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Florida Gators © |
Georgia Bulldogs |
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Played October 31, 2009 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, Florida |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Florida © | 4 | 18 | 9 | 0 | .667 | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | ||||||||
Previous Belt Meetings:
None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Florida |
14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
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Georgia |
0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
The top-ranked, 7-0 Florida Gators of coach Urban Meyer renewed the annual rivalry with the 4-3 Georgia Bulldogs of coach Mark Richt. The game is held annually in Jacksonville, midway between the two schools & is always noted for its raucous atmosphere. Florida's All-SEC QB Tim Tebow threw 2 touchdown passes as well as rushing for 2 scores which allowed him to pass Georgia great Herschel Walker for the SEC record for rushing touchdowns with 52 over his career while the Gators' defense intercepted Bulldogs' quarterbacks 4 times, all in the 2nd half, in a 41-17 rout of Georgia. Florida took control of the game from the start with Tebow driving the Gators' offense 80 yard in 6 plays with the score coming on a 22-yard pass to WR Riley Cooper. After the Florida defense forced a punt, a 53-yard kick to the Gators' 8-yard line by Bulldogs' All-American P Drew Butler, Tebow led an 11-play, 92-yard touchdown drive capped by a 29-yard pass to Cooper for the score & a 14-0 lead late in the 1st quarter. Georgia scored early in the 2nd quarter on a 49-yard field goal by PK Blair Walsh & the Bulldogs defense responded with a quick "3 & out" to give the offense another chance. On the opening play of the Bulldogs drive, Florida's DE Jermaine Cunningham was called for a personal foul penalty that seemed to lift the Georgia offense. Bulldogs' QB Joe Cox connected with All-SEC WR A.J. Green on the next play for 19 yards & after the Gators' were called for an offsides penalty, Cox threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to TE Aron White bring Georgia within 4 points at 14-10. Florida's PK Caleb Sturgis pushed the lead back to a touchdown when he kicked a 56-yard field goal. Following the Bulldogs next drive, Butler punted 61 yards before Gators' RB Brandon James returned the kick 20 yards to the Florida 35-yard line with 2:23 to play in the half. Tebow completed a 20-yard pass to Cooper & a 15-yard pass interference penalty on another pass intended for Cooper put the ball at the Georgia 30-yard line. Three plays later, Tebow ran the quarterback draw to perfection on a 23-yard touchdown run that tied Walker for the SEC rushing touchdown record & gave the Gators a 24-10 halftime lead. The game essentially ended on the opening play from scrimmage of the 2nd half as Cox's pass was intercepted by Florida's LB A.J. Jones giving the Gators the ball at the Bulldogs' 19-yard line. Three plays later, Tebow broke Walker's record with a 5-yard touchdown run around the right end for a 31-10 Florida advantage. Georgia did respond with a 14-play, 79-yard scoring drive as Cox threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to WR Michael Moore keeping the Bulldogs within 2 scores at 31-17. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, Jones intercepted Cox for the second time just as Georgia crossed midfield & on the next Bulldogs' drive, Cox's pass was intercepted by Gators' LB Ryan Stamper at the Georgia 29-yard line. Sturgis' 44-yard field goal made the score Florida 34 Georgia 17 with 7:42 left to play. The Bulldogs replaced Cox with QB Logan Gray but starting from his own 12-yard line, he had no better success. His first snap resulted in Jones sacking him for a 5-yard loss then after a delay-of-game penalty, his first pass attempt was intercepted by Gators' All-SEC LB Brandon Spikes who returned the pick 5 yards for the final score of the game. Tebow finished with 164 yards passing with 2 touchdowns as well as his 2 rushing scores while Cox threw for 165 yards with 2 touchdowns as well as 3 interceptions. Florida finished the season 13-1, ranked 3rd nationally while the Bulldogs finished 8-5. Georgia would play for The Belt again in 2010.
| Florida Game Stats | Georgia Game Stats |
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Rushing Yards |
Att |
Yards |
TDs |
Avg Gain |
Rushing Yards |
Att |
Yards |
TDs |
Avg Gain |
| Tim Tebow | 18 | 85 | 2 | 4.72 | Washaun Ealey | 17 | 70 | 0 | 4.12 |
| Mike Gillislee | 3 | 57 | 0 | 19.00 | Richard Samuel | 6 | 40 | 0 | 6.67 |
| Jeff Demps | 5 | 31 | 0 | 6.20 | Caleb King | 5 | 19 | 0 | 3.80 |
| Emmanuel Moody | 7 | 26 | 0 | 3.71 | Joe Cox | 4 | -3 | 0 | -0.75 |
| Chris Rainey | 4 | 12 | 0 | 3.00 | Logan Gray | 1 | -5 | 0 | -5.00 |
| Brandon James | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Passing | Att | Comp | Int | Yards | TDs | Passing | Att | Comp | Int | Yards | TDs |
| Tim Tebow | 21 | 15 | 0 | 164 | 2 | Joe Cox | 20 | 11 | 3 | 165 | 2 |
| Logan Gray | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Receiving Yards |
Catches |
Yards |
TDs |
Avg Gain |
Receiving Yards |
Catches |
Yards |
TDs |
Avg Gain |
| Riley Cooper | 4 | 78 | 2 | 19.50 | A.J. Green | 3 | 50 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Aaron Hernandez | 3 | 29 | 0 | 9.67 | Tavarres King | 2 | 29 | 0 | 14.50 |
| David Nelson | 3 | 26 | 0 | 8.67 | Aron White | 1 | 26 | 1 | 26.00 |
| Deonte Thompson | 3 | 17 | 0 | 5.67 | Washaun Ealey | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Brandon James | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10.00 | Rantavious Wooten | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18.00 |
| Jeff Demps | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | Orson Charles | 2 | 18 | 0 | 9.00 |
| Michael Moore | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4.00 |