GAINESVILLE, Fla. _ Fresh off a go-ahead touchdown run, UF quarterback Feleipe Franks raised his right index finger to his facemask to silence the crowd at the Swamp.
By then, there was no chance. A delirious, deafening crowd would not be denied, just like the Gators' embattled quarterback who suddenly had become a fan favorite.
A 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal by Franks completed a 21-point run by Florida after South Carolina grabbed a 31-14 third-quarter lead and was poised to run away from the Gators.
Instead, Florida ran all over the Gamecocks on their way to an improbable 35-31 win to end a two-game skid and hand former coach Will Muschamp another demoralizing loss in the Swamp.
Behind 100-yard days by Jordan Scarlett (159) and Lamical Perine (107), the Gators pounded out 372 yards on the ground against Muschamp's defense.
UF finished with 528 yards to outrace a South Carolina attack got off to a strong start and finished with 386. But the Gamecocks ran out of a gas.
An interception by UF cornerback CJ Henderson on third-and-11 with 3:21 remaining ended South Carolina's hopes of a comeback behind Jake Bentley, who had been brilliant until the fourth quarter.
The day's biggest surprise, though, was Franks' big runs. Showing attitude and aggression with the football tucked in his right arm, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound redshirt sophomore bulldozed his way to two touchdowns.
The first was a 10-yard run during which he broke two tackles to tie the game at 14. At that point, Franks clearly had had enough. He raised his index finger to hush the crowd in the south end zone.
Gators' fans have given Franks mostly a rough ride during his two seasons at UF.
Saturday was no different.
Fewer than eight minutes into the game, the boos began after Franks missed a wide-open receiver on third down with the Gators trailing 7-0.
South Carolina scored again on its next drive as UF's defense left open a Gamecocks receiver for the second time.
Coming off demoralizing losses to Georgia and Missouri, the No. 15 Gators looked like a team that had given up.
Instead, the two teams combined for 35 points and 421 yards during a wild first half that ended with South Carolina leading 21-14.
A 34-yard field goal by Parker White pushed South Carolina's lead to 24-14.
An 89-yard catch by Deebo Samuel on a blown coverage set up another touchdown and a 31-14 lead for the Gamecocks.
Each time, coach Dan Mullen's team looked out of the game, it answered with points.
A nifty 18-yard touchdown run following a screen pass to Kadarius Toney cut the Gamecocks' lead to 31-21 and revived the crowd. Toney added a 33-yard run on the go-ahead scoring drive.
