The Gators threw a blue-out, and the Gamecocks blew out their title hopes.
Florida entered The Swamp with a revived offense and fan base Saturday night, but by the fourth quarter, UF had flat-lined and thousands of the blue-clad 90,885 supporters were on their way home.
No. 22 South Carolina dealt No. 24 UF a crushing 36-14 defeat, ending the Gators’ hopes of a season-salvaging trip to Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship. The game had all the hype of a title bout, with Urban Meyer saying he wanted it “to go down in the books.”
It did, but in the wrong book.
The Gamecocks locked down the SEC East for the first time in school history and got their first-ever win in Gainesville. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier notched his first win at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium from the visiting sideline, snapping Florida’s streak of 16 straight wins against division foes.
It was the Gators’ worst home loss since LSU beat them 36-7 in 2002, and it handed them three straight losses in The Swamp for the first time since 1986.
“Our guys were ready for this week. They gave us everything they had in practice, and obviously, it’s a severe letdown,” Meyer said.
Florida came into the game with a revamped strategy: a three-quarterback system that was supposed to give the Gators plenty of options to fix a struggling offense.
But nothing worked.
Not John Brantley’s arm against the SEC’s worst pass defense. He totaled 46 yards and an interception through three quarters, rarely taking a shot downfield.
Not the three-man weave at quarterback, which wasn’t used often or effectively.
Not the early game plan of giving Chris Rainey the ball. Seven of the first 10 plays went to Rainey, and he finished the first half with 13 yards.
The Gators were outgained 347 yards to 67 through three quarters and allowed South Carolina to hold possession for a whopping 40 out of 60 minutes.
Afterward, Meyer was lost for words to point out the problems.
“If I had an answer for that, we wouldn’t have struggled,” he said.
The lone bright spot was Andre Debose’s 99-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff, but that wound up as more karma than a game-changer.
Debose sent the stadium into a frenzy, but the Gamecocks rattled off 29 unanswered points to suck the drama out of the game — a scene reminiscent of Florida’s 2006 BCS Championship win, when Ohio State lost 41-14 after returning the opening kick for a score.
South Carolina freshman running back Marcus Lattimore ran wild, turning 40 carries into 212 yards and three touchdowns. His last score twisted the knife in the Gators’ back, when he was stood up at the 5-yard line and pounded his way into the end zone with the help of his teammates to set the final margin.
“Basically, they did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted,” UF safety Ahmad Black said.
Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia was an efficient 15-of-22 for 156 yards and added a rushing touchdown. It wasn’t a star performance, but he far outplayed Florida’s John Brantley.
Brantley entered the fourth quarter 8 of 16 with 46 yards and an interception, and the low point came in the third, when his pass was batted into the air and he caught it from his back for a loss of 10 yards.
Fans booed both the play-calling and Brantley’s play, and cheers rained down when Jordan Reed was subbed in for a few plays.
Reed wasn’t flashy either, with 12 yards rushing and 46 passing, but he did throw a touchdown to Rainey, who took a pass in the flat and dashed down the sideline for a score.
But Meyer said there was no thought of benching Brantley for Reed.
“Jordan’s not functional at everything yet as a quarterback,” Meyer said. “We were going to be in the throwing game trying to come back, and we were going to try and win that game.”
With their stated goal of an SEC title gone, the Gators will have to find other motivation for their last two games, such as sending the senior class out with wins against Appalachian State and Florida State.
“I’m not a quitter,” Black said. “I don’t think anybody on our team is a quitter. We’ll stick together and fight through it.”
