Ladd McConkey breaks out as Georgia rocks Florida 43-20

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Georgia won its third straight against border rival Florida on Saturday after taking the Gators best punch early and dominating the game from there on out. The Bulldogs are winners of 25 straight after securing the 43-20 victory.

Carson Beck completed 19 of 28 passes for 315 yards and two scores. Daijun Edwards led the Bulldogs on the ground with 16 totes for 95 yards and two scores while Ladd McConkey hauled in six passes for 135 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Dominick Lovett pitched in with four grabs for 83 yards.

Florida came out of its corner swinging and drew first blood on the opening drive. The Gators got the ball at their on 34-yard line and went on a seven-play, 66-yard march. They hit two passes of 20-plus yards and converted two third downs. The last was a 25-yard hookup from Graham Mertz to Eugene Wilson for the touchdown and the PAT staked Florida to a 7-0 lead.

When Georgia got it back, it started a 36-0 run. The Bulldogs had to settle for three on their first possession but it took the lead on the second drive when Beck found McConkey for a 41-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Peyton Woodring‘s PAT put the Bulldogs up 10-0.

Smael Mondon came up with a huge stop on Florida’s next possession, tackling the running back for a four-yard loss on 4th and less than a yard to set the Bulldogs up in prime scoring position. Georgia scored three plays later on a 20-yard touchdown run from Edwards to extend the lead to 17-10.

The Gators’ next possession ended after just two plays when Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, in his first action since week two, sacked and stripped Mertz at the Florida 11-yard line. Georgia scored four plays later on a two-yard touchdown run from Edwards and the PAT put the Bulldogs up 24-7.

After forcing a the Gators to go three and out the next time they got the ball, the Georgia special teams came up with a big play. Joenel Aguero busted through and blocked the punt and it ricocheted out of the back of the end zone for a safety. That made the score 26-7 in favor of Georgia and thats how the half would end.

The two teams traded punts to start the second half but Georgia picked up three more points on its second possession. It was set up by a 55-yard hookup between Beck and Dominic Lovett. That drive stalled in the red zone and Woodring came on to hit a short field goal to give the Bulldogs a 29-7 lead.

Florida put something together when it got the ball back, marching well into Georgia territory, but the Bulldogs stiffened. They turned the Gators over on downs for the second time on the day and got the ball back for Beck and the offense at the UGA 24-yard line.

Beck found McConkey for a 54-yard gain, putting him over 100 yards on the day, and three plays later he found Dillon Bell for a 17-yard touchdown. Woodring’s PAT gave Georgia a 29-point lead at 36-7.

The Gators stopped the bleeding the next time they got the ball back. They got a 48-yard run from Montrell Johnson to set up a five-yard touchdown pass from Mertz to Hayden Hansen. That cut the Bulldog lead to 36-13 and the two-point try was batted down at the line of scrimmage to keep the score there.

That score from Florida, however, wasn’t the start of a Gator run. Georgia took the ensuing kickoff and put together a 10-play drive that took over six and a half minutes of the clock and ended with Kendall Milton punching it in from a yard out. Woodring’s final PAT of the day pushed the Bulldog lead to 43-13.

Georgia inserted its reserve defense in the game on the ensuing drive and Florida took advantage with 75-yard march that ended with Mertz sneaking it in from less than a yard out. The Gator PAT capped off the scoring at 43-20 as Georgia went into victory formation when it got the ball back.

Next up for Georgia is a ranked matchup with No. 16 Missouri inside Sanford Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET with CBS airing the game as the front leg of a double-header.