ATLANTA - Georgia’s defense arrived with a point to make, and it made it loud.
After taking heat for the way it played in a home loss to Auburn two weeks earlier, the No. 3 Bulldogs responded with a suffocating effort Saturday in a 27-8 win over No.
17 Florida at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kirby Smart, who doesn’t usually hand out compliments lightly, made clear afterward that this was the version of his team he wanted to see.
“The Dawgs didn’t beat the Dawgs, we were smart, we played good, disciplined football, had our best defensive performance which was nice,” Smart said in his ABC television on-field interview. “Then a nice job on offense controlling the ball early. Just proud of the guys, happy for the guys.”
Georgia improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the SEC, while Florida fell to 5-3 and 3-3.
The Bulldogs’ defense was relentless from start to finish, limiting Florida to 246 total yards and just 48 on the ground. The Gators managed only 1.7 yards per rush, and Georgia piled up 11 tackles for loss and four sacks.
“We knew for us to be successful in this game we had to be able to stop the run,” said UGA linebacker Chris Cole, who also scored on a 66-yard fumble return that helped push Georgia to a 24-0 halftime lead. “That’s what we did today. I feel amazing, I feel blessed, I’m super excited about the team and there’s more work to come, but I’m so excited.”
Cole’s touchdown was one of the game’s biggest swings, but Georgia’s defense had already been controlling the pace. Florida tailback Jadan Baugh, who came in averaging 109 rushing yards per game and was tied for the national lead among tailbacks with 13 rushing touchdowns, was held to 38 yards on 17 carries.
Fifteen of those yards came on the final play of the first half, a run that would have been wiped out by a holding penalty had Smart not declined the flag in order to keep Florida from getting another snap before halftime.
The Bulldogs were also boosted by several key returns to the lineup. Smart said Georgia had “a lot of guys banged up that came back and played tonight,” and one of them was All-American safety KJ Bolden, who returned after missing the Auburn game with a lower-leg injury and finished with six tackles.
The takeaway for Smart was as much about attitude as execution.
“They were passionate, they wanted to play better, they had a little passion, fire an energy today and had a chip on their shoulder after the last time out,” Smart said, referring to the Auburn loss. “We’ve got to play like that all the time.”
Georgia also got takeaways from Demello Jones and Ellis Robinson IV, with Jones nearly adding another interception before a roughing-the-passer penalty erased it. Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson each forced fumbles, and Johnson’s strip set up Cole’s touchdown return. Smart’s team also continued to own the rivalry, winning six straight against Florida and nine of the last 10.
In Other News...
Georgias Auburn Loss Suddenly Looks Even More Costly
Auburns upset of No. 1 Georgia looked like one of the seasons biggest results two weeks ago, but the Tigers have since taken hard losses to LSU and Ole Miss, which has changed the way that defeat is being viewed around the SEC. What once felt like a jolt to the national title picture now reads a little differently, with the Bulldogs left to wonder whether a rough afternoon in Auburn was as much about timing and fortune as it was about anything deeper.
For Georgia, the larger issue is what the loss does to the road ahead. The Bulldogs path to the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff is still alive, but it has become less forgiving, and the next stretch matters even more now. Florida looms as a critical test, the kind of game that could shape whether Georgia stays on course or has to fight through a far narrower postseason lane. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Gets A Huge Rivalry Boost For Florida Showdown
Talyn Taylor is set to give Georgia another weapon for one of the seasons most familiar pressure points, and the timing could not be better. The wide receiver will be available against Florida for the first time after missing last years rivalry game because of injury, adding a fresh layer to a matchup that already carries plenty of weight for the Bulldogs.
This years meeting also comes with a different backdrop, with the game shifting to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and both teams ranked for the first time in the series since 2002. ABC will carry the broadcast, with streaming options available as well, but for Georgia the bigger storyline is simple: a key playmaker finally gets his first crack at a rivalry stage he had to watch from the sideline a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Now Has A Bigger Concern Than Beating Florida
Georgias win over Florida came with a fresh concern on the defensive side, as cornerback Ellis Robinson IV went down in the third quarter and did not return. Before leaving, he had already made his presence felt with an interception and tackles, a reminder of how important he has become in the secondary as Georgia tries to keep its momentum rolling through the stretch run.
Kirby Smart said Robinsons knee tightened up, and there was no confirmed structural damage at the time of the report, but the bigger issue now is his status going forward. For a defense that leans on depth and versatility in the back end, the uncertainty around Robinsons availability is the kind of development that can linger well beyond a rivalry game. [Read more 🡒]