JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a game that was more a survival of the fittest than a Georgia-Florida classic, the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs overcame another rough outing by quarterback Carson Beck and came from behind to score a 34-20 victory over the resurgent Gators.
Georgia overcame three more interceptions by Beck — that’s six in the past two games — but saw the senior from Jacksonville throw two second-half touchdown passes as the Bulldogs’ rallied from a 10-3 second-quarter deficit to record their fourth consecutive victory over archrival Florida.
The final score belies what a hard-fought, closely contested game this was. The game did not turn until the Bulldogs scored the final 14 points in the last four minutes of play.
A seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive highlighted by Beck’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Lovett on third down broke a 20-20 tie with 4:01 to play.
That was followed 14 seconds later by Georgia linebacker CJ Allen’s interception of the Gators’ third-string quarterback, Aidan Warner. Aided by a tripping penalty against Florida, the Bulldogs took over at the Florida 7 and scored two plays later on Dwight Phillips’ 4-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep right. In less than one minute, Georgia turned a tie score into a 14-point lead.
Able to secure victory from there, the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC) defeated their SEC archrivals for a fourth year in a row for the first time since the 1983 season. They’ll head to Oxford, Miss., to take on No. 18 Ole Miss on Saturday. The Rebels (7-2, 2-2) annihilated Arkansas 63-31 Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Beck finished 25-of-40 passing for 309 yards with two TDs and three interceptions. Freshman running back Nate Frazier led the Bulldogs with 82 yards rushing on 19 carries as Georgia doubled up the Gators in offensive production 455 yards to 228.
Florida lost its starting quarterback to injury for the second time this season when DJ Lagway went out with a leg injury late in the second quarter. Meanwhile, four Gators defensive backs were sidelined with injuries in the game.
Still, Florida managed to hang with Georgia to the midway point of the fourth quarter. That’s when Warner, a redshirt freshman walk-on from Winter Park, Fla., led the Gators on a five-play, 55-yard scoring drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown run by Ja’Kobi Jackson.
Georgia also benefited from a bad snap on what would have been a 51-yard field-goal try by Florida’s Trey Smack. The play resulted in a 31-yard loss for the Gators and set up Georgia’s three-play, 36-yard drive that was capped by Cash Jones’ 22-yard touchdown reception.
Georgia had its own injury issues. The notable storyline of running back Trevor Etienne starring for the Bulldogs against his former team went by the wayside when the junior was sidelined with a rib injury in the second quarter and did not return.
Lagway was carted off the field at the 5:01 mark of the second quarter with what looked like a hamstring injury. Florida was leading 10-3 at the time. The freshman finished 2-of-6 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown and had another 18 yards rushing. Warner was 7-of-22 for 66 yards passing.
Another disappointing first-half performance by Georgia’s offense in Beck sent the Bulldogs to the halftime locker room trailing 13-6. Beck threw two more interceptions – giving him five in the past six quarters against no touchdowns – and had nearly as many incompletions (12) as completions (13).
The Bulldogs outgained Florida 222-150 in the opening 30 minutes, but the Gators scored 10 points on short fields off of Beck’s two turnovers. The first one came when Beck inexplicably threw into double-coverage down the left sideline for split end London Humphreys. Cornerback Devin Moore intercepted the ball and returned it to the Georgia 43.
Lagway would need only one play to hit paydirt. Florida’s Aidan Mizell got behind Georgia safety Malaki Starks, who bit on a play-action fake, and trotted into the end zone with a perfectly thrown pass for a 43-yard touchdown. That put the Gators ahead 7-3.
Just two minutes after his first interception, Beck threw another one. This one was severely underthrown for Dillon Bell over the middle. Safety Aaron Gates returned the interception 30 yards down the field, setting up the Gators at midfield with 11:47 to go in the second quarter.
This time, the Gators needed 10 plays to advance the football, reaching the Georgia 13. But the Bulldogs held them there and forced a 32-yard field goal, which Smack was happy to convert for a 10-3 Gators’ lead at the 7:22 mark.
The teams traded punts when Florida lost Lagway on what seemed like an ordinary play. Though there was not contact with Lagway’s lower extremities by Georgia’s KJ Bolden, the freshman quarterback immediately clutched his left leg. Never leaving the ground, a medical cart eventually was sent on the field to retrieve Lagway with 5:01 remaining in the half.
While Warner didn’t have an opportunity to do much with his first two possessions, he looked like an experienced veteran on Florida’s final offensive series of the half. He led the Gators 40 yards in eight plays to set them up for a 53-yard field-goal attempt with three seconds remaining in the half. Smack made it with plenty of room to spare.
Smack’s kick was made possible in part because Beck couldn’t move Georgia’s offense its previous possession. Georgia coach Kirby Smart had brilliantly managed the clock, using all three timeouts with the Bulldogs’ on defense to get the ball back at the Florida 48 with 1:13 to go.
What did Beck do with that? After a first-down completion to Jones for 13 yards: incomplete, incomplete, incomplete (almost intercepted). Kicker Peyton Woodring bailed out the Bulldogs with a 53-yard field goal to cut the Florida lead to 10-6. But the 30-second possession gave the Gators time to score again.
