JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Georgia was hoping to use its recent open date to make vast improvements on special teams.
In Saturday's 24-10 loss to Florida at EverBank Field, the Bulldogs had their worst punting display of the season.
Both freshman starter Marshall Long and redshirt junior Brice Ramsey averaged 32 yards per punt, with Long getting five opportunities and Ramsey his first three attempts of the season. Long had a 20-yard punt at the 5:12 mark of the second quarter, while Ramsey had a 25-yard attempt early in the third.
"It's punt-to-punt and a-thrill-a-minute," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "I feel like our kicker has improved, but punting continues to be an issue. To be honest, I didn't expect to use Brice today, because I had complete confidence that Marshall was going to kick the ball. He kicked the ball well in practice. He really did.
"He's struggling a little bit, and he's in a slump, but we're going to get him out of that slump because we love him. He's a good punter, but he's struggling with rhythm, struggling with timing and he's not getting the hang time we need, which can be dangerous."
Long entered Saturday's contest averaging 39.3 yards per game, which ranked last in the Southeastern Conference. Ramsey, who also serves as the third-string quarterback, averaged 41.9 yards last season on 25 attempts.
"It felt good to get in, because it had been a good little while," Ramsey said. "It's weird that the first time I punted this season was the Florida game, and the first time I punted last season was the Florida game. It was kind of a homecoming to get to go back out there and kick again."
Sanders yet again
Georgia junior safety Dominick Sanders quickly snuffed Florida's first possession with an interception of Luke Del Rio that he returned 31 yards to the 25-yard line of the Gators. His interception set up a 25-yard Rodrigo Blankenship field goal for the first points of the game and marked the 11th pickoff of his career.
Jake Scott (1967-68) and Bacarri Rambo (2009-12) share the school record at 16.
Sanders is much closer to Georgia's career record for interception return yardage, with his 31-yard scamper giving him 300 return yards for his career. Only Scott (315) and Scott Woerner (303) had more return yards off interceptions in their Bulldogs careers.
A 6-foot, 189-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Tucker, Sanders was not able to finish the game due to what Smart said was an injury to his MCL. Smart did not believe the injury would be serious.
Odds and ends
Sophomore defensive tackle Daquan Hawkins-Muckle had six tackles but had to be helped from the field with 2:06 remaining with what Smart said was a high-ankle sprain. Junior receiver Javon Wims, who played at Hinds (Miss.) Community College last season, and sophomore defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter, who was suspended the first six games of this season, got their first career starts. The Bulldogs were plus-1 in turnover margin against the Gators and are plus-6 for the season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.