It was all Urban Meyer could do to keep his team from getting into a brawl. He was frantically grabbing players, urging his Gators to not engage with Georgia in its antics.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more angry,” Meyer said to the SEC Network in 2019. “I kept grabbing our guys, I thought there was going to be a fight. I thought the benches were going to clear, and they probably should have.”
Georgia had just driven down the field on its opening drive in the 2007 Florida-Georgia game. Knowshon Moreno dove into the endzone, giving the Bulldogs the lead. As soon as a touchdown was ruled, the Georgia sideline cleared. They rushed to where Moreno had scored and started dancing.
It sent a message, and the Dawgs danced to a 42-30 victory over Florida.
For over a year, the taste of the loss to Georgia had to sit on the tongues of the Gators. For Meyer, it was the first time he lost to one of Florida’s three biggest rivals.
The 2008 edition of Florida-Georgia, at the time, was a colossal game. But, in hindsight, it bears even more significance.
The years between 2006 and 2009 were a “golden era” in Florida football. Having won the national title in 2006, there were newfound expectations for the Gators: national title or bust.
After 2006, the 2007 team was considered a sure bet to contend once again for a title and repeat. However, it didn’t end up that way, and the loss to Georgia only added insult to injury.
If Florida wanted the national title in 2008, it had to go through Georgia, and that wasn’t an easy task. Like UF, Georgia had built an arsenal of talent.
Florida had Tim Tebow, while Georgia had Matthew Stafford. Florida had Percy Harvin, while Georgia had A.J. Green. Florida had Brandon Spikes, while Georgia had Geno Atkins.
It was an arms race in the SEC East, and if Florida wanted to take advantage of the plethora of talent that was stocked on the depth chart, Georgia was the primary impediment.
Georgia meant that much more after the Gators fell to Ole Miss earlier in the season. It meant Florida had to be perfect the rest of the way to win the SEC East, let alone make the national title game.
Offseason workouts were centered around Georgia. Forty-two reps on each lift in the weight room, one for every point Georgia scored. One-hundred-eighty-eight pushups and crunches, one for every yard Moreno rushed for on them.
When Nov. 1 arrived, it was a top-10 matchup. Florida ranked fifth, Georgia ranked eighth. Each team had one loss and the SEC East title was up for grabs.
The tone was set on the second play of the game. After Florida stuffed a screen pass on the game’s first play, Moreno took a handoff up the middle. Spikes read the play and met Moreno facemask-to-facemask, planting the Georgia back violently onto the turf.
The Bulldogs were not the same the rest of the game. Two missed field goals by kicker Blair Walsh. A dropped would-be touchdown by Moreno, along with a fumbled pitch. Three Stafford interceptions.
It was a mix of self-inflicted, mental mistakes and a motivated, swarming Gator defense. Every time Moreno touched the ball, at least three Gators were in on the tackle. They were hungry. They were angry.
In total, Florida forced four turnovers. Joe Haden, Ahmad Black and Dustin Doe all had interceptions, while Terrance Sanders recovered Moreno’s botched pitch.
The Gators scored 21 points off Georgia’s four turnovers, with those three scoring drives combining for four plays.
It was domination. Tebow went 10 for 13 through the air with two passing touchdowns and three rushing scores. Harvin had 99 yards of offense on seven touches and two scores.
The Gators won 49-10, and Meyer twisted his heel on Mark Richt a bit more at the end of the game, calling his last two timeouts with under a minute to play. He later admitted to the SEC Network that was his payback for 2007.
Florida won the SEC East, the SEC and the national title. Georgia finished 10-3 and got to play in the Capital One Bowl.
The win was one of the most important Gators games in the 21st century, and one could argue it was the most important. It reestablished Florida dominance in the rivalry, It gave the East back to the Gators and jettisoned the team to the national title.
Follow Michael on Twitter @MichaelKnauffUF.
