Staff Writer
It was anybody's game Saturday afternoon at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. And then, after a couple of dramatic minutes late in the first half, it wasn't.
With a series of spectacular, game-changing plays in the final 2 minutes 35 seconds of the second quarter, top-ranked Georgia went from leading Florida 3-0 to taking a 24-0 lead into halftime.
"It was a complete momentum change. It was 3-0 until that happened and then we scored a lot of points," said Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, who hit Kearis Jackson for a 36-yard touchdown during that late surge in the second.
The Bulldogs went on to win 34-7, improving to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the SEC, and it was the series of plays Georgia's offense and defense made in those 155 seconds that turned a nail-biter into a 27-point victory over the Gators (4-4, 2-4).
After a scoreless first quarter, Georgia went up 3-0 on a Jack Podlesny field goal midway through the second. After stopping the Gators on 4th-and-13 at the Georgia 34-yard line, Bennett hit Darnell Washington for a 32-yard gain. But on the next play his deep ball was intercepted and Florida took over at its 2.
Gator quarterback Anthony Richardson ran for no gain on first down and on second he ran into a pack of Bulldogs near the 10. In that pack was linebacker Nolan Smith, who managed to pry the ball from Richardson's arms, giving Georgia a first down at the Florida 11.
On the next play, James Cook burst through a hole in the line and ran the ball in for an 11-yard score and 10-0 lead with 2:16 to play in the half. It was the Bulldogs' fourth one-play scoring drive of the season, and the fifth would come soon after.
Florida's ensuing drive began with another Richardson keeper for no gain. And on second down, with Bulldog linebacker Nakobe Dean bearing down on him, Richardson's pass over the middle was tipped by linebacker Travon Walker and intercepted by Smith.
The Georgia offense ran back out, first down at the Gator 36, and Bennett opted to go for it all right away. He faked a handoff, saw Jackson was one-on-one with a safety, and lofted a pass into the back left corner of the end zone. Jackson got separation from the defender and managed to get his left leg down as he pulled the ball in for the touchdown with 1:35 to play in the half.
"Kearis beat him and I just put it up there," Bennett said.
The momentum had clearly swung Georgia's way, with the defense making big plays and the offense responding with more of their own. And the Bulldogs weren't done.
Florida got a couple of first downs on its next drive before Richardson tried to throw a short pass out wide to the right side. Dean jumped in front of the receiver, intercepting the pass at midfield, and raced up the sideline for the Bulldogs' third score in a little more than two minutes. Podnesly's extra point made it 24-0 with 7 seconds to play in the half.
"They (the defense) came out, they got us turnovers, and we capitalized on those turnovers. And that's what we had to do," Bennett said. "Nakobe getting that pick-6 at the end, that was the icing on the cake for the first half."
Coach Kirby Smart said Dean has "worked hard on his coverage out in space," and it showed. It was a one-on-one situation and Dean made the play, scoring the first touchdown of the junior's career.
"The quarterback probably wasn't supposed to throw it there, but it was off coverage," Smart said. "He fired it out there and Nakobe broke on it, and it was probably the play of the game there."
Georgia led 3-0 when Florida picked off the Bennett pass with 3:11 to play in the half. By the time Dean was wearing the Bulldogs' celebratory "SAVAGE" shoulder pads on the sideline after his interception return for a touchdown, he was cheering on the bench in front of the Redcoat Marching Band which was waiting to perform at halftime.
The Bulldog offense had an up-and-down day, with Bennett finishing 10 of 19 passing for 161 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Georgia rushed for 193 yards. led by Zamir White's 105 yards on 14 carries, including a 42-yard touchdown scamper in the final minutes. It was the first 100-yard game by a Georgia back this season.
At the end of another stellar defensive performance by the Bulldogs, which held Florida scoreless until late in the fourth quarter, only the fifth touchdown the unit has allowed all season, Georgia had forced three turnovers, all of them leading to touchdowns.
"That changed the game," Smart said of the plays before halftime. "That momentum right before the half was just huge. It's what our guys do: they are havoc guys that cause problems, frustrate the quarterback, and try to find different ways to affect the quarterback. Those turnovers are so big."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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October 31, 2021 at 07:45AM
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Big Plays 'A Complete Momentum Change' - University of Georgia Athletics - Georgia Bulldogs
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