Georgia-Florida football: Live updates, score, analysis for Week 9 game (October 28, 2017)
The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators meet in one of the biggest college football games of the weekend on Saturday, October 28, 2017. Find live updates and score information below. below.
Both the Bulldogs and Gators enter the game coming off byes. The Bulldogs are unbeaten on the season and come into the game ranked No. 3 in the country.
Below find all the information you need on the game, including game time, TV information, how to watch online and a preview for the Georgia-Florida game.
No shutout
Florida’s scoring streak “extends” to 368 games. By punching it in with 2:44 left the Gators avoided being shut out for the first time since 1988, in a game that Emmitt Smith sat out.
This will give Kirby Smart something to be mad about again. The second-team defense also gave up a couple late scores against Appalachian State.
The few remaining Florida fans stood and cheered, sarcastically one would assume, upon the touchdown.
Georgia, meanwhile, will have to be satisfied with a 42-7 rout of its opponents, the most it has beaten Florida since 1982.
The day of the Georgia tailback
Well it was a day for a lot of Georgia players, but as the Bulldogs sit here up 42-0 with 11:22 left, let us focus on them:
- Three different tailbacks scored touchdowns: Elijah Holyfield’s 39-yard scoring run just now joins two by Sony Michel (74 and 45 yards) and Nick Chubb (a six-yarder).
- A fourth tailback, D’Andre Swift, is Georgia’s leading receiver today, with three catches for 84 yards. Actually, he has 75 percent of the team’s catches, as receiver Javon Wims has the only other one.
- Georgia as a team is averaging 9.9 yards per carry. The trio of Michel, Chubb and Holyfield are averaging 12.1 yards per carry.
So to review …
If the game ended now, then:
- Florida’s 367-game scoring streak would end at Georgia’s hands.
- Georgia will have its largest margin of victory over Florida since 1982, when it won 44-0.
- Georgia will have won 35-0 despite completing only three passes.
Anything else?
Georgia’s defense out-scoring Florida’s offense
JR Reed with both the sack, fumble recovery and touchdown, scoring officially from 3 yards out. And it’s now 35-0, one side of the stadium even more happy, the other side silent, shaking their heads or leaving.
Georgia also has four sacks this game, after coming into the game with just 10 on the season.
Florida’s streak of 367 straight games without being shut out is now very much in danger.
A decent stat line
Sony Michel has 137 yards on six carries.
He has touchdown runs of 74 and 45 yards.
Passing along without comment
Florida safety Chuancey Garnder said earlier in the week of Jake Fromm: “Anybody can throw a slant.”
Just now, early in the third quarter, Fromm completed a slant pass to D’Andre Swift, which went for 18 yards. Gardner was hurt on the play, making the initial hit on Swift and then remaining on the field for a minute before leaving on his own power.
Sony Michel ran for a 45-yard touchdown on the next play.
Georgia’s defense holds again
While Georgia’s offense has officially sputtered since the first quarter, the defense has again come through to stop this game from being dicey.
Jake Fromm threw an interception, his fourth of the season, heaving an ill-advised pass that he was probably trying to throw away, but couldn’t put enough on it. But Florida couldn’t do anything with it, hurting itself with penalties. This time the drive stopped at Georgia’s 24.
Georgia’s offense, meanwhile, doesn’t necessarily need to get anything going in order to ice this game. It’s hard to see Florida putting together two scoring drives, much less three. But it does need to pick things up a bit in general, if at least for the final stretch of the season.
Halftime analysis: Seven thoughts
1. This is the first time Georgia has ever scored 21 points in the first quarter against Florida since at least 1960, according to Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel. So far nobody’s been able to find a previous instance either. So yes, a historic first quarter that will probably prove to be decisive. One team came out sharp and amped up, and it showed, and the other looked lost and overmatched. It was a reminder why these two programs are going in opposite directions.
