JACKSONVILLE — The grills were hot, and the music was loud. The hype was real, and the excitement was high.
The stage was set for the 97th meeting of the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs. The fans were ready. The Gators were not.
Florida dropped its second game of the year, and possibly its hopes at the SEC championship, in Jacksonville on Saturday to the Bulldogs, 24-17, as a consequence of inconsistent offensive play and unreliable third-down defense.
Florida was sloppy to begin the game. As a whole, UF looked unprepared early on. Multiple pre-snap miscommunications forced coach Dan Mullen to use two timeouts in the first drive of the game.