Gators Stun No. 7 Texas 27-24 in Austin Behind Jones Jr.

AUSTIN, Texas — Florida walked into Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday with a backup quarterback making his first career start, fell behind 17-3, and walked out with the win of its season.

The Gators (5-2, 3-2 SEC) scored 24 straight points and held on to beat No. 7 Texas 27-24, sealed in the final two minutes when Myles Graham sacked Arch Manning and knocked the ball loose, and Kanye Clark fell on it at the Texas 39.

Tramell Jones Jr. got the start with Aaron Philo out and played every snap. His moment came just before halftime. Down 17-3 after a 63-yard punt-return touchdown by Ryan Niblett, Jones converted a fourth-and-12 to Dallas Wilson, added a 14-yard keeper, and found Lacota Dippre for a 7-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half. Florida went to the locker room down 17-10 instead of buried.

The second half belonged to the Gators. Jones hit Dippre again from 8 yards out to tie it at 17, finishing a 15-play, 69-yard drive that ate 8:03 of the third quarter. While the offense ground Texas down, the defense shut the Longhorns out — Texas managed just 8 total yards in the third quarter.

Patrick Durkin's 28-yard field goal with 10:43 to play gave Florida its first lead, 20-17. Then Jadan Baugh delivered the haymaker: an 11-yard touchdown run with 6:22 left that made it 27-17. Baugh finished with 25 carries for 91 yards, and Durkin was perfect on the day, hitting from 45 and 28 and going 3-for-3 on extra points.

Texas made it interesting late. Manning converted a fourth-and-6 with a 62-yard completion and found Cam Coleman for a 9-yard touchdown with 4:21 remaining to cut it to 27-24. The Longhorns got the ball back with a chance to tie or win.

That is when Graham ended it. On second down with 1:58 to play, he got to Manning for a 9-yard sack and stripped the ball. Clark's recovery let Florida run out the clock on the road.

Dippre caught both of Jones's touchdown passes. Texas star edge rusher Colin Simmons, who entered with a nation-leading 9.5 sacks, was carted off with a leg injury in the fourth quarter.

Florida has now beaten Texas in back-to-back seasons. The Gators return home next week carrying a 5-2 record and a road win over a top-10 team that changes the shape of their season.