Georgia Football: Sunday recap of Georgia vs. Florida

If you did not know, Georgia football beat the Florida Gators 43-20—another tremendous late-October victory over the hated Gators. Outside of the first scripted drive for the Gators, they had nothing to show. Florida rode into Jacksonville with high hopes. After stealing a game on the road against South Carolina, the Gators believed they could give Georgia a game. They were wrong, but hope is always a good thing to have.

This game was a statement by the Dawgs. Some folks will have an issue with that phrasing, but it is true. Many believed that Florida would hang in this game, and the Dawgs just throttled the Gators. I finally have a read on this team after eight games. I have always believed that Georgia could be a national champion, but they have been sleepwalking through games because of the talent gap. When the Dawgs are interested in the game, they show why they are back-to-back champs.

I believed the Dawgs could win another title, and Saturday made that belief even stronger. Many in the national media thought Georgia would crumble because of Brock Bowers’s injury. But that is the casual take: losing your best player does not always mean your hopes of a title are over. Georgia’s offense looked more explosive Saturday than it did all year. The Dawgs offense is starting to find its footing. The Dawgs had well over 500 yards of total offense.

I am also now campaigning for Carson Beck for Heisman. Beck has a 73% completion rating, with 2,462 yards, 14 touchdowns, and four interceptions. The kid deserves to be in New York in December. He has been fantastic for the Dawgs. Furthermore, Beck has been a great leader for the Dawgs all year. Beck has been cool, calm, and collected in every situation. Kirby Smart talked about things Beck does that do not appear on a stat sheet. Beck has complete command of the offense, and the sky is the limit for this offense.

Overall, the offense had a great day. Offensive line, wide-outs, and running back all had great games. If we are nit-picking, the only issue I had was Smart and Bobo not being aggressive when the Dawgs got up 26-7. The offense got caught up with trying to score but also running the clock. I would rather choke a game away by being aggressive. But again, that’s nit-picking. I thought Bobo called a great game.

The real story for me was how well the defense played. This year, I have grown concerned about the defense. This year’s defense was unlike the previous two years and has not been the dominating defense we are all used to. I said it in many posts, but I was not going to worry all that much about a Kirby Smart-led defense. But after the Vanderbilt game, I started to worry just a bit.

The Dawgs were not creating havoc plays. Havoc, for those who do not know, is creating pressure on the QB and forcing him to get out of his comfort zone or rush his timing. Outside of that Kentucky game, the Dawgs had difficulty creating that havoc. Against Florida, they did that and more. I think the Dawgs were averaging one sack a game, and they got 5 in the game.

Also, I worried about the D-line and stopping the run. Many Georgia fans were worried about that. Not only did the D-line have a great game, but they stopped a good Florida running game. Overall, the defense played well. They stymied the run, created havoc, and forced turnovers—an excellent formula to win games.

Any time you beat Florida, it is always good. This was the most points scored against Florida since 1982; it has been a while. This game means a lot to many people. In my formative years, Georgia only beat Florida 5 times. Five times! Since Kirby Smart has taken over the program, the Dawgs have beaten the Gators six times. It only took Kirby Smart 8 years to beat a record that took place over 16 years. Pretty amazing.

So enjoy this win for another 16 hours, and let’s all move our focus to Mizzou. This stretch until the end of the season is grueling. But what would you expect when going for your third straight title?