Feleipe Franks had the last laugh after leading Florida to a fourth-quarter comeback win against South Carolina after a hectic week that almost saw him lose his job.
It’s been a heck of a week for Florida starting quarterback Feleipe Franks. Last Saturday, Franks was at the center of the blame for the Gators loss to Missouri. He was benched in favor of Kyle Trask and there was a question whether Dan Mullen would bench Franks in favor of Trask for Saturday’s game vs. South Carolina. There was no decision for Mullen to make after Trask was injured during practice late in the week and Franks remained the starter heading into a crucial SEC East showdown.
It didn’t start well with the Gators trailing 14-0 after the first quarter in The Swamp and the boo birds were chirping. Things turned around in the second quarter with a pair of unanswered Florida touchdowns, including a Franks 10-yard touchdown run. After the run, Franks shushed the home crowd, in a move you won’t see too often.
Franks had heard enough of the criticism and was tired of not getting support from the home fans and had to send his own message, no matter how questionable that decision was.
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It backfired immediately after as South Carolina scored the next 17 points to take a 31-14 lead and it appeared the Gators were belly up and done for.
That’s just where Franks and Florida had them as they scored the 21 unanswered points to get a big comeback win in The Swamp by the final score of 35-31 and led to Franks shushing the doubters again.
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It’s an odd move to taunt the home fans, but I can understand where Franks was coming from. He’s a guy who has been beaten up by the home fans for years because he’s been the starting quarterback for a team that’s underachieved and failed to generate much offense. It’s okay to feel like he hasn’t been supported by the home fans, but acting out like this isn’t the best look.
I’m sure Mullen is going to tell him that in the locker room after the game.
But maybe, just maybe, there were a few thousand fans in attendance who were won over by Franks during the comeback and instead of booing him, will be cheering for him as the Gators chase nine wins this season and a chance for a 10th in a bowl game.
Franks finished with 161 yards passing with a touchdown and added two rushing touchdowns. Florida has Idaho and Florida State left on the schedule. If Franks plays the way he did down the stretch in this comeback, the crowd at Florida State will be showering him with boos too.
He will enjoy those a bit more than the ones he gets from the home fans.