Late in the second quarter Saturday at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, No. 7 Texas was up 14 points on a Florida team in free fall. The Gators, ranked as high as No. 8 earlier this month, were coming off back-to-back blowout losses, the second of which was handed to them by a South Carolina squad that was previously winless in SEC competition.
To top it off, Florida arrived in Austin with its QB1 nursing a shoulder injury that he suffered in that disheartening setback to the Gamecocks.
With Aaron Philo only available as an emergency backup, sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. got his first career start. Despite the hostile environment and the two-score hole, Jones emerged victorious on the road against the suddenly reeling Longhorns.
The Jones-led Gators dominated the “middle eight,” pairing a quick touchdown drive before intermission with a much longer one after halftime, en route to scoring 24 straight points in a 27-24 win.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning struggled most of the afternoon, a week removed from throwing a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions, including a pick-6, in an agonizing Red River Rivalry defeat to Oklahoma.
Entering the final frame against Florida, Manning was averaging -0.7 air yards per completion, per the ESPN broadcast. Although he wowed while evading and then overcoming pressure to rifle a 62-yard completion to wideout Emmett Mosley V — a gain that set up a 9-yard TD pass to Cam Coleman — he fumbled on a potential game-winning drive later on.
To make matters worse for the Longhorns, their star pass rusher, Colin Simmons, suffered a lower-leg injury in the third quarter and didn’t return. Simmons is the nation’s sack leader.
This story is being updated.