FINAL: South Carolina 38, Florida 19

Saturday, October 10

Gainesville, Fla.

12:45 p.m.

Florida Gators

4-2 , 2-2

South Carolina

3-3 , 1-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
South Carolina	7	10	14	7	38
Florida	7	3	3	6	19

Pregame Notes Postgame Notes

FINAL: South Carolina 38, Florida 19

Saturday, October 10, 2026 | Football, Chris Harry

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers passed for 279 yards and accounted for five touchowns, four through the air, while the Florida offense was stymied for the second week in a row, this time in a 38-19 homecoming loss Saturday to the Gamecocks before a disappointed sellout crowd at Spurrier/Florida Field.

Sellers, the 6-foot-3, 238-pound senior, completed 23 of 35 pass attempts, fired scores of 15, 12, 26 and 21 yards, and also ran for a touchdown, as the Gamecocks churned out 393 yards of total offense without a turnover. His UF counterpart, third-year sophomore Aaron Philo, hit 21 of 28 throws for 227 yards and a score, but turned the ball over twice (an interception and fumble) and was sacked three times before being replaced by Trammel Jones Jr. late in the final quarter

On offense, the Gators managed 387 yards, most between the 20s, only 120 on the ground, and turned it over three times. Tailback Jadan Baugh, like his team, had a second consecutive long afternoon, carrying 15 times for only 59 yards and a score. The offense was without star playmaking wideout Vernell Brown III (knee) for the second straight week and also lost backup tailback Duke Clark to an ankle injury in the first half.

The loss, which included a 45-minute lightning delay that came at halftime, was Florida's first against South Carolina since 2021 and its second-most lopsided in the series' 45-game history that dates to 1911. The Gamecocks came in with losses in each of their first three Southeastern Conference games. UF, ranked 16th, was a double-digit favorite to win the game.

The Gators struck first when, on the third play of their second offensive series, Philo rolled to the right and hit Bailey Stockton (8 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD) up the sideline, with Stockton winning a foot race to the end zone for a 59-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead. The Gamecocks canceled it out with a 10-play, 65-yard march capped when Sellers fired a perfect pass in the back left corner of the end zone that 6-5, 239-pound wideout Nyck Harbor leaped to haul in against excellent coverage by safety Bryce Thornton to tie the game with 12 seconds to go in the first period.

The two teams traded field goals in the second quarter. A promising UF drive had the Gators with a first down at the USC 9, but they settled for Patrick Durkin's 21-yard field goal. Gamecocks kicker Malik Orsan proceeded to match it with a 37-yarder and 10-10 tie with 4:09 to go in the half.

With a chance to chew up some clock, score late and get the second-half kickoff, instead Philo was picked off by cornerback Vicari Swain, who returned the play 21 yards to the Florida 26. The Gamecocks capitalized with Sellers firing a bullet 12-yard score to Mazio Bennett Jr. to go ahead 17-10 with 1:42 to go in the period.

Though with plenty of time to salvage a score, the Gators let the clock bleed down before calling their first timeout with 22 seconds to go. UF managed to gain 43 yards over its next four plays to put Durkin in position for a 43-yard field-goal try on the final snap of the half. He missed.

The Gators drove 45 yards to open the third period, with Durkin making good on a 48-yarder to cut the lead to 17-13. Sellers, though, had a response, starting with a 35-yard completion to Harbor on third-and-14 that was immediately followed by a 26-yard scoring dart to Donovan Murph and 24-13 lead.

Two possessions later, the Gamecocks led 30-13 when Sellers finished a 10-play, 59-yard drive with a quarterback sneak to push his team to a commanding lead.

Sellers threw his fourth TD of the game on a blown-coverage in the fourth quarter when Lex Cyrus went completely uncovered 20 yards into the UF secondary and was alone in the end zone for the score. Baugh got his 12th touchdown of the season with 1:01 remaining on a 1-yard run out of the Wildcat formation.

Gators quarterback **Aaron Philo** (12), with no running game, had little time to work with against the South Carolina defense. (Photo: **Hannah White**/UAA Communications)

What it Means

After dashing to national darling status (and into The Associated Press Top 10) with four consecutive wins to start the season, the Gators have suffered a pair of lopsided defeats in succession (by an average margin of 23.5 points, can't run the ball or stop anybody on defense, and now face the most daunting run of their schedule (read on).

In the Spotlight

Sellers, riding an eight-game SEC losing streak, looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate against the Florida defense. In his three previoius SEC games (losses to Mississippi State, at Alabama, and home against Kentucky in overtime) he combined to complete 59.4% of his passes for five touchdowns, three interceptions and a QB rating of 124.3. Against Florida, he looked totally comfortable and in command on his way to hitting 66% of this attempts for a QBR of 170.4 and a plus-4 touchdown-to-turnover ratio through the air.

Staggering Statistic

Seven days earlier, the Gators woke up in Columbia, Missouri, ranked No. 2 in the nation in both scoring (53.5 points) and total offense (532.5 yards per game), and boasted the No. 5 rushing attack in the country (260.0 ypg). The last two games, UF has averaged 18.0 points and 356 total yards, including just 81.0 on the ground.

Up Next

Florida (4-2, 2-2) enters one of the most brutal two-game stretches in all of college football this season, starting with next Saturday's road date at No. 1 Texas (4-0, 1-0), which takes on rival Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry later Saturday. Come what may in Austin, the Gators will have a Week 8 bye before its annual showdown against currently No. 2 and unbeaten Georgia on Oct. 31 in a game that will be played in Atlanta due to renovations of the stadium in Jacksonville. South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) is off next week and will be home to currently 15th-ranked Tennessee on Oct. 24

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu Find his story archives here.