GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Massachusetts played with determination and courage as a heavy underdog Saturday night at No. 25 Florida.
But ultimately, the Minutemen ran out of gas in the fourth quarter in a 24-7 loss to the Gators before 88,121 at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field.
Before the game, Florida dedicated its field to Spurrier, a Gator icon who won the Heisman as a quarterback in 1966 and coached the school to its first national title in 1996. UMass expected Florida to play with emotion throughout the game, but the Minutemen brought plenty of moxie as well.
UMass trailed just 10-7 at the end of the third quarter before Florida put the game away with 14 unanswered points.
“I think it was just a matter of getting the right [play] call in at the right time,’’ UMass coach Mark Whipple said. “That falls on me, so we’ll all learn. I thought our guys competed on both sides of the ball.’’
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ross Comis, making his first start for UMass, wasn’t fazed by the pressure of facing an SEC powerhouse. Comis completed 9 of 17 passes for 141 yards and scored UMass’s lone touchdown on a 5-yard run.
“We all felt like we had a chance to win the game,’’ Comis said. “A couple of plays here and there obviously hurt us. I didn’t feel too nervous out there. I felt like I was prepared.’’
Entering the game, Whipple said one of his primary goals was to stay competitive going into the second half. The Minutemen achieved that goal, trailing just 10-7 at halftime.
Florida jumped to a 7-0 lead when quarterback Luke Del Rio hit receiver Antonio Callaway on a 12-yard pass with 3:57 left in the first half. But through a driving rainstorm, UMass answered with an inspired nine-play, 75-yard TD drive led by Comis.
The biggest play came when Comis found receiver Jalen Williams on a 24-yard strike on fourth and 14 from Florida’s 36-yard line. Two plays later, Comis made a nifty move to elude the rush and scored on a 5-yard scramble to tie the score at 7 with 14:18 left in the second quarter.
Florida took a 10-7 lead into halftime when sophomore Eddy Pineiro made a 40-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the second quarter.
“I don’t think our guys panicked,’’ Whipple said. “I didn’t see a lot of scared faces out there. Ross, I thought, played with a lot of poise for us.’’
After both teams went scoreless in the third quarter, Florida extended its lead to 13-7 on a 49-yard field goal by Pineiro with 11:14 left in the fourth. Then, after forcing UMass to go three-and-out, Florida put together its second touchdown drive, capped by a 26-yard pass from Del Rio to receiver Brandon Powell. Pineiro capped the scoring with a 48-yard field goal, making all three of his attempts from 40 yards or longer.
“If you told me they were going to have to play hurry-up in the fourth quarter, I would have liked our chances,’’ Whipple said. “Field position, obviously, played a big role in the game. They have a punter that’s probably going to play in the NFL and a kicker that’s probably going to play in the NFL. They have pretty fast guys. We just can’t recruit at that level yet.’’
Whipple said there’s plenty that the Minutemen can take from their experience at Florida heading into next Saturday’s game against Boston College at Gillette Stadium.
“They’re the No. 1 defensive team in the nation,’’ Whipple said. “Certainly we have to grow as a team. I didn’t think we practiced great Tuesday, Wednesday was a little better, but I had to get on them Thursday. So you have to have a good full week of practice to beat a team like Boston College.’’
Added Comis: “Florida and Boston College are two games that we have circled on our calendar. It’s a rivalry game. We don’t like them, they don’t like us. So it should be a good game.’’
