‘Hurricane Jarvis’ sweeps through Florida’s offense for 17-9 Georgia win
Georgia's Jarvis Jones comes up with one of his two fumble recoveries against Florida. He also caused two fumbles and recorded 13 tackles and three sacks in his first game back from injury. (AJC photo by Bob Andres)
JACKSONVILLE — Never mind all that “soft defense” talk. Georgia had Jarvis Jones back in the lineup.
The Bulldogs’ dynamic outside linebacker, who has missed two games with injuries and been hobbled much of the season’s first half, was feeling good and healthy on Saturday. Just ask Florida, which felt his wrath all night.
The 2011 All-American terrorized the Gators all night, finishing with 13 tackles, three quarterback sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Jones wasn’t the only reason, but he was a big reason the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs were able to knock off the No. 2 Gators 17-9 Saturday night at EverBank Field.
The victory gives puts the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC) into the driver’s seat to repeat as SEC East champions and represent the division in the SEC championship game in the Georgia Dome. Georgia plays host to Ole Miss (5-3, 2-2) next Saturday and closes out the conference slate at Auburn (1-7, 0-6) on Nov. 10. Since the Bulldogs now own the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Gators need to beat Missouri next week and have Georgia lose one of its final two.
“All we’ve done is give ourselves a chance to play Ole Miss and have it mean something,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said.
It was only fitting that Jones would make the play of the game. With the Bulldogs’ clinging to an eight-point lead in the final minutes, Florida tight end Jordan Reed hauled in a pass and was running inside the Bulldogs’ 5-yard line. But Jones hadn’t given up on the play. Catching Reed from behind, Jones tomahawked the football loose and it bounded into the end zone. There, cornerback Sanders Commings jumped on the ball and cradled it in the back of the end zone for a touchback.
“I didn’t really realize exactly what Jarvis had done until they told me and I looked at the line,” Richt said. “That’s on a bum ankle and I know his groin’s not really 100 percent yet. He really led for us tonight on the field But he was more vocal than I’ve ever seen him. He really wanted this one badly. I’m just happy he’s a Georgia Bulldog.”
Jones emerged from the locker room later than his teammates, who were being interviewed in a ground-floor concourse. He again had to receive post-game medical treatment. But he spoke humbly about what had just occurred.
“I had a good game, but all of us had a big game,” said the junior from Columbus. “We were clicking on all cylinders. We held the No. 2 team in the nation without a touchdown the whole game. That’s a compliment for us as a defense. I just hope we continue to play this way the rest of the season and keep challenging each other week in and week out.”
Jones’ teammates weren’t as modest in talking about him.
“Jarvis Jones is a beast; that’s a beast right there,” senior linebacker Mike Gilliard said. “He’s a hard worker; he’s a passionate, passionate guy; he loves this sport. He came out here and showed up like we knew he would. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.”
“Jarvis is a great player, an outstanding player, whatever you want to say,” sophomore Malcolm Mitchell said. “To come off an ankle sprain the way he did. That’s not an easy thing to come back from. Then to do what he did, I’d pick him No. 1 in the draft if it was me.”
It was a total defensive effort by the Bulldogs beyond Jones’ play. Georgia held the Gators without a touchdown in this series for the first time since 1988 when coach Vince Dooley’s last team beat them 26-3. Florida had six turnovers – four fumbles and two interceptions – and managed just 266 total yards.
It’s no coincidence that the performance came in the same week that Williams, the senior safety and de facto defensive captain, came out and said the Bulldogs were playing too soft on defense and without the same kind of passion they did the year before. Georgia returned eight starters from last season’s unit, which finished fifth in the nation in total yardage.
“Our guys were very serious about playing with intensity and playing with some physicality,” Richt said. “They had been accused of some things that guys don’t like to be accused of and I think that probably helped motivate them.”
Richt was pretty motivated, too. The Florida series has been one that has dogged his tenure as head coach. Saturday’s win was just his fourth in 12 seasons over the Gators.
A jovial Richt remained on the field for nearly 15 minutes, working his way from the north end of the stadium to the south, giving fans the thumbs-up sign, shaking hands and chatting up hundreds who had come down to the front row.
“You need to enjoy these moments,” Richt explained. “As long as the fans were going to stuck around, I was going to stick around… . When you have a victory like that against a great team and your fanbase is there, I want to stick around and enjoy it with them. I wanted our players to enjoy it and I wanted to enjoy it. We wanted to celebrate.”
Georgia did manage to generate some offense, though it was more timely than prolific. Quarterback Aaron Murray had a season-high three interceptions – all in the first-half after having only four all season – but hooked up with Malcolm Mitchell on a 45-yard touchdown pass with 7:11 remaining in the fourth quarter that have the Bulldogs some breathing room.
