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Florida Gators routed at home by Missouri

 
Missouri defensive lineman Markus Golden does a Gator chomp after scoring a touchdown off a fumble in the third quarter.
Missouri defensive lineman Markus Golden does a Gator chomp after scoring a touchdown off a fumble in the third quarter.
Published Oct. 19, 2014

GAINESVILLE — When Saturday night's homecoming game began, Florida still had dreams of winning an SEC East Division championship.

But after a 42-13 trouncing by Missouri in front of 89,117 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Gators' championship dreams are over. And unless they can regroup from back-to-back SEC losses, so too might be the remainder of their season.

For now, questions about whether the Gators can beat Georgia for the first time in four years, or make it to a bowl game after missing out last season, will take a back seat to the most pressing question of all: Can coach Will Muschamp retain his job?

Late in the third quarter, chants of "Fire Muschamp" could be heard among the fans who had not headed for the exits. Muschamp said after the game he didn't hear it.

"I'm really worried about this football team right now," Muschamp said. "That's really all I'm worried about. I'm not going get concerned about things I don't have any control over other than this team. That's the most important thing right now."

It wasn't just that the Gators lost, it's how they lost.

The Gators had six turnovers in the game, leading to 24 points for Missouri (5-2, 2-1 SEC), which was coming off a 34-0 loss to Georgia. Florida was shut out until a 5-yard touchdown pass from freshman Treon Harris to Tevin Westbrook with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter.

"Offensively, we were just abysmal," Muschamp said. "We've got to figure out what we can do to try and move the football. Six turnovers, that's hard to overcome."

Florida (3-3, 2-3) trailed 20-0 at halftime and had 33 rushing yards.

Missouri effectively sealed its victory in the third quarter.

Return specialist Marcus Murphy returned a punt 82 yards to give Missouri a 28-0 lead with 13:01 remaining in the quarter. Murphy also helped the Tigers to a 7-0 lead with a 96-yard kickoff return to open the game and had a 5-yard rushing touchdown later in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

Tigers defensive lineman Markus Golden returned a fumble by Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel 21 yards for a 35-0 lead, and Darwin Ruise intercepted Driskel and returned it 46 yards to give Missouri a 42-0 lead with 5:57 left in the third.

The Gators, experimenting with using Driskel and Harris, never got into a rhythm. Neither Harris nor Driskel could get anything going downfield.

Driskel started the game and fumbled a handoff to running back Matt Jones on the Gators' first offensive series. Harris entered on UF's third offensive series, but the drive ended when he fumbled after being sacked with 5:11 remaining in the first quarter. It was that kind of night for both.

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Driskel was 7-of-19 for 50 yards and two interceptions. Harris finished 8-of-12 for 98 yards and had one interception. The Gators had 283 total yards, 135 rushing.

Florida's defense was the best thing the Gators had going, holding Missouri to 119 total yards, 99 rushing. It was the first time since 1973 that the Tigers won a game with fewer than 200 yards of offense. Quarterback Maty Mauk was 6-of-18 for 20 yards and one interception.

"It's frustrating, but as a defense we can only focus on controlling what we can control," said UF safety Keanu Neal, who had a career-high 10 tackles.

Florida has an open date before its annual showdown with SEC East rival Georgia, Nov. 1 in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, Muschamp's future will continue to be the hot topic of debate.

"I'm very disappointed in our performance and that falls on my shoulders," he said.

Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3389. Follow@TBTimes_Gators.