ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia bounced back from its October loss to Auburn with a defensive clinic Saturday, taking the ball away from Florida four times on the way to a 27-8 win over the Gators at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The third-ranked Bulldogs are now 7-1 overall and 5-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The 17th-ranked Gators slipped to 5-3 and 3-3 in the league, one week after knocking off No. 7 Texas.
The swing play came with 29 seconds left in the first half. Quintavius Johnson sacked Florida backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. and knocked the ball loose, and Chris Cole scooped it up and ran 66 yards for a touchdown. Cole now has two long fumble-return scores this fall, having also gone 85 yards for a score against Oklahoma on Sept. 26.
That made it 24-0 at the break. Bo Walker and Nate Frazier each added 1-yard touchdown runs in the first half.
Florida came in averaging 39.6 points a game, third best in the SEC, but did not score until 6:59 remained in the fourth quarter. The Gators punted or turned the ball over on each of their first eight possessions and finished with 246 total yards against four Georgia sacks.
Starter Aaron Philo, back from a right shoulder injury, went 5 of 7 for 26 yards with two interceptions before he was pulled in the second quarter. Ellis Robinson IV and Demello Jones made those picks, and cornerback Braylon Conley added a third in the end zone in the third quarter to stop a long Florida drive. Robinson later exited after the break with a lower-leg injury.
Georgia ran for 217 yards to 48 for Florida, and Gators running back Jadan Baugh, the league leader with 13 rushing scores coming in, managed only 38 yards on 17 tries. Jones threw for 173 yards and ran for Florida’s only touchdown.
The win is the sixth in a row for Georgia in the rivalry.
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