GAME RECAP: Florida 41, Missouri 17

No. 10 Florida got back in the win column Saturday for the first time in four weeks.

Quarterback Kyle Trask overcame a pick-six to throw for 345 yards and four touchdowns, wide receiver Kadarius Toney scored three times and UF's defense pitched a shutout for the first three quarters en route to a 41-17 victory.

"This was a big win for us. I was concerned," Florida coach Dan Mullen said. "We knew they were a really good football team and we were coming off all the adversity. I was really proud with how our guys came out and performed.”

After a three-week hiatus due to their COVID outbreak, the Gators (3-1) returned to action and found themselves trailing late in the first half, 7-6. But with under two minutes left, Toney caught a pair of touchdowns in a span of 33 seconds to put Florida ahead 20-7.

A late hit on Trask at the end of the half led to a brawl between players, which resulted in three ejections for fighting. The melee apparently lit a fire under the Gators, who forced back-to-back three-and-outs and scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the third quarter, taking a 34-7 lead with 28 straight points.

Florida had 15 players unavailable against the Tigers (2-3), including kicker Evan McPherson and defensive backs Shawn Davis, Donovan Stiner and Marco Wilson. Backup Chris Howard made both of his field goal attempts and the defense, despite a trio of starters out, turned in its best performance of the season.

"The defense allowed us to get more possessions offensively, and if you give our offense enough possessions we have enough playmakers they have the opportunity to go score points," Mullen said. "Our defense did an unbelievable job allowing the offense to continue to put pressure on Missouri and eventually pull away."

SCORE: Florida 41, Missouri 17 (3:18, 4Q)

With the Gators inserting their backups on defense, Missouri was able to reel off its first and only touchdown drive of the game. Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak completed nine passes on the possession, including a five-yard throw on fourth-and-2. Larry Rountree capped it off with a five-yard TD run, but UF held him to 36 yards on 14 carries.

SCORE: Florida 41, Missouri 10 (7:50, 4Q)

The Gators' first offensive series of the fourth was their best yet, driving 75 yards in six plays. Copeland hauled in his second reception for 30-plus yards on third-and-9, and then Trevon Grimes scored on an 18-yard reception. That put Trask up to 18 touchdown passes through four games, which set a new SEC record. He finished with 345 yards and four TDs on 21-of-36 passing.

SCORE: Florida 34, Missouri 10 (10:56, 4Q)

Missouri's offense was shutout through the first three quarters, but finally put together a scoring drive to start the fourth. The Tigers converted just their second third-down conversion of the game with a 10-yard reception by Tauskie Dove. But they had to settle for a 29-yard field goal after the Gators got a third-down stop inside the red zone.

SCORE: Florida 34, Missouri 7 (0:22, 3Q)

After Florida's defense forced its fourth consecutive three-and-out, the Gators put the game out of reach with a 10-play, 50-yard touchdown drive. Nay'quan Wright had a handful of carries and freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson converted a third-and-2, with Pitts recovering his fumble on the play. He made a 12-yard reception on the next play, and then Penn State WR transfer Justin Shorter caught his first career touchdown from two yards out.

SCORE: Florida 27, Missouri 7 (10:36, 3Q)

The Gators set the tone for the second half with their first possession, marching 75 yards in eight plays to take a three-score lead. Trask rushed three times for 43 yards on the series, including a 26-yard run on third-and-1 and a 15-yard run on fourth-and-1. Toney then took it to the house on a 16-yard run, twisting and turning into the end zone.

SCORE: Florida 20, Missouri 7 (1:08, 2Q)

With just over a minute to play in the first half, Tigers running back Tyler Badie fumbled on third-and-1 and Brenton Cox Jr. recovered the ball at the Missouri 30. On the ensuing play, Trask went back to Toney and found the end zone again. Toney leads the Gators with four catches for 60 yards and two scores, while Trask is up to 271 yards on 15-of-24 passing.

SCORE: Florida 13, Missouri 7 (1:41, 2Q)

Following a pick-six and two consecutive three-and-outs, Florida's offense responded with a touchdown drive to regain the lead. The Gators reached Mizzou territory with a 36-yard pass from Trask to Jacob Copeland on third-and-7. Two plays later, Toney caught a screen pass and spun out of several tackles en route to a 19-yard touchdown.

SCORE: Missouri 7, Florida 6 (12:54, 2Q)

On Florida's third possession, Trask was hit as he threw on third-and-7 and Missouri's Jarvis Ware intercepted his pass. He returned it 59 yards for a pick-six to give the Tigers their first lead of the game.

SCORE: Florida 6, Missouri 0 (2:10, 1Q)

Kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 31-yard field goal attempt following Howard's kick, but he would connect again on Florida's second series. Trask's first two pass attempts of the drive both went for 30-plus yards, throwing a perfect ball to Pitts for 32 yards and then dumping it off to Dameon Pierce for a 34-yard gain. But the UF offense stalled in the red zone once again and added a 32-yard FG from Howard.

SCORE: Florida 3, Missouri 0 (9:07, 1Q)

After UF's defense forced a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, Kyle Trask led the offense on a 10-play, 65-yard drive to put Florida in front. Trask completed his first pass attempt to Malik Davis on a wheel route, which went for 30 yards. He went to Kyle Pitts on the next play for a 19-yard reception, and then hit him for 10 yards on fourth-and-4. Trask couldn't hook up with Kadarius Toney in the end zone on third-and-goal, and Chris Howard made his first career field goal attempt from 28 yards.