Senior linebacker David Reese shows his frustration after the Florida defense game up nearly 400 yards and 12 third-down conversions in his team's 24-17 loss Saturday to Georgia. (Photo: Evan Lepak/UAA Communications)
Third-Down Letdown: Georgia Takes Control of SEC East
Saturday, November 2, 2019 | Football, Chris Harry
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Come what may with this 2019 Florida football season, and regardless of what happens from here on out, the lasting images from the team's losses at LSU last month and Saturday's fate-altering outcome against rival Georgia will be of a defense that simply could not get off the field at pivotal moments.
Junior quarterback Jake Fromm passed for 279 yards and a couple touchdowns in engineering a Bulldogs offense that cranked out nearly 400 yards, possessed the ball for close to 36 minutes, and converted a stunning 12 of 18 third-down chances — nearly 67 percent — on the way to a 24-17 victory before a crowd of 84,789 at TIAA Bank Field. The win was No 8 Georgia's third straight in the storied series and moved the Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1) into sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference East Division, as the sixth-ranked Gators (7-2, 4-2) not only fell into second place, but are down a tiebreaker to their longtime rival and no longer have their postseason fate in their hands.
"There's a lot of football still let to be played," UF coach Dan Mullen said. "The division hasn't been clinched by anybody and it wasn't going to be clinched by anybody [Saturday]. Win or lose this game, next week's game is really big for us. That's how it works."
Here's how it really works: Florida needs to win its final two SEC games (next week at home against Vanderbilt, then the following week at Missouri), while Georgia needs to lose two of its final three league games (at Missouri, at Auburn, home against Texas A&M) to surrender its place atop the East standings.
All the Gators can do is control what they can control.
"We got a lot of football left," UF senior wideout Freddie Swain said. "Our future isn't decided."
It is, however, now in the hands of Fromm, who was great in this game last year, and in this one completed 20 of his 30 throws and did not turn the ball over. His two biggest heaves of the day came in the fourth quarter. First, he found wide receiver Lawrence Cager running wide-open and uncovered against a confused UF secondary for a 52-yard touchdown strike barely a minute into the fourth quarter. And later, facing a third-and-7 from his own 35, Fromm threw off his back foot and to the far side of the field, where tight end Eli Wolf jumped over safety Brad Stewart for a 22-yard gain with 2:12 to go, giving Georgia its 12th third-down conversion and allowing the Dogs to run out the clock.
"We played really well on third down on both sides of the ball," UGA coach Kirby Smart.
Florida, obviously, did not. Add it to the list. In addition to being held to just 278 total yards of offense (the second-fewest during Mullen's two seasons, behind last year's 275 vs. Georgia), UF's running game woes were pronounced, as the Gators rushed 19 times for just 21 yards, which basically left fourth-year junior quarterback Kyle Trask and the passing game to get a rhythm.
The Gators made good on just two of their nine third-down snaps.
"It's very frustrating," fifth-year senior center Nick Buchanan said. "Third downs are a big part of the game. When you get in big games, usually the team that stops them on third down on defense and converts third downs on offense wins the game. We saw that."
Like the Florida offense (114 yards, 5 first downs, a 13-3 deficit), Trask did not have a particularly good first half, but ended up hitting 21 of 33 throws for 257 yards, a couple touchdowns and no interceptions. His 2-yard score to Swain with 3:11 left capped a 17-play, 75-yard drive and pulled the Gators within seven and left matters to the defense to get a stop.
Instead, it surrendered the final (and fitting) third down.
"We did a good job of sticking around," Florida senior linebacker David Reese said. "But we had to get off the field … and we didn't."
Just like the UF offense was unable to stay on the field early.
UF quarterbackKyle Trask got things going in the second half, but the Gators' two fourth-quarter touchdowns were not enough. (Photo: Kelly Chase/UAA Communications)
The Gators' opening drive included completions of 14 and 11 yards to tight end Kyle Pitts, as well as a third-down conversion of 11 yards on a swing pass to tailback Lamical Perine. It also included a couple timeouts by the Gators and, seemingly, some confusion on the sidelines. The drive ended on a fourth-and-inches from the Georgia 40 when Trask, operating from the shotgun (rather than under center), threw incomplete to a well-covered Pitts in the right flat.
