It’s that time of the year again. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has finally arrived as the Florida Gators will look to spoil the Georgia Bulldogs party. It has been a rough season for Florida Gators with the all of the suspensions and injuries. On the other side, the 3rd ranked Georgia Bulldogs look as dominate as they have been in the past decade. Even with the Gators having a down season, this is still a game that is very unpredictable and could go either. Since the game was moved to Jacksonville in 1996, the Florida Gators have a 15-6 record against the Dawgs. Here is the preview of the Florida-Georgia game.
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators (3-3) are coming off a much needed bye week with all the negativity and injuries around the problem. Florida has dropped the last two games and the offense has started to take steps backwards after a good performance against Vanderbilt. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks has received a lot of the criticism for his inability to find open receivers. Franks has taken a few steps backwards after looking solid the first two games of the season. The good news for the Florida offense is that WRs Tyrie Cleveland and Kadarius Toney look like they’ll be to play after missing a few games. If the Gators expect to win, they’re going after air it out a little bit since Georgia will try to stop to Florida’s rushing attack. The offensive line must play its best game to help create running lanes and a clean pocket for Franks.
As for the Florida defense, they are going to have to stack up the box and slow down Georgia’s prolific run game. Senior running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will be vocal points for the Florida defense as they will try to make Georgia QB, Jake Fromm, beat them. Fromm has had a nice freshman season and seems to have a bright future but if the Gators could pressure Fromm, it could force a few bad throws and turnovers. For the Gators to win, the defense has to force a few turnovers to help their offense. Giving the Florida offense a short field will really help them put points on the board.
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs (7-0) will look to continue to set the world on fire as they play the Florida Gators. The Georgia Bulldogs will look to lean on their rushing attack as they have some of the best running backs in the country. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel were dominated last season by the Gators. They will look for revenge as they didn’t rush for over 20 yards. The Bulldogs will also need Jake Fromm to be at his best. The Gators will likely play a base defense and play one-on-one against Georgia’s receivers. The Georgia offensive line also has to be at its best as they will be going up against a tough Florida front seven that creates pressure by only blitzing four. The Florida defense performed very well against a talented Texas A&M offense allowing only 19 points.
The Georgia Bulldogs defense will also have tough task as the Florida offense has a very solid running game. Malik Davis and Lamical Perine have surprised a lot of people with their stellar play this season and Georgia will look to stop the Florida run game. Just like the Gators, the Bulldogs will likely stack up the box and force Feleipe Franks to beat them. Having their best two receivers back helps but Franks has had issues finding open receivers and making bad decisions. The Georgia defensive line led by Trent Thompson will look to get to the quarterback early and often to force sacks and possibly turnovers. This will also be a tough task for the Bulldogs defense even though Florida’s offense continues to struggle.
5 Players to Watch: Florida
- RB Malik Davis
- RB Lamical Perine
- LB David Reese
- DE Cece Jefferson
- WR Tyrie Cleveland
5 Players to Watch: Georgia
- RB Nick Chubb
- RB Sony Michel
- DT Trent Thompson
- LB Lorenzo Carter
- QB Jake Fromm
5 Predictions:
- David Reese had 10+ tackles.
- Georgia gets a rushing touchdown.
- Florida rushes for over 100 yards.
- Georgia has at least five sacks in the game.
- Georgia beats Florida 24-14.
