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The No. 8 Florida Gators (4-1, 2-1 SEC) dropped their first game of the season to the No. 25 Missouri Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) 45-17 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. This was Florida’s first loss of the season, and they weren’t able to get anything going offensively. This was the first time Florida was held under 40 points this season, and Missouri scored 35 unanswered points in a dominant win. Missouri recorded 560 total yards of offense.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: The game was over when Florida lost the “middle eight” of this game. After tying the game at 10 when junior quarterback Aaron Philo found sophomore wide receiver Dallas Wilson on a 12-yard touchdown pass, Florida couldn’t generate any momentum. On the ensuing drive, Missouri went right down the field and scored a touchdown, as Missouri senior quarterback Austin Simmons threw his first of two touchdown passes in this game. After Florida punted after a three-and-out, Missouri executed a two-minute drive to extend their lead to 10 points right before halftime. Coming out of halftime, Missouri went right down the field and scored a touchdown on a five-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jamal Roberts. This period of the game proved to be too much for No. 8 Florida to overcome.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Missouri’s rush defense stole the show against a Florida rushing attack that had been dominant. Florida junior running back Jadan Baugh’s lowest rushing total heading into this game was 136 yards. Baugh wasn’t able to get anything going on the ground in this game, and it was a vital reason to Missouri’s success in this game. Offensively, Simmons and Roberts stole the show for the Tigers. Simmons was dominant through the air, as he had his way with Florida’s secondary all game. The explosiveness from Roberts helped Missouri have an extremely balanced and dominant attack on Florida.
THESE STATS DON’T LIE: Simmons was the best player for the Tigers in this game, as he went 23/30 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Roberts was explosive for Missouri, as he had 24 carries for 211 yards and three touchdowns. His longest touchdown was an 80-yard touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to make it 45-10. For Florida, the most important statistic of the game was the lack of rushing output. They rushed for under 100 yards for the first time all season, finishing with just 42 rushing yards in this contest. Junior quarterback Aaron Philo went 21/34 for 197 yards and a touchdown to Wilson. Wilson was Florida’s leading receiver with four catches and 66 yards.
AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT: Florida’s defense gave up a lot of explosive plays, including two touchdown passes of over 30 yards in the first half. The explosive plays hurt Florida, as they gave up explosive plays in the air and on the ground. Simmons was able to dominate the game through the air, and the secondary’s struggles throughout the start of the season were too much to overcome in this ranked matchup. Roberts dominated on the ground in the second half, recording two rushes of over 70 yards, and Florida’s defense gave up over 40 points for the first time since 2024.
WHAT A PLAY: It comes down to one of the explosive runs from Roberts, but even though this one didn’t result in a touchdown, it helped put Florida out of reach in this game. Late in the third quarter, Missouri held a 30-10 lead with Florida looking to make a stop and get the ball back. Facing a second and nine from their own 21-yard line, Roberts had other plans for how this drive was going to end for the Tigers. Originally, it looked like Roberts would get tackled close to the line of scrimmage, but he escaped from the Florida tacklers and raced for 77 yards to get the Tigers all the way to the two-yard line. Two plays later, Roberts scored his second touchdown of the day to finish the drive he started.
UP NEXT: Florida will return home next weekend looking to get back in the win column, as they host the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, October 10 with the time to be determined. Florida’s had success against South Carolina in The Swamp, as they have won the last four meetings between the teams in Gainesville. Florida won a shootout last time the teams played, as they beat the Gamecocks 41-39 on a last-minute touchdown by Ricky Pearsall.
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