‘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
hit a single
October 27th, 2012
10:01 pm
Disgusted – The officials had to do the coaches jobs. They didn’t over officate they kept order. It could have gotten out of hand. It is not their job to stop the jawing it is the coaches. Glad to see Coach Richt and especially Coach Grantham chew some butt.
Disgusted
October 27th, 2012
10:01 pm
“CBS must be in love with the Gator cheerleaders. They showed all the time. They never showed the UGA cheerleaders. I heard it mentioned on the call in show DAWG Talk. I thought maybe I was the only one that noticed it”
I’d rather see Octomom than the Gator cheerleaders. I would Boo the Gator cheerleaders.
"No means NO, Zach M."
October 27th, 2012
10:01 pm
What personal foul should have been called on that play, Big Holes? The only one should have been called on Florida.
Left Coast Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:03 pm
All you trolls pretending to be Dawg fans and posting about how we were fortunate and lucky to win need to STFU. The refs were consistent, the D was awesome and Florida was lucky to be in the game. UGA was the better team tonite and the score should have been worse. So stop posting under different screen names because its obvious you are bitter and a hater of the DAWGS!
hit a single
October 27th, 2012
10:03 pm
I am not going to lie I looked at them Gator Cheerleaders(the girls) but I would have like to have seen my Dawg Cheerleaders.
WLOCP
October 27th, 2012
10:03 pm
is now officially known as the turnover turkey bowl
BiggDawgK
October 27th, 2012
10:04 pm
It was ugly but it sure was beautiful. Georgia and Murray and Richt all get monkeys off their backs. It looked like Georgia was in Florida’s head after too many years of it being the other way around. Now just say focussed.
hit a single
October 27th, 2012
10:04 pm
I thought the officials did a great job.
Jerry Seinfeld
October 27th, 2012
10:04 pm
And this defensive showing was against a good offensive coordinator for Florida. He’s much more creative than Bobo, but Grantham called a good game and Jarvis obviously was a beast.
hit a single
October 27th, 2012
10:06 pm
Great Job Coach Bobo! Great playcalling on the last scoring drive and also spreading out the Gator D.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
October 27th, 2012
10:06 pm
@ az dawg:
Why don’t you just STFU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Murray had a fantastic and the dawgs lost you would be blaming Murray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Call DELTA you bigtime IGNORAMUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disgusted
October 27th, 2012
10:06 pm
@hit a single — We can agree to disagree but its not up to the zebras to coach and set the tempo of the game. The way they officiated was overkill in my opinion.
I want to see the players play the game not the refs drop flags for every little thing.
And, as I said it was overkill. I have seen worse excessive celebrations that were not called. Its a game of emotion and a kid should be excited when he makes a play. I do not like the excessive celebration rules anyway — its a game of celebration and emotion.
The game is getting too robotic.
They tried to take celebration out of the NFL and it did not work.
BILLY JACK
October 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
I dont think we will see the trolls back on here anytime soon like gt bob-thomas brown-buckeye-tide roll and the rest-if a tech nerd ever comes on another Georgia blog I will be shocked-the beating UGA is gonna give them thanksgiving week will be one of the worst in the history of the series.
Left Coast Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
Those Gator cheerleaders look pretty homely. Not sure why they were showing them either.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
October 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
“If Murray had a fantastic GAME you would……………..”
Beating UF doesn't change my mind
October 27th, 2012
10:09 pm
I’m happy for our team and their victory over UF, but I have to ask, why does a player have to do the work of the coach to get the team fired up? We underachieve because of poor coaching and discipline, so I, for one, won’t be surprised if we look terrible against a lesser opponent. And I shudder to think what Alabama will do to us if we make it to Atlanta.
Call me a naysayer it it makes you feel better. The truth is I’m a proud Georgia graduate, and I’m sick of the mediocrity and ‘fans’ who are satisfied being a second tier SEC team.
hit a single
October 27th, 2012
10:09 pm
Disgusted – Most of the calls were for jawing. Players in each others faces once the plays were over. The integrity of college football is going down hill with all this mouthing to each other. Kind of like our society and lack of discipline in our schools. It is up to parents and coaches job to discipline, not officials and teachers.
Disgusted
October 27th, 2012
10:10 pm
We could have dominated that game had Murray not thrown the 3 INTS but hey, Georgia came in, physically established themselves, and at the end our QB did come up and make enough plays to score that last TD to Mitchell.
Florida played well, but GA deserved to win. Fair and square. And our D forced that last turnover, a skilled defensive play. Fair and square.
A W vs Florida is a celebration no matter how it was done. Lets enjoy, we have not had many of those since 1990 so take a deep breath and enjoy
ben t
October 27th, 2012
10:10 pm
DEFENSE. One word. We played it tonight. For 20 dad gum years the Dogs had balls bounce against em….not any more. Jarvis…You DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Malcom….be cool son….and one more thing…Marcus Lattimore…we are praying for you youngster….we really are….
hit a single
October 27th, 2012
10:10 pm
Oh by the way what was the score today at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta?
