UF Football: Notes and Quotes from 44-28 win over Georgia

November 9, 2020

Courtesy of University Athletic Association

No. 8 Florida 44, No. 5 Georgia 28
November 7, 2020
TIAA Bank Field – Jacksonville, Fla.

Gators’ Explosive Offense Rolls Over Vaunted Georgia Defense

After Florida fell behind 14-0, it closed the half with a flurry of 38 points and 408 total yards on 43 plays. Within that same span, Georgia ran 18 plays for 30 yards and only scored via a pick-six.
Florida’s 571 total yards were the most compiled against any Georgia defense since 2001, when the Gators amassed 584 total yards in a 24-10 win.
Kyle Trask finished with 474 passing yards, the second-highest total in school history and just eight yards shy of Tim Tebow’s single-game school record of 482 set in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.
- Trask set a single-game school record for passing yards against Georgia… by the end of the third quarter, which he finished with 412 passing yards.
  - Kerwin Bell (408 in 1985) and Rex Grossman (407 in 2001) were the only Gators in history to eclipse 350 passing yards against Georgia prior to this afternoon.
- Trask joined Danny Wuerffel (five in 1995, four in 1996) and Shane Matthews (four in 1991) as the only Gators in history to throw four touchdown passes against Georgia.

Florida’s 474 passing yards were the highest total allowed by a Georgia defense since Oct. 21, 2000, when the Bulldogs ceded 528 passing yards to Kentucky.
The Gators’ 44 points were the third-highest total surrendered by Georgia’s defense since Kirby Smart took over in 2016, only behind Oklahoma (48 in the 2018 Rose Bowl) and Ole Miss (45 in 2016).
Florida’s 38 points in the first half marked its highest point total in a half against Georgia, topping the previous record of 35 from the second half of the 2008 game.
- Georgia had only allowed 38-plus points in four games since Kirby Smart took over in 2016
- The 38-point half extended Florida’s streak of games with 35-plus points to seven – still its longest streak since an eight-game run of 35-point outings from Oct. 4-Nov. 29, 2008.
  - UF has also scored 35-plus points in five straight games against SEC teams for the first time since a six-game streak within the aforementioned run in 2008.
Florida’s five offensive touchdowns – all in the first half – tied the most offensive touchdowns surrendered by Georgia in an entire game since Kirby Smart took over in 2016.
Florida had five passing plays of 30-plus yards in the first half. Georgia had allowed six all season.
Florida’s running backs combined for 212 receiving yards on 10 receptions, with Malik Davis posting the second 100-yard receiving game by a Gators running back since the start of 1996 (Chris Rainey had 104 receiving yards on two receptions against Tennessee in 2011).
- Nay’Quan Wright compiled a career-high 71 receiving yards, while Dameon Pierce finished four yards shy of the career-high 45 yards he had against Missouri earlier this year.

• Georgia’s defense had not allowed a touchdown to an opposing tight end this season – Kemore Gamble and Kyle Pitts both scored touchdowns in the second quarter.

Career-Defining Performance Trask’s Heisman Trophy Campaign Shifts into High Gear

Kyle Trask’s 22 passing touchdowns this season tie LSU’s Joe Burrow (2019) for the second-most passing touchdowns in SEC history through the first five games of a season, per ESPN Stats & Info.
- Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa still holds the record with 23 (also set last season).
Of all the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks since 1990, only Trask (1,815), Burrow (1,864), and BYU’s Ty Detmer (2,197 in 1990) eclipsed 1,700 passing yards in the season’s first five games.
- Additionally, only Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (28 in 2016), Burrow (24), and Trask (22) amassed more than 21 total touchdowns through the first five games of their Heisman-winning season.
Trask is the first quarterback in SEC history and fifth FBS quarterback since the start of 2005 to throw at least four touchdown passes in five consecutive games.
- Others: Colt Brennan, Hawaii (nine games in 2006); Graham Harrell, Texas Tech (six games in 2007); Logan Woodside, Toledo (six games in 2016); Cal’s Davis Webb, Cal (five games in 2016) [Note: this does not include streaks that span multiple seasons]

