What we learned
Georgia: The Bulldogs defense can hang on (though just barely) without junior free safety Thomas Davis, who left the game with a sprained knee late in the second quarter. The slack was picked up by senior defensive end David Pollack, who was all over the field. The All-American played fast and relentless, finishing with one quarterback hurry and only four tackles, but two of them were sacks. He now has 31 in his career, a school record. On offense, senior wide receiver Fred Gibson, who was 0-3 against the Gators, won a bit of redemption. He had three drops in last year's 16-13 loss to Florida, and he dropped a crucial pass in the fourth quarter today that would have given Georgia a key first down. He made up for it by snaring the winning touchdown pass, making a nifty grab on a crossing pattern for a 15 yard score. For the day, Gibson five passes for 59 yards. He's had bigger days, but never a bigger catch.
Florida: Once they got going, the Gators played well enough to win. Down 21-7 with Georgia on the goal line in the second quarter, linebacker Todd McCullough recovered a fumble by Georgia quarterback David Greene. Though Florida didn't score again in the half, they held the Bulldogs in check, then came out on fire in the second half. The Gators rolled up 221 yards of offense in the third quarter. On defense, after losing star linebacker Channing Crowder in the first half to a torn ligament in his right foot, Florida continued to play hard. While the Gator offense rolled, Georgia managed just 57 offensive yards in the third quarter.
Player who impressed me
Ciatrick Fason: If Florida's junior tailback wasn't the best player on the field today, he was certainly the fastest. He ran for 139 yards on just 17 carries, for a gaudy 8.2 yards per rush average. He also caught five passes for 35 yards from sophomore quarterback Chris Leak. Saturday's game was his fourth 100-plus yard effort of the season.
Locker room confidential
Georgia's David Greene tied the NCAA mark for the most wins by a Division I-A quarterback. He is now 39-9 for his career, and shares the record with Tennessee's Peyton Manning ... The Bulldogs got their first win in this series since 1997. Despite losing 13 of the last 15, they now lead the all-time series 46-35-2 ... Florida's first quarter scoring drive lasted just 1:53. The Gators now have 14 scoring drives of under 2:00 this season.
The Big Picture
Georgia continued to hold onto its slim hopes for the SEC championship game, where it is assumed it will play Auburn for conference bragging rights. Nobody in Gainesville much cares about that, however, since the Gators seem to be a team in disarray. Head coach Ron Zook, who was fired last Monday, did his best to keep his players focused, but even he admitted that they weren't in the game during the first quarter. The Gators should beat Vanderbilt next week, then have two tough games agains South Carolina and Florida State. Assuming they split that pair, the Gators would finish with a 6-5 record, their worst since 1987.
