Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The third quarter ended in maniacal fashion, with another epic big play from Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks, only this one with his legs. The fourth quarter began with a Gators touchdown to take the lead against Texas A&M.

The last 14-plus minutes, though, were all Aggies.

A&M kicker Daniel LaCamera banged three fourth-quarter field goals, including a 32-yarder with 58 seconds to play and the Aggies handed the Gators a crushing 19-17 defeat Saturday night that marked the second Southeastern Conference loss in the "Swamp" in as many weeks.

The winning kick was set up after UF (3-3, 3-2) leading 17-16 and looking to run some clock, had a second-and-2 and third-and-1, but failed to convert either and had to punt the ball away with four and a half minutes remaining.

"We didn't make a couple plays down the stretch we needed to make in order to come out on the right side of the scoreboard," Gators coach Jim McElwain said. "And [A&M] got a couple explosve plays in the second half and flipped the field."

The big one came late after the failed attempt to get the first down. Johnny Townsend's 46-yard punt went down the middle of the field to return man-supreme Christian Kirk, the nation's active lead in punt return average at 21.4 yards per game.

Kirk doubled his average on this one.

His return, up the right sideline, went for 43 yards to the Florida 39. From there, freshman quarterback Kellen Mond moved the Aggies (5-2, 3-1) to a couple first downs, including a 6-yard run on third and 4, to set up LaCamera, who starred at Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake High, for his game-winner inside a minute to go. Before that make, LaCamera nailed a 43-yarder with 12:35 left and a 25-yarder with 7:37 remaining, as the UF defense turned the Aggies away from the end zone each time.

And yet, "The offense is really the hero of the game," LaCamera said afterward. "They set me up for a chip shot. Basically, all I had to do was kick an extra point."

Franks had one last chance to get UF into range for Eddy Pineiro to kick a game-winning field goal, but his first-down pass was intercepted by middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson.

Mond completed just eight of 24 passes, but for 180 yards and also ran 15 times for 52 yards and a touchdown. The Aggies, who came ranked 23rd in the nation in total offense at 424.5 yards per game, finished with just 263 total yards, but had three pass plays of over 30 yards. Meanwhile, the Gators' longest play through the air went for 20 — and that was on a shovel pass.
 
For UF, Franks hit 17 of 26 attempts for 129 yards, but was intercepted twice. The Florida offense finished with 371 yards (including a season-high 242 on the ground against the nation's No. 5 run defense), but just 142 in the second half. More than half of 142 those came on Franks' incredible 79-yard run that set up the go-ahead touchdown with eight seconds left in the third period. Ultimately, the Gators' inability to move the ball in the fourth quarter proved the difference.

Some numbers:  

* A&M out-gained UF 127 yards to 27 in the final period.
* The Aggies ran 27 plays and tallied six first downs in the fourth. The Gators ran 10 plays and one first down.
* A&M averaged 5.3 yards per play to UF's 2.7.

"Ultimately, it's my job to get the offense moving and there were series here and there you want that to happen," Franks said. "I didn't make it happen, so it's on me and something to improve on."

Franks' run, the longest by a UF player in five years, came with the score tied at 10 and the Gators facing a second-and-8 from their own 12. The rookie QB was flushed from the pocket, hit the left sideline, then took the ball to the middle and just kept going before the Aggies dragged him down at their 13. Along the way, the A&M was hit with a sideline interference penalty -- nowhere near the action -- which moved the ball to the 6-yard line with eight seconds to go in the third quarter.

On the next play, the first of the fourth period, wideout Dre Massey came in motion, took a handoff on a jet sweep and sprinted into the end zone for the first touchdown of his career and a 17-10 lead after Pineiro's point after.

But A&M answered UF's go-ahead score with field goals by LaCamera on its next three drives.

The first came with 12:35 left, a tally that was set up when Mond hit wide out Christian Kirk with a 40-yard bomb down to the UF 25. The Aggies appeared to score a touchdown that would tie the game on pass from Mond to tight end Tanner Schorp, but the play was called back for an illegal man downfield.
The Florida defense bowed up and forced the Aggies to settle for three instead of seven and the tie.

After a UF punt, Mond hit another big pass play, finishing Damion Ratley for 42 yards to the UF 22. On third-and-10 from there, Mond extended the possession with an 11-yard for a first down at the Florida 11. The Aggies, though, could only get to the Gators' 6 before DeCamera made it a one-point game with 7:37 remaining.