And freshman Todd Gurley provided the Bulldogs just the spark they needed in the run game. He rushed for 118 yards on 27 carries and scored on a 10-yard run, his 11th TD of the season. In all, Georgia eke out just 273 yards.
Williams, for what it’s worth, finished with six tackles and a tackle for loss. Bacarri Rambo and Damian Swann each recorded interception.
Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel was sacked five times and was 14-of-26 passing. Mike Gillisee led the Gators with 77 yards rushing.
“I’ve said all season we’re not a team that has a lot of margin of error,” Muschamp said. “Six turnovers, wow, that’s hard to overcome.”
GEORGIA-FLORIDA GAME COVERAGE
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601 comments Add your comment
NC Dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:14 pm
Shawn Williams for MVP and team captain GO # 36
Ala dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:14 pm
Ugly game but win is a win where is all the haters go dawgs
My dad is a tv repairman. I can fix it!
October 27th, 2012
8:15 pm
Florida: Here, you can have this game. Georgia: No thanks. Florida: But I insist! Georgia: Well okay, thanks for the gift!
MaconKnight
October 27th, 2012
8:15 pm
ALL OF YOU FAIR WEATHER FANS STAY OFF THE BLOGS EITHER YOU ARE WITH US OR WE WILL RIDE RIGHT ALONG WITHOUT YOU GO DAWGS!!!!! DEFENSE DOMINATED THE LIZZARDS ALL GAME LONG!!!!! THATS HOW YOU MAN UP!!!!!
Ugabulldog81
October 27th, 2012
8:15 pm
Jarvis Jones for President! Can’t make it to the last 3 games. Just put my tickets on Ebay. 181009605685 A little help please. Go You Hairy Dawgs!
Ala dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:15 pm
All our goals are still there
jonkard dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:16 pm
Holy cow i congrat to my Ga …underdog overcame the soft defense and i wont be able to shut my mouth at work tomorrow, Fla fans here i come. wooohooo.
Dawg_Central
October 27th, 2012
8:17 pm
damn…..not one gator fan………..lol………where are all the fair weather UGA fans…………pathetic…..they were here last night……some folks are full of shit
Dumpster fire
October 27th, 2012
8:17 pm
Well, i have put on my white gloves and eaten that sh@t sandwich…. i said they would lose, i said they would not show up….
i was wrong. Aaron Murry didn’t show up as usual but that d was there for blood! good game dawgs, im going to call you soft for the rest of the season if this is the result.
Only bad thing is that even though we beat the #2 team we will not move up because the media just hates us that much…… top 5 right?
good games dawgs…….please do this for the remainder of the season…. i can finally wear my Ga hat again!
Smitty
October 27th, 2012
8:18 pm
where is all the negative dawg fans…. I told you early we would win. Go Dawgs
LOL
October 27th, 2012
8:19 pm
Oh look at the cute little Usc fan, you guys enjoy that SEC championship! Oh wait…
Gator fan in bogart
October 27th, 2012
8:21 pm
Georgia played physical and Florida had 6 turnovers nobody can win in that situation. The one thing that doesn’t surprise me are the hypocrites on this board. All week you been spouting about your coach, your defense and your quarterback. Now their the greatest since sliced bread? You beat a second year head coach with a first year quarterback and now your back? Marks kool aid time again. One thing for sure it’s still better to be a Florida Gator than a hypocrite bulldog fan. Penn State where bulldogs go to shower !
big bone
October 27th, 2012
8:21 pm
ugliest game I ever saw. a win is a win however. the D showed up today but wouldn’t it have been nice to have had the same for the Kentucky and Carolina games? by the way… get well soon ML. need to beat Ole Miss and Auburn for a chance to show Bama what’s up. they will probably put the smack down on us but you never know. now to the hated Gators… ya’ll suck. never believed the #2 ranking was correct. great win for UGA. we should move back into the top 10. gators… #14.
outkasted
October 27th, 2012
8:22 pm
9 pts shut up GA defense came to play…. Murray over came his adversity they put the ball im his hands down the stretch and he delivered say what u want the dawgs won….
Olive Branch Dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:22 pm
Please Please, somebody hire Bobo, he will make a great head coach somewhere!!!
CaliDawg
October 27th, 2012
8:22 pm
Murray…PROTECT THE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!
DawgDog
October 27th, 2012
8:23 pm
I wonder what UF’s full page add in the UGA student newspaper will be on Monday? Suggestions?
