Florida Gators

Florida Football: No. 18 Gators Blowout Missouri 40-14

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Florida Gator defense led the way once again as the No. 18 Gators beat the Missouri Tigers 40-14 on Saturday in The Swamp.

What an IMPRESSIVE performance by this defense!

The Gator defense came out strong forcing Missouri to go three-and-out on their first SIX drives.

Oh, and they had not one, but TWO pick 6’s in the first half.

Missouri quarterback Drew Lock came into this game as the SEC-leader in passing yards with 1,675.

The Florida defense held Lock to only 4-of-18 for 39 yards with two INTs and a fumble.

I’d say that’s pretty dominating.

It was Luke Del Rio’s first game back and he was predictably rusty forcing some really bad throws in the first half, two of which resulted in interceptions. Although, he could’ve easily had five if it weren’t for a few drops by Missouri defenders.

Del Rio finished 18-of-38 for 236 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

He threw his THIRD interception of the game on the opening drive of the second half for Florida.

Missouri capitalized by scoring on a 1-yard touchdown from a 360-pound defensive lineman playing running back. That cut Florida’s lead to 20-7.

Oct 15, 2016; Gainesville, FL, USA;Florida Gators quarterback Luke Del Rio (14) drop back against the Missouri Tigers during the second quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Finally, the Gator offense scored.

Late in the third quarter, the Gators extended their lead to 26-7 on Tyrie Cleveland’s first career touchdown, a 20-yard catch and run. Florida attempted to go for a 2-point conversion to make it a 21-point game, but failed.

Early in the fourth quarter, Drew Lock fumbled, which marked his third turnover of the game. The Gators took over in Mizzou territory and running back Jordan Scarlett didn’t waste any time.

He put this one out of reach with a 33-yard touchdown run to make it 33-7.

One of the keys I mentioned coming into this game was that the Gators needed to run the ball effectively and they certainly did just that.

They had 287 rushing yards, with 207 of those coming from Jordan Scarlett (101 yards on 12 carries) and Lamical Perine (11 carries for 106 yards).

Also: Perine and Scarlett both over 100 rushing yards. First time for #Gators since Jones/Taylor vs. Georgia in 2014.

— Alligator Army (@AlligatorArmy) October 15, 2016

Missouri would add a garbage time touchdown late and then they attempted an onside kick. The only problem was the kick went right into the hands of Antonio Callaway, who went untouched 44 yards into the end zone to put an exclamation point on this victory!

Thanks to this W and Alabama destroying Tennessee 49-10, Florida now sits atop of the SEC East with a 3-1 conference record.

The Gators have another bye week coming up before they get set to take on Georgia in Jacksonville in two weeks.