Slow start proves costly as Florida falls 42-20 to Georgia

The Florida Gators didn’t do enough on either side of the football to win in Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon. The Gators fell to the Bulldogs 42-20 inside TIAA Bank Field. 

“Not good enough,” Billy Napier’s first words from the post-game press conference. 

The game started as poorly as one could imagine for Florida. Billy Napier and the Gators didn’t record a first down until their fifth drive of the first half. 12 plays and four punts is not the recipe to take down the #1 team in the country. Georgia’s defense came to play, like they have all season. No team has scored more than 22 points against the Bulldogs this season. Florida had a chance to, but a pair of sacks and a turnover on downs stalled the Gators at the end of the game. 

An unfortunate 73-yard tipped pass touchdown from Brock Bowers was a shot in the heart for Gators fans. Amari Burney made a good play; he just didn’t knock the football to the ground. 

Stetson Bennett led the charge for the Bulldogs, throwing for 262 first half yards and finishing the game with 316 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. 

Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington were issues in the first half for the Gators, totaling 172 yards of receiving through the first two quarters and finishing with over 200 yards. The Gators made an adjustment in the 2nd half, allowing just one catch for 29 yards. However, that catch was one of the most important plays of the game as Stetson Bennett found Brock Bowers on 4th down in a two-score game. 

The Gators dug themselves in a 28-3 hole at halftime. It’s hard to comeback from a 25-point deficit against the #1 team in the country, but the Gators didn’t lay down. 

Florida came out with much more energy in the 2nd half, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive and picking up more first downs than they did in the entire 1st half. A couple turnovers and a blown coverage helped the Gators rally for a 17-0 run in the third quarter, cutting the Dawgs lead to eight. 

That was the end of Florida’s magic. Georgia pulled away with a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th, putting a stamp on this one. 

The Gators’ defense forced three turnovers while giving up 555 yards of offense. This has been the identity of the Florida Gators defense in 2022. They’ve shown the ability to force turnovers, particularly in big moments. They’ve also shown their inability to force punts; Georgia punted three times for 118 yards in the contest. The Gators’ three forced punts against Georgia is above the season average in forced punts per game, perhaps we saw the defense take a step in the right direction tonight. 

Ultimately, the game came down to the slow start for the Gators. Florida outscored and outgained Georgia in the 2nd half but just didn’t have enough juice to complete the comeback. 

 

Nick Marcinko
Nick is a recent graduate from the University of Florida with a degree in Telecommunications. He is passionate about all sports but specifically baseball and football. Nick interned at Inside the Gators and worked part time with Knights247 before joining the Gator Country family. Nick enjoys spending his free time golfing and at the beach.