UGA took over and went 47 yards in 16 plays, converting four third-downs along the way (three of them with 11 or more yards needed) before settling for a 31-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship and 3-0 lead with 3:58 left in the opening period.
"Guys took the field and were ready to roll," Fromm said.
A three-and-out by Florida sent Fromm back on the field and the Dogs did third their third-down thing again, converting three more on a 10-play, 59-yard drive, including a third-and-3 touchdown pass from Fromm to Dominick Blaylock for a 10-0 lead with just under five minutes left in the first half.
At that point of the game, the Bulldogs were 7-for-9 on third down compared to 0-for-3 (plus that 0-for-1 on fourth) for the Gators.
It soon became 0-for-4 when a Trask pass on third-and-8 from the UGA 21 was deflected incomplete. Before that, though, completions of 29 to Pitts and 23 to Freddie Swain on a couple first-down plays set up Evan McPherson for a 38-yard field goal that drew the Gators within 10-3 with 2:40 remaining in the half. Georgia canceled out those points with a 37-yard field by Blankenship with 14 seconds to go before intermission. The kick capped a short seven-play, 48-yard drive that was keyed by a 30-yard run by tailback D'Andre Swift (25 carries, 86 yards) through a trio of UF arm tackles. The Bulldogs went to the locker room up 13-3 and set to get the second-half kickoff.
Nine plays, 64 yards, another third-and-8 conversion, plus a remarkable, circus catch of 30 yards from Fromm to Brian Herrien led to a 27-yard field goal from Blankenship and 16-3 advantage just over six minutes into the third quarter.
"I was standing right there and thought there was no way," Smart said of Herrien's one-handed, diving grab. "Huge play in the game."
The Gators didn't help their cause — at all — on the next series. One play after a 19-yard completion into UGA territory, Trask took a 19-yard sack. That was followed by a delay of game. Second- and third-down plays that needed 34 yards netted two yards, then a punt. Georgia, though, could not capitalize and punted the ball back to Florida, with the Gators picking an opportune time to wake up on offense.
Consecutive completions of 14 and 11 yards to Swain, eight more to Tyrie Cleveland, then nine more back to Swain ended the third period and got the Gators inside the Bulldogs' 40. Facing a fourth-and-1, Trask hit Swain across the middle for six yards, then one play later threw a jump ball that wideout Van Jefferson high-pointed at the goal line for a 23-yard touchdown that drew UF within 16-10 with 13:51 remaining. Plenty of time.
The Bulldogs, undeterred, moved near midfield by (of course) converting a couple third-and-1 plays on runs by Swift. On a first down from the UGA 48, wideout Lawrence Cager came off the line and was left uncovered deep downfield. Fromm saw him, fired a seed, and Cager scored untouched for a 52-yard TD that, coupled with a two-point conversion pass, but Georgia up 24-10.
"We got the exact look we wanted," Cager said of the coverage on his touchdown.
Cornerback Marco Wilson (3) and Florida defense had few if any answers for Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm (11), who had a two touchdown passes and did not turn the ball over in the Bulldogs' big win. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Trask and the Gators kept the pressure on, moving 75 yards in 17 plays, converting three third downs and one fourth along the way (and taking 6:50 off the clock, unfortunately), before hitting Swain for a 2-yard score with 3:11 to go. It was 24-17 and the defense was back on the field for a huge possession and the game on the line.
Then came that last, fatal, third-down blow.
"We just have to get back to work," grad-transfer linebacker Jonathan Greenard said. "We all came in here with high hopes of getting a 'W.' It did not come out that way. They were a good team, really a great team. We missed a couple things that we needed to get off the field on third down; a lot of stuff that could change the game. It hurts, but we're going to bounce back."
