IF DON’T KNOW NOW YOU KNOWSHON: Moreno, Dawgs Pick Apart Gators’ Defense

"I told them if they didn't get a celebration penalty after our first score, I was going to be mad at ‘em,"

That’s what Georgia coach Mark Richt said during his halftime interview about the wild celebration that sent the whole Georgia team off the sideline and dancing onto the field, following his squads first touchdown.

Classless or not, Richt’s plan to get his boys fired up worked, and behind RB Knowshon Moreno, Georgia defeated the Florida Gators 42-30, earning just its third victory in the last 18 meetings and exposing Florida’s struggling defense.

With 33 carries, Moreno put on a show, rushing for a career-high 188 yards and earning three touchdowns.

Georgia QB Matt Stafford showed his talents, too, completing 11 of 18 for 217 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Stafford connected with Mikey Henderson in the fourth quarter for a 53-yard touchdown. Georgia’s run-pass mix kept Florida’s defense off-balance for most of the game.

Despite being home in Jacksonville, Tim Tebow’s severely bruised shoulder nullified, for the most part, his run game. Tebow was sacked six times and was held to -15 rushing yards, though he did manage two rushing touchdowns.

Florida RB Kestahn Moore had a tough game, fumbling and muffing a snap in the first quarter. Clearly disappointed to even the most amateur of lip-readers, coach Urban Meyer benched Moore until the second half of the game.

And Moore wasn’t alone.

The Gator defense has struggled all along, giving up 31 points to Troy in their second game of the season.

Those struggles culminated last Saturday.

Reggie Nelson, Florida’s playmaking Safety from last year’s national championship team, is badly missed in that secondary. Nelson, who now plays for the Jaguars on Sundays, was probably in Jacksonville on Saturday, and, boy, could the Gators have used his help. Georgia’s Stafford picked apart the Gator ‘D’ with an 84-yard touchdown to Mohamed Massaquoi in the first, that already-mentioned 53-yarder to Henderson in the fourth, and several other long gains in between.

Georgia was also 10-for-13 on third down conversions.

The defending champions now find themselves with three losses and no longer in control of their own destiny in the SEC East. And with a defense that can’t seem to make plays, the Gators may need to go back to the drawing board.

Meanwhile, the win gives the Georgia Bulldogs new life in the SEC East, though they still don’t control their own destiny. That planned penalty not only shifted the momentum of the game but the momentum of the season, too. With this win, the Bulldogs find themselves in the BCS top 10, somewhere no one expected the ‘Dawgs to be.

And that’s worth celebrating.

—R. Cooper