Late in the second quarter Saturday at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, No. 7 Texas was up 14 points on a Florida team in free fall. The Gators, ranked as high as No. 8 earlier this month, were coming off back-to-back blowout losses, the second of which was handed to them by a South Carolina squad that was previously winless in SEC competition.

To top it off, Florida arrived in Austin with its QB1 nursing a shoulder injury that he suffered in that disheartening setback to the Gamecocks.

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With Aaron Philo only available as an emergency backup, sophomore Tramell Jones Jr. got his first career start. Despite the hostile environment and the two-score hole, Jones emerged victorious on the road against the suddenly reeling Longhorns.

The Jones-led Gators dominated the “middle eight,” pairing a quick touchdown drive before intermission with a much longer one after halftime, en route to scoring 24 straight points in a 27-24 win.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning struggled most of the afternoon, a week removed from throwing a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions, including a pick-6, in an agonizing Red River Rivalry defeat to Oklahoma.

Entering the final frame against Florida, Manning was averaging -0.7 air yards per completion, per the ESPN broadcast. Although he wowed while evading and then overcoming pressure to rifle a 62-yard completion to wideout Emmett Mosley V — a gain that set up a 9-yard TD pass to Cam Coleman — he fumbled on a potential game-winning drive later on.

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To make matters worse for the Longhorns, their star pass rusher, Colin Simmons, suffered a lower-leg injury in the third quarter and didn’t return. Simmons is the nation’s sack leader.

This story is being updated.