The Opening Kickoff: Gators vs. South Carolina
Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications
Thursday, October 1, 2020

The Opening Kickoff: Gators vs. South Carolina

Scott Carter
Scott Carter / Senior Writer
The third-ranked Gators host South Carolina and former UF head coach Will Muschamp in the home opener Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Florida Notes | South Carolina Notes | 2020 Football Game Days at UF

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators will play their first game as the nation's third-ranked team on Saturday when South Carolina visits the Swamp in the 2020 home opener.

Following Florida's 51-35 win last week at Ole Miss, the Gators jumped two spots in the AP Top 25 to reach No. 3 for the first time since the 2012 season. Funny how the stars align sometimes. When the Gators climbed to No. 3 in 2012, their head coach was Will Muschamp and they played South Carolina at home. The Gamecocks coach that day was Steve Spurrier, who left with a 44-11 loss.

Fast forward eight years and Dan Mullen is in his third season as Florida's head coach, Muschamp is in his fifth as South Carolina's head coach, and Spurrier is in his fifth year as official ambassador of Gators Athletics and has his name attached to Florida Field. If they were to hang out Friday night they definitely could tell some tales.
 
Mullen, Dan and Muschamp, Will (2018 Gators-USC)
Gators head coach Dan Mullen and South Carolina's Will Muschamp chat before the 2018 game at the Swamp. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)

While the Gators are coming off an impressive road win, the Gamecocks come to town in the wake of a disappointing home loss to Tennessee. These are two programs that appear headed in different directions.

The Gators want to keep it that way.

"Excited to get going and play in the Swamp,'' Mullen said. "You know it's going to be great to be home and back to being in the home environment."

In Mullen's first two seasons, the Gators are 11-2 at home and have won eight in a row, a streak that started in 2018 when quarterback Feleipe Franks "shushed" the home crowed after rallying the Gators to a 35-31 win over the Gamecocks. Franks is now at Arkansas and Kyle Trask is not the shushing type. Still, he's got Muschamp's attention.

"A lot of experience on the offensive side of the ball. Kyle Trask, you gotta like the guy just as far as sticking it out waiting his turn and then cashing in on his opportunity when he had it," Muschamp told reporters this week. "And he's a really good football player. I think he's got a great pocket presence. He really feels and invades the rush extremely well, buys time for himself, constantly has his eyes downfield, which creates some issues. That's why they have a lot of explosives or off-rhythm plays. But a really good football player."

The Gators have defeated the Gamecocks in both meetings since Mullen took over, winning 38-27 on a rainy afternoon in Columbia, S.C., a year ago.

Back to that meeting in 2012. The next week, the third-ranked Gators lost to Georgia and after four more wins, got hammered by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. The Muschamp era at Florida never peaked as high again.

Mullen has the Gators back near the top and on a mission to get there.

For more on Saturday's game between the Gators and Gamecocks, here is The Opening Kickoff:
 

FOUR QUESTIONS WITH ... GATORS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TODD GRANTHAM
 
Grantham, Todd (2019 season)
Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham seeks a performance with stronger finishes from his players on Saturday against South Carolina at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Adler Garfield/UAA Communications)

Q: Kaiir Elam said the game film made him mad, how about you?

A: At the end of the day you have to be honest, we made too many mistakes and we didn't play to our standard. Right, wrong, for whatever reasons, it doesn't matter. You are who you are. We didn't play to the standard we played the last couple of years and just made too many mistakes. When you look at it, it really got down to we didn't finish.

Q: How far is the defense from reaching its standard?

A: We're supposed to play to the standard we played the last couple of years. I don't think you ever make excuses for anything that's out there. You look to get the job done, and that's what we're going to do. We just got to go execute the game plan and understand you have a role within each call and play to your role.

Q: Was effort an issue at all?

A: I don't think effort was an issue. We had some guys playing new positions. Sometimes that can affect your mindset a little bit. If you watch, there were plays that were the standard, the problem was that there weren't enough of them for us to have the kind of performance we want to have.

Q: How much will it help to get safety Shawn Davis back after he was ejected early for targeting at Ole Miss?

A: I think anytime you can add a guy like Shawn to the back end, you've got a guy that's played two years for us in our system. He understands what we want, he's seen a lot of football, he's seen a lot of formations, he understands what to do. So, when you get a guy that's got some leadership to him and can do those kinds of things, it really helps. 
 

THREE STORYLINES
  • The Gators opened the season in impressive fashion on the road at Ole Miss and return to the Swamp for their 2020 home opener. Florida's bid to qualify for the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history is off to a good start and the goal is to make sure it doesn't stumble against the Gamecocks.
  • Players, coaches and fans around the Southeastern Conference got a glimpse of what college football in 2020 looks like a week ago. Florida has around 17,000 seats available due to COVID-19 restrictions and home fans will get a taste of the new environment on Saturday. It's going to be different and what takes place on the field is clearly the main attraction. That's a good thing based on what we saw in Week 1 from the Gators.
  • The offense starred at Ole Miss while the defense struggled. While the Gators left glad to open with a W, they want to tighten up their defensive performance on Saturday against first-year Gamecocks quarterback Collin Hill, who made some plays in the loss to Tennessee. The offense might not put up 642 yards this week, but don't expect the defense to give up 613 either.
 

