Ask Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford what happened against UF last year, and he will answer bluntly.
"I didn't play well at all," Stafford said. "I turned the ball over three times. We turned it over five as a team."
Stafford completed 13 of 33 passes for 151 yards in an ugly 21-14 loss. He was sacked four times, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
He laid one more egg in a loss to Kentucky the next week before finishing his season on perhaps the hottest streak of any passer in the country as unranked Georgia won three straight games against teams in the top 16.
Stafford has taken his up-and-down freshman year, including the forgettable UF game, and used the experience to help him adjust to being a full-time starter as a sophomore.
He hopes his hard work will translate into a better performance as No. 20 Georgia (5-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) prepares to take on No. 9 UF (5-2, 3-2 SEC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
"You can learn a whole lot more by playing than you can just sitting on the sideline," Stafford said. "You can get out there and get game experience. I think it helped me progress this year and hopefully in the future."
Georgia coach Mark Richt noticed Stafford's improvement from game to game as a freshman.
He has seen early success this year and greater respect from his older teammates.
"Being put into the leadership role the way he is, he has to take in things a little bit quicker than most people," senior safety Kelin Johnson said. "He's been put into the fire."
Through seven games, Stafford has upped his completion percentage from 52.7 to 55.3 and his passing efficiency has risen from 109 to 122.
Most importantly, Stafford is taking better care of the ball. He threw 13 interceptions to just seven touchdowns in 2006. So far this year, he has 10 touchdowns and only four picks.
"I feel like I've been playing better throughout this year," said Stafford, a member of the hyped quarterback recruiting class of 2006 that included Tim Tebow and Southern California's Mitch Mustain. "It's definitely better than how I played last year."
Stafford now returns to the scene of one of his freshman flops at the former Alltel Stadium, now dubbed Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
The name of the site is different - Alltel did not renew its sponsorship rights this year - and it looks like Georgia's offense will be so as well.
"With Stafford, we need runners to establish the running game to set up the passing game," Richt said.
That was the philosophy last year, too. But the Bulldogs' experienced running back duo of Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin are currently sidelined with injuries.
That means Georgia's fate will likely rest on Stafford, who will go up against the SEC's most porous pass defense.
"To keep us in it and give us a chance to win, our offense goes through me," Stafford said. "I'm ready for the challenge."
