On Nov. 13, 2010, a trip to Atlanta was at stake.
South Carolina and Florida played in The Swamp with the Southeastern Conference East title on the line. The winner would face Auburn in the Georgia Dome.
During the next 60 minutes of football, Marcus Lattimore outmuscled and overpowered the Gators. The freshman carried the ball 40 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-14 Gamecocks win.
Nearly two years later, Lattimore is a changed man.
He suffered an ACL tear in his left knee against Mississippi State last October and missed South Carolina’s final six games.
Florida safety Josh Evans was on the field during Lattimore’s last trip to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Evans sees a different Lattimore than before.
“He’s a good back, physical guy,” Evans said. “I think he lost a step a little bit from what we’ve seen before. ... I think that’s due to the injury.”
There was no easing back into the lineup for Lattimore this season. Not even one year removed from knee surgery, Lattimore reassumed his workhorse role in the Gamecocks’ offense. He leads the SEC with 129 carries through seven games.
Gators coach Will Muschamp is convinced Lattimore is back to normal.
“He’s gotten his strength back and he’s a one-cut runner,” Muschamp said. “He’s an outstanding runner.”
Florida has a north-south runner of its own in senior Mike Gillislee. While last season’s Gators relied more on jet sweeps and end-arounds with speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey, UF has a more traditional approach in the ground game this year.
Perhaps his most impressive game to date was Florida’s 14-6 win against LSU on Oct. 6. Gillislee racked up 146 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries against the NCAA’s No. 2 defense.
Gillislee leads all SEC running backs with 100.5 yards per game and is on pace to become the first Gator to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark since Ciatrick Fason did in 2004.
“[Gillislee is] just an all-purpose back,” wideout Frankie Hammond Jr. said. “He can run between the tackles when he wants to, and then when it’s time to get outside and break away and use his speed he does that as well.”
Saturday’s game will feature two of the top five running backs in the SEC. The last time Lattimore was in Gainesville, he outrushed Florida by 177 yards.
This time around, the Gators are much more confident in their chances in the ground game. Like Lattimore and South Carolina, Gillislee and Florida are tough running the football.
“You need to be able to have a hardness to your program, a physicality to your program, running the football and being able to stop the run,” Muschamp said. “There’s going to come a time when you’re trying to end the game. You better be able to run it.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Senior running back Mike Gillislee attempts to hurdle over a Vanderbilt defender during Florida's 31-17 win against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. Gillislee leads Southeastern Conference running backs in rushing yardage. South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore tops the conference in rushing attempts with 129.