Trask and Danny Wuerffel are the only Gators since 1990 to throw four touchdown passes in five different games within a season. Wuerffel did it five times in 1995 (four against SEC teams, and a fifth against Florida State) and 1996 (all against SEC teams).
Trask joins Danny Wuerffel (four) and Rex Grossman (two) as the only Gators in history with multiple 400-yard games in a career.
Trask joins Rex Grossman as the only other quarterback in Gators history to post four 300-yard passing games against SEC teams within the same season.
- Grossman threw for 300-plus yards in all eight of UF’s games against SEC teams in 2001.
Trask is the fourth quarterback in Gators history with three consecutive 300-yard passing games against SEC opponents.
- Others: Grossman (10 – all eight SEC games in 2001, first two of ‘02), Doug Johnson (last two of 1998, SEC opener in ‘99), Shane Matthews (last two of ‘91, season opener in ‘92).
Trask’s fourth 300-yard passing game this year marks the 11th time in program history a Gators quarterback logged at least four 300-yard passing games in a season. Trask also had four in 2019.
- Others: Grossman (10 in 2001, six in 2002); Matthews (five in 1990, 1991, and 1992); Danny Wuerffel (five in 1996, four in 1995); Chris Leak (four in 2004); John Reaves (four in 1969)
Trask threw for 300-plus yards against an SEC opponent for the sixth time in his career, tying Johnson (1996-99) for the fourth-most 300-yard games versus SEC teams in school history.
- Grossman (12 – 2000-02), Wuerffel (10 – 1993-96), and Matthews (nine – 1989-92) are the only Gators with more 300-yard games against SEC teams.

Trask posted the eighth 300-yard passing game of his career, passing Johnson (1996-99) and Leak (2003-06) for the fourth-most 300-yard passing games in school history.
Trask has thrown for 200-plus yards in 13 consecutive games with 200-plus passing yards, tying Rex Grossman (2000-02) for the second-longest streak in school history.
- Shane Matthews holds the school record of 17

Pitts Breaks School Record for Receiving Touchdowns by a Tight End

In just five games this season, Kyle Pitts has already broken the single-season school record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end, which was previously held by Cornelius Ingram (seven in 2007) and Kirk Kirkpatrick (seven in 1990).
Pitts’ eight receiving touchdowns this season are already the highest single-season total by any Gator since Riley Cooper finished the 2009 campaign with nine.
Pitts’ eight receiving touchdowns this season also put him one behind last year’s FBS leaders for receiving touchdowns by a tight end
- SMU’s Kylen Granson and Louisiana-Monroe’s Josh Pederson had nine in 13 and 12 games, respectively, last season.

Gators Offense

Florida has scored 40-plus points in consecutive games against SEC opponents for the first time since 2008, when it rattled off a five-game run of 40-point outings from Oct. 11-Nov. 15.
Florida scored 40 points for the 11th time under Dan Mullen, just one game behind its total of 40-point outings from the 2010-17 seasons (101 games played).
UF has scored 40-plus points in consecutive games for the third time under Mullen.
- Prior to Mullen’s tenure, Florida last scored 40 points in consecutive games the first two games of the 2009 season (wins over Charleston Southern [62-3] and Troy [56-6]).
Florida has five-plus offensive touchdowns in five consecutive games for the first time since 2008, when it had an eight-game streak from Oct. 4-Nov. 29, 2008.
- UF has scored five-plus offensive touchdowns in five games for a third consecutive season. Prior to Mullen’s arrival, UF last had five-plus offensive touchdowns in five games in 2009.

