University of Georgia Athletics
October 31, 2026 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
ATLANTA — Demello Jones' favorite Halloween candy is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It's fair to say that after his performance in No. 3 Georgia's 27-8 win over No. 17 Florida on Saturday, in the Atlanta Gridiron Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Jones, who had an interception and four tackles, earned a jumbo bag of the super-sweet treat.
Actually, the whole defense earned jumbo bags of their favorite candies after limiting the Gators to 246 yards of offense, forcing four turnovers, and holding standout running back Jaden Baugh, who came in averaging 109.0 rushing yards per game, to 38 yards on 17 carries. In a physical game on Halloween, it was the Bulldog defense doing the terrorizing.
"Our focus was just stopping the run," said linebacker Chris Cole, who returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first half, putting the Bulldogs up 24-0.
"We knew coming in that Florida had a lot of good running backs, and especially Baugh, so we had to be able to stop the run and just kind of stop the explosive plays."
The Bulldogs did that. Along with holding the Gators to a touchdown and a two-point conversion, which came midway through the fourth quarter, Georgia intercepted three passes and had Cole's long fumble return for a score after a strip-sack by linebacker Quintavius Johnson. Georgia also had 11 tackles for loss (for minus-38 yards) and four sacks.
"We're trying to be No. 1 in the country in turnovers," said Jones who had a second interception nullified by a penalty, "so obviously (we've) just got to get more."
Georgia is now up to seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries through eight games, which will likely be around the top 15 in the country after Saturday's games are done. The Bulldogs were effective offensively against the Gators, but unspectacular. They finished with 318 yards of offense and an average of just 4.9 yards per play, while scoring just a field goal in the second half.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the offense "left a lot out there" in terms of potential big plays, while the defense got stops and got takeaways. After Georgia's home loss to Auburn on Oct. 17, 27-24, when the Bulldogs had three turnovers and forced none, Smart commented that his team beat itself in a lot of ways. That definitely wasn't the case against the Gators.
"We avoided turnovers for the most part, and we got turnovers," he said after Georgia won the turnover battle 4-1. "You know, the Dawgs didn't beat the Dawgs today, and the Gators helped us with some of the turnovers they had."
Florida's first drive ended with an interception by cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, who picked off a wild pass by Gators starting quarterback Aaron Philo. As he was scrambling away from Georgia's pass rush, Philo stumbled. Rather than taking a sack and a big loss on the play, he tried an underhand throw down field, and it went right to Robinson.
Georgia took over at the Gator 41-yard line and took a 7-0 lead on a Nate Frazier 1-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Jones' interception and 23-yard return on a pass that went through the receiver in front of him's hands, set up Georgia's second score. The Bulldogs started the drive at the Florida 17 and later went ahead 10-0 on a 28-yard Peyton Woodring field goal.
After Georgia's next drive ended with a 1-yard Bo Walker touchdown run and a 17-0 lead, the Gators got the ball back with just under two minutes to play in the opening half. Florida later had a second-and-5 on the Georgia 37-yard line, and that's when Johnson sacked quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., knocking the ball out. Cole, who had an 85-yard fumble return for a score against Oklahoma on Sept. 26, scooped up the ball and took off for the end zone.
"It was a great play by Q," Cole said. "Him getting the ball from the QB and just me scooping and scoring."
It was more than that, Smart said.
"That's football, right? If you get sacks, then you get turnovers," he said. "Most fumbles occur on sacks. We got pressure on the quarterback, we affected both quarterbacks, and I think anybody will tell you, if you can't run the ball, and they struggled to run it, it makes you one-dimensional, and then everybody gets to feast and rush the passer."
Cole led the Bulldogs with nine tackles, including a sack. Linebacker Raylen Wilson added eight stops, and safety KJ Bolden, who returned from an injury, had six tackles, as did safety Rasean Dinkins. Seven Bulldogs had at least four tackles, and 10 Bulldogs were involved in Georgia's 11 tackles for loss.
