The game that was
Georgia fell behind 17-3 in the second quarter but rebounded for a 24-20 victory over Florida, using a stellar defense and an opportunistic offense to overcome poor special-teams play.
What we learned
1. Turnovers cut both ways in the Georgia-Florida series. After committing 12 turnovers to Florida's one while losing the three previous games in the series, Georgia won the turnover battle 2-1 on Saturday. Both Florida turnovers were deep in its own territory and produced Georgia touchdowns. The first, a Chris Rainey fumble forced by Alec Ogletree and recovered by Bacarri Rambo at the Florida 25-yard line late in the second quarter, led to a 20-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass from Aaron Murray to Michael Bennett, cutting the Gators' lead to 17-10. The second Florida turnover, a Frankie Hammond fumble forced by Jarvis Jones and recovered by Shawn Williams at the Florida 18 midway through the third quarter, led to a 14-yard, fourth-down TD pass from Murray to Tavarres King, tying the score at 17. Conversely, Florida did not get points out of Georgia's only turnover: The Gators intercepted a Murray pass at the Georgia 13 in the first quarter but lost 25 yards on the next three plays and punted.
2. Georgia's defense is a difference maker. After allowing 152 yards on Florida's first two possessions, the Bulldogs' defense held the Gators to 74 yards the rest of the game, including just 32 in the second half. The Bulldogs held Florida to minus-19 yards rushing for the game and sacked quarterback John Brantley six times, four of them by Jones.
3. Richard Samuel's return to running back paid off. With Isaiah Crowell limited by a shin contusion, tailback-turned-linebacker-turned tailback Samuel provided the power running Georgia needed to win the game. On the nine-play, 45-yard drive that produced the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Samuel had four carries for 23 yards, including a 4-yard score. And in the game's waning seconds, his 9-yard run for a first down enabled Georgia to run out the clock on the victory, though he then had to be helped off the field with a sprained ankle.
The numbers game
1
That's how many first downs Georgia's defense allowed Florida in the second half.
Sound bite
"Everyone has been saying how lopsided the series with Florida has been over the years, but this team was 0-0 [against the Gators] going into this game. And now we're 1-0."
-- Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray
Loose ends
The game marked the second time this season Georgia held an opponent to negative rushing yardage. Tennessee had minus-20 yards rushing against the Bulldogs. ... Walk-on receiver Rhett McGowan's catch for a first down in the third quarter was the second reception of his UGA career. ... Will Muschamp dropped to 0-5 in the Georgia-Florida series -- 0-4 as a Georgia player and 0-1 as the Florida coach. ... Jones' four sacks tied for second most in a game in UGA history. ... Florida had a whopping 200 kickoff return yards. ... The Gators were penalized 14 times for 106 yards, Georgia four times for 22.
What's next?
Georgia (6-2, 5-1 SEC) plays a non-conference game against New Mexico State (3-5, 1-3 WAC) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Sanford Stadium. The game will be televised on CSS. New Mexico State is coming off a 48-34 loss to Nevada and will be paid $925,000 by UGA for making the trip to Athens.
Tim Tucker
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