Any lingering doubts about Florida redshirt junior quarterback Kyle Trask were put to rest on Saturday.
Trask, thrust into the starter’s role after Feleipe Franks’ season-ending injury three weeks ago, had another terrific game in his second career start, going 18 for 20 with 188 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as UF dominated Towson at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday en route to a 38-0 win.
The No. 9 Gators improved to 5-0 with the win. It’s the first time since 2015 that Florida is undefeated through five games, and UF has a nine-game winning streak dating back to last year (its longest since 2009).
“I thought we played solid,” coach Dan Mullen said. “Maybe not at our best.”
Trask wasted no time attacking the Towson (3-2) defense, going 7 for 7 with 64 yards on UF’s first possession of the game. The drive was capped off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Pitts to put the Gators ahead 7-0 less than six minutes into the game.
Pitts – who had a combined 125 yards receiving in Florida’s previous two games – is quickly becoming one of Trask’s favorite targets. He had 28 yards receiving on four catches with two touchdowns against Towson.
Trask completed his first 15 passes of the game, giving him 18-straight completions dating back to last week against Tennessee. That broke Chris Leak’s program record of 17, set in 2005.
The game as a whole was a positive step for the Gators, who have three of their next four games against teams currently ranked in the top 10. Florida didn’t turn the ball over after three giveaways last week, rushed for 160 yards (its second-highest total of the season) and committed just 28 penalty yards (its second-lowest total of the year).
Trask was virtually flawless in the first half, going 13 for 13 with 139 yards plus a passing touchdown and a 1-yard rushing touchdown. His first three drives all resulted in points as Florida took a 17-0 lead into halftime.
Although they failed to score, the Tigers had some success moving the ball in the first half against a depleted Florida defense. Quarterback Tom Flacco (brother of NFL quarterback Joe Flacco) led Towson into the UF red zone on his team’s first two drives, but a lost fumble after a bobbled snap and a missed field goal ensured the Tigers came away empty-handed.
The Gators were without cornerback C.J. Henderson and defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga, both of who were game-time decisions. Receiver Freddie Swain and safety Shawn Davis also missed the game, but Mullen said in his postgame press conference that everyone but Kadarius Toney should be back for Auburn.
It was a different story for the Towson offense in the third quarter.
Flacco was intercepted twice in the quarter, first on a deep ball that was picked off by Donovan Stiner then on a tip corralled by Jonathan Greenard. Florida took advantage of the second interception with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts two plays later, then capitalized on a Towson three and out to take a 31-0 lead on a 37-yard rushing score by Dameon Pierce.
Towson nearly got on the board early in the fourth quarter, but a 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked by UF’s Adam Shuler.
Quarterback Emory Jones, who relieved Trask in the fourth quarter, had his best game of the season. He went 6 for 8 with 74 yards and a touchdown, a 2-yarder to tight end Keon Zipperer — the first touchdown of Zipperer’s career. Jones also added 29 rushing yards for good measure.
The Gators will now turn their sights to No. 7 Auburn, which will make its first visit to Gainesville since 2007 next week for the CBS Game of the Week.
“It’s going to be really exciting,” Trask said. “The whole nation’s going to be watching. This is why you come to Florida, to play in big-time games like this.”
Follow Sam Campisano on Twitter @samcampisano. Contact him at scampisano@alligator.org.
Running back Dameon Pierce had a season-high 84 yards rushing against Towson.
