Florida Learned to Rush the Passer in Austin
Written by Jarvis Prime on October 19, 2026
Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Monday, October 19, 2026
Myles Graham calls Georgia the opportunity of a lifetime, and five sacks of Arch Manning say the Gators may have a pass rush to back it up.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
Myles Graham, a linebacker at the University of Florida, has called the Georgia game "the opportunity of a lifetime." Young men say that about plenty of things: a scholarship, a first truck, a girl from Valdosta who agreed to a second date. Most of them say it quietly. Graham said it out loud, the Gainesville Sun reported, right after he strip-sacked Arch Manning to finish off Texas. That earns a man some volume. "This is a game that we're really looking forward to," he added. I believe him. A fellow who just knocked the ball loose from the most famous quarterback in the country isn't looking forward to anything quietly.
Consider what Florida did in Austin. The Gators were down 17-3. They came back and won 27-24 at No. 7 Texas, held the Longhorns to 272 yards and sacked Manning five times. Kanye Clark fell on Graham's fumble to seal it. It was Florida's first road win over a top-10 team since 2012. What makes it strange is that the Gators went into that game ranked 113th in the country in points allowed per game. A different defense got off the bus in Texas, and nobody in Gainesville seems in a hurry to send it back.
A different defense got off the bus in Texas, and nobody in Gainesville seems in a hurry to send it back.
This is where a Georgia man starts to fidget. The Bulldogs are allowing sacks on 4.0 percent of dropbacks this season, against 2.6 percent in 2023. Auburn got to Gunner Stockton twice. Stockton also left that game for several plays to be checked for a concussion before he came back. Kirby Smart said, "He's had that before," and doesn't believe it affected his play. That may be so. But it's a fair thing to keep in mind when the defense waiting for him just spent a Saturday afternoon running over the top quarterback prospect in Texas.
The old cure for a good pass rush is to hand the ball to somebody large and let the rush chase him for a while. Georgia's numbers say it can: power success at 81.0 percent and a stuff rate of 9.8 percent. The trouble is who carries it. Georgia ran on only 39 percent of its plays against Auburn. Nate Frazier, back from his ribs, averaged 2.1 a carry, and Chauncey Bowens hasn't played since he hurt his leg against Vanderbilt. Two weeks off is Georgia's best chance to get Bowens back. Nothing else Georgia could do in the bye matters as much.
Las Vegas hasn't flinched. DraftKings has Georgia by 12.5 with a total of 53.5, the same numbers as the summer look-ahead, and the moneyline has firmed to Georgia at minus 550. The Moneyball model likes Georgia 30-21 and a 70 percent win, but it has the Bulldogs covering in only 41.7 percent of its simulations. ESPN's FPI is warmer at 82.7 percent. Smart, meanwhile, spent the weekend complaining about "really, really untimely, undisciplined, uncharacteristic penalties." Fix those, keep the quarterback clean, and the number may hold up. Give Myles Graham a third-and-long, and he'll have his opportunity of a lifetime.
The Notebook
- THE COUNTDOWN: Twelve days to Georgia and Florida: Saturday, October 31, 3:30 p.m. on ABC from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Florida is off this week too, and the first SEC availability report isn't due until Wednesday, October 28.
- AROUND THE COUNTRY: Ohio State beat Indiana 19-15 to end the defending champion's 22-game winning streak, BYU ended Notre Dame's 16-game streak 28-24, and Tennessee sacked Keelon Russell five times in a 26-10 win over Alabama.
- ON THE TRAIL: Rocky Top Insider reported that Christian Mays, a 6-foot-5, 340-pound lineman ranked the No. 1 JUCO defensive lineman, flipped from Tennessee to Georgia on Monday. He'd been committed to the Vols since June.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
Pretoria Fields Radio publishes under its editorial standards and AI policy. Spot an error? Write info@pretoriafieldsradio.com and we will correct it in the open.