Florida has scored five offensive touchdowns in five games against SEC teams for the first time since 2008, when it did it six times.
The Gators posted 500-plus total yards against consecutive SEC opponents for the first time since 2007, when they had 554 against Tennessee (Sept. 15) and 507 at Ole Miss (Sept. 22).
Florida has three games of 500-plus total yards against SEC opponents in the same season for the first time since 2007, when it eclipsed that number against Tennessee, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.
- Moreover, UF’s three games of 500-plus total yards against SEC opponents this year are equal to its total number of 500-yard outings against SEC teams from 2017-19 (Vanderbilt the last two seasons, South Carolina in 2018).

Florida posted its 10th game of 500-plus total yards in Mullen’s 31 games as head coach, passing its combined total from 101 games comprising the 2010-17 seasons (nine).
- UF’s six 500-yard games against SEC foes under Mullen are one more than its 2010-17 total.
- Florida has posted 500-plus total yards in five of its last nine games.
- UF’s three 500-yard outings through five games this year match its 13-game total from 2019.
The Gators’ four games of 400-plus total yards against SEC opponents this year are already equal to the number of 400-yard outings it had in eight SEC games last year.
- Today is the 18th time the Gators amassed 400-plus total yards under Mullen – which is one more 400-yard outing that it had in the 62 games comprising the 2013-17 seasons.
- The Gators have eclipsed 400 total yards in 16 of their last 22 games.
Today marked the third time Florida threw for 400-plus yards under Mullen – which tied the Gators’ total number of 400-yard passing games from 2002-17.
- Florida has two 400-yard passing games in the same season for the first time since 2001, when it eclipsed that total seven times.

This is the 13th time UF reached 300 passing yards under Mullen, one shy of its total number of 300-yard outings in the 142 games comprising the 2007-17 seasons.
Kemore Gamble’s 24-yard touchdown reception was the first touchdown catch of his career.
- Gamble became the seventh Gator with a receiving touchdown this season.
Trevon Grimes’ 14-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was his third of the season, tying his total from all of 2019.
Justin Shorter’s 14-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter marked his second consecutive game with a touchdown catch, and made him the fourth Gator with multiple touchdown catches.

Gators Defense

Kaiir Elam’s interception in the third quarter was his first of the season and fourth of his career.
Shaw Davis’ interception in the fourth quarter was his first of the season and fourth of his career.
Amari Burney’s game-ending interception was his first of the season and second of his career.
Following Georgia’s first offensive play – a 75-yard touchdown run – Florida’s defense surrendered just 202 yards on 57 plays (3.5 yards per play).

Florida Special Teams

With makes from 50 and 51 yards today, Evan McPherson became the third Gators kicker with five made field goals of 50-plus yards.
- Caleb Sturgis (eight) and Pineiro (five) are the only other Gators with more than four.
- McPherson previously made a 50-yarder against Florida State last season, a 55-yarder in this year’s opener at Ole Miss, and a 53-yarder last week at Texas A&M.
McPherson joined Pineiro (two 50-yarders against UAB in 2017) and David Posey (51- and 50-yarder against Florida State in 1975) as the only Gators in history with two 50-yard field goals in a game.
McPherson entered the week as the FBS leader in field goal percentage among kickers with 40 attempts since the start of 2018. His 3-of-4 outing lowered his career percentage to 89.4 (42 of 47).

Gators Back in the Plus Column Against Ranked Opponents

Florida is now 5-4 against Associated Press Top 25 teams under Mullen.
The Gators also boast a 4-3 record against top-10 teams under Mullen.
- From 2010-17, UF was 5-11 against top-10 teams and 9-26 against all ranked opponents.

Series Updates

The Gators snapped a three-game losing streak in the series and evened the series at 4-4 when both teams are ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Florida is now 12-11-1 against Georgia when both teams are nationally ranked.
Florida improved its all-time record against Georgia to 44-52-2 – including a 22-9 record since 1990 – – and it is now 41-46-1 against the Bulldogs in Jacksonville.

