Tramell Jones Jr. makes his case | 5 things we learned from Florida’s stunning Texas upset
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AUSTIN, Texas — Florida’s 27-24 upset at Texas delivered a statement win on the road, saved the Gators’ season and set up a titanic matchup Oct. 31 with Georgia in Atlanta. Feeling his oats, coach Jon Sumrall left Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium wearing a black cowboy hat.
Here are five things we learned:
Tramell Jones Jr. makes case for starting QB job
A day that began with quarterback confusion ended in a quarterback controversy.
Jones said he learned Friday he’d be making his first career start. Outside the locker room, speculation was widespread leading up to Saturday’s kickoff.
After Jones shined during his first start, the Gators’ quarterback decision will be scrutinized and dissected, fueling two weeks of endless conjecture leading up to the Georgia game.
“That’s going to be everybody’s question, probably,” Sumrall said.
“Probably” is an understatement. Jones stepped in for injured starter Aaron Philo and energized a struggling attack.
One pivotal series stood out.
With Florida trailing 17-7 with 51 seconds remaining in the first half, Jones showcased his arm strength and confidence on a 17-yard sideline completion to Dallas Wilson to the Texas 19. Jones flashed his decisiveness and speed on the ensuing play, gaining 14 yards on a quarterback keeper.
After the Longhorns stuffed Jadan Baugh for a 2-yard loss plays later, Jones sold a fake, rolled out and connected with tight end Lacota Dippre for a 7-yard score. It was one of their two scoring connections.
The 19-year-old was far from finished.
He was 5-of-5 on third-down plays during a touchdown drive to open the second half, his best stretch during a 22-of-35 passing performance. Then, with the Gators clinging to three-point lead with 1:44 left in the game, Jones juked one Texas defender and outran another for a 9-yard gain on third-and-7, effectively icing the game.
He finished with 52 rushing yards, excluding an 11-yard sack.
“Somebody who hasn’t played a lot and he stepped up when his number was called,” veteran linebacker Myles Graham said. “He put the team on his back and he did his thing. Without him, we would not have won.”
Jones become the first Florida signal caller to pick up his first win on the road since Jesse Palmer in 1997 at Auburn. Whether he gets to be the first to beat Georgia since Kyle Trask in 2020 is the question everyone will be asking.
The Gators figured out something on defense
Florida arrived in Austin ranked last among 16 SEC teams in yards allowed, 15th in points allowed and third-down conversion rate, and 13th in plays of 20 yards or more yielded.
But embattled coordinator Brad White and the defensive-minded Sumrall stayed the course and finally saw results.
“Brad works his ass off,” Sumrall said. “You don’t always feel the returns. Sometimes we got to do a better job as coaches putting them in better positions. We didn’t have a whole lot of brand new fancy calls today. You know what our guys did? They executed them with more detail, more urgency, more violence, more strain.
“They finally took it upon themselves to play with the (right) mentality.”
The Gators were clearly the aggressors.
Texas star quarterback Arch Manning was under duress all day as the Gators blitzed on 59% of his dropbacks and recorded five sacks. Graham forced a fumble with 1:58 to go and Texas driving near midfield.
The Longhorns managed five plays or less and 20 yards or fewer on six of 11 possessions.
Edge rusher LJ McCray had a breakout game with 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks. Linebacker Ty Jackson’s fourth-down stop behind line of scrimmage, along with a half-sack, earned the sophomore reserve a case for more snaps.
The challenge now is to build on the effort.
Baugh delivered his grittiest effort yet
The yards seemed to come easily for Baugh during Florida’s 4-0 start.
The Gators’ star averaged 150 yards and scored 11 touchdowns, while striking Heisman poses and entering the conversation for the sport’s top individual award. Over the next two games, defenses stopped Baugh in his tracks, limiting him to just 72 yards on 27 carries and a meaningless TD late in a 38-19 loss to South Carolina.
At Texas, he grinded out tough yards against a program that pursued him during the offseason.
The 6-foot, 222-pound junior averaged more than eight yards per carry in September. But midway through the fourth quarter Saturday, he had no run longer than eight yards and had been held to five yards or fewer on 19 carries.
With Florida leading a 20-17 lead, however, Baugh ripped off a 13-yard gain on second down and eventually capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.
“Having those gritty runs, having those tough runs, and eventually one of them gonna pop,” he said. “And as you’ve seen, it popped.”
At one point, Baugh had to leave the game when a Texas defender slammed him to the ground and knocked the wind out of him.
“He caught me,” Baugh said. “All great players get caught at one point in time.”
When it mattered, Baugh kept going.
The offensive line held up
Florida’s front had been on its heels against Missouri and South Carolina.
“Last couple weeks, no secret, we haven’t played very good on the O-line,” Sumrall said.
Texas was expected to present the same problems, with star edge rusher Colin Simmons leading the charge. Instead, Florida’s beleaguered O-line pushed back, creating running lanes for Baugh and giving Jones time to operate.
Jones suffered just one sack, and Florida held the ball for 38:11 minutes while running 81 plays to Texas’ 50.
A week after Philo took a beating, the Gators dished out one to Texas.
“It’s a whole lot easier to play quarterback when the O-line plays good,” Sumrall said.
The SEC is suddenly wide open
After the Gators dropped Texas to 1-2 in the conference standings, Auburn stunned top-ranked Georgia 27-24, Ole Miss routed Missouri 31-3 and Tennessee throttled Alabama 26-10.
The SEC now has four one-loss teams and eight with two losses, including Florida.
The Gators have ground to make up, and Georgia is on the horizon. Beating Texas kept the Gators in the mix in the nation’s toughest league.
Saturday was a reminder anything can happen.
“Anybody can get beat,” Baugh said. “The SEC is crazy.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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