Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs: drive-by-drive updates, recap

Georgia sealed the win with a pair of first downs. Chauncey Bowens and Gunner Stockton shared the carries, with the latter faking everyone out on third-and-short with fewer than two minutes left. With no timeouts left for Florida, Stockton took a knee rather than try to score. Two more kneel-downs secured Georgia’s fifth straight win against Florida.

The Gators played well, and Kirby Smart credited Billy Napier for building the roster. It just wasn’t meant to be.

The Gators couldn’t convert a first down, but the drive wasn’t without some drama. On third-and-4, Lagway launched it to a wide-open J. Michael Sturdivant. The pass was a bit short, but JMS dove back toward the ball to make a play on it. It bounced between his arms and was ruled an incompletion, but not before an official review.

At first, the replay looked like a clear catch, leading to audible gasps from half the crowd. Other angles showed some space, though, and there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the call. The call was upheld, not confirmed, however. Lagway couldn’t connect with Eugene Wilson III on fourth down to turn the ball over.

Florida must force a field goal and score a touchdown to force overtime. A turnover works too, but Georgia will be careful with the ball.

Florida should have kicked it…Georgia orchestrated an 82-yard touchdown to take the lead with fewer than five minutes left after the Gators turned it over on downs. Chauncey Bowens broke a 36-yard run for the score, but it was Gunner Stockton who set it all up. Stockton scrambled for two and then three for 38 yards on three of the next four plays. Florida’s defense had to respect the pass, opening the door for Bowens.

It’s still a one-possession game, but the momentum is fully on Georgia’s side.

Florida’s defense came up with another big three-and-out to open the fourth quarter. Gunner Stockton misfired on first down and only got two yards on his second-down completion to Zachariah Branch. George Gumbs Jr. came up with a big sack to force a punt, giving Florida a chance to make it a two-score game.

DJ Lagway and Jadan Baugh moved the ball across the 50 with a steady stream of seven and eight-yard gains. Lagway found both Eugene Wilson III and J. Michael Sturdivant for solid gains on first down. Jadan Baugh moved the chains after each of those catches. Lagway went for nine up the middle on a designed run, and Baugh got yet another first down.

KD Daniels came in to give Baugh some time to catch his breath, and an 8-yard gain on first down moved Florida inside the Georgia 20. Daniels and Lagway couldn’t reach the line to gain on back-to-back runs, leading to a massive fourth down.

Billy Gonzalez opted to go for it instead of taking the three points. His gamble didn’t pay off. Baugh ran into a wall of linemen and was stopped at the line of scrimmage. The chain gang came out to measure it, but Baugh wasn’t close.

Will that decision come back to haunt Gonzales and the Gators? Probably.

After Florida’s long scoring drive, the Gators’ defense forced a critical three-and-out. A botched snap on first down helped stall the drive. Gunner Stockton was caught off guard by the snap, and he had to fall on it for an 11-yard loss. A 1-yard loss from Chauncey Bowen set up third-and-22, and Bryce Thornton broke up a pass intended for Lawson Luckie.

Florida took over at its 38-yard line and immediately crossed midfield with a 20-yard connection between DJ Lagway and Eugene Wilson III. The drive stalled thanks to a dropped pass by TJ Abrams, but Trey Smack drilled a 54-yarder to put the Gators back out in front. The snap was high, but the kick was true.

Florida leaned on Jadan Baugh heavily to even up the score, taking up the bulk of the third quarter. Baugh ran for 11 yards on three consecutive carries, setting up a 13-yard completion to J. Michael Sturdivant, his first of the day. Lagway tried to go back to JMS, but the coverage was too tight. He found Baugh for an 11-yard gain, but a holding penalty on left tackle Austin Barber wiped it off the board.

Lagway broke a career-long 26-yard run up the middle on a quarterback draw. KD Daniels gave Baugh a breather, rushing for 11 yards on three rushes. Two pass interference penalties against Georgia over the next four plays gave Florida 20 yards, the second coming in the end zone and setting up a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Baugh punched it up the middle for an easy score.

Tie game.

Whatever Billy Gonzels said in the locker room at halftime didn’t work. Florida gains three yards before whiffing on first down — Lagway has been targeting Eugene Wilson III heavily, especially with Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III out. Dallas Wilson won’t return for the rest of the game.

To rub salt in the wound, Drake Stubbs missed the fair catch signal from Zachariah Branch, leading to a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.

Georgia took over on its own 26 and needed just five plays to drive 74 yards down the field. Branch broke a huge 42-yard gain (37 yards after the catch). Gunner Stockton found Noah Thomas for a 22-yard score, giving Georgia its first lead since the first quarter.

After a couple of rough drives, Gunner Stockton found his stride. He completed his first three passes of the drive, gaining 41 yards and moving the ball inside of field goal range. Florida nearly forced the second turnover of the game, but a fumble was ruled an incomplete forward pass after an official review. Safety Jordan Castell created the pressure for Florida’s defense.

After another incomplete pass, Georgia kicked a 39-yard field goal to knot the game up at 10 apiece. Florida kneeled it out to close the half.