Dboy
October 27th, 2012
8:23 pm
ALL THE DOG NAYSAYERS STAY OFF OF OUR BLOG!! WE R GEORGIA…ALL THE FAKE FANS WHO DOUBT STAY OFF OF THE BLOG TOO. WE DONT NEED YALL AS FANS..TRUE FANS BELIEVE AND NEVER WAIVER NO MATTER WHAT..HOW YALL SAY WE NEED NEW COACHES WHEN WE WIN THE MAJORITY OF OUR GAMES YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT. JUST KEEP FIGHTING AND OUR TIME WILL COME!! GO DAWGS
jonkard dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:23 pm
Hey i won $50.00 5 to 1 and i will collect em tomorrow that is a tank of gas you know>
sgmjohndavis
October 27th, 2012
8:23 pm
I TOLD EVERYONE!!!! THIS GAME WOULD BE GREAT WITH THE SOUND OFF!!! DAMN GOOD GAME, DAMN GOOD COACHING, DAMN GOOD DAWGS!!! SEE ALL THE DAWG FANS IN THE DOME!!
Dboy
October 27th, 2012
8:24 pm
@BIG BONE…SHUT UP!!
Smitty
October 27th, 2012
8:26 pm
Ole Miss will be our next test….
tell the truth
October 27th, 2012
8:26 pm
And we won with stupid Bobo calling the plays.
Frodo
October 27th, 2012
8:27 pm
Calm down. Calm down. Here we go. Coming out of the woodwork. Our D definitely showed some real intensity tonight, but this was against a terrible offense. Driskell is almost as bad as Murray. Speaking of Murray, he is a flat out joke. If you think we win the SEC game without putting in Mason or even Welch, you’re living a pipe dream. I love beating Florida and sticking it to Spurrier (bye bye Lattmimore), but we did not measure up to an LSU or Alabama tonight. Go ahead and celebrate. I will too. But, count on losing in Atlanta with this type of passing game. Murray needs to be taught a lesson and removed from the field mid-game. How many passes did he let sail and how many open men did Driskell miss? Calm the F down. This was a nice win with sloppy play and turnovers from the opponent.
Larry
October 27th, 2012
8:28 pm
Just imagine this team with a decent QB!
Murray was saved by Jarvis Jones tonight.
Ghost of Sinkwich
October 27th, 2012
8:28 pm
The Boys had a ton of HEART out their today., especially Jarvis Jones, & Todd Gurley!
curdog
October 27th, 2012
8:29 pm
No. I’m not Will!
Wish I were making as much as he over the last few years!
I’d just stay here in the woods, sleep late and eat cornbread, butterbeans and greens. Not have to deal with clocks, supervisors, or the public.
Olive Branch Dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:29 pm
Auburn, Tennessee, please look at Bobo for your next coach. PLEASE!
DawgBreath
October 27th, 2012
8:30 pm
I’m a a fan of Todd G; but I still thing CMR is our achilles heal. Great job – Dawgs!
TY
October 27th, 2012
8:31 pm
It is time for a member of the offense to shake up the offense team. Malcomb Mitchell needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. Go dawgs. If they can play that well vs UF they need to do so vs anyone else. Go Dawgs.
HUMBUG
October 27th, 2012
8:31 pm
There is no such thing as an ugly win when you whip the Gators.
Alphare
October 27th, 2012
8:32 pm
If FL won’t lose 2 more games, UGA will finally beat a end-of-season ranked team once in 3 years.
bigdog
October 27th, 2012
8:32 pm
First of all let me say it is always great to beat Florida, and congrats to the defense they came to play today for the first time this year.. To all you idiots that are whooping and hollering bout how great Ricth is they have done nothing so far that they didn’t do last year!!! I am still doubtful of Ricth and Bubu I will admit I am wrong about them when they either beat Bama for the SEC championship or take them to the wire in it could have gone either way nail bitter. That being said I did see some things in Ricth that I haven’t seen before that I liked. When players did something stupid he was in their face and giving them an earful and he was very aggressive overall in the game. For all you winners who are satisfied with limping into the SEC East title with fans like you that is as far as they will ever go. I’ll talk to you again when they either are decimated by Bama R they are standing in Atlanta victorious with the SEC trophy in their hands getting ready to play for the BCS title. Till then congrats and great to beat a Rival like that good job but show me the Trophy!!!!
Mike Bobo
October 27th, 2012
8:34 pm
I don’t want to see Richt fired, but Mike Bobo must go because he is an awful offensive playcaller.
c.q.
October 27th, 2012
8:34 pm
Enter your comments here
CHARLESTON DAWG
October 27th, 2012
8:34 pm
A great win for the DAWGS. The defense finally manned up and the offense found a way to grind out enough points to win. This was a perfect example of why DEFENSE wins championships . Still have two tough games ahead and BAMA is a beast . GET FOCUSED !! EVERYONE should keep Marcus Latimore and his family in your prayers . As much as we love the Dawgs let’s show the real class of the BULLDAWG NATION and support this young man.
