They came. They saw. They conquered.
And avenged last year's 44-28 loss.
The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (8-0) struggled out of the gate, but bounced back to take a 17-0 lead into halftime and route the rival Florida Gators (4-4), 34-7 in Jacksonville. Kirby Smart's Dawgs have now won four of the last five meetings with the Gators; Florida head coach Dan Mullen is now 1-3 against Georgia in his four seasons in Gainesville.
The truth of the matter: this game unraveled in the final 2:16 of the first half. Pinned inside their own two-yard line after a Rashad Torrence interception, the Dawgs forced an Anthony Richardson fumble. They turned that into a James Cook 11-yard score to push their lead to 10-0.
Three plays later, Richardson's pass was tipped and picked off by Nolan Smith. The Dawgs turned that into a 36-yard touchdown pass from Stetson Bennett to Kearis Jackson. That pushed the lead to 17-0.
With seven seconds remaining, Richardson was picked again, this time by Nakobe Dean, who returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. That pushed the lead to 24-0.
Game, set, match.
Even with the first possession of the second half (and multiple turnovers by Stetson Bennett and the Georgia offense), Florida could never recover against the top-ranked Dawgs defense.
Glass half full: the Gators did avoid being shut-out, thanks to a last-minute, Emory Jones touchdown. They've now scored in 418 consecutive games, an NCAA record.
In his starting debut, Richardson finished 12-20 for 82 yards and two interceptions. He departed for the medical tent and later the locker room with an undisclosed injury in the third quarter. Redshirt junior Emory Jones came on and finished 10-13 for 112 with that one, rushing score. The Gators did find some success in the run-game, with Dameon Pierce leading the way with 62 yards on just seven carries. The Gators were also pained by two missed field goals.
Pierce County grad Stetson Bennett got the starting nod over former USC transfer JT Daniels, who was medically cleared this week with an oblique injury. The former walk-on finished 10-19 for 161 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Georgia's heralded running attack finished with 193 yards, with Zamir White and James Cook both finding the end-zone. White led the way with 105 yards on the day.
Glynn Academy grad Jack Podlesny was 2-3 on field goal attempts and a perfect 4-4 on extra-point attempts.
Florida travels to South Carolina next Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off. Georgia hosts Missouri, with the game time still to be determined.