The third-ranked Florida Gators derailed their stunning charge toward an SEC Eastern Division championship with their sloppiest performance of the year.
No. 12 Georgia delivered a staggering blow to No. 3 Florida with a 17-9 win at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The Gators had full control of the East going into the game, but now need help to win it.
Their winning formula of using exceptional defense and opportunistic defense to cover for a limited offense unraveled due to two interceptions and four lost fumbles.
“I’ve said all season long we’re not a team that has a lot of margin for error,” coach Will Muschamp said. “Six turnovers. Wow.”
It was puzzling for Florida (7-1, 6-1 SEC), which had only given the ball away four times all season. Quarterback Jeff Driskel lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions, Trey Burton lost a fumble and tight end Jordan Reed could not hold onto the ball as he leaped desperately for a potential game-tying touchdown in the final minutes.
The Gators’ undefeated season is spoiled, undercutting what has been an impressive turnaround by a team that was barely bowl eligible last season. Georgia (7-1, 5-1) can secure the division outright by winning its final two conference games, regardless of what the Gators do in their SEC finale against Missouri this week.
The Bulldogs now own the head-to-head tie-breaker, so Florida must finish a full game ahead of them to claim the SEC East. Georgia’s remaining games are against Ole Miss and Auburn.
In addition to squandering the lead, Florida’s surprising contention for a national championship is virtually finished.
“We can’t let one loss bring us all the way down,” said linebacker Jon Bostic, from Palm Beach Central High School. “We’ve still got some dreams, so we’ve got to play hard and let everything else play out.”
The final month of the regular season is relatively easy for the Gators compared to what they faced this month, though a road trip to No. 11 Florida State looms at the end of November.
Georgia could not bury the Gators and only converted two of its six takeaways into points. Despite what Muschamp called “self-inflicted situations,” Florida was at the edge of redemption, down 17-9 in the final minutes.
“It was a very winnable game,” Muschamp said. “No doubt.”
Driskel led a drive from his own 26-yard line and hit Reed on a pass over the middle with 2:05 remaining. Reed ran for the end zone then hurdled a defender at the 5e-yard line and lost the ball when Bulldogs linebacker Jarvis Jones punched it out from behind.
Instead of Reed landing for a touchdown that would have given UF a chance to tie the game on a two-point conversion, Georgia recovered the ball in the end zone and ran out the clock to win.
“No one play loses the game,” Muschamp said. “Great effort on Jordan’s part trying to get the ball in the end zone. Just gotta do a better job with ball security.”
Jones caused problems all afternoon, just like he did with four sacks in Georgia’s 24-20 win a year ago. He had three sacks with 1.5 other tackles for loss this time and constantly was in the backfield. He forced two fumbles.
Florida stumbled from the onset. Driskel fumbled twice in the first three plays, the second of which was recovered by Jones at UF’s 20-yard line. That set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Todd Gurley for a 7-0 lead.
The Gators’ offensive line struggled in the run game and pass protection. Driskel rarely had time and completed 14 of 26 passes for 185 yards. The Bulldogs sacked him five times for 45 yards.
Not counting sacks, Florida rushed 34 times for 133 yards. Mike Gillislee led the Gators with 77 yards on 22 rushes.
Florida’s defense was good enough to keep the game in reach, with the only major lapse coming on a late touchdown pass. Aaron Murray found Malcolm Mitchell on a short throw, and cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy missed a tackle that would have stopped it for a 7-yard gain. Mitchell ran 45 yards for a touchdown, pushing the lead from 10-9 to 17-9 with 7:11 left.
Florida suffocated Murray’s receivers, and he was 12-for-24 with three interceptions. Gurley hurt the Gators with 27 carries for 118 yards, the most any back has put up against Florida.
The defense was strong overall, but not good enough for a team that was aiming for perfection.
“There were plays we could’ve made,” cornerback Jaylen Watkins said. “The object is to keep the team at zero points, and we didn’t do that.”
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