Following two lackluster outings against Vanderbilt and Tennessee - and then the unwarranted backlash stemming from the whole Florida-LSU game postponement - the national perception of the Gators in recent weeks hasn't been all too positive. However, No. 18 Florida (5-1, 3-1 SEC) took a much-needed step in the right direction before its bye week with a 40-14 victory against Missouri (2-4, 0-3 SEC) on homecoming weekend in front of 88,825 fans Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
With No. 9 Tennessee's 49-10 home loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday, the Gators now control their own destiny in the race for the SEC East title and sit at the top of the divisional standings, as the Volunteers drop to 5-2 (2-2 SEC).
Instant Analysis now further examines the Gators' victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Thanks to two pick-sixes on consecutive second-quarter drives by cornerbacks Jalen "Teez" Tabor and Quincy Wilson, despite a poor performance offensively Florida entered halftime with a 20-0 lead over Missouri. However, the Tigers capitalized on a Luke Del Rio interception near midfield at the start of the third quarter to score their first touchdown of the game. However, Florida eventually bounced back with a five-play, 54-yard drive, capped off by Tyrie Cleveland's first career touchdown catch to lift Florida to a 26-7 lead with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
Missouri couldn't conjure much up offensively past that point. A fumbled snap by Missouri quarterback Drew Lock - that Florida recovered - gave the Gators the ball back with 13:07 left to play. Florida then tacked on another touchdown with running back Jordan Scarlett on a 33-yard run to put the game further out of reach for Mizzou.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Tabor and Wilson shined for Florida's defense Saturday, as both cornerbacks played an integral part in containing Missouri quarterback Drew Lock. The Tigers entered Saturday's matchup with the No. 1 passing offense in the SEC, but Florida held Lock to just 39 yards and no touchdowns against two interceptions on 4-of-18 passing - in large part due to the work put in by Tabor and Wilson.
On offense, Scarlett, Cleveland and freshman running back Lamical Perine were the standouts. Scarlett racked up a career-best 101 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries but lost a fumble late in the game, while Cleveland finished with 79 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Perine rushed for 106 yards on 11 carries and also had a kickoff return for 41 yards.
THESE STATS DON'T LIE: Florida won the time of possession battle against Missouri 36:53-23:07. The Tigers had three-and-outs on nine of their 17 drives, including six consecutive drives at the start of the game. Ten of Missouri's drives ended in punts.
Gators quarterback Luke Del Rio had a shaky outing Saturday in his first game back from a sprained MCL suffered against North Texas. He finished with 236 yards and a touchdown against three interceptions on 18-of-38 passing.
Florida committed 11 penalties for 65 yards Saturday. Eight were false starts - left tackle David Sharpe was responsible for three of those, and wideout Antonio Callaway and offensive lineman Fred Johnson each had two false starts.
Kicker Eddy Pineiro hit two field goals Saturday from 53 and 24 yards out. He has nine now on the season - more than Florida's total in all of 2015 (seven).
DAVIS LEAVES GAME WITH INJURY: Midway through the third quarter, linebacker Jarrad Davis exited the game with what appeared to be a left leg injury. After trainers looked at Davis on the field for a few minutes, the senior linebacker needed assistance walking off of the field. He left to the locker room and did not return for the remainder of the contest.
WHAT A PLAY: A pair of pick-sixes by Tabor and Wilson during the second half are certainly worthy of this distinction. On the first of Lock's two interceptions, defensive tackle Caleb Brantley generated pressure in the interior, forcing Lock into a bad throw that Tabor took to the house for a 39-yard return a 13-0 lead with 3:25 left in the half.
The following drive, Wilson made another excellent play, reading his receiver's route to pick off Lock, stiff-arm a defender racing down the right sideline and taking it in for the touchdown on a 78-yard return and 20-0 advantage. Thanks to these two plays, Florida's defense outscored its offense 14-6 in the first half. It's also the first time since the Furman game in 2011 that the Gators have had two pick-sixes in a single contest.
On the offensive end, the highlight of the day was a 46-yard bomb on the opening drive from Del Rio to freshman wideout Tyrie Cleveland, who earned his first career start Saturday. As Del Rio stood in the pocket, he launched a deep ball to Cleveland, who made an excellent haul against Missouri cornerback Aarion Penton in man coverage. However, Florida failed to put up any points on the board on that drive.
THIS MATCH-UP PROVED KEY: Although the Florida defense allowed Missouri to amass 265 yards yards and two touchdowns on the ground on 46 carries, the Gators consistently generated pressure on passing downs and disrupted what Missouri wanted to do with Lock. Although the Gators didn't log a sack Saturday against the Tigers' up-tempo passing attack, the group recorded 11 quarterback hurries. CeCe Jefferson, Antonneous Clayton and Jabari Zuniga were each responsible for two of those.
UP NEXT: Florida will have a bye week before squaring off against Georgia (4-3, 2-3 SEC) at EverBank Field in Jacksonville on Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m. ET in a matchup that will air on CBS. The Bulldogs, who also have a bye next weekend, lost at home to Vanderbilt 17-16 on Saturday.
Stay tuned with ITG, as we provide more post-game coverage of Florida's homecoming victory against Missouri.
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