Rapid Reaction to the Florida Gators' 43-20 loss to Georgia
JACKSONVILLE — The Gators took an early lead Saturday against No. 1 Georgia before getting routed in a 43-20 loss. They’ve lost third straight to the Bulldogs and six of the seven matchups.
Florida redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked four times and committed a costly sack fumble that UGA recovered at the UF 11-yard line. Senior receiver Ricky Pearsall and freshman wideout Eugene Wilson III produced in the passing game, but the Gators didn’t make enough plays offensively to keep up.
The Bulldogs scored the most points against Florida since their 44-0 shutout in 1982. After not allowing a 300-yard passer in the first half of the season, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler (313 yards) and Georgia’s Carson Beck (315 yards) have eclipsed that mark in back-to-back games. UGA also outrushed the Gators 171 yards to 109 yards, led by Daijun Edwards with 95 yards and two touchdowns.
In the video above, Gators Online shares our rapid reaction from EverBank Stadium to Florida’s loss to the Razorbacks.
Top 10
- 1
SEC, Big Ten ADs set meeting
More change coming?
- 2
Kirk Herbstreit
Reveals wife's cancer diagnosis
- 3
Rhule rips Finebaum
Nebraska HC gets last laugh
- 4
Miss Terry
Nick Saban shares powerful message
- 5
Final AP Poll
Ohio State tops final Top 25
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
RELATED: Gators give up 36 straight points after scoring on opening drive
SUBSCRIBE TO THE GATORS ONLINE YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Billy Napier opening statement
“We made too many mistakes today. We knew the margin of error was going to be small. I do think we can coach better in all three parts of our team. I think obviously looking the players in the eye after the game, I think they know they can play better as well. And ultimately, Georgia’s got a good football team. They’ve got good personnel. They’ve got a good coaching staff. They’ve got veteran players that have been in their system, and they played well today. We made too many critical mistakes. I think, in particular, the two huge mistakes in the first half allowed the game to kind of get out of control to some degree.
I do think that the kids continued to play hard. I do think we have a group that has character. I think, ultimately, when you fail in the game of football and in life, you got an opportunity to learn. How do you get wiser? You make mistakes along the way. How do you get smarter and get better at what you do, how do you continue to grow and develop? Ultimately you have to go through tough times, you have to make mistakes along the way. And we did today. Credit to Georgia. They beat us today. I do think that this group will respond the right way. I think ultimately, as a staff and as a team, being a man and taking ownership of things that you can do better.
And I think ultimately, we can compromise our character, or we can choose character, and we can go about our business here. And there’s no sympathy. You guys certainly don’t have any sympathy for us, and in our league there’s no sympathy. You’ve got to turn the page and get ready to go the next week. We’ll go through this thing with a fine-tooth comb. It’s important that the experience that we had today, that we learn from that, all parts of our organization and certainly the players in that locker room. I do think we did some good things today, but, ultimately, not enough, and certainly not with consistency. We made too many errors. The sack/fumble and the blocked punt in particular, those two, it’s a 14-point swing and a ton of momentum.”
SIGN UP FOR THE GATORS ONLINE NEWSLETTER AND GET BREAKING NEWS SENT TO YOU FOR FREE
