Georgia’s Defense Steals The Show: 4 Takeaways From The Dawgs’ Win Over Florida

The World’s Largest Cocktail Party had Florida fans looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle on Saturday afternoon. There was no drama. No doubt. No weirdness. The festivities, moved from their usual home in Jacksonville to Atlanta due to ongoing stadium construction, were dominated by No. 4 Georgia, as the Bulldogs rollicked their way to a 27-8 throttling of Jon Sumrall’s Gators. Here are my takeaways from Georgia’s win over Florida: 1. Early Mistakes Doom The Gators There have been only a handful of college football moments that have left me truly speechless. The Kick-Six. Michigan’s 2024 win in Columbus. Indiana winning a national championship. Florida quarterback Aaron Philo, meanwhile, had mine and just about every Gators fan in America’s jaw on the floor during Saturday’s first half — and not for any reason Sumrall and his staff would like to see again. Sprawling to his right to avoid the Georgia pass rush, Philo flung the ball underhanded toward the line of scrimmage. Georgia defensive back Ellis Robinson IV might as well have called for a fair catch as he waited for the ill-advised toss to land in his hands. The Gators promptly gifted the Bulldogs a first down by roughing the punter on fourth down after the Florida defense bowed up and made up for its quarterback’s egregious misfire. It took Kirby Smart’s squad just five plays to deposit that extra opportunity into the end zone courtesy of a five-yard Nate Frazier rush. Florida has had its moments. The Gators blew the doors off Ole Miss. They beat then-No. 7 Texas on the road. But Saturday was a reminder that this team is still learning, still sorting it all out, still evolving in Year 1 under Sumrall. Mistakes like those in the first quarter proved the difference on Saturday. Beating anyone with those kinds of miscues is tricky. Beating a top-five Georgia squad certainly wasn’t going to happen. 2. Gunner Stockton’s Legs Are A Difference-Maker Say what you will about the Georgia passing offense, but Stockton’s legs were a weapon on Saturday. He finished the first half in Atlanta as the Bulldogs’ leading rusher, churning out 40 yards on eight carries. That included a 17-yard, third-down scamper that kept the first of two second-quarter Georgia touchdown drives alive. That Georgia made a more conscious effort to utilize its quarterback in the rushing game shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. Stockton rushed for almost 100 yards in a win over Arkansas. A dual-threat, however, he is not. The former four-star passer has taken his lumps throwing the football. Stockton threw a pair of interceptions at Auburn two weeks ago as Georgia was handed its first loss of the season. But he used his legs to his advantage on Saturday. How much the Bulldogs might rely on that down the stretch isn’t totally clear. Georgia goes up against an Ole Miss defense next week that ranked dead last in the SEC in rushing defense ahead of Saturday. Expect more there. Beat the Rebels and the Bulldogs should be in the driver’s seat for a spot in the SEC Championship game. They may need Stockton’s legs to do it. 3. What Should Florida Do At QB Moving Forward? The Aaron Philo return didn’t last long — about 17 minutes to be more exact. Florida’s junior quarterback tossed two interceptions and completed five of his seven passes for 26 yards before being yanked in favor of Tramell Jones Jr. Jones didn’t fare all that much better, finishing his afternoon with 172 yards and a pick on 17 of 24 passing. That begs a broader question for the Gators the rest of this fall: What exactly are they to do at quarterback? Philo and Jones have shown flashes of brilliance. They also both looked completely overwhelmed against one of the nation’s best defenses on Saturday. Florida’s next SEC opponent is Oklahoma, which, for all its offensive issues, ranks 11th nationally in total defense and eighth in passing defense. Who will trot out under center for the first drive against the Sooners? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. 4. Georgia’s Upcoming Schedule Is Unrelenting That sound you hear is SEC pundits screaming about the #grind of a nine-game schedule — and what Georgia will have earned by season’s end. Jokes aside, three of the Bulldogs’ final four games are no walk in the park. Smart’s squad still goes to Oxford next week to take on No. 12 Ole Miss, hosts, No. 23 Missouri, heads to Columbia for a matchup with a surging South Carolina team, before closing the campaign against Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs looked the part of an SEC front-runner on Saturday. The defense stymied just about everything the previously high-flying Florida offense threw at it — including a pair of quarterbacks in Philo and Jones. Georgia’s one loss to Auburn looks increasingly confounding the further we get past it. Tests against Ole Miss — which may be fighting for its CFP life next week — and Missouri should be the last high-end tests the Bulldogs face in the regular season. If they look anything like they did on Saturday, Georgia fans better restock their celebratory champagne.