South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Trask stars again
5th straight game with 4 TD passes the key to No. 8 Gators’ victory
JACKSONVILLE — Kyle Trask had another four-touchdown night, becoming the first quarterback in Southeastern Conference history to accomplish the feat in five consecutive games, and No. 8 Florida beat fifth-ranked and undermanned Georgia 44-28 on Saturday.
The Gators (4-1) ended a three-game losing streak in the rivalry known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” — it was coach Dan Mullen’s most significant victory in three years in Gainesville — and now have a stranglehold on the SEC’s East Division.
The Bulldogs (4-2), who entered the game as 3½ -point favorites, were likely eliminated from College Football Playoff consideration and probably have a quarterback competition moving forward.
Florida, meanwhile, has a Heisman Trophy contender.
Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for a career-high 474 yards — 8 yards shy of Tim Tebow’s single-game school record — despite playing much of the night without standout tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts was knocked out of the game in the second quarter on Lewis Cine’s crushing hit over the middle. Cine was ejected for targeting, adding to Georgia’s already-thin defense.
The Bulldogs were without nose tackle Jordan Davis ( elbow), safety Richard LeCounte (motorcycle accident) and defensive tackle Julian Rochester ( knee) to start the game.
touchdowns. In UM’s previous game against Virginia, he caught 10 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown that earned him ACC Receiver of the Week honors.
Harley leads the Hurricanes with 35 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns through seven games.
“That’s what you want your seniors to do,” UM-coach Manny Diaz said. “You want them to make those plays. He’ll remember that for the rest of his life.”
Harley didn’t specify at what point in his first three seasons he had thoughts of letting go of his career, but the notion grew on him as time passed with others in his class breaking through while he hadn’t had his moment. Harley had 485 receiving yards as a junior last season, 240 as a sophomore and 91 in his freshman campaign.
“Just general frustration, seeing the guys you came in with shining,” Harley said. “I’ve been working hard ever since I came on campus. I just never [saw] the results.…
“I just had thoughts in my mind like, ‘Man, I’m going to quit. I’m [going] to leave, this and that.’
“But every time I come to Greentree [practice fields] — just period, like every time I come on campus — I’m so grateful and so blessed to be here because a lot of kids would die to be in this position and definitely where I’m from. I just took back and used that as motivation to just keep going and don’t give up.”
Harley knows many players in his same position would’ve transferred elsewhere, but he didn’t want to go that route.
“A lot of players get emotional, and then next thing you know they hit the [transfer] portal,” Harley said. “Me, I was just different. I kept going.”
Quarterback D’Eriq King said Harley was also crying in the locker room after the game. Harley said the emotions also came from the way the team, in years past, wasn’t winning many of these close, contested games. The Hurricanes erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit on Friday.
“The four years I’ve been here, we’ve had some hard battles and didn’t come out with the victory,”
Harley said. “But this team is very special. We fought all the way until the end, and it led up to me to put a dagger in their heart.”
The recent chemistry built between King and Harley has lifted King’s game. King threw for 430 yards and five touch downs and ran for 105 yards.
“Mike is a great guy,” King said. “On the bus ride over here from the hotel, he texted me and told me that he loved me and ‘let’s go be great [Friday] night,’
“Mike and I are both older guys, so it means a lot to us. We don’t have all the time in the world to play here, so we want to give it our all. Mike’s a leader in the locker room. He keeps me in check sometimes and is just a great guy. I’m so happy everything is starting to pay off for him.”
Said striker Gilbert Frierson: “The whole teamwas excited for Mike. Every time you see him, he is always working.
“He’s trying to get the guys better. After practice, he’s at the Jugs machines and running routes. He’s bringing the guys along with him. He’s the oldest guy in the room. They all look up to him.”
Harley wasn’t the only one playing with strong emotions on Friday night.
King had a heavy heart, tweeting after the game, “Rip pops Rip KD I love y’all forever.” King lost his father, Eric King, in February, and his former Houston roommate and teammate Ka’Darian Smith was shot and killed in his apartment in Houston this week.