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Florida, leading 10-3 in the second quarter Saturday, saw its fortunes turn when quarterback DJ Lagway left with a hamstring injury in what became a 34-20 loss to No. 2 Georgia at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville
Heading home with a #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/uDMOPaTSCA
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) November 2, 2024
Top Dogs
It’s Georgia’s fourth consecutive win in the series and made it UF’s first class since 1983 to lose to UGA all four years.
The Gators’ biggest challenge wasn’t their opponent, but injury — several players from both sides of the ball had to receive trainer attention. Lagway was carted off the field with what coach Billy Napier called a “soft-tissue left hamstring injury.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Aidan Warner took over to finish the game. He finished 7 of 22 for 66 yards and an interception.
.@GatorsFB rallies around DJ Lagway before he is carted off the field in the 2nd quarter. #GoGators
Gators 10 | 3 Bulldogs pic.twitter.com/BxYHbW4yF4
— ESPN 98.1 / 850 WRUF (@ESPNGainesville) November 2, 2024
While the Gators (4-4, 2-3 SEC) lost for the seventh time in the last eight meetings in this storied rivalry against the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1), they gave Georgia all it could handle with its injury-depleted roster.
First Half
First Quarter:
Georgia took a 3-0 lead on Peyton Woodring’s 23-yard field goal with 2:10 remaining that capped a 13-play, 83-yard drive.
Second Quarter:
Florida began to make Georgia quarterback Carson Beck’s life miserable.
Cornerback Devin Moore intercepted Beck at the Florida 25 and returned it 32 yards to the UGA 43. That’s when the injury bug began to sting UF when Moore had to leave with a leg injury suffered at the end of the return.
The Gators seized momentum on the following play when Lagway connected with wide receiver Aidan Mizell for a 43-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead.
True freshman Five-Star Plus+ QB DJ Lagway with a dart for six
(via ABC)
pic.twitter.com/IyW9cZx6Pe— On3 (@On3sports) November 2, 2024
On the following series, Beck was again intercepted, this time by cornerback Aaron Gates, who returned it 30 yards to the Florida 49.
Florida managed to move the ball to the Georgia 14 where to drive stalled and brought in kicker Trey Smack for a 32-yard field goal to put the Gators up 10-3 with 7:22 remaining in the half.
Following a Georgia three-and-out series that ended when Beck was sacked, misfortune again struck the Gators.
Lagway suffered the hamstring injury at the end of a 3-yard run at the 4:25 mark. The entire Florida team came on the field to rally around him.
After a UF punt, Georgia made it a 10-6 game when Woodring kicked a 53-yard field goal with 43 seconds left.
The drive left enough time for Warner to lead the Gators to Smack’s 53-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half and a 13-6 lead.
Second Half
Quarter 3:
The Gators started the second half leading against the Bulldogs for the first time in the Napier era. But they couldn’t do much following Beck’s third interception, a snag by edge Jack Pyburn at midfield.
Florida’s defense began to run out of juice when three defensive backs were injured on back-to-back plays. UGA was able to put up their first touchdown with a 2-yard rush by running back Nate Frazier that tied the game at 13-all.
Pup Howard with the pressure, Jack Pyburn with the interception!
3 interceptions now pic.twitter.com/eiYz6XIfTK
— Stadium and Gale: A Florida Gators Podcast (@StadiumAndGale) November 2, 2024
Georgia regained momentum following a botched snap by Florida on a Smack 50-yard field-goal attempt. Florida lost 31 yards on the bad snap that Georgia recovered at the Gator 36.
A few plays later, Georgia took its first lead on a 22-yard TD pass from Beck to running back Cash Jones.
Fourth Quarter:
The Gators’ defense put everything it had to keep the Bulldogs from scoring. Halfway through the quarter, a sense of hope was restored for the Gators when running back Ja’Kobi Jackson rushed 15 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 20-all.
Florida’s chance at an upset was gone on the next drive when Georgia took the lead again with another touchdown, a 10-yard pass from Beck to receiver Dominic Lovett.
With four minutes left, Warner was intercepted by Georgia’s Justyn Rhett and led to a 4-yard TD rush by Dwight Phillips Jr.
Up Next
The Gators travel to Austin, Texas, for a noon ET game Saturday against the No. 5 Longhorns (7-1, 3-1). The game will be carried on ABC, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
