Florida notes

Read more about the game and the team.

ATLANTA — The ball was high, but Johnny

Townsend caught it. The punter rolled to his right and desperately tried to find an open receiver, but by the time he took a few steps, Alabama’s defenders had sniffed out Florida’s trickery.

The fake-punt attempt flopped and so did Townsend, who was sacked for an 11-yard loss on the play and ceded possession to Alabama in UF territory.

The Orlando native didn’t fare much better during the rest of No. 15 Florida’s 54-16 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game.

During an earlier fourth down in the first half, the Crimson Tide’s Derrick

Gore dove into Florida’s back field, extended his arm and tipped Townsend’s punt. The ball was scooped up by Alabama’s Josh Jacobs and returned 27 yards for a touchdown.

It was the second puntreturn for a touchdown allowed by Townsend during his four-year UF career. Both have come against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

And even when Townsend played well — such as when he booted a 62-yard punt later in the second quarter, tied for the third longest in SEC Championship Game history — Alabama returner Trevon

Diggs ran it back 47 yards to give Alabama possession in UF territory.

But after his first-half struggles, Townsend was mostly able to pin Alabama deep in the second half, including a 60-yard punt during the third quarter.

Freshman impact

There was nothing but green turf in front of David Reese. So he ran. The freshman linebacker scooped up the blocked point-after-touchdown attempt in the first quarter and raced the distance of the field for two points.

It was UF’s first PAT return since Dee Webb returned one during Florida’s 30-22 loss at South Carolina in 2005.

But it was far from Reese’s only impact this season.

The freshman has shined while filling in for injured linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone.

Reese has started just three games this year yet entered Saturday ranked fifth on Florida in total tackles (48).

Goolsby boost

During the past five games, tight end DeAndre Goolsby has been largely absent from the Gators offense.

That changed on Saturday.

Before UF’s loss to Alabama, the junior had four catches in Florida’s last five games, but already had five catches by the end of the first half.

Goolsby finished with seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, and was a large target on Saturday for quarterback Austin Appleby. The quarterback found the 6-foot-4 tight end on the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter.