Jaydon Hill has battled to get back on the field for well over a year now and that battle paid off for Gator Football as Hill recorded a pair of critical interceptions that may have very well been the deciding factor in Florida’s 24-17 win over Missouri on Saturday.

Hill suffered a torn ACL that kept him out for the entire 2021 season and re-injured that same knee during spring practice. The Florida DB made his return to action against Eastern Washington last Sunday before having a breakout performance against the Tigers.

Hill recorded his first and second career INTs off of Brady Cook with the first one being taken the other way for a pick six and the second preventing Mizzou from capitalizing on a trip into the Gators’ red zone.

Florida’s offense struggled to gain any traction in the first half, being held to just 14 rushing yards with quarterback Anthony Richardson being held in check both in the air and on the ground.

In what was a similar start to Mizzou’s last road trip against Auburn, the Tigers faced a double-digit deficit in the first quarter after an Xzavier Henderson punt return set Florida up with a short field and an easy 3 points.

This was followed up by Brady Cook’s pass intended for Luther Burden III being picked off by Jaydon Hill after Hill jumped the route and had nothing but green grass separating him from the endzone.

Florida wasn’t able to build on their 10-0 lead as missed opportunities let Missouri hang around. A missed field goal from Adam Mihalek shifted momentum as the Tigers responded with a 5-yard TD run from Cody Schrader.

Anthony Richardson’s struggles with turnovers continued as a lost fumble set Mizzou up deep in Gator territory. However, the Tigers’ offense was unable to capitalize and settled for a chip shot from Harrison Mevis to tie it at the half.

Florida’s rushing offense came to life in the second half when Trevor Etienne and Anthony Richardson broke off a pair of runs going 39 and 32 yards respectively. This set Montrell Johnson Jr. up for the go ahead score early in the second half.

Mizzou responded with a drive reaching the Gator red zone and sought to tie it up. Jaydon Hill had other ideas as his second pick of the afternoon kept Brady Cook and the offense from coming away with anything.

Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”, set the backdrop for the fourth quarter where Florida looked to do what they could not a season ago and put away the Tigers.

A 91-yard drive capped off by Anthony Richardson finding Ricky Pearsall in the end zone would give the Gators a much needed cushion in the waning minutes in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

With their backs against the wall, Mizzou was able to respond with a touchdown drive of their own that included a pair of long third down conversions from Brady Cook. Nathaniel Peat capped off the drive with an 18-yard scamper that brought the Tigers within a score.

With less than six minutes remaining in “the Swamp”, Mizzou needed a stop to set themselves up with one last chance to send the game to overtime.

Anthony Richardson has dealt with costly interceptions all season and he nearly had another one when a deflected ball wound up in the hands of Daylan Carnell, setting the Tigers up with a chance to force overtime for the second year in a row in this matchup.

Notice how I said “nearly”, as the Gators defense forced a game sealing fourth down stop on an incomplete pass intended for Tauskie Dove.

Billy Napier picked up his first conference win as the Gators’ head coach after escaping with a 24-17 victory against Mizzou that tied the all-time series up 6-6.

Mizzou dropped their third consecutive one-score game to start off SEC play and their bowl hopes are looking more and more like a pipe dream with each passing week.

Mizzou’s defense did what it needed to, giving up just 297 yards of total offense and holding Florida to 3/11 on third down. Anthony Richardson was held to just 66 passing yards and had two turnovers on the day.

What decided this one was Florida’s ability to capitalize off of turnovers, getting 14 points off of two Mizzou turnovers while the Tigers could only muster together 3 points off of a pair of Gator turnovers.

Mizzou enters its bye at 2-4 before hosting Vanderbilt for homecoming in a must win game for the Tigers’ postseason ambitions.

Florida (4-2) welcomes LSU to Gainesville next Saturday night and are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against the Tigers.