Florida botches absolutely perfect punt which results in touchback
Published:
Florida continued to shoot itself in the foot in October after a September to remember, but this time it wasn’t on offense and it wasn’t on defense.
It was the Gators’ special teams who were the culprits at the end of a magnificent punt that was ruined by a little, shall we say, overexuberance.
With Florida already in a 7-0 hole against 7th-ranked Texas on Saturday afternoon in Austin, with the Gators allowing a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive by the Longhorns on the opening possession of the game, UF went 3-and-out on its first possession.
Not exactly the start Florida wanted after 2 straight losses in October, but not the end of the world. It was only the first quarter, and UF punter Alec Clark was going to be the Gators’ ace in the hole after unleashing a ferocious punt that was going to pin Texas back at its 1-yard line.
Or so that’s what should have happened.
But instead, the senior punter who was born in Australia had his finest work ruined when a couple of really determined Gators on the punt coverage team tried to corral the ball that was going to stop near the Longhorns’ goal line anyway.
When the 2 Gators went for the ball, it scooted just across the goal line, resulting in a touchback and bailing out Arch Manning and company. Sure enough, Texas took its much better field position at its own 20-yard line and drove 60 yards in 8 plays, getting a field goal to go up 10-0 instead of, perhaps, having to punt from really deep in its own territory.
Here is how that punt was botched, the latest calamity for the struggling Gators:
Florida fell behind early in Austin, with plays like that punt not helping the Gators’ cause at all. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Florida’s chances to regroup and pull off a shocking road upset on Saturday afternoon against Texas:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
