Columbia, S.C. — “Sandstorm” boomed over the speakers as South Carolina Gamecocks fans strolled out of the stadium after Saturday’s game against the Florida Gators. This time, though, the members of ‘Cocks nation left early with smiles on their faces, their team controlling a flailing and disheartened Florida roster.
UF’s defensive performance coupled with questionable decision-making on offense resulted in one of the more embarrassing losses in program history Saturday, as the Gators fell 40-17 to the Gamecocks, falling below .500 on the season.
Florida’s defense entered Saturday off back-to-back games allowing at least 34 points and 190 rushing yards. That trend continued in Columbia, as South Carolina totaled 459 yards against the Gators' Swiss-cheese defense.
The Gamecocks’ attack hadn’t been elite before it met Florida, either. Before Saturday, USC sat dead last in the SEC in total yards (2,625) and second-to-last in yards per game (328.13).
UF’s rush defense has been the focal point of many Florida fan message boards this season after its debauchery in Death Valley and a poor showing against Georgia. Florida came into Columbia trending in the wrong direction, allowing 321 and 193 against LSU and Georgia, respectively, after holding opponents under 100 in four of the first six games.
South Carolina took advantage, romping its way to 284 yards — its highest mark of the season. For comparison, Vanderbilt allowed just 112 rushing yards to the Gamecocks.
Multiple USC backs got involved in the parade. Redshirt senior ZaQuandre White entered the day as South Carolina’s leading rusher, and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. He finished with 13 carries for 111 yards. Junior Kevin Harris, meanwhile, averaged just 3.5 yards per pop before the game, but he wrapped up Saturday with 128 yards on 16 attempts.
Things didn’t get much better for Florida’s aerial defense, either. South Carolina started third-string quarterback Jason Brown — an FCS transfer from St. Francis — against the Gators. Instead of revealing his Division I inexperience, however, the Florida defense made Brown look like prime Connor Shaw: He completed an efficient 14 of 24 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
USC’s average defense showed clear weakness entering the game: Its run defense sat 11th in the conference in yards allowed, giving up nearly 170 rushing yards per game. Florida fans assumed Mullen would use Florida’s uber-effective ground game to expose this matchup. After all, UF ranked sixth in the country with 242.8 rushing yards per game and averaged over six yards a pop.
Makes sense, right? Not so fast, my friend.
The Gators threw the ball 10 straight times to open the game. They finished the first quarter with 11 passes to just three runs. Quarterback Emory Jones did accumulate eight completions for 163 yards and a score in the opening frame, but 113 of those yards occured on two throws. Florida put up seven points and trailed by three entering the second quarter.
The pass-happy attack appeared to work, but instead of sticking with it, Mullen shifted Florida to a more neutral offensive attack once behind: The Gators ran seven rushing and passing plays apiece in the second quarter. Florida gained just 19 yards of offense in the second, seven on the ground and 12 through the air.
Florida emerged out of the locker room with a 20-point mountain to climb. In a clear negative game script, coaches and analytics alike suggest offenses go more pass-heavy, to try to create bigger plays faster to get back into the game. Florida zigged when others zagged and ran the ball nine times in the third quarter against four passes. The Gators put up a goose egg on the scoreboard.
Even in the garbage time of the fourth quarter, the Gators maintained an even game script — eight passes to seven runs. The total splits for the night: 30 passes to 26 runs.
The game perfectly encapsulated the 2021 campaign for the Florida Gators. Questionable decisions, poor defensive play and a jarring nonchalance from top to bottom leave Mullen, his team and the future of the program with many more questions than answers.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Hull33.
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
