Kyle Trask, No. 8 Florida Upset No. 5 Georgia 44-28 in SEC Rivalry Game

Sam Craft/Associated Press

For the first time in four years, the Florida Gators have won the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party with a 44-28 victory over the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

Florida gave the Bulldogs all they could handle last year in a 24-17 loss. That was a huge step forward for the Gators after losing the previous two games by an average of 27 points.

Things finally broke the Gators’ way this time around thanks to their potent offensive attack led by quarterback Kyle Trask. He rebounded from an early pick-six to finish with four touchdown passes for the fifth straight game and had a career-high 474 yards.

Georgia has lost two of its last three games after Saturday’s defeat. The offense continues to be a problem, as it finished with 112 passing yards.

Notable Game Stats

Kyle Trask Makes Heisman Statement in Gators’ Win

Even though Trask put together a solid 2019 season for the Gators, no one was predicting that he would vault into the Heisman conversation this year.

But that’s exactly what has happened, as Trask has led a surging Florida team back into the College Football Playoff discussion after its 41-38 loss to Texas A&M on Oct. 10. The senior star set an SEC record with 18 touchdown passes through four games in last week’s win over Missouri.

Saturday looked like it was going to be a long day for the Gators. They were down 14-0 in the first five minutes thanks to Zamir White’s 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint’s 32-yard touchdown catch on Georgia’s second possession.

In recent seasons, a two-touchdown deficit would have been a mountain of a task for Florida to overcome because its offense wasn’t built to strike quickly. That is no longer the case with Trask looking like one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Trask has already thrown 22 touchdowns this season after tossing 25 last year. His touchdown total through five games in 2020 is more than Florida had in each season from 2010-18.

Head coach Dan Mullen and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson are deserving of credit. They needed time to implement their system after coming to the program in November 2017, but that work has paid off in spectacular fashion.

The Gators belong in the playoff picture because their offense is as explosive as any unit in the country. The defense does have flaws—it entered Saturday allowing 29.3 points per game—but that group doesn’t have to be perfect like it did in the past to give the team a chance to win.

Trask has been the revelation for this team and has a great chance to play spoiler in the Heisman race. If he keeps up this pace with a very favorable schedule in front of him, he can be Florida’s first Heisman winner since Tim Tebow in 2007.

1-Dimensional Offense Exposes Bulldogs

It’s not a secret that Georgia’s quarterback situation has been a mess in 2020. JT Daniels was thought to be the starter coming into the year after transferring from USC. It was only two years ago when he was regarded as a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 pro-style quarterback recruit in the country by 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Through six games, though, Daniels has yet to see the field.

Brandon Marcello of 247Sports reported earlier this week that Georgia’s coaching staff “is not as excited to push the former 5-star recruit onto the field any time soon, even as starter Stetson Bennett IV struggles and fails to give the Bulldogs a consistent deep threat as a passer.”

It may be time for head coach Kirby Smart to reevaluate that position because the Bulldogs passing game continues to be a significant problem. Stetson Bennett was benched after going 5-of-16 for 78 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the first half.

Freshman D’Wan Mathis took over for Bennett in the third quarter. He did keep things moving for the offense, including throwing his first career touchdown pass to Kearis Jackson on a 3rd-and-13:

The strength of Georgia’s offense is running the ball, which is a strategy that has served the program well in recent years because the defense was capable of shutting down opposing teams.

The Bulldogs did rack up 169 yards on 28 carries against Florida, but 75 of those yards came on Zamir White’s first attempt.

Another concern for Georgia is the performance of its defense through six games. That group has allowed more than 40 points in a game twice for the first time since 2013.

If the defense continues to allow opposing teams to rack up points in bunches, Smart is going to need a quarterback who can keep pace.

Daniels did tear his ACL in USC’s season opener against Fresno State last year, but he’s been medically cleared to play since Sept. 28.

Unless the coaching staff wants to see what Mathis—whom 247Sports’ composite rankings had as a 4-star prospect in the 2019 class—can bring to the table, there’s no reason not to at least give Daniels an opportunity to salvage something from this season.

What’s Next?

Florida will host the Arkansas Razorbacks next Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Georgia will travel to Faurot Field for a game against Missouri next Saturday at noon ET.