10/28/17 9:00pm
Georgia Exorcises Demons in Jacksonville
By. Joshua Grosh
It started with a three-and-out for Florida and was followed by a gut punch then a haymaker. Seven minutes in and Georgia had already laid Florida out on the mat with a dominant 21-0 lead that would never relent – the closest this game ever got was the initial kickoff. Yet, that is not to say Georgia did not have issues tonight.
For instance, the two following drives by Florida were long, time chewing drives – one 9 plays, 27-yard drive for 5:52 and an anxiety inducing 15 plays, 82-yard drive for 7:34. Despite neither resulting in points for Florida and one being a forced turnover on downs, Florida was able to gut Georgia on two long, drawn out rushing drives. Kirby will likely be sure to have that in the film study to fix the issues of those two drives because of how effective a rather anemic Florida offense was. Yet, Georgia withstood and only gave up two more drives of 6 plays or more to Florida – one that was only for 17 yards after a Fromm interception and the other the lone scoring drive for Florida.
Yet, one of the most impressive aspects of the night was the explosiveness of the Georgia offense tonight – despite not scoring for the entirety of the second quarter and a good portion of the third. Georgia exploded on the ground with multiple big runs by Sony Michel, and a couple from Nick Chubb and Elijah Holyfield. In fact, 4 UGA rushers had runs of more than 10 yards if Fromm is counted. Speaking of Fromm – even though he only completed 4 of 7 passes, he impressed with what passes he was called for – especially the phenomenal touchdown pass to Javon Wims on the second drive. The pass exemplified just how mature Fromm is for his age – thrown to where only his receiver could catch it and Wims plucked it straight out of the air. Swift also assisted greatly with multiple catches to keep UGA rolling on.
Yet, in the end, Georgia asserted itself upon Florida – despite giving up the most rushing yards all season to the Gators. This year’s World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was surely a memorable one and the Dawgs are bringing the Okefenokee Oar home for the first time since 2013. On top of this positive news, Georgia landed 4-star RB James Cook to bolster its class into the top spot in the SEC and into the top 5 in the country; Notre Dame continues to win big with a win against North Carolina State giving one of the UGA the best wins so far in the country; and Penn State fell to the hands of Ohio State in a close one – freeing up the #2 spot in the country for UGA’s taking presumably. All in all, an incredible night and in the words of the late, great Larry Munson, “There’s gonna be some property destroyed tonight!”
Be sure to also keep eyes on Gainesville where Jim McElwain faces rumors of UF seeking a buyout for his contract. Also, eyes to Lexington where if Tennessee can pull the upset, it only further locks up the SEC East for Georgia.
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