Nov 10, 2018; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators running back Lamical Perine (22) runs the ball in for a touchdown against South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Steven Montac (22) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
If you know college football, you know Dan Mullen loves the running game and he loves it even more when his team can put up 367 yards on 62 carries like the Gators did Saturday in Florida’s 35-31 come-from-behind victory over South Carolina.
Not even when the Gators were down 31-14 in the third quarter was there any doubt how Florida would rally, if it could rally or if it would rally. It had to be on the ground.
“I want to try to keep people balanced and on edge,” said Mullen. “Our backs ran hard and once we got success on the ground, we kept rolling it. I think we are going to watch the film and think our O-Line did a decent job. I love running the ball if we can run the ball, we open up our whole offense.”
Jordan Scarlett rushed 18 times for 159 yards while Lamical Perine ran for 107 on 16 carries. Perine had two touchdowns and his 23-yard effort with 11:00 remaining that brought Florida to within 31-28 put South Carolina’s back to the wall.
“When you don’t have backs that put up obnoxious numbers and you run the backs through, you see backs that are fresh,” Mullen said. “That’s what you saw in the fourth quarter with the runs they were able to make when we were able to go 1-2 punch and a third when we throw (Dameon) Pierce in there at you,” noted Mullen.
The Gamecocks didn’t respond as the pressure then squarely set on South Carolina’s shoulders. The Gamecocks became too conservative on both sides of the football with the 31-14 lead. Florida used its running game like most teams use the pass to erase a big deficit.
Quarterback Feleipe Franks, who had been under fire all week and had heard boos from the sparse Florida crowd, directed the offense steadily in rallying the Gators. In fact, he did the honors with a 1-yard touchdown run that put UF ahead for good at 35-31 with 4:09 to play.
Mullen opened up his playbook as well in introducing freshman Kadarius Toney into the running game. He rushed for 51 yards on four carries as he had a 33-yard run on a misdirection on a toss sweep that set up Franks’ score.
“When he touches the ball, really exciting things happen,” Mullen said. “I think one of the things I haven’t done a good job offensively, just forcing us to just put the ball in his hands.”
Quarterback decision: There was a popular school of thought throughout the week that Franks would be benched in favor of redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask, but that never happened as Trask suffered a season-ending foot injury in practice last Wednesday.
Franks was booed early as the passing game wasn’t strong and Mullen called pass plays to get the ball to the playmakers in the flat so they could create space. But on Franks’ first score, he put his finger to his mouth and quieted the raving crowd on his own.
Getting the Dub: After losing to Georgia and Missouri by a combined score of 74-34 in the last two weeks, the Gators needed a reboot as they had fallen to 6-3. Winning over South Carolina and in such dramatic fashion can serve as a springboard for Florida as the Gators end the season with Idaho and Florida State, two games that the Gators should win.
“Everything is not as bad or as good as it seems like last week, it wasn’t quite as bad as people made it out to be,” Mullen commented. “We didn’t compete that well. I almost want to say Georgia beat us twice, but that would take away from how well Missouri played and I don’t want to do that.”
