GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jeff
Driskel threw four touchdown passes — three of them after turnovers —
and No. 3 Florida matched its win total from last season with a 44-11
drubbing of ninth-ranked South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gators avenged consecutive
losses to the Gamecocks, including one two years ago that ended with
Steve Spurrier and his players celebrating a division title in The
Swamp.
Florida's latest
whatever-it-takes win kept coach Will Muschamp's team undefeated and put
it on the cusp of the Southeasten Conference's Eastern Division title.
The Gators (7-0, 6-0 SEC) can clinch a spot in the SEC championship game
by beating No. 13 Georgia next week in nearby Jacksonville.
Florida won this one with
turnovers, stellar defense and more halftime adjustments — the kind of
successful tweaks that are making Muschamp and his staff seem like the
right fit in Gainesville.
The Gators finished 7-6 last
season, barely avoiding the program's first losing season since 1979.
The struggles had outsiders questioning whether Muschamp could get them
back to national prominence.
He's got them there now — even if it hasn't always been pretty.