Runaway in The Swamp

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Idaho had hoped to control the ball at the start of the game, perhaps score first against Florida, and then see what happened after that.

That plan held up for 6 seconds.

Florida scored on a pick-6 on the first play from scrimmage and never looked back in a 63-10 win over Idaho in the Vandals’ season finale Saturday before 81,467 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, aka The Swamp.

The 15th-ranked Gators (8-3), who still hold out hopes for a New Year’s Six bowl, struck first when defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown on the first play to start the onslaught. Four other touchdown drives took less than two minutes and the longest of the seven first-half scores came in 2:24. Florida led 49-0 at halftime.

“Obviously, we got our butts kicked,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “But Kaden Elliss was flying around making plays all over the place. There were guys that gave great effort today, guys I think that will go back and watch the tape and be proud of themselves. As a team, their team played a lot better than our team did. I feel like our guys made some tough mistakes, but I also think there were guys that played their hearts out. That’s all you can do. Those guys that did that, I’m proud of them and I appreciate them. We played a whole bunch of young guys this year, and we’re going to have a great offseason and move forward and get better for next year.”

Cade Coffey connected on a 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter to get the Vandals (4-7) on the scoreboard. Idaho found the end zone when Mason Petrino hooked up with Jeff Cotton for a 12-yard touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. It was Cotton’s seventh TD catch of the year.

Feleipe Franks passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half — and Florida ran up 600 total yards. Franks hit on 19 of 27 passes and led the Gators to a 42-0 lead before he was lifted with 5:22 left in the second quarter.

Brothers Christian and Kaden Elliss combined for 23 tackles to lead the Vandal defense. Christian matched his career high with 13 stops while Kaden added 10, including a tackle for loss.

Kaden Elliss closes his career ranked fifth in Idaho history in tackles for loss (47) and 13th in tackles (289). His 47 tackles for loss are the most by a Vandal since 2000 and he is the first to crack the top 15 in career tackles since 2010.

“Honestly, mistakes were made and some things I could have done better,” Kaden Elliss said. “They are a great team, so it was fun to play them. I tried to go out and run around and play as hard as I can. The last game with my little brother, the last game with all my brothers. I was just trying to go out and enjoy one more.”

Petrino paced the Idaho offense, rushing for a career-high 87 yards on 12 carries. He also passed for 70 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, both of which were returned for scores.

“It’s a really cool atmosphere,” Mason Petrino said of playing in The Swamp. “Driving up, everybody we drove past was doing the Gator chomp. I was just thinking about Tim Tebow the whole time.”

After Florida’s defense staked the Gators to an early advantage, the offense quickly extended the lead. Florida needed only 42 seconds for its first offensive scoring drive and 17 seconds for its next. The Gators led 28-0 in the first period.

Idaho freshman quarterback Nikhil Nayar made his collegiate debut in the third quarter. Nayar finished 1 for 4 for three yards. Freshman running back Aundre Carter also made his debut, running twice for three yards. Sophomore quarterback Colton Richardson, who had been splitting time with Petrino earlier in the season, did not make the trip because he was in concussion protocol, according to reports.

Christian Elliss finished the year with 81 tackles to lead the Vandals. Kaden Elliss finished his career with 47 tackles for loss, No. 5 in program history and the most by a Vandal since 2000. Kaden Elliss finished his career with 289 tackles, No. 13 in program history.

David Ungerer caught three passes and finished his career with 122 receptions, tied for 15th in program history. Ungerer had 69 catches in his senior season.

Isaiah Saunders ran for 33 yards Saturday, closing his career with 2,188 rushing yards to rank No. 10 in program history. Saunders finished his senior season with 911 rushing yards.

Coffey punted nine times, averaging 41.3 yards per kick with a long of 59 yards. Coffey finished the year with a 44.1-yard average on 64 kicks, including 19 punts of at least 50 yards.

Idaho finished 0-6 on the road, where the Vandals were outscored by an average of 51.7 to 18.2.

Idaho hosts Western State Colorado on Sept. 5 in its 2019 opener.

No. 15 Florida 63, Idaho 10

Idaho 0 0 3 7 — 10

Florida 28 21 7 7 — 63

First Quarter

FLA—Gardner-Johnson 26 interception return (McPherson kick), 14:54

FLA—Franks 17 run (McPherson kick), 12:46

FLA—Pitts 52 pass from Franks (McPherson kick), 5:30

FLA—V.Jefferson 3 pass from Franks (McPherson kick), 1:44

Second Quarter

FLA—Hammond 21 run (McPherson kick), 10:29

FLA—Cleveland 34 pass from Franks (McPherson kick), 5:22

FLA—Hammond 8 pass from E.Jones (Powell kick), 1:50

Third Quarter

FLA—Pierce 4 pass from E.Jones (Powell kick), 6:50

IDA—FG Coffey 38, 1:02

Fourth Quarter

FLA—Miller 82 interception return (Powell kick), 6:43

IDA—Cotton 12 pass from Petrino (Coffey kick), 1:47

IDA FLA

First downs 14 32

Rushes-yards 33-154 36-201

Passing 73 399

Comp-Att-Int 13-35-2 31-43-0

Return Yards 60 43

Punts-Avg. 9-39.44 2-27.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 6-48 5-55

Time of Possession 31:20 28:40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Idaho, Petrino 12-87, Saunders 14-33, R.Johnson 5-31, A.Carter 2-3. Florida, Pierce 13-77, Perine 6-34, Hammond 1-21, Franks 2-21, E.Jones 7-19, Raymond 2-16, Clement 3-12, Ricks 1-4, Copeland 0-0, (Team) 1-(minus 3).

PASSING—Idaho, Nayar 1-4-0-3, Petrino 12-31-2-70. Florida, Franks 19-27-0-274, E.Jones 12-16-0-125.

RECEIVING—Idaho, Cotton 3-38, Haywood 3-21, Ungerer 3-5, Saunders 3-0, Fernand 1-9. Florida, Toney 6-54, Lewis 3-57, Grimes 3-54, Cleveland 3-51, V.Jefferson 3-35, Hammond 3-30, Pierce 3-5, Gamble 2-19, Pitts 1-52, Krull 1-20, Copeland 1-16, Scarlett 1-3, D.Green 1-3.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Idaho, Coffey 42.