GAINESVILLE, Fla. _ Florida juniors Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson are teammates, bookend cornerbacks and close friends, but at the same the fiercest of competitors.
Wilson was not about to let Tabor steal the show during Saturday's 40-14 homecoming win against Missouri in the Swamp.
A 39-yard pick-six by Tabor broke open a 6-0 game and awakened a slumbering, rain-soaked announced crowd of 88,825. Minutes later, Wilson intercepted Tigers' quarterback Drew Lock and returned it 78 yards for another score, the roar of UF fans steadily rising as Wilson raced to the end zone.
The two touchdowns were enough for Florida on a dreary day filled with missed opportunities and endless mistakes on offense.
The rust showed during quarterback Luke Del Rio's return from a sprained knee suffered four weeks earlier against North Texas. Del Rio threw three interceptions, the third giving Missouri the ball on the UF 46 and leading to a Tigers' touchdown that trimmed the Gators' lead to 20-7.
Del Rio finished 18-of-38 passing for 236 yards, three interceptions and a touchdown. But his miscues were not the only momentum killers for the Gators.
UF had seven false-start penalties, including five during the first half. Florida reached Missouri territory during its first five possessions, but the Gators stalled and settled for two Eddy Pineiro field goals on three attempts.
In the end, it was not all bad on offense for UF, which capitalized on a worn-out Missouri defense late in the game.
The Gators finished with 523 yards, including a season-high 287 rushing yards behind a pair of career-high performances by freshman Lamical Perine (106 yards) and sophomore Jordan Scarlett (101). Scarlett also scored a touchdown for the fifth straight game, this time from 33 yards out.
But UF's offense played second fiddle to a Gators' defense that stymied Lock and SEC's No. 1 passing offense.
Lock entered the day averaging a league-high 335 passing yards. At halftime, he was 3-of-12 passing for 25 yards and a passer rating of 9.2 and would finish 4-of-18 for 39 yards and a rating of 18.2.
With Lock badly off the mark, the Tigers opened the game with six three-and-outs and ended the day with nine.
Another dominant day by the Gators' defense, however, came with a price.
The unit suffered a major blow when senior linebacker and team leader Jarrad Davis injured his left leg early in the second half. With 13:14 remaining in the third quarter, fellow linebacker Alex Anzalone rolled into Davis' left ankle as the two pursued MIssouri ball carrier Damarea Crockett.
Davis lay on the field writhing in pain and soon was helped to the locker room by trainers. At the time, Davis had a team-high eight tackles, including 1.5 for a loss.
Losing Davis would be crushing for a defense with no proven linebackers other than Anzalone.
Yet, few offenses are going to have much success throwing against Tabor and Wilson. The two juniors form arguably the best tandem in college football and on Saturday showed their ability to change a game in the blink of an eye.
Earlier in the week, Tabor said he and Wilson look to bring out the best in each other every game.
"I would be lying to you if I said when he gets a pick I don't want a pick," he said. "That's just competition, but it makes us better. We're good friends at the end of the day so there's no hard feelings or anything, but man we're competitive at the same time."