"I feel like the defense always does enough," defensive end Cece Jefferson said. "I am a defensive player, so that's just how I feel."

The Gators, looking to run time off the clock, got an 8-yard run on first down from true freshman tailback Malik Davis (18 carries, 97 yards). On second-and-2, Davis gained one. On third-and-1, he was stopped for no gain, forcing the Gators to punt.

To Kirk, unfortunately.

The orders were for Townsend to angle the ball toward the sidelines or kick it out of bounds, if need me, Instead, it found Kirk in the middle of the field where he could do (and did) the most damage.

"It came back to bite us," McElwain said.
 
Mond scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown run less than four minutes into the second half to pull the Aggies into a 10-10 tie. A&M's first touchdown of the game came after the Gators, up 10-3, went three-and-out to start the second half and punt. Mond hit wide receiver Camron Buckley for a 33-yard completion to the UF 22. After nice UF defensive play moved the Aggies back, Mond took off for an 18-yard run to the UF 9 and two plays later, set up in the pocket, zipped through the Florida defense for the score.

The Gators took their 10-3 lead late in the first half before halftime when sophomore Lamical Perine broke through a series of tackles for a 15-yard scoring run. Perine's touchdown capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive set up after the Aggies had to punt from their own end zone and the Gators started with good field position at their own 45. The first two plays of the series were a 13-yard run by Davis, then a 16-yard scramble by Franks.

The drive looked to be stalled at the A&M 17, where UF coach Jim McElwain gambled and kept his offense on the field for fourth-and-1. On the snap, Davis looked to be stopped short of the mark, but the officials ruled the whistle never blew to start play. On the snap that did count, Perine bulled his way for two yards to the 15, then on the next play got to the right edge, ran through some Aggie tacklers and finished the run at the pylon for the game's only touchdown at the 1:41 mark.

UF outgained A&M in total yards 229-80 through the first two quarters.

"It was tough sledding for [Mond]," Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said. "Florida's defense did a great job of playing physical like they have done all year. They changed plays on him and for a young quarterback things happen really fast out there. It wasn't perfect, but every snap is a learning experience. His ability to take care of the football and his composure gives us a chance to win in a tough environment."

It did Saturday.

Pineiro's 29-yard field goal capped UF's first possession of the game, while LaCamera answered on the Aggies' third possession with a 46-yarder.

After the UF defense forced an Aggies three-and-out to open the game, Franks led a 13-play, 63-yard drive and demonstrated some nice tempo -- an element of the offense missing in last week's home loss against LSU -- along the way. The march began with an 11-yard run by Lamical Perine and was extended when Franks fired a 12-yard completion to Brandon Powell on third-and-9.

Three plays later, on a third-and-10, Franks was pressured and basically in the grasp of an A&M defender when he shoveled a back-handed pass to tailback Malik Davis, who took it for 20 yards to the Aggies' 28. An illegal participation penalty set the Gators back and they settled for Pineiro's field goal and early advantage at the 7:17 mark of the period.

The Aggies faced a third-and-8 when Mond, rolling right, found wideout Damion Ratley on crossing route basically uncovered. Ratley came from the  opposite side of the field, caught the pass and zipped up the sidelines for a 35-yard gain to the UF 35. A&M eventually had to call on LaCamera for points, with his kick coming at the 2:08 mark of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Florida had a decent scoring opportunity after moving into A&M territory, but Franks, under pressure, was flushed to his right and forced a deep ball into the end zone for Freddie Swain. It was intercepted by strong safety Armani Watts.

On the very next play, though, Mond tried to go deep on the UF defense, but the ball was intercepted by sophomore safety Jeawon Taylor, marking the first turnover for the UF defense since true freshman CJ Henderson's pick-six in the fourth quarter against Tennessee on Sept. 16 -- a run of 14 quarters.

There would be no more.

Now, the Gators will head into a bye week on a two-game losing streak and looking at a date with rival, unbeaten and soon-to-be No. 3-ranked Georgia on Oct. 28 in Jacksonville.

"One thing we always preach about is to stand together, stand as one unit and not let each other go into our little corners or groups," senior cornerback Duke Dawson said. "Everybody stands together."