JumpDawg
October 27th, 2012
10:11 pm
I didn’t post anything on here over the past three weeks (was too P-O’d to even log on) but I’ve got some crow to eat as well. That is the UGA defense I grew up with, really proud of them. Malcomb Mitchell, you are a stud of an athlete but you are letting the other team get in your head. They know how you are likely to react so they are poking you, hoping for an overreaction and then a flag. Take a note from Herschel, let your play do your talking (as you did on that AWESOME touchdown). One last thing, as Jarvis stripped the ball on UF’s last possession, all I could think of was wouldn’t it be great to have heard Munson make that call? Right up there with “Run Lindsey Run”.
BIG HOLES
October 27th, 2012
10:11 pm
Left Coast,
C’mon. I go back to us beating the gates 8 times in the 80’s but we were EXTREMELY fortunate tonight. Every call or no call of significance went our way. i don’t know if your comments were directed at me but you have to admit the calls went our way.
No way they should not have called us for hitting high or horse collars. Grantham’s defenses have
had a rep for doing just that when they play over-aggressive.
Run Lindsay Run!
Tech Sucks
October 27th, 2012
10:13 pm
LOL to all the dumbass DBags that gave UGA no chance to win this game. Suck it Nerds and dumbass meth-head redneck Carolina and UF fans. SUCK IT.
WLOCP
October 27th, 2012
10:16 pm
Turnovers
here let me give you the ball, no here take it back, no i don’t want it, let me give it to you, no no no thank just keep it.
Turkeys
You suck, no you suck. Well your mama is ugly, so is your sister, well i’m gonna, no you are not
UGABob
October 27th, 2012
10:19 pm
Thanks Defense for showing up big time tonight. When you get back on the bus tell most of the first team offense that we missed them but the scout team pulled it out!!! One things for sure. We don’t have to worry about Aaron Murray giving a half effort in order to not get hurt and mess up his chances of jumping to the NFL. Thank the Lord once again for this victory any way we can get. The baby may be ugly but he is ours tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
jvillebil
October 27th, 2012
10:22 pm
Just got home from the game. The Turnover Bowl. But man the D was playing with a chip. I’ve been coming down to GA/Fla for 30+ years and this one ranked up the top 5. It was sweet.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
October 27th, 2012
10:22 pm
I wanted to strangle Malcome Mithchel when he kept running his mouth throughout the game and getting a 15 yd. penalty at what seemed to be a crucial time but his performance after catching the ball, breaking away from the defender and making ONE DAMN FINE RUN for a td, I forgave him …………for the time being. He has done a lot of the trash talking and running his mouth in recent games and could have cost us the game. CMR needs to straighten his A$$ out immediately before he does cost us a game or two and how pitiful would that have been tonight after the way UGA played tonight, especially the defense, OL and Gurley. MM is a damn talented player but his mouth needs to have a zipper put in.
Rick James
October 27th, 2012
10:24 pm
@funny…
Georgia travels 65 guys for away games.
64 came ready to play. Aaron Murray has got to figure this thing out. He’s the weakest link
————————————————————————————————————————
Last week he was the SEC offensive player of the week and was the primary reason Georgia beat Kentucky.Both quarterbacks had bad games today mainly because both faced great defenses.You have got to figure this thing out.
Go Gators
October 27th, 2012
10:26 pm
I am sure i will get slammed but…
Bs on the no offsides call on UGA in the 3rd quarter that immediately led to change of possession.
Glad to see someone on here also says that he holding call on gators defense in the 4th quarter was a terrible call.
Also, the horse collar that led to Patton’s broken arm was as blatant a call as I’ve seen in years.
Not saying we deserved to win but the timing on some calls was atrocious.
At least UGA will get blown put in SEC Champ game …….. unless you trip up against Ole Miss or Auburn, which after I think about it, you probably will
Rick James
October 27th, 2012
10:26 pm
@Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life
Malcome knew he hurt the team and needed to make up for it.He was not going to be denied the end zone on that catch and run..Nice play
macaac
October 27th, 2012
10:27 pm
Sombady, anybody, please get Steve Spurier’s comments on the UGA win tonight and post it. Bonus poits if you can get his sour puss pout!
BDK
October 27th, 2012
10:28 pm
I guess the Gayter fans are already updating their most famous chant about being 18-4 against UGA. Next year they will blow this game off and say that they are still 18-5. There is a new sheriff in town, and that would be the GEORGIA BULLDOGS! I am glad to see that every thing has been restored. GO DAWGS!
