Georgia freshman running back Nick Chubb (27) had another good game Saturday in the loss to Florida in Jacksonville. Chubb, from Cedartown, has run for 501 yards in his three starts while Todd Gurley has been suspended.Georgia was no match for Florida this past Saturday in Jacksonville, but nobody is hanging the surprise defeat on Bulldogs freshman tailback Nick Chubb.
Making his third consecutive start in the absence of suspended star Todd Gurley, the 5-foot-10, 228-pounder from Cedartown rushed 21 times for 156 yards and a touchdown. In his past three games, Chubb has 89 carries for 501 yards and four rushing scores.
Chubb also caught five passes for 59 yards and a touchdown against the Gators.
"He's a very good player, and he's a tough kid," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. "He's giving everything he's got, and we appreciate that."
Georgia had used Chubb's punishing runs to register rather easy road wins over Missouri and Arkansas, and it looked like more of the same against Florida. In the first two possessions Saturday, Chubb had eight carries for 76 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown that put the Bulldogs up 7-0.
Chubb had 14 carries for 101 yards in the first quarter, which ended with Marshall Morgan missing a 39-yard field-goal attempt that could have made it a 10-0 game.
"We came out running the ball," Chubb said. "We ran hard and had some holes open up, and it was great play-calling. After that, they just came out and had the momentum and played harder than us.
"We had been up in our last two games in the first half, so getting ahead early was normal for us. When they came on us we had to respond, and it didn't go our way."
After Marshall's miss, the game changed abruptly, as Florida ran 38 plays for 279 yards compared to Georgia's 12 plays for 32 in a stretch that coincided with a 24-point surge by the Gators. The Bulldogs were dormant until Chubb broke free for a 35-yard gain late in the third quarter, but he was stripped by safety Brian Poole on the play and fumbled.
That was the first turnover by the Bulldogs since Gurley's suspension, and the Gators responded by taking a 31-7 lead.
"He's very good in ball security as far as his habits are concerned," Richt said, "and Florida did a good job of raking it out of there."
Said Chubb: "I think I did well in the game, but I could have been better."
Chubb has not had much support the past two games, with backup Brendan Douglas rushing three times for 10 yards at Arkansas and four times for a yard in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs will play once more, this week at Kentucky, before Gurley's return.
Odds and ends
Richt said Monday night on his radio show that he expects senior center David Andrews (ankle) to play against the Wildcats. ... The Bulldogs hold a 53-12-2 series lead over Kentucky and have won 15 of the past 17 meetings. ... Georgia's home game next week against Auburn will either be on CBS at 3:30 p.m. or ESPN at 7:15.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.