The Quick Slant: Gators 27, Georgia 3 (Instant Analysis)
Saturday, October 31, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 11-ranked Gators ensured head coach Jim McElwain's first taste of the Florida-Georgia rivalry was a sweet one with a 27-3 victory over SEC East rival Georgia.
Historians won't recall the 2015 edition of this heated rivalry a classic, but McElwain won't care. The Gators won and they won big.
Florida (7-1, 5-1) forced five turnovers and held Georgia (5-3, 3-3) scoreless until a field goal in the third quarter.
The Gators took a 20-0 lead into halftime, their first score coming when defensive back Nick Washington, a Jacksonville native, recovered a muffed punt by Georgia's Reggie Davis on the final play of the first quarter.
Gators sophomore quarterback Treon Harris wasn't always on target, but he was on a 66-yard touchdown pass to freshman Antonio Callaway that provided Florida a 13-0 lead midway into the second quarter and seemed to take some life out of the Bulldogs.
Here is our instant analysis from the Gators' second consecutive victory over the Bulldogs and 20th in 26 years:
WHAT IT MEANS: Florida rebounded nicely from its first loss of the season to move within a victory over Vanderbilt next week to clinch the SEC East title. The Gators control their own destiny toward a likely trip to Atlanta during a most unlikely season.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Harris made his second consecutive start against the Bulldogs and improved to 2-0 in the rivalry. However, he was asked to do a lot more than a season ago when he passed only six times as Florida rolled up 418 yards rushing. On Saturday, Harris finished 8 of 19 for 155 yards and a touchdown. He added 39 yards rushing, and other than a second-half fumble, took care of the football.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators scored 20 points off five Georgia turnovers on Saturday and have now outscored opponents 80-23 in points off turnovers this season.
SUBPLOT: Florida junior running back Kelvin Taylor, who rushed for a career-high 197 yards in last season's victory over the Bulldogs, spoke this week of having a chip on his shoulder. He was determined to provide the rushing game a boost after picking up only 25 yards on 15 carries in the loss at LSU. Taylor delivered, rushing for a season-high 121 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns.
UP NEXT: The Gators came as close as they could to clinching their first SEC East title since 2009 by beating the Bulldogs. However, they can officially clinch next weekend at home when Vanderbilt comes to town. The Commodores (3-4, 1-3) entered Saturday night's nonconference game at Houston as the only team in the East that could theoretically earn a tie-breaker against the Gators.
