Georgia Bulldogs Kept On A Short Leash By Florida Gators

The Florida Gators didn't do anything special after its first touchdown against Georgia on Saturday in retaliation for the Bulldogs team-wide celebration during last year's showdown.

The Gators waited until they had scored six more, then celebrated. By the time the party started, fifth-ranked Florida was enjoying a 49-10 SEC victory over No. 8 Georgia in Jacksonville.

Players were clapping and laughing and fans wearing orange and blue were gloating, while the other half of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was all but empty.

The victory (ass-whippin’) puts Florida (7-1, 5-1) in control of the SEC's Eastern Division —the Gators can clinch by beating Vanderbilt this Saturday.

"All we heard about was Georgia, Georgia, Georgia," said safety Ahmad Black, who had one of Florida’s three interceptions.

Black and cornerback Joe Haden stood on the bench and mockingly applauded the Bulldogs' late and only touchdown. Watkins and offensive guard Carl Johnson got into a playful wrestling match, and quarterback Tim Tebow pumped his arms and waved a towel during a late timeout.

"I was just excited," said Tebow, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more. "We were a lot more than emotional, because emotion just lasts 10 or 15 minutes. We were playing with passion. Our team was very passionate, and that lasts a lot longer than emotion does."

Georgia coach Mark Richt had little trouble keeping his emotions in check following the game, but he was a bit sarcastic when asked about Florida coach Urban Meyer's decision to call timeout with the Gators ahead by 39 points.

"Well, the rules say you have three timeouts per half. They can use as many as they want within the rules," Richt said. "They have a right to do that. All I can say is that I'm proud to be a Bulldog."

Meyer denied that he called those timeouts to send a message or retaliate for Georgia's end-zone celebration early in last year's game. Tebow hinted there was more to it than just Meyer's stated reason of wanting to get backup running back Emmanuel Moody some more carries.

"Enjoy the moment, enjoy the game," Tebow said. "We're still playing the game. We didn't do anything wrong. We were just playing the game."

The Gators certainly were playing at a higher level than the Bulldogs (7-2, 4-2). Florida intercepted Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford three times and held Moreno to 65 yards on 17 carries.

The Gators turned two of the interceptions into touchdowns and did the same after recovering Moreno's fumble.

That was pretty much the story for the Bulldogs all game. Florida turned mistakes into points and won for the 16th time in the last 19 meetings.

Georgia kicker Blair Walsh missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt wide left and had another bounce off an upright. The Bulldogs also had an interception erased by a penalty, couldn't convert an onside kick and missed on two potential touchdown passes.

For a game tagged as the “World’s Largest Cocktail Party,” the second half quickly turned into the World’s Largest Grease Fire.

With the fourth quarter winding down, rival Georgia Tech nailed the coffin shut with an upset over Florida State. It’s likely that when Tech travels to Athens later in November to face off against the Dogs, that there will be more at stake for Georgia Tech than there will be for preseason No. 1 Georgia.