Georgia beats Florida, 6-2

Georgia Bulldogs were on the winning side of the game. Georgia beat Florida 24-20. In what was a crucial game for Mark Richt, the Bulldogs found a way to win. This is Georgia’s first win against Florida since 2007. The win kept the Bulldogs in 1st place along with South Carolina. Georgia have now won 6 in a row since starting the season at 0-2.

Georgia Bulldogs didn’t exactly start out good, the Florida Gators had a chance to take an early lead. Florida kicker Brad Philips missed a 38 yard field goal. That field goal miss would haunt Florida the rest of the game. Later in the 1st quarter after Georgia couldn’t move the ball, the Gators moved down field. The Bulldogs defense did keep Florida in check. Florida went for 4th and 19, John Brantley threw a pass to Jordan Reed for 31 yards. Florida took a 7-0 lead. Georgia got on the board in the 2nd quarter on a 32 yard field goal by Blair Walsh. Blair Walsh however missed a couple of crucial field goals later in the game.

Florida tacked on 7 more points on a Jeff Demps 99 yard return touchdown run. Jeff Demps ran past 11 Georgia defenders to score an easy touchdown. Florida now leads 14-3. The Gators later in the quarter got a 43 yard field goal by Brad Philips to make it 17-3. Georgia wasn’t done just yet. The Bulldogs kept pounding and pounding. Chris Rainey of Florida fumbled the ball deep in Florida’s territory. Georgia recovered the fumble. The Bulldogs went for 4th and 5, Aaron Murray found Michael Bennett for a 20 yard touchdown pass. Georgia cut the deficit to 17-10.

In the 3rd quarter, the Bulldogs got a boost on defense from Shawn Williams and Kwame Geathers. Both were suspended for flagrant fouls in the Vanderbilt game. Their presence made a difference in the 2nd half.  Georgia tied the game with a 14 yard touchdown reception by Tavarres King. Florida regain the lead on a 40 yard field goal by Brad Philips. Georgia did sack John Brantley 5 times in the 1st half  and only was sacked once in the 2nd half.

In the 4th quarter, the Bulldogs ran away with the lead and the win on a 9 play 30 yard drive. Richard Samuel rushed for 25 yards on the drive. He scored what would be the game winner touchdown, he ran for 4 yards for a touchdown that made it 24-20 Georgia lead. The defense was marvelous in the 4th quarter. Georgia made Florida punt a few times and also stop Florida on 4th and 10 late in the game. After the win, the celebration of the Bulldogs were jubilant. Georgia did what they had to do in order to stay atop in the division.

Georgia is now 6-2, 5-1 in conference play, Florida is now 4-4, 2-4 in conference play. This win eliminated Florida for the contention of the East division race. Georgia will face New Mexico State next week in Athens. South Carolina did beat Tennessee yesterday, Bulldogs can only hope the Gamecocks will lose at least once more.