Florida Gators

THE QUICK SLANT
No. 3 FLORIDA 38, SOUTH CAROLINA 24  

WHAT HAPPENED: Fifth-year senior quarterback Kyle Trask continued his torrid start to the 2020 season, as did sidekick tight end Kyle Pitts, for that matter, as the third-ranked Gators took care of business against the Southeastern Conference East Division rival Gamecocks with a win Saturday before a socially distanced crowd of 15,120 at Spurrier/Florida Field. Trask completed 21 of his 29 throws for 268 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, piling on his fat numbers from a week ago when he passed for 416 yards and six TDs without a turnover in a win at Ole Miss. Pitts, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound matchup nightmare, caught four passes for 47 yards and two scores, as the featured threat in an offense that ended up with just 348 yards because of a bizarre fourth quarter dominated by the Gamecocks. South Carolina scored on the game's first possession on a 75-yard march over 12 plays. Florida countered with a 75-yard scoring march of its own, capped by a 2-yard run by junior tailback Dameon Pierce. The UF defense forced a punt on USC's second possession, and Trask again marched the Gators to the end zone, this time finding Pitts for the first of his two scores. The Gamecocks answered, but only after Trask was hit and fumbled for his first turnover of the season. South Carolina's Collin Hill hit wideout Shi Smith for a 4-yard TD to tie the game at 14-all. From there, Florida dropped 24 unanswered points -- a field goal from Evan McPherson, plus Trask touchdown tosses to Pitts (again), redshirt freshman wideout Trent Whittemore and 57-yard catch-and-run from senior wingback Kadarius Toney -- to lead 38-24 late in the third quarter. Hill, who completed 28 of 47 passes for 211 yards and two TDs, worked the Gamecocks for 10 straight points to make it 38-24 with just over 10 minutes left, and had a chance for more. South Carolina got the ball back with 8:11 to go needing a pair of touchdowns, but the Gamecocks took their sweet time in marching all the way to the UF 4 with less than a minute to play. Hill's fourth-and-goal pass attempt to cut the lead in half fell incomplete with 48 seconds left, sealing the deal for the home team.  WHAT IT MEANS: Two games, two victories, and both in league play. The Gators will be no worse than one of two unbeaten SEC East teams by day's end (Tennessee defeated Missouri early Saturday, as well), with three-time reigning division champ Georgia slated for a big game tonight at home against Auburn. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Could go with either Kyle here, which may be something of a trend this season, but we'll spread things around with a shout-out to Toney, the senior from Mobile, Ala. Toney was targeted seven times by Trask and caught six passes for a team-high 86 yards, including his spectacular 57-yard score that came at the expense of several South Carolina defenders either got run past and run through. Toney is becoming quite the all-around, all-purpose threat (he had a 50-yard run between the tackles last week), and also returned a pair of punts a 42 yards, with a 26-yarder. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: South Carolina held the ball for 11:12 of the fourth period and ran 29 plays to Florida's 10 and outgained UF 99-9 in the period. Of those Gators plays, three of them were kneel-downs to run out the clock on the final possession of the game. 

 UP NEXT: Florida (2-0, 2-0) OR (1-1, 1-1) is back on the road, with the Gators heading to Texas A&M. The Aggies (1-0) began the day ranked 13th, but with a date at No. 2 Alabama, the preseason favorite to win the league. UF is 1-1 against A&M since the Aggies entered the league, with both teams winning on the road. The Gators were victorious at College Station in 2012, with a 20-17 come-from-behind win over Johnny Manziel and the Aggies in what was A&M's first-ever game as a member of the SEC.