Florida's Michael McNeely scores on a fake field goal in his game Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014, in Jacksonville, Fla. Florida won 38-20.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Florida started developing some confidence in Saturday's 38-20 win over Georgia during the early stages of the second quarter, when the Gators drove 13 plays for 57 yards to line up for a field-goal attempt.
Then the Gators got the jolt they needed, as holder Michael McNeely took the snap and raced 21 yards for a touchdown that tied the game as 7. Those would be the first of 31 consecutive points scored by the Gators.
"I would definitely say that changed the momentum of the game," Georgia senior noseguard Mike Thornton said. "For them to have a play like that definitely created some momentum."
Bulldogs coach Mark Richt credited the Gators for noticing where the Bulldogs were vulnerable, and Florida counterpart Will Muschamp said McNeely's score meant much more than the 7-7 tie.
"Our team got juice from the fake field goal," Muschamp said. "It let them know we were going to be aggressive."
Throwing for 300
Georgia senior quarterback Hutson Mason entered Saturday having not thrown for 200 yards in any game this season, but he threw for 319 on 26-of-42 passing against the Gators.
Mason's completions and attempts were career highs, and his total was topped only by a 320-yard performance in January's Gator Bowl loss to Nebraska in the same stadium.
"There is no doubt in my mind that we played hard," Mason said. "They just caught a lot of momentum. When you're playing behind 20 or 21 in a rivalry game, it's hard to come back."
Hobbled Andrews
Bulldogs senior center David Andrews made his team-leading 34th consecutive start but was helped off the field less than five minutes into the game with a sprained ankle. Andrews returned on the next series, came out again but then played most of the second half.
"David is a great player, and he's been a great leader for us and a mainstay at that center position," coach Mark Richt said. "He makes a lot of things go for us, and he gutted it out with that sprained ankle."
Junior Hunter Long took over the snapping responsibility when Andrews was out.
A Gurley drain?
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-1 during the four-game suspension of junior tailback Todd Gurley. The NCAA announced its sentence this past Wednesday and denied Georgia's appeal Thursday.
Richt was asked afterward if the situation had a draining effect.
"I don't think so," Richt said. "I don't know how the players might respond to that, but I don't think we were thinking about that during the week or the game or anything like that. I don't think there is any excuse in that at all."
Odds and ends
Richt on being 0-2 after open dates this season: "I think we've probably played two good teams after a bye week is probably what's happened." ... Redshirt junior receiver Malcolm Mitchell started his first game since the 2013 season opener at Clemson, when he sustained an ACL injury. Mitchell had a team-high seven catches for 55 yards. ... Richt has been named as one of 13 coaches on the 2014 Bobby Dodd Trophy watch list, and he's among four from the SEC, joining Alabama's Nick Saban, Auburn's Gus Malzahn and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen. ... The Bulldogs have picked up their 23rd commitment for 2015 from Johnathan Abram, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound safety from Columbia, Miss.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.