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JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- If Florida coach Steve Spurrier's goal in creating a quarterback controversy was to spark Doug Johnson, it worked. Johnson gave Spurrier his 100th win with the Gators, throwing for 234 yards and a touchdown and running for a score during a rainstorm at Alltel Stadium in a key 30-14 win over Southeastern Conference East rival Georgia. The crowd of 84,397 was the largest in the stadium that once was known as the Gator Bowl before being remodeled for the NFL. During the week, Spurrier, who needed just 120 games at his alma mater to reach 100 victories, said he would pull Johnson in favor of Jesse Palmer if the quarterback was ineffective. But that situation never arose, and Johnson might want to give some thanks to defense end Alex Brown. Brown spearheaded a dominant second-half performance by No. 5 Florida's defense, setting up a touchdown with a fumble-forcing sack of Quincy Carter at the Georgia 2 and adding an interception. He helped hold Georgia to a yard of offense in the fourth quarter. "We hadn't played a second half like that all year," said Brown, who had 2 1/2 sacks against the Bulldogs and five against Tennessee. "I think we finally came together. I think we know what level we have to play to achieve the goals for this year. In the second half, it was like the rings were on the table. It was just up to us. We knew if they didn't score, they couldn't win. And they didn't score." "I never thought they'd be able to hold us to that amount of yardage," Georgia coach Jim Donnan said. "Their defense is very good, so give them the credit. They stopped us after we got the two touchdowns. We just couldn't knock it in after that." Johnson completed 17-of-32 passes and was intercepted once as Florida (7-1, 5-1 SEC East) took a major step to winning the division for the first time since 1996. The Gators need only beat Vanderbilt and South Carolina to claim their spot in the December 4 SEC title game in Atlanta. "It was wet out there and the ball was heavy," Johnson said. "The game had to be won in the trenches. ... Things happen for a reason. When we lost to Alabama, I knew we had enough heart to come in here and win." "Doug played very well in the first half," Spurrier said. "The second half, he threw one or two bad balls, but at no point were we thinking we needed to make a change. He was very sharp the first part of the game." Carter was just 6-of-23 for 76 yards and one interception and added 30 yards on 16 carries for the 10th-ranked Bulldogs (6-2, 4-2), who fell behind second-place Tennessee in the East. "We did something different on offense that they could not adjust to in the first half," said Carter, who was held under 100 yards passing for the second time in his 20-game career. "There were no words to describe the second half. It just came down to guts. We just didn't make plays when we needed to." Florida took the lead 5:20 into the contest when Johnson capped a game-opening 84-yard drive with an 11-yard scoring pass to Travis Taylor. It was Taylor's only reception. Georgia scored three plays later as Carter ran in from the 3. The first play of the drive was a 22-yard pass from Carter to Terrence Edwards and the second was Florida's wakeup call, a 46-yard run on an option by Patrick Pass. "We knew then they could beat us and we just had to get in the flow of the game," Brown said. The Gators grabbed a 10-7 lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter on Jeff Chandler's 40-yard field goal but Georgia marched 81 yards in 13 plays on the ensuing possession and took a four-point lead on Carter's 16-yard TD run on an option left. Later in the quarter, Georgia's 6-4, 302-pound tackle, Jonas Jennings, injured his right ankle and was knocked out for the game. With him went Georgia's chance to run the ball. "When we lost Jonas, that was the turning point of the ballgame," said Pass, who led the Bulldogs with 73 yards on six carries. "It was hard to run after that." The Gators took the lead for good at 16-14 by marching 72 yards in 10 plays to Robert Gillespie's two-yard scoring run. Facing a 4th-and-2 at his 36, Spurrier opted to go for the first down and Johnson converted by going off tackle for eight yards. The score remained the same until midway through the fourth quarter, when Bo Carroll burst through the middle for a 30-yard TD run and a 23-14 lead. A defensive stand and a 37-yard punt set up the 43-yard drive. Carroll ran for 113 yards on only 13 carries and Earnest Graham, returning from injury, had 46 on eight as Florida racked up 171 yards on the ground. Gillespie broke his right hand and was limited to five carries. "I think we've got the top backfield in the nation," Carroll boasted. "We push each other every day and take the same reps in practice so we know everybody is prepared for the game. We all put our time in so when the opportunity comes up, we can take advantage of it." Jackson tied Carlos Alvarez's 1969 school record with his sixth straight 100-yard receiving game, picking up 141 yards on six receptions. Pass returned the kickoff two yards to the 10 and on second down, Brown rushed through the left side, toppled Carter and watched as defensive tackle Buck Gurley recovered the fumble at the 2. Johnson ran his own version of the option over right guard on the next play for a touchdown and a 30-14 cushion. "The best team did not win," protested Georgia freshman defensive end-running back Charles Grant. "This is my first Florida-Georgia game and the loss really bothers me."
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