Feleipe Franks might have gained another life with Florida fans, while Jake Bentley’s interception problems finally burned the Gamecocks late.

So much for South Carolina struggling with slow starts this season. The Gamecocks added a first-quarter blitz of points to go along with their typical flurry in the third quarter but Florida roared back with 21 consecutive points and sealed a 35-31 comeback victory in Gainesville with C.J. Henderson’s interception in the final minutes,

Florida sprung to life as QB Franks quieted his own home crowd with a 10-yard touchdown.

In the third quarter South Carolina got an 89-yard slant from Jake Bentley to Deebo Samuel, the seventh-longest play in program history. That setup a Rico Dowdle touchdown for a 17-point lead at 31-14. That kind of play exposed a Florida defense that allowed the visitors to go 93 yards on the drive highlighted by two missed tackles. It was longest touchdown drive of the season for the Gamecocks.

Franks then scored on fourth down with 4:09 left in the game, and again went back to the crowd, but this time, there were more cheers than boos. The Gators took their first lead of the game at 35-31 and hung on. On the ensuing drive, Bentley threw an interception on third down to snuff out any comeback hopes for South Carolina, which led throughout until about four minutes remaining. Looking for their third straight win in a series of close finishes, South Carolina couldn’t make this one stand up. An offense that burned up the field in the first half seemingly couldn’t find any answers when it needed them most.

The first half was a period of answers, both on the field and to the fans.

When Franks made a 10-yard touchdown run to tie the score with 8:58 left in the first half, he gestured to the crowd to quiet down as boos had come from the crowd. Similar to the Gators defense springing leaks, the Gamecocks were especially vulnerable to the run as they gave up 129 rushing yards in the first half.

But just when it appeared Florida took control, Bentley led a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive that ended when he jumped and reached over the goal line for a touchdown. The efficient Gamecocks were stopped just once in the first half, and were on pace for nearly 500 yards as Bentley.

The Gators missed several key injured players including OL Brett Heggie, WR Freddie Swain and DB Brad Stewart. South Carolina opened the game with a scoring drive where Bentley hit six different receivers on the opening drive, and Jacob August scored his first touchdown since Steve Spurrier was the South Carolina coach. It was 13 plays across 80 yards and included three third down conversions.