Georgia outlasts Florida 24-20 for fifth straight in in the series

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A fourth-quarter surge allowed Georgia to grab its fifth straight win over Florida on Saturday by a score of 24-20. The Bulldogs dominated the final 10 minutes of the game after trailing 20-17.

Gunner Stockton completed 20 of 29 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Zacharian Branch caught 10 passes for 112 yards while Chauncey Bowens came up with some late-game heroics, rushing nine times for 70 yards with most of that coming in the fourth quarter.

Florida won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving Georgia the ball first. The Bulldogs made the most of it with an eight-play 75-yard drive. Stockton capped it off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell. Peyton Woodring’s PAT staked the Bulldogs to a 7-0 lead.

Glenn Schumann‘s defense got off to a strong start, forcing Florida to punt on its first possession, but the offense couldn’t anything with the momentum. Georgia responded with a three-and-out and Brett Thorson delivered rare poor punt of just 24 yards to give the Gators the ball at the UGA 45-yard line.

DJ Lagway needed just one play to deliver the equalizer, hitting Eugene Wilson for a 45-yard touchdown. The PAT tied the game at seven and Florida wasn’t finished in the first quarter.

When Georgia got the ball back, Stockton threw to Noah Thomas on 3rd and 8 and the ball went off his hands and was picked off by Devin Moore. He returned it seven yards to the UGA 38-yard line to put Florida in prime position.

The Gators took it deep into the Georgia red zone but couldn’t punch it in, settling for a chip-shot field goal to take the 10-7 lead.

Due in large part to untimely penalties, Georgia struggled to threaten for most of the first half. The Bulldogs used the final minute of the first half to get Woodring in position to tie the game at 10 with a 29-yard field goal. That’s how the first half would end.

The Gators got the ball to start the second half but went three and out. Georgia capitalized on the momentum with a five-play, 74-yard touchdown drive. Stockton found Thomas for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a lead. Woodring extended it to 17-10 with the PAT.

Florida responded with a touchdown drive of its own, using 12 plays to go 79 yards. Georgia committed two pass interference penalties on the drive, and the Gators overcame a hold. Jadan Baugh capped it off with a two-yard score and the PAT tied the game at 17.

The ensuing possession was essentially doomed after the first play. A bad snap from Drew Bobo caused the Bulldogs to lose 11 yards, putting them behind the sticks. Georgia wasn’t able to get the yardage back and punted to the Gators to their own 38-yard line.

Florida gained just 26 yards on the drive but it was enough for Trey Smack. He hammered a 54-yard field goal to put the Gators back on top at 20-17.

The next Georgia possession ended with a three and out and Florida went on the march once again, getting it inside the Bulldog red zone. But when interim head coach Billy Gonzales elected to go for it on 4th and 1, the Georgia defense stood tall and got the stop.

Stockton and company went to work, jumpstarting the drive with an 18-yard pass to Branch to convert a 3rd and 8. Branch went over 100 yards later in the drive on a 13-yard catch, and Chauncey Bowens capped off the drive with a 36-yard touchdown run. Woodring’s PAT extended the Georgia lead to 24-20.

Florida turned it over on downs again with its next possession but it wasn’t without some drama. Lagway found J. Michael Sturdivant way behind the Georgia defense but the ball was under thrown. The ruling on the field was that Sturdivant didn’t make the catch and that the ball hit the ground. Review upheld the call. That was on third down and Ellis Robinson came up with near interception on fourth to give the ball back to UGA at the Florida 31-yard line.

Georgia moved the chains twice on the drive as Florida used all of its timeouts. Stockton converted a 3rd and 1 at the Florida five-yard line with a keeper. He downed the ball at the one-yard line, allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock.

Georgia will travel again next weekend. UGA travels to Starkville to take on Mississippi State. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET.