FINAL: Florida 27, Texas 24

What Happened

AUSTIN, Texas -- Second-year freshman quarterback Trammel Jones Jr. teamed with the Florida defense to fashion one of the program's most improbable upset victories in years Saturday, as the Gators rallied from two touchdowns down to shock seventh-ranked Texas 27-24 before a dumbfounded, sold-out crowd of more than 100,000 at DKR-Memorial Stadium.

Jones, making his first career start for injured Aaron Philo, completed 22 of 35 passes with a pair of touchdowns, both to tight end Lacota Dippre, and did not turn the ball over, as the offense totaled 313 yards, 21 first downs and dominated time of possession. Jones led the offense to 24 unanswered points after falling behind 17-3 in one of the most hallowed venues in the country.

The bigger story, however, just might have been the UF defense, which coming in was ranked at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference (allowing 393 yards per game) and 131st in the nation (out of 138) in defending the pass (268.7 ypg). The unit resembled nothing close to those numbers.

The Gators overwhelmed Texas quarterback Arch Manning and his offense, limiting the Longhorns to just 272 total yards (only 172 through the air), 13 first downs, just two of 10 third-down conversion and sacked Manning five times, the last one resulting in a game-icing fumble. UF, meanwhile held the ball for a 38 minutes, 11 seconds (for a whopping plus-16 differential) and went 8-for-11 on third down in the second half.

The performance -- and outcome -- was quite the role-reversal from the Florida that showed up the previous two weeks in blowout losses at Missouri and at home against South Carolina for homecoming. And it came on the road against a Texas team that talked all week about its refocus and determination after a gut-punch, walk-off loss while ranked No. 1 against hated Oklahoma in their Red River Rivalry showdown.

UF tailback Jadan Baugh rushed 25 times for 91 yards, including the game's final score, a 13-yard run that put the Gators ahead by 10 with just over six minutes remaining. UT got a quick-streak touchdown to draw within three points, then got the ball back with 2:32 remaining with a chance to win or tie the game.

On the second snapp, junior linebacker Myles Graham's sack/fumble was recovered by blitzing defensive back Kanye Clark with 1:58 remaining.

After Texas called a pair of timeoutss, Jones made two defenders miss on a zone-read keeper to left and dashed for a 9-yard gain on third-and-7 with 1:44 to go, as UT was forced to use its final timeout, thus putting the game away.

Texas won the toss and, going against convention, opted to receive the opening kickoff. The Longhorns converted one third down, got a defensive pass interference penalty against cornerback Cormani McClain, then tailback Raleek Brown broke off the right side for a 32-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead less than four minutes in. UT, after a quick UF possession, made it 10-0 with a 38-yard field goal by Pat Spetic at the 6:42 mark.

A decent kickoff return, two first downs, plus a 15-yard penalty against the Longhorns, led to Patrick Durkin's 45-yard field that -- despite being badly outplayed and outgained in the first period -- made it a 10-3 game early in the second. After the Florida defense got its first three-and-out to force a punt, Jones returned the favor, missing on a pair of throws to open receivers, with Alec Clark coming on to punt the ball back to the Longhorns. UT's Ryan Niblett, a 2025 first-team All American kick-returner, fielded the punt, made a gunner miss, then crossd the field left to right, on his way to a 64-yard return to put his team ahead 17-3 at the 11:27 mark of the second.

Just when it looked like things were getting out of hand, both teams made plays to make it interesting.

Texas appeared to dodge a couple bullets (fumble by Manning recovered by UT, followed by a dropped interception by UF safety Brice Thornton) when the Longhorns gambled on a fourth-and-1 at midfield. Florida linebacker Ty Jackson blew through the line and blew up tailback Hollywood Smothers for a yard loss, giving the Gators the ball with two-plus minutes to go before half.

Then it was UF's turn to gamble. The Gators went for it on fourth-and-12 at the Texas 36, with Jones throwing a perfect sideline pass that tightly covered Dallas Wilson toe-tapped for a 17-yard gain with 51 seconds on the clock. Three plays later, Jones play-faked to his right, then reversed to his left and lobbed a 7-yard score to Dippre with 18 seconds, capping a huge nine-play, 49-yard drive with 18 seconds to play that closed UT's margin to 17-10, with the Gators getting the second half kickoff.

And capitalizing on the opportunity.

Jones led a master-class drive of 15 plays, covering 69 yards and chewing up more than eight minutes of the clock. Along the way, he coverted five third downs, the last ending with a 14-yard strike to an uncovered Dippre in the end zone to tie the game at 17-all.

The next three UT drives totaled 11 plays, 28 yards, two punts and a stop on downs. The Gators' offense took the cue from their defense, getting a 28-yard go-ahead field goal from Durkin and -- after stopping Manning for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-2 at UT 48 -- a mini-march that ended with Baugh bouncing an inside run to the outside and scoring from 11 yards for a two-possession lead, 27-17, and just 6:22 remaining.

Manning, facing on a fourth-and-6 and under pressure, escaped the UF rush and fired downfield to a wide-open wideout Emmett Mosley V, who beat Clark for a 62 catch-and-run to the Florida 9. Two plays later, Manning found Cam Coleman for a touchdown to make it 27-24 with 4:21 left and Memorial Stadium suddenly awakened. Temporarily.

UF's ensuing possession was a three-and-out that lost four yards. Niblett's 17-yard punt return set up UT at its 46 with 2:32 left. On second-and-8, the Florida pass rush crashed, with linebacker Graham smothering Manning and forcing a fumble that Clark fell on with 1:58 to go,setting up the offense for its run-out-the-clock final possession.

UF freshman quarterback **Trammel Jones Jr.** (9)

What it Means

The Gators entered the game wih just 11 victories in their last 40 away from home, so this one -- against a top-10 opponent, no less -- was monumental relative to confidence for a team with a season teetering on the brink. Coach Jon Sumrall, in his first year, is now 2-0 with his new team against Associated Press Top 10 opponents, and owns the program's first victory over a top-10 team on the road since the Gators beat No. 10 Florida State 37-26 on Nov. 24, 2012 at Tallahassee. That was five coaches ago. Texas was Florida's highest-ranked road victim since the No. 1 Gators beat fourth-ranked LSU 13-3 on Oct. 10, 2009 at Baton Rouge.

In the Spotlight

Take a bow, Mr. Jones, who under seemingly impossible circumstances easily outperformed Manning. Jones became the first Florida quarterback in 29 years to beat a top-10 team on the road in his first career start. The last to do so was Jesse Palmer, who was in the broadcast booth calling the game for ABC. Palmer started what turned to be a 24-10 victory at No. 6 Auburn on Oct. 18, 1997. He did not, however, finish the game. He was replaced that day by walk-on Noah Brindise, who helped key the victory.

Staggering Statistic

The first quarter (and a bulk of the first half) was a disaster for the Gators, who went 0-for-8 on third down through the first two periods, only to covert on all but three in 11 second-half attempts. Absolutely lights-out, with a quarterback who had never dealt with such pressure.

Up Next

Florida (5-2, 3-2) has its first open date of the season, then returns to action Oct. 31 for its annual rivalry date against Georgia (6-0, 4-0), who entered the week as the No. 1 team in the country. With EverBank Stadium undergoing renovations, the game will be played at Mercedez Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Bulldogs, who are home Saturday against Auburn, have won five straight in the series, but this one looks a little more interesting now. Texas (4-2, 1-2), in a freefall from No. 1, is home against Ole Miss.

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

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