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Published Nov 7, 2020
Five things we learned from the Gators' top-10 victory over Georgia
Conner Clarke  •  1standTenFlorida
Staff Writer
Twitter
@cj_clarke1

Fresh off a big-time win over SEC East rival Georgia, and arguably the biggest win of Dan Mullen’s tenure at Florida, GatorsTerritory dishes out five things we learned from UF's convincing victory in Jacksonville.

1. Kyle Trask should be the Heisman front runner. Even though Georgia’s secondary was banged up, Kyle was able to throw all over them, and that includes standout cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes.

Trask was just eight yards from breaking Florida’s single game passing record, completing 30-of-43 passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns for a fifth consecutive game. Trask proved he could make every throw on the field and threw with great touch. Even his interception wasn’t really on him because it looked as though Xzavier Henderson ran the wrong route on the play.

2. Kyree Campbell was far more important to the defense than any of us thought. Since being inserted into the starting lineup last week against Missouri, the Gators' run defense has been drastically better.

While I don’t necessarily think it is all Campbell, I have noticed he brings a “lunch pail” attitude and just grinds. As I said in a previous article, he allows everyone on the defensive line to play in their natural positions. He also pushes the pocket up the middle and does a great job of disengaging from his block and making a play in the run game, which you saw on several of his tackles tonight when Georgia tried to get the running game going.

3. Shawn Davis being back at safety helps UF's defense. It seemed like every time the ball was thrown deep, Davis was there. He was playing over the top quite a bit and seemed to read the quarterback's eyes well to be in position to make plays. He also did a good job of tackling in space.

Before the season started, I thought he was the Gators' best tackler in space and I still think that is true for the most part. He did a good job of making plays when he was around the ball, which seemed to be very often.

4. Florida’s running backs are more of a threat catching the ball than they are running. While Dameon Pierce did a great job running the ball during the game, Florida’s running backs torched Georgia’s defense in the passing game.

Malik Davis and Nay’Quan Wright were the Gators’ top two receivers in the game and did an excellent job of making plays after the catch. The Bulldogs had trouble all night covering the running backs out of the backfield, and Kyle Trask and Dan Mullen saw that and took full advantage of it to the tune of five catches for 100 yards for Davis and three catches for 71 yards for Wright.

5. Kemore Gamble can make plays when Kyle Pitts is out. When Kyle Pitts went out of the game because of an apparent concussion, I wasn’t sure who was going to step up in his absence, but Gamble found a way to make some plays.

Though he is thought of as more of an in-line tight end and a block-first option, Gamble made some great plays in the passing game, including a 24-yard touchdown to give the Gators' their first lead of the night midway through the second quarter.

Gamble finished with three catches for 51 yards and touchdown to go along with his excellent blocking in both the running and passing game.

Stay to tuned to GatorsTerritory.