For about two-and-a-half quarters against USF, Florida looked every bit as vulnerable as it did in its season opener.
Then, Jeff Demps popped the pressure bubble.
With the game tied midway through the third quarter, the junior running back took a handoff around the left side, leapt over a fallen defender at the line of scrimmage and dashed down the sideline, breaking a tackle before following two blockers into the end zone.
On a tense, sweltering afternoon inside The Swamp, Demps’ 62-yard run provided the next-best relief to a cold towel and tall glass of sweet tea.
It was the big blow in his career-high 139-yard performance, kicking off a 31-point second half that turned a nail-biter into the No. 10 Gators’ 38-14 win in front of 90,612.
“I think everyone knows how I feel about Demps,” UF coach Urban Meyer said. “I know how the offensive line feels about Demps. You give him a crack and that guy’s gone.”
The Gators (2-0) racked up 251 rushing yards to go along with quarterback John Brantley’s 172 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-31 passing, with the bulk of the production coming in the second half.
Before the half, Florida managed just 42 rushing yards on 11 carries, losing the total yardage battle 162-157 and failing to score until Carl Moore’s 11-yard touchdown grab with 0:44 left.
The offense opened the contest in a groan-inducing fashion reminiscent of last week’s error-filled victory against Miami (Ohio).
Demps brought the opening kickoff out to the 43-yard line, but the Gators couldn’t capitalize on the field position.
Brantley was hit as he threw on the first play, and on 3rd-and-6, he dropped the shotgun snap before hitting umpire Johnny Hibbett with his pass.
The first three drives ended in punts, then kicker Caleb Sturgis missed a 39-yard field goal. Meanwhile, the Bulls (1-1) pieced together a 96-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead on their first possession.
The deficit marked the second straight game in which UF has trailed after the first quarter, a feat not seen in back-to-back home games in more than a dozen years.
In need of a momentum change, the Gators turned to their most reliable playmakers — the secondary.
With a little more than a minute left, safety Ahmad Black picked off USF quarterback B.J. Daniels to set up a short touchdown drive, the first of four interceptions that led to 21 points.
Black added another pick on the Bulls’ next drive, defensive end Justin Trattou returned one 35 yards for a score in the third quarter, and Janoris Jenkins notched his second of the year in the final frame.
“The thing we went into this game with was to let [Daniels] try to beat us running the ball,” Black said. “We knew for a fact he wasn’t going to beat us throwing the ball. If he put the ball in the air, it was ours.”
And just as importantly, the Gators didn’t give it back.
A week after fumbling three times, they kept a clean sheet in the turnover department.
And after Demps’ big run, the offense’s wheels found some traction.
Florida leaned on its offensive line and stable of running backs to surge ahead and burn the clock. Meyer called it “blue collar,” and the result was 209 second-half rushing yards.
That made life easier on Brantley when his number was called. He threw the ball just nine times after the half, completing six and connecting on a play-action pass to tight end Jordan Reed for a two-yard touchdown, the game’s final score.
It wasn’t as clean a performance as Brantley or Meyer would have liked to see heading into Southeastern Conference play next weekend at Tennessee, but Meyer said the offense’s identity is starting to take shape.
“That’s kind of what we want to be: a very physical offense that has backs who run real hard and a quarterback that can throw it in there with receivers making plays,” Meyer said. “You started to see that in the second half. It’s a little more traditional than we’re used to.”
