What Happened
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Running backs CharMar Brown and Mark Fletcher Jr. each rushed for short touchdowns in the final four minutes and No. 4 Miami staved off a Florida second-half push for a 26-7 victory in their cross-state rivalry showdown Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
Brown’s 1-yard run with 4:08 remaining capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive after the Gators, completely stifled (and shut out) in the first half, awakened in the third quarter with an impressive scoring march that turned what was looking like a rout into a one-possession game at 13-7. Brown’s score made it 19-7, as UM missed the two-point try. The TD came after UF had a chance to take the lead — or at least cut Miami’s six-point edge in half — after forcing a Carson Beck interception on the first play after scoring its touchdown. The Gators, though, could not capitalize, while the Hurricanes bowed up and put things away in the fourth quarter.
After Brown’s score, Florida went four plays and out, turning the ball over on downs deep in its own territory. Miami answered with a four-play, 22-yard drive that ended with Fletcher bowling over from the 1 to cap the scoring.
Beck, the Georgia transfer, completed 17 of 30 passes for 160 yards and a pick, but it was the UM rushing game, which cranked out 184 yards on 46 attempts, that proved the difference. Fletcher Jr. rushed 24 times for 116 yards, while Brown toted 18 times for 80.
The Hurricanes finished with 344 total yards versus just 141 by the Gators, the team’s fewest since gaining just 139 in a 30-3 loss to Oregon State in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl. The Gators managed just seven first downs and 0-for-13 on third-down conversion opportunities.
Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway, a week after throwing five interceptions in a loss at LSU, had another frustrating night, completing just 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards, a career-low in games he has started. Lagway’s longest completion went for 12 yards and he was sacked four times.
UF got the ball to open the game and the Gators’ first three plays, all runs, looked like this: minus-3, minus-1, minus-1. It was a preview of things to come. UM took the ensuing punt and drove 56 yards in seven plays, with Brown powering in from the 2 for a 7-0 lead and the first opening-drive touchdown against the Florida defense in 12 games. The Hurricanes made it look easy.
Florida’s second series went like the first; another three-and-out. Miami converted three consecutive third downs before a sack of Beck by freshman Jayden Woods forced the Canes to settle for the first of two field goals in the period. Carter Davis hit a 53-yarder less than a minute into the period and laater a 28-yarder with just over a minute to play in the half to take a 13-0 lead to the locker room.
The Gators went to intermission with just 32 yards of offense, including only four on the ground, on 22 plays (1.45 per snap) and one first down.
It looked like it would be all Miami.
Until it didn’t.
The Hurricanes got the ball to start the second half and eventually punted. The Gators took over at their 20 and instantly looked like a different team. The offensive line began moving the UM defensive front, starting with a 27-yard by Ja’Kobi Jackson that almost equaled the team’s entire offensive output of the first half. A 10-yard completion to Vernell Brown III and 11-yard run by Jadan Baugh set up a 4th-and-2 at the UM 12 that Lagway converted on a keeper around the right side.
Two plays later, Baugh went to that same side for a 7-yard touchdown that suddenly made a completely lopsided game into a 13-7 contest.
On the very next snap from scrimmage, Beck threw late down the middle on first down and was intercepted by UF’s Cormani McClain near midfield. The Gators had a fourth and 3 at the UM 45, but Lagway threw short of the line to gain, with TJ Abrams tackled after a 2-yard gain on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Florida defense, though, forced a three-and-out, with UF still down by just six points. On third-and-1 at the Gators’ 27, an inside handoff to Baugh was blown up in the backfield, forcing the Gators to punt the ball away with 11:20 to go. Miami started at its 20 and went to work on the first of its two late fourth-quarter TD marches. That one basically sealed the victory.
What It Means
More of the same, relative to adversity, only with no game to potentially quiet the noise this week. Read on.
In the Spotlight
The defense, like the previous two weeks, kept the Gators in the game. Through nearly 56 minutes, the unit had allowed just one touchdown (like it did in the loss at LSU and the home loss the week before against South Florida), but only had so much resistance left in the fourth quarter after the Florida offense could not stay on the field.
Staggering Statistic
The Gators have lost three of their first four games for the first time in 39 years. In 1986, UF opened with a 38-14 win over Division I-AA Georgia Southern, then lost at home to No. 2 Miami 23-15 and No. 4 Alabama 21-7 in consecutive weeks, followed by a 16-10 road defeat at Mississippi State. The Gators, who were in the final year under crippling NCAA sanctions, lost a fourth in a row, 28-17 at home against LSU, then reeled off five wins in their final six games to finish 6-6.
Up Next
Florida (1-3, 0-1) has a much-needed open date to process their latest loss, but will return to action Oct. 4 with a home Southeastern Conference game against Texas (3-1, 0-0), currently ranked No. 10 in the nation after tumbling from No. 1 following an ugly season-opening 14-7 loss at third-ranked Ohio State. The Longhorns defeated Sam Houston State 55-0 Saturday night.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
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