JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Carson Beck bounded into the stands with black eye paint on his face and a big smile. His three interceptions were a distant memory. All he cared about was what he cherished most when celebrating another victory in the game.

Beck threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns to offset three hometown interceptions and No. 2 Georgia escaped “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” with a 34-20 victory over Florida on Saturday.

Now he is 2-0 against the Gators as a starter.

“This is my dream. It’s a super cool circle for me,” Beck said. “This is my favorite game of the year. I wouldn’t say I’ve ever put pressure on myself. I’m going to play football. …Obviously I want to throw a perfect game: 30 for 30, four TDs. That’s what I thought about as I walked into the stadium. I felt like I was the guy walking back to my hometown of Jacksonville, let’s go. This is fun.

“What should I do? We just won. I am happy.”

But Beck knows he has to reduce turnovers — maybe even eliminate them — for Georgia to do anything special. He has eight interceptions in his last three games, all wins.

“Some of the throws he makes are big, elite throws,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He only threw the ball late over the middle a few times. You can’t do that. You can’t turn the ball over and be a good football team; he knows that.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of decision-making. I think he puts pressure on that sometimes, and it’s a big game for him; he’s from here. We won’t win that game without Carson Beck.”

The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) won their fourth straight in the series, their longest streak since winning six straight between 1978 and 1983. They took advantage of Florida’s quarterback woes and a special teams mistake in this one. .

Standout freshmen DJ Lagway left the game in the second quarter on a cart with a left hamstring injury and with the Gators (4-4, 2-3) holding a 10-3 lead. Without him it was especially ugly.

Walk-on Aidan Warner completed 7 of 22 passes for 66 yards, with an interception. Warner was pushed onto the field by Florida’s starter Graham Mertz tore a ligament in his left knee last month at Tennessee and is out for the season.

“I think the game went the way we wanted it to,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We made it ugly once. But we had our team in position to win the game.”

The Gators kept the game close thanks to a stingy defense that forced Beck into more mistakes. Jack Pyburn, Aaron Gates and Devin Moore had picks that led to a combined 10 points for Florida.

But the most important turnover was for the Gators. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw failed to handle Rocco Underwood’s low snap on a 51-yard field goal attempt late in the third. It resulted in a loss of 31 yards, setting up Beck’s first TD pass.

The takeaway

Georgia: If the Bulldogs make the College Football Playoff, they likely won’t get far if Beck continues his turnover trend. He now has 11 interceptions in his last five games. It’s mind-boggling for someone who opened the season as one of the Heisman Trophy frontrunners.

Florida: The Gators have to wonder how they ended up with a walk-on quarterback playing meaningful snaps in a rivalry game. Napier has lost eight scholarship QBs in three years, including Jalen Kitna, Jack Miller, Max Brown and Jaden Rashada.

Overcrowded injury reports

With Jason Marshall and Ja’Keem Jackson already sidelined, the Gators lost two more cornerbacks against Georgia. Moore injured his right knee in the first half and Dijon Johnson injured his left hamstring in the second.

Georgia running back Trevor Etienne, who transferred from Florida after last season, left the game with a rib injury. Backup Nate Frazier ran 19 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. He also got an earful from coach Kirby Smart after he was busted for making a throat-slash gesture.

Next

Georgia plays at No. 19 Ole Miss next Saturday.

Florida plays at No. 6 Texas next Saturday.

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