STUDENT ATHLETE
October 27th, 2012
8:35 pm
This harsch critic says – I apologize. Great job bulldogs. Great job Todd Grantham. Extend Mark Richt – 5 SEC title game appearances in 10 years; back to back wins against the Gators.
Todd The hammer Bethel
October 27th, 2012
8:36 pm
I am wondering what happened to Murray but the Dogs Defense really showed up to play. Wow, thanks Shawn Williams.
Olive Branch Dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:36 pm
Bobo is a hot new coach, some school needs to take him. He is the greatest “draw designer” coach in America. Please, Please, someone hire Bobo!
bigdog
October 27th, 2012
8:36 pm
Student Athlete appearances don’t count only wins and it has been a long time since that happened…
c.q.
October 27th, 2012
8:37 pm
yea, but we can’t say we “own” USC anymore. At least Spurrier and the USC fans have that. HA!
Blake
October 27th, 2012
8:37 pm
Love it!!!!! I was wondering if we would pout or stand up and answer the call and boy did we ever stand up!!! Credit to Murray for making some good throws late after the worst half of his life. If the D shows up like this for the rest of the year, we have nothing to fear! Big ups to Gurley also. He ran like a man today. One more thing….Jarvis Jones is a BEAST!!! Goooo DAWGS!!!!
dawgone
October 27th, 2012
8:37 pm
Olive Branch Dawg your right Kentucky or Mizzou could use a great coach like him maybe they will double UGA’s offer lol…
Dawg-Gawn
October 27th, 2012
8:38 pm
I swear, that must of been Larry Munson’s Spirit knocking the ball loose from Jordan Reed!
6 Gator turnover’s….. yeah Larry was there!
“BELIEVE” in the “G”
Bubbaboy
October 27th, 2012
8:38 pm
Sloppy, SLOPPY game. Kinda hoped Florida would win, so that THEY would subsequently be crushed by ‘Bama in Atlanta. Naw, the sloppy, ill-disciplined error-prone Bullpups will now get the honor of being annihilated yet AGAIN for the SEC title. Maybe even WORSE than last year at the hands of LSU. Whoop it up today – come December people will yet again call for Richt’s job…
Rick James
October 27th, 2012
8:39 pm
@bigdog
October 27th, 2012
8:32 pm
First of all let me say it is always great to beat Florida, and congrats to the defense they came to play today for the first time this year.. To all you idiots that are whooping and hollering bout how great Ricth is they have done nothing so far that they didn’t do last year!!! I am still doubtful of Ricth and Bubu I will admit I am wrong about them when they either beat Bama for the SEC championship or take them to the wire in it could have gone either way nail bitter. That being said I did see some things in Ricth that I haven’t seen before that I liked. When players did something stupid he was in their face and giving them an earful and he was very aggressive overall in the game. For all you winners who are satisfied with limping into the SEC East title with fans like you that is as far as they will ever go. I’ll talk to you again when they either are decimated by Bama R they are standing in Atlanta victorious with the SEC trophy in their hands getting ready to play for the BCS title. Till then congrats and great to beat a Rival like that good job but show me the Trophy!!!!
——————————————————————————————————–
On second thought its not worthy of a response…
A RTR Hit-N-Run from ATL
October 27th, 2012
8:39 pm
I’m finally convinced Murray is not a good QB. I thought he was. he is very accurate but it’s not all there. I think he’s too short.
6 turnovers and you had 132 yards in penalties. more yards then you had rushing and almost as many as passing and a plethora of short field opportunities.
the win is impressive from an outsiders point of view in that UF was looking really good coming into the game.
but given the way it went down, you have no chance against us.
RTR
Olive Branch Dawg
October 27th, 2012
8:40 pm
Georgia Tech should go in a different direction, hire a great OC, Mike Bobo will change everything and make you a winner! Please offer him a job, please!
Bill
October 27th, 2012
8:40 pm
Hurray for defense. However the offense, (see) Bobo and Murray makes me want to puke.
Lets hope the defense keeps it up for the remaining games so Ga can go to the Doome for the
SEC championship…….Dog defense GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Impressed Dog
October 27th, 2012
8:41 pm
Congrats UGA. Showed a lot of heart out there on defense. Richt, Grantham, Bobo, and assistant coach Shawn Williams went out there are proved me wrong. Please pass the crow with some salt. I learned today to never doubt my dawgs and that they always have a shot to win. Can’t wait to (hopefully) see Jarvis Jones go ham on Bama.