Explosive Plays

Dameon Pierce: 10-yard rush, 1st quarter
Keon Zipperer (from Trask): 39-yard reception, 1st quarter (longest reception of career)
Malik Davis (from Trask): 22-yard reception, 1st quarter
Kyle Pitts (from Trask): 34-yard reception, 1st quarter
Nay’Quan Wright (from Trask): 50-yard reception, 2nd quarter
Kyle Pitts (from Trask): 25-yard touchdown reception, 2nd quarter
Malik Davis (from Trask): 37-yard reception, 2nd quarter
Kemore Gamble (from Trask): 24-yard touchdown reception, 2nd quarter
Dameon Pierce (from Trask): 35-yard reception, 2nd quarter
Emory Jones: 10-yard rush, 4th quarter
Kadarius Toney (from Trask): 21-yard reception, 4th quarter

Other

Florida Game Captains: Marco Wilson
Florida won the toss and deferred to the second half; Florida defended the north end zone
Attendance: 19,210

2020 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Dan Mullen, Florida Head Coach:

On what this win means for the program…

“It feels great, obviously, to win in this big-time game. It’s put us in a position to get ready to go beat Arkansas. We’ve got Arkansas in seven days. That’s what it’s put us in a position to do, to have to go beat them seven days from now. But besides that, at the midpoint of the season we are in first place in the (SEC) East. So, big win, and I’m really proud of how our guys played and responded against one of the top defenses and top overall teams in the country.”

On starting slow in the first quarter…

“You know, one of the funny things is you’re sitting there saying, hey, we want to start fast- was a big deal to us, you know, because last year with the game, how it played out last year, you’re looking at it and if it’s going to be that type of game we wanted to try to play with a lead, you know, and force to kind of extend the game, not let them slow the game down. We didn’t get lined up the right way on the first play and we give up a 75-yard touchdown. They have explosive players. Then they convert a pass and score again, down 14-0 and you know, I think our guys were kind of a little maybe shell-shocked coming out at that point with what was going on. But we did a nice job of settling down. Nobody panicked. Everybody was just kind of like, ‘Woah.’ But I think once we went down and got that first offensive touchdown, I think the attitude on our sideline changed and everybody kind of remembered, hey you know what, we can play a pretty good defense and get 11 guys to run to the ball as hard as we can and we can score points, and I think everybody kind of all of the sudden realized, we’re fine. We’re going to be okay in this game. You know, we came back and we got hot offensively and guys started making plays.”

On Kyle Trask’s performance today…

“Yeah, I think Kyle did a really good job of managing the game. I think he missed a couple of things… we had some missed assignments out there on the touchdowns we gave up, even with the pick-six we had a receiver kind of go the wrong way. Couple of decisions I think he has got to improve on that could’ve cost us there in the game, but a lot of great decisions as well. I thought he did a really good job of managing the game, making the throws he needed to make. Obviously, we would’ve liked to have been a little bit more efficient there in the second half. Kind of slowed down a little bit in the second half. But, also, we’re playing with a lead and trying to manage the game and how the game was going at that point. We kept talking, we need to get another touchdown, need to get another touchdown. We didn’t end up doing that. But overall, Kyle, he prepares really hard, studies the game a lot, puts a lot of time in, works. Everybody knows he is an accurate guy with the ball, and he is a confident guy, and the guys believe in him. He’s not afraid; he doesn’t just hone in on one guy. He’s going to go around, take what the defense gives us, and he does a nice job of doing that. You see that by all of the different receivers that made catches.”

On his celebration after the victory…

“Yeah, you got to. We’ve got to have some fun and enjoy this, too. I know this has been a very tough, difficult year for everybody in every aspect of things. But when great things happen to you, like this win for us tonight, we’ve still got to be able to put a smile on our face and enjoy it. You know, I’m just so happy for our guys, I’m proud of our guys. I told them before the game I was really excited to watch them play tonight because they’ve worked their tail off to be in this situation. And I enjoyed watching them play. I enjoyed celebrating. It’s a great celebration. We’re going to celebrate tonight, too. I’m going to have fun tonight, and then bright and early tomorrow morning, then we are going to get onto Arkansas.”

