The Opening Kickoff: Gators at South Carolina

Florida Notes | South Carolina Notes | Game-Day Info

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Gators circled the wagons. They hunkered down. They closed ranks.

Pick whatever description you prefer.

Coming off a loss to No. 1-ranked Georgia that dropped his team to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the Southeastern Conference, Gators head coach Dan Mullen held the regularly scheduled 8 a.m. team meeting on Monday and urged his team to shut out the distractions and try to finish the season strong.

"Every week you get to answer a question when you step out there on the field," Mullen said. "You play the schedule you play. We're playing an excellent South Carolina team this week. That's what I'm focused on. I do know we have a big rivalry game at the end of the season coming up. If you don't bring your 'A' game every week, you can't expect to win. So we got to bring our 'A' game and get ready to play these games."

24 hours! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/JTkQDM7UcA
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 5, 2021

The Gators open their bid to go undefeated in November against South Carolina (4-4, 1-3) on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. A victory over the Gamecocks would snap Florida's two-game losing streak and, equally important, reduce some of the negativity around the program that erupted in October with losses to Kentucky, LSU and Georgia.

Florida has a favorable schedule this month starting with Saturday's game at South Carolina, followed by a home game against Samford, a trip to Missouri, and the renewal of the annual rivalry against Florida State in the regular-season finale after the schools did not play a season ago due to the revamped COVID-19 schedule.

Step 1: Beat South Carolina.

For more on the Florida-South Carolina game, here is The Opening Kickoff:

THREE STORYLINES

The Gators have lost two consecutive games and are .500 after eight games. As expected, the current mood in Gator Nation is not exactly cheerful. Florida is a big favorite against the Gamecocks and should be favored in all its remaining games, an opportunity to finish 8-4 and quiet some of the noise. On the other hand, a loss to South Carolina would give UF a losing record and cause more unrest.
Gators coach Dan Mullen had a difficult week coming off the loss to Georgia, primarily due to questions about Florida's recruiting. Mullen and his team need a dose of momentum and a win over the Gamecocks is the first step in changing the current mood.
South Carolina's offense is ranked 115th in the country and has had issues at quarterback due to injuries to Zeb Noland and Luke Doty, who is out for the season. Noland, Jason Brown and Colten Gauthier are in the running to play Saturday as Coach Shane Beamer remained mum on his plans leading up to the game.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Senior Dameon Pierce has the most yards (331) among Florida's running backs and gashed the Georgia defense for a season-high 69 yards. While Pierce has split carries with Malik Davis and Nay'Quan Wright, he has been the go-to back in the red zone and two years ago rushed for a career-high 87 yards against the Gamecocks.
Fourth-year junior quarterback Emory Jones is expected to return to the starting lineup for the Gators after coming off the bench in last week's loss to Georgia. Jones started the season's first seven games before Anthony Richardson got the start last week. Jones has passed for 1,417 yards and rushed for 516. He is averaging 5.7 yards per carry, which leads all FBS quarterbacks.
Gamecocks running back Kevin Harris led the SEC in rushing last season with 1,138 yards in 10 games. Harris has been slowed by back and ankle injuries as a junior, and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. Still, Harris has proven to be a dangerous threat if he is healthy and has running lanes.

SIX DIGITS

6.1 – Yards per rush for the Gators, which is tops among FBS schools.
7 – Sacks allowed by the Gators this season, which ranks second fewest in the SEC and seventh nationally.
8 — Rushing scores for UF senior Dameon Pierce this season, which is tied for fifth in the SEC.
13 – Consecutive games the Gators have held South Carolina to less than 300 yards passing.
60 – Runs of 10 or more yards for the Gators through eight games.
37 – Runs of 10 or more yards allowed by Florida's defense through eight games.

NOTABLES

The Gators lead the all-time series against the Gamecocks 29-9-3.
This is South Carolina's 30th season in the SEC since joining the conference with Arkansas in 1992. The Gamecocks are 100-138-1 in regular-season conference games and clinched their only SEC East crown in 2010 when former UF coach/current ambassador Steve Spurrier led the program.
Spurrier and his wife Jeri made the trip to South Carolina and joined Florida's contingent at a staff dinner in downtown Columbia on Friday night, which has become a tradition since they returned to Gainesville in 2016.
While the Gators are 18-point favorites Saturday, the last eight games between the schools have been decided by 14 points or less.
The Gators extended their NCAA-record streak of 418 consecutive games without being shut out in last week's 34-7 loss to No. 1-ranked Georgia. Quarterback Emory Jones scored on a 2-yard run with 2 minutes, 49 seconds left in the game.

Since Dan Mullen took over the Gators in 2018, Florida ranks eighth among Power Five schools in scoring (35.1 points per game) and ninth in total offense (459.3 yards per game).

The Gators are minus-7 in turnover margin this season while South Carolina is plus-3.

Gators safety Rashad Torrence II is third on the team with 47 tackles and his two interceptions against Georgia moved him atop the season list for picks.
Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was a Virginia Tech assistant in 1995 when South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was a freshman tight end/long snapper for the Hokies.
Former Gators cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray is in his first season as South Carolina's defensive backs coach. The Gamecocks lead the SEC with 11 interceptions.

INJURY REPORT

FLORIDA — OUT: CB Jaydon Hill (knee, out for season), S Kamar Wilcoxson (knee, out for season); LB Ventrell Miller (arm surgery, out for season); QUESTIONABLE: WR Trent Whittemore (knee), QB Anthony Richardson (concussion), WR Rick Wells (undisclosed), DL Daquan Newkirk (undisclosed), OL Ethan White (ankle). SOUTH CAROLINA — OUT: QB Luke Doty (foot, out for season), S Jaylin Dickerson (undisclosed), OL Dylan Wonnum (back); PROBABLE: QB Zeb Noland (knee).

BOTTOM LINE

The Gators are an 18-point favorite on the road against a team that has the same record as they do. That means on paper Florida clearly has an advantage over a South Carolina team with a first-year head coach. Still, it's a night game on the road and the Gators have several key players nursing injuries. The Gators win to snap their two-game losing streak but it likely will be tougher than the oddsmakers expect.

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