The Florida Gators registered a stunning victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks 44-11 at Saturday's game. The Gamecocks were looking out of form, and after winning the one-sided game, the Gators are now in a position to win the division title.
Will Muschamp, coach of the Gators said, ''I like this better. So does everybody else.''
The Gators looked very strong, beating the opponents in all departments of the game. They also avenged their defeats at the hands of the Gamecocks, which includes the loss they suffered a couple of years ago when the Gamecocks claimed the division title in The Swamp.
Center Jon Harrison said, ''We remember the feeling, how bad it hurt. We even had guys getting emotional over it. We just used that as pure motivation to come out here and completely dominate this team. We're on our way to being what Florida used to be, what Florida's known for,'' Harrison said. ''We hope to accomplish that this season.''
The Gators can easily win a spot in the league's championship game if they beat Georgia at Jacksonville next week. They are the No. 13 team in the league.
The Gators' game plan looked pretty impressive with a solid defense. They also made a few halftime adjustments. They finished 7-6 last season, and questions were raised about Muschamp's ability to bring Florida to the same level it was before. The Gators have bounced back in style this year, and a lot of the credit goes to Muschamp.
At Saturday's game, despite an unimpressive start in the first half, the Gators did well later to lead 21-6 with the help of three turnovers. In the first half they managed just 29 yards and two touchdowns (6-2, 4-2).
The Gamecocks seemed to be struggling to hold onto the ball. They were also unable to produce much offense. In the first half, they did manage two field goals, which came by way of penalties.
Shaw was replaced by Dylan Thompson in the second half. He completed 9 of 20 passes for 72 yards.
Shaw said, ''Coach Spurrier told me at halftime we were going to make the change. He told me I wasn't getting the job done. I was completely supportive of him. Bottom line today, we just didn't execute.''
The Gators did not let the Gamecocks' defense dominate in the second half and also kept them off-balance with a display of creative play calling.
Spurrier said, ''It was embarrassing for us, very embarrassing to lose. We've got to reevaluate a lot of our personnel and get players out there who really want to play for South Carolina. Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have thought this. We had a bad one today. LSU was bad (last week). This one was worse. We've got to regroup somehow.''
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