Tramell Jones Jr. passed for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first career start as Florida scored 24 unanswered points on the way to a 27-24 win over No. 7 Texas on Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference game in Austin, Texas.
Jones, starting at quarterback in place of injured starter Aaron Philo, led a Gators’ attack that dominated the line of scrimmage over the final three quarters. He ended with 22 completions in 35 attempts.
Florida (5-2, 3-2) also got 91 yards on 25 carries from Jadan Baugh, including an 11-yard TD run with 6:22 remaining to put the Gators up 27-17.
Texas’ Arch Manning hit Cam Coleman for 9-yard scoring pass with 4:21 left to cut into the deficit. The Longhorns (4-2, 1-2) had another chance to tie or win the game, but Manning fumbled when he was sacked by Florida’s Myles Graham, and Kanye Clark fell on the ball with 1:58 to play.
The Gators then converted one third down and were able to run out the clock and snap their two-game losing streak.
Manning finished with 173 yards passing, completing 14 of 20 attempts, but Texas had only 272 total yards compared with 313 for Florida. The Longhorns, the top-ranked team in the nation eight days ago, dropped their second straight contest.
The Longhorns looked all in on the game’s opening possession, driving 75 yards in seven snaps. Raleek Brown’s 32-yard scoring run capped the drive. Gianni Spetic added to the lead by kicking a 38-yard field goal with 6:42 to play in the first quarter.
Florida got on the board via a 45-yard field goal by Patrick Durkin at the 13:48 mark of the second quarter, but the Longhorns responded with a 63-yard punt-return touchdown by Ryan Niblett with 11:27 left until halftime to expand their margin to 17-3.
Jones brought the Gators to within seven points with a 7-yard TD pass to Lacota Dippre with 18 seconds left before the break.
The Gators began the second half with a 15-play, 69-yard march that consumed more than eight minutes of the third quarter and netted Jones’ second scoring hookup to Dippre, from 8 yards out, that tied the game at 17-all.
Durkin’s 28-yard field goal with 10:40 to play at the end of a 14-play march gave Florida its first lead of the game at 20-17. The Longhorns’ chances at a comeback were further compromised when star defensive end Colin Simmons went down on the drive with a lower leg injury.