The Quick Slant: Texas A&M 19, Florida 17

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida defense kept the Gators in the game. Their quarterback, though he didn't throw for many yards, gave them the lead with a play that with a different final outcome could have been as memorable as the one he made against Tennessee a month ago.

In the end, though, Texas A&M made the plays and made the kicks, banging three field goals in the final quarter to defeat the Gators 19-17 in the first Southeastern Conference night game at the "Swamp" in two years.

Daniel LaCamera's third field goal, a 32-yarder with 58 seconds to play, proved the difference and handed the Gators a second straight defeat.

UF had one last possession and chance to win the game, but redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks, whose 79-yard run late in the third quarter that set up the go-head score had the joint buzzing, was intercepted on first down by middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson.

WHAT IT MEANS: Last week, Florida lost to an SEC opponent at home for the first time in Coach Jim McElwain's three seasons. Now they've lost two in a row with an open date to process it all. Going to be a loud next couple weeks.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Florida's defense made A&M and the nation's No. 23 offense -- which came in averaging nearly 425 yards a game -- really work for what it got, holding the Aggies to just 80 first-half yards and keeping them out off the end zone in the fourth quarter. In the middle of that effort was junior defensive lineman Taven Bryan, who was sensational. One one third-quarter series, A&M quarterback Kellen Mond took off for a 45-yard run, but the play was called back for holding because an Aggies lineman was whipped by Bryan up front. On the next play, Bryan bull-rushed his way into the backfield and forced Mond to run. He gained one yard. On the next play, Bryan destroyed his blocker and sacked Mond for a 10-yard loss. Bryan finished with seven tackles, including two for loss, and 1 1/2 sacks.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: The UF Communications Department's "Stats Pass" account includes a super-detailed data base, but it only goes back to 1996. So, at worst, Franks' 79-yard run was the longest by a Florida quarterback in 22 years, but since we can all be pretty confident that no Steve Spurrier quarterback ever had a run of 79 yards, let's assume that statistic, when it's finally researched, will go back into the 1980s. Maybe even the '70s. Heck, let's not rule out the '60s. It was, for sure, the longest run by any UF player since Trey Burton went for 80 at Tennessee in 2012. Before the game was over, in fact, a communication dispatch went out to the media that Franks' run was "believed to be" the longest TD run by a quarterback in program history. That's 112 seasons of Florida football. We'll wait for a final word next week.

SUBPLOT: The "alligator-armor" alternate uniforms were unveiled via social media Monday to mixed reviews. Whether you liked them or not in action will be of personal preference -- and the haters certainly made their thoughts known via Twitter during the game -- but the players overwhelmingly approved of them because, well, players like different. No denying, these were different. Me? Wasn't a fan at first, but they grew on me. A touch of florescent orange might have been cool, but what do I know?

UP NEXT: The Gators (3-3, 3-2) have their midseason bye next week, then return to action Oct. 28 for their annual rivalry game against Georgia at Jacksonville. The Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0), off to their best start in years, began the day unbeaten and ranked fourth in the country with a Saturday night date at Missouri.

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The Quick Slant: Texas A&M 19, Florida 17

Players Mentioned

Taven Bryan

Feleipe Franks

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