 in the game early. Pitts finished with four receptions for 57 yards, commanding extra attention and beating South Carolina's top defenders. He nearly made a one-handed catch in the third quarter, but the ball slipped off his left fingertips. The K2K connection now has six touchdowns in two games, one more than it notched in 2019. The next performance comes at Kyle Field, where Texas A&M will try to become the first Southeastern Conference opponent to slow down Trask and Pitts in 2020. Some thought former Florida coach Will Muschamp and his Gamecocks would find a way. But the Gators (2-0) had their way with South Carolina for three quarters in front of 15,120 socially distant fans in the Swamp. They finished with 347 yards and punted twice. Kadarius Toney put an exclamation point on the victory with a 57-yard touchdown catch late in the third. He somehow broke through three defenders, turning a 7-yard catch into Florida's biggest gain. He ended with six receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown to go along with 42 yards on two punt returns. Kevin Harris was one of the few bright spots for South Carolina, which flubbed a chance to make it a one-score game in the final minute. The sophomore ran 22 times for 100 yards and a score. Collin Hill completed 28 of 47 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked four times. He threw behind Shi Smith in the end zone on Carolina's final play, which ended an 18-play, 7-plus minute drive without any points. THE TAKEAWAYSouth Carolina: Probably needs to win next week to avoid an 0-6 start. After playing Vanderbilt, the Gamecocks have Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M on tap. Florida: Defensive issues abound. The Gators can't seem to stop the run and are having all kinds of trouble getting consistent pressure on quarterbacks. QUESTIONABLE CALLA week after Muschamp called for a field goal while trailing Tennessee by seven points in the final minutes, he had another head-scratcher. Muschamp sent out the field goal team on a fourth-and-2 play with his team down 38-14 late in the third. Parker White made the 45-yard field goal to make it a 21-point deficit. But the Gamecocks needed touchdowns, not field goals to have a chance. The Gamecocks also were draining the play clock and running the ball in the final minutes of the game while trailing by two touchdowns. DROPPED PASSESA big reason South Carolina couldn't keep up in the first half was dropped passes. The Gamecocks had four in the opening 30 minutes, including three in six plays. Tight end Nick Muse and receivers Josh Vann and Xavier Legette each had costly drops on consecutive possessions that ended with punts. Receiver Rico Powers had another one in the second quarter, although the ball was contested by cornerback Chester Kimbrough. CELEBRITY CUTOUTSThe Gators sold nearly 2,400 cardboard cutouts to fans (at a cost of $79 apiece for the season, $29 for students) and sprinkled in nearly three dozen celebrities to the mix. The A list included Ric Flair, Tim Tebow, Emmitt Smith, Tom Petty, Abby Wambach, Steve Irwin, Erin Andrews, Laura Rutledge, Cris Collinsworth, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Guy Fieri, Steve Spurrier, Dan Mullen, Joakim Noah and Jesse Palmer. Late ESPN writer Ed Aschoff, a Florida graduate whose first job was covering the Gators for the Gainesville Sun, had a cutout in front of the band. He was a drummer in Florida's marching band during college. SIDELINED GATORSNine Florida players were sidelined for the game, including two projected defensive starters. Defensive tackle Kyree Campbell and safeties Brad Stewart and C. J. McWilliams were on the team's unavailable list. It was the second straight week Campbell and Stewart were out. Without Stewart and his backup, McWilliams, Florida moved cornerback Marco Wilson to the ''star'' position. UP NEXTSouth Carolina visits Vanderbilt next Saturday. The Gamecocks have won 11 straight in the series, their longest in league play. Florida takes its ''Kyle to Kyle Show'' to Kyle Field to play Texas A&M next Saturday. The Gators beat the Johnny Manziel-led Aggies in their last trip there in 2012. ---More college football: https://apnews. com/Collegefootball and https://twitter. com/-Top25)
Sep 29, 2020Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts have strong opening acts to follow up when No. 3 Florida battles Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. Trask began his senior season by passing for 416 yards and six touchdowns in a season-opening 51-35 road win over Ole Miss, while Pitts caught eight passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. Trask fell one touchdown pass shy of the school record shared by Terry Dean (1994 vs. New Mexico State) and Doug Johnson (1997 against Central Michigan). Pitts, the star junior tight end, matched the school record for receiving scores held by Jack Jackson (1994 vs. New Mexico State) and Ike Hilliard (1995 against Tennessee). There certainly is a reason why Trask repeatedly targets the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Pitts. "He is a matchup nightmare for defenses," Trask said. "He's too big for cornerbacks and too fast for linebackers so it gives defenses lots of trouble and that's what you like to see. " Gators coach Dan Mullen liked seeing the 642 yards his offense cranked up in the opener. But he wanted to hide his eyes over the 613 his defensive unit allowed. One of the issues for Florida (1-0, 1-0 SEC) was rustiness after preparations were different due to COVID-19 protocols. But there also were too many breakdowns. "We have a lot of things to clean up, a lot of things we have to get better from Week 1 and Week 2," Mullen said. "But the questions of 'Are we playing next week? When do we play? How long's training camp? When is this ever going to happen? Are we ever going to get to a game? ' . . . We got a game. " South Carolina will be looking to pull off a stunner as it is just 2-15 all-time when visiting Gainesville. The Gators have a 28-9-3 overall edge in the series. The Gamecocks (0-1, 0-1) also will be looking to rebound from a 31-27 setback to Tennessee. Transfer quarterback Collin Hill passed for 290 yards and one touchdown but also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Hill followed new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo from Colorado State -- Bobo was coach of the Rams -- and beat out incumbent starter Ryan Hilinski for the starting job. Hill tore the ACL in his left knee three times -- in a game against Utah State in October 2016, while playing pickup basketball in March 2018, and again in a September 2019 game against Arkansas -- during his Colorado State tenure. He looked crisp and healthy against Tennessee and clicked with senior wideout Shi Smith 10 times for 140 yards and one touchdown. Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said he liked what he saw. "I thought he played well, he had a couple drops in my opinion," Muschamp said of Hill. "The interception, I don't know. There was an unfortunate bounce there when we could've got a first down on that last drive. . . . I thought he was accurate with the football. I thought he did a nice job. " Defensively, junior defensive end Kingsley "J. J. " Enagbare stood out with nine tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Enagbare said there was no reason to panic after the season-opening setback. "I feel like we're right there, it's just a matter of putting it all together because we have the pieces," Enagbare said. "It's just a matter of the pieces going to work. We're going to bounce back though, best believe. " --Field Level Media
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