On the defense bouncing back from early struggles in the first quarter…

“It was huge for us. All of the sudden you give that up and we get it drawn up, figure out what they were in and how they did it. We had a misalignment on the long touchdown run to start off, and it’s frustrating. But I think our guys started to settle down and I think, you know, as a team, I think we’ve come together as a team, as our guys look and they say, hey, it’s fun to play defense when you know your offense can score points, and it’s fun to play offense when your defense can make stops when they need to. I think that’s how you see the team starting to come together and enjoy it and trust each other a lot in those ways.”

2020 Florida Football Postgame Quotes

Florida Student-Athletes

#1 Brenton Cox Jr., Redshirt Sophomore, Defensive Lineman

On what the win means for him personally….

“It means a lot, just to overcome a team that I left and just to win a game I already knew I was going to win. It’s a mental thing for me. I’m really at a loss for words, I’m just too excited.”

On the first play of the game and the mood on sideline after it….

“That first play was definitely a test of adversity. We just knew they would start fast and hit us with a run, and we knew we had to come back to the sideline and get it fixed. That’s pretty much it. The rest of the game we had to make adjustments, that was it, do whatever we had to do to get the win.”

On the team’s adjustments after falling behind 14-0….

“It was just in between the ears, like you said. We needed to start fast, and we didn’t. And a lot of games, we have issues with that. Unfortunately, in this game it happened on the very first play. We just had to go back to the sideline, get it corrected and then come back out dominate.”

On the celebration on the field afterward and the fact that the team is in control of the SEC East…

“The celebration was overdue. We obviously really wanted this win. And on us being in control, we take it one game at a time. So, I mean, this game was important, but we still have more to go and more to do. Bigger accomplishments.”

#5 Kaiir Elam, Sophomore, Defensive Back

On the physicality of the game…

“Big game, lot of adrenaline, a lot of guys going hard. It’s going to be times that a lot of guys get tackled up. I’m not sure. It’s a real physical game.”

On the mood when they went down 14-0…

“The mood on the sideline, we just keep our heads up. Keep playing. The first two touchdowns were ultimately just busted plays and we knew. We’re the type of team, we shouldn’t be giving up any plays. It was like just added motivation to keep going. I’m just happy nobody put their heads down. Everybody was motivated to get back out there and just play Gators football. Just proud to see that.”

On his interception…

“It felt amazing. I should’ve caught the second one. I actually should’ve gotten three. I just have to go back to the drawing board, watch film and keep going.”

On what the interceptions meant to the secondary…

“It was awesome. Going into the game, it was something we said we were going to do. Our goal was to get three and we accomplished it, so it felt good.”

#8 Trevon Grimes, Senior, Wide Receiver

On his touchdown…

“On a touchdown like that, you don’t really realize you have it until after the fact. For me, I realized when all my teammates came running over and just started celebrating with me. It’s a good feeling to know hard work pays off and we went out there and do what we did.”

On the defensive back he scored on…

“He’s actually from my hometown, so I know him personally. It’s all love.”

On the second half…

“At the end of the day, we came out. I feel like we executed to what our coaches told us to do. A lot of it was, I feel like, time management and getting the ball in the right spots. At the end of the day, things work out and things don’t, but we came out with a win and we’re just going to go back and work hard in practice and get ready for next week.”

On coming back for a game like this…

“I came back for a specific reason and that was to go on to the national championship. We knew we had to get through Georgia first, and that’s what we just did. We’re looking forward to facing our next opponents and going out there and playing in these high-level games.”

