NCAAF Game Recap - Towson at Florida
Sat Sep 28, 2019 4:00 PM EDT

Clem
21
UNC
20
F
Miss
31
Bama
59
F
OSU
48
Neb
7
F
TxTch
16
Okla
55
F
MissSt
23
Aub
56
F
NW
15
Wisc
24
F
Tows
0
Fla
38
F
UVA
20
ND
35
F
PSU
59
MD
0
F
MidTN
3
Iowa
48
F
AzSt
24
Cal
17
F
USC
14
Wash
28
F
WaSt
13
Utah
38
F
Rut
0
Mich
52
F
UConn
21
UCF
56
F
TxAM
31
Ark
27
F
K St
13
OkSt
26
F
Ind
31
MSU
40
F
Navy
23
Mem
35
F
Duke
45
VaTec
10
F
SJSU
24
AF
41
F
C Mi
15
WestMI
31
F
Buff
20
MiaOH
34
F
NIU
18
Vand
24
F
Kans
14
TCU
51
F
BYU
21
Toled
28
F
HolyC
3
Syr
41
F
Del
14
Pitt
17
F
JMU
45
Elon
10
F
JacSt
33
APSU
52
F
CoCar
37
App
56
F
IASt
21
Bayl
23
F
GATec
2
Temp
24
F
MIN
38
Purd
31
F
Akr
29
UMass
37
F
FlAtl
45
UNCC
27
F
Wake
27
BC
24
F
SMU
48
SoFL
21
F
Cin
52
Marsh
14
F
ArkSt
50
Troy
43
F
ULLaf
37
GaSo
24
F
ECU
24
OD
21
F
NM
10
Lib
17
F
SamHu
28
McNee
17
F
SoAl
17
ULMon
30
F
Stan
31
OreSt
28
F
UAB
13
W Ky
20
F
Nich
3
TxSt
24
F
UTEP
13
SMiss
31
F
LT
23
Rice
20
F OT
ColSt
24
UtSt
34
F
KY
7
SCar
24
F
NCSt
13
FlaSt
31
F
UNLV
17
Wyo
53
F
Fres
30
NMS
17
F
Hou
46
NorTx
25
F
Hawaii
54
NEV
3
F
UCLA
17
Ariz
20
F

Florida 38, Towson 0

Sep 28, 2019, 4:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Towson (3-2)

0

0

0

0

0

(9) Florida (5-0)

7

10

14

7

38

Trask, No. 9 Florida handle FCS's Towson in Swamp, 38-0
Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:27 PM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Kyle Trask was perfect early and a spectator late. He broke a school record in between.

He had no idea about how good his performance was until coach Dan Mullen's wife told him on the field afterward.

Trask threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, helping No. 9 Florida beat lower-division Towson 38-0 Saturday and extend its winning streak to nine. He set a school record in the process.

The junior making his second collegiate start completed 15 consecutive passes to open the game, giving him 18 straight completions and breaking Chris Leak's mark (17) set against Wyoming in 2005.

"It's pretty cool to be part of history like that, especially after all the great quarterbacks that have played here," Trask said. "I guess I felt a little more comfortable."

Trask's hot streak ended with a dropped pass by Jacob Copeland early in the third quarter. He responded with a perfect throw to Kyle Pitts in the corner of the end zone for their second TD hookup of the afternoon.

Trask finished 18-of-20 passing for 188 yards, giving way to Emory Jones in the fourth quarter. Trask showed progress by not having any turnovers. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in his first start , against Tennessee.

He was considerably more efficient, as expected, against the overmatched Tigers (3-2).

"Overall, I thought he managed the game pretty well," Dan Mullen said.

The Gators (5-0) need it to continue as they begin a daunting October against seventh-ranked Auburn next week.

"You look at this team: we've taken care of business to this point," Mullen said. "Whatever the situation - good and bad - we've taken care of business so far to this point. We've played some good teams, but now it's going to go to a whole new level."

Although Florida won the game and covered the 35 1/2-point spread, it also struggled to run the ball early. The Gators mustered 60 yards on 16 carries in the first half.

Mullen put it all on his offensive line.

"That has got to improve for us," Mullen said. "The mental toughness of the offensive line within their preparation has got to improve as we move forward. ... Whatever you're doing is not enough. They need to do more."

Towson moved the ball well early, but ended its first two drives with a fumble and a missed field goal.

