Georgia Cashes In on Florida's Turnovers in First Atlanta Meeting
In its first edition in Atlanta, the annual Georgia-Florida showdown lasted only one half. On Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, No. 3 Georgia beat No. 17 Florida 27-8 by cashing in on four Gators turnovers, including a 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Chris Cole just before halftime. Down 24-0 at the break, Florida never found an answer. Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) heads into November atop its conference, three days before the first College Football Playoff rankings.
A one-sided first half
The afternoon started poorly for Georgia: its opening drive ended with a missed 43-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring. Florida could not take advantage. Back in the lineup after missing the Gators' 27-24 win at Texas on Oct. 17 with a right shoulder injury, Aaron Philo was intercepted on two of his team's first three possessions.
On the first, facing third-and-6, he threw under pressure while scrambling; Ellis Robinson IV picked it off and Georgia opened the scoring soon after (7-0). On the second, the ball slipped through his receiver's hands and into those of Demello Jones, setting up a 28-yard Woodring field goal.
First-year Florida head coach Jon Sumrall then turned to Tramell Jones Jr., who had thrown for 155 yards and two touchdowns (22 of 35) in his first career start in Austin. The switch changed nothing. Bo Walker and Nate Frazier each scored on 1-yard runs, and the decisive blow came with 29 seconds left in the half: strip-sacked by Quintavius Johnson three yards behind the line, Jones lost the ball, and Chris Cole scooped it up and went 66 yards to the end zone.
At halftime, Georgia led 24-0, with 17 of those points coming directly off Florida turnovers.
The ground game made the difference
The rushing numbers sum up the gap between the two lines: 217 yards on the ground for Georgia, 48 for Florida. Jadan Baugh, the Gators' main offensive weapon, was held to 38 yards on 17 carries. Without a running game, Florida had to throw, which played right into the hands of Georgia's defense.
Georgia's offense, however, remains a talking point. Gunner Stockton completed only 13 of 23 passes for 101 yards and added about 40 yards rushing. According to CBS Sports, Georgia finished with 318 total yards, and freshman Craig Dandridge led the team with 39 receiving yards, 32 of them on the longest pass play of the game. That came against a Florida defense CBS Sports ranked 121st nationally in passing yards allowed per game (255).
Kirby Smart did not hide it. "We missed some throws. We left some points out there. We gotta get better," the Georgia coach told ESPN, as reported by CBS Sports. The reminder matters: the Bulldogs, then No. 1, lost at home to Auburn 27-24 on Oct. 17 on an Alex McPherson field goal as time expired, in a game in which their quarterback committed three turnovers.
Florida avoids the shutout, not the loss
The second half did little to change the picture. In the third quarter, a Jones pass intended for Eric Singleton Jr. was intercepted in the end zone by Braylon Conley, Florida's fourth turnover. Georgia gave one back early in the fourth quarter when Talyn Taylor fumbled on a hit by DJ Coleman, and Myles Graham returned it 42 yards.
Florida turned that into its only points. On fourth down, Jones found Luke Harpring for a 23-yard gain before finishing the drive himself on a 2-yard run. The two-point conversion made it 8 points for the Gators; a Georgia field goal in the fourth quarter set the final at 27-8.
The Gators fall to 5-3 (3-3 SEC) and could drop out of the Top 25. They again played without Vernell Brown III, who missed a fourth straight game with a sprained right knee. The quarterback question remains open: Jon Sumrall said this week, according to ESPN, that he thought Florida could "win with either guy." On Saturday, neither found a solution. Florida hosts Oklahoma next Saturday.
Georgia leads the SEC ahead of the CFP verdict
For Georgia, it was a sixth straight win in the rivalry, the longest streak since Vince Dooley's teams won six in a row from 1978 to 1983, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted. The setting was new: played in Jacksonville every year since 1933 except 1994 and 1995, the game moved to Atlanta because of the renovation of Jacksonville's stadium. The 2027 edition will be played in Tampa before returning to Jacksonville in 2028.
In the standings, Georgia shares the SEC lead with Kentucky, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The first College Football Playoff rankings, the basis for the 12-team bracket, will be released Tuesday night. The Bulldogs should be well placed, but November offers little breathing room: they visit No. 12 Ole Miss next Saturday night.
The Bulldogs' résumé remains solid: a 41-13 rout of Oklahoma in September, a win at Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 10, and a single loss, to Auburn. After Ole Miss and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Georgia hosts Missouri, travels to South Carolina and LaNorris Sellers, then closes the regular season against Georgia Tech. Each will test a passing game that has yet to convince.
The defense did its job in Atlanta. To aim higher than an SEC title, Georgia will need an offense that can produce more than the points its opponents hand it.
