SEC & Big Ten Week 10 Roundup: Bulldogs hold on for win over rival Gators
Georgia led arch-rival Florida wire-to-wire Saturday in Jacksonville as the Bulldogs improved to 7-1 on the year with a 24-17 win over the Gators at TIAA Bank Field.
The win over the Gators marks the Bulldogs’ first three-year win streak against Florida since 2011-13.
“That was a hard-earned win against a good football team,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the victory. “Credit goes to these kids who played hard and played with grit. So many people doubted , and they never did. I am just happy for these guys in that locker room.”
Jake Fromm led the Bulldogs offense, throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yarder to Lawrence Cager that put Georgia up 24-10 in the fourth quarter.
Florida closed the gap late in the fourth, as Kyle Trask drove the Gators down the field and found Freddie Swain in the flat cut the lead to seven with 3:11 remaining.
“It took us three quarters to find out what worked best, and we started executing at a high level,” Trask said. “Obviously, we showed our potential and what we can do with our athletes in the open field. We just have to find a way we can do that sooner.”
However, on the ensuing possession, Fromm connected with Eli Wolf for a 22-yard gain on third-and-7 with 2:45 to play, allowing Georgia to run out the clock and preserve the win. Georgia completed 12 of their 18 third-down attempts on the afternoon and held Florida to 2-of-9 on third down in the win.
“We played really well on third down on both sides of the ball,” Smart said. “When I was on the set of SEC Nation morning, I told them that would be a key today. We executed well on both side and that really was a difference-maker.”
Now let’s check out a few more highlights from an exciting Week 10 in the SEC and Big Ten:
No. 14 Michigan 38, Maryland 7: The Wolverines jumped out to an early lead as Giles Jackson took the opening kickoff 97 yards for a score. Freshman Zach Charbonnet also added two first-half rushing touchdowns as Michigan downed the Terps.
No. 11 Auburn 20, Ole Miss 14: Bo Nix put up a career-high 340 yards and added 1-yard touchdown run as Auburn escaped with a win over Ole Miss. In addition to the passing yards mark, Nix also completed 30 passes, an Auburn record against the Rebels. The previous mark of 28 completions against Ole Miss was held by Nix’s father, Patrick Nix, who completed 28 passes in the 1995 game.
South Carolina 24, Vanderbilt 7: Senior wideout Bryan Edwards caught a school-record 14 passes for a career-best 139 yards to help the Gamecocks cruise past the Commodores.
Purdue 31, Nebraska 27: David Bell scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard run with less than two minutes to play to help the Boilermakers defeat the Huskers. With the score, Bell became just the fourth Purdue player since 1997 with at least seven receptions and a rushing touchdown in the same game.
Illinois 38, Rutgers 10: Illinois forced three turnovers including a late pick-six from Dele Harding, and tail back Dre Brown added two touchdowns as the fighting Illini won their third straight.