5 biggest reasons Florida beat Georgia in Cocktail Party
By Chris Wright
Published:
Florida beat Georgia for the third consecutive year, using a proven formula for SEC success: Dominate the line, stop the run and take care of the football.
Here are five numbers that jumped out in the Gators’ 24-10 victory:
21: Georgia’s rushing total, the Bulldogs’ lowest in a game this century. Their previous low was 26 yards rushing against Georgia Tech in 2000.
The Gators gave up a season-worst 265 rushing yards to Missouri in their previous game.
1: Florida’s turnovers. In a defensive struggle, every yard is precious, and Gators QB Luke Del Rio made just one costly mistake. Georgia picked off his first-quarter pass and turned it into points — albeit only three.
While Del Rio’s performance won’t remind anybody of Tim Tebow, it was clean enough to get the job done: 15-for-25, 131 yards with a touchdown pass to offset the interception.
20: Nick Chubb’s rushing yards, on just nine carries. Georgia’s offensive line is a mess, and this year Chubb hasn’t been able to bail them out. Vandy held him to just 40 yards on 16 carries two weeks ago, but his 2.2-yards per carry average against Florida was even worse. Georgia won’t beat anybody without getting more from Chubb.
93: Jordan Scarlett’s rushing yards, which were key given the Gators’ depth issues coming into the game. Scarlett had 26 carries, too, a season-high and more than he had in his two previous games combined.
16: Quarterback hurries against Georgia’s Jacob Eason, the most in an SEC game this season. The Gators sacked Eason twice, took away the deep ball — Georgia completed just one pass longer than 15 yards.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
