Thanks to a stellar second half performance by the defense and a good enough one from the offense, the Gators picked up their third straight win over Georgia, this one by a 24-10 margin.
Onto the analysis:
It was over when: Marcus Maye and Duke Dawson broke up third and fourth down passes from Jacob Eason to turn the ball over back to Florida midway through the fourth quarter.
Game ball goes to: Jordan Scarlett. There’s always somebody who seems to have a big day on the ground against Georgia, and this year it was the sophomore from Fort Lauderdale. Scarlett finished with 26 carries for 93 tough, hard earned yards.
Stat of the game: 46. The Bulldogs had just 46 yards of total offense in the second half on six drives.
What to like: Florida’s defense is as nasty as ever. After struggling a bit in the first half, the Gators locked down in the final thirty minutes and forced four punts and two turnovers on downs. And while the offense still isn’t playing at a championship level, it did its job today.
What to work on: Luke Del Rio managed the game fine and was mostly invisible in the second half, but that was after several questionable first half decisions that included an ugly interception late over the middle. He’s had time to heal and get back into a groove, and he really hasn’t done it. Improvements still need to be made, and they need to be made now.
Offensive grade: B-. Eh. Nothing to see here. Florida ran wild against Georgia’s defense for the third straight year- credit the offensive line and Scarlett for that- but otherwise didn’t really impress.
Defensive grade: B+. The defense was pretty good, but also busted a few coverages in the first half. Then again, they were really good in the second half, so I’m not complaining. It certainly beats reversing the order of which half they play well in, as we saw against Tennessee.
Special teams grade: B. Eddy Pineiro missed one field goal and made another, and Johnny Townsend had some punts that were better than others. Circle the “no effect” option here.
Bottom line: Florida beat Georgia for the third straight time and moved ever closer to the SEC Championship Game. Plus, Georgia is always the big game for me. (Yes, bigger than FSU.) But there’s still work to do, both in terms of the schedule with road trips to Arkansas and LSU looming and schematically/execution wise. The Gators must figure out ways to score touchdowns when they enter or near the red zone; do that, and they’ll be tough to beat.
Scoring recap:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| GEORGIA | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLORIDA | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
Scoring plays:
| Team | Time | Play | UGA | FLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEORGIA | 1st 9:59 | Rodrigo Blankenship 25 yd FG good | 3 | 0 |
| FLORIDA | 1st :17 | C’yontai Lewis 19 yd pass from Luke Del Rio (PAT good) | 3 | 7 |
| GEORGIA | 2nd 12:02 | Riley Ridley 14 yd pass from Jacob Eason (PAT good) | 10 | 7 |
| FLORIDA | 2nd 1:37 | Jordan Scarlett 2 yd run (PAT good) | 10 | 14 |
| FLORIDA | 3rd 3:11 | Antonio Callaway 4 yd run (PAT good) | 10 | 21 |
| FLORIDA | 4th 4:24 | Eddy Pineiro 38 yd FG good | 10 | 24 |
