JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Florida and Georgia kept piling up the yards and points Saturday at EverBank Field, Bulldogs junior receiver A.J. Green kept missing out on the fun.
Green was held to one catch for 7 yards in the first half and had just two receptions for 12 yards through three quarters. He finished the 34-31 overtime loss with a season-low 42 yards on four catches, and two of Aaron Murray’s three interceptions were on passes intended for him, including the one in OT.
“They play a defense where they’re going to have an extremely high safety,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “We called a lot of things for A.J. that just ended up going to other guys, and the tight ends benefited from that, and so did Tavarres King and Kris Durham.”
Tight end Orson Charles had the first 100-yard game of his career with six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, while King had the second of his career with three grabs for 104 and a score. Durham had to leave the game after safety Will Hill knocked the wind out of him at the 9:22 mark of the second quarter but returned to catch three passes for 41 yards.
Green did have two moments late, making a diving 15-yard reception that helped set up his 15-yard touchdown that tied the game 31-31 with 4:36 remaining.
“They didn’t do anything different from what other teams have done,” Green said. “That’s a good defensive football team with some great schemes. They threw a couple of things at us that we had to make some adjustments to, but you saw T.K. and Durham pick up the slack.”
Punting showdown
Georgia’s Drew Butler and Florida’s Chas Henry were expected to provide a solid punting show and didn’t disappoint.
Henry, who entered leading the SEC with a 52-yard average, had six punts for a 46.8-yard average and placed his last attempt on Georgia’s 4 with 54 seconds left in regulation. Butler, who won the national Ray Guy award a year ago, averaged 45.4 yards on five attempts and answered Henry’s late punt with a 50-yarder.
“He’s somebody I’ve looked up to the past couple of years,” Butler said. “He’s my age, but he got to come in and start right away at Florida. He’s played at a high level consistently, and he’s won an SEC and a national championship. He didn’t get to punt too much with [Tim] Tebow and that offense last year.
“We texted a good bit during the summer, but we’re a lot busier now, so that has kind of toned down. They are asking him to do a lot right now.”
Getting there early
Former Georgia coach Vince Dooley made sure he was in the press box more than three hours before kickoff so he could find a television and watch Tennessee, coached by son Derek, play at South Carolina. Dooley attended three Vols games in September, when they hosted UT-Martin, Oregon and UAB, but hasn’t since.
He watched Georgia’s 41-14 win Oct. 9 over Tennessee from his Athens residence, but wife Barbara attended wearing an orange sweater and red pants.
“She hasn’t been to all of them, either,” Dooley said Saturday during the early stages of South Carolina’s eventual 38-24 win. “There is a part of her saying, ‘Why am I going through this again?'”
Odds and ends
Georgia junior cornerback Brandon Boykin had 111 yards on four kickoff returns and is 22 yards away from breaking Gene Washington’s career mark of 1,637 set in 1973-76. … Bulldogs junior kicker Blair Walsh, a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, made a 28-yard field goal at the 5:18 mark of the third quarter and has made at least one field goal in 17 straight games. … Florida junior tailback Chris Rainey’s 45-yard kickoff return to the Georgia 49-yard line early in the fourth quarter was the first return the Bulldogs have allowed past midfield all season. … The Bulldogs dropped to 4-3 in overtime games after playing their first since 2007, when they won 26-23 at Alabama.