It takes a village to block for a running back, or a wide receiver, or even a walk-on taking place of a holder.
No matter the ball-carrier, Florida had solid blocking all around in its 38-20 victory over Georgia, especially from wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, who on one of Matt Jones’ touchdown runs could be seen blocking not one, but two Georgia defenders, escorting Jones to pay-dirt.
"Man, I loved it. It fired me up just seeing him throw two blocks on one play on that touchdown, with Matt Jones running down the left sideline," said center Max Garcia. "That was incredible. I’ve never seen wide receivers block like that before. It just shows that we have unselfish players on this team. I don’t even know if he had a reception in this game, but he still was out there and he was a playmaker."
While Robinson and other receivers may not have come to Florida to block, they didn’t have a choice on the day in which the team threw for the second fewest amount of attempts in school history.
Florida’s six passes thrown was also the fewest by any FBS team that played on Saturday.
"That’s what it comes down," Garcia said. "Guys being unselfish about being on this football team and sacrificing your body for the guy next to you. That’s what it’s going to come down to is guys willing to lay it out on the line for each other."
It wasn’t only for their teammates, but also for their coach that they laid everything out on the line for. Garcia and linebacker Mike Taylor met with the media last week and said they had their coaches back through whatever, and on Saturday at EverBank field they walked the walk after talking the talk.
Injury update: Offensive lineman Trenton Brown has a bone bruise on his right knee per coach Will Muschamp and is "definitely" out this week against Vanderbilt. Brown’s status will be updated next Monday. Safety Keanu Neal has a high ankle injury and is also out this week. Defensive lineman Gerald Willis has a high ankle injury as well and did not make the trip to Jacksonville but is questionable for Saturday’s game in Nashville.
East still winnable: Despite a subpar season, there is still a scenario in which Florida can win the SEC East and go to Atlanta for the SEC championship game. If Missouri loses to Tennessee as well as any one of its remaining three conference opponents and Georgia loses to either Auburn or Kentucky, Florida would win a three-way tiebreaker for the SEC East. But Muschamp isn’t interested in contingencies.
"No. At the end of the day we need to win," Muschamp said. "And that’s laser focus on Florida and Vanderbilt for our football team. No scenario matters unless we win, and it starts at 7:30 in Nashville."
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @RagjUF
Max Garcia blocks UGA linebacker Amarlo Herrera during Florida's 38-20 win against Georgia on Nov. 1