#11 Kyle Trask, Redshirt Senior, Quarterback

On his mental preparation going into what turned into the best performance of his career…

“I just tried to treat it as if it were any other game. You want to come into a game clear-minded, and just locked in on the game plan and just take it one play at a time. As far as the game plan goes, the coaches put together a great game plan. We watched tons of film on them, and I think we executed pretty well throughout the game.”

On whether it is hard to protect a big lead in the second half and whether the team got conservative…
“I don’t think we were that conservative. We were still trying to push the ball downfield. Georgia did a great job making adjustments, and we had to adjust to their adjustments to continue to move the ball down the field and get a couple of field goals and kind of put a dagger in the game.”

On the biggest difference in this game between this year and the last couple years…

“This year, we have such an explosive offense, and we are such a great team (from the) top down. We just have a lot of offense, a lot of energy. We went down 14-0 early and had no panic. It just shows the character of this team. We’re never going to get down or panic in any situation. We’re always going to fight, take it one play at a time, and that’s what we did.”

On the wheel routes and check downs…

“When you’re making a game plan, you want to try to find as many mismatches as you can. We were having some good success with the running backs on their linebackers. We just tried to take advantage of it.”

On scoring a touchdown late in the half…

“We didn’t have any timeouts, got down in the red zone. Coach told me we wanted to take a shot, but, at the same time, we didn’t have any timeouts, so if it wasn’t there he told me just to throw it away so we could kick the field goal. Luckily, we got the matchup we wanted and Tre(von) Grimes made a great catch.”

On what it was like on the field after the victory and what the win means for the team…

“It means so much. That losing streak the past couple years, it just means the world to this team to finally get over that hump against this very good, well-coached Georgia team. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys right now.”

#88 Kemore Gamble, Redshirt Junior, Tight End

On his touchdown…

“My first touchdown grab, it didn’t feel real. I couldn’t believe how open I was. Our tight end group, all of us could be starting tight ends anywhere else… all of us.”

On having his mom in the stands…

“It means a lot. It means a lot for her to cross that bridge for the first time. Just having her watch me catch my first touchdown. I also just wish that my dad could be here. He can’t make it because he had a really bad stroke two years ago. He’s still recovering from that, he’s on a hospital bed in the house. I just wish he was here, too, to watch that.”

On beating Georgia…

“’Bout time. About time. It means a lot. We’ve been working hard each and every year and just to make it to the NC (national championship) – nah, I’m not even going to say that. We work hard each and every year and just finally got it.”

#89 Justin Shorter, Redshirt Sophomore, Wide Receiver

On when the team knew the game was over…

“I’d say once we went into victory (formation), because I feel like anything can happen in a game. Anything can go sideways. I kept telling everyone on the sidelines, ‘Let’s just stay locked in. Let’s just keep pushing.’ You never know what can happen. Once they threw the last interception to (Amari) Burney, that’s when I knew it was over.”

On his performance tonight…

“It was a great team win. In the first quarter, we were down 14-0, and during that drive, I looked at Kyle (Trask) and everyone else and said we need to score, we need to get this going. We ended up scoring and thank God it ended up being me. But it was a great team win for all of us.”

On playing in games with this much impact and getting a touchdown in it…

“I’m just proud of my team, thankful for my teammates to help me out to be able to get that touchdown, blocking and everything. It just feels good. We’ll celebrate tonight and, on Sunday, come back and worry about next weekend.”

