Jalen Tabor eyed Drew Lock and made his move.
The junior corner jumped in front of the Missouri quarterback’s pass, taking it 39 yards for an untouched score.
And on the Tigers’ next possession, his partner Quincy Wilson did the same thing.
This time it was from 78-yards away.
“It's sort of a competition,” Tabor said. “A really good, friendly competition. We talk about how we want to be the best in the country and, you know, I got one, he got one. I was trying to get another one."
Tabor didn’t end up getting another one, but he didn’t need to.
In Florida’s 40-14 victory over Missouri in Saturday’s homecoming game, its defense dominated the Tigers both in the secondary and at the line of scrimmage.
“They did an unbelievable job shutting them down,” coach Jim McElwain said. “... That was really good, and just to see how they were feeding off everything on the sideline was outstanding.”
Florida’s linebacker duo of Alex Anzalone and Jarrad Davis led the team with eight tackles each.
But for Davis, the game didn’t end with a big play. Instead, it ended with him crying out in pain on the far sideline.
Anzalone fell on his ankle, and Davis had to be helped off the field by a pair of trainers. After the game McElwain said Davis didn’t break anything, but was in the process of getting an MRI.
“It was kind of surreal seeing him really get helped off the field,” Tabor said. “… That's our guy. That's the heart and soul of this defense."
In his place stepped true freshman David Reese as well as walk-on Cristian Garcia later in the game.
“Obviously, missing Jarrad is huge,” McElwain said. “Here's your team leader and a guy who has played so many snaps. And yet, here's the great thing I think when you look at that unit: There wasn't a panic.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Gators stalled out early.
Following a 46-yard bolt from quarterback Luke Del Rio to freshman wideout Tyrie Cleveland on Florida’s first drive, the firepower went silent, managing just a pair of field goals to compliment the pair of picks in the first half.
In the second half, though, Florida’s backfield came alive.
Led by sophomore Jordan Scarlett and true freshman Lamical Perine, the Gators amassed 287 yards on the ground.
Perine led the way with 106, while Scarlett was close behind with 101. Junior Mark Thompson also added 65 yards of his own.
And while Wilson and Tabor have gained attention for being competitive with each other, Scarlett made it sound like the running backs have their share of competition as well.
“I had to call him a fat boy because he got kinda caught at the end,” Scarlett said of Perine’s career-best 59-yard run. “I know him better than that. He should have scored that one. But he’s gonna get it next time.”
The passing game wasn’t as electric.
While Del Rio — who was playing in his first game since going down against North Texas four weeks ago — did throw for 236 yards, he managed just one touchdown to three interceptions.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Del Rio said of his conversations with McElwain after the game. “He got on me pretty good. But yeah, I don’t blame him.”
Meanwhile, back on the other side of the ball, defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson was proud of his unit’s effort. Despite allowing 265 yards on the ground — 145 of which came from Missouri’s Damarea Crockett — much of the yardage came on a handful of big plays. For the most part, the Florida defensive front kept the Tigers near the line of scrimmage.
The Gators even held Missouri without a first down on its first six drives.
“I’m sitting here trying to make up some stuff to tell y’all,” Jefferson said, “but that’s just what we do every day.
“We’re on a mission to wreck everything in our way.”
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter at @ebaueri
Jalen Tabor returns an interception for a touchdown during Florida's 40-14 win over Missouri on Oct. 15, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
