Georgia vs. Florida: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was great if you're a Florida fan, as the Gators' staunch defense dominated the Georgia Bulldogs' anemic offense en route to a 27-3 victory on Saturday.  

Florida's win moved its SEC record to 5-1 (7-1 overall). With every other team in the SEC East having at least three losses, the Gators are one win away from clinching a spot in the conference title game, which they can get next week at home against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Both teams came out of the gate sluggish. Georgia's problems weren't surprising, as quarterback Faton Bauta was making his first career start because of Greyson Lambert's struggles. 

However, Georgia offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's early play-calling was not helping his young quarterback, per Mike Huguenin of NFL.com:

B/R's Barrett Sallee was critical of Schottenheimer after the game:

That's not to say Bauta was helping the situation, as this image from CBS Sports perfectly encapsulated:

Bauta finished the game 15-of-33 for 154 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. Georgia has not scored a touchdown since the fourth quarter of its 38-31 loss against Tennessee three weeks ago. 

Of course, Florida's defense wasn't giving up much of anything. The Gators held Georgia's running game in check, allowing just 69 yards on 22 carries, and forced four turnovers. The Florida special teams created another turnover by recovering a botched punt return by Georgia's Reggie Davis. 

Florida struggled running the ball in the first quarter before Kelvin Taylor broke out and finished with 121 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

Quarterback Treon Harris, who is still adjusting to his expanded role, threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Callaway late in the second quarter to give the Gators a 13-0 lead. 

At halftime, Scott Carter of GatorZone.com predicted a heavy dose of Taylor in the second half partially because of Harris' poor completion percentage:

Callaway, who was a big-play machine in the game, continues to dazzle and rewrote one page in the Florida record books, per Zach Abolverdi of the Gainesville Sun:

Harris struggled for most of the day. The sophomore went 8-of-19 for 155 yards but made plays when he needed to and got help from his stellar defense. In addition to his 66-yard touchdown to Callaway, the two hooked up for a 33-yard connection on a 2nd-and-24. 

Per Carter, Florida head coach Jim McElwain said on the radio heading into halftime the offense wasn't playing up to snuff:

Even though the offense never looked like a cohesive unit, despite strong efforts from Callaway and Taylor, the defense did phenomenal work. Georgia's best drive came early in the fourth quarter. Trailing 20-3, the offense went 86 yards in eight plays to get inside Florida's 5-yard line. 

On 2nd-and-goal, Bauta rolled to his right and tried to force a pass into the end zone with a Florida defender pulling him down. The pass was deflected and picked off by Keanu Neal, ending any hope the Bulldogs had for a rally. 

Not surprisingly, Georgia head coach Mark Richt was the source of criticism for the quarterback situation, notably from Anthony "Booger" McFarland of the SEC Network:

Florida's defense came into the day ranked 14th overall in scoring defense, 16th in total defense and 24th in average passer rating against. That's not the kind of group a head coach wants a first-time starting quarterback to face.

Given the problems Georgia's offense is having, dating back to the season-ending injury star running back Nick Chubb suffered Oct. 10 against Tennessee, there was likely nothing Richt and his staff could have done to overcome the Gators attack. 

This is an excellent bounce-back win for Florida after the team fell to LSU two weeks ago. McElwain has the Gators in position for a rematch with the Tigers in the SEC Championship Game if things fall into place.

Harris has to show more consistency moving forward, but with the defense being among the best in college football and Taylor elevating his game this week, Florida is set to do more damage in its last four regular-season games.

Postgame Reaction

Despite the win, McElwain was not overly pleased with the way his team played, per Carter:

However, also per Carter, McElwain was not about to appear modest about what his Gators have an opportunity to accomplish with a win next weekend against Vanderbilt:

Understanding the situation his team is in, McElwain almost seemed to challenge them, per Chris Harry of GatorZone.com:

Not a lot of coaches would so blatantly challenge their team's maturity, but McElwain wasn't a conventional hire because he lacked the "star" power a major program often looks for. It's hard to argue with his results in year one. 

That's not to say McElwain underestimates his team, as he said at the podium, per Kevin Brockway of GatorSports.com:

On the other side, Richt has been in this situation before, having lost 10 of his 15 games against Florida in this rivalry. 

Per Anthony Dasher of UGASports.com, Richt was exercising caution in his postgame press conference:

Speaking about his quarterback Bauta, Richt did say he's confident in how the junior will respond to a difficult game, per Graham Hall of Alligator Sports:

It's just been one of those years where nothing goes right for a team. Georgia had high expectations when 2015 started, but everyone is seeing how vital Chubb was to making the offense go. The Bulldogs will be good again soon, but they may have growing pains for the rest of the year.