2. Yes, the second quarter was more evenly-matched: Zero points for either team, and Florida actually outgained Georgia, 89-35. If not for that goal-line stand by Georgia, then this game is 21-7 and feels a bit different. So at least give the Gators credit for getting off the mat. But they were still shut out by Georgia in the first half for the first time since 1988.
3. The very good: Georgia is averaging 10.4 yards per rush. Take out the Sony Michel 73-yard touchdown and it’s still an impressive 6.2 yards per rush. Jacksonville native Solomon Kindley is part of a line that’s been opening some big holes.
4. More very good: Georgia’s pass rush has answered Kirby Smart’s call after a down few weeks. Georgia has two sacks, and it could’ve been three if not for the quick in-the-grasp call in the first quarter. Felipe Franks has had to go to more roll-outs to get time to throw.
5. Jake Fromm’s day? He’s only thrown four passes, completing two, and that’s all he’s really had to do. He could have stopped at two, which were the two completions. He’ll have to do more in future games, and has done that in past games.
6. Florida has had most of its success, and we use that word lightly, via the run. It has 118 rushing yards, and 96 of them in the second quarter. It didn’t seem that Georgia’s defense let its foot off the gas or anything. Florida just made some good adjustments … and still had zero points to show for it.
7. If this game doesn’t get closer, or even if it does, it’ll be interesting to see what ramifications there are in Gainesville. There’s a lot of buzz in the press box about events of this week and Jim McElwain’s future.
Final thought: The second quarter may have been sluggish, but the result of the first half is still another reminder of how good Georgia has been this season, with so far no playing down to the competition.
Aaron Davis this close to a pick-six
Earlier in the game the officials swallowed their whistle when Florida QB Felipe Franks appeared to be in the grasp of Georgia defenders, allowing Franks to get an incomplete pass off. Georgia fans booed.
This time officials did call Franks in the grasp, giving Georgia the third-down sack. And Georgia fans booed even more.
That’s because the result of Franks’ last-ditch pass this time was Aaron Davis stepping in front of the receiver to catch it, and returning it for what would have been a touchdown.
For what it’s worth, it looks like the officials got the call right the second time, but got it wrong the first time. That’s probably why the Bulldog fans were booing: Inconsistency. Plus the result of each play, obviously.
Either way, Georgia still comfortably leads here, 21-0, with the first half nearing a close.
Georgia’s defense holds
The shut-out is still in grasp, as Florida fails on fourth-and-goal from the 3. Jim McElwain, in a decision I agree with, went for it rather than just get the field goal to make it 21-3. But Davin Bellamy rushed Felipe Franks and the pass into the end zone was short.
Florida did have some success that drive, and some of it came with Roquan Smith and Reggie Carter out of the game, getting a breather. Monty Rice and Juwan Taylor were on the field as Florida pushed it inside the 5 with a couple good runs up the middle.
But Smith and Carter came back in, helped stop the third-down run, and then came the fourth-down stop.
Steve Spurrier can only watch
Florida’s offense is finally moving the ball. But only to a point. And it still can’t get out of its own way.
Felipe Franks just scrambled for what would have been a long gain down to about the Georgia 35. You could hear a voice in the press box yelling out: “Yeah, ha-haaa!”
It was Steve Spurrier.
Flags went down, however. Two of them, both on Florida. The play was called back, and Spurrier just stood up and grinned, as if to say, “Oh well.”
Here’s a stat
Prior to that first down, Florida’s first of the game – which brought a somewhat derisive cheer, here was the stat:
Georgia is averaging 19.5 yards per play.
Florida was averaging 0.9.
And …. the rout is already on
So Georgia gets a relatively short field on its first two possessions and scores, then gets it at its 23 for the third drive, and you think: Let’s see what the Bulldogs can do with 77 yards to go.
Let us welcome Sony Michel to the game. He gets it all on one play, bolting through a hole in the middle and outrunning the defense to the left pylon.
