Nobody expected the Gators to come out of Jacksonville with a win against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, but nothing could have prepared the fans for the crazy mood swing the game gave them. Down by just a field goal with two and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter and the ability to run out the clock with a first down — albeit from deep in their own territory — Florida fumbled and threw the game away before the final seconds of the first half.
The end result was an embarrassing loss for Dan Mullen‘s team against his university’s biggest sports rival. Now that we have had a day to digest the bitter defeat, the Gators Wire staff gives its Good, Bad and Ugly from Saturday’s mayhem. Have a look at our retrospective takes below.
Adam Dubbin – Managing Editor
James Gilbert/Getty Images
GOOD: Rashad Torrence II‘s performance was exceptional, with the exception of his decision to try and run the ball out of the end zone after his first pick. Still, you can’t fault the true sophomore for the mistake on his first-ever INT — it is on the rest of the team for what happened next.
BAD: It has been a long while since Gators fans have dealt with as unreliable of a kicking staff as the current team has. Two missed field goals in this game plus the loss of confidence in the squad made it tougher to snap the shutout than it should have.
UGLY: The last two and a half minutes of the first half might have been the worst stretch of Florida football I have ever watched. There is not a whole lot more I can say — I’m still smarting from that.
Tyler Nettuno – Assistant Editor/Writer
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
GOOD: As some of my colleagues also pointed out, Rashad Torrence II continues to come along nicely and had his best game in a Florida uniform on Saturday, totaling eight tackles and two interceptions against Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV. Although it gave up some big plays, the defense in general did its job, especially for most of the first half.
BAD: Uhhh, pretty much everything else. Anthony Richardson made his first start, but throwing him into the fire against the toughest defense in the country wasn’t an ideal situation. He was 12 of 20 for 82 yards and threw two interceptions, and while the run game found some success, it wasn’t enough to make much of a difference in this one.
UGLY: You know what’s coming here. Trailing 3-0 shortly before the break, the Gators essentially gave the game away on three consecutive turnovers, all of which led to touchdowns and one of which was a pick-six. Florida was basically out of the game just like that, trailing 24-0 at halftime. While Georgia didn’t find much success outside of that stretch, Florida was nearly shut out, needing Emory Jones to lead a scoring drive in garbage time to avoid scoring zero points for the first time since 1988.
Pat Dooley – Staff Writer
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
GOOD: Florida’s defense finally stepped up to make some plays. Rashad Torrence II had himself a day with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The defense, for all of its problems, has been given way too many short fields this year and made very few big plays. The big plays were there but so were the short fields.
BAD: Anthony Richardson finally got his chance and it might have been better to wait a week. He wasn’t very good and the three turnovers in the final 2:35 of the first half changed the game. Richardson had 2.2 yards a rush and 4.2 yards a pass attempt. Those numbers are not good. Georgia’s defense is.
UGLY: It’s really hard to figure out where this program is right now. The schedule eases up and Florida could still win nine games counting the bowl. But we don’t know the level of commitment for these players the rest of the way. Somehow, Florida’s football program has gotten to the point where it can’t have nice things, like three straight New Year’s Six bowls.
David Rosenberg – Staff Writer
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
GOOD: The defense wasn’t nearly as bad as it was against LSU, but I’m going with running back Dameon Pierce. He only had 69 yards on Saturday, but that was on just nine carries. After the game, he was focused on making the most of the rest of the season. For someone who should be getting more carries, Pierce didn’t let it affect his demeanor on or off the field.
BAD: I’ll say it, Anthony Richardson wasn’t ready. It’s not all his fault. Having your first career start in the middle of a season against the best Georgia team we’ve seen in a while isn’t ideal, but he still looked overwhelmed by the moment. Turnovers didn’t disappear by any means and his production both in the air and on the ground was limited. To top it all off, he left the game injured and there hasn’t been an update yet.
UGLY: Three Florida turnovers led to 21 points for Georgia in the final two and half minutes of the first half. What had been a close half was erased within minutes and there was little hope of the Gators mounting a comeback afterward. That’s the kind of sequence that makes fans and coaches alike put their hands on their heads and scream. Just horrible football.
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