ATHENS, Ga. - Before the opening kickoff of their 2015 season, the Georgia Bulldogs didn't plan on losing at home to Alabama by four touchdowns.
They didn't plan on blowing a three-touchdown lead in a loss at Tennessee.
What they did establish as their chief objective was winning the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, a goal that remains intact as a turbulent month winds down. Georgia (5-2, 3-2 SEC) can move into a tie for first place in the East with a win Saturday afternoon over No. 11 Florida (6-1, 4-1) in Jacksonville, and the Bulldogs would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Gators during the stretch run.
"This is definitely a big deal," Bulldogs senior tight end Jay Rome said. "We're lucky that the chips have fallen this way, and if we come out and handle our business, we will be in control of our destiny."
Georgia was the overwhelming pick in July to win the East, with Tennessee picked second. Florida was projected fifth in Jim McElwain's first season, but the Gators got into the mix quickly by winning a 14-9 defensive struggle at Kentucky and posting a thrilling 28-27 comeback victory over the visiting Volunteers.
A Florida triumph Saturday would give the Gators five league wins and saddle every other East member with at least three defeats. McElwain is not toning down the importance of the showdown with the Bulldogs at EverBank Field.
"I'm one of those guys who truly thinks you've got to embrace the moment," McElwain said. "It doesn't matter what game Florida is playing in. Every game should be huge, because that's what makes it fun. That's why people come here.
"The game is going to take care of itself based on what you do in the now, but there is a pretty good chance Saturday is going to get here, and I tell our guys that we might as well go play it and have some fun doing it."
Florida could eliminate every East team except - yep - Vanderbilt with a win in Jacksonville. The Commodores are 1-3 in SEC play but could win the East by sweeping their final four league games, including their Nov. 7 trip to the Swamp, and by Florida also losing at South Carolina on Nov. 14.
The door to an East title reopened for Georgia on Oct. 17, when the Bulldogs escaped visiting Missouri 9-6 and Florida dropped its first league game with a 35-28 loss at LSU. Should the Bulldogs win Saturday, they could claim a third East title in five seasons and a sixth under coach Mark Richt by defeating visiting Kentucky on Nov. 7 and winning at Auburn on Nov. 14.
"We are this deep into the season, and we're playing Florida in a very meaningful game," Richt said. "We know that if we win the next three games that we're in, and obviously if Florida wins the next three, they're in. We're the two teams in the East who control our destiny, and that's where you hope to be."
Said McElwain: "Obviously we slipped up a couple of weeks ago in our last game, but these guys have done a good job of investing in themselves and investing in each other, and that's fun to see. I think we'll run out of the tunnel Saturday, and it should be a fun event."
The Georgia-Florida game is a spectacle in itself, as it's the only SEC game that splits the tickets evenly among the two fan bases. The teams have played in Jacksonville every year since the league began in 1933, except for the 1994 and '95 matchups while the stadium was renovated, and there is even a Hall of Fame for the game.
Yet the rivalry always has more spice when the East is on the line, and that's certainly what this year's matchup has delivered.
"So much is at risk right here - basically most of the season," Georgia senior defensive lineman Chris Mayes said. "We know that if we take this game and the next two games that we'll be kings of the East."
Contact David Paschall at daschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.