COLUMBIA, S.C. — Florida was determined not to suffer a second straight letdown at the hands of South Carolina.
Reminiscent of last season’s blocked punt that inevitably cost the Gators a win over the Gamecocks, UF watched as its 17-0 lead slipped away in the fourth quarter.
Up just a trio of points and offensively stagnant in its own territory, Florida handed the ball off to Kelvin Taylor on third-and-8, hoping the junior running back would find space to get a first down.
But Taylor hoped he would score a touchdown.
The junior sprinted 53-yards in the waning minutes and scored from 1-yard out a play later to preserve the victory — and an undefeated run throughout the Southeastern Conference East division — as the Gators downed the Gamecocks 24-14 on Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina.
“If you block the guy you're supposed to, you've got a running back like KT who will make at least one guy miss,” tight end Jake McGee, who had five receptions for 45 yards, said.
“I'll definitely get on him a little bit for getting tackled at the 1, but we'll take it."
In his inaugural season, coach Jim McElwain has led Florida to a surprising 7-1 finish in the SEC — 9-1 overall — with the lone loss coming at LSU on Oct. 17.
Unexpected as it may seem, McElwain said after the game he envisioned the Gators being in a position to win the SEC as long as the team followed the plan he laid out for them in the offseason.
“I don’t know that you ever go in to do anything in life expecting not to finish first,” McElwain said. “Every time we go out there, there is a winner and there is a loser. I know this, I want to do everything I can to make sure we’re winners. That’s what this football team is.”
It wasn’t the best performance of his career, but sophomore quarterback Treon Harris proved to be more than serviceable under center for Florida.
The Miami native was an effective 19-for-33 passing with a touchdown, but a pair of interceptions kept the Gamecocks (3-7, 1-7 SEC) in the game until Taylor’s touchdown proved to be the nail in the coffin.
“Well you know we just, offensively we just had in our heads ‘let’s go get some points’ you know keep the defense off the field for a little bit,” Harris said. “At that moment we needed a touchdown, we wanted a touchdown and we got our touchdown.”
And there were multiple throws that could easily have been intercepted, yet the Gamecocks defense failed to capitalize on errant decisions. One such mistake came midway through the second quarter, but freshman Jordan Cronkrite made sure to keep the drive going.
He leapt into the air, pulled away what looked like a guaranteed interception and jogged into the endzone to give Florida a 14-0 lead going into the half.
After the break, Florida’s defense was as dominant as it’s been all season.
The Gators held South Carolina and quarterback Perry Orth to negative nine yards on offense in the third quarter, consistently getting pressure upfront.
A game-time decision, senior defensive end Jon Bullard led the Gators with a game-high-tying five tackles while also teaming up for a sack with fellow defensive end Jordan Sherit.
“It’s just a culture that we kind of developed and built for ourselves,” Sherit said. “We’re all competitive, push each other to get better. It’s fun. We develop so much more. Every week of football, every week of practice we’re getting better and improving.”
But the Gators didn’t have the victory in hand – far from it – until the final points were on the board.
Orth found star wide receiver Pharoh Cooper for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Gamecocks their first points of the day. Following a three-and-out by the Gators, Cooper returned the favor.
Coach Shawn Elliott, taking a page out of Les Miles’ playbook, called for a trick play that fooled an unsuspecting Florida defense.
The result? A 38-yard loft from Cooper to Orth that had the crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium revived and rooting for the upset.
Calm and collected as he has been all season, McElwain didn’t panic.
Instead, he followed the game plan while incorporating observations he’d noticed about the Gamecocks defense throughout the game.
Now, Florida turns its attention to next week’s matchup with Florida Atlantic. Despite playing a seemingly inferior opponent, the Gators are focused, having wrapped up their spot in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta yet seeking a bigger stage: the College Football Playoffs.
“No doubt we believed in Coach Mac from Day 1 when he stepped on campus,” Harris said. “…We just got that stage done, now we moving on to the next stage. It’s playoffs from here on out. Every game is a playoff game for us.”
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
UF defensive back Quincy Wilson (6) celebrates after catching an interception in the waning seconds of Florida's 24-14 win against South Carolina on Nov. 14, 2015, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
