UGA Football: Takeaways Power Bulldogs Past Gators

ATLANTA — Led by a dominating and opportunistic performance from its defense, the No. 3-ranked Georgia football team knocked off No. 17 Florida, 27-8, in the Atlanta Gridiron Classic on Saturday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 72,541, the Bulldogs forced four turnovers, which they turned into 17 points, and earned their sixth consecutive win in the series.

The Halloween game, which had fans of both teams dressed up for the holiday, never got too spooky for the Bulldogs. The lead was 7-0 after the first quarter and 24-0 midway through the fourth. Georgia’s forced turnovers were a huge reason why, particularly linebacker Chris Cole’s 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first half.

The annual rivalry matchup was played in Atlanta for the first time due to renovations to EverBank Stadium. The game was the first in the series played away from Jacksonville, Fla., since the 1994-95 seasons, when the games were held on campus while the stadium was also undergoing major changes. Georgia and Florida will meet in Tampa next season, before returning to Jacksonville in 2028. It was Georgia’s 10th game at the Benz since the start of the 2021 season.

Both defenses held the opposing offenses in check for much of the game — the teams combined for seven punts and five takeaways — with Georgia finishing with 318 yards of offense while the Gators had 246. Bulldog quarterback Gunner Stockton was 13 of 23 passing for 101 yards, while as a team Georgia ran for 217 yards on 42 carries.

Florida running back Jaden Baugh, one of the top backs in the country, was held to 38 yards on 17 carries. As a team, Florida had 28 carries for 48 yards.

With his third completion of the game, a 6-yard screen pass to running back Dwight Phillips Jr. on Georgia’s opening drive, Stockton passed Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo for ninth on Georgia’s all-time completions list with 446. The Bulldogs drove into Gator territory but came away empty after Peyton Woodring missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt.

Georgia’s defense got the ball back quickly. With Florida facing a third-and-6 at its 42-yard line, the Bulldog pass rush forced Florida quarterback Aaron Philo to scramble to his right. As he stumbled, he threw the ball downfield underhand, right into the arms of Georgia cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, who returned it eight yards to the Gator 41.

Florida forced a Georgia punt, but a penalty for roughing the punter gave the Bulldogs a new set of downs at the Gator 31. A few plays later, including a 13-yard completion to tight end Lawson Luckie, Nate Frazier ran the ball in from the 1 for a 7-0 lead with 1:50 to play in the opening quarter.

Georgia’s defense got the ball back for the offense with 10:59 left in the half, when cornerback Demello Jones picked off a pass that went through the hands of a receiver. Jones returned the interception 23 yards, and Florida was penalized 15 yards for sideline interference, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Gator 17. It was Jones’ second interception of the season.

The Bulldogs couldn’t take full advantage of the turnover, but Woodring’s 28-yard field goal with 8:55 to play in the half made it 10-0 Georgia. The Bulldogs added to their lead with 1:55 left on Bo Walker’s 1-yard touchdown run, making it 17-0.

Walker’s run was preceded by a huge Walker block on a 17-yard run by Stockton on third-and-1 at the Georgia 29. Walker held the left edge and gave his quarterback a running lane on the outside to move the ball to the 45. The drive also featured a 17-yard completion from Stockton to tight end Jaden Reddell.

Georgia’s next points came directly from the defense. Linebacker Quintavius Johnson stripped and sacked quarterback Trammel Jones Jr., and Cole scooped up the loose ball and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown and a 24-0 lead with 29 seconds left in the half. It was Cole’s second long fumble return of the season; he had an 85-yarder in Georgia’s win over Oklahoma on Sept. 26.

After the teams traded punts to start the second half, it looked like Georgia’s Jones had intercepted a second pass on Florida’s second drive. The takeaway was nullified by a Bulldog penalty, however, and the Gators were able to drive all the way down to the Georgia 3. On second-and-goal, cornerback Braylon Conley intercepted a Tramell Jones Jr. pass in the end zone, keeping the game at 24-0 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs had a first down at the Florida 11 early in the third quarter when wideout Talyn Taylor was stripped of the ball, and the Gators returned it to the Georgia 48 with 11:11 remaining. Florida later scored on a 2-yard Tramell Jones Jr. run and converted a two-point conversion, cutting Georgia’s lead to 24-8 with 6:59 remaining.

A 26-yard run by Phillips helped get Georgia’s ensuing drive off to a good start. That was followed by a 9-yard Frazier run and a Stockton 4-yarder. A 13-yard Frazier run moved the ball to the Florida 13 with less than four minutes to play. Woodring’s 21-yard field goal put Georgia ahead 27-8 with 3:34 to play.

On Florida’s next drive, Cole got a sack on first down and Justin Williams and Demello Jones combined for a tackle for loss on fourth down. Georgia finished with four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Cole led the Bulldogs with nine stops.

The Bulldogs head to Oxford, Miss., next weekend for a game Saturday night against No. 12 Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels routed Auburn, 45-15, on Saturday.