TALLAHASSEE — Will Muschamp called his team soft last season after UF closed out a dismal year with an embarrassing home loss to Florida State.
There was nothing soft about the Gators on Saturday night.
While run-heavy Florida started the game with five throws in its first seven offensive plays, UF punished Florida State with bruising runs from backs Mike Gillislee and Matt Jones.
The duo combined for 221 rushing yards against the nation’s then top-ranked rushing defense.
“They haven’t seen anybody with the line that we have — the way [we] run block,” quarterback Jeff Driskel said of Florida State. “They haven’t seen as much depth as we have at running back. We’re going to run hard, and our running backs, when they get a crease, they’re going to make somebody miss, and they did that. We knew we were going to be able to run the ball. That was never an issue.”
Gillislee eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with 140 yards on 24 carries for his fifth 100-yard game this season.
He is the first Gators back to rush for 1,000 yards since Ciatrick Fason gained 1,326 yards in 2004.
Gillislee’s 140 yards are more than Florida State had allowed to any team this season. The Seminoles entered the game allowing 70.6 rushing yards per game. Florida finished with 244.
“I always knew Mike could do that,” wide receiver Quinton Dunbar said of Gillislee’s season total. “He was just waiting for his chance. Now that he’s got his chance, he’s taking (advantage of) his opportunity.”
With 11:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, Gillislee scampered untouched off left tackle for 37 yards and the last of his two touchdowns. The go-ahead score put Florida up 23-20.
“The offensive line did a great job of blocking, and I saw all I needed was a good seam,” Gillislee said. “I saw it, and I just hit it — touchdown.”
After suffering a rib injury on the next series, the senior gave way to the freshman Jones.
Jones added a career-high 81 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Six teams this season have posted fewer than 81 rushing yards against Florida State.
As the Gators have all season, they wore down the opponent’s defensive line. Florida rushed for 111 yards in the fourth quarter.
The Gators ran for 731 yards in five games against top-15 opponents. Florida consistently finished strong in those games, gaining 43.8 percent of those yards in the final 15 minutes.
“I saw it on some of the (Florida State) players’ faces that they were giving up,” Gillislee said. “The offensive line [saw] it too.”
No. 5 Florida has played with a patchwork offensive line for the past six weeks. The unit is the healthiest it has been since UF played LSU on Oct. 6, center Jonotthan Harrison said on Tuesday.
Florida’s running backs reaped the benefits against Florida State.
“It was a great thing, man,” Gillislee said.
“Especially at a time like this when we really had to beat Florida State to continue and hopefully (make) the national championship at the end.”
With No. 1 Notre Dame defeating USC late Saturday night, Florida is likely heading to the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.
The transformation from a soft, barely bowl-eligible team to a top-five squad built on winning the line of scrimmage has not been quick or easy.
“We’ve worked so hard from January until now,” Harrison said. “We’ve worked so hard to get what we’ve earned. I’m proud of the team.”
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Running back Mike Gillislee runs the ball into the endzone during a 37-26 win against Florida State at Doak Cambell Stadium in Tallahasse, Fla.
Running back Mike Gillislee runs with the ball during UF’s 37-26 win against Florida State on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
