Florida came into Saturday's game not allowing more than 17 points to any SEC foes this season. Behind redshirt freshman Maty Mauk, who was making the first start of his career, No. 14 Missouri dominated the Gators, 36-17.
Florida vs. Missouri 2013 final score: Maty Mauk keeps Tigers undefeated with 36-17 win
Mauk picked apart one of the nation’s top defenses in his first career start.
Mauk came out firing on the first drive of the game and never looked back, hitting Bud Sasser on a 20-yard touchdown strike on the second play of the game to give Mizzou a 7-0 lead. After the two teams exchanged a couple of field goals, the Tigers went into halftime with a 13-3 lead.
Things got interesting in a hurry as Solomon Patton took the opening kickoff of the second half about 108 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to three. MU drove right down the down on their next drive, though, and Henry Josey's 6-yard touchdown rush gave the Tigers a 20-10 lead.
Florida cut the lead to 23-17 late in the third quarter on Kelvin Taylor’s impressive 20-yard touchdown run. Missouri answered right back once again with a field goal on their next drive, and then a 17-yard touchdown run from Mauk put an exclamation point on the scoreboard as the Tigers went up 36-17 midway through the fourth quarter.
Box Score Hero:
Mauk: 18/36, 295 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 6 rushes, 15 yards, 1 TD
Josey: 18 carries, 136 yards, 1 TD
Tyler Murphy: 14/27, 88 yards, 1 INT
Rankings Ramifications: As Mizzou improved to 7-0, they will only continue rising in the top-25 polls and should be sitting nicely once the BCS rankings are released. Florida came in ranked No. 22, but will likely fall out with the loss.
But Did They Cover? Florida came in as a three-point favorite. Mizzou covered with ease.
For More On This Game: For more on Mizzou football, visit Missouri community Rock M Nation, plus SEC community Team Speed Kills. For more on Gators football, visit Florida community Alligator Army.
Next Week’s Schedule:
Mizzou: 10/26, vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET
Florida: 11/2, vs. Georgia, TBD
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