JACKSONVILLE — Antonio Callaway took the handoff from Luke Del Rio and swept behind the offensive line, walking into the end zone and head-bobbing at the crowd.
Callaway, with his four catches and 42 yards, was just good enough.
Del Rio, with his 131 yards, one touchdown and one interception, was just good enough.
And Florida’s defense, with its season-high 16 quarterback hurries and its constant pressure in the backfield, was superb, holding Georgia to just two scores during UF’s 24-10 win over Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.
With the victory, No. 14 UF’s hopes at an SEC title remained alive.
“I believe (that) with every bone in my body,” Del Rio said. “We're getting better every week.”
In a game where Del Rio was inconsistent and UF’s rushing attack was subpar, Florida’s defense delivered.
Georgia failed to earn a first down in eight of its final 10 drives and tallied a season-low 164 total yards.
“We dominated, as you can see,” cornerback Duke Dawson said. “It was a feeding frenzy.”
Dawson had a game-high two pass break ups and was part of a secondary that limited UGA all game.
Safety Marcell Harris tied for second on the team with five total tackles, including a stop in the backfield after Harris sniffed out a screen pass and dropped Georgia receiver Terry Godwin for a 4-yard loss.
Junior corner Jalen Tabor even earned a sack — his first of the season — after he blindsided quarterback Jacob Eason in the first quarter.
“Defensively, I mean, what do you say?” UF coach Jim McElwain said. “As long as you do your job, stay disciplined in what you're doing, you got a chance to be pretty good.”
UF limited Georgia to just 21 rushing yards and held Nick Chubb — the ninth leading rusher in the SEC — to 20 yards.
Meanwhile, UF used only two running backs for the first time this season. Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine combined for 126 yards and one touchdown.
“I think that we did a great job showing the nation what we can really do in the trenches,” said Scarlett, who scored a touchdown in his sixth straight game.
And while Florida’s defense kept Georgia from the end zone after the first half quarter, it struggled a times to contain quarterback Jacob Eason.
During one play in the second quarter, the freshman rolled to his right, motioned for his receiver to run further and launched a pass down the field for a 38-yard completion.
After a pass-interference penalty on UF’s Quincy Wilson and a short run up the middle from Chubb, Eason escaped the pocket and lofted a touchdown pass to freshman receiver Riley Ridley.
“That quarterback that they have is something special,” McElwain said. “That guys is gonna be a guy that we're gonna have to contend with here at Florida for a lot of years to come.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb
Bryan Cox tackles Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason during Florida's 24-10 win over UGA on Oct. 29, 2016, in Jacksonville.
