Texas-Sized Upset: Gators Shock No. 7 Longhorns
AUSTIN, Texas — Sometimes, there is a rainbow at the end of a storm. As Florida took the field amid a sweeping cold front, the Gators offense froze the top-10 Longhorns.
Florida packed up from The Lone Star State with a 27-24 win against No. 7 Texas to stop a two-game slide and getting its first win here (1-2-1 in series). It’s the Gators’ first road win against an Associated Press Top-10 team since 2012 at No. 10 Florida State, 37-26.
Florida’s 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 becomes 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.
Texas (5-2, 1-2 SEC), 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 (5-2, 3-2) 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.
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 Jr. to showcase his abilities.
Jones found wide receiver Dallas Wilson for a 17-yard snag on fourth-and-12 before extending the drive further 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.
What ensued right out of the break was as surprising as the two-game skid has been for Florida. 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, tying 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 gave the Gators their first lead of the game.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning was stuffed on back-to-back runs shortly after, turning the ball over on downs to give a chance for Florida to take firm 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.
A fast-paced Texas drive orchestrated by a 62-yard heave from Manning to wide receiver Emmett Mosley V on fourth down and a nine-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 looked on with bated breath, as 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 to seal the victory.
For the second straight year, the Gators take down a top-10 Longhorns team.
“Well, it wasn’t perfect. He knows that,” Sumrall said of Jones Jr. “He missed some things, but he battled. I love both our quarterbacks. The way they’ve handled themselves through external people maybe wanting to create controversy or BS.”
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.
“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.”
The Longhorns, meanwhile, have now lost back-to-back games after being ranked No. 1.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
