GAINESVILLE, Florida – No. 3 Florida was almost perfect in attack in its first season, a 51-point, 642-yard dam that set a school record. Two twists a week later made the Gators look vulnerable.
Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts teamed up for two more touchdowns, continuing their hot start and leading Florida to a 38-24 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.
It was not as clean as the Gators (2-0) expected, especially considering that they were at home in the Swamp, but they will accept and move on.
“We hope to score whenever we have the ball and we should have scored every time we had the ball,” said Trask.
Trask completed 21 of 29 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. But his fumble in the first half and the interception in the fourth half kept Gamecocks (0-2) on him.
Pitts ended up with four receptions for 57 yards, demanding extra attention and beating South Carolina’s top defenders. He almost made a one-handed reception in the third quarter, but the ball escaped his left fingers.
The K2K connection now has six touchdowns in two games, one more than scheduled in 2019. The next presentation will be at Kyle Field, where Texas A&M will try to become the first opponent of the Southeast Conference to slow down Trask and Pitts in 2020.
Some thought that former Florida coach Will Muschamp and his Gamecocks would find a way. But the Gators beat South Carolina for three quarters in front of 15,120 socially distant fans on the Swamp.
Florida managed just 21 yards in the final frame, which gave Muschamp & Co. a chance. Kevin Harris’s TD reception made a 14 point game in the middle of the quarter, but Gamecocks showed little urgency in trying to get any closer.
They orchestrated an 18-piece, 74-yard course that took 7 minutes and 23 seconds off the clock. It ended when Collin Hill played behind Shi Smith in the end zone in a fourth down from 4.
“It was not a deliberate pace,” insisted Muschamp. “We were getting what they gave us. We still had a minute to play the game, with two time-outs and a side kick. We could score and win the game.”
The Gators finished 348 yards and kicked twice, hardly what coach Dan Mullen was looking for in week 2.
But Kadarius Toney had his best performance in four years. He had a 57-yard touchdown reception in which he somehow escaped from three defenders, turning a 7-yard reception into Florida’s biggest win.
He ended with six receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown to follow with 42 yards in two punt returns.
“We are not a team that is just paying attention to one guy,” said Mullen. “We are going to spread the ball to several different players.”
THE TAKEAWAY
South Carolina: You probably need to win next week to avoid a 0-6 start. After playing Vanderbilt, Gamecocks have Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M available.
Florida: Defensive problems abound. The Gators can’t seem to stop the race and are having all kinds of problems getting consistent pressure on the defenders.
BRIGHT POINT
Harris was one of the few positives for South Carolina. The second year ran 22 times for 100 yards and a touchdown and had four receptions for 27 yards and a score.
“I was just trying to win the game today,” he said. “I just did what I had to do.”
FALLEN PASSES
A major reason South Carolina was unable to keep up was the discarded passes. Muschamp said the Gamecocks made six in the first 30 minutes, including three in six moves. Tight end Nick Muse and receivers Josh Vann and Xavier Legette each had expensive drops in consecutive possessions that ended in punts.
“We didn’t catch football very well,” said Muschamp. “Obviously, in such an offense, you don’t respond, you put yourself in a hole.”
CELEBRITY CUTOUTS
The Gators sold nearly 2,400 cardboard cutouts to fans (at a cost of $ 79 each for the season, $ 29 for students) and included almost three dozen celebrities in the mix. List A included Ric Flair, Tim Tebow, Emmitt Smith and Tom Petty.
The late ESPN writer Ed Aschoff, a Florida graduate whose first job was to cover the Gators for the Gainesville Sun, had a cut in front of the band. He was a drummer for the Florida martial band during college.
NEXT
South Carolina visits Vanderbilt next Saturday. Gamecocks have won 11 consecutive wins in the series, the longest in the league.
Florida takes its “Kyle to Kyle Show” to Kyle Field to play at Texas A&M next Saturday. The Gators beat the Aggies led by Johnny Manziel on their last trip there in 2012.
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