Gators Struggle Mightily, Down 31-13 Against Oklahoma at Halftime

Entering the game, the big storyline of the game came from the No. 7 Florida Gators side of the football, with multiple players opting out or not playing due to injuries, many speculated who would even suit up against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners in the 85th annual Cotton Bowl tonight.

The Sooners would lead the Gators 31-13 going into halftime, a disappointment for Florida’s final game of the season.

In the first quarter, the Gators looked completely out of sorts, down 14-0 early in the first quarter due to miscommunications on defense, a running theme of the 2020 Gators defense, and poor play from quarterback Kyle Trask who would throw two interceptions, including one pick-six, his seventh total and fourth pick-six of the year.

Prior to the start of the contest, many Florida players were deemed inactive or unavailable for tonight’s matchup, including tight end Kyle Pitts, receivers Trevon Grimes, Kadarius Toney and Jacob Copeland, along with defenders linebacker Ventrell Miller, defensive tackle Marlon Dunlap, cornerback Marco Wilson and safety Shawn Davis.

The rest of the Florida unavailable players are as follows, including nine total starters on the list:

4 David Reese7 Jeremiah Moon17 Kahleil Jackson21 Ethan Pouncey22 Rashad Torrence II54 Lamar Goods55 Hayden Knighton66 Jaelin Humphries95 Lucas Alonso

While plenty of starters were out for Florida, the Gators’ defense began as expected due to the play they’ve put on the film prior to tonight’s contest. On the first drive, the Oklahoma offense was able to effortlessly drive down the field, tallying gains of 5, 25, 16, 6 and 27 for a touchdown.

The defense would ultimately make up for their slow start, however, forcing two Oklahoma turnovers, both leading to field goals.

During the third offensive drive of the game for the Gators, the team appeared to be settling down thanks in part to a spark led by backup quarterback Emory Jones, however, after a couple of long passes from Trask, the redshirt senior would throw his third interception of the game in the red zone.

The Gators defense would answer back with a solid drive of their own, forcing a fumble on Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler. The fumble would be forced by Khris Bogle and Derek Wingo. recovered by Trey Dean, giving Florida’s offense great field position in Sooners territory.

The Gators were able to net just a field goal out of the drive, however, after two Trask runs near the goal line were stonewalled.

Florida would finally get into the end zone after an effective offensive drive by Trask and Jones. Jones would complete four of his passes for 36 yards while rushing the football four times for 17 yards and the touchdown. The team’s 16-play touchdown drive was its longest since the 17-play drive to open the team’s game against Texas A&M in Week 3.

While they played valiantly for much of the first half, the Gators defense would surrender one final touchdown prior to the end of the half, a 37-yard pass from Rattler to receiver Theo Wease, giving the Sooners a double-digit lead at 24-13.

Following a missed 58-yard field goal by Gators kicker Evan McPherson, the Sooners would take advantage of a short field, able to drive down in the remaining two minutes of the game, scoring a touchdown with just 16 seconds remaining, entering halftime with a 31-13 lead over the Gators.

The Gators will hope to recharge during halftime, having to battle back for the third time this season during the second half.