Game Notes: Gators Travel to Columbia to Face South Carolina
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 | Football
Florida (5-4, 3-4 SEC) is set to hit the road again, traveling to Columbia, S.C., to face No. 15/15 South Carolina (7-2, 5-2) on Saturday. For the fifth time this season, UF will play in front of a nationally-televised CBS audience, this time with a 12 p.m. kickoff. Florida will be facing their fifth ranked opponent of the season, marking the most ranked teams that a first-year head coach has faced in UF history.
The Gators are coming off a much-needed win on Homecoming last Saturday. After jumping out to a 17-0 halftime lead, UF held on late to beat Vanderbilt, 26-21, and end its four-game losing streak. Senior running back Jeff Demps rushed for a career-high 158 yards, including scoring runs of five and 52 yards.
South Carolina suffered just its second loss of the season last week, a 44-28 decision to No. 7 Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Gamecocks were held to just 207 yards of total offense and gave up 435 yards to the high-powered Razorbacks.
Last season, USC handed UF a 36-14 loss in Gainesville. Florida leads the all-time series against the Gamecocks, 23-5-3, and has a 10-4-1 record in Columbia. Florida is 17-2 against South Carolina since the Gamecocks started playing in the SEC in 1992.
The Gators' offense saw a resurgence last week against the Commodores, regaining some of the momentum they had in the early stages of the season. UF showed great balance, rushing for 197 yards and passing for 213, and totaled 26 first downs, the most for Florida in any conference game this season. UF also totaled 18 plays over 10 yards, including 12 pass plays over 10 yards.
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