JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 No. 5 Georgia never panicked. Not when Florida took the lead in the fourth quarter and not when the Gators had a chance to put the game away late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If anything, the Bulldogs were comfortable and confident chasing points down the stretch. It’s what they’ve done all season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gunner Stockton threw two touchdown passes,\u00a0Chauncey Bowens scored on a late 36-yard run<\/a>\u00a0and Georgia\u00a0escaped the rivalry known as the \u201cWorld\u2019s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party\u201d with a 24-20 victory against the Gators<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another week, another rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s better than the alternative, isn’t it?\u201d coach Kirby Smart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the Bulldogs’ fifth consecutive victory in the series and their eighth in the last nine meetings. But this one was closer than any of those others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Georgia\u00a0stopped Florida on a fourth-and-1 at the Bulldogs 18-yard line with a little less than eight minutes to go<\/a>, a momentum-turning play in a back-and-forth game. Stockton and Zachariah Branch took over from there, putting Georgia (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) in position for its fourth come-from-behind victory in six league games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don’t write the scripts,\u201d Smart quipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has witnessed plenty of similar endings. Bowens darted up the middle and scampered untouched to the end zone for the go-ahead score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida (3-5, 2-3) had a chance late, but DJ Lagway’s deep pass short-hopped intended receiver J. Michael Sturdivant. Sturdivant got behind the defense and probably would have scored had the pass not been badly underthrown. Smart called his team \u201cinsanely lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat’s how it’s been the past couple games,\u201d Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette said. \u201cWe get more energy as the game goes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stockton, a noted alligator hunter in the offseason, completed 20 of 29 passes for 223 yards. Branch caught 10 passes for 112 yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bowens and Nate Frazier combined for 115 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida played inspired football in its first game since firing coach Billy Napier. Receiver Eugene Wilson III was the biggest benefactor of Napier’s departure. He more than doubled his receiving yards on the season, finishing with nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interim coach Billy Gonzales, who simplified the playbook, made an aggressive call to go for it on fourth down. But giving the ball to Jadan Baugh up the middle was as predictable as anything Napier did in his four seasons with the Gators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019re hurting. Our staff\u2019s hurting. I\u2019m hurting,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cWe came here to win. We fell short.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nPoll implications<\/h4>\n\n\n\n