The No. 10 Florida Gators are down to their third-string quarterback as the Gators look to hold off No. 7 Auburn in Gainesville. Florida quarterback Kyle Trask left the game after taking a hit to his left knee in the first half. Emory Jones stepped in to take over at quarterback for the Gators. At the halftime break, Florida leads Auburn 17-13 in a battle of unbeaten SEC programs.
Trask left the game with just over 10 minutes to play in the second quarter. At the time of his departure from the game, Trask had completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 130 yards and two touchdowns, with Florida clinging to a 14-13 lead. Although Trask was able to walk off the field on his own, he headed directly to the locker room for medical examination. Before the end of the second quarter, Trask jogged back on the field and began warming up on the Florida sideline. He was seen wearing a brace and returned to the game in the final two minutes of the first half.
Auburn’s quarterback, Bo Nix, had a tough start to the game throwing the football. Nix has completed five of his 14 passes for just 57 yards, but one of those completions was for a touchdown to bring the Tigers within one after the extra point was kicked.
Florida wasted little time getting on the board. After forcing Auburn to a 3-and-out to start the game, Trask completed a 64-yard pass to Freddie Swain for a touchdown on Florida’s second offensive snap of the game. Auburn chipped away with a couple of field goals later in the first quarter. After three consecutive turnovers by both teams combined, Florida extended its lead with a touchdown pass from Trask to Josh Hammond. Auburn had botched a punt return that was recovered by Florida, but Auburn forced and recovered a fumble by Trask just three plays later. Unable to take advantage of the turnover, Nix was picked off by Shawn Davis on the first play of the drive. The 41-yard interception return received a 15-yard bonus thanks to a personal foul penalty on Auburn.
Florida’s defense has held Auburn to fewer than 100 yards of offense after one half of play. Still, Aubrun is hanging around and within striking distance of the Gators.