JACKSONVILLE - If there's one certain way to stop a team from stomping in your end zone it's keeping them out of your end zone altogether.
UF's defense put in its most impressive performance of the season in holding Georgia to a measly three points until late in the fourth quarter in what was anything but a Cocktail Party for the Bulldogs after dropping 42 on the Gators a year ago.
"This is the only answer," Coach Urban Meyer said. "This is the only way to answer a game like that. Our guys tackled well. We tackled very well against a very good player."
Georgia entered the game leading the SEC in total offense (431.2) and second-to the Gators-in scoring offense (34.2).
Meyer emphasized that defensive plays would win Saturday's contest, despite the assortment of playmakers both teams put on the field.
The Gators seemed to have gotten the message. Florida clamped down on Georgia in each of its three red zone opportunities. The Bulldogs came away with just three field goal attempts, converting only one of them.
Running back Knowshon Moreno, who gashed the Gators for 188 yards and three scores last year, finished with just 65 yards and a fumble.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford finished 18-for-33 with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
"Turnovers, that's one of the key things to playing great defense, being able to take the ball away and stop a drive with a fumble recovery or an interception," said defensive lineman Terron Sanders, who recovered Moreno's fumble in the third quarter.
In a game with a 49-10 spread the biggest play came from Joe Haden in the third quarter. With Georgia marching down the field as Florida nursed a 14-3 lead at the 30-yard line cornerback Joe Haden intercepted a Matthew Stafford pass attempt to wide receiver A.J. Green and returned it to the Bulldogs' 1-yard line.
"We knew that they were going to make plays," Haden said. "That's the best quarterback I think we're going to face this season and he made great choices with (Mohamed) Massaquoui and A.J. Green, they're just great receivers. We knew they were going to make plays and it's just how we act after we make plays."
If it appears as if the Gators defense has transformation from a sieve that allowed over 250 yards per contest in 2007 to one of the most dominant units in the nation this season, that isn't the case.
Complacency and experience was sprinkled throughout the defense last year, an issue that has been remedied by Florida's effective recruiting.
"There was a lack of competition and a lack of depth," Meyer said. "There was a void in recruiting. We recruited a very poor class our first year here and as a result you play with guys that aren't ready."
They're ready now, and no one is stomping in their end zone.
