Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm leaves no doubt against Florida Gators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was as if nothing had changed: Jake Fromm conscientiously took his place in the center of the cameras, always sweaty, covered with red spots and smiling through it all.

Under head coach Kirby Smart, Fromm was the playful face of Georgia, who is now a two-year-old quintessential coach in the quarterback and whose career has been largely filled with victories like that of Saturday afternoon. facing Florida.

But looking into a post-match media scrum, his back against the wall in the bowels of TIAA Bank Field – a metaphor perhaps too subtle – Fromm's smile could barely conceal his relief.

In the biggest game of the season, if not in his relatively young career, the 240 assists of Fromm and the three touchdowns led the Bulldogs to a 36-17 victory over the Gators. More importantly, the performance may have ended, at least for now, in the speculation that Fromm was ready to give up his position to Justin Fields, a tempting first-year student.

"There is no other way to say it: I had to get better," said Fromm after the win. "I really wanted to make a statement today."

Fromm received a neat response after the worst game of his career: a 16-of-34 debacle, three interceptions and three sacks in a 20-point loss to LSU on 13 October. He had never looked so bad in a big game and the Bulldogs were pushed to the brink of being eliminated from the playoff race.

This loss to Death Valley has left Georgia a damaged mark, its aura of invincibility – rivaled and surpassed only by the first rank of Alabama – breakthrough in a humble improbability at the hands of the Tigers.

It also seems that the Bulldogs have been plunged into a general identity crisis. After winning their first six games with an average margin of 30 points, they were harassed along the line of scrimmage, and Fromm finally resembled the kind of limited game manager that would prevent them from claiming the title of the Eastern SEC. – without even challenging the Crimson Tide for the league championship.

In the last week between the loss of LSU and Florida's victory, Smart did not dismiss speculation. The fields could play a bigger role in the second half of the season. He even hinted that the coaching staff had been discussing inserting Fields into the LSU game to relieve Fromm in trouble. "We thought a lot and talked a lot about it," he told reporters last week.

But against Florida, Fields was not necessary and certainly was not metamorphosed. Fromm regained his efficiency – after all, he entered the game in fifth place nationally – and the Bulldogs escaped a negligible game to get away from the Gators in the fourth quarter.

Fields did not even play Saturday, an absence that seemed to confirm Fromm's stance on the starting point.