Ubob
October 27th, 2012
10:30 pm
All the calls went our way, refs gave it too us, we were lucky…..are you NUTS!!! Our D forced the turnovers, more calls went against us (15) than against the Lizzards and Murray had problems but made the plays that he had too. Thought the D played lights out, Drizzle couldn’t move the ball well either. Just that kind of game. We had more players step up than Lizzards did. We made the play and they didn’t, simple as that. Tough, determined & gritty performance by the Dawgs. I couldn’t be happier.
Go Gators
October 27th, 2012
10:33 pm
We did not deserve to win but UGA deserved it less
GDawg
October 27th, 2012
10:36 pm
I never would have thought UGA would have won. Even with 5 FL turnovers it was MIGHTY close. Still not sure about how things will turn out this year but I’ll say this…. 2-0 VS FL is really cool these past 2 years. Oh and for all of the Gaytors talking smack about the 18 our of 22 years. How does 48 and 40 sound? Dawgs are STILL almost a decade better in WINS against you.
UGA! UGA! UGA! UGA!
GDawg
October 27th, 2012
10:37 pm
Go Gaytors… don’t be that way. Your team committed 5 turnovers. You don’t deserve anything but an “L”! Be a man and say it…”Congratulations”.
Billy
October 27th, 2012
10:38 pm
Personally, I thought Florida would beat the Dawgs like the proverbial red-headed stepchild after their games against LSU and South Carolina. Congratulations to the Georgia defense for playing tough and really bringing the pain today – excellent work. Certainly not pretty to watch and I hope Aaron Murray puts this in his pocket and moves on without any retrospection about today’s largely dismal performance, but a great win against a very good and very determined opponent nonetheless. Gotta love SEC football, it’s never dull and always keeps you on your toes from week to week. Congratulations, Georgia, keep up the good work and let Mississippi know who’s their daddy is next week!
WDE
October 27th, 2012
10:40 pm
Hey did you guys hear…….UGA won today…Go Dogs oh and the gators lost !
Go Gators
October 27th, 2012
10:42 pm
Thanks for the homo-phobic slur there.
SEC schedule makers gave you a game up before the season started anyway.
WDE
October 27th, 2012
10:42 pm
Oh by the way A.Murray HAS won a BIG game…….trolls read it and die..
Left Coast Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:42 pm
Go Gators you are either a fool or blind if you think that holding call was terrible. Even the pitiful announcers Danielson and Lundquist agreed that it was a penalty and they were both pro-Gators today. Like I said earlier. The refs were consistent and no way the refs were on Georgia’s side, just look at the overall penalty total.
Left Coast Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:43 pm
Lol @ WDE…..tell ‘em
Rick James
October 27th, 2012
10:43 pm
@macaac
Sombady, anybody, please get Steve Spurier’s comments on the UGA win tonight and post it. Bonus poits if you can get his sour puss pout!
——————————————————————————————————————————
I think Spurrier will find a way to blast Georgia and blame losing to Florida and LSU on us.I think they still have another loss coming.Knowing now they wont win the east and with Lattimore being injured they may be a little flat the rest of the season. All the best to Lattimore..The should be a law in this country limiting how many times a grusome injury can be replayed.
A True Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:43 pm
Stop being harsh on Aaron Murray! He won us that game last week when no one decided to play AND he came through on the final drive tonight. He had a bad first half and his receivers had some drops in the 2nd half. He is 2-1 vs. UF and he is a FG away from being 3-0. You guys should try to support your team. No one is perfect. This guy is a represents UGA well on and off the field. RESPECT!
GDawg
October 27th, 2012
10:51 pm
Did you block my post?
xbot
October 27th, 2012
10:52 pm
Go Gators
Horse Collar a defender tackles another player by grabbing the back-inside of an opponent’s shoulder pads.
Rough, high tackle. Not a horse collar. Not a penalty.
Left Coast Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:52 pm
That’s Rick James biaaaachhhh!
Ryder
October 27th, 2012
10:52 pm
I will gladly eat my crow as well, never thought that Georgia would man up the way they did on defense and hammer the Gators. Even if they did tie the game, Georgia had a level of confidence we haven’t seen in quite some time and still would’ve won, and it’s very refreshing. They need to keep it up knowing that if they win out they not only have a potential date with Alabama/LSU for the SEC title but a chance to play for the NC.
DILLIGAF
October 27th, 2012
10:53 pm
Re: Go Gators:
“Also, the horse collar that led to Patton’s broken arm was as blatant a call as I’ve seen in years.”
You’re wrong. That was a clean hit, no horsecollar, he had his arm across his chest and Patton landed on his arm. No response to the other whining in your post.
GATA!
UGA85′
Left Coast Dawg
October 27th, 2012
10:54 pm
Exactly @ xbot but I wasn’t gonna waste any more fonts trying to explain that one to him.
……and OU just scored to will tie p Notre Dame with the XP.