In the debacle that was Florida’s 42-13 homecoming loss to Missouri on Saturday, one thing was certain: UF’s defense did not lose the football game.
The Gators (3-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) limited the Tigers (5-2, 2-1 SEC) to just 119 yards and 13 points on offense — a five-yard rushing touchdown by running back Marcus Murphy and a pair of field goals by Andrew Baggett.
"Defensively, I thought our kids played well enough to win the game. Bottom line," coach Will Muschamp said. "They didn’t have to do much, and they figured that out pretty quickly after it got to be about 28-0."
This was the second time Muschamp saw his team limit an opponent to less than 120 yards of offense in a game.
It’s also the second time the Gators lost while holding an opponent to under 120 yards of total offense as Florida State defeated Florida 21-7 on Nov. 26, 2011, despite gaining just 95 yards on offense.
"They get to a point with the score they don’t have to stretch themselves very much with what they’re trying to do offensively," Muschamp said. "That’s two fold. But again, it’s a team game."
The rest of Missouri’s points on Saturday came on a quartet of special teams and defensive touchdowns.
Murphy returned the opening kickoff 96 yards and returned Kyle Christy’s first punt in the second half 82 yards to break Missouri’s combined returns touchdown record with seven in his career (three kickoff returns, four punt returns).
"The punt return was a dagger," Muschamp said. "That hurt in essence from the standpoint that it changed the game."
In the third quarter with the Gators facing a third-and-9 from their 33-yard line, Tigers defensive end Shane Ray strip-sacked Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel, and Missouri defensive end Markus Golden scooped it up and returned it for a 21-yard touchdown to extend its lead to 35-0.
One drive later, Driskel threw an interception — his fourth turnover of the game and Florida’s season-high sixth giveaway — to Missouri linebacker Darvin Ruise, who returned it 46 yards for the score.
"We had something going in the second half there, but offensively, just abysmal," Muschamp said. "No rhythm and we’ve got to figure out what we can do to try and move the football. Six turnovers. That’s hard to overcome."
Safety Keanu Neal — who recorded a career-high 10 tackles in the loss — said the game was frustrating, but the frustration is not going to stop them from playing at a high intensity.
"As a defense we tell ourselves to control the controllable and what happens on the offensive side we can’t control," Neal said. "Whenever we get a sudden change like that, we get excited to go out there and play football."
And while Muschamp praised the defense for its performance, he said the unit could have still done more to change the momentum of the game.
"We could have created some turnovers on defense, we had some opportunities," Muschamp said. "Marcus (Maye) made a nice play on an interception. Strip the ball off somebody, make a play. That’s our mentality. We don’t get into the pointing fingers stuff. We’re not going to do that."
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Sophomore defensive back Keanu Neal makes a run at Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk during Florida's 42-13 loss to Missouri on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
