Gators Defeat Georgia for First Time since 2016 and In Dan Mullen Era

The Florida Gator football team is now in the driver’s seat in the SEC East after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 44-28 Saturday in Jacksonville.  This is the first time since 2016 and during the Dan Mullen Era that the Gators have won in Jacksonville.

Georgia started the game strong with a rushing touchdown on the first play of the game by Zamir White. It did not take them long to score another touchdown and take the 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Florida’s offense took a few minutes, but they were able to finally get on the board with a touchdown from quarterback Kyle Trask to wide receiver Justin Shorter. Towards the end of the frame, running back Dameon Pierce rushed into the end zone to tie the game at 14.

Georgia gained control back for a few minutes in the second quarter with a touchdown, but it was quickly taken away by a touchdown by tight end Kyle Pitts.

After that, Florida took full control of the game with two more touchdowns and a field goal, all while limiting the Bulldogs to a single touchdown.

Florida head coach Dan Mullen said that confidence among the team led to success on both sides of the ball.

The game was kept close in the first half, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the game.

Both teams scored in the single digits in the whole second half. The Bulldogs sneaked in a single touchdown in the third quarter but remained scoreless in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, the Gators were limited to two field goals–one in each quarter.

Kyle-to-Kyle records

The Kyle Trask to Kyle Pitts connection has been crucial this season for Florida. The duo has made very important plays throughout the five games of the season.

But during this fifth game, both Gator stars reached milestones in their careers.

Pitts’s eight touchdowns broke the record for the most single-season touchdowns by a Florida tight end. He hit the record with his first and only touchdown of the game.

The tight end was later ruled out of the game after suffering a hard hit on a targeting call; his status for Saturday’s game against Arkansas is uncertain.

Trask became the first SEC quarterback to throw four touchdowns or more in five consecutive games. The quarterback reached this milestone during the first half of the game.

Trask said his historic performance is a reflection of how the Gator offense has been performing this season.

Trask went on to throw for 474 yards in the game which is most yards thrown for a Gator quarterback in a regular season game.

McPherson’s 50-yard success

Gator kicker Evan McPherson returned to action this week after being ruled out last week.

McPherson made two long field goals in the game, one a 50 yarder and one from 51; he also missed an attempt as well.

Georgia QB struggles

The Bulldogs’ main offensive struggles came from the quarterback spot.

Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was sent to the sideline after only completing five of his 16 attempts. He was only able to throw for one touchdown and was intercepted once.

Georgia called on freshman back up D’Wan Mathis to hopefully fix these issues – but it did not work out.

After a few promising drives, in the beginning, the quarterback was only able to complete 4 of his 13 pass attempts as both quarterbacks missed open receivers during he course of the game.  Mathis threw a touchdown pass but was also picked off twice.

Up Next

The Gators return to the Swamp next Saturday to host former Florida QB Feleipe Franks and the Arkansas Razorbacks.