QB Carson Beck had a rough game but threw a go-ahead TD pass with 4:01 to go as No. 2 Georgia beat Florida 34-20.
Beck threw three interceptions on Saturday as the Bulldogs trailed for much of the first half and even found themselves tied halfway through the fourth quarter. But after Florida tied the game at 20-20 with 7:29 to go, Georgia responded with a 75-yard drive that took just seven plays and ended when Beck found Dominic Lovett for a 10-yard TD pass.
Florida still had plenty of time to engineer another game-tying drive but a shorthanded offense finally ran out of gas. Aidan Warner was picked off on the first play of the drive by CJ Allen and Georgia put the game away with just over three minutes to go on a TD by Dwight Phillips Jr.
Warner was playing for the injured DJ Lagway. The five-star freshman suffered a “pretty significant” hamstring injury according to coach Billy Napier. Lagway went down in the first half and immediately grabbed the back of his left thigh. He was even carried to a waiting cart after trainers tended to him on the ground.
Florida also played without starting RB Montrell Johnson and receiver Eugene Wilson III. But the Gators hung with the Bulldogs thanks to a strong performance from the defense.
The chances of an upset went haywire in the third quarter, however. The Gators lined up for a 51-yard field goal with the game tied at 13 but a low snap went careening past the kicker and holder. Georgia eventually recovered at the Florida 36-yard-line and needed just three plays to go up 20-13 on a pass from Beck to Cash Jones.