paced Texas drive orchestrated by a 62-yard heave from Manning to wide receiver Emmett Mosley V on fourth down and a 9-yard touchdown find with Cam Coleman made the score 27-24.

Moments later, a three-play stop kept the Longhorns within three and the ball in their possession.

As the 103,989 fans at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium looked on with bated breath, those in orange and blue would end up cheering out jubilantly. After Manning’s heroics, the Longhorns’ QB lost control of the ball after Florida linebacker Myles Graham punched it out and defensive lineman Kanye Clark hopped on it at the UT 39 to seal the victory.

Manning’s troubles never ceased throughout the game despite high expectations set for facing a Gators’ defense that allowed 268.7 passing yards per game through their first six contests. The senior was instead neutralized, only throwing for 173 yards and one touchdown while being sacked five times.

For the second straight year, the Gators took down a top-10 Longhorns team. The Longhorns have now lost back-to-back games to unranked opponents after being ranked No. 1.

“It feels great, but this is just the start,” Jones said. “It’s not over. We’ve got the bye week to prepare for Georgia and then we’re going to Georgia.”

Florida now enters the bye week with its head held high and eyeing a matchup with No. 1 Georgia two weeks from now. Kickoff from the Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Class is set for 3:30 on Oct. 31.

“They knocked some punches on our chin and our jaw, and we responded and didn’t flinch. That’s a sign of growth,” Sumrall said. “We have a long way to go with this team, but there’s a lot to be said about our resiliency today.”

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