No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs travel to Jacksonville for 100th matchup with Florida

Georgia and Florida are set to resume their historic rivalry Saturday for the 100th time.

Or the 99th, depending on whether you count a 1904 matchup between UGA and one of Florida’s predecessor schools (Georgia does, Florida doesn’t).

There isn’t much on which these two teams agree. Regardless of how many times they’ve battled it out on the gridiron, their next matchup is the one each coach is focused on: the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is set for this Saturday.

The two teams have been trending in opposite directions.

After Florida beat Georgia 44-28 in 2020, the Gators lost in a close game to Alabama in the SEC Championship before falling in the Cotton Bowl to Oklahoma. They lost three of their first five SEC games, earning a moral victory in the form of a two-point loss to the Crimson Tide before dropping games to Kentucky and LSU.

Georgia closed out the season on a four-game winning streak, including a Peach Bowl victory over Cincinnati. The Bulldogs picked up in 2021 where they left off, grabbing wins in their first seven games including victories over ranked opponents Clemson, Arkansas, Kentucky and Auburn.

UGA head coach Kirby Smart said rankings and records don’t matter for Saturday’s game.

“Our kids understand that one of their losses was to Alabama, in which they played a really good game at home, and they had an opportunity to win. And then it was two road games,” Smart said. “It’s not about records and I don’t think it ever is. It’s a lot more about what we do, not about records.”

Smart added “It’s a tough conference. A lot of games are decided really close, typically. Florida has been in a couple of those that they ended up on the short side of, but they have a really good football team.”

Florida comes into the game with one of the most potent rushing attacks in the country. The Gators are ranked fourth in the FBS with 254 yards per game and have a stable of talented backs, as well as a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks.

The strength of the Georgia defense is its ability to stop the run. The Bulldogs rank second in the country giving up just 63 yards per game and have allowed just one rushing touchdown all season.

In last year’s meeting, Florida head coach Dan Mullen was able to exploit a weakness in the Georgia defense by using the wheel route out of the backfield. The running backs combined for more than 200 yards of receiving despite not reaching 100 yards rushing — their impact swung the game in Florida’s favor.

Smart and the Georgia defense is aware of the threat heading into this year’s meeting. but don’t expect them to make major adjustments to what they have done all season.

“We’re not changing our entire defense because of that. We’ve got an answer for it. But there’s things that can hurt you when you just play for the wheel that can hurt you in other ways.” Smart said. “ We’re gonna do all we can to make sure that doesn’t happen but they also lead the country in rushing yards per attempt. So you can only protect the wheel so much when they’re running the ball for six and seven yards a clip.”

One key contributor for Georgia sat out last season’s meeting. Jordan Davis, the defensive tackle who is receiving Heisman Trophy buzz, was forced to sit against Florida due to an elbow injury.

Davis has been one of the biggest reasons behind the Bulldogs 7-0 start this season and is the anchor of the run defense. Smart said Davis forces more third and long situations for the opposing offense when he is in the game.

Former Upson-Lee standout Travon Walker said having Davis in this game will help free up players like himself to make plays against the Florida offense.

“Jordan is a great person to have on the inside because he is a big guy,” Walker said. “He takes up multiple blocks. That frees up a lot of guys, and it makes the ball bounce outside more. It helps me out to make more plays.”

THREE FLORIDA PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. Florida QB: Emory Jones has been the starter all season after serving as a backup for the last three seasons.

Anthony Richardson is the talented young star and dons the number 15, the first Florida quarterback to do so since Tim Tebow.

“Hey, we might come out in the wishbone on Saturday. All three tailbacks then started and no receiver started,” Mullen said. “Even if we ran that for one play, that defines then who the starter was. So I don’t get caught up in all that stuff — starting the game — as the flow of the game, who plays the most plays. A good question everybody should do is who finishes the game.”

Mullen is correct — it is about who finishes the game for the Gators. If Florida is going to win this game, it will almost assuredly come down to Anthony Richardson. He has the higher ceiling of the two quarterbacks and the best chance to pull the upset.

Jones has been at his best this season when Richardson was ruled out for the game, likely because he wasn’t looking over his shoulder to see when the other quarterback would sub in.

Against Alabama, Jones put up more than 270 yards of offense and scored a pair of touchdowns, nearly leading the Gators to an upset over Alabama. Richardson was sidelined with an injury

Mullen may not have named a starter yet, but it ultimately may not matter, as he has already said he plans to play both quarterbacks.

However, if the Gators leave Jacksonville with a win, it will be because number 15 put on a performance for the ages. Georgia fans have heard that line before.

2. Brenton Cox, Florida OLB: Cox has played on both sides of this rivalry, as he was on the winning side when Georgia beat Florida in 2018 before transferring in 2019. Last season, he played in his second Georgia-Florida game, and once again he went home as a winner only this time in a different uniform.

Cox may not be the Gators top defensive prospect or biggest playmaker, but he has additional motivation heading into this game.

“Obviously it do, just going against my old teammates, my old friends,” he said. “It means a lot just to show them how much I improved over the years and just show what I can do out there.”

Cox and the pass rush manage to knock Stetson Bennett out of the game last year as defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, a former Georgia coach himself, dialed up the pressure all game. Expect more of the same this year.

3. Nay’Quan Wright, Florida RB: Wright isn’t the Gators starting running back. In fact, he’s currently fifth on the team in rushing yards, behind both quarterbacks and a pair of running backs. However, it’s arguable that Wright is the most explosive running back Florida will deploy against the Georgia defense.

In last year’s meeting, Wright finished with three catches for 71 yards, including a 50-yard catch and run that set up a game-tying Kyle Pitts touchdown. The momentum swung in Florida’s favor after that drive.

If the Gators are going to pull off the upset, they will need a few explosive chunk plays along the way — Wright is the kind of player that can deliver that for them.

HOW TO WATCH

Who: No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0 SEC) vs. Florida Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC)

Where: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville

When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: CBS

THIS WEEK’S SEC BETTING ODDS, SCHEDULE

Georgia is favored by 14 over Florida. Georgia has won three of its last five games against Florida but suffered a 44-28 loss to the Gators last season.

College football point spreads, according to ESPN Consensus.

• 3 p.m. — Missouri (-16.5) at Vanderbilt
• 3:30 p.m — Florida at Georgia (-14)
• 7 p.m. — Ole Miss at Auburn (-2.5)
• 7 p.m. — Kentucky (-1.5) at Mississippi State