TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Seventh-ranked Florida ran
roughshod over the rival Florida Seminoles and the nation's No. 1-ranked
defense in the fourth quarter Saturday, erupting for 24 points in the
final period for a smashing 37-27 victory at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Senior
tailback Mike Gillislee became the first UF player to reach the
1,000-yard milestone in a season since 2004, carrying 24 times for a 140
yards and two scores, including a 37-yard touchdown blast in the fourth
quarter that gave the Gators (11-1) the lead for good. Freshman running
back Matt Jones added 81 yards on 10 carries, with a 32-yard scoring
run late to ice the game.
In winning its fourth straight, UF
guaranteed itself a berth Bowl Championship Series, and turned its
attention to Saturday night's game between No. 1 Notre Dame and USC. The
Gators began the day ranked fourth in the BCS standings, with an
outside shot of sneaking into the national championship picture.
FSU
(10-2) came into the game with the No. 1-rated defensein the country,
allowing just 236 total yards and only 70.6 on the ground per game. UF
finished with 394 total yards, including 244 rushing.
The best
defense on the field turned out to be Florida's, which forced five
turnovers in the game, four by Seminoles senior quarterback E.J. Manuel,
who rushed for a touchdown on the game's final play to make the score
closer than it really was.
FSU led 20-16 when the game turned on
a sack by safety Matt Elam and clean-up hit from linebacker Antonio
Morrison, who jarred the ball loose from Manuel on a vicious hit. UF
defensive end Dominique Easley recovered at the FSU 37.
On the
very next play, Gillislee went straight into the teeth of the Florida
State defense and sped practically untouched into the end zone.
After FSU backup quarterback Clint Trickett went three-and-out, UF's
Marcus Roberson returned a punt 50 yards -- the longest by a Gator in
four years -- to the FSU 32. Five plays later, on third-and-4 from the
14, Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel (147 yards through the air) rolled right and hit Quinton
Dunbar, who scooted into the end zone.
UF drew within 20-16 on a
32-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis, his third field goal of the game,
and three plays later forced the Manuel fumble.
Manuel threw a
touchdown pass and ran for another score, as Florida State erased a
13-point deficit to take a 20-13 lead in the 13 quarter.
Mere
moments after Manuel fired a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nick
O'Leary to pull FSU (10-1) to within 13-10 early in the second half,
Driskel fumbled a handoff to tailback Gillislee and Seminoles
All-America defensive end Bjoern Werner plucked the ball from midair to
give FSU the ball at the UF
On first down, Seminoles tailback
James Wilder rumbled to the 1 and after two UF penalties, Manuel rolled
to his right on a play-action pass and walked untouched into the end
zone for Florida State's first lead of the game at the 8:30 mark of the
third quarter.
Seminoles placekicker Dustin Hopkins bombed a 53-yard field goal with
4:24 to go in the third period -- FSU's fourth straight score to that point -- to give
the home team a 20-13 advantage.
A touchdown run by Gillislee and two field goals from Sturgis had Florida up 13-3 at halftime.
Hopkins
got the Seminoles on the board with a 50-yard field goal as time
expired in the first half after Manuel moved the Seminoles 56 yards in
nine plays -- including a big 23-yard runner by the senior quarterback
-- to take some momentum into the locker room.
The Gators (10-1)
scored twice in less than 90 seconds earlier in the period to go up 13-0
on the Seminoles, who have won two straight in the series.
After
Sturgis kicked his second field goal of the game, a 45-yarder, FSU
return man Carlos Williams fumbled the ensuing kickoff on a hit by
Jabari Gorman. The ball was recovered by Darrin Kitchins at the FSU 21
and Gillislee scored on a 9-yard toss sweep to the left just three plays
later against a defense ranked No. 1 in the nation.
By halftime,
Gillislee had carried 18 times for 75 yards and become the first UF
running back since Ciatrick Fason in 2004 to eclipse the 1,000-yard
milestone for a season. The touchdown was his 10th of the season and
ninth on the ground.
The two field goals by Sturgis gave him 68
for his career and moved him past Jeff Chandler (67 from 1998-2001) for
the most in school history.
The second kick capped a 10-play,
54-yard drive by the Gators, a march that included a 25-yard completion
from quarterback Jeff Driskel to tight end Jordan Reed on third-and-1.
Sturgis' kick came at the 6:53 mark of the second period.
Florida took the opening kickoff and marched 54 yards in 14 plays, with Sturgis nailing a 39-yarder for a 3-0 edge.
Driskel,
who went 10 of 15 for 77 yards in the first half, completed a series of
short passes to move UF into scoring territory, but the play a lot of
Gators fans likely were talking about was the play he missed -- an
overthrow of a wide-open Frankie Hammonds down the left sideline that
would have been a huge gainer.
The UF drive eventually went 54 yards in 14 plays before stalling at the FSU 22.
The
Seminoles answered with a long drive on their opening possession, but
quarterback E.J. Manual sailed a third-and-12 pass high and the ball was
intercepted by UF safety Matt Elam at the Florida 12.
The Gators
had a great chance to increase their after a Driskel 31-yard run deep
into FSU territory, but a fourth-and-1 gamble backfired when Trey Burton
missed his wide-open brother, tight end Clay Burton, down the middle of
the field.
