NCAAF

Florida Gators at Georgia Bulldogs

· NCAA - Football
4-4, 1-1 Away
Final
20 - 34
7-1, 3-0 Home

Carson Beck overcomes 3 INTs to lead No. 2 Georgia to a 34-20 win over Florida in 'Cocktail Party'

Georgia retakes lead on Dominic Lovett's 10-yard TD catch

Beck threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns to offset three interceptions in his hometown and No. 2 Georgia escaped “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” with a 34-20 victory over Florida on Saturday.

Now he's 2-0 as a starter against the Gators.

“This is my dream. It's a super cool circle for me," Beck said. "This is my favorite game of the year. I wouldn't say I ever put pressure on myself. I go play football. ... Obviously, I want to throw a perfect game: 30 for 30, four TDs. That's what I was thinking about walking into the stadium. I felt like I was the man, walking back into my hometown of Jacksonville, let's go. This is fun.

“What am I supposed to do? We just won. I'm happy.”

But Beck knows he has to reduce — maybe even eliminate — turnovers for Georgia to do something special. He has eight interceptions in his last three games, all wins.

“Some of the throws he makes are big-time, elite throws,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "He just has a couple of times where he threw the ball over the middle late. You can't do that. You can't turn the ball over and be a good football team; he knows that.

“I don't think it's a matter of decision making. I think sometimes he presses there, and it's a big game to him; he's from here. We don't win that game without Carson Beck.”

The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) won their fourth straight in the series, their longest streak since winning six in a row between 1978 and 1983. They took advantage of Florida’s quarterback woes and a special teams error in this one.

Standout freshman DJ Lagway left the game on a cart in the second quarter with a left hamstring injury and with the Gators (4-4, 2-3) leading 10-3. Without him, it was mostly ugly.

Walk-on Aidan Warner completed 7 of 22 passes for 66 yards, with an interception. Warner was thrust onto the field because Florida starter Graham Mertz tore a ligament in his left knee at Tennessee last month and is out for the season.

“I do think the game went the way we wanted it,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We made it ugly at time. But we had our team in position to win the game.”

The Gators kept the game close thanks to a stingy defense that forced Beck into more mistakes. Jack Pyburn, Aaron Gates and Devin Moore had picks that led to a combined 10 points for Florida.

But the most significant turnover belonged to the Gators. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw failed to handle Rocco Underwood’s low snap on a 51-yard field goal attempt late in the third. It resulted in a 31-yard loss, setting up Beck’s first TD pass.

The takeaway Georgia: If the Bulldogs make the College Football Playoff, they won’t likely go very far if Beck continues his turnover trend. He now has 11 interceptions in his last five games. It’s baffling for a guy who opened the season as one of the Heisman Trophy front-runners.

Florida: The Gators need to ask themselves how they ended with a walk-on quarterback playing meaningful snaps in a rivalry game. Napier has lost eight scholarship QBs earlier than expected in three years, including Jalen Kitna, Jack Miller, Max Brown and Jaden Rashada.

Crowded injury reports With Jason Marshall and Ja’Keem Jackson already sidelined, the Gators lost two more cornerbacks against Georgia. Moore injured his right knee in the first half and Dijon Johnson injured his left hamstring in the second.

Georgia running back Trevor Etienne, who transferred from Florida after last season, left the game with a rib injury. Backup Nate Frazier ran 19 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. He also got an earful from coach Kirby Smart after getting flagged for making a throat-slash gesture.

Up next Georgia plays at No. 19 Ole Miss next Saturday.

Florida plays at No. 6 Texas next Saturday.

How To Watch

How can I watch Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs?
  • TV Channel: Gators at Bulldogs 2021 College Football, week 10, is broadcasted on ABC.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Bulldogs: 79.8%
Gators: 20.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

UGA FG 1st Period 2:10 Peyton Woodring 23 Yd Field Goal
FLA TD 2nd Period 13:42 Aidan Mizell 43 Yd pass from DJ Lagway (Trey Smack Kick)
FLA FG 2nd Period 7:22 Trey Smack 32 Yd Field Goal
UGA FG 2nd Period 0:43 Peyton Woodring 53 Yd Field Goal
FLA FG 2nd Period 0:03 Trey Smack 53 Yd Field Goal
UGA TD 3rd Period 7:01 Nate Frazier 2 Yd Run (Peyton Woodring Kick)
UGA TD 3rd Period 1:20 Cash Jones 22 Yd pass from Carson Beck (Peyton Woodring Kick)
FLA TD 4th Period 7:29 Ja'Kobi Jackson 15 Yd Run (Trey Smack Kick)
UGA TD 4th Period 4:01 Dominic Lovett 10 Yd pass from Carson Beck (Peyton Woodring Kick)
UGA TD 4th Period 3:03 Dwight Phillips Jr. 4 Yd Run (Peyton Woodring Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/57.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFLA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/61.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUGA
13 1st Downs 25
3-16 3rd down efficiency 4-11
2-4 4th down efficiency 0-0
228 Total Yards 455
113 Passing 309
9/30 Comp/Att 25/40
3.8 Yards per pass 7.7
115 Rushing 146
38 Rushing Attempts 33
3.0 Yards per rush 4.4
5-42 Penalties 5-48
2 Turnovers 3
1 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 3
26:25 Possession 33:35

Game Information

EverBank Stadium

Location: Jacksonville, FL
Attendance: 76,307 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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