Jadan Baugh ran for four yards, and DJ Lagway found Dallas Wilson for seven and a first down to open the drive. KJ Bolden was called for targeting on the play, leading to an ejection and automatic first down. On its own 35, Florida needed to cross midfield to set up a field to end the half. Two missed passes (throwing into the shadows is hard) led to a third down, where Lagway lost the ball and recovered it 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Dallas Wilson went to the locker room before halftime. It doesn’t appear to be related to the targeting call as reports say he was limping. Still, a lower-body injury isn’t good. With Vernell Brown III out, Wilson is the top receiver on the depth chart.

Even if he wasn’t putting up big numbers, the defense had to respect him, opening the door for Eugene Wilson III. It’s something to watch in the second half.

Jadan Baugh ripped a 22-yard run to open the drive, but the Gators didn’t do much after that. DJ Lagway missed Amir Jackson and then Hayden Hansen during a rough drive for the tight ends. Lagway was under pressure for one of them, however.

A false start from Roderick Kearney made it third-and-15. Lagway found Eugene Wilson III, but only for seven yards. Tommy Doman boomed a 65-yard punt.

Georgia had a short drive as well. Michai Boireau got to Gunner Stockton for the first sack of the day for either team. A holding penalty turned a 12-yard completion into a loss, and Stockton missed a deep ball on second down. Stockton broke a 13-yard rush, but it wasn’t enough thanks to the flag earlier in the drive.

Jadan Baugh went for eight yards on two carries, but Georgia’s defense was all over an option play that DJ Lagway kept on third down. Doman punted to the Georgia 40, setting up the Bulldogs for a potential scoring drive.

Florida’s defense held firm, though, forcing a punt after 10 plays. Georgia’s run game threatened once again, but a pair of penalties killed the drive. Dillon Bell held Cormani McClain after he read the play to perfection, moving Georgia 10 yards back to the Florida 43 — out of field goal range.

Gunner Stockton tried to draw an offsides with his hard count on fourth-and-8, but he was called for a false start instead. Those five lost yards erased most of Chauncey Bowen’s 7-yard run on third down, again moving Georgia out of field goal range (and forcing a punt).

Despite a trio of first downs, Georgia couldn’t even score on its third drive. The running back duo of Nate Frazier and Dwight Phillips Jr. combined for 17 yards on the first three plays of the drive. London Humphreys got a chance to run it and went for seven, securing the second first down, but that’s when things started to stall out for the Bulldogs.

Stockton scrambled twice, just getting enough to move the chains. He then took a deep shot late in the first quarter but missed. The second quarter opened the same way, with Stockton missing Humphreys in the middle of the field. There was some contact, but nothing egregious like the Graham penalty earlier.

Florida takes over on its own 11-yard line after a fair catch by Eugene Wilson III.

Georgia’s first drive quickly became a distant memory for the Florida defense. Stockton missed his first pass attempt, targeting Noah Thomas. He hit Zachariah Branch for a short gain and then tried to go back to Thomas. Stockton’s throw bounced off Thomas and into the air. Florida cornerback Devin Moore came down with it and took it to the Georgia 38.

DJ Lagway went right back to Wilson for a 28-yard gain. Wilson is now at a season-high 80 yards on four catches and as many targets. Neither Baugh nor Lagway could get the ball into the end zone, even though the latter had a seemingly wide-open path. CJ Allen closed in on Lagway fast and saved a touchdown. A 1-yard scramble forced Trey Smack to kick a field goal from 22 yards out, giving Florida the lead.

Florida needed a stop to prevent things from getting out of hand too early, and the defense came up big with a three-and-out. A false start from Georgia on third down helped bring things to third-and-13, giving Florida the ball on Georgia 40.

DJ Lagway took full advantage of the field position with a deep shot to Wilson. It’s Wilson’s first touchdown catch since the USF game, and he looks to be a major player in the offense once again. He needed just one move to break free from the defender, and Lagway hit him three yards out from the end zone. Wilson walked the ball in to tie the game up.

Florida couldn’t respond with a score of its own, stalling out on the opening drive after just one first down.

DJ Lagway found Eugene Wilson III, who has been relatively quiet this season, for his first completion — a 13-yard gain. Wilson should step into Vernell Brown III’s role while the freshman is injured. Jadan Baugh fought for three yards on first down, but DJ Lagway couldn’t do much on second despite escaping a collapsed pocket. Lagway dumped it off to Baugh, who went down one yard short of the line to gain.

Tommy Doman’s first punt of the day was a 43-yarder to the Georgia 15 for a fair catch.

Georgia marched 75 yards down the field with surgical precision on its opening drive. Some help from Florida’s defense kept the drive going, leading to an early lead for UGA.

The Gators forced a third-and-7, but that’s when Gunner Stockton stepped up for the Bulldogs. A 12-yard completion to Dillon Bell kept the drive going, and Myles Graham needlessly shoved a Georgia receiver who had no chance at making the catch to move the chain on defensive pass interference.

Grayson Howard missed a sack, allowing a 14-yard completion to Elyiss Williams, and then Gunner hit his tight end, Oscar Delp, on a crossing route that went for 20 yards — 15 of those came after the catch. Stockton went back to Bell for the touchdown. Devin Moore was playing off him a bit too much, giving up an easy catch in the painted grass.