2021 Florida Football Postgame Notes
No. 13 Florida 42, South Florida 20
September 11, 2021
Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, Fla.
Mullen Wins 100th Career Game as Collegiate Head Coach
• With today’s victory, Florida head coach Dan Mullen won his 100th career game as a collegiate head coach.
o Mullen celebrated his 100th win by producing the most total yards (666) in a single game during his UF tenure.
o Mullen improves to 100-55 (.645).
o Mullen becomes the 174th college head football coach to reach 100 career wins. ▪ He is the 18th head coach to accomplish the feat in the SEC.
o Florida (2018-21): 31-9 | Mississippi State (2009-17): 69-46
• Mullen improves to 31-9 in his first 40 games as UF head coach – a mark that trails only Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer (both 32-8) among all UF head coaches.
• In Week 1, Mullen became third-fastest (39 games) UF head coach to win 30 games behind Meyer (37) and Spurrier (38).
• Florida opens the season 2-0 for the third-straight season under Mullen.
Gators Offense
• Florida’s 666 yards of total offense is the fifth-highest total in program history and the most since the Gators totaled 705 yards vs. The Citadel on Nov. 22, 2008.
o Today marked Florida’s fourth game with 600+ yards under Mullen and third such game since the start of the 2020 season.
• With 363 rushing yards vs. South Florida, Florida’s 763 rushing yards through two weeks represents its most through two games to open a season dating back to at least 1996.
o This is the first time Florida has opened a season with back-to-back 300-yard rushing games dating back to at least 1996.
o Topped the previous total of 660 rushing yards through the first two games in 2009. o Florida ranked fourth in the FBS and first in the SEC with 400 rushing yards through Week 1. o Through Week 1, Florida led the country with 400 rush YPG.
o This is just the third time that Florida has rushed for 300+ yards in a game under Mullen and the second time in as many games this season the Gators have done so.
• With 115 yards rushing and 152 yards passing (3-for-3) in the game, quarterback Anthony Richardson became the first FBS player in the last 25 seasons to rush for 100+ yards, pass for 150+ yards and complete every pass he threw.
• Richardson’s 80-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter is tied for the ninth-longest touchdown rush in Florida football history.
o It is also the longest rush by a Florida quarterback dating back to at least 1996. ▪ *Trey Burton also recorded an 80-yard touchdown run on a direct snap vs.
Tennessee in 2012, but John Brantley was UF’s starting quarterback in that game
and the only Gator to record a pass attempt.
▪ Richardson also rattled off a 73-yard touchdown run in the Week 1 win over FAU. • Anthony Richardson’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Copeland in the first quarter was Florida’s longest passing play under Dan Mullen and Florida’s longest passing play overall since January 2, 2017 vs. Iowa in the Outback Bowl – which was also played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. o The 75-yard connection is tied for Florida’s 16th-longest passing play since 1996. o The 75-yard touchdown pass represented the longest completion of Richardson’s career – as well as the longest reception of Copeland’s career.
o Richardson set a new-career high for passing yards in a game with one pass – eclipsing his previous career high of 40 yards passing in Week 1 vs. Florida Atlantic.
▪ Richardson finished with a career-high 152 yards passing.
o Richardson’s previous career-long pass was 36 yards vs. Florida Atlantic in Week 1. o Copeland’s longest reception was previously 42 yards vs. Kentucky on Nov. 28, 2020.
• Richardson and Copeland are the third Gators duo to connect for multiple 40+ yard touchdowns in the same game since 1996 and the first to do so since John Brantley and Andre Debose accomplished the feat vs. Furman on Nov. 19, 2011.
o Copeland is the first Florida wide receiver with multiple 40+ yard touchdown receptions in the same game since Debose in 2011.
o Brantley and Debose connected for an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 64-yarder in the third quarter vs Furman in 2011.
o The third Gators duo to accomplish the feat since 1996 was Tim Tebow and Riley Cooper vs. Western Kentucky on Sept. 1, 2007. They connected for a 59-yard touchdown in the first quarter and on a 42-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
• Richardson is the first Gators quarterback with a 70+ yard touchdown run and 75+ yard touchdown pass in the same season since Jeff Driskel in 2012.
o Richardson recorded a 73-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter vs. Florida Atlantic in Week 1.
o Driskel recorded a 75-yard touchdown pass at Tennessee on Sept. 18, 2012 and a 70-yard touchdown run vs. Vanderbilt on Nov. 6, 2012.
• Richardson is one of two FBS quarterbacks to record a 70+ yard touchdown rush and 70+ yard touchdown pass in the same season over the last two years and the only quarterback to do it so far in 2021.
o The other was Max Duggan of TCU, who turned in two 70+ yard passing scores and one 80+ yard rushing score in 2020.
• Richardson is the first FBS quarterbacks to have a 70+ yard touchdown rush and 70+ yard touchdown pass in back-to-back weeks since Jabari Laws (Army) in 2019.
o Laws threw an 87-yard touchdown pass vs. Air Force on Nov. 2, 2019 and rushed for an 83- yard touchdown vs. UMass on Nov. 9, 2019.
• Today marked the 10th time in Florida’s last 15 games that the Gators totaled 500+ yards. o Florida posted its 16th game of 500-plus total yards in Dan Mullen’s 40 games as head coach – two more games than the team’s combined total of 14 games from the 115 games comprising the 2009-17 seasons.
• Today’s game is the 27th time Florida amassed 400-plus total yards under Mullen – two more than the program’s total of 25 400-yard outings from the 88 games comprising the 2011-17 seasons. o The Gators have eclipsed 400 total yards in 25 of their last 31 games.
o Florida now has 12-consecutive games of 400-plus total yards for the first time since at least 1981.
• Florida begins the season with back-to-back 200+ yard rushing games for the first time since 2014, when the Gators rushed for 259 yards in the season opener vs. Eastern Michigan followed by 237 rushing yards vs. Kentucky in Week 2 (496 yards combined).
o This marks Florida’s 15th 200+ yard rushing game under Mullen.
• The Gators delivered their 31st game of 100+ rushing yards under Mullen.
o The Gators open the season with back–to-back 100+ yard rushing games for the first time since 2018, when Florida rushed for 205 yards vs. Charleston Southern in the season opener and for 128 yards vs. Kentucky in Week 2.
▪ Florida rushed for 100+ yards in all 13 games of the 2018 season.
• This is the 20th time Florida has reached 300 passing yards under Mullen (40 games), equaling its total from the 168 games comprising its 2005-17 seasons.
• The Gators scored 30+ points for the 28th time in 40 games under Mullen, including scoring 30+ in 15 of the team’s last 16 games.
• Florida scored 40 points for the 16th time under Mullen and for the second time in the program’s last four games, which is four more 40-point games than the Gators accumulated from the 2010-17 seasons combined (101 games played).
o UF had 12 40-point outings in 101 games from 2010-17.
• Copeland set career highs in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for a game in just the first half alone – totaling 129 receiving yards and two touchdowns through the first two quarters. o Copeland finished with 175 receiving yards and two touchdowns – both career highs. o Previous career high for receiving yards: 123 receiving yards vs. LSU on Dec. 12, 2020 • Making his second-career start, quarterback Emory Jones set single-game career highs in completions (15), passing yards (151) and rushing yards (89).
• In the first half, Florida totaled its most points (35) in a single half since putting up 35 vs. Arkansas in the first half on Nov. 14, 2020.
Gators Defense
• After opening the season tied-for-fourth in the FBS with six sacks in week one, the Gators got to the quarterback just once in Week 2.
o Florida ranked tied-for-eighth in the FBS and second in the SEC with 34 sacks last season. o Florida’s 127 sacks since Mullen’s debut 2018 season rank first in the SEC and third nationally – trailing only Clemson (148) and Pittsburgh (134).
• The Gators recorded one takeaway against USF in the form of Elam’s interception. Florida’s 69 takeaways since 2018 rank tied-for-seventh nationally and third in the SEC.
• After racking up three sacks (three tackles for loss) vs. FAU in Week 1, Zachary Carter totaled 2.5 TFLs against South Florida to bring his season total to 5.5 TFLs through two games.
• Cornerback Kaiir Elam registered his sixth-career interception and seventh-career takeaway with his second-quarter pick.
• Rashad Torrence recorded his first-career tackle for loss.
• Khris Bogle set a career high with six tackles.
o Bogle also eclipsed career-double-digit tackles for loss in the game, as his one TFL puts him at 10.5 TFLs for his career.
• Ty’Ron Hopper set a career high with six tackles.
• Princely Umanmielen and Dante Zanders both recorded a career-high four tackles.
Florida Special Teams
• Chris Howard remains perfect in 20 PAT tries over the course of his Florida career. • Jeremy Crawshaw set a new-career high with a 57-yard punt.
o Crawshaw placed another punt inside the 20-yard line for his second punt inside the 20 on the season.
o Crawshaw’s other two punts in the game both traveled 50+ yards.
Road Opener/Away Game Superlatives
• Florida improves to 4-0 in road openers under Dan Mullen and has now won five-straight road openers overall.
o The Gators also improve to 14-3 in road openers dating back to 2005 and 16-4 in such games since the end of the Steve Spurrier era (2002 – present).
• Florida is now 11-2 in true-road games under Mullen.
o 2018: 4-0 | 2019: 3-1 | 2020: 3-1 | 2021: 1-0
• Mullen improves to 35-22 on the road as a HC.
Explosive Plays
• Rick Wells (from Emory Jones): 20-yard reception, 1st quarter
• Dameon Pierce: 16-yard rush, 1st quarter
• Dameon Pierce: 20-yard rush, 1st quarter
• Jacob Copeland (from Anthony Richardson): 75-yard touchdown reception, 1st quarter • Xvazier Henderson (from Jones): 35-yard touchdown reception, 1st quarter
• Anthony Richardson: 18-yard rush, 2nd quarter
• Jacob Copeland (from Richardson): 41-yard touchdown reception, 2nd quarter • Emory Jones: 33-yard touchdown rush, 2nd quarter
• Emory Jones: 11-yard rush, 3rd quarter
• Dameon Pierce: 11-yard rush, 3rd quarter
• Jacob Copeland (from Richardson): 36-yard reception, 3rd quarter
• Anthony Richardson: 80-yard touchdown rush, fourth quarter
Series Updates
• Florida improves to 2-0 all-time against South Florida and 1-0 against the Bulls under HC Dan Mullen. o Previous Matchups → 2010: W, 38-14 (Gainesville)
• The Gators have outscored USF by a 80-27 margin while out-gaining the Bulls, 1,044 yards to 600 yards, over the two meetings between the two teams.
o Florida totaled more yards (666) in today’s game alone than South Florida has accumulated in both games in the series combined.
• Florida improves to 28-14-3 across 45 games all-time in Tampa.
Other
• UF has scored in 412-consecutive games — which is an NCAA record.
o The Gators broke Michigan’s record of 365-consecutive games (1984-2014) against LSU on Oct. 7, 2017.
• Florida has finished with fewer than 10 penalties in 34-consecutive games.
• Florida Game Captains: #6 Zachary Carter, #20 Malik Davis and #51 Ventrell Miller • South Florida won the toss and deferred; Florida defended the south end zone. • Attendance: 66,646
