Entering their road matchup against the No. 5 Texas Longhorns with their starting quarterback sidelined and a plethora of other injuries endured by key contributors, not many fans or analysts expected the Florida Gators to come away with a victory. At the very least, Florida fans hoped to see their team put up a fight following a hard-nosed loss to No. 2 Georgia one weekend earlier.
What ensued in Austin, however, was still nothing short of disheartening for the Gators.
Florida (4-4, 2-4 SEC) was dismantled in a 49-17 loss to Texas (8-1, 5-1 SEC) on Saturday afternoon at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. The Longhorns jumped out to a 35-0 lead by halftime, thanks in part to a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half.
With the Longhorns firing on all cylinders, breaking out for big plays on nearly every drive, Florida never found its footing. If anything, the Gators seemingly went backwards as the game went on.
In his first collegiate start, UF redshirt freshman quarterback Aidan Warner struggled to find his footing at any point in the game. Warner completed just 12 of his 25 passes for 132 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
Meanwhile, Texas junior quarterback Quinn Ewers thrived against what looked like a shaky Florida defense all game long. Ewers went 19-of-27 on the day for 333 yards and five touchdowns.
Florida found some success on the ground in Saturday’s contest. Redshirt junior running back Ja’Kobi Jackson and freshman running back Jadan Baugh combined for 204 rushing yards on 38 carries. Alas, neither back’s performance was enough to keep the Gators afloat in what proved to be a runaway performance for the Longhorns.
After holding Texas to a missed field goal in its first drive of the game, Florida’s defense all but fell apart as the game went on. Following a 44-yard run from junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond to flip the field, the Longhorns found the end zone just two plays later. Ewers connected with junior wideout Matthew Golden on a 29-yard strike to take a 7-0 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter.
Less than 30 seconds later, the Longhorns got the ball right back following a fumble from Jackson. It took Texas just two plays to punch it back into the end zone, as Ewers found senior tight end Gunnar Helm on a 22-yard strike for the former’s second touchdown of the afternoon.
With Ewers and Helm connecting for another score, Texas had gone up 14-0 just 33 seconds after scoring their first touchdown.
After the two teams traded a pair of three-and-out drives, Warner found senior wide receiver Chimere Dike on a 39-yard deep ball up the middle to put the Gators at UT’s 15-yard line.
In prime scoring position, Florida went to the ground and was stuffed on the subsequent three plays. Facing a 4th-and-2, the Gators were whistled for a false start, backing them up five yards before their field goal attempt to potentially end the shutout.
Nevertheless, Florida’s first, and realistically only, opportunity to strike back against Texas went down in flames. Junior kicker Trey Smack missed his subsequent 30-yard attempt, and the Gators still trailed 14-0 with just over ten minutes left in the half.
From there, the second quarter was all Texas. After trading another pair of three-and-outs, Ewers opened up the Longhorns’ subsequent drive with a short pass to sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner. Wisner broke through the Gators’ secondary and took it to the house for a 50-yard touchdown.
Florida proceeded to go on another lengthy drive that saw it cross back over into UT territory. However, the Gators were unable to capitalize once again, with a holding penalty on junior offensive lineman Austin Barber and a sack on Warner taking them out of field goal range and forcing yet another punt.
Texas wasted no time getting back on the board on its next drive. On a 2nd-and-7 at his own 23, junior running back Jaydon Blue hauled in a screen pass and sliced through Florida’s defense for a 45-yard gain. Two plays later, Ewers capped off the drive with a 32-yard touchdown strike to Golden to give the Longhorns a 28-0 with 1:19 left in the first half.
As if matters could not get any worse for the Gators, Warner coughed the ball right back up with just over a minute to go in the second quarter. In trying to find Dike on another potential big play near the middle of the field, Warner threw the ball right into the hands of UT freshman linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith.
Texas took back over at the UF 45-yard line with just 58 seconds remaining in the first half. Ewers completed a pair of 20-yard passes to senior wideout Silas Bolden and Blue, respectively, before the latter carried the ball for a five-yard rushing touchdown. Florida opted to let the clock run upon getting the ball back, as the Longhorns carried a 35-0 lead into halftime.
Warner opened the second half for the Gators picking up right where he left off: throwing an interception. Just two plays into Florida’s first drive of the half, Warner’s pass to redshirt junior wideout Marcus Burke was tipped before being picked off by senior defensive back Andrew Mubaka.
Less than 90 seconds after Warner’s interception, the Longhorns found the end zone once again. This time, Ewers connected with Bond for a 34-yard pass to increase UT’s lead to 42-0 less than three minutes into the second half.
Florida proceeded to go on a 15-play, 5:49 drive in response, but was unable to find the end zone following back-to-back red zone incompletions from Warner. Smack proceeded to knock in a 23-yard field goal to kill any remaining potential of a shutout. Nonetheless, UF trailed 42-3 with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter.
After Texas went three-and-out on its next drive, the Gators finally found the end zone. Warner completed a pair of first down passes to sophomore tight end Arlis Boardingham and Dike to put Florida back in the red zone.
This time around, the Gators capitalized, with Baugh taking it in for a two-yard touchdown on the ground.
With Texas still leading pretty at 42-10, it only took one play for the Longhorns to respond in style. Blue immediately broke out for a 45-yard run to flip the field in the waning moments of the third.
UT freshman running back Jerrick Gibson opened up the final fifteen minutes of play with a big carry of his own to get the Longhorns back on the board. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Gibson took a 14-yard carry to the end zone to extend the Texas lead to 49-10.
Florida found the end zone once more midway through the fourth quarter, this time on a seven-yard rushing touchdown from Jackson, but it proved to be all but meaningless. After getting the ball back with 8:27 remaining, Texas went on to bleed out the clock with ease. The Longhorns had emerged victorious in the first official SEC meeting between the two squads.
Florida will return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Nov. 16, as they will play host to the No. 14 LSU Tigers. Kickoff in that contest is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyerUF.
Jack Meyer is a fourth-year journalism major and the Assistant Sports Editor for The Alligator. In his free time, he enjoys reviewing music, spending time with friends, playing video games and going to the gym.
