Sports | Football - The Independent Florida Alligator

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson runs the ball against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 17 in Denver.

SPORTS | FOOTBALL

Gators in the NFL: Week 7 update

By Payton Titus | Oct. 22, 2019

Despite two losing seasons in the last 10 years (2013 and 2017), Florida’s football program has consistently turned out NFL-caliber athletes, establishing it as the FBS team with the third-most active players on a 53-man roster in 2019 with 35 — including five rookies (Vosean Joseph, Jordan Scarlett, Jawaan Taylor, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Fred Johnson).

Injured players, like receiver Kadarius Toney, can use the bye week to recuperate.

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Gators welcome bye week after road win at South Carolina

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 20, 2019

It’s all happening for Florida's football team.

South Carolina's Ryan Hilinski, bottom, gets sacked by Florida's Zachary Carter, right, in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, in Columbia, SC. Florida defeated South Carolina 38-27.

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Florida defense plays savior in win over South Carolina

By Dylan Rudolph | Oct. 19, 2019

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kyle Trask has been asked to do a lot this season.

Florida's head coach Dan Mullen smiles with his players during the first half of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, in Columbia, SC.

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Gators proved they can win ugly against the Gamecocks

By Tyler Nettuno | Oct. 19, 2019

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Florida played its worst game of the year, appearing to follow a recipe for back-to-back losses precisely.

Florida's Jacob Copeland (15) catches a pass for a touchdown as South Carolina's Jammie Robinson (7) defends in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, in Columbia, SC.

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Gators survive SC with fourth-quarter comeback

By Sam Campisano | Oct. 19, 2019

COLUMBIA, S.C. — They say an alligator moves faster in water than it does on land.

Kyle Trask leads a UF offense that averages 100 more yards through the air than it did last year.

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Gators and Gamecocks meet at a crucial point

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 17, 2019

The Gators’ meetings with the Gamecocks this season and last have both come at precarious times in Florida’s grueling schedule. For the second year in a row, the Gators will head into the game following a loss, which is quite the coincidence considering UF has lost just four games in the past season and a half.

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Defense will be key in South Carolina trap game

By Dylan Rudolph | Oct. 15, 2019

The South Carolina State Fair is in Columbia this week across the street from Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Gators lead the SEC in sacks and turnovers, yet, they didn't add any to their resume following the 42-28 loss in Death Valley.

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Florida's season isn't derailed by loss to Tigers

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 13, 2019

Adversity is nothing new to the Gators football team. The rash of injuries to key players on both sides of the ball has been well documented, but a loss is something Florida hasn’t swallowed in quite some time.

Florida's defense only forced three punts against LSU.

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What happened to Florida’s defense against LSU?

By Sam Campisano | Oct. 12, 2019

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Florida defense went into Saturday night’s top-10 showdown with LSU leading the SEC in scoring defense (9.5 points per game), sacks (26) and interceptions (12).

Florida had its highest yardage output of the season against LSU.

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Offensive play calling kept Florida in the game

By Dylan Rudolph and Heroes | Oct. 12, 2019

BATON ROUGE, La. — The game was close. Shocker. LSU won. Not too surprising. Florida’s offense kept it in the game, and the defense was the reason it lost it. Wait, what?

UF quarterback Kyle Trask had over 300 yards passing, but Florida still suffered its first loss of the season at LSU.

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LSU offense overpowers Gators in Death Valley

By Tyler Nettuno | Oct. 12, 2019

BATON ROUGE, La. — Kyle Trask picked an inopportune time for his biggest mistake of the season.

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Picks Column Week 7

Oct. 10, 2019

Well, the Gators beat a top-10 team.

Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard leads the Gators — which are tied for third in the FBS with 26 sacks — with four sacks.

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Florida's D faces most dynamic offense yet

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 10, 2019

You know that paradoxical question: “What happens when an unstoppable force meets meets an immovable object?”

Receiver Tyrie Cleveland caught a game-winning 98-yard touchdown pass the last time Florida played LSU in Death Valley.

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Areas of focus for UF-LSU matchup

By Tyler Nettuno | Oct. 8, 2019

The Gators haven’t faced LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in nearly three years. The rivals played their last two games in Gainesville thanks to an arrangement stemming from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

UF's secondary, led by cornerback C.J. Henderson, has forced 12 interceptions this season. It grabbed three picks against AU.

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Florida passes its biggest test of season, so far

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 6, 2019

Kyree Campbell was right: The Gators indeed played “big boy ball” Saturday night.

UF quarterback Kyle Trask lost three fumbles against Auburn.

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Florida topples Auburn despite four turnovers

By Tyler Nettuno | Oct. 5, 2019

There’s usually a pretty surefire way to lose a game against a good team: Just give the ball away.

Lamical Perine's 88-yard touchdown run put the game out of Auburn's reach.

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Defense pushes Florida past Auburn

By Dylan Rudolph | Oct. 5, 2019

A morning of festivities led into an afternoon of football in Gainesville, surrounded by a raucous Florida crowd. College GameDay, a top-10 matchup and an SEC rivalry incited more than 90,000 fans into a frenzy, and every tackle produced a near-earthquake cheer.

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Picks Column: Week 6

Oct. 4, 2019

Another week of the college football season is in the books, and it still feels like we don’t know anything about any of these teams.

Defensive end Jabari Zuniga (92) will play Saturday for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the game against Kentucky.

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UF and AU set for top-10 matchup in the Swamp

By Sam Campisano | Oct. 3, 2019

It has been a long time since there was this much anticipation for a game in Gainesville.

DB Trey Dean (21) said the team isn't paying attention to critics who say it isn't top-10 caliber.

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Gators view Auburn game as a chance to silence the noise

By Kyle Wood | Oct. 1, 2019

For the second time this year, Florida dropped in the AP Top 25 Poll after a win.