Florida vs. Georgia: Live updates, score, highlights
Bitter border rivals Florida and No. 2 Georgia will meet in Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. on ABC for what was once dubbed the ‘World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.’ The Bulldogs have owned the series of late, winning six of the last seven meetings.
The lone non-Alabama team to beat Kirby Smart’s team in the last four years? The Gators in 2020.
Both teams are coming off an idle date, as Georgia is two weeks removed from upsetting No. 1 Texas in Austin, while Florida is playing its best ‘ball under embattled head coach Billy Napier, who potentially needs a Hail Mary win over UGA to save his job.
With a win Saturday, the Bulldogs would keep pace in the race for the SEC Championship, as well as be ranked inside the Top 5 of the initial 12-team College Football Playoff Rankings coming Tuesday.
FINAL: Georgia 34, Florida 20
11/2/2024, 7:34:32 PMThe Bulldogs can breathe a sigh of relief. The No. 2 Dawgs survived a sloppy, uninspiring showing to beat rival Florida 34-20 to move to 7-1 and in the hunt for the SEC Championship. Carson Beck shook-off another three-interception performance with a couple clutch throws for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Outside of a lone busted coverage, Georgia’s defense was great (just 228 yards allowed).
The Gators deserve a lot of credit for a gritty, tough effort — especially with all their injuries and all the swirling noise around head coach Billy Napier. In a brutal bit of luck, starting quarterback DJ Lagway went down in the second quarter with a significant hamstring injury, which totally changed the tenor of UF’s offense.
Lagway was by-far the most impactful injury, but Saturday’s rivalry game was a war of attrition for both teams. Former UF tailback Trevor Etienne missed three quarters with a rib injury, and a slew of other starters for both teams went in and out of the game.
SCORE ALERT: Georgia 34, Florida 20
11/2/2024, 7:23:10 PMThe Bulldogs turn Allen’s pick into immediate points, as Dwight Phillips scored on a 3-yard jet sweep to give UGA a two-score lead with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Georgia answers, Carson Beck with some big-time throws
11/2/2024, 7:16:41 PMWith Florida holding all the momentum, Carson Beck hit Arian Smith on a 34-yard pass on 3rd-and-7 to allow Georgia to avoid a third-straight 3-and-out. A couple plays later, the Gators sent the house but Beck had Dom Lovett on a tunnel screen for a 10-yard touchdown. Georgia 27, Florida 20.
Gritty Gators tie it up
11/2/2024, 7:09:39 PMWith the offense looking totally lifeless, Florida converted a big 3rd-and-10 with a 26-yard completion and then after a Georgia penalty that moved the ball inside the 15-yard line, Ja’Kobi Jackson rumbled 15-yards for the tying touchdown. Dawgs on upset alert with 7:00 minutes remaining.
Gators defense deserves credit for holding the line
11/2/2024, 7:02:36 PMWhile its offense is sputtering, Florida’s defense continues to play inspired football. UF has picked off Carson Beck three times and its forced a pair of 3-and-outs in the last two drives.
Florida’s offense is in a total blender right now
11/2/2024, 6:57:16 PMWithout DJ Lagway, the Gators’ offense cannot find any room to operate against Georgia. Outside of his bomb to Aiden Mizell, Florida’s offense wasn’t moving the ball much when Lagway was in the game — but at least the threat of his legs were there.
With former walk-on Aidan Warner at quarterback, Florida has 13 total yards in the second half.
Georgia takes advantage in a blink
11/2/2024, 6:39:05 PMThree plays after Florida had a chance to re-take the lead, Carson Beck connected with backup tailback Cash Jones on an arrow route for a 25-yard touchdown. Jones broke three tackles on the play to give the Bulldogs a 20-13 lead.
Special teams calamity for Gators
11/2/2024, 6:36:34 PMFlorida’s special teams had been fantastic all afternoon Saturday — and then calamity came at the worst time. With a chance to kick a 53-yard field goal to tie the game, the Gators botched the snap that turned into 31 yards of field goal for Georgia.
SCORE ALERT: Georgia 13, Florida 13
11/2/2024, 6:23:40 PMBoth teams have players dropping like flies in this game. Starters. Backups. Just brutal.
Georgia answers, ties the game
11/2/2024, 6:20:31 PMThe Bulldogs’ offense finally showed some signs of life, as freshman tailback Nate Frazier and Swiss Army knife-wideout Dillion Bell led UGA 83 yards for the tying score. Bell had a 33-yard reverse run and a big catch on 3rd-down, and then Frazier dove into the end zone for a 3-yard score.
Florida with ANOTHER INT
11/2/2024, 6:05:00 PMCarson Beck didn’t see the blitz at all, as Grayson Howard drilled Beck into a lollipop pick — his third of the game. Gators takeover at midfield. And DJ Lagway is out to watch the second half.
Gators open second half with 3-and-out
11/2/2024, 6:01:44 PMFlorida throws twice on its opening possession but gains just five yards and goes 3-and-out to open the third quarter.
