Dawgs cruise after Gators rally in third

JACKSONVILLE — Daijun Edwards and Kenny McIntosh ran for two touchdowns each, and No. 1 Georgia pulled away from Florida following a second-half scare to win

42-20 Saturday night in the rivalry dubbed “the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”

The defending national champion Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) looked to be in trouble when the Gators

(4-4, 1-4) scored the first 17 points of the third quarter and turned a 28-3 deficit into a one-score game.

But the Dawgs answered with consecutive touchdown drives to seal their 10th consecutive victory. Georgia beat Florida for the fifth time in six years.

Edwards finished with 106 yards rushing. McIntosh added 90 on the ground.

Stetson Bennett completed 19 of 38 passes for 316 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tight end Brock Bowers caught five passes for a career-high 154 yards, including a 73-yard score in which he hauled in a ball that tipped off linebacker Amari Burney.

Burney’s luck turned in the second half when he forced a fumble that led to a field goal and then picked off a pass that set up Anthony Richardson’s 78-yard TD pass to Xzavier Henderson.

Little else went the Gators’ way. Georgia finished with 555 total yards against Florida’s beleaguered defense and was 2-for-3 converting fourth-down plays.