No. 3 Georgia ended its three-game losing streak to Florida with a resounding 42-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
The victory pushed the Bulldogs’ record to 8-0, 5-0 in the SEC. Florida fell to 3-4, 3-3 in conference play.
Georgia is 8-0 for the eighth time in program history. The win leaves the Dogs at 6-8 in the past 14 games against the Gators after losing 13 of the previous 14.
Also, Georgia now has outscored its SEC opponents 212-52 this season.
Now the Bulldogs will wait on the first College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released Tuesday night.
Here are five observations from the game:
Georgia scores three times in its first eight plays.
On the Bulldogs’ first three possessions, they scored three touchdowns on eight plays to take a 21-0 lead. Georgia gained 156 yards on those plays. Meanwhile, the defense held Florida to nine plays and two yards on the Gators’ first three possessions. During that time, Georgia sacked Feleipe Franks once and the Dogs’ Dominick Sanders intercepted a pass that ricocheted off a Gators receiver.
For the first time since 1988, Florida did not score on Georgia in the first half. That game was legendary coach Vince Dooley’s final game against the Gators.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs averaged 9.4 yards per play. They had only 42 plays on offense, compared with 66 by the Gators, who averaged only 3.8 yards per play.
Michel breaks two long runs.
Georgia running back Sony Michel gained 137 yards on six carries and scored two touchdowns. But most of his damage came on the two touchdowns. Michel went for 74 and 55 yards on those plays. Georgia’s other rushers added 155 yards on 29 carries. Nick Chubb gained 77 yards on 13 carries, including a 22-yard run. He scored on a 6-yard carry for Georgia’s first touchdown. Chubb and Michel played only the first three quarters. Elijah Holyfield scored on a 39-yard run with 11:22 to play in the fourth quarter.
The running game carried the day for Georgia, as quarterback Jake Fromm attempted only seven passes, completing four for 101 yards and a nice throw on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Javon Wims.
D’Andre Swift continues to impress.
The freshman running back caught three passes for 84 yards. He had a 27-yard catch on a long pass play in the fourth quarter and caught two screen passes for 57 yards. The first went for a 39-yard gain. Swift was limited to eight yards rushing on four carries, but he gained seven on one carry.
Florida goes for it on fourth, twice. Neither worked.
Facing a fourth-and-2 with the ball on the Georgia 4-yard line in the second quarter, the Gators went for it. The call was a pass into the end zone, and it fell incomplete. The Gators went for it on fourth down again in the third quarter. This time it was a fourth-and-4 play at the Georgia 24, and again the call was for a pass into the end zone. It was almost caught, but an offensive pass-interference penalty was called on the play, so there would have been no touchdown if the ball was caught.
Second-largest margin in 35 years.
The Bulldogs’ 35-point margin of victory was the most for the Bulldogs since 1982. That year the top-ranked Bulldogs, in an undefeated season in which Herschel Walker won the Heisman Trophy, defeated the Gators 44-0. Other memorable lopsided Georgia victories in the series include 49-7 in 1971 and 51-0 in 1968.
