Florida came into Atlanta hoping to turn Halloween into a sequel. Instead, Georgia made sure the night belonged to the Bulldogs long before the fourth quarter even mattered.
The No. 3 Bulldogs opened up a 24-0 halftime lead and rolled past Florida 27-8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, extending a rivalry stretch that has gone Georgia’s way far too often for the Gators. Florida had dropped eight of its previous nine against Georgia entering Saturday, and even after an upset of Texas before the bye week, it couldn’t carry that momentum into the biggest stage of the year.
The Gators’ offense never found its footing, and the quarterback situation turned into the clearest sign of how badly things went sideways.
Aaron Philo got the start over Tramell Jones Jr. after Jones’ strong showing against Texas, but the junior’s afternoon unraveled quickly. His first interception came on a third-and-6 throw that was supposed to go away from trouble, but instead floated into the hands of Georgia’s Ellis Robinson IV.
Philo stayed in for a bit longer, then threw another pick with 11:37 left in the second quarter. Eric Singleton Jr. was largely at fault there, with the ball going through his hands and into Georgia’s Demello Jones, and that was enough for Florida to make the switch.
Jones brought a little more life, but not nearly enough to change the outcome. He was sacked by Georgia’s Quintavius Johnson in the second quarter and lost the ball, setting up another Bulldogs score when Chris Cole took it 66 yards for a touchdown.
After halftime, Jones nearly tossed an interception on the first drive back, only to be rescued by a roughing-the-passer call on Georgia’s Valdin Sone. He then guided Florida into the red zone for the first time, but that possession ended with his first interception in the end zone while targeting Singleton.
The mistakes kept coming. Jones later fumbled on a sack by Georgia’s Gabe Harris Jr., though Jadan Baugh recovered it to prevent another turnover.
Jones did finally get Florida on the board with a 2-yard touchdown run at 7:02 of the fourth quarter, the Gators’ only scoring drive of the night. He finished 17-of-24 for 172 yards and one interception.
Philo’s line was even rougher: 5-of-7 for 26 yards and two interceptions. After both quarterbacks struggled, Florida still doesn’t have a clear answer under center.
The problems weren’t limited to the passing game. Baugh, who has been one of Florida’s bright spots this season, had a quiet night by his standards. He ran 17 times for 38 yards, a 2.2-yard average that was his second-worst output of the year, ahead of only his 13-yard showing against Missouri.
Singleton couldn’t provide the spark Florida needed either. He was the target on two of the interceptions, dropped a deep ball from Jones that would have been the Gators’ longest catch of the afternoon, and finished with four receptions for 19 yards. Dallas Wilson had just one catch for 14 yards, though it did come on Florida’s two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
As a team, the Gators managed only 48 rushing yards and 198 through the air.
Georgia’s defense deserves plenty of credit for that. The Bulldogs piled up four sacks, 11 tackles for loss, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Florida was staring at one of the SEC’s best defensive fronts, and Georgia looked every bit the part.
Still, Florida’s own defense gave the Gators something to hang onto. The scoreboard says 27-8, but the unit did not fold.
Georgia managed only a field goal in the second half, and the Gators held the SEC’s top scoring offense to two touchdowns, one of them coming after Jones’ fumble. Gunner Stockton was limited to 101 passing yards, a season low, though Georgia did run for 217.
There were a few bright spots on that side of the ball. DJ Coleman forced a fumble on Georgia wide receiver Talyn Taylor, and Myles Graham scooped it up and returned it 42 yards into Georgia territory.
Coleman led Florida with eight total tackles and added the forced fumble, while Graham had seven. Ty Jackson matched Graham with seven stops after seeing more action following his showing against Texas.
Emmanuel Oyebadejo added Florida’s only sack and also broke up a pass.
Even with the defense spending 18:11 on the field in the first half alone because of three Florida turnovers, it did enough to keep the final margin from getting even uglier.
If Florida is searching for one clean takeaway from a messy night, it might be Bailey Stockton. The Georgia Tech transfer kept producing even with the offense stuck in mud. He came in doubtful and was upgraded to questionable Friday, but still turned into Florida’s most reliable weapon.
With Vernell Brown III out, Stockton has become the primary target since the Ole Miss game, and that held true again Saturday. He caught all eight of his targets for 76 yards, which was nearly three times more production than anyone else on the roster. He also added 31 yards as a punt returner and finished with a team-high 41 yards after the catch.
Florida will try to reset at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium next Saturday against Oklahoma at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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