Florida walked into Austin with a backup quarterback making his first career start and walked out with one of the program’s biggest road wins in years.
Tramell Jones Jr. delivered exactly the kind of debut Florida needed, throwing two touchdown passes to Lacota Dippre as the Gators erased a 17-3 deficit and stunned No. 7 Texas 27-24 on Saturday. Jadan Baugh finished the comeback with a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Florida handed the Longhorns their second straight loss.
The win gave Florida (5-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) a jolt after the Gators had surged to No. 8 with a 4-0 start under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, only to follow it with back-to-back blowout defeats. This one looked different from the start of the second quarter onward, and it may have been the kind of result that resets the season.
It was also Florida’s first road win over a top-10 opponent since 2012.
After the final whistle, some Florida players celebrated with the “Gator Chomp” or flashed the upside down “hook'em horns” hand sign to the crowd of cheering fans as they exited the field.
“We kept fighting. We didn’t do that the past couple of weeks, to be honest with you.
When things got tough, we flinched the last couple weeks,” Sumrall said. "Our team grew today ... because we fought.”
Jones, starting in place of the injured Aaron Philo, didn’t look overwhelmed once the game settled down. After a slow opening stretch, he guided a patient Florida offense that pulled itself back from the early hole and controlled the second half.
“I didn’t take it any bigger than it was," Jones said. “It feels great, but this is just the start. It’s not over.”
His first touchdown pass trimmed Texas’ lead to 17-10 with 18 seconds left in the second quarter. His second came on a 15-play drive that consumed eight minutes of the third quarter and kept the Longhorns on their heels.
Florida’s defense did the rest. The unit, which came into the game ranked last in the Southeastern Conference, held Texas (4-2, 1-2) under 300 yards, sacked Arch Manning five times and ended the Longhorns’ final possession when Myles Graham brought down Manning and forced a fumble.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was blunt after watching his team let a halftime edge slip away.
“We didn’t play good football today. Kind of bled out," Sarkisian said. "They controlled the ball in the second half and our inability to convert on short yardage.”
Florida took its first lead on Patrick Durkin’s 28-yard field goal, then Baugh pushed it further with an 11-yard touchdown run. Texas answered quickly when Manning found Cam Coleman for a 9-yard score, but that came only after Manning escaped a sack on fourth down and connected with Emmett Mosley V for 62 yards to set up the touchdown.
The Longhorns had opened the game with momentum and built a 17-3 advantage in the second quarter on Ryan Niblett’s 63-yard punt return touchdown, the third punt return score of his career.
Florida’s defensive turnaround was the biggest swing of the afternoon. After allowing Texas to strike early, the Gators tightened up and limited the Longhorns’ explosive weapons. In the second half, Texas managed just one first down on its first three drives while Florida kept chipping away and eventually took control.
For Texas, the concerns keep piling up. Manning struggled for the fourth straight game, the defense gave up long, grinding touchdown drives of 15 and 14 plays in the second half, and star edge rusher Colin Simmons left in the fourth quarter with an apparent ankle injury.
“It’s not great right now,” Manning said. “Coming off two losses in a row, it stings.”
Florida heads to No. 1 Georgia on Oct. 31, while Texas returns home to face No.
9 Mississippi on Oct. 24.
In Other News...
Texas May Be Getting A Very Different Florida Offense Than Expected
Floridas quarterback situation is suddenly a major subplot for the Longhorns, with Aaron Philo trending toward sitting out the upcoming game because of a shoulder injury. If he cannot go, Texas would be preparing for a different look entirely, with sophomore Tramell Jones lined up to make his first career start in a game that already carries plenty of weight for both teams.
Jones was a four-star recruit and has flashed efficiency in limited action this season, enough to draw praise from head coach Jon Sumrall as a potential starting quarterback. For Texas, that means the film and the plan may need a late adjustment, because the offense coming to Austin could be shaped as much by inexperience as by the usual Florida personnel. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Colin Simmons Problem Fans Will Fear
Colin Simmons gave Texas everything it could want from its star edge rusher before the game turned sideways against Florida. He had already piled up eight tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack when he went down with a lower-body injury early in the fourth quarter, a sequence that immediately changed the feel of the Longhorns defense.
Simmons was taken off the field for further examination, and Texas felt the effect almost right away as Florida moved ahead on a field goal while he was out. For a defense built around his disruption, the bigger concern now is how much time the Longhorns may have to manage without the player who had been driving their pass rush all game. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Have A Colin Simmons Problem They Can't Afford
Texas got a scare in the fourth quarter against Florida when Colin Simmons, its star pass rusher and the nations sack leader, went down with an apparent leg injury. He was helped off the field and taken for further evaluation, leaving the Longhorns with an immediate concern about one of the most important players on their defense.
Simmons has been central to everything Texas wants to do up front, giving the Longhorns the kind of edge pressure that can change a game in a hurry. Any absence would put extra pressure on a defense that leans on him to disrupt opposing quarterbacks, and it adds another layer of urgency as Texas waits to learn more about the extent of the injury. [Read more 🡒]