What went wrong on crucial 4th down that sparked 21-0 run for Florida vs. USC
South Carolina’s football team was in a spot that wasn’t perfect, but it was favorable.
The Gamecocks had let Florida drive down inside their 35-yard line, but the Gators were facing a fourth down. One play, and USC gets the ball back early in the fourth quarter, clinging to a three-point lead.
Then the play came apart in a painful manner, and soon South Carolina’s lead did as well.
“Javon (Kinlaw) got a lot of pressure and then he was able to buy time,” Gamecocks coach WIll Muschamp said. “We had really good coverage and he threw a nice ball. We gotta find a way to secure the ball carrier and get the ball off the receiver in that situation.”
On the play, Florida put quarterback Kyle Trask in an empty backfield. The Gamecocks only rushed three, but Kinlaw overwhelmed the Gator center, drove him into Trask’s lap, but couldn’t get more than a hand on him.
So Trask started scrambling.
“I just got to finish,” Kinlaw said. “Simple. Had it all cut out. The opportunity to get a big play right there. Just got to finish.”
Trask floated to the flat, and two USC players, D.J. Wonnum and Ernest Jones, jumped up to cut off his scramble and perhaps go for the sack.
He had to hop when he made the throw over those two. But he found his tight end on a low throw six yards beyond the marker. The UF pass catcher had his man boxed out and Wonnum stepping up opened the throw window.
“He started to scramble around, and you can only ask them to cover for so long,” Jones said. “We just need to get to him quicker and not be so hesitant. He just dumped it over both of us (for) the first down and they were able to score.”
The play had a compounding effect. The next snap, a safety slipped and gave up a score. South Carolina fumbled inside its territory the next drive, setting up a short field the Gators cashed in on. The 21-0 run put a close game out of reach.
A week prior, the Gamecocks made enough of those plays against Georgia. They held up in big moments and didn’t break after setbacks.
The fourth down wasn’t the end point, but it was a turning point, one where the team could’ve staunched the bleeding and couldn’t quite lock it down.
“There are some critical plays in every game, four to six,” Muschamp said. “They made the ones that they needed to make, so credit to them.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2019 at 12:04 PM.
