Bulldogs face another devastating loss to long time rival.
Florida hate week was alive and well in the city of Athens leading up to the annual face-off between the University of Florida and the Georgia Bulldogs on October 31. The No. 11 Gators were 6-1 coming into the match up, with their only loss to No. 5 LSU. The Dawgs were struggling to recover from their previous two losses against Alabama and Tennessee, and their lucky win against Missouri two weeks before. But with a bye week under their belt, fans expected the Dawgs to come out and show who ruled the SEC East.
In the weeks leading up to the game, fans were given hints as to a big change in Georgia’s offense.The Dawgs had new hope with a new starting quarterback, Faton Bauta, the junior from West Palm Beach, Florida, in his first career start against the Gators. After weeks of inconsistency and troubles, Bulldog fans were optimistic about new blood on the field. Junior Felix Linzan said, “It’s been a tough couple of weeks as a Georgia fan with a lot of negative press surrounding the team. It’d be risky, yet necessary to give Bauta a try in the game. We have to start doing something new.” Florida faced quarterback problems of their own two weeks after the suspension of their starting quarterback Will Grier for violating NCAA rules regarding performance-enhancing drugs. Trenton Harris, the second string quarterback for the Gators, made his first start against LSU and completed only 17 of 32 passes.
Unfortunately, Georgia’s bad luck within the quarterback position persisted as Bauta threw a total of four interceptions and completed 15 throws out of 33 attempts. The Dawgs continued to suffer completing the game with only 69 rushing yards and five turnovers. The Gators took home the win 27-3.
Published in Pandora Yearbook 2015-2016
Carolynn Wall 