Gators come up short against Gamecocks, drop to 5-5

Weekend afterthoughts

1. Make it Rain

Chris Rainey finally got it going after a near two-month stretch where he averaged 29 yards rushing against the top teams in the SEC. The redshirt senior exploded for 132 yards on 17 carries, good for 7.8 yards per carry and snagged three passes for 30 yards. Rainey showed his trademark quickness and open field speed.


2. Pass defense shows improvement

Pop Saunders recorded his first career interception and Josh Evans showed up big with 11 tackles as the secondary limited Connor Shaw to a mere 84 yards. Projected first-round pick Alshon Jeffery only had two catches for 17 yards.

3. Pass offense still sputtering

With a weak offensive line and receiving corps, the expectations and results couldn’t be much lower for the Gators passing offense. South Carolina’s deep defensive line applied solid pressure on John Brantley and made too many plays in the backfield. The Gamecocks sacked the Gators quarterback three times and made 11 tackles for loss compared to only three for the Gators.

4. Leaky run defense

As good as the pass defense numbers looked, much of that had to do with the Gators porous run defense. Playing without all-SEC stud Marcus Lattimore who demoralized UF last year, the Gamecocks still racked up 215 yards on the ground, including 93 by their quarterback. Once again, the Gators had trouble tackling a big running back as Brandon Wild, who stands 6-foot-1, 223 pounds, wore down the Gators front seven with 29 carries for 120 yards. The defense has to get stronger and improve at shedding blocks if it ever plans to shut down the top running backs in the SEC next year.