SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 18, 2014
Missouri 42, Florida 13: Marcus Murphy returned two kicks for touchdowns and the Tigers added two defensive scores to ruin the Gators' homecoming weekend.
Murphy added a rushing TD and the defense forced six turnovers that led to 27 points as Missouri (5-2, 2-1 SEC) rebounded in a big way from last week's 34-0 home loss to Georgia. The Tigers intercepted three passes, forced three fumbles and recorded five sacks in winning their eighth straight road contest.
Jeff Driskel, who accounted for five turnovers in last week's 30-27 loss to LSU, was 7-of-19 for 50 yards for the Gators (3-3, 2-3), who lost for the 12th time in their last 19 games under embattled coach Will Muschamp. Driskel threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and was responsible for another fumble when he and Matt Jones couldn't execute a handoff in the first quarter.
Murphy took the opening kick 96 yards for a score and added a 5-yard TD run 11:10 into the contest for a 14-0 lead. Andrew Baggett added two field goals after Florida miscues for a 20-0 halftime lead before Murphy returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown two minutes after intermission.
Missouri piled on when Markus Golden returned a fumble 21 yards for a TD after a strip-sack by Shane Ray and Darvin Ruise intercepted Driskel and ran 46 yards for a score just 1:28 later for a 42-0 lead. Florida freshman quarterback Treon Harris helped the Gators from being shut out for the first time in 328 games when he threw a 5-yard TD pass and scored on a short run in the fourth quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Tigers managed just 119 yards of total offense as Maty Mauk completed 6-of-18 for 20 yards. … The Gators were shut out in the first half for the third time in their last seven games. … Missouri had failed to convert 22 consecutive third downs dating to Sept. 27 against South Carolina before Mauk scrambled for 19 yards on a third-and-17 in the first quarter.