Georgia vs. Florida Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Kirby Smart

Opening Statement…

“I will open with and give Dan [Mullen] and his staff credit. I always open with a game like that and give them credit for having a good plan, offensively and defensively, I thought they did a good job trying to make us one dimensional – in terms of the different defenses they have played. Then offensively, they played with a lot of eye- candy and emotions that obviously we didn’t handle well. I always say, ‘If somebody beat you man-to-man and you got it covered and you can’t get the ball out, that’s going to happen with the way we play defense.’ But, when you let people score with nobody around and nobody there, it’s not good. We had too many of those today where they didn’t beat us – we gave it to them, from our defense. It’ll be a game for me that was missed opportunities. I thought that we missed a lot of opportunities. I felt like with the defense and offense. I feel like we dropped a couple picks that could have been big plays. Obviously offensively, I feel like we missed a lot of open shots and that’s the toughest thing. I thought Stetson [Bennett] did some good things early, and then he took a hit… He wanted to keep playing. He came in and got a shot. He was able to come back, but I didn’t think he was really effective when he came back. He was timid with it and didn’t invigorate accuracy. Then, we decided to go with D’Wan [Mathis]. I thought D’Wan did some good things. He made some mistakes, but he did some good things, and he still gained some experience. But overall, I give Florida credit and think they did a good job and physically beat us today.”

On what contributed to Florida pulling away offensively…

“It’s pretty simple like I said in the opening. We had calls where we called and then they beat us, right? Like Tyson Campbell, he covered No. 84 [Kyle Pitts]. He was in really good position. He’s a back shoulder-playing player and that is where the ball goes. Tyson played the back shoulder and the quarterback threw it over the top and he didn’t get it out. I can deal with those because we called the pressure and we tried to pressure the quarterback and he made a good throw and catch. I can live with that. What I can’t live with is leaving the guy wide open on a wheel-route. You should be looking at him. That is your job, and somehow you don’t look at him and he is wide open. Those are the breakdowns that we had. There were several plays where we worked really hard. Kadiarius [Toney] does an elite job of double movement and faking-in and faking-out. He is really quick. We have to put a linebacker or a [defensive back] on him so we will matchup. Sometimes we covered him, and sometimes we didn’t. When we didn’t it was huge. I think we had a chance to stop him and get the ball back, and Mark [Webb] had Kadarius Toney again and he beat him. I don’t know if it was a third and 10, but it was a big play and it converted the down. It seemed like it happened so many times. I give Florida credit for that. Those weren’t busts. We got beat. We have to do a better job of helping our players get in a position where they don’t get beat defensively. We can’t give up explosives like that. That’s the bottom line.”

#27 Eric Stokes | Junior | DB

On the defense…

“It’s a lot of little things that we need to do. As a leader on the team, I need to do better too. We need to make sure the team is doing the little things right so we can be ready next Saturday.”

On where they go from here…

“We can’t hang our heads and get down on ourselves. As leaders, we’ve got to pick up all of the younger guys and let them know we still have something to play for.”

#10 Kearis Stokes | Redshirt Sophomore | WR

On how they will stay motivated the rest of the season…

“We have to go back to work. We’re still a team, we’re still together and we must get better. There are still games to be played and there’s still a season left, we can’t let this loss define us, we have to go back and get ready for Missouri.”

On D’wan Mathis…

“D’wan had a great demeaner on the sidelines. He wanted to be out there on the field, but we all just fell short.”

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#5 Georgia Football Postgame Notes Vs. #8 Florida, Nov. 7, 2020

*Defense Posts Strong Second Half: Coming in today, Georgia was leading the SEC and ranked 12th nationally in Scoring Defense at 16.2 points per game while UF was averaging 42.0 points a game which is 10th nationally.

UF tallied 38 points in the first half, on TD-scoring drives that covered 48, 75 (twice), 80 and 81 yards plus one field goal but managed just six points in the 2nd half. In the first half, UF had 411 yards of total offense on 46 plays. UF finished with 572 yards of total offense on 79 plays but just 161 yards on 32 plays in the second half.

Georgia junior DB Eric Stokes notched a 37-yard interception return to make it 21-14. That was his second pick-six of the year (30-yarder at Arkansas) and his third overall INT, tying him for the team lead with LeCounte. In the second quarter, sophomore stating FS Lewis Cine was ejected for targeting. He had a team-high six tackles at that point. UF QB Kyle Trask was 30-for-43 for 474 yards with 4 TDs, 1 INT. His passing yards was second only to Jared Lorenzen (UK) who had 528 (39-for-58) in 2000 for the most ever by a Bulldog opponent.

