Following No. 5 Georgia’s 44-28 upset loss to No. 8 Florida in Jacksonville, Gators head coach Dan Mullen met with the media, along with a few of his players, to discuss their victory over the Bulldogs. The following are key bullet points from Florida’s media session:

…Mullen opened the press conference by relishing tonight’s win over a top-tier team, especially since it placed Florida in an excellent position to capture the SEC East title.

“I mean, it obviously feels great, winning this big-time game. It’s put us in a decent position at the midpoint of the season, and we’re in first place in the [SEC] East,” Mullen said. “I’m really proud how our guys played and responded against one of the top defenses—and top overall teams in the country.”

…Florida responded to an early 14-0 deficit by outscoring Georgia 38-7 the rest of the first half. The 59 points scored by halftime (38-to-21, Florida) marked the fourth-most points since 1950 scored by Georgia and its opponent in one half.

“Nobody panicked [when trailing, 14-0], but I think once we went down and got that first offensive touchdown, I think the attitude on the sideline changed,” Mullen said. “We thought, ‘Hey, we can play pretty good defense—and we can score points.’ And, I think everyone realized that we were fine.”

…Trailing 14-0 and after having to punt on its initial drive, Florida remarkably scored seven times—five touchdowns and two field goals—on its next eight possessions. Gators’ senior quarterback Kyle Trask was spectacular, completing 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Trask’s passing yards are the most in the history of the Georgia-Florida series, the second-most ever accumulated by an individual against the Bulldogs, and the second-most ever in a single game by a Florida player.

“This year, we have such an explosive offense, and such a great team from the top down, we had such a confident team, a lot of energy,” Trask said. “When we went down 14-0 early, this team had no panic. It kind of shows you the character of this team.”

…With Florida rushing for only 97 yards, compared to Georgia’s 165, it marked the first time since 2005 that the winner of this game did not rush for the most yards as well. Still, although running backs Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis, and Nay’Quan Wright combined to rush for just 88 yards on 29 carries, they totaled 10 receptions for 212 receiving yards.

“I know that everybody says whoever runs for the most yards [in this series] wins,” Mullen started to joke. “Maybe it’s whoever’s running backs get the most [total] yards.”

…Following the win, in which they entered as a three-point underdog, Gator players and Mullen celebrated with a gathering of Florida fans in the stands.

“You got to enjoy it, you know,” Mullen said of the celebration. “I might be 48 years old, but I’m really young on the inside. I got to still enjoy some of that stuff.” Mullen added with a quip, “I had my [Covid] mask on, though, the whole time.”

…Finally, Florida linebacker Brenton Cox was asked what was the difference between the Bulldogs and Gators. Cox, who attended and played for Georgia last season, totaled three tackles this evening against his former team, including one for loss. He said his desire was to “win the game that I already knew I was going to win”—and the difference between the two teams essentially came down to one thing.

“I can honestly say one team wanted it more than the other,” Cox said was the difference between the teams. “In this situation, both teams have good players, both teams have good coaches, and pretty much everything equals out. It all comes down to who wants it more. And, as you can see, Florida did.”