JACKSONVILLE — The Florida Gators' winless October is over, and the last shred of significance to their season is gone.
The return of quarterback John Brantley reignited the offense early, but the Gators could not sustain it. No. 22 Georgia silenced them in the second half and won 24-20 at EverBank Field.
The Bulldogs sent Florida to its fourth straight loss - the worst stretch for the program since 1988 - and knocked the Gators (4-4, 2-4 in conference) out of the SEC Eastern Division race.
"We've got to regroup and reevaluate where we are and move forward," coach Will Muschamp said. "It's disappointing, and there's no one more disappointed or more impatient than I am."
Muschamp, a former Georgia safety, saw Florida lose to the Bulldogs (6-2, 5-1) for the first time since 2007. Georgia had only won three of the previous 21 meetings.
Brantley, playing for the first time in nearly a month after suffering a high right ankle sprain, led the offense to almost nothing in the second half. After taking a 17-3 lead with 2:10 left in the second quarter, Florida gained just 49 yards on 32 plays the rest of the day.
Brantley was not able drop back from under center, so the Gators used him out of the shotgun for every play but one, and occasionally put Trey Burton and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
Despite his pain, which he said was "not too bad, actually," Brantley opened the game by completing 8 of 14 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. On a fourth-and-19 midway through the first quarter, he stepped up to escape a collapsing pocket and threw off his injured foot to hit tight end Jordan Reed for a 31-yard touchdown pass.
"He's a warrior," running back Jeff Demps said of Brantley. "He was about 75 percent this whole week, and for him to come out and battle through it like he did and play like he did - and never complain one time - to me, that's the definition of a warrior."
Brantley's grit aside, his performance was dismal after the quick start. He completed 4 of his last 20 passes to finish 12-of-34 for 245 yards. He was sacked six times, including four times by Bulldogs linebacker Jarvis Jones.
"We started out fast and we started out good," Brantley said. "That second half - we've just got to be able to finish the game."
Georgia did. The Bulldogs tied it 17-17 on Aaron Murray's 14-yard touchdown pass with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Florida answered with a 63-yard kickoff return by Andre Debose that led to Brad Phillips' 40-yard field goal.
Phillips, playing in place of injured starter Caleb Sturgis, gave the Gators a 20-17 lead, but they did not score again. Early in the fourth quarter, Georgia finished a nine-play, 45-yard drive with Richard Samuel's 4-yard scoring run. That proved to be the winning touchdown.
Forced to run most of their offense out of the shotgun, the Gators were unable to get their running game in motion. Chris Rainey led the team with 26 yards on five carries, and Florida totaled 34 yards on 15 running plays. That number does not account for 53 yards the Gators lost on six sacks and an errant snap.
"We've got to find some ways to run the football," Muschamp said. "We cannot be so one-dimensional.
"When you're in the gun so much, you run the ball so much east and west. You need to be able to run the ball downhill."
The Gators also drowned in penalties, which has been a persistent weakness. They average more flags per game than any team in the FBS, and they added another 14 penalties for 106 yards Saturday.
The season began with hope that Muschamp and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis could pull off a turnaround after the Gators stumbled to 8-5 last year. Now that Florida is eliminated from the division, it looks to the mediocre goal of bowl eligibility.
In order to reach the six-victory threshold, the Gators will need to take at least two of their final four games. That pursuit begins this Saturday with a home game against Vanderbilt, which no longer looks like a pushover.
Other than playing in a bowl, all that is at stake for Florida is pride, and the challenge of whether this team can solve a list of crippling problems that spans both sides of the ball.
By JASON LIESER Palm Beach Post Staff
