Bulldogs deliver late, beat Gators 34-20

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The No. 2-ranked Georgia football came up with several big plays late in the game to knock off Florida, 34-20, on Saturday afternoon at EverBank Stadium, earning its fourth win in a row over the Gators.

With the game tied 20-20 with just over four minutes remaining, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck connected with wide receiver Dominic Lovett for a 10-yard touchdown with 4:01 to play in the game. That was followed soon after by an interception by linebacker CJ Allen, and running back Dwight Phillips, Jr. later scored on a 4-yard run to seal the victory for the Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 SEC).

Georgia now leads the all-time series with Florida 57-44-2, including 50-41-2 in Jacksonville. On Saturday, Georgia, despite three turnovers, out-gained the Gators 455-228, with Beck passing for 309 yards and two touchdowns and running back Nate Frazier leading the ground attack with 82 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs moved the ball all the way down to the Florida 5-yard line on their second drive of the game before having to settle for a 23-yard Peyton Woodring field goal and a 3-0 lead with 2:10 left in the first quarter.

Florida (4-4, 2-3) produced the first turnover of the game early in the second quarter, intercepting a Beck pass at the Georgia 43. On the next play, Gator quarterback DJ Lagway hit wideout Aidan Mizell for a 43-yard touchdown and a 7-3 Florida lead with 13:42 left in the half.

The Gators picked off another Beck pass on Georgia’s next drive, taking over at the Florida 49. The Gators drove inside the 15 before the Bulldog defense forced them to settle for a 32-yard Trey Smack field goal, pushing Florida’s lead to 10-3 with 7:22 remaining in the second quarter.

With 43 seconds left in the half, Woodring kicked a 53-yard field goal to cut the Florida lead to 10-6. The Gators, playing with backup quarterback Aidan Warner after Lagway left the game earlier in the quarter with an injury, answered with a 53-yarder from Smack to make it 13-6 Florida at halftime. At the break, Georgia had 222 yards to Florida’s 150, but the Gators were able to score 10 points off their two takeaways.

The Gators forced another turnover over on Georgia’s first drive of the third quarter, intercepting Beck, who was hit as he threw the ball, for the third time and taking over at the 50. The Bulldog defense forced a quick three-and-out, with cornerback Daylen Everette tackling Warner for a 3-yard loss on third down, to get the ball back without any damage done.

Georgia put together its best drive of the game on its next possession to tie things up 13-13 with 7:01 left in the third. Beck completed passes of 9 and 17 yards to Dominic Lovett, Dillon Bell ran 33 yards to the Florida 15 and later caught an 11-yard pass to the 2, and Nate Frazier capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Florida’s next drive ended with a bad snap on a long field-goal attempt, with the Gators losing 31 yards on the play and Georgia taking over at the Florida 36. The Bulldogs took full advantage, going ahead 20-13 on a 22-yard touchdown catch by Cash Jones out of the backfield. Jones broke a tackle near the 13 and dragged a couple of defenders with him into the end zone.

After being held scoreless in the third quarter, the Gators tied the game on a 15-yard Ja’Kobi Jackson touchdown run, making it 20-20 with 7:29 remaining.

Georgia regained the lead on its next possession, driving 75 yards in seven plays and scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Lovett with 4:01 to play. Earlier in the drive, facing a third-and-7 at the Bulldog 28, Beck connected with Arian Smith for a 34-yard gain to the Gator 38. That was followed by a 21-yard completion to Lawson Luckie down to the 17.

The Bulldog defense then produced its first takeaway on the first play of the ensuing Florida drive. Linebacker CJ Allen intercepted a Warner pass and returned it 8 yards to the Gator 7-yard line. Two plays later, Dwight Phillips Jr. ran the ball in for a 4-yard touchdown and a 34-20 lead with 3:03 to play.

Allen led the defense with eight tackles and the interception, and linebacker Raylen Wilson added seven. Linebacker Chaz Chambliss had a pair of sacks for two of Georgia’s six tackles for loss.

The Bulldogs hit the road for the final time in the regular season next week when they visit No. 19 Ole Miss. Georgia’s final three games are at Sanford Stadium, starting Nov. 16 against No. 7 Tennessee.

POST-GAME NOTES

*Another Win! With today’s 34-20 victory, No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) has now won 46 of its past 47 games including 32 of its past 33 SEC regular season games. The Bulldogs are 53-3 in their last 56 games. With the latest victory, Georgia’s 2024 senior class improves to 49-3 overall and 43-1 in the regular season. Georgia leads the UF series now 57-44-2 including 7-2 in the Kirby Smart era.

*Defensive Review: UF finished with 20 points on 228 yards of total offense. At the half, UF led 13-6 on 150 yards of total offense on 32 plays

*UF had no points on 26 yards in the first quarter. Then in the 2nd quarter, UF got an INT (Devin Moore) at took over at its 44, and it led to a 43-yard TD pass from DJ Lagway to Aidan Mizell to take a 7-3 lead with 13:42 left in the first half.

