By: Domo Rowe
Heading into this rivalry game both teams are coming off bye weeks, But Florida may have enjoyed their bye week more than the Georgia Bulldogs. The 5-1 Gators beat Missouri and their potent passing offense 40-14 in their last game on October 15th. Georgia lost to Vanderbilt at home in their last game 17-16.
This specific game has been held in Jacksonville, Florida all but twice since the 1930s, so expect this battle of SEC rivals to be a great one. Florida (5-1) sits atop of the east standings with a 3-1 record, while Georgia (4-3, 2-3) has lost three of their last four games which has pretty much pushed them out of contention for the title.
Georgia leads the all-time series against Florida at 44-39- 2, but the Florida Gators have won the last two. In their last game against Vanderbilt, Quarterback Jacob Eason threw for 346 yards and one touchdown. Georgia finished with one touchdown in that game. During this game, Georgia could not get their ground game going. Both Nick Chubb and Sony Michel were held to 68 yards combined with zero touchdowns against Vanderbilt. Seeing as though Florida’s defense is better than Vanderbilt’s, Georgia must give the ball to their workhorse running backs and watch them work their magic. The defense needs to be fantastic, and the offense has to be consistent, and not turn the ball over. Georgia’s coach Kirby Smart has to run a smart and efficient game on his end so that his quarterback and his team can come out of Jacksonville with a win.
After missing three weeks due to a knee injury, Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio threw for 236 yards and one touchdown in Florida’s last game against Missouri. Though the Gators won by the score of 40-14, Del Rio was picked off three times and he only completed 18-for-38 of his passes. The Gators also lead the SEC in total defense, allowing only 252 yards per game, along with 19 sacks by five different players. The Bulldogs because they have had trouble getting their workhorse running backs more involved in the game over the past few weeks. They are also ranked No. one in pass efficiency defense and No. two in scoring defense, allowing seven points or fewer in four games this year. Florida really does not have to do anything out of the ordinary in this game. They must use their power running game to their advantage and also hope that quarterback Luke Del Rio is more efficient than he was against Missouri.
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