Staff Writer
ATLANTA — Demello Jones' favorite Halloween candy is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It's fair to say that after his performance in No. 3 Georgia's 27-8 win over No. 17 Florida on Saturday, in the Atlanta Gridiron Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Jones, who had an interception and four tackles, earned a jumbo bag of the super-sweet treat.
Actually, the whole defense earned jumbo bags of their favorite candies after limiting the Gators to 246 yards of offense, forcing four turnovers, and holding standout running back Jaden Baugh, who came in averaging 109.0 rushing yards per game, to 38 yards on 17 carries. In a physical game on Halloween, it was the Bulldog defense doing the terrorizing.
"Our focus was just stopping the run," said linebacker Chris Cole, who returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the first half, putting the Bulldogs up 24-0.
"We knew coming in that Florida had a lot of good running backs, and especially Baugh, so we had to be able to stop the run and just kind of stop the explosive plays."
The Bulldogs did that. Along with holding the Gators to a touchdown and a two-point conversion, which came midway through the fourth quarter, Georgia intercepted three passes and had Cole's long fumble return for a score after a strip-sack by linebacker Quintavius Johnson. Georgia also had 11 tackles for loss (for minus-38 yards) and four sacks.
"We're trying to be No. 1 in the country in turnovers," said Jones who had a second interception nullified by a penalty, "so obviously (we've) just got to get more."
Georgia is now up to seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries through eight games, which will likely be around the top 15 in the country after Saturday's games are done. The Bulldogs were effective offensively against the Gators, but unspectacular. They finished with 318 yards of offense and an average of just 4.9 yards per play, while scoring just a field goal in the second half.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the offense "left a lot out there" in terms of potential big plays, while the defense got stops and got takeaways. After Georgia's home loss to Auburn on Oct. 17, 27-24, when the Bulldogs had three turnovers and forced none, Smart commented that his team beat itself in a lot of ways. That definitely wasn't the case against the Gators.
"We avoided turnovers for the most part, and we got turnovers," he said after Georgia won the turnover battle 4-1. "You know, the Dawgs didn't beat the Dawgs today, and the Gators helped us with some of the turnovers they had."
Florida's first drive ended with an interception by cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, who picked off a wild pass by Gators starting quarterback Aaron Philo. As he was scrambling away from Georgia's pass rush, Philo stumbled. Rather than taking a sack and a big loss on the play, he tried an underhand throw down field, and it went right to Robinson.
Georgia took over at the Gator 41-yard line and took a 7-0 lead on a Nate Frazier 1-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Jones' interception and 23-yard return on a pass that went through the receiver in front of him's hands, set up Georgia's second score. The Bulldogs started the drive at the Florida 17 and later went ahead 10-0 on a 28-yard Peyton Woodring field goal.
After Georgia's next drive ended with a 1-yard Bo Walker touchdown run and a 17-0 lead, the Gators got the ball back with just under two minutes to play in the opening half. Florida later had a second-and-5 on the Georgia 37-yard line, and that's when Johnson sacked quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., knocking the ball out. Cole, who had an 85-yard fumble return for a score against Oklahoma on Sept. 26, scooped up the ball and took off for the end zone.
"It was a great play by Q," Cole said. "Him getting the ball from the QB and just me scooping and scoring."
It was more than that, Smart said.
"That's football, right? If you get sacks, then you get turnovers," he said. "Most fumbles occur on sacks. We got pressure on the quarterback, we affected both quarterbacks, and I think anybody will tell you, if you can't run the ball, and they struggled to run it, it makes you one-dimensional, and then everybody gets to feast and rush the passer."
Cole led the Bulldogs with nine tackles, including a sack. Linebacker Raylen Wilson added eight stops, and safety KJ Bolden, who returned from an injury, had six tackles, as did safety Rasean Dinkins. Seven Bulldogs had at least four tackles, and 10 Bulldogs were involved in Georgia's 11 tackles for loss.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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