Trask passes for 4 TDs again, UF upends Georgia
Dan Mullen picked up his first win in the heated rivalry and the Gators snapped their three-game series skid to take control of the SEC East title chase.
JACKSONVILLE
Kyle Trask had another four-touchdown night, becoming the first quarterback in Southeastern Conference history to accomplish the feat in five consecutive games, and No. 8 Florida beat fifth-ranked and undermanned Georgia 44-28 on Saturday.
The Gators (4-1) ended a three-game losing streak in the rivalry known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” — it was coach Dan Mullen’s most significant victory in three years in Gainesville — and now have a stranglehold on the SEC’s East Division.
The Bulldogs (4-2), who entered the game as 3 ½-point favorites, were likely eliminated from College Football Playoff consideration and probably have a quarterback competition moving forward.
Florida, meanwhile, has a Heisman Trophy contender.
Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for a career-high 474 yards — 8 yards shy of Tim Tebow's single-game school record — despite playing much of the night without standout tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts was knocked out of the game in the second quarter on Lewis Cine’s crushing hit over the middle. Cine was ejected for targeting, adding to Georgia’s already-thin defense.
The Bulldogs were without nose tackle Jordan Davis (elbow), safety Richard LeCounte (motorcycle accident) and defensive tackle Julian Rochester (knee) to start the game.
Trask and the Gators took advantage, burning Georgia repeatedly with wheel routes while overcoming a 14-0 deficit.
Once Trask and Florida got going, the Bulldogs did little to stop them. The Gators scored on eight of nine possessions after a three-and-out to open the game and finished with 572 yards.
Trask deserved the biggest cheers. And had it not been for a Pick-6 in which a freshman receiver appeared to run the wrong route, he would have been close to perfect.
The only question that
remained going into the fourth quarter was whether Florida would top 50 points for the third time in series lore.
The Gators came up short.
Georgia had several chances to make it a onepossession game, but D’Wan Mathis kept overthrowing open receivers. Mathis, who started the season opener, replaced Stetson Bennett in the third quarter.
Bennett left the game briefly in the first quarter with an apparent shoulder injury and was ineffective after returning. He completed 5 of 16 passes for 78 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Bennett was without his top target, George Pickens (upper body), and lost Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint to an apparent broken right leg on a 32-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
Replays showed the severity of Rosemy-Jacksaint’s injury as team trainers rushed to the end zone and quickly got an air cast on his leg. He was carted into the tunnel amid a standing ovation. Florida safety Brad Stewart hit Rosemy-Jacksaint just before he crossed the goal line.
The Dawgs led 14-0 after the freshman’s first TD reception. Zamir White scored on the game’s first play from scrimmage, going untouched for 75 yards.
It looked like it would be a Georgia rout.
It ended being Florida’s night to celebrate.
Florida notched a signature win for Mullen, but likely can't afford a slip-up down the stretch to remain in play for a CFP spot.
A When Kyle Pitts caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the second period, it was his eighth of the season. He pulled away from a tie for the single-season record for TDs by a Florida tight end that he had shared with Cornelius Ingram and Kirk Kirkpatrick.
Pitts reached eight touchdowns in his fifth game. Ingram needed 13 games in 2007 to get seven scores and Kirkpatrick played in 11 games in 1990 for seven.
The two teams did not have their names painted in each end zone, as is the custom, mainly because the Jaguars play host to Houston on Sunday and there wouldn’t have been enough time to change the logos to “Jacksonville,” which was painted in each end zone.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions on stadium capacity, less than 19,000 were in the stadium, a bit more than 25 percent capacity.
The last time that few fans saw Georgia play Florida was in the 1938 game when the municipal stadium could hold only 17,000.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Georgia likely will fall out of top 10 of The Associated Press' college football poll for the first time this season. Florida surely will jump the Dawgs.
UP NEXT
Florida hosts Arkansas next Saturday, the return of quarterback Feleipe Franks to the Swamp. Franks left the Gators at the end of last season, landed with the Razorbacks and has played well.