Brock Bowers dazzles again in blowout win over rival Florida

No. 1 Georgia doesn’t need a whole lot of luck to beat most teams but it’ll certainly take the luck when it does come along. And tight end Brock Bowers made sure he didn’t miss the opportunity to play his part in snagging a lucky break on Saturday.

Early in the second quarter of a 42-20 win over rival Florida, Bowers got behind Florida linebacker Amari Burney on a wheel route down the right sideline.

But quarterback Stetson Bennett IV was late with the football.

His underthrown ball wound up batted by Burney, with the ball popping up over Burney’s shoulders as Bowers reached back around to his left and hauled it in. He then raced for a 73-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs an early 21-0 lead.

“I just saw the ball and I was going for it, I didn’t really think too much,” Bowers told CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell after the game.

The reception broke open the game for Georgia and helped the Bulldogs really set the tone in the early going.

Florida battled back in the third quarter to make it a game, but Georgia closed the door down the stretch with a nearly nine-minute drive to stay unbeaten. Bowers was a huge part of that, racking up five catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.

“He does it every day. Competitive excellence, we call it,” coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s got it and you can’t get him to say a word, so go Dawgs!”

Brock Bowers developing continued rapport with Stetson Bennett

Bowers has been an absolute weapon for Georgia all year. That’s no accident, he said.

“It’s just about practice. We’re just getting stuff down in practice and, like all the guys, we’re just working hard in practice all through the week,” Bowers said of his connection with Bennett.

While the win was far from perfect by the Bulldogs — a pair of third-quarter turnovers led to Florida pulling within a score at 28-20 — any time you beat a rival by three touchdowns you’ll take it.

Bowers knows surviving is the name of the game.

Georgia did that and more on Saturday, moving to 8-0 and setting up a monumental showdown with No. 3 Tennessee next weekend, with the SEC East on the line.

The Bulldogs had to beat the Gators to get there.

“It was good. The second half the tide kind of shifted but we were able to compose ourself,” Bowers said. “We brought out the composure card and we’re bringing it back together.”