Stats Crunch

Georgia responded nicely after their loss to LSU with a 36-17 victory over Florida last Saturday. It wasn’t completely pretty, but a win in the Cocktail Party is what the Dawgs needed as they head to Lexington this week to take on the Wildcats.

- Did you know this was the first time since 1987 and 1988 that Georgia defeated Florida by ten or more points in back-to-back contests?

- This was also the first time since 1942 and 1944 (the game was not played in 1943) that the Bulldogs scored 35 or more points in back-to-back games against Florida.

- This is the third time Georgia has defeated Florida when both teams are ranked in the Top 10. The other two happened in 1976 and 1983.

- Kirby Smart and Ray Goff are the only people to defeat Florida as Georgia player and Georgia head coach. In addition, Smart improved to 2-1 against his rival as Georgia’s coach. He became the first Bulldog head coach with a winning record against Florida with more than one game coached since Vince Dooley. (Ray Goff started 1-0 against Florida).

- The win also guaranteed that Georgia will not have a losing record this decade against Florida for the first time since the 1980s. They are 5-4 with one meeting left.

- As for defeating a top-10 Gator team, no matter where the Dawgs were ranked, this was the 10th win for the Bulldogs in that scenario. Here are those games:

Speaking of ranked, Georgia is 29-3 when it is ranked against Kentucky. The last time a ranked Bulldog team lost to the Wildcats was in 1988 when the Dawgs were No. 11.

Overall, Georgia has a commanding 57-12-2 series lead over Kentucky. The 45-game win differential is the most of any Bulldog opponent. Check out this list; it may surprise you.

- As for individual stats: Jake Fromm rebounded nicely after his worst game statistically two weeks earlier at LSU. More importantly, he went 6-for-7 on third down with all three of his throwing scores coming on that crucial down. Fromm’s three touchdown passes tied a career-high, and he now has 40 in his career. He is presently fifth place all-time on Georgia’s career list, passing Mike Bobo. Here are the top five:

- In terms of running the ball, the team who has rushed for more yards in the Cocktail Party has now won 13 straight contests. This past week was close, but the Dawgs won that category 189 yards to 170. D’Andre Swift’s 33-yard touchdown run late in the game clinched the stat. The sophomore also passed the 1,000-yard rushing total for his career and now has 1,084. Swift had a career-high 104 yards rushing for the game and reached triple digits for the first time as a Bulldog.

- Speaking of Holyfield, the junior toted the rock a career-high 20 times against Florida. It was the most by a Bulldog player this season. It was also tied for the sixth most in a game under Kirby Smart. Here is that list:

- Jeremiah Holloman had a career-day against the Gators. Not only was Holloman’s two touchdown receptions a career-high, it equaled the amount he had in his career entering the game. This was also the third time under Kirby Smart that a player had two touchdown receptions in a game. The other two were Isaiah McKenzie vs. Missouri in 2016 and Terry Godwin last season against Samford.

- Speaking of Godwin, he had a nice touchdown reception of his own in the fourth quarter to extend the Bulldog lead. It was the senior’s second touchdown grab of the season and his tenth overall. Of those ten, eight have occurred under Kirby Smart. Check out the touchdown reception leaders under the current head coach.

- Also on that list was Isaac Nauta. The junior tight end made four big receptions in a row late in the first half to set up a late Georgia score. His five catches in a game tied a career-high. He also has ten grabs in his last three games, compared to eight in his first five. He is currently fourth in the SEC in career receptions by a tight end. This is where he stands among his conference leaders:

- When Georgia stalled in the red zone, Rodrigo Blankenship was there to get some points for the Dawgs. He was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals. All three of the kicks were for 22 yards or fewer. Here is how Blankenship has connected in his Bulldog career.

And everyone remembers the game-winner as time expired the last time Georgia was in Kentucky. It also reminds me of the Rex Robinson game-winner from 1978 against the Wildcats (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah).

- Also, a special shout out to Jake Camarda who booted one punt 57 yards and another that was downed at the one-yard line.

- On defense, the 275 total yards allowed to Florida is the lowest the Gators have amassed this season.

- Georgia allowed just 105 yards passing to Florida. It is the seventh straight game that the Gators have failed to reach 200 yards passing against the Bulldogs and 11th out of the last 14 meetings as well.

- Richard LeCounte and Tae Crowder had big fumble recoveries in the game. Georgia now has eight on the season with LeCounte, Juwan Taylor, and Deandre Baker leading the way with two.

- Monty Rice led the Dawgs with a career-high 11 tackles and he forced the fumble that LeCounte recovered. The Dawgs have forced ten fumbles this season with D’Andre Walker leading the way with ten.

- Tyrique McGhee had his second career interception with his pick early in the game. His other was last season against Tennessee’s Quinten Dormady.

- Speaking of interceptions, I go back to Kirby Smart’s senior season as a player. He had 12 tackles and two interceptions in that game. The two came against future first overall pick Tim Couch. Smart also had an interception against another first overall pick named Peyton Manning. But did you know Smart had another interception against a player drafted in the first round? The star defender also picked off Gabe Gross of Auburn, who eventually was a first round pick, 15th overall, but in major league baseball. Gross had a solid seven-season pro career with four big league teams.

- By the way, Kentucky is 43-199-5 all-time against ranked teams. It would be nice to round that loss column for them.