Miami outslugs Florida, dominates defensively to win rivalry game 26-7

FINAL SCORE: Miami 26-7 Florida

Florida gets a final drive but can’t do anything with it. Miami takes back over and kneels it out to take the win in the rivalry game. And that will do it for our coverage tonight on the live blog. Thanks for following along!

SCORE ALERT – 4Q, 1:56: Miami 26-7 Florida

Miami does not mess around, quickly putting the finishing touches on this game by driving it right in for a touchdown. Mark Fletcher caps off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and now it’s just a matter of playing out the string.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS – 4Q, 2:58

Florida’s offensive drive comes up empty after the team is forced into a fourth-and-12. DJ Lagway had a receiver open and hit him, but Tre Wilson dropped the pass as he slid low near the grass. Florida turns it over on downs and Miami will have a chance to ice the game on the ground.

SCORE ALERT – 4Q, 4:08: Miami 19-7 Florida

Florida’s defense appears to be wearing down, as Miami is now starting to have some real success on the ground again. The Hurricanes drive all the way to the foot of the goal line, when the game is paused briefly for an injury. Curiously, Florida coach Billy Napier called a timeout defensively after the injury timeout, burning his second timeout. Miami scores on the ensuing play but misses a two-point conversion attempt. It’s a huge uphill climb for Florida at this point.

4Q, 11:20 – Teams trade three-and-outs

Both teams have traded three-and-outs following the turnover on downs. Miami appears to be getting a bead on the Florida run game, so it’ll be interesting to see if either offense can kick it into gear one last time before the end of the game.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS

Florida did indeed think twice about going for it after the third-quarter break. Unfortunately for Florida, a short pass to receiver TJ Abrams never made it to the sticks. Florida is stopped about a foot short and the Miami offense will take over.

STATS: Game evening up a touch

END OF 3RD QUARTER: Miami 13-7 Florida

Florida’s offense can’t manage much after the interception, stopped for a fourth-and-3 at the 38-yard line. After thinking about it for a moment, Billy Napier sends the field goal unit out to attempt to cut it to a field goal game. But the quarter ends, so we’ll see if the thinking changes after the break.

INTERCEPTION – 2:39, 3Q

Florida now has all the momentum, as Miami quarterback Carson Beck is picked off by Cormani McClain. Can the Florida offense capitalize and snowball the momentum into a possible lead? Let’s find out.

SCORE ALERT – 3Q, 3:24: Miami 13-7 Florida

Miami’s first drive of the second half didn’t yield a ton, with the Hurricanes forced to punt it away around midfield. Florida finally started generating some decent offense after that, too. The opening drive of the second half outgained everything Florida did in the entire first half.

Florida might have uncovered something, too. Misdirection off tackle was working wonders in the run game, with several chunk runs. The drive ultimately ends up with a fourth-and-2 decision in the red zone… and the Gators convert. Two plays later Jadan Baugh stiff-arms his way into the end zone for the touchdown. Game on.

HALFTIME: Miami 13-0 Florida

The half ends with Miami completely dominating Florida in every facet of the game. Florida’s defense is keeping it a game, but you wonder how long it can hold up without some support from the offense. Below are the halftime stats.

SCORE ALERT – 2Q, 1:29: Miami 13-0 Florida

Miami has completely dominated the game, but coach Mario Cristobal likely won’t be fully satisfied at the half. The lead would likely be larger if not for some pre-snap penalties on the offensive line, including one in the low red zone on the last drive. Instead, Miami has to settle for a 28-yard field goal that extends the lead to 13-0 with about a minute and a half to play.

TRADING DRIVES

The teams have traded drives a couple times through the middle of the second quarter, with the game bogging down a little bit. Florida will take over in its own territory with about six minutes to play… desperately needing to engineer some offense before halftime. Currently the Gators have just 25 yards of total offense.

SCORE ALERT – 2Q, 14:04: Miami 10-0 Florida

Aided by a couple penalties on the Miami offensive line, the Florida defense is finally able to get a stop. The Hurricanes settle for a 53-yard field goal from kicker Carter Davis to extend the lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter.

STATS: Miami dominates the first quarter

END OF 1ST QUARTER: Miami 7-0 Florida

Florida once again went three-and-out offensively, and it looks like the same old issues for the Gators. A third-and-2 seemed to have a chance before a false start on the offensive line essentially killed the drive.

Miami took over and found things a little more difficult on its second drive, with the Florida defense putting up a bit more fight. But the ‘Canes are still driving as the first quarter ends, and they’re 5-of-5 on third down at the moment.

SCORE ALERT – 1Q, 9:25: Miami 7-0 Florida

Miami marched right down the field on Florida. It did have to convert one third down, but Carson Beck found Malachi Toney for 13 yards and then the drive was off and running.

Florida’s tackling was a definite problem on the opening defensive drive, something that’ll have to be monitored going forward in the game. The Hurricanes just leaned on the offensive line for the score, a 2-yard run from CharMar Brown. And off we go.

1Q, 13:04: Florida goes three-and-out

Florida goes fairly conservative on its opening drive, starting with a pair of runs. Both lost yardage. That left Lagway in a no-win situation on third down and he scrambles for a loss, setting up a punt. Now it’s Miami’s turn to try its hand on offense.

Miami wins the toss, defers

Miami has won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half, so Florida will start with the ball. It’ll be interesting to see how the offense fares, given that just one week ago quarterback DJ Lagway threw five interceptions in a road start at LSU.

Florida dealing with D-line injuries