The Gators led 17-0 at halftime, the same score they had against fellow Football Championship Subdivision team Tennessee-Martin earlier this month. And just like the first one, Florida played better after the break.

Towson continued to help. Tom Flacco, a younger brother of Denver Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco, threw interceptions on his first two drives of the third quarter. Donovan Stiner got the first one, and Jon Greenard the second.

Flacco completed 16 of 27 passes for 157 yards, with two interceptions. He was sacked four times and involved in a fumble. Freshman Jaydon Hill also dropped an interception that he surely would have returned for a touchdown in the first half.

"There is a reason why they are where they are," Towson coach Rob Ambrose said. "We made too many mistakes to win a ballgame against a quality opponent like this, but we learned a lot about ourselves ... and I think it tells us who we could be for the rest of the season."

THE TAKEAWAY

Towson: Fell to 0-2 against Southeastern Conference teams but held its own in both games. The Tigers lost 38-22 at then-No. 3 LSU in 2012, a game in which Odell Beckham Jr. caugh/t five passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. They trailed Florida 17-0 at halftime and botched two scoring chances early.

Florida: The team's woeful offensive line has to play better against the more dangerous Tigers: Auburn and LSU. Auburn's dynamic duo of Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson will provide the first test.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida should remain in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive week. Moving up will require beating more Tigers: first Auburn and then LSU.

BEING CAUTIOUS

The Gators held out two defensive starters - cornerback CJ Henderson and defensive end Jabari Zuniga - because of ankle injuries. Henderson missed his third straight game. Zuniga has sat out the last two. Mullen said they would return next week.

UP NEXT

Towson gets a week off before hosting Colonial Athletic Association foe Albany on Oct. 12.

Florida hosts Auburn next Saturday. The Tigers have won all three meetings since the schools stopped playing annually in 2003.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Tows Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
T. Flacco 27 16 59.3 0 157 25 2 44.8
R. Stover 5 2 40.0 0 26 15 0 57.1
Fla Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
K. Trask 20 18 90.0 2 188 32 0 139.2
E. Jones 8 6 75.0 1 74 25 0 142.7

Rushing

Tows Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
Y. Thaenrat 8 35 4.4 5 0
A. Feliz-Platt 7 27 3.9 15 0
Fla Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
D. Pierce 6 84 14.0 37 1
E. Jones 1 29 29.0 29 0

Receiving

Tows Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
S. Leatherbury 4 65 16.3 25 0
D. Street 4 29 7.3 10 0
Fla Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Cleveland 3 59 19.7 32 0
T. Grimes 5 55 11.0 18 0

Fumbles

Fla F FL
K. Trask 1 0

Returning

Tows KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
D. Hunter 3 12.7 0 14 0 0 0
Fla KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
T. Cleveland 1 11.0 0 11 0 0 0

Punting

Tows Punt Yds Avg LgPu
S. McDonough 3 135 45.0 55
Fla Punt Yds Avg LgPu
T. Townsend 1 36 36.0 36

Takeaways

Fla Int Yds InTD
D. Stiner 1 2 0
J. Greenard 1 16 0

Team Stats Comparison

Tows Fla
Points For 0 38
Total Yards 248 422
Rushing Yards 65 160
Passing Yards 183 262
Passing Completions / Attempts 18/32 24/28
Turnovers 3 0
Interceptions Thrown 2 0
Fumbles - Lost 2/1 1/0
First Downs 17 23
Penalties - Yards 7/40 4/28
Time Of Possession 04:04 01:01
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 8/15 6/9
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/0 0/1
Punts - Average Yards 3/45 1/36

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Tows Fla
Fla 05:32 TD Kyle Pitts 5 yd pass from Kyle Trask (Evan McPherson kick) 0 7
2nd Quarter Tows Fla
Fla 00:05 FG Evan McPherson 42 yd FG 0 10
Fla 11:14 TD Kyle Trask 1 yd run (Evan McPherson kick) 0 17
3rd Quarter Tows Fla
Fla 05:41 TD Kyle Pitts 7 yd pass from Kyle Trask (Evan McPherson kick) 0 24
Fla 10:10 TD Dameon Pierce 37 yd run (Evan McPherson kick) 0 31
4th Quarter Tows Fla
Fla 05:13 TD Keon Zipperer 2 yd pass from Emory Jones (Chris Howard kick) 0 38

Game Information

Stadium: Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Attendance: 79,126
Game Time:
Weather: