Georgia improves to 7-1 after a shaky performance against Florida. It is the seventh time in nine seasons that the Bulldogs have started the season 7-1 or better. It was Kirby Smart's seventh win against the Gators as the Bulldogs' head coach. It was also the Dawgs' fourth straight win in the series. That is the fifth time in the 103-game history that Georgia has had a win streak of four or more in the series.
Georgia faces Ole Miss next. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 33-13-1. The series didn't even start until 1940 and Georgia actually trailed 3-2-1 after the first six meetings. The two would square off each season from 1966 to 2002. Since Kirby Smart took over in 2016, the two teams have faced just twice with each winning at home.
Last Saturday, Georgia trailed 13-6 at halftime. It was the third time that the Bulldogs have trailed at halftime this season. The Dawgs are 2-1 this season and 15-12 when trailing at halftime under Smart.
One of the reasons that Georgia struggled in the first half was the inconsistent play from quarterback Carson Beck. Beck was a very solid passer until recently as this breakdown shows.
He has had thrown eight picks in his last three games. The last Georgia quarterback to have stats like that in a three-game stretch was Matthew Stafford. He did that as a freshman in 2006.
Speaking of interceptions, Beck has thrown a pick in 3.8 percent of his attempts this season. That is among the highest by any full-time Georgia quarterback since 1991.
Beck did complete 12 of his last 14 pass attempts after starting the game 13-for-26. He also threw two touchdowns and had 309 yards passing. It marked the eighth time in Beck's career that he has thrown for 300 or more yards. He ranks tied for third in Georgia history with that total.
Two of Georgia's wide receivers reached milestones in the game against Florida. Dominic Lovett passed 2,000 receiving yards in his career and 1,000 while just playing for Georgia. Arian Smith also passed the 1,000-yard plateau as a Bulldog. Here are the most yards receiving for Georgia players under Kirby Smart (this does not count seasons prior to Smart or if they played for other teams (Terry Godwin and Dominic Lovett).
Cash Jones also made an impact with a 22-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter. It was his second career touchdown reception, but fifth touchdown overall. He is more known to run the ball and speaking of running the ball, Dwight Phillips (also known as Peanut) had his first rushing attempt on Saturday and it went for a four-yard touchdown.
Fellow freshman Nate Frazier was the prominent running back after Trevor Etienne left with an injury. Frazier had a career-high 19 attempts and 82 yards (one shy of his Clemson total). The 82 yards are one of the highest totals by a Georgia freshman in a SEC game in the Smart era.
Defensively, Georgia made a statement. Florida was held to 228 total yards. It was the second fewest by the Gators under Billy Napier and the third fewest all-time as a head coach.
This was also the seventh time under Kirby Smart that Georgia allowed fewer than 125 yards rushing and 125 yards passing in the same conference game.
Chaz Chambliss had a career-high two sacks against the Gators after having just one in his first seven games of the season.
CJ Allen led the Dawgs defense with eight tackles and had his first career interception. For the most part, Florida struggled to pass the ball. DJ Lagway was 2-for-6 and Aidan Warner was 7-for-24. The combined effort of 9-for-30 was one of the lowest completion percentages an SEC team has allowed in the 2000s.
There is a very good chance that Ole Miss will have a completion percentage higher than the 30 percent that Florida had. The Rebels' Jaxson Dart is fifth in the nation completing 71.4 percent of his passes. He also leads the FBS in pass yards and is tied for third in touchdown passes. Last season, Dart was just 10-for-17 for 112 yards and an interception against the Dawgs.