GAMEDAY College Football
Georgia 42, Florida 20
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Daijun Edwards and Kenny McIntosh ran for two touchdowns each, and No. 1 Georgia pulled away from Florida following a second-half scare to win 42-20 in the rivalry dubbed "the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."
The defending national champion Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) looked to be in trouble when the Gators (4-4, 1-4) scored the first 17 points of the third quarter and turned a 28-3 deficit into a one-score game.
But the Dawgs answered with consecutive touchdown drives to seal their 10th consecutive victory. Georgia beat Florida for the fifth time in six years.
Edwards finished with 106 yards rushing. McIntosh added 90 on the ground.
Stetson Bennett completed 19 of 38 passes for 316 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tight end Brock Bowers caught five passes for a career-high 154 yards, including a 73-yard score in which he hauled in a ball that tipped off linebacker Amari Burney.
Burney's luck turned in the second half when he forced a fumble that led to a field goal and then picked off a pass that set up Anthony Richardson's 78-yard TD pass to Xzavier Henderson.
Little else went the Gators' way. Georgia finished with 555 total yards against Florida's beleaguered defense and was 2-for-3 converting fourth-down plays.
Richardson threw for 271 yards and a touchdown for the Gators, who have lost 12 of their last 15 SEC games. Nearly half of Richardson's passing yards came on plays of 78 and 41 yards. Freshman Trevor Etienne ran for 53 yards and a score.
Georgia surely will celebrate this one after a day of mourning. Legendary coach Vince Dooley died Friday.
Dooley dominated the Georgia-Florida series during his coaching career, going 17-7-1 against the Gators. The most famous victory came in 1980, when Lindsay Scott hauled in a 93-yard touchdown pass from Buck Belue in the closing minute. The improbable 26-21 triumph propelled Georgia to a perfect season and their first consensus national title.
THE TAKEAWAY
Florida: Despite playing Kentucky and Tennessee tough earlier this season and then rallying against Georgia, the Gators have ground to make up in the SEC's Eastern Division. Napier knows it starts on the recruiting trail and losing five-star cornerback Cormani McClain on Thursday was a step back in Florida's rebuild.
Georgia: The Bulldogs struggled at times against Florida, most notably because of dropped passes, costly penalties and turnovers. Those are the kind of mistakes that could doom Georgia in close games as the toughest part of its schedule awaits. The Dawgs face No. 3 Tennessee, Mississippi State and 19th-ranked Kentucky the next three weeks.
SCOUTING PROSPECTS
Nine NFL teams were on hand to scout talent on both teams: Baltimore, Detroit, Jacksonville, Miami, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter surely ranks high atop everyone's wish list. He returned to action after missing the last two games with ankle/knee issues.
KEY INJURIES
Georgia standout linebacker Nolan Smith spent the second half in street clothes because of a shoulder injury. His position got even thinner when freshman Darris Smith was injured on the second-half kickoff, shaken up when Florida's Jack Pyburn drove him to the ground. Georgia right tackle Amarius Mims was helped off the field in the fourth quarter with a left knee injury.
| Scoring Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | Fla | UGa | |||
| UGa | TD | 7:15 | Daijun Edwards 1 yard TD run (Jack Podlesny Extra Point) | 0 | 7 |
| UGa | TD | 1:30 | Kenny McIntosh 2 yard TD run (Jack Podlesny Extra Point) | 0 | 14 |
| Second Quarter | Fla | UGa | |||
| UGa | TD | 12:36 | Brock Bowers 73 yard TD pass from Stetson Bennett (Jack Podlesny Extra Point) | 0 | 21 |
| Fla | FG | 5:35 | Adam Mihalek 52 yard field goal | 3 | 21 |
| UGa | TD | 0:17 | Ladd McConkey 7 yard TD pass from Stetson Bennett (Jack Podlesny Extra Point) | 3 | 28 |
| Third Quarter | Fla | UGa | |||
| Fla | TD | 9:34 | Trevor Etienne 3 yard TD run (Adam Mihalek Extra Point) | 10 | 28 |
| Fla | FG | 6:07 | Adam Mihalek 26 yard field goal | 13 | 28 |
| Fla | TD | 3:31 | Xzavier Henderson 78 yard TD pass from Anthony Richardson (Adam Mihalek Extra Point) | 20 | 28 |
| UGa | TD | 0:35 | Daijun Edwards 22 yard TD run (Jack Podlesny Extra Point) | 20 | 35 |
| Fourth Quarter | Fla | UGa | |||
| UGa | TD | 11:44 | Kenny McIntosh 4 yard TD run (Jack Podlesny Extra Point) | 20 | 42 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| First downs | 20 | 26 |
| Rushing | 6 | 12 |
| Passing | 9 | 13 |
| Penalty | 5 | 1 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 4-16, 25% | 6-12, 50% |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-3, 0% | 2-3, 67% |
| Rushes-Yards | 34-100 | 40-239 |
| Passing Yards | 271 | 316 |
| Return Yards | 60 | 52 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 18-37-0 | 19-38-2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 3-29 | 0-0 |
| Punts | 6 | 3 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Penalties - Yards | 7-53 | 4-40 |
| Florida Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| 18 | 37 | 271 | 1 | 0 | |
| Georgia Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| 19 | 38 | 316 | 2 | 2 | |
| Florida Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 11 | 53 | 4.8 | 1 | |
| 11 | 24 | 2.2 | 0 | |
| 11 | 19 | 1.7 | 0 | |
| 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | |
| Georgia Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 12 | 106 | 8.8 | 2 | |
| 16 | 90 | 5.6 | 2 | |
| 9 | 35 | 3.9 | 0 | |
| 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | |
| Florida Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 5 | 110 | 22.0 | 1 | |
| 3 | 66 | 22.0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 38 | 12.7 | 0 | |
| 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 0 | |
| 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | |
| Georgia Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 5 | 154 | 30.8 | 1 | |
| 4 | 51 | 12.8 | 1 | |
| 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 0 | |
| 2 | 28 | 14.0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | |
| 1 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | |
| Florida Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | |
| Georgia Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| Florida Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| 6 | 278 | 46.3 | |
| Georgia Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| 3 | 118 | 39.3 | |
| Florida Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| 1 | 12 | 12.0 | |
| Georgia Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| 1 | 7 | 7.0 | |
| Florida Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| 2 | 48 | 24.0 | |
| Georgia Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| 3 | 45 | 15.0 | |
| Florida Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| Georgia Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
