COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Put this on FireRonZook.com - a come-from-behind win that kept alive Florida's hopes of a conference title.
The 18th-ranked Gators turned a critical turnover into a decisive touchdown, then held off South Carolina, 24-22, in a mistake-filled game at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Freshman Chris Leak threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score as Florida rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to finish its Southeastern Conference schedule.
The Gators (8-3, 6-2 SEC East) guaranteed themselves at least a share of first place in the SEC East, where three teams could end up tied at season's end, bringing in a newly created seventh tiebreaker.
It was the seventh straight win for the Gators, who split their first four games, giving ammunition to those interested in getting coach Ron Zook out of Gainesville. Some die-hards have contributed to the Web site www.FireRonZook.com.
"Everyone had given up on us - the media, even the students on campus," offensive lineman Shannon Snell said. "I'm sure FireRonZook.com was running hot. But we kept trying to play through it, and here we are as a team, playing for the SEC East championship.
Florida, which won its 13th straight against South Carolina, leads the division, but if Georgia (5-2) and Tennessee (4-2) win out, they force a three-way tie.
It didn't look good for the Gators wen Chavez Donnings returned a punt 73 yards for a score on the final play of the first half, making it 16-7. But things turned in the third quarter.
Leak finished the first drive of the second half with a seven-yard TD pass to tight end Ben Troupe as Florida closed within 16-14. The Gamecocks then faked a punt on 4th-and-1 from their own 26 and lost six yards.
"The fake punt was a shock," South Carolina freshman defensive back Cory Boyd said. "But the coaches told us we had to answer back if we wanted to win."
Matt Leach kicked a 22-yard field goal with 2:03 left in the third quarter to give Florida the lead for good, 17-16.
On their next possession, the Gamecocks tried another trick play, but Donnings dropped the handoff on an end-around and Guss Scott fell on it, giving Florida possession at South Carolina's 13.
"You're going to have mistakes," Gamecocks coach Lou Holtz said. "We made a couple more than they did."
Wynn turned one of South Carolina's two turnovers into a 10-yard TD run, increasing Florida's lead to 24-16 with 61 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Gamecocks closed within 24-22 on quarterback Dondrial Pinkins' five-yard scoring run 4:56 into the fourth quarter. But after burning their final timeout, Pinkins was stopped at the goal line on a potential game-tying two-point conversion.
The last play was a desperation pass that Keiwan Ratliff picked off for his ninth interception of the season - five off the Division I single-season record.
The Gamecocks (5-6, 2-6) dropped their third consecutive game overall. They must defeat Clemson next week in their season finale to become bowl eligible.
