Instead of Will Muschamp getting axed, Florida found new life in the logic of not using a quarterback, instead sticking strictly to running the ball on the ground. It might not have been pretty, but it was extremely effective in a 38-20 win over Georgia, making a very big change in the title chances of teams in the SEC East.
After three consecutive wins for the Bulldogs in the World’s largest outdoor cocktail party, the formula has been found for Florida, surprisingly during their darkest hour. After a 3-3 start and seemingly all hope lost of getting anywhere this season, not to mention having their head coach keep their job, running the ball on the ground through Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones turned out to be the trick.
The Gators attempted only six throws the entire game. Jeff Driskel will probably never start a college football game again, while Treon Harris was on the field simply for the center to have someone to snap to when the Wildcat formation wasn’t used. Taylor ran for 197 yards and two touchdowns, Jones had 192 yards and a couple of scores as well. Florida ran in all 418 yards, averaging 7 per carry.
So while Florida posted their best ground game since the days of Emmitt Smith, Georgia were missing their own running back, Todd Gurley, still out while the NCAA investigates exactly what he did wrong. Nick Chubb has been doing a very good job, rushing for 156 yards, but he was all alone. Huston Mason isn’t that special (yet, at least) and without a defense that could have stopped the run, falling behind 31-7 in the fourth quarter, Georgia lost the big edge they had in the race for the SEC East title.