Florida football suffered a devastating loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, losing by a score of 34-20 and handing their rivals a fourth-straight victory over the Gators.
Injuries were the name of the game on Florida’s side of the ball, as quarterback DJ Lagway suffered a left hamstring injury in the second quarter that Billy Napier labeled as “pretty significant”.
The Gators also suffered a multitude of injuries in their secondary, but despite all of this, the defense was able to hold their ground.
Although it might seem like a tough loss for Florida, this team is not the same team that was shown in Week 1. The Gators have absolutely no quit.
The Gators are talented but unfortunately, there were just too many obstacles that they had to overcome in this game.
Here are five key factors from today’s game on Florida’s end.
Bend but don’t break
On their second possession of the game, Georgia started on their own 12-yard line. The Bulldogs were marching down the field comfortably and made it all the way to the Florida’s 5-yard line.
It looked like a sure-fire touchdown for Georgia but the Gators held their ground and didn’t give up on the drive. Great coverage in the secondary contributed to the Bulldogs failing to get in to the end zone.
Georgia was forced to kick a 23-yard field goal and take an early 3-0 lead, but the Florida defense held their ground to start things off in the game.
Gators score first touchdown
Florida was the first team to get the ball in the end zone thanks to a pinpoint pass by Lagway to catch receiver Aidan Mizell in stride for a 43-yard touchdown.
Mizell was able to run by Georgia’s secondary and get in the end zone with ease.
It all started thanks to an interception by Devin Moore to get the Gators started at midfield.
Florida took a 7-3 lead with 13:42 to go in the second quarter.
Florida wins the turnover battle
Florida’s secondary was able to deceive Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and force him to make inaccurate throws and multiple interceptions.
Moore was able to intercept Beck in the beginning of the second quarter that led to a Gators touchdown score.
Then on the next Georgia offensive drive, Aaron Gates came up with an interception that led to a 32-yard Florida field goal that extended the lead to 10-3.
Jack Pyburn was able to haul in Beck’s third interception of the game in the third quarter.
Lagway carted off in the second quarter
Florida was playing well on both sides of the ball but all of a sudden, you can feel the momentum shift in favor of the Bulldogs after a brutal loss at quarterback for the Gators.
Lagway appeared to have injured his left hamstring with five minutes to go in the first half. He was moving around in the pocket and took an awkward fall, grabbing onto his hamstring on the way down.
The freshman was on the ground but couldn’t get up, prompting medical personnel to bring the cart onto the field. The team surrounded Lagway as he got lifted onto the back of the cart and was driven straight into the locker room.
