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Florida finally got over the hump with its win over Georgia on Saturday. The proverbial pressure to beat Kirby Smart is released for at least a year. But, that doesn’t mean Florida can’t be evaluated.

The issue is, though, that game was so hilariously dumb at times it makes assessing Florida’s performance just all that more difficult. But, let’s give it a go anyway.

Offense: A

I grappled with giving an “A” to the Gator offense because someone could look at it and see definite good and bad aspects. But, put it in the context of throwing up those numbers against one of the nation’s toughest defenses and it makes the production even more impressive. The Gators passed Alabama (41) with the most points scored against the Dawgs defense this season (44). However, 38 of those came in the first half. Obviously teams make adjustments at halftime but multiple drives poised to put the game away ended in either punts or field goals. That’s not conducive to a winning formula.

Stop me if you heard this before: Kyle Trask had a great game. He finished 30-for-43 for 474 yards and four touchdowns. At one point he was converting nearly 80 percent of his passes. He still made some bad decisions (throwing to covered, standing receivers along with a pick six plus he nearly threw a second one). But the man provided his team a performance Florida needed to beat a big-time opponent. My favorite part of the whole thing? His connection with the backs. Malik Davis led all backs and receivers with 100 yards on five catches. But the law firm of Davis, Pierce and Wright combined for 212 on 10 grabs. Those catches came in clutch situations whether for first downs, big gains or to bail out Trask facing pressure. The wheel route was undefeated Saturday.

Also, they did all this and Kyle Pitts wasn’t even in the whole game. Kemore Gamble stepped big with some catches in Pitts’s spot along with a wide open touchdown on a, you guessed it, wheel route.

Defense: B+

You can separate the Florida defensive effort between “Before 14-0” and “After 14-0.” That’s how unalike they were.

After that 75-yarder by Georgia to start the game I didn’t think this grade would appear. However, the Bulldogs’ next offensive touchdown wasn’t until D’Wan Mathis hit Kearis Jackson over the middle with 00:41 left in the third quarter. In fact, Georgia only gained 90 yards on the ground after Zamir White housed it from his own 25 on the first play from scrimmage. In fact, he only had 32 the rest of the game. The defensive line made a great effort to stop the Georgia run game despite some lapses (you’ll have those) along with being able to harass Mathis and Stetson Bennett in the pocket.

Let’s not forget the secondary. The DBs posted their first turnovers of the season through the air with two interceptions plus a pick by linebacker Amari Burney. The first one by Kaiir Elam put an end to Georgia’s first possession of the second half. The final one by Shawn Davis ended Georgia’s last gasp to add to the scoreboard total. They definitely benefited from UGA’s shaky quarterback play because several times Georgia QBs missed wide open receivers. Although, they say it’s better to be lucky than good. Not to sound like a downer, opposing receivers get open from time to time, it just means the secondary needs a little fine tuning.

Special Teams: C

A surprising lackluster performance from the Gators special teamers Saturday. Evan McPherson missed a field goal well within his range (although he finished 3-for-4) and Jacob Finn shanked his first punt of the game. Not to mention McPherson sending the kickoff out-of-bounds in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs good field position to start their eventual touchdown drive.

Let’s look at some return gaffes. On kickoff, Kearis Jackson almost broke a return open for six in the first quarter but a tackle by Justin Shorter helped prevent that. Plus, Kadarius Toney fielded a punt inside the 10 sticking Florida with a drive starting on its own five. It was surprising given Toney’s maturity in punt return this season. Special teams is still a good unit for the Gators. It just struggled a bit. It’ll bounce back.

In conclusion:

Look, Florida beat Georgia for the first time since 2016 and fans will take that no matter how the team played. It’s just apparent, like other teams, the Gators are still living with some weaknesses. But they continue to win and impress now on both sides of the football.

The road gets a little weirder now as the prodigal son, Feleipe Franks, returns with an incredibly stubborn Arkansas Razorbacks teams.