Gators Offense To Much for Dawgs in 44-28 Loss: News and Notes
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#5 Georgia Football Postgame Notes Vs. #8 Florida, Nov. 7, 2020
*Defense Posts Strong Second Half: Coming in today, Georgia was leading the SEC and ranked 12th nationally in Scoring Defense at 16.2 points per game while UF was averaging 42.0 points a game which is 10th nationally. The Bulldogs were missing three defensive starters today due to injury (NT Jordan Davis, DT Julian Rochester and safety Richard LeCounte) and lost 44-28. UF tallied 38 points in the first half, on TD-scoring drives that covered 48, 75 (twice), 80 and 81 yards plus one field goal but managed just six points in the 2nd half. In the first half, UF had 411 yards of total offense on 46 plays. UF finished with 572 yards of total offense on 79 plays but just 161 yards on 32 plays in the second half.
Georgia junior DB Eric Stokes notched a 37-yard interception return to make it 21-14. That was his second pick-six of the year (30-yarder at Arkansas) and his third overall INT, tying him for the team lead with LeCounte. In the second quarter, sophomore stating FS Lewis Cine was ejected for targeting. He had a team-high six tackles at that point. UF QB Kyle Trask was 30-for-43 for 474 yards with 4 TDs, 1 INT. His passing yards was second only to Jared Lorenzen (UK) who had 528 (39-for-58) in 2000 for the most ever by a Bulldog opponent.
*A Look At The QBs: Junior QB Stetson Bennett (5-for-16, 78 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) directed No. 5 Georgia to a quick 14-0 advantage, scoring on its first two possessions in the first 3:16 of the contest. Today, UF tied the game at 14 with 1:43 left in the first. Georgia’s second scoring drive covered 61 yards on six plays in 2:14. It was capped by a 32-yard TD reception from Bennett to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. Redshirt freshman QB D’Wan Mathis (4-13, 34 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) entered at QB on the final drive of the first quarter when Bennett left the game to go to the locker room, and Georgia ran three plays and punted. Bennett returned on the next possession. In the 3rd quarter with 7:06 left and down 41-21, Mathis went back in. Mathis notched his first career TD pass, and it came on a 3rd-and-14 to Kearis Jackson and covered 25 yards to culminate a 12 play, 80-yard drive. It was Jackson’s second of the year. The Bulldogs finished today with 277 yards of total offense on 58 plays.
*Big Score For Rosemy-Jacksaint But Injured on Play: In the first quarter, true freshman Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint caught a career-long 32-yard TD on a 3rd-and-7, however he injured his right ankle on the play and did not return. It was his first career TD and fourth career catch.
*White Leads The Running Game: Sophomore Zamir White had a 75-yard TD run to open the game and finished with 107 yards on seven carries for his second straight 100+yard game. White’s TD run marked the longest since D’Andre Swift went 83 yards against Kentucky in 2018. It marked the first time since 2017 when Georgia scored a TD on its first offensive play. That one came against No. 17 Miss. State and was a 59-yard flea-flicker from Jake Fromm to Terry Godwin. Before today, the last time Georgia scored on its first offensive play that was a run came in 2016, a 55-yarder by Isaiah McKenzie versus Louisiana.
*Special Teams Summary: Redshirt sophomore PK Jack Podlesny went 4-for-4 in PATs. Georgia now has made an NCAA record 312 consecutive PATs as the streak includes six kickers dating back to 2014. Junior punter Jake Camarda finished with seven punts for a 43.7 average. Coming in today, Camarda ranked No. 1 nationally in punting (50.4 avg.) and the team was 2nd nationally in Net Punting (47.9). Redshirt sophomore Kearis Jackson had a career-high 56-yard kickoff return in the first quarter to the UF 44 and finished with three overall for 99 yards. Coming in today, Georgia ranked third nationally in kick return (33.2 avg.).
*Points Off Turnovers: Georgia scored 7 points off a pick-six by junior Eric Stokes. It was only the third INT for UF QB Kyle Trask this year. Florida got three points off three Bulldog interceptions.
*For Starters: Junior Christopher Smith (Safety), freshman Jalen Carter (DL) and freshman Kendall Milton (RB) made their first career starts. The longest active starting streak on offense belongs to center Trey Hill now with 24 while the longest streak on defense is junior DB Eric Stokes at 2. Senior safety Richard LeCounte, who is recovering from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident last Sunday, saw his team-high starting streak of 23 end today.
*Captains: Georgia senior Monty Rice and juniors James Cook and Tyson Campbell served as the captains. Florida won the toss and elected to defer until the second half.
*Series History: With today’s defeat, Georgia still holds a 53-44-2 edge in the series including 46-41-1 in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs saw their three-game winning streak in the series end. Today marked the third straight Top 10 matchup. Georgia is 4-4 versus UF in these while the Bulldogs are now 9-6 in top 10 games under Kirby Smart.
*Up Next: Georgia (4-2) will face Missouri (2-3) in Columbia, Sat., Nov. 14 at Noon ET on ESPN.