GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The last time Florida beat Georgia, 49 Gators appeared in the game according to the official participation report. That was in 2016, a 24-10 Gators victory that led to Florida's last appearance in the SEC Championship Game.
None of those players are on this year's Florida team, which tells you all you need to know about the No. 8-ranked Gators' mindset heading into Saturday's clash with the fifth-ranked Bulldogs.
"It's obviously a game we circle on our schedule every year,'' said junior running back
Dameon Pierce, a native of Bainbridge, Ga. "We've been coming up short. We're just going there with a chip on our shoulder."
Florida (3-1) and Georgia (4-1) square off Saturday at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, both ranked in the top 10 for the third consecutive season at the time of the matchup. Each team enters with some missing pieces and question marks on defense.
The Southeastern Conference announced Monday that Gators starting defensive tackle
Zachary Carter, ejected from Saturday's win over Missouri for fighting, is suspended for the first half of the Georgia game along with reserve freshman linebacker
Antwuan Powell. Meanwhile, the Gators beat Missouri with several regulars in the secondary, including starters
Marco Wilson,
Donovan Stiner and
Shawn Davis, on the unavailable list. It remains uncertain which of those players will be available against the Bulldogs.
Georgia won't be at full-speed defensively either. Safety
Richard LeCounte was injured in a motorcycle accident once the Bulldogs returned home from Saturday's win at Kentucky and will not play, and neither will fifth-year senior defensive lineman
Julian Rochester (knee). Nose tackle
Jordan Davis (elbow), safety
Lewis Cine (ankle) and linebacker
Monty Rice (foot) are questionable. In total, five Georgia defensive starters at Kentucky are either our or questionable against the Gators.
The Gators have lost three consecutive games to Georgia and seek to avoid their first four-game slide in the SEC East rivalry since a six-game losing streak from 1978-83. Florida, after a two-week layoff due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team following a loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 10, regained some momentum with Saturday's 41-17 homecoming win over Missouri.
Quarterback
Kyle Trask threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns and the defense responded to coordinator
Todd Grantham's challenge to play more physical with a season-best performance, limiting the Tigers to 248 yards. Florida's defense jumped from 13th overall in the SEC to 11th (433.2 yards per game). Georgia (300.6 ypg) is the league's top-ranked defense.
"We're feeling good coming off a win," Pierce said. "We'd rather come off a win than a loss going into Georgia Week."
KNOCKING 'EM THROUGH
The absence of kicker
Evan McPherson was a non-issue against Missouri. The Gators have redshirt junior
Chris Howard to thank for that.
Chris Howard
With McPherson on the unavailable list, Howard made field goals from 28 and 32 yards in the first quarter to give the Gators an early 6-0 lead. He later converted five extra-point kicks without a hitch.
"He did a great job, but we have a lot of confidence in him,'' said Gators head coach
Dan Mullen. "I think the team does, because they see them practice all the time. I knew I had a lot of confidence in him and a trust that he was gonna be able to come out there and perform. You have such a great deal with Evan, but to have a guy come in and play like him, I'm really proud of his performance."
Howard had never attempted a field goal in his college career but had made 4 of 4 extra points entering the game. McPherson, one of the top kickers in the country, has made 39 of 43 field goals in his career, including 5 of 5 in 2020 with a career-long 55-yarder against Texas A&M.
Howard said he learned on Sunday that he would be the team's starting kicker against Missouri.
"With all the false-positives and stuff [related to COVID], I didn't know what to expect, but whatever," Howard said. "I was just super excited. As soon as I got the news -- I've been waiting for four years now to really start a game – I was just overwhelmed with joy."
Howard, who is from Ponte Vedra, had his parents and older brother in the stands rooting for him. Once the game started and it was time for his first field goal, he said he treated it like another kick in practice.
"I think I was probably the most locked-in I've ever been in my life," he said. "It was just the best feeling in the world, honestly. Making those two kicks … was huge for my confidence."
TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT
Senior defensive tackle Kyree Campbell was in the lineup for the first time this season and made his presence felt according to head coach Dan Mullen. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Senior defensive tackle
Kyree Campbell, who missed the first three games for undisclosed reasons, finally made his 2020 debut on Saturday. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Campbell started his 25th career and made only one tackle.
However, it was an important one. On third-and-2 from its 22-yard line early in the third quarter, Campbell dropped Tigers running back
Larry Rountree for a 4-yard loss, forcing a punt. Campbell's impact went beyond the box score according to Mullen.
"You've got a returning starter on the defensive line. We lost a couple of defensive linemen off last year's team,'' Mullen said. "He's one of our current starters and this was his first game back. It just raises the play of everybody. He's going to raise the play of some of the players around him and then it's like when there's a trickle-down effect."
QUOTE OF NOTE I
"I don't think he gets frustrated with that. I don't get upset with the pick-six, he got hit as he threw the ball. We were talking to him about getting it out of his hands a little quicker. He's a veteran guy. I don't think he lets that bother him." –
Dan Mullen on the
Kyle Trask interception, only his second of the season, that was returned by
Jarvis Ware for a touchdown
QUOTE OF NOTE II
"Georgia, they a big obstacle. We got to come out, and we got to play together. We got to play as one. We all got to be on the same page, really. We're going to work on being a team and playing together, and hopefully, we can come out with the dub." – Gators safety
Brad Stewart Jr. on preparing for the Bulldogs
QUOTE OF NOTE III
"Man, it's been so long. I've been working so hard. So, it feels great to just go out there and just finally get my first one and just, I got a little taste of it, so now I just want to go out, I just want to get more and more. Hopefully next week versus Georgia I can go out and try to get me at least one more, two more." – Gators receiver
Justin Shorter, a transfer from Penn State, on his first touchdown reception since 2017 when he was a senior at South Brunswick High in Monmouth Junction, N.J. Shorter caught a 2-yard score from Trask late in the third quarter to put Florida up 34-7
EXTRA POINTS
Walk-on defensive back
Patrick Moorer got his first playing time of the season against Missouri and had two tackles and a pass breakup. Moorer's father,
Pat Moorer, is a former UF walk-on who became a four-year starter and team captain in 1989 … Freshman defensive back
Kamar Wilcoxson contributed a tackle and fumble recovery in the first appearance of his career … Fifth-year senior linebacker
Jeremiah Moon's sack against Missouri was the sixth of his career, tying Carter for the most among active players … Gators redshirt sophomore defensive lineman
Brenton Cox Jr. is tied with Davis for second on the team with 21 tackles, eclipsing the 20 tackles he had full the Bulldogs as a true freshman in 2018 … Gators tight end
Kyle Pitts (seven) and receiver
Kadarius Toney (six) have combined for 13 touchdown catches through four games, matching the total of receivers
Freddie Swain (seven) and
Van Jefferson (six), UF's leaders among receivers last season … With at least 200 yards passing on Saturday, Trask can tie former Gators quarterback
Rex Grossman (13) for the second-longest streak of 200-plus yards passing games in school history behind all-time leader
Shane Matthews (17).
SEC ANNOUNCEMENT
SEC Commissioner
Greg Sankey announced Monday the fallout from the brawl that broke out at the end of the first half between the Gators and Missouri on Saturday night:
