GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mizzou Football lost to Florida, 40-14, on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as a pair of second-quarter defensive touchdowns for the Gators put the game out of reach. Mizzou’s defense tallied three interceptions in the game and senior DT/FB Josh Augusta (Peoria, Ill.) scored his first career TD on a one-yard plunge in the third quarter. Florida scored 21 points off of Mizzou turnovers.
After a scoreless first quarter, Florida broke the stalemate with 11:56 remaining in the second quarter on a 53-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro after what was seemingly a momentum stop for the Tigers. On third and long, DT Rickey Hatley (Atlanta, Texas) blew up a screen play with a tackle for no gain, but the momentum shifted towards the Gators with Pineiro’s 53-yard strike.
The Gators then had another long drive end in three points, capping a 12-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a 24-yard field goal, giving the home team a 6-0 lead. Florida’s secondary then tallied a pair of second-quarter interceptions, both going for touchdowns as the Gators took a 20-0 lead into the intermission.
Mizzou starting corner duo of Aarion Penton (St. Louis, Mo.) and John Gibson (Missouri City, Texas) each tallied interceptions for the Mizzou defense in the first half, which allowed just six points to the Gators.
The interception theme continued for Mizzou in the second half as Gibson jumped a route and picked off a Luke Del Rio pass for his second pick of the day. That set up a quick Mizzou score as two large runs by Damarea Crockett (Little Rock, Ark.) set up a one-yard TD plunge by Augusta his first career score. That cut the lead to 20-7.
Unfortunately for Mizzou, Florida gained momentum right back with a five-play, 2:35 drive that resulted in a 20-yard TD pass from Del Rio to Tyrie Cleveland. Florida failed the two-point conversion but opened a 26-7 lead for the Gators. Sophomore Cam Hilton (St. Louis, Mo.) nearly had an interception in the end zone to stall the drive, but the ball dislodged from his hands as he hit the ground. The Tigers added a final score with 1:23 left on a 1-yard plunge from Ish Witter (Tampa, Fla.) to cap a 99-yard drive led by fellow Floridian Marvin Zanders (Jacksonville, Fla).
Mizzou will return to Columbia for its annual homecoming game against Middle Tennessee next Saturday (Oct. 22) at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. on SEC Network.
