It was a 3-0 game with 2:24 left in the first half. Florida had just intercepted Stetson Bennett and was in a position to be in a safe spot entering the second half.

Then Georgia’s 5-star defenders simply buried the Gators. Nolan Smith stripped Anthony Richardson clean, setting up Georgia on the Florida 11-yard line. On the next play, James Cook ran it in for the first touchdown of the game to make 10-0.

On the next drive, Travon Walker tipped a Richardson pass that fell into the hands of Smith. One snap later, Bennett found Kearis Jackson in the endzone for a 35-yard touchdown. It was suddenly 17-0.

Then for good measure, Nakobe Dean picked off Richardson and returned the errant pass for a touchdown. In just over two minutes of game action, Georgia turned a 3-0 game into a 24-0 game.

Recap: Georgia keeps on rolling, takes down Florida

That series of plays loomed large in Georgia’s 34-7 win over the Gators on Saturday. The Bulldogs are now 8-0 on the season and can clinch the SEC East with either a Kentucky loss to Mississippi State later tonight or a Georgia win next week against Missouri.

Florida seemed like it was going to make this a game in the second half. The Georgia offense had a couple of misfires, including a missed field goal on the opening drive of the game.

But the Georgia defense, as it has all season, covered, smothered and crushed the Gators all in about the time it took to fry an egg.

Quarterback play far from stellar

Georgia went with Stetson Bennett as expected. He moved the offense fairly consistently, though he was far from perfect. He was intercepted twice with neither being all that pretty. He also had a costly intentional grounding penalty that prevented Georgia from going for it on a fourth down on the opening drive of the game.

But Bennett showed some resiliency in his ability to bounce back. He made plays with his legs, including a 20-yard scamper where he outran Brenton Cox to set up Georgia’s first scoring drive. And on his next pass after the interception, he threw the touchdown pass to Jackson.

Bennett finished the day completing 10 of 19 passes for 161 yards. He was also intercepted twice, in what was his worst game of the year. JT Daniels, who had been healthy enough to play, did not see the field at all for Georgia on Saturday.

The Bulldogs were able to hit on some explosive plays, including a 38-yard play to Brock Bowers and a 32-yard connection to Darnell Washington.

Zamir White led the way on the ground, rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown. He becomes the first Bulldog to top 100 yards in a game so far this season. Jackson proved to be Georgia’s leading receiver, having his best game of the season and scoring his first touchdown of the year.

This was perhaps the worst offensive game Georgia had played since the Clemson game. Yet thanks to its defense, it did not matter at all.

Georgia defense gets revenge

Florida came in leading the country in yards per carry. Georgia was ranked second in the country in rush defense. If Florida was going to win, they were going to have to be able to run the ball to take the pressure off of Richardson, who was making his first career start.

And while the Gators did finish with 161 rushing yards, Florida’s offense didn’t do anything of consequence. The Gators missed multiple field goals while turning the ball over three times.

It was another dominant showing for a group that was well aware it gave up 44 points when the two teams met last season. Florida scored a season-low seven points, a far cry from the 29 it had against Alabama. Jones came into the game after a second-half injury to Richardson. He led Florida’s only scoring drive, as Jones found the endzone with 2:49 left in the game to prevent the Gators from being shut out.

Through eight games this season, the Georgia defense has given just 53 points, a stark comparison to the 44 it surrendered in Jacksonville last season.

Florida was also supposed to be the best offense Georgia would see in the regular season. This was a team that was a missed extra point away from going to overtime against Alabama. It makes you wonder what Missouri, Tennessee, Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech might do against the Bulldogs.

At some point, this defense will be stressed. Florida was supposed to do that. The Georgia defense was pretty aware of that perception and once again displayed why the group is the best unit in the country.

Why recruiting matters

On those three key defensive sequences, look who made those plays. Smith, Walker and Dean were all 5-star prospects in the 2019 recruiting cycle. Adam Anderson and Jalen Carter, also 5-star prospects, picked up sacks in the first half.

Georgia has always had a talent advantage over Florida with Dan Mullen in control. Saturday showed why that’s a great thing for the Bulldogs and a troubling sign for the Gators. Florida should be able to recruit at the same level as the Bulldogs.

The best recruiting class Mullen has signed at Florida came in at No. 9. The worst recruiting class Smart has brought in was ranked No. 6 and that was Smart’s first recruiting class back in 2016.

Based on the current recruiting cycle, things aren’t going any better for Mullen and the Gators. Florida has the No. 22 recruiting class in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Georgia, like it is in the current polls, comes in at No. 1.

Eventually Smith, Dean, Walker and Anderson will move on to the NFL and need to be replaced. That was the case for Florida with their talented playmakers who led the Gators to a 44-28 win last season.

Georgia seems like a much safer bet in being able to replace its stars than Florida does at this point. And that could cause trouble for Mullen. Florida is now 2-7 in its last nine games against Power 5 opponents. Georgia has won 12 straight since losing to Florida last season.

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