Tramell Jones Jr. leads Florida to 27-24 upset win over No. 7 Texas in first career start
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Florida quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. threw two touchdowns to Lacota Dippre in his first career start, Jadan Baugh scored a fourth-quarter touchdown and the Gators rallied to beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 Saturday and hand the Longhorns their second consecutive loss.
Florida (5-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) had risen as high as No. 8 after a 4-0 start under first-year coach Jon Sumrall before consecutive blowout losses, but delivered what could be a season-saving victory.
The Gators earned the program's first road win at a top-10 opponent since 2012. After the game, some Florida players did the “Gator Chomp” or flashed the upside down “hook'em horns” hand sign to their cheering fans as they left the field.
“We kept fighting. We didn’t do that the past couple of weeks, to be honest with you. When things got tough, we flinched the last couple weeks,” Sumrall said. "Our team grew today ... because we fought.”
The Florida defense, ranked last the Southeastern Conference, shut down quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns offense, holding Texas (4-2, 1-2) under 300 yards. They sacked Manning five times and the last one by Myles Graham forced a fumble on Texas' final possession.
Jones started in place of the injured Aaron Philo and after a slow start led a methodical Gators offense that rallied from a 17-3 deficit in the second quarter.
“I didn’t take it any bigger than it was," Jones said. “It feels great, but this is just the start. It’s not over.”
His first touchdown pass cut the Texas lead to 17-10 with 18 seconds left in second quarter. The second capped a 15-play drive that chewed up eight minutes of the third.
“We didn’t play good football today. Kind of bled out," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "They controlled the ball in the second half and our inability to convert on short yardage.”
A 28-yard field goal by Patrick Durkin gave Florida its first lead before Baugh broke outside for an 11-yard touchdown.
Texas quickly answered on Manning's 9-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman. That score came after Manning avoided a sack on a fourth down and found Emmett Mosley V for 62 yards to set up the TD pass.
Texas led 17-3 in the second quarter after Ryan Niblett returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, the third of his career.
Florida: The Gators had looked awful on defense the previous two games but the unit was excellent against Texas after the first two drives. They limited Texas' big play receivers and allowed only one first down on the Longhorns' first three drives of the second half as the Gators took the lead.
Texas: The Longhorns have lots of problems. Manning struggled for the fourth consecutive game. The defense, one of the best in the country, gave up scoring drives of 15 and 14 plays in the second half. And star edge rusher Colin Simmons left the game in the fourth with an apparent ankle injury.
“It’s not great right now,” Manning said. “Coming off two losses in a row, it stings.”
Florida plays at No. 1 Georgia on Oct. 31.
Texas hosts No. 9 Mississippi on Oct. 24.
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