3 takeaways from Georgia's wild win over injury-plagued Florida

Well, that was strange.

We had a lot of injuries, a lot of blowouts late in the game and a lot of surprising decisions. But in the end, Georgia found a way to win a thriller 34-20 against Florida.

Carson Beck shook off a disastrous start to lead Georgia back against an injury-depleted Florida team.

Here are three takeaways from Georgia's win in Jacksonville:

1. DJ Lagway left the game with a “significant” hamstring injury (and a lead)

With 4:30 left to play in the second quarter, the worst-case scenario was looming for Florida. While trying to gain yards, Lagway suffered a hamstring injury. Lagway was carted off the field as Florida led 10-3 thanks to a deep shot score he passed to Aidan Mizell. Billy Napier said the five-star rookie's injury was “significant.”

It was certainly a “significant” drop with preferred walk-on/Yale transfer Aidan Warner. Florida's third-string quarterback – Graham Mertz had already suffered a season-ending knee injury against Tennessee – found himself in a difficult situation against the Georgia defense.

Warner led Florida to a game-winning scoring drive after UGA scored two straight touchdowns. But his late interception on CJ Allen was all she wrote about Florida's attempt at a surprise bid.

Florida struggled and did so without its top two quarterbacks (Lagway and Mertz), its top two cornerbacks (Jason Marshall Jr. and Dijon Johnson), its top receiver (Tre Harris) and its top running back (Montrell Johnson Jr). But in the end, the Florida team without Lagway wasn't enough to defeat the relentless Georgia.

2. Carson Beck was…a lot

Beck threw three interceptions for the second straight game. Yes. In 2 games, Beck threw as many interceptions as he did in the entire 2023 season. If that doesn't tell you how different Beck was, I don't know what will. It was mostly a day to forget for the Georgia quarterback in his hometown.

However, after those three interceptions, he was 12 of 14 for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. Similar to the all-important third-quarter performance in Texas, Beck didn't shake off those mistakes until late. His 3rd-and-7 conversion against Arian Smith in a 20-20 game in the 4th quarter was the play of the day.

Beck continues to have extremely high highs and extremely low lows. It remains to be seen whether this will stabilize over time.

The only thing that mattered Saturday was that he found a way to put drives together when it mattered most.

3. UGA now has to go head-to-head against a potentially desperate Ole Miss team

And by the way: Ole Miss beat Arkansas and will go into the duel with the No. 1 scoring defense in America thanks to a vastly improved defensive line. In terms of a defensive line designed specifically for teams like Georgia.

In other words, after the difficulties he has shown over the last month, Beck will face a major test. A man with three consecutive interceptions will find no shortage of pressure in a hostile atmosphere. Ole Miss is clinging to its playoff hopes with two losses, while UGA will look to keep its SEC Championship hopes alive.

But Saturday was all about coming to Oxford with a defeat. Georgia took an indirect route there, but came out of Jacksonville with a win.