Florida 38, Georgia 20: Gators Shock Reeling Bulldogs

In a stunning reversal for both teams, the Florida Gators dominated the Georgia Bulldogs in a 38-20 win.

It looked early like UGA was going to run away with the game as expected. The Bulldogs led 7-0 after the first quarter, and it could have been 10-0 if not for the wind blowing a Marshall Morgan field goal attempt wide left. UGA won the yardage battle 167-43, and Nick Chubb went for over 100 yards rushing. Georgia held the ball for 11 of the 15 minutes, and it was looking like the same old-same old.

Florida turned the momentum of the game with their drive to begin the second quarter. Leaning almost entirely on the run game, the Gators drove the length of the field but stalled out at the UGA 21. On fourth down, reserve wide receiver Michael McNeely lined up at holder and executed a fake field goal run to even the score at seven apiece. From there, Georgia looked off balance while Florida's run attack ground down the Georgia defense to a fine powder.

After the half, it was more of the same. Florida scored on its first two possessions out of intermission, while Georgia turned it over on both of its first two drives after the half. Georgia did get two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but Florida iced it with a six play, 98-yard drive that Kelvin Taylor capped with a 65-yard touchdown run.

Florida returned it its 2012 form in running the ball 60 times with only six pass attempts for new starter Treon Harris. They got 418 yards on those 60 rushes for seven yards per carry. Taylor and Matt Jones each carried the ball 25 times, with the the former getting 197 yards (7.9 YPC) and the latter 192 (7.7 YPC). They each had four rushing touchdowns. Chubb finished with 156 yards on 21 carries (7.4 YPC). Hutson Mason set a career high with 319 passing yards on 41 attempts, but much of it came in the second half as the Bulldogs faced large point deficits.

This game puts the division entirely up in the air, but there will be time for that later. For Florida, this game puts the seemingly inevitable Will Muschamp firing on hold as the Gators looked like the better team on the field with the 11th ranked team. For Georgia, it's a crushing loss that puts the division out of its hands and ends any hopes of edging into the playoff.