Attaining bowl eligibility under first-year coach Billy Napier is Florida’s focus on Saturday when the Gators host South Carolina in Gainesville, Fla.
Florida (5-4, 2-4 SEC) is coming off one its best offensive performances of the season to end a two-game slide with a 41-24 win at Texas A&M on Saturday.
South Carolina (6-3, 3-3) pulled away from host Vanderbilt for a 38-27 win on the same day.
Anthony Richardson threw for two touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards and two more scores for the Gators, while Montrell Johnson Jr. added 100 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Gators rolled up 492 yards of total offense, including 291 on the ground while rushing for an average of 5.8 yards per carry.
South Carolina looked improved on offense Saturday.
Spencer Rattler went 18-for-26 passing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, with Antwane Wells Jr. finishing with four catches for 110 yards, including touchdowns catches of 68 and 17 yards.
Richardson has completed 55.7 percent of his passes for 1,839 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He also has rushed for 492 yards and eight touchdowns on 74 carries.
Johnson has rushed for a team-high 549 yards to go along with eight touchdowns, while Justin Shorter (21 catches, 471 yards), Ricky Pearsall (22 catches, 406 yards) and Xzavier Henderson (36 catches, 395 yards) each have two receiving touchdowns.
Rattler has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 1.837 yards with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions, with Wells posting 41 receptions for 574 yards and four scores.
“(South Carolina) is a team that is very capable,” Napier said. “They’ve got some really unique matchup players, individual players that I think can present a number of challenges.”
The Gamecocks could also be bolstered with the return of leading rusher MarShawn Lloyd (556 yards, nine TDs), who was sidelined against Vanderbilt with a bruised thigh.
“We’re optimistic that he’ll be able to go this weekend,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said.
South Carolina posted a 40-17 win over the Gators last year in Columbia, S.C.
–Field Level Media
