Florida Falls Short Against No. 5 Georgia, 24-20
In the 103rd meeting between Florida and No. 5 Georgia, the Gators walked out of EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville just short of victory, finishing with a 24-20 loss Saturday.
“I respect how they’ve responded and taken ownership of this team,” UF interim coach Billy Gonzales said. “I’m extremely proud of them, but I know they’re hurting. Our staff is hurting. I’m hurting. We came here to win and we fell short.”
Florida (3-5, 2-3 SEC) did not go down without a fight, hanging tough with the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1) and holding the lead twice in the contest. This was the 469th-consecutive game where Florida scored, an NCAA record.
“We got a lot of things to look forward to, and no matter what situation we’re in, nothing is going to stop for us just because we got our head coach fired or whatever the case may be,” veteran edge Tyreak Sapp said. “Nothing stops.”
With new leadership, it was unclear how Florida would look in its first game back since bidding farewell to coach Billy Napier on Oct. 19 ahead of a bye week. Gonzales had the Gators playing inspired ball and even had a fourth-quarter lead before the Bulldogs pulled it out late.
Penalties and punts were the narrative of the first half. The Bulldogs punted four times and committed five penalties for 45 yards. Even with the extra help, Florida could not turn possessions into points, equaling Georgia with four punts.
Gators quarterback DJ Lagway only threw 11 passes in the first half against a Georgia team outside of the top 50 defending the pass. He ended the game with 15 completions, one touchdown and no interceptions on 24 pass attempts.
Lagway showed improvement in the run game, rushing a season-high 24 yards.
“Moved around a little bit better than I have in the past,” Lagway said. “Legs are starting to get back under me; starting to feel like myself again. Every single day I’m continuing to get better. That’s the plus side.”
On the other side, Gunner Stockton put up more yards, tallying 223 with two touchdowns and one interception.
While the touchdowns led the Gators to be contenders, kicker Trey Smack made history in the fourth quarter by recording his ninth-career field goal of more than 50 yards, the most in Florida program history.
The Gators were without running backs Ja’Kobi Jackson, Duke Clark and Treyaun Webb, so sophomore Jadan Baugh had to step up once again. He went for 72 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Redshirt freshman KD Daniels had a career day with six carries, just missing his career-high with 20 yards.
Even more adversity came for Florida during the game: the loss of freshman wide receiver Dallas Wilson. This gave the opportunity for others to get looks from Lagway. Redshirt sophomore Eugene Wilson III tallied a season-high 121 yards and nine catches.
“It’s always hard not to have those athletes out there with you on the field,” Lagway said. “A lot of guys stepped up tonight. Proud of a lot of guys. We got to continue to get better and continue to work, and we will.”
Florida continues its road stint with a night game against Kentucky next Saturday.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football, NCAA, SEC
