Georgia Bulldogs vs Florida Gators Match Player Stats On Oct 28, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 28, 2017

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Third-ranked Georgia continues to show why it is a legitimate contender for one of the four playoff spots.

The Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SEC) dominated the rival Gators from beginning to end, winning 42-7 on Saturday, sacking quarterback Feleipe Franks five times and outgaining Florida in total offense 390 to 249.

Georgia senior running back Sony Michel, a Florida native, enjoyed a stellar day, rushing six times for 137 yards, pushing him over the 3,000 mark for his career.

Backfield mate Nick Chubb also left his stamp on the game, rushing for 77 yards and one touchdown. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm attempted just seven passes, completing four for 101 yards and one touchdown on a 17-yard pass to Javon Wims.

Georgia's defense also got into the act, as J.R. Reed picked up the ball after a strip-sack of Franks by Tyrique McGhee and walked in for a 3-yard score for a 35-0 lead in the third quarter. Running back Elijah Holyfield added a 39-yard touchdown run with 11:22 to go in the game.

Florida (3-4, 3-3) did little right as rumors about coach Jim McElwain's future swirl.

Running back Lamical Perine put up some respectable numbers, rushing for 93 yards. Franks completed just 7 of 19 passes for 30 yards and an interception before being replaced by Malik Zaire, who led the Gators on their only touchdown drive, capped when Mark Thompson scored from 1-yard out with 2:42 to play.

The first quarter could not have been scripted any better for the Bulldogs as Georgia's opening three possessions each resulted in touchdowns for a 21-0 lead.

A 6-yard run by Chubb capped a four-play, 53-yard drive that took just 2:02, followed by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Fromm to Wims that was set up by Dominick Sanders' third interception of the year. Michel's 74-yard touchdown run on the first play following Georgia's third stop pushed the score 21-0.

Whatever chance the Gators had of mounting a comeback likely died on their next possession. Florida marched 82 yards, mostly on the ground, before a fourth-and-2 pass from the 4 fell incomplete, ending a drive that took 7:34 off the clock.

That would be all the scoring for Georgia until Michel scored from 45 yards out with 6:43 to go in the third quarter. That was followed 1:22 later by the sack and strip of Franks that resulted in Reed's scoop and score.

NOTES: Before the game, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin issued a statement denying a report that the school is looking to buy out head football coach Jim McElwain. ... Georgia allowed a total of seven points this season against SEC East rivals Tennessee and Florida. ... Georgia's 21-point first-quarter effort was the Bulldogs' most against the Gators in the opening stanza since 1942.