THE QUICK SLANT
No. 5 FLORIDA 51, OLE MISS 35
WHAT HAPPENED: Quarterback
Kyle Trask passed for 416 yards and six touchdowns, with four of those scores going to beastly junior tight end
Kyle Pitts, as the fifth-ranked Gators outgained, outscored and outlasted the host Rebels to win their 2020 season and Southeastern Conference opener Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss.
Trask, who immediately vaulted into the early Heisman Trophy conversation, was masterful in guiding an offense that cranked out 642 yards, including 196 on the ground, for the most ever amassed by a Florida team against a league opponent. Trask staked his team to a 28-14 halftime lead by hitting 18 of 25 for 241 yards and four scores, with TDs to Pitts bracketing the first and last of those touchdowns, including a 16-yarder with just five seconds to go before intermission. Two plays out the locker room, Trask dropped and bombed a 71-yard scoring strike to Pitts to give the Gators a 21-point cushion. The Rebels never got closer than 14 after that, with UF adding a trio of consecutive field goals from junior
Evan McPherson, including a 55-yarder that marked the third-longest in program history.
When Trask hit Pitts for a 17-yard touchdown with 5:14 left, he joined last year's Heisman winner, LSU's
Joe Burrow, as the only QBs in league history to throw six touchdowns in an SEC opener. Florida wasn't the only team on the field to put up fat offensive numbers, which is something that figures to concern UF defensive coordinator
Todd Grantham. The Rebels totaled 613 yards -- the third-most ever gained against the Gators -- with quarterback
Matt Corral, once a UF commitment, finishing 22-for-31 for 395 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
UF wideout Trevon Grimes (8) celebrates his first-quarter touchdown reception with teammates during Saturday's game at Ole Miss. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators have a win in their SEC opener for the second straight season and now have now started 1-0 in league play 15 of the last 16 seasons, dating to 2005. It's always good to not have to play catch-up in the SEC East. Even better when considering the 10-game SEC schedule.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Hard to believe there's a better tight end in the country than Pitts, but Trask is the guy who was throwing him the ball and, boy, was he good at it. There's a reason he was named the preseason All-SEC First Team quarterback. He finished 30 of 42 for 416 yards, with those half-dozen touchdowns, no interceptions, and a whopping QB rating of 201.8. The six TDs fell one shy of the school and SEC record of seven, with UF's jointly held by
Terry Dean (1994 vs. New Mexico State) and
Doug Johnson (1997 vs. Central Michigan), and the conference's shared by another six players.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Pick any number of numbers from the Florida offensive box score. We already mentioned Trask tying Burrow's SEC opener touchdown record, so how 'bout Pitts' four touchdown receptions tying the single-game school record set previously by
Ike Hilliard against Tennessee in 1995 and
Jack Jackson against New Mexico State in 1994.
UP NEXT: Florida (1-0) gets its first home game of the season, welcoming old friend
Will Muschamp and his South Carolina squad to Spurrier/Florida Field for a key SEC East game that will be played at 20-percent capacity fan attendance (approximately 17,000 fans). The Gamecocks have the late SEC game Saturday night, playing host to No. 16 Tennessee.
