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Florida inexplicably turns interception into 20-yard gain for South Carolina

blake schuster
Yahoo Sports Contributor

There will come a time when someone is asked to describe the Florida Gators 2017 season. All that lucky person will need to do is show the following 30-second clip from UF’s road game against South Carolina.

The latest (on-field) disaster for Florida was a doozy. On a first-and-10 from the South Carolina 4, Florida defensive back CJ Henderson picked off a Jake Bentley pass and had a touchdown within reach. But he fumbled at the goal line when he got hit by the Gamecocks’ Hayden Hurst.

The ball bounced into the end zone and South Carolina running back AJ Turner picked it up. Turner then ran it out to the 24 and got another first down for South Carolina.

Watch how it unfolded:

Only this Gators team could turn a red zone interception into a double digit-yard gain for their opponents. Here’s how the play shakes out in the official game stats:

(Via StatBroadcast)
(Via StatBroadcast)

It’s honestly a toss-up between which is tougher to comprehend, the video or the play-by-play.

Teams might actually have to start game-planning for Florida’s mistakes soon. With some better blocking, South Carolina could’ve easily turned that fumble recovery into a touchdown.

That wasn’t Florida’s only weird play on Saturday.

Later in the game, after avoiding multiple tackles, Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks threw up a Hail Mary that should’ve been an easy touchdown. A great tackle from one of Franks’ teammates made sure UF didn’t reach the end zone.

That’s Moral Stephens on the catch and running back Mark Thompson with the stop. Florida punched the ball in for a touchdown to end the run, so it still wasn’t as bad as the interception-fumble-return, but it’s certainly not what you would call ‘good.’

South Carolina won, 28-20.

Florida head coach Randy Shannon argues a call with a referee during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Missouri Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 45-16. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
Florida head coach Randy Shannon argues a call with a referee during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Missouri Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 45-16. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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