Trask, Gators pick apart Hogs to 63-35 victory

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask let loose against the Razorbacks and further solidified his case as a Heisman frontrunner. Passing 23-of-29 for 356 yards and 6 touchdowns, Trask led the No. 6 Gators over Arkansas 63-35.

Returning to the Swamp for the first time since transferring, Feleipe Franks threw 15-of-19 for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to overcome the talented Gators.

Flashing the high-power offense right off the bat, Trask opened the game with a surgical 14-play drive, ending in a score by Trevon Grimes. The Heisman candidate completed five of five attempts including one slant complete on 3rd down. Starting running back Dameon Pierce rushed six times for 34 yards.

It took Franks just 1:33 to answer, completing a screen to De’Vion Warren for 12 yards, a 3rd down completion to Blake Kern and a 47-yard touchdown bomb to Mike Woods.

The Gators drove down to the redzone on the next drive but a tackle for loss by Jonathan Marshall gave them 3rd and 13, coming up short. Dan Mullen opted to go for it on 4th down but the Hogs brought pressure and Trask threw his second incompletion of the night.

The Razorbacks had 4th and one at midfield as the quarter turned but Franks’ slant to Woods was incomplete.

Going with their third very talented running back, Nay’Quan Wright, Florida marched six plays down from the 49 to the Arkansas redzone. Trask finished the drive with a 23-yard pass to Grimes, their second connection of the night–making it 14-7 Gators. Due to a missed assignment in the secondary, Grimes was wide open in the middle of the field.

Warren gave the Hogs a boost with a return out of the endzone to the Arkansas 32, but a false start penalty on 3rd down resulted in a short run by Franks and a punt by Bauer–downed at the Florida 26.

Trask completed two passes to Gator freshman Xzavier Henderson before striking the finishing blow, an open touchdown pass to Justin Shorter. Joe Foucha hesitated and Shorter capitalized in the front-left corner of the endzone.

The Razorbacks received a saving grace in the form of an 83-yard touchdown run by Trelon Smith. Smith drove through the middle, avoiding a trip and staying on his feet and finished 5 yards ahead of the Gators’ safeties.

The one-score lead would be short lived. Due a Vito Calvaruso kickoff out of bounds, the Gators got the ball the the 35 and needed just three rushes from Pierce to get to midfield. Trask completed a 22-yard pass to Grimes and finished the drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Copeland.

A holding call on Ladarrius Bishop on the kick return unit pinned the Razorbacks at their 11. Smith picked up six on the first two runs but Zachary Carter came up with a sack on Franks, forcing a punt and giving up favorable field position.

A big 21-yard completion to Toney kept the drive alive for the Gators and they capped the drive off with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Trask to Keon Zipperer. Florida took a 35-21 lead into the locker room.

Trask finished the first half 18-of-22 for 285 passing yards and five touchdowns, as well as completions to nine different targets. Not as impactful as the deadly passing game, the Florida backs also gained 3.7 yards per rush in the first half for 85 total. They were 6-8 on third down and 1-2 on fourth down with two sacks on defense and three tackles for loss.

Arkansas waas outgained by 140 yards. Franks went 6-of-8 for 102 yards and a touchdown but the offense was held to 1-4 on third down.

The Razorbacks opened the second half with a perfect drive–going 75 yards in nine plays, only one 3rd down conversion needed. Rakeem Boyd cut his way into the endzone from five yards out making it 35-21 Florida.

The defense followed up that energy with a stop, capitalized by the first sack of the night. Eric Gregory dropped Trask for a loss of 10.

Blake Kern was stopped short on 3rd down the next drive for the Hogs, giving Florida the ball back with 7:07 left in the 3rd quarter. Franks headed to the locker room with a right wrist injury after the drive (he’d return for their next drive).

The Gators got a couple calls to start their next drive including a pass interference by Hudson Clark in the endzone, but it was backup quarterback Emory Jones powering through with his legs for their sixth score of the night. Florida gave the Hogs the ball back with a 42-21 lead and 3:01 left in the third.

A sack by Amari Burney on 3rd down shut down the Razorbacks following drive–stopped short of midfield.

With 39 second left in the 3rd quarter, Trask started working from the 24, immediately completing a pass to Grimes, his fifth completion. Foucha exited the field after the catch.

Grimes moved over 100 yards receiving to start the fourth quarter. Jalen Catalon, with 10 tackles on the night, broke up a touchdown pass attempt from Trask to Gamble and Bishop followed it up with an endzone PBU of his own. Trask would not be denied, ultimately, completing an 11-yard pass to Zipperer, making it 49-21 with 13:08 to play.

Any lingering hope for a comeback or even a cover was dashed by a scoop and score by the Gators on the next drive. Boyd was unable to secure the handoff from Franks and got it knocked out of his loosely cradling arms. Mullen's squad takes a 56-21 lead with 12:17 left to play.

Warren took the next return out to the 18 but had to be helped off the field. First play of the drive, Woods broke off an 82-yard touchdown catch and run making it 56-28 Gators. His performance marked the second 100 receiving yard game of his career and pushed him over 1,000 career receiving yards.

Mullen sat Trask with 11:51 left to play, but Jones had no problem moving the Gators down the field either. Jones led the Gators down the field on a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped with a 9-yard pass to Xzavier Henderson, his second of the night. Hogs got the ball back down 63-28 with 5:33 left to play.

Instead of playing a banged up Franks with a 35-point deficit, Barry Odom went with KJ Jefferson on the next drive but one first down was all they could muster. Jefferson was also sacked for a loss of six on the drive.

Catalon picked off his third pass of the season against Florida's third string quarterback, giving the Hogs the ball back at the Florida 23. Jefferson scored his first touchdown of the season with a 12-yard run making it 63-35 UF.

After covering the spread every game this season, the Hogs snapped their streak with the 63-35 finish in the Swamp. The Gators outgained Arkansas 593-458 and had the ball for 18 more minutes. Florida was 9-12 on third down while the Razorbacks finished 3-9.

Arkansas faces LSU in the Battle of the Boot next weekend.