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH 
  • Gators quarterback Kyle Trask tossed his name into the Heisman Trophy conversation with six touchdown passes and a career-high 416 yards in the opener. Trask was sharp in the pocket and appeared quicker on his feet. The defensive challenge should be greater against South Carolina, but Trask looks primed for a big season if he can stay healthy. The limited-capacity crowd at the Swamp could be in for a treat if Trask plays like he did at Ole Miss.
  • In his first game for the Gators, edge linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. burst onto the scene with six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack in the first quarter at Ole Miss. He was mostly quiet afterward and will be pressed to finish stronger in his home debut.
  • On Tennessee's game-winning touchdown against South Carolina last week, Gamecocks redshirt freshman cornerback Cam Smith gave up the big play. Starter Israel Mukuamu was on the sideline with a groin injury. If Mukuamu is not 100 percent, Smith could be picked on again by the Gators.
 

FIVE DIGITS

2 – Florida games since the start of the 2002 season (post-Steve Spurrier era) the Gators have passed for 435 yards or more. The first was the 2010 Sugar Bowl in the final college game for Tim Tebow and the second was Saturday at Ole Miss.
3 – Advantage for Dan Mullen in his first 27 games as Florida's head coach (22-5) compared to Will Muschamp in his first 27 games as UF's coach (19-8).
6 – Gators quarterbacks to throw six or more touchdown passes in a single game after Kyle Trask did so at Ole Miss: Doug Johnson (7), Terry Dean (7), Chris Leak (6), Danny Wuerffel (6, twice), Eric Kresser (6) and Trask.
26 – Games the Gators have scored 50 or more points in an SEC game. The coaches: Spurrier (18), Urban Meyer (6) and Mullen (2).
108 – Years since the first meeting between South Carolina and Florida in Gainesville, a 10-6 Gators win in 1912.
 

INJURY REPORT
 
OUT: OL Ethan White (knee), DL Lamar Goods (foot), DB Fenley Graham (arm), DB Ethan Pouncey (hip, out for season).
 

NOTES FILE
 
  • Florida leads the all-time series 28-9-3 and is 15-2 all-time against the Gamecocks at home.
  • Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo worked together as coordinators on Mark Richt's staff at Georgia. In 2018, Grantham's first season at UF, the Gators beat Bobo's Colorado State team 48-10 at the Swamp.
  • UF head coach Dan Mullen moved above .500 in SEC games in his career with last week's win at Ole Miss, improving to 45-44. Meanwhile, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp went the other direction in a loss to Tennessee, dropping to 32-33 in conference games.
  • Those four touchdown receptions by tight end Kyle Pitts at Ole Miss tied a school record for a single game, matching receivers Ike Hilliard (Sept. 16, 1995 vs. Tennessee) and Jack Jackson (Sept. 3, 1994 vs. New Mexico State).
  • Pitts' 170 receiving yards at Ole Miss established a record for a UF tight end, shattering the previous high by Kirk Kirkpatrick (122 yards vs. Akron) in 1990.
  • The Gators allowed Ole Miss' offense to make 15 explosive plays, which are runs of 10 or more yards and receptions of 20 or more yards. The Rebels had six explosive run plays for 100 yards and nine explosive receptions that totaled 345 yards. Overall, the Rebels averaged 29.7 yards on their 15 explosive plays.
  • Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson, outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson, director of player personnel Drew Hughes and director of football operations George Wynn are the only members of Muschamp's UF staff still with him at South Carolina.
 

THE OTHER SIDE
 
It was an interesting week for Will Muschamp. He's been known to have those from time to time during his nine seasons as a head coach.

Good to know the fiery Muschamp hasn't changed since his days in charge of the Gators. He has stayed true to his blue-collar approach and isn't afraid to have a little fun once in a while.

Of course, his latest attempt at humor to lighten the mood inside the building went public and Muschamp found himself under fire.

The video that caused him some heat: (Warning: Includes a curse word coaches say a lot on the sidelines.)
 
And a video of Muschamp being asked about the video above, which is better than the original video IMHO:
 
 

THEY SAID IT
 
  • "I think having missed the offseason hurt Stew a little bit. I expect him to continue to get better. I saw a couple of ups and downs. One thing I think he knows having played for me before is that I have pretty high standards and expectations. That's not going to shock him. Overall, he graded as a champion and I thought he played pretty well." -- Gators coach Dan Mullen on Mississippi State graduate-transfer offensive lineman Stewart Reese in his first game at Florida.
  • "If it's named 'Spurrier' you know it's not a run play." -- Gators offensive coordinator Brian Johnson on a play in the playbook named after Steve Spurrier
  • "We need to stay away from explosive plays, against this team especially. In Oxford, it was a lot of explosives, a lot of off-rhythm plays where [Trask] buys time in the pocket. When he scrambles, he's scrambling to throw, and he's got really good guys down the field." -- South Carolina coach Will Muschamp on Florida's offense
  • "I think everybody's been on that. It was just a matter of time when people outside this organization knew. But, he's been a monster, he's been an animal and nobody can guard him." -- Gators receiver Trevon Grimes on tight end Kyle Pitts
  • "You don't know where he's going. The one play we ran, you know, I was blocking to the right, and I looked back to the left, and he's like running with one hand on the ground and the next thing you know he's gone." -- UF center Brett Heggie on the play-making ability of slotback Kadarius Toney
 

 THEY WROTE IT
 


BOTTOM LINE
 
The Gators opened a lot of eyes with their performance at Ole Miss. Same for Kyle Trask. Same for Kyle Pitts. On the flip side, South Carolina lost one of those games that Florida fans remember all too well from last decade. Time moves on and Florida is back near the top of the national polls and in the national championship conversation. Perhaps it's all premature. Perhaps not. There's a lot we don't know yet about this team and this season. What we do know is that the Gators should beat the Gamecocks on Saturday and improve to 2-0.
 
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