Georgia leads 21-0 and we’re not even halfway through the first quarter.
Wowsers. Will Jim McElwain make it to the end of the quarter?
This sums it up so far
Florida’s offense: Three possessions. No first downs. One interception.
Georgia’s offense: Two passes by Jake Fromm, one for a long third-down conversion, the other for a touchdown pass to Javon Wims.
Dom Sanders one away
That interception by Sanders not only puts Georgia on the door-step again, but moves him one away from a tie for the school record for career interceptions.
Sanders is now alone in third, with 15, trailing Jake Scott and Bacarri Rambo.
Fromm on third downs
Jake Fromm continues to be cool and successful on third downs. On third-and-2, Fromm dropped back as a Florida blitzed came up the middle untouched. Fromm still got off the pass to his right, where D’Andre Swift hauled it in and ran down the sideline, 39 yards down to the 6.
One play later, Nick Chubb punched it in.
So that wasn’t a slant pass by Fromm. But it was still very good.
Georgia football-Florida football: Live updates, analysis, score
Q1: 15:00 Georgia 0, Florida 0
What time is the Georgia-Florida football game?
Time: The Georgia-Florida game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: The Georgia-Florida game is set to be played in Everbank Field, in Jacksonville, Fla.
Odds: Georgia is a -13.5 favorite over Florida.
What TV channel is Georgia-Florida football on?
The Georgia-Floridia game will kickoff on CBS at 3:30 pm ET.
Can I watch Georgia-Florida football online?
Yes, you can watch the Georgia-Florida game on CBS SPORTS APP.
How can I listen to Georgia-Florida football on the radio?
Fans can click here for radio options for the Georgia-Florida game.
What channel is CBS on for the Georgia-Florida game?
To find CBS for the Georgia-Florida game, click here.
Georgia football-Florida football preview
Matt Brown of Sports on Earth has an excellent piece this week that makes the case for this being the most important World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in recent memory.
Brown’s reasoning is that Florida has dominated the SEC East since conference expansion in 1992, holding 12 East titles to Georgia and Tennessee’s five apiece. And any time favored Georgia teams have had an opportunity to turn a corner, shift the power, and do something special — 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014 — the Gators are there to spoil the fun. Now Georgia has another shot to shift the balance, if it can avoid the upset.
It all adds up to make the Saturday game one of the biggest in the rivalry in years because, no matter how far behind Florida appears, Georgia can’t help but measure itself based on how it performs against the Gators. Even when it’s having a great season, it often still has a Florida problem. If it wants to flip the balance of power in the SEC East, it has to take care of business against a struggling Florida team and emphasize that the pecking order truly is changing.
If there’s ever been a time to make a statement in the Cocktail Party, this is it.
Via Christopher Smith of SEC Country
How Georgia can win: Some of the comparisons to Nick Saban and Alabama have a demeaning tone, but Kirby Smart and Georgia would do well to mimic the Crimson Tide in this one. The Bulldogs have a more talented roster and a more complete team, one good enough that if needed, it can allow Florida to lose this game rather than Georgia going out and winning it.
That means confusing Franks and forcing him into mistakes, turning Florida into a run-only team and grinding away at the Gators defense with a plethora of outstanding running backs. Georgia needs to wear down Florida in the second half, let the Gators self-destruct and not make anything easy. A business-like approach that avoids major mistakes should be enough, as the Bulldogs may only need 14-17 points to win.
Here are a few additional nuggets:
- Georgia hasn’t beaten Florida by 14-plus points since 1997 (37-17).
- The Golden Nugget posted Florida as a 1-point favorite in this matchup on June 22. The line has moved about 15 points since.
- Florida has won three consecutive games in this series. Average margin: 18.7 ppg.
- This is the second meeting between McElwain and Smart as head coaches. The two won national championships as offensive and defensive coordinator at Alabama in 2009 and ’11.