*A Look At The QBs: Junior QB Stetson Bennett (5-for-16, 78 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) directed No. 5 Georgia to a quick 14-0 advantage, scoring on its first two possessions in the first 3:16 of the contest. Today, UF tied the game at 14 with 1:43 left in the first. Georgia’s second scoring drive covered 61 yards on six plays in 2:14. It was capped by a 32-yard TD reception from Bennett to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. Redshirt freshman QB D’Wan Mathis (4-13, 34 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) entered at QB on the final drive of the first quarter when Bennett left the game to go to the locker room, and Georgia ran three plays and punted. Bennett returned on the next possession. In the 3rd quarter with 7:06 left and down 41-21, Mathis went back in. Mathis notched his first career TD pass, and it came on a 3rd-and-14 to Kearis Jackson and covered 25 yards to culminate a 12 play, 80-yard drive. It was Jackson’s second of the year. The Bulldogs finished today with 277 yards of total offense on 58 plays.

*Big Score For Rosemy-Jacksaint But Injured on Play: In the first quarter, true freshman Marcus Rosemy- Jacksaint caught a career-long 32-yard TD on a 3rd-and-7, however he injured his right ankle on the play and did not return. It was his first career TD and fourth career catch.

*White Leads The Running Game: Sophomore Zamir White had a 75-yard TD run to open the game and finished with 107 yards on seven carries for his second straight 100+yard game. White’s TD run marked the longest since D’Andre Swift went 83 yards against Kentucky in 2018. It marked the first time since 2017 when Georgia scored a TD on its first offensive play. That one came against No. 17 Miss. State and was a 59-yard flea- flicker from Jake Fromm to Terry Godwin. Before today, the last time Georgia scored on its first offensive play that was a run came in 2016, a 55-yarder by Isaiah McKenzie versus Louisiana.

*Special Teams Summary: Redshirt sophomore PK Jack Podlesny went 4-for-4 in PATs. Georgia now has made an NCAA record 312 consecutive PATs as the streak includes six kickers dating back to 2014. Junior punter Jake Camarda finished with seven punts for a 43.7 average. Coming in today, Camarda ranked No. 1 nationally in punting (50.4 avg.) and the team was 2nd nationally in Net Punting (47.9). Redshirt sophomore Kearis Jackson had a career-high 56-yard kickoff return in the first quarter to the UF 44 and finished with three overall for 99 yards. Coming in today, Georgia ranked third nationally in kick return (33.2 avg.).

*Points Off Turnovers: Georgia scored 7 points off a pick-six by junior Eric Stokes. It was only the third INT for UF QB Kyle Trask this year. Florida got three points off three Bulldog interceptions.

*For Starters: Junior Christopher Smith (Safety), freshman Jalen Carter (DL) and freshman Kendall Milton (RB) made their first career starts. The longest active starting streak on offense belongs to center Trey Hill now with 24 while the longest streak on defense is junior DB Eric Stokes at 2. Senior safety Richard LeCounte, who is recovering from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident last Sunday, saw his team-high starting streak of 23 end today.

*Captains: Georgia senior Monty Rice and juniors James Cook and Tyson Campbell served as the captains. Florida won the toss and elected to defer until the second half.

*Series History: With today’s defeat, Georgia still holds a 53-44-2 edge in the series including 46-41-1 in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs saw their three-game winning streak in the series end. Today marked the third straight Top 10 matchup. Georgia is 4-4 versus UF in these while the Bulldogs are now 9-6 in top 10 games under Kirby Smart.

*Up Next: Georgia (4-2) will face Missouri (2-3) in Columbia, Sat., Nov. 14 at Noon ET on ESPN.