HALFTIME: Florida 13, Georgia 6
11/2/2024, 5:38:15 PMFlorida head coach Billy Napier said that DJ Legway “has a hamstring and it’s pretty significant.” He expects the rest of the team to rally around Legway.
Impressive drive to end the second quarter for Florida
11/2/2024, 5:36:16 PMWith most everyone expecting the Gators to take a 10-6 lead into halftime, Florida moved the ball 40 yards (almost exclusively on the ground) in 40 seconds to setup a 53-yard field goal to extend its lead to 13-6.
SCORE ALRET: Florida 10, Georgia 6
11/2/2024, 5:31:50 PMCarson Beck narrowly avoided a third interception, but Georgia was able to tack on a field goal to cut the deficit to 10-6.
Gators offense has no bite without DJ Lagway
11/2/2024, 5:23:34 PMSince the 5-star freshman quarterback went down, Florida has yet to get a first down with zero net yards.
Trevor Etienne off to the locker room
11/2/2024, 5:14:01 PMThe injuries are piling up in Jacksonville. Former Florida tailback Trevor Etienne went to the Georgia locker room, missing UGA’s last two series. The Dawgs are already short-handed at tailback and are down to just freshman Nate Fraizer and former walk-on Cash Jones.
HUGE INJURY: DJ Lagway holding his left hamstring
11/2/2024, 5:01:38 PMFlorida quarterback DJ Lagway has been carted off with a left hamstring injury after a tackle by freshman safety KJ Bolden. Such a brutal blow for Florida, which has played really inspired football today. With Graham Mertz out for the season, the Gators will turn to Yale transfer Aidan Warner.
SCORE ALERT: Florida 10, Georgia 3
11/2/2024, 4:52:01 PMThe Gators turn Carson Beck’s 10th interception this season into three points. They moved the ball well early (using lots of misdirection and zone-read runs), but UGA’s defense bowed up inside the 15-yard line.
Another Carson Beck INT into double-coverage
11/2/2024, 4:42:00 PMWhew. Carson Beck continues to sink his NFL Draft stock with some truly bewildering decisions. With Georgia quickly driving into Florida territory again, Beck threw off his back foot into double-coverage for his second interception in as many drives.
Gators STRIKE IMMEDIATELY
11/2/2024, 4:35:51 PMFlorida wasted no time turning Carson Beck’s interception into points — as DJ Lagway uncorked a gorgeous 43-yard touchdown to Aidan Mizell to give UF a 7-3 lead.
Carson Beck INT woes continue
11/2/2024, 4:34:55 PMWith Georgia moving the ball down into Florida territory again, Carson Beck threw his ninth pick in the last five games — a really poor decision into double-coverage.
SCORE ALERT: Georgia 3, Florida 0
11/2/2024, 4:19:08 PMThe Bulldogs marched 80 yards inside UF’s 5-yard line, but they couldn’t punch it into the end zone and were forced to settle for a chip-shot field goal. Carson Beck was sharp on several throws before a tipped pass on 3rd-down ended the drive. The Jacksonville native has opened the game 8 of 13 for 94 yards.
Two teams trade punts on opening possessions
11/2/2024, 4:06:20 PMNot many early fireworks to start the first quarter. Georgia went with a quick-game, run-based approach on its opening possession, picking up a couple first downs before Carson Beck missed Cash Jones on a deep wheel-route for a potential touchdown. After a punt that backed UF inside its 15-yard line, the Gators got one first down before their first drive stalled.
Georgia with an early OL injury
11/2/2024, 3:54:01 PMBulldogs right guard Micah Morris is down, favoring his right leg. He’s started the last four games in place of Tate Ratledge, who is now in the game for UGA.
Updated kickoff time for Florida vs. Georgia
11/2/2024, 3:32:58 PMThe game will officially start at 3:50 p.m. on ABC.
Florida vs. Georgia injury/availability updates
11/2/2024, 2:26:08 PMBoth SEC rivals have key players on the mend. Florida announced earlier in the week that top corner Jason Marshall would be out the rest of the season, while wideout Eugene Wilson III would also miss Saturday’s game.
Two UF starters running back Montrell Johnson Jr. and offensive lineman Dameion George Jr., are game-time decisions after being listed as questionable all week. Johnson and George went through pregame warmups in shirts and shorts 90 minutes before kickoff.
As for the Bulldogs, they will be without two secondary starters in the first half thanks to targeting penalties in the win over Texas (nickel Joenel Aguero and safety Dan Jackson). They did list defensive tackle Jordan Hall, a former 5-star recruit from Jacksonville who’s been hurt all season, as probable. All-American guard Tate Ratledge was also deemed probable to play after missing Georgia’s last four games.
Final Florida vs. Georgia spread, O/U
11/2/2024, 2:25:47 PMGeorgia is a 14.5-point favorite after this line has dropped from a bloated 18-point opener. The over/under is set at 52.5.