Georgia uses fourth quarter comeback to defeat rival Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Georgia landed the final blow in its four-quarter football fight with Florida.

“Cardiac kids, man, cardiac kids,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said in his on-field interview after emerging victorious in the rivalry game for the fifth-straight time.

Chauncey Bowens, a redshirt freshman from Port St. Lucie, scored the game-winning touchdown in his home state, breaking tackles on his 36-yard touchdown run with 4:36 left to lift the Bulldogs to the 24-20 win.

Georgia stopped Florida on its final possession when Ellis Robinson IV broke up a fourth-down DJ Lagway (15-of-24 passing, 166 yards, one touchdown) pass at the Gators’ 30 with 3:13 left.

UGA’s offense picked up two first downs and ran out the clock, Stockton kneeling at the 1 on what could have been a touchdown before Georgia kneeled at the 2- and 3-yard lines to end the game.

No. 5 Georgia improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the SEC with the first set of College Football Playoff rankings due out on Tuesday night.

Bowens’ touchdown represented the fifth lead change in the neutral-site rivalry game played before a crowd of 76,131 at EverBank Stadium.

Florida (3-5, 2-3) held a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter and was driving for more when a Georgia defense led by CJ Allen’s career-high 13 tackles hunkered down, stopping the Gators on a fourth-and-1 at the UGA 18 with 7:54 left.

UGA freshman defensive tackle Elijah Griffin and junior linebacker Raylen Wilson converted on Florida back Jadan Baugh, stopping him at the line for no gain to give the Bulldogs possession and change the momentum in the game.

“It was a huge stop, I didn’t think we played real well defensively, but we won the game,” Smart said. “(Then) the offense played when they had to. We’ve got some kids that are warriors.”

Chief among them, quarterback Gunner Stockton (20-of-29 passing, 223 yards, 2 touchdowns, one interception), who took over the game down the stretch.

Stockton opened the game-winning drive with a critical third-and-8 conversion, hitting Zachariah Branch (10 catches, 112 yards) for 18 yards to the UGA 38 with 6:25 left to move the chains.

Stockton hit all three of his pass attempts on the drive, netting 38 yards, before Bowens broke loose up the middle for the game-winning score.

Florida had taken a 20-17 lead on the second play of the fourth quarter when Trey Smack hit a 54-yard field goal.

The Gators scored on the drive before when Baugh, a former Columbia (Ga.) High School standout, powered through the middle of the line on a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

Lagway completed two of three passes on the scoring drive for 24 yards and aided the cause with a 26-yard run on a QB draw facing a second-and-20 at the Florida 35.

The Gators benefited from two UGA pass interference penalties on the drive, the second putting the ball at the 2 to set up Baugh’s touchdown run.

The game was tied 10-10 at halftime, but Georgia took a 17-10 lead on its first possession of the second half when Stockton hit Texas A&M transfer receiver Noah Thomas in the end zone with a 22-yard touchdown pass.

Branch sparked the drive when he reeled in a third-and-5 slant pass from Stockton at the first-down mark and turned the ball upfield for a 42-yard gain to the Florida 27.

The Bulldogs were 7 of 15 on third-down conversions, while the Gators were 2 of 11 in their first game coached by interim Billy Gonzales, who took over when Billy Napier was fired on Oct. 19.

Georgia was down two defensive starters by halftime, with the game tied 10-10 at that stage.

UGA game captain Jordan Hall suffered a leg injury and left the game on the Gators’ opening offensive series, and starting safety KJ Bolden was ejected for targeting on Florida’s final series of the first half.

Dillon Bell opened the scoring in the game when he was on the receiving end of an 8-yard touchdown pass from Stockton, the Bulldogs marching 75 yards on eight plays after taking the opening kick.

The Gators answered on their second possession after a 24-yard Brett Thorson punt gave Florida field position at the UGA 40.

On the first play of the drive, Lagway scrambled and found Eugene Wilson lll open at the Bulldogs’ 3-yard line, and Wilson took the ball into the end zone at the 6:32 mark leading to the 7-7 tie.

Florida went up 10-7 at the 3:02 mark of the first quarter on a 22-yard field goal, five plays after Devin Moore intercepted a Stockton pass at the 38-yard line that went off the hands of Thomas.

Georgia tied the game on Peyton Woodring’s 39-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the first half.