MVDs: Florida Edition

You don’t emerge victorious in Jacksonville and send the Florida Gators plummeting to 1-4 in the SEC without a total team effort. But even then, some Georgia Bulldogs are bound to distinguish themselves over and above the rest. They are the MVDs, your Most Valuable ‘Dawgs from Georgia’s 42-20 win over Florida.

Offense: Daijun Edwards. I went back and forth between Edwards and Brock Bowers for a while before finally deciding. My rationale is that Bowers’ contributions were certainly noteworthy, even spectacular. But Edwards’ were indispensable. In particular, his 22 yard touchdown scamper to extend the lead to 35-20 in particular was a shot of life when the Red and Black needed it most.

Defense: Javon Bullard. Bullard’s hit in Anthony Richardson in the Gators’ first offensive snap May have set the tone. But it was his play for the remainder of the afternoon that really shone. Bullard had, among other things, a key pass breakup and a QB pressure that helped force a Gator punt. In total he had 8 tackles, including 5 solo stops. It was a monstrously productive day for the Milledgeville native who’s becoming one of the more reliable fixtures in a thin Bulldog secondary.

Special Teams: Ladd McConkey. McConkey didn’t do anything spectacular in the punt return game yesterday. In fact, he only returned 1 kick for a grand total of 7 yards. But what McConkey did do was avoid catastrophe in the punt game. If you’ve ever been down to Jacksonville for this game you know that the wind whipping around TIAA Stadium is a near constant threat that makes judging and fielding kicks an adventure. McConkey generally judged Gator kicks well and let the ones go that needed to be, a tough skill for a guy who wants to make plays in a big game. There were a couple of points in this one at which McConkey could have courted disaster but had the good sense not to, and that deserves to be recognized.

Feel free as always to drop your choices in the comments.

Go ‘Dawgs !!!