NO. 8 GEORGIA (6-1, 3-1 SEC) vs. NO. 6 FLORIDA (7-1, 4-1)
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019
3:30 p.m. at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida
VIDEO & RADIO
CBS & 102.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
How Georgia handles Florida's deep receiving corps will be crucial, but the ultimate matchup will be a Bulldogs offensive line that leads the nation in fewest sack yards allowed (20) going against a pressuring Gators defense that has racked up 58 tackles for loss, 29 sacks and 12 interceptions. Georgia's tackle tandem of Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson battling Florida edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga will be worth the steep price of admission alone. Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm was sacked three times and threw 51 passes in the stunning loss to South Carolina last month, and the Bulldogs don't want a repeat of those numbers. "Jake has played well in these kind of situations when you're talking about having a team with really good rushers," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said, "but a lot of that is contingent on those two tackles blocking those two guys. (Florida defensive coordinator) Todd Grantham does a good job of mixing things up, and he plays different coverages when he plays a quarterback who's not a scrambler or a runner." Fromm has won both of his meetings with the Gators by a combined score of 78-24.
ONE TO WATCH
The team with the most rushing yards has won 13 consecutive Georgia-Florida games, and D'Andre Swift would love to make that 14 straight. Georgia's junior running back had 104 yards in last year's 36-17 triumph, and he has rushed for 752 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per carry this season. He has rushed for 292 yards in Georgia's past two contests, when the rest of the offense had some uncharacteristic struggles, and he believes last week's open date was very beneficial. "We worked on a lot of things," Swift said. "We worked on third-down situations, being more explosive and winning the one-on-one matchups. Everyone improved." Getting Swift established could negate Florida's pass-rushing success.
IN THE END
Two years ago, the Bulldogs rolled to a 42-7 humbling of the Gators, but Florida gained some ground last year and has done so again behind the stellar play of quarterback Kyle Trask. The winner today takes control of the Southeastern Conference's East Division. "If our guys aren't juiced to play in this game, then they've got problems," Florida coach Dan Mullen said. Georgia's offense could wake up and play its best game of the season, but the hunch here is the Gators are ripe to seize this opportunity.
PREDICTION
Florida 27, Georgia 24
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.