No. 8 Florida looked every bit like a team coming off a huge win in Columbia, and not in a good way.
The Gators were flattened 45-17 by No. 25 Missouri on Saturday, a result that sent Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC) tumbling back down after last week’s 52-28 rout of Ole Miss pushed it into the top 10. Missouri (4-1, 1-1) controlled the game at Faurot Field from the second quarter on, handing Florida its fourth loss in five trips to Columbia.
Florida entered the day putting up big numbers across the board - 53.5 points per game, second nationally, and 532.5 yards per game, fifth - but neither figure held up against the Tigers. The Gators managed only 325 yards, with 94 of those coming on a late touchdown drive after the outcome was already decided. It was Florida’s lowest scoring output at Missouri since a 45-16 loss in 2017 under interim coach Randy Shannon.
Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons was the difference. With Florida missing veteran safety Bryce Thornton and cornerback Dijon Johnson, Simmons repeatedly found openings in the secondary and finished with 340 yards and two touchdowns. Missouri tailback Jamal Roberts also took over, capping his day with an 80-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter - his third score of the game - that moved him past 200 rushing yards and stretched the lead to 45-10.
Florida never found its footing on the ground. Jadan Baugh had ripped off a 12-yard run on the second play of the opening drive, but that was about as good as it got. He lost yards on four of his next five carries and finished with 13 yards on 12 attempts, snapping a streak of five straight games with at least 100 yards.
Aaron Philo was left to carry more of the load and finished 21 of 34 for 197 yards and a touchdown, but Florida’s offense never settled in. The Gators opened the game by marching inside the Missouri 5, only for Philo to miss Duke Clark wide open in the flat on third-and-goal before throwing incomplete to Lacota Dippre in the end zone.
“You can’t miss those,” Philo said of his mis-read.
Patrick Durkin’s 20-yard field goal gave Florida a brief 3-0 lead, but Missouri answered right away with Blake Craig’s 32-yarder. After a few stalled possessions, Simmons hit Donovan Olugbode for a 47-yard touchdown when Florida’s secondary was caught looking to the sideline and Olugbode ran free for an easy score.
Trying to keep the defense fresh, Jon Sumrall made an aggressive call on fourth-and-1 at the Florida 34, but Missouri stuffed Philo on the sneak. The Tigers didn’t cash in after that, missing a 49-yard field goal after advancing only two yards.
Florida did briefly get even. A seven-play, 68-yard march ended with Philo’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Wilson, tying the game at 10-10. But that would be the last time the Gators reached Missouri territory until late in the fourth quarter, when a 94-yard drive ended with Tramell Jones Jr.’s 42-yard touchdown pass to TJ Abrams.
Missouri closed the half strong. Simmons found Caleb Goodie Sr. for a 31-yard touchdown behind sophomore cornerback J’Vari Flowers, then Craig added a 50-yard field goal to send the Tigers into the locker room up 20-10.
From there, Missouri kept rolling and Florida never answered. The Tigers’ win was their first at home against a top-10 team since 2010, and it came with the kind of complete performance Florida couldn’t match.
In Other News...
Mizzou Just Delivered The Bounce-Back Tigers Fans Desperately Needed
For a program looking to reset the mood in a hurry, Saturday gave Mizzou exactly the kind of response it had been searching for. The No. 25 Tigers knocked off No. 8 Florida 45-10, a result that stood out not just for the margin but for what it meant in the bigger picture, as Mizzous first regular-season win over a Top 10 opponent since 2013. It was the sort of complete performance that can change the temperature around a team in a single afternoon.
Mizzou did it by controlling the game at the line of scrimmage and making Floridas offense look out of sync from the start. The defense held star running back Jadan Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries, while Jamal Roberts powered the offense with more than 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The passing game spread the ball around, Blake Craig added key field goals, and the Tigers left no doubt that this was the bounce-back performance their fans had been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Eli Drinkwitz Just Changed The Conversation Around Missouri
Saturdays rout of Florida did more than add another win to Missouris record. By taking down the No. 8 Gators 45-17, the Tigers delivered the kind of performance that can reset the tone around a program, and they did it by controlling the game in every phase. Missouri held Florida to just 42 rushing yards and finished with a 560 to 325 edge in total yardage, the sort of numbers that tell you this was no fluke.
For Eli Drinkwitz, it also marked another notable line on a rsum that is starting to look different than it did when he arrived in Columbia. He now has two top-10 wins during his tenure, and this one carried extra weight because of how thoroughly Missouri handled the moment. For a program trying to move from occasional spoiler to something more durable, a result like this changes the conversation in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Defense Just Made A Huge Statement Against No. 8 Florida
Missouris defense delivered the kind of night that can change the way people talk about a team, smothering No. 8 Florida in a 45-17 win and making the Gators look uncomfortable from the opening stretches. The Tigers took away the run, kept Jadan Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries, and made Florida chase the game while the Mizzou offense turned the stops into points and steadily pulled away.
Kensley Louidor-Faustin was part of a front that kept the pressure on Floridas quarterback and helped produce multiple sacks, a sign that Missouris pass rush and run defense were working in sync. For a team trying to build real momentum in SEC play, the larger takeaway was less about one big play than the way the Tigers controlled both lines and left a top-10 opponent with few answers. [Read more 🡒]