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The College Football World Reacts to Georgia Football Slamming the Gators, and It is Epic

Georgia’s sixth win in a row over the Gators was highlighted by a 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown from linebacker Chris Cole.
Dean Legge|
Georgia QB Gunner Stockton carries the ball during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Georgia QB Gunner Stockton carries the ball during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Georgia Bulldogs

ATLANTA - It was the biggest game of the day, and the reaction to Georgia football’s lopsided win over the Gators is something to note.

Georgia’s sixth win in a row over the Gators was highlighted by a 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown from linebacker Chris Cole. Former UGA QB and current ESPN college football analyst Aaron Murray, who beat the Gators three years in a row, said Georgia football coach Kirby Smart’s defense was elite.

Smart said after the game that Cole’s play was huge in deciding the game.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart motions during the first half against the Florida Gators at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart motions during the first half against the Florida Gators at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“If you get sacks, then you get turnovers. Most fumbles occur on sacks. We got pressure on the quarterback,” Smart said. “We affected both quarterbacks, and I think anybody will tell you if you can't run the ball - and they struggle to run it - it makes you one-dimensional, and then everybody gets to feast and rush the passer. That was a big play in the game. It was a huge momentum play because, again, it's really a 14-point swing. If they go down and score, fumble, Chris picks it up and scores, which he has a knack for doing. That's a big play in the game.”

It was. Cole rumbled towards the Redcoat Band, which exploded with glee as the game was put all but our of reach before halftime.

That led to longtime NBC weatherman Al Roker to correct a social media post from his wife.

After the game Cole and several of his teammates took a celebratory dance in the end zone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium where he scored the touchdown.

Kirby Smart didn't think this 4th-quarter call was the right one, and took to ther turf to react.

For his part, former Florida QB Tim Tebow said he was happy that Aaron Philo was starting as he picked the Gators because: “We are going to run the dang ball.”

Poor Tebow.

Here is the biggest moment from Philo from the game.

Meanwhile, Cole jumped into the stands with UGA fans to end the night. It should be noted that he was the only one that did so that we saw after the game. The end zone layouts at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is quite different than what these players have become accustomed to over the decades in Jacksonville.

The Bulldogs take on Ole Miss Saturday night at 7:30 on ABC

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Dean Legge
DEAN LEGGE

After two-plus decades of covering the Georgia Bulldogs and the SEC, Dean Legge is one of the definitive voices in Athens and beyond. Legge has authored two books - DAWGSTRUCTION and DOUBLE DAWGS - with each chronicling Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs' run to national titles in 2021 and 2022. Legge has been a Heisman Trophy voter since 2005 and a Biletnikoff Award voter since 2009. He’s covered SEC Championships, Peach Bowls, Orange Bowls, Sugar Bowls, the Rose Bowl Game, College Football Playoff National Championship Games, the NCAA Tournament, the College World Series as well as a slew of college football, basketball and baseball games. Legge graduated from Coker College in 1999 with a degree in Political Science. He played both tennis and basketball for the Cobras. After graduating, Legge completed his academic career at the University of Georgia where he earned a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public and International Affairs in 2001. In 2008, Legge was elected President of the Coker College Alumni Association. He served on the Board of Trustees at Coker from 2009 to 2017 and was a member of the Executive Committee, Student Services and Enrollment Committee and Athletic Committee in that time. Legge is a native of Tucker, Georgia.

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