Gators withstand late push, defeat South Carolina in home opener

It wasn’t as productive an afternoon for the Florida offense as last week’s game against Ole Miss but the Gators executed well enough to win

It was like magic.

In one moment, Florida receiver Kadarius Toney was surrounded by five South Carolina defenders with no viable escape route. It was a dead end.

But in the next, Toney was outside of the herd, streaking down the field unguarded to score on the 57-yard pass. The nearly miraculous play highlighted another strong performance from the Gators offense as Florida defeated South Carolina 38-24 to move to 2-0 on the young season.

Quarterback Kyle Trask, who tossed the pass to Toney, had another huge game. He threw for 268 yards and four touchdowns, putting him at 10 scores in the air through two games. He threw one interception — his first of the season — on a questionable call. It appeared the ball hit the ground and moved, but the play wasn’t reviewed.

Led by Trask, the Florida offense started the game well, scoring on each of its first two drives. After the Gamecocks scored a touchdown on the game’s opening possession, UF scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead.

One of those scores came from tight end Kyle Pitts, who had four catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns, putting him at six total touchdowns on the season.

Though South Carolina answered to tie the game at 14, Florida was able to expand its lead to 24-14 before the half. Two touchdowns in the third quarter (one of which was Toney’s) stretched that lead to 38-14.

But USC’s offense was executing well, and the UF defense, which struggled last week, couldn’t maintain its margin.

Gamecocks quarterback Collin Hill, a graduate transfer from Colorado State, completed 28 of his 47 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. South Carolina also found success on the ground, with running back Kevin Harris taking 22 carries for 100 yards and a score.

The Gamecocks scored 10 unanswered points in the second half and were driving to try to cut Florida’s lead to seven late in the fourth quarter.

But poor clock management from coach Will Muschamp cost South Carolina precious time, and the Gators were able to make a stand on fourth and goal with less than a minute remaining in the game. USC turned the ball over on downs, and UF was able to run the remaining clock out.

It wasn’t as productive an afternoon for the Florida offense as last week’s game against Ole Miss when it accounted for over 600 yards of offense, but the Gators executed, and their 348 yards were more than enough.

Defensively, the unit showed some positive signs and contained the Gamecocks’ attack much better than it did against the Rebels, but missed tackling continues to be an issue.

UF’s defensive line struggled to put pressure on Hill for much of the game, though that improved in the second half and the Gators earned four sacks.

Overall, there is reason for optimism, but the defense will have to be much tighter next week when Florida travels to College Station, Tex., to take on Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M.

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