ATHENS — There were plenty of reasons Georgia’s fake punt didn’t work last Saturday: A strange design, with a linebacker being the intended receiver, and Brice Ramsey’s throw being a bit too high.

But Georgia receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who was part of the play, laid the blame somewhere else: Florida.

“Florida played us smart. They caught on to that quick,” Mitchell said Tuesday.

Mitchell initially lined up wide right on the play, then motioned back and took the snap, then flipped it back to Ramsey. The idea, apparently, was to get Florida to go from thinking it was a fake – with Mitchell the intended receiver – then thinking it wasn’t because Mitchell had come back. Then Ramsey would hit Roquan Smith, the freshman linebacker who had lined up on the far end of the line formation.

But the Gators had that sniffed out, according to Mitchell.

“As I was in motion I heard one of them say, ‘No. 3 is eligible,'” Mitchell said. Smith wears No. 3 for Georgia. “I mean as soon as I started moving they called it out.”

Smith was covered, though the throw was a bit high. A reporter suggested to Mitchell that a receiver, such as him, might have been more likely to catch it than a linebacker.

“He’s pretty athletic though,” Mitchell said. “Have you seen him move?”

Still, it’s not likely the Bulldogs will use that particular fake again this season. But as long as Ramsey is punting the opponents will at least have to be aware of the chances for a fake.