There was no doubt that it was Halloween at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night as the No. 10 Florida Gators raced past Missouri, 41-17, after an innocuous start.
The Trick – At the end of the first half, Missouri defensive lineman Trajan Jeffcoat launched into Gators quarterback Kyle Trask and it appeared he hit Trask in the throat area with a shoulder which knocked the quarterback to the turf.
This touched off an on-the-field altercation as halftime ensued which eventually saw Missouri’s Tre Williams and the Gators’ Zachary Carter and Antwuan Powell ejected for fighting.
In addition, every player and coach on each team was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That was a tremendous move by the officials because it secured the game for the second half as an ejection would be the next step for anyone who dared to engage in unsportsmanlike behavior in the second half.
Gators coach Dan Mullen ran across the field shouting at the Missouri sideline as he was looking for Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz. The two exchanged pleasantries and there was an impromptu handshake as they left each other and went to the locker rooms.
“It’s not something we condone,” said Mullen. “It’s not something that you really want to see in the game at all. I give our coaches and our players a lot of credit, and I give Coach Drinkwitz and the Missouri staff and their players a lot of credit because how tense that first half ended. It just shows the class of both teams being able to come out the second half and just play football.”
The Treat – Trask was undaunted by the hit as he completed 21-of-36 passes for 345 yards as the Gators, who were inundated with COVID and unable to play since Oct. 10, blasted Missouri after Missouri defensive back Jarvis Ware served Trask with a pick-6 to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead 12:54 before halftime.
Kadarius Toney continued to rise on the national scene as he scored three touchdowns which included scoring catches of 18 and 30 yards to end the half and give Florida a 20-7 lead.
Toney is a playmaker, extraordinaire, as he added a 16-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, capping an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive which gave the Gators a 27-7 advantage.
“I think everybody just thinks he’s just a playmaker,” said Mullen. “You put the ball in his hands and something crazy is going to happen, but watch his discipline and understanding of how the plays are being run and how the plays are hitting. That’s about his production going forward.”
In addition, the Gators defense finally came together after getting ravaged in the 41-38 loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 10. It limited Missouri to 248 total yards, recovered two fumbles and sacked Missouri quarterback Cole Bazelak three times.
The unit has been decimated by COVID-19 and injuries, but the depth showed in a big way. With two Saturdays off, it gave the unit time to assess and remake it’s mindset.
“They haven’t gotten a lot of criticism from the inside, from us,” noted Mullen, whose staff is in a teaching mode for improvement. “I can’t wait until we get to play a game with a full defense, you know, it kind of seems like we’re playing with a partial defense every game of the season right now.”
The Irony – Mullen was in the mood to celebrate Halloween as he showed up at the postgame news conference in a Darth Vader costume, complete with the light saber.
Obviously, it was something already planned as the postgame was full of questions as to whether he had set himself up to be a villain in the halftime skirmish.
Dressing up Halloween week is something that has become a tradition for Mullen as he works to unite his staff and the families because of the lack of time coaches have at home with their children.
