Halftime Observations As No. 3 Florida Leads South Carolina 24-14
The No. 3 Florida Gators (1-0) have kicked off their home schedule against the South Carolina Gamecocks (0-1). At halftime, the Gators lead 24-14.
As a valued GatorBait subscriber, we wanted to offer these halftime observations.
*During the middle of the first half, Florida picked up a commitment from Clemson transfer, Demarkcus Bowman
Florida didn’t sell their entire allotment of available tickets. No official number has been given yet, but by our estimations, it looks like about 80-85% of the available seats were filled. Athletic Director Scott Stricklin made his way around the press box in pregame to chat with reporters and while speaking with GatorBait, seemed pleased with how Florida had prepared to make the day safe. He also remains optimistic that once fans see how today goes, they’ll be more apt to purchase tickets for the LSU game in two weeks.
While it certainly doesn’t match the raucous throat of 90,000 plus, it is relatively loud. Those in attendance have been excited and as loud as they can manage. At kickoff, it almost felt like a normal crowd. A lot of that is thanks to the way Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is built. The stands go straight up from the field and sound is trapped in the Swamp.
Head Coach Dan Mullen has preached a a “bring your own energy” mentality with the smaller crowd sizes this year. His towel guys especially helped get that started, pumping up the crowd as Evan McPherson kicked things off. There was inevitably some pumped in crowd noise that helped with that, but it still helped set the mood.
The Gators defense again started porous, letting South Carolina drive down field easily on the opening possession. Will Muschamp and team took an early 7-0 lead, taking nearly seven minutes off the clock.
But Florida’s offense is too potent to be stopped and immediately answered. The only slight worry with this offense is how much they go non-huddle. This usually isn’t a huge deal but after little offseason to prepare, there were times receivers and even offensive lineman were asking questions to the sideline up till the snap and seemed slightly off kilter. There are enough talented weapons to make up for this as long as Kyle Trask gets the ball even close to the right area. This will likely work itself out as guys become more comfortable through the season.
Florida’s first drive on offense featured a lot of Dameon Pierce who really showed maturity. He still has his bruising mentality and used it several times. But additionally on three separate runs, he redirected and went opposite field for big gains. He then walked easily into the endzone for the touchdown.
After Florida tied it up at 7 and then took the lead 14-7, the defense sandwiched the scores with great stops. An excellent punt return by Kadarius Toney gave Florida the ball at midfield and they looked to go up by two scores. But a fumble by Kyle Trask gave USC the ball at midfield and the defense couldn’t hold, tying it at 14-all.
On the ensuing drive, Kyle Trask took what was actually a very good sack. It’s easier to come back from a 2-yard loss than an interception. His sack gave Florida another shot and they took it, hitting freshman Xzavier Henderson over the middle for a 23-yard gain. It’s his second reception as a Gator. A 26-yard walk in the park field goal from Evan McPherson made it 17-14.
The following drive, Collin Hill looked deep for a big gain but sophomore corner Kaiir Elam—who originally had gotten turned around—turned on the burners to catch up to his guy and make the diving pass breakup. Elam has been a bright spot on the defense. He’s played opposite Chester Kimbrough and Jaydon Hill while Marco Wilson has been moved inside to STAR.
In my opinion, that’s Florida’s best lineup in the secondary. With Wilson at STAR, everything else runs smoother. The safeties—who returned Shawn Davis after he was ejected for targeting last week—have more time, Elam can play more freely and Marco can use his physicality to cover sideline-to-sideline.
Elam’s pass breakup and an incompletion forced a 3rd and long. Zach Carter, from his new position at defensive tackle, sacked Hill for a loss of seven. Carter looks to be a permanent fixture at defensive tackle while Kyree Campbell remains unavailable (more on that at the bottom).
After the sack, Florida took back over at their own 48-yard line. A RPO option with Nay’Quan Wright saw Kyle Trask keep the ball for a 19-yard gain. Another RPO allowed Trask to hit Jacob Copeland over the middle for a 12 yard gain and the next play, Trask and Kyle Pitts connected for their second touchdown of the day.
Kyle-to-Kyle has accounted for 10 touchdowns since the two first began to start last season and six touchdowns already this season.
As of halftime, Pitts has tied the Florida school record for most career touchdowns (12) by a tight end. He has an opportunity to break it by days’ end. He also has more touchdowns than the rest of the SEC. As in, the rest of the teams as a whole.
At halftime, Florida leads 24-14.
South Carolina seems to be using the same game plan Florida used against LSU last season, which is hold on to the ball and keep it out of Kyle Trask’s hands. South Carolina has controlled time of possession, 15:17–14:43
PLAY OF THE DAY SO FAR
Kyle Trask went deep in double coverage for Trent Whittemore. The freshman climbed the ladder to pull down the 21-yard gain and put the Gators in the redzone. They would score on the next play.
NOTES:
-Kyree Campbell was seen by GatorBait before the game, walking into the stadium half-hour before kickoff in street clothes.
-Emory Jones, who was reportedly seen on campus with a brace this week, was dressed and on the sideline. He wore a headset the entire first half.
INACTIVES:
Kyree Campbell
Lamar Goods
Quincy Lenton
CJ McWilliams
Ethan Pouncey
Jordan Pouncey
Jahari Rogers
Brad Stewart
Ethan White
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