Florida running back Matt Jones (24) runs for yardage as he gets past Georgia linebacker Reggie Carter (45) and safety Corey Moore (39) during their game in Jacksonville, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. Florida won 38-20.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Georgia's aspirations of being a part of college football's inaugural four-team playoff were upstaged by an unlikely individual on a brisk Saturday afternoon at EverBank Field.
Will Muschamp.
The maligned coach of the Florida Gators watched his team plow through the No. 9 Bulldogs for an eye-popping 418 rushing yards in a 38-20 surprise thrashing before a crowd of 83,004. Muschamp entered Saturday 0-7 in the rivalry, going 0-4 as a Bulldogs safety in the 1990s and 0-3 while guiding the Gators.
"Let me lift this off my back," Muschamp said after entering his news conference afterward. "This is one less thing you guys can write about."
Just like Georgia's chances at a coveted playoff spot.
The Bulldogs, who had been so impressive in wins at Missouri and Arkansas despite the suspension of star tailback Todd Gurley, had hopes of running the table and knocking off a worthy opponent in the Southeastern Conference championship game. The SEC title game is not out of the question, but two losses to teams currently unranked will not sit well at all with the 12-member playoff selection committee.
"It hurts, no doubt, and the opportunity that you have lost more than likely makes it hurt even worse," Richt said after dropping to 5-9 against Florida. "I know we're still mathematically in the hunt for the Eastern Division, and that's what we're going to continue to fight for."
Georgia dropped to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in league play. The Bulldogs are behind Missouri, which is 7-2 overall and 4-1 within the SEC with tests remaining against Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas.
"It's not in our hands anymore, but we've been in this position before," Bulldogs left tackle John Theus said. "It's nothing new. They played harder than we did today, and we got our butts kicked."
Florida, meanwhile, improved to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
The Gators and Bulldogs both wore their home uniforms and were greeted by temperatures in the mid 50s and a northwest wind of 22 miles per hour. Those conditions were not a problem in the early going for Georgia, which took a 7-0 lead after the first quarter behind freshman Nick Chubb's 14 rushes for 101 yards, including a 39-yard score.
On the final play of the first quarter, however, Marshall Morgan had a 39-yard field-goal try sail wide left over the upright.
"I thought it was good, and our kicker and holder thought it was good," Richt said. "When you kick it so high, I guess it's difficult to have a feel for it. I was asking if it was a reviewable play, but I didn't know if it was worth using a timeout for."
Following Morgan's miss, Florida embarked on a 14-play, 78-yard drive that ended with holder Michael McNeely taking the snap and racing 21 yards for a touchdown off a fake field goal. The Gators forged ahead 14-7 on Kelvin Taylor's 2-yard run and wound up with 145 second-quarter yards to just 24 for Georgia.
The Gators took their first possession of the second half and went 73 yards in six plays, claiming a 21-7 lead on a 44-yard touchdown run by Matt Jones.
"Obviously we had a chance to be up 10-0, and then they caught wind," Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason said. "One good thing just kept rolling for them, and one bad thing just kept rolling for us. The first half was over pretty quick. We only had three or four possessions.
"They only threw the ball six times all game, so it was kind of like playing (Georgia) Tech out there."
Chubb broke loose for a 35-yard run with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter and the Bulldogs trailing 24-7, but safety Brian Poole caused a fumble that nose tackle Darious Cummings recovered. Officials initially ruled Chubb down, but Muschamp challenged the call, which was quickly overturned.
After a 156-yard performance Saturday, Chubb has 89 carries for 501 yards in the past three games.
Georgia's final gasp occurred with 5:17 remaining in a 31-13 game, when a fourth-and-goal pass from Mason to Michael Bennett from the 2 was broken up in the end zone. The Gators took their biggest lead at 38-13 on a 65-yard touchdown run by Taylor with 2:11 left.
Each team will venture north this week, with Georgia traveling to Kentucky and Florida visiting Vanderbilt.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.