JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Carson Beck jumped into the stands with black eye paint smeared across his face and a huge smile. His three interceptions were a distant memory. All he cared about was celebrating another victory in the game he cherished most.
Beck threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns to offset three interceptions in his hometown as No. 2 Georgia escaped the “world’s biggest outdoor cocktail party” with a 34-20 win over Florida on Saturday.
Beck is 2-0 as a starter against the Gators.
“This is my dream. It’s a very cool circuit for me,” Beck said. “This is my favorite game of the year. I would never say I put pressure on myself. I go play football. … Obviously I want to play a perfect game: 30 for 30, four TDs. That’s what I was thinking about walking onto the field.” , I felt like the guy back in my hometown of Jacksonville, let’s go.
“What should I do? We just won. I’m happy.”
But Beck said he knew he had to reduce — and perhaps eliminate — turnover for Georgia to do something special. He has eight interceptions in his past three games, all wins.
“Some of the throws he makes are big, elite throws,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He threw the ball up a few times late in the middle. You can’t do that. You can’t turn the ball over and be a good football team. He knows that.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of decision-making. I think he pushes sometimes, and this is a big game for him; he’s from here. We don’t win that game without Carson Beck.”
The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC) won their fourth straight series, their longest streak since they won six straight between 1978 and 1983. They took advantage of Florida’s quarterback woes and a special teams error in this one.
Freshman DJ Lagway left the game on a cart in the second quarter with a left hamstring injury, with the Gators (4-4, 2-3) leading 10-3. Without him, it was mostly ugly.
Walk-on Aidan Warner completed 7 of 22 passes for 66 yards with an interception. Warner was pushed onto the field because Florida’s Graham Mertz tore a ligament in his left knee at Tennessee last month and will be out for the season.
“I thought the game went the way we wanted it to go,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We made it ugly at times. But we had our team in position to win the game.”
The Gators kept the game close due to stingy defense, which forced Beck to commit more fouls. Jack Pyburn, Aaron Gates and Devin Moore had picks that led to a combined 10 points for Florida.
But the most significant trade involved the Gators. Jeremy Crawshaw failed to handle Rocco Underwood’s low shot on a 51-yard field goal attempt late in the third period. That led to a 31-yard loss, setting up Beck’s first touchdown pass.
