Florida Gators Stock Report: Defense on the Rise, Special Teams Tumbles

Let's see which stocks are up and which are down after the Gators take rival Georgia virtually down to the wire

The Florida Gators see some key stocks on the rise after a surprise fight against rival Georgia / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators (4-4, 2-3 SEC) fell to the Georgia Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC) 34-20 in a game that was much tighter than the final score suggests. 

With that, it’s time for a stock report. Let’s see which stocks were on the rise this week, and let’s see which ones took a dive. 

Stock Up 

Ja’Kobi Jackson, Running Back

Another Gators running back has a breakout game, and it comes against the second-ranked team in the country. Jackson rushed for a season-high 74 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry and picked up a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

The running game had to pick up the slack as much as they could following the injury to quarterback D.J. Lagway. He and Baugh certainly did that. 

Gators Defense

The stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story. They picked off quarterback Carson Beck three times - almost a fourth - and completely stifled Georgia’s offense in the first half. Arguably, only 20 of the 34 points were on them. 

Warner’s interception and the botched snap on the special teams put them in spots they wouldn’t have been in otherwise for the two touchdowns that followed. 

This defense continues to show improvement as the season goes on. They demolished UCF and Kentucky and have put up a fight against two rivals ranked in the top 10. That’s significant. 

Aidan Mizell, Wide Receiver

The redshirt freshman had a career night. He picked up the lone touchdown reception - his second on the season. In a game where the passing game fell to the wayside, Mizell managed to have himself a career game. 

His 66 receiving yards were 30 more than the next best in the game. Had Lagway been healthy for the entire game, he probably would’ve had more electric-looking numbers. But when put into context, it’s an impressive day. 

Stock Down 

Gators Special Teams

Trey Smack wouldn’t have been punished for missing a 51-yard attempt. There was no guarantee that the Gators go up 16-13 in that situation, and he had two field goals in the game. However, botching the snap and setting up Georgia to take the lead is inexcusable. 

If Georgia earns that touchdown following a field goal attempt then fair enough. But that was a major gift given to a team that was heavily playing down to the competition. That one moment tanks the stock. 

The Entire Gators Passing Game

There is no critique of the passing game from a performance standpoint. Lagway got hurt. It is what it is. They get a pass there. Even then, they got close to beating Georgia.

The reason the stock takes a dive is because of what this means for the rest of the season. Aidan Warner doesn’t look like a serviceable option going forward. Sure, Georgia is a tough team but it’s not like the competition gets any easier. The Gators play Texas, LSU and Ole Miss in that order over the next six weeks - all SEC teams ranked in the Top 25. Maybe they still beat Florida State just because they are that bad this year. 

With Lagway, you might have the argument that they could play up to this competition and maybe even pull off some upsets. They nearly took Georgia to the wire with no quarterback. The uncertainty going forward leads to calls to sell, sell, sell.