*UF’s next possession came after an INT by Aaron Gates with a 30-yard return to the UF49. It led to a 32-yard field goal and a 10-3 UF edge.

*UF scored 10 points off three turnovers, going just 37 and 43 yards on the scoring drives. Opponents now have 34 points off 12 turnovers.

*With 1:32 left in the first half and UF pinned at its own 4, the Bulldogs forced the Gators to a three-and-out for minus two yards with 1:13 left.

*UF got the ball to start the 2nd half, and Georgia forced them to a three-and-out. The Gators got their third INT at midfield following a punt but did not score.

*Georgia’s top tacklers were CJ Allen with eight,  Raylen Wilson had seven and Chaz Chambliss with six.

*Sophomore CJ Allen notched his first career  INT which the Bulldogs turned into a TD as the Bulldogs turned two UF miscues into 14 points.

*In the 3rd quarter, hunior Jalon Walker recovered a fumbled snap on a field goal attempt and recovered it at the UGA 36. It led to a go-ahead TD.

*Summary Of The Offense: Georgia finished with 34 points and 455 yards of offense. At the half, Georgia trailed 13-6 with 222 yards of offense.

*Senior QB Carson Beck finished 25-for-40 for309 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs. In the first half, he was 13-for-25 for 167 yards with 2 INTs.

*The Bulldogs had 146 rushing yards on 33 attempts. Freshman Nate Frazier had a team-high 82 yards and a TD. Junior Trevor Etienne had 31 yards, all in the first half. Freshman Dwight Phillips, Jr. scored a TD on his first career carry as it covered four yards.

*Georgia’s second drive of the game started at their own 12, and it led to a 23-yard field goal and 3-0 edge.

*The next two possessions ended on an INTs as UF built a 10-3 lead off the turnovers.

*Down 10-3 with 1:13 left in the first half and no timeouts, the Bulldogs hit a 53-yard field goal with 48 seconds to close the gap to 10-6.

*Georgia has trailed now three times at halftime this season in SEC games, (6-3 at Kentucky, 30-7 at #4 Alabama) and today. The Bulldogs came back to beat UK 13-12 and fell at #4 UA 41-34 and emerged with a 34-20 win today versus UF.

*Today marked the third time this season when the Bulldogs were held to field goals in the first half. In the season opener, Georgia led No. 14 Clemson 6-0 in Atlanta and trailed at Kentucky 6-3. The Bulldogs went on to win those first two games and did so tonight to by a score of 34-20.

*Georgia tied the game at 13 with 7:01 left in the 3rd quarter on a Frazier two-yard TD and PAT to cap an 83-yard, eight play drive in 4:09.

*Following a Jalon Walker fumble recovery on a UF field goal attempt, the Bulldogs went up 20-13 on a three play 36-yard TD drive capped by a 22-yard pass from Beck to Cash Jones with 1:20 left in the 3rd quarter. It was Jones’ second career receiving TD and gave him a career-best in receiving yards as he finished with three catches for 37 yards.

*After UF tied it 20-all, Georgia went 75 yards on seven plays capped by a Lovett 10-yard TD to go up 27-20. Following Bell’s INT, Phillips scored his TD to cap a two play, seven-yard drive for the final 34-20.

*Catching Up With The Receivers: Nine Bulldogs had a catch with the leading receivers senior Dominic Lovett (7-for-52 yards, 1 TD) and junior Dillon Bell (4-for-50) and. In the 3rd quarter, Bell had a career-long 33-yard rush to the UF15 as part of an eventual game-tying TD drive.

*Special Teams In Action: Sophomore PK Peyton Woodring tallied 10 points on a 23-yard and 53-yard field goals and four PATs plus handled kickoffs. Woodring is 14-for-15 this year on field goals including 2-for-3 from 50+ this season.

*Junior P Brett Thorson averaged 42.0 yards on five punts including a 51-yarder and two inside the 20 with no returns. Georgia has not allowed a positive yard on a return this season and the streak entering today stands at 26 games.

*With sophomore KOR/PR/WR Anthony Evans sidelined due to injury, Cash Jones and Dillon Bell served as the KORs while Malaki Starks was the PR with two for 10 yards. Before today, Coming in today, Evans was the only Bulldog to have a PR or KOR this season.

*Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters: Georgia’s captains were Carson Beck, Tate Ratledge, CJ Allen and Chaz Chambliss. UF won the toss and deferred the ball until the second half. Freshman DB KJ Bolden made his first career start while JaCorey Thomas (Star) made his second start of the year as starters Dan Jackson and Joenel Aguero missed the first half due to trageting penalties from the 2nd half of the Texas contest. Ratledge did not start but returned to action at right guard during the first series after missing the past four games due to injury. Ratledge went in when RG starter Micah Morris left the game with an injury. Morris did return later in the game. Senior DL Warren Brinson made his first start of the year.

*Up Next: The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC) face No. 19 Ole Miss in Oxford at 3:30 pm ET on Nov. 9.The Rebels (7-2, 3-2 SEC) beat Arkansas today 63-31.