No. 3 Florida moved to 2-0 on the season Saturday, holding off South Carolina's late rally for a 38-24 win.
Kyle Trask threw for 268 yards and four touchdowns, but his two turnovers allowed the Gamecocks to hang around.
After falling behind 38-14 midway through the third quarter on a 57-yard touchdown by Kadarius Toney, who led the Gators with six catches for a career-high 86 yards, South Carolina scored 10 points to make it a two-score game.
USC quarterback Colin Hill led the offense on an 18-play, 74-yard drive in the fourth and reached inside the 10. But after allowing the Gamecocks to convert their first five fourth-down attempts, Florida's defense finally got a stop on fourth-and-goal in the game's final minute.
Hill finished with 212 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, including one to Shi Smith. He made 12 catches for 85 yards, while Kevin Harris led all ball carriers with 100 yards on 22 carries.
SCORE: Florida 38, South Carolina 24 (10:21, 4Q)
The Gamecocks aren't going away yet. Following Trask's second turnover, this time an interception by Israel Mukuamu, South Carolina set up shop at the UF 39-yard line and reeled off its third touchdown drive to make it a two-score game. Hill moved the chains twice with a third-down completion to Smith and a keeper on fourth-and-1 at the 3. Andrew Chatfield sacked him for a seven-yard loss on first-and-goal, but he threw a nine-yard touchdown to Harris on the next play. Hill is now 22-of-36 for 158 yards and a pair of scores, while Harris has 98 yards rushing on 21 carries.
SCORE: Florida 38, South Carolina 17 (0:28, 3Q)
After starting the third quarter with a turnover and a three-out, the Gamecocks put together an 11-play, 47-yard drive to get back on the board. Hill completed a 17-yard throw to Nick Muse and a pair of passes to Smith and Deshaun Fenwick. But on third-and-2, Hill was hurried by Florida linebacker Jeremiah Moon and South Carolina had to settle for a 45-yard field goal by Parker White.
SCORE: Florida 38, South Carolina 14 (4:44, 3Q)
Kadarius Toney had his second 50-yard play in as many games, but this time he took it to the house. On the third play of the series, Trask found Toney across the middle on third-and-9. He turned it upfield and split five South Carolina defenders who had a shot at him, breaking a few tackles and outracing them for a 57-yard touchdown. Toney now has a team-high six catches for 86 yards, a new career-high. Trask eclipsed the 200-yard mark on his fourth TD, which put him at 257 yards on 20-of-24 passing.
SCORE: Florida 31, South Carolina 14 (7:47, 3Q)
After going three-and-out on its first possession of the second half, UF took over at the South Carolina 37-yard line thanks to Ventrell Miller recovering a fumble by Hill. Trask needed just four plays to reach the end zone, completing first-down throws to Davis and Shorter. He gave the Gators a three-score lead with a four-yard touchdown to Trent Whittemore, the first of his career. Trask is up to 197 yards passing with three TDs.
HALF: Florida 24, South Carolina 14
Trask finished with 175 yards and two touchdowns, both to Pitts, on 14-of-17 passing. Pitts now has 12 touchdowns as a Gator, which ties the UF record for most career scores by a tight end. Dameon Pierce leads the team in rushing with six carries for 32 yards.
Hill completed 10-of-18 attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown to Shi Smith, who has a team-high five catches for 31 yards. The Gamecocks are winning the rushing battle 85 yards to 67, and Harris has more yards (72) than Florida.
SCORE: Florida 24, South Carolina 14 (1:22, 2Q)
The Gators marched 52 yards in five plays before the break, including a 19-yard run by Trask on second-and-15. Following his 12-yard pass to Jacob Copeland, Trask hit Pitts for a four-yard score. He leads the team with four receptions for 57 yards. Through the first half, Pitts is already halfway toward his touchdown total from game one (four).
SCORE: Florida 17, South Carolina 14 (3:31, 2Q)
Trask responded to his turnover by leading the Gators on their third scoring drive to regain the lead. He hooked up with Kadarius Toney for 11 yards and 16 yards, as well as a 23-yard-completion to freshman receiver Xzavier Henderson. Toney's fourth catch of the series set UF up with first-and-goal, but Trask overthrew Pitts on third down. Evan McPherson made his fourth field goal of the season from 26 yards out.
SCORE: South Carolina 14, Florida 14 (9:31, 2Q)
Trask fumbled on the first play of Florida's third possession and the Gamecocks capitalized, taking over at the UF 48-yard line and reaching the end zone in nine plays. Harris led the way, carrying the ball four times for 25 yards. Hill capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown to Shi Smith on a screen pass. Harris is up to 66 yards rushing on 12 carries.
SCORE: Florida 14, South Carolina 7 (0:06, 1Q)
UF's backup receivers got some work on the second series, with Justin Shorter making a seven-yard reception and Trent Whittemore coming down with an incredible 26-yard grab. After his second 20-yard catch, Pitts hauled in his third pass of the game for an 13-yard touchdown. The junior tight has already surpassed his receiving yards from last year's matchup (29 yards) and matched his TD total for 2019 (five). Trask finished the first quarter 7-of-7 for 109 yards.
SCORE: Florida 7, South Carolina 7 (3:45, 1Q)
The Gators answered South Carolina's first score with a 75-yard touchdown drive of their own. Kyle Trask opened with a six-yard screen to Malik Davis and completed passes to Trevon Grimes (17 yards) and Kyle Pitts (20 yards). The offensive line did a great job blocking for Dameon Pierce, who had five carries for 27 yards and walked into the end zone on his five-yard touchdown.
SCORE: South Carolina 7, Florida 0 (8:04, 1Q)
The Gamecocks struck first on their opening possession with a methodical 12-play, 75-yard drive. Quarterback Colin Hill completed all five of his pass attempts for 47 yards, including a 22-yard completion to Xavier Legette on third-and-10. Running back Kevin Harris carried the ball seven times for 33 yards and scored from a yard out.
