The rivalry will be renewed on Saturday. No. 11 Florida (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) and Georgia (5-2, 3-2 SEC) meet at Everbank Field at 3:30 p.m. with control of the SEC East on the line. Here’s what to watch for from Georgia on Saturday.
Offense: Georgia lives and dies by its run game. The Bulldogs are second in the conference with 215.6 yards on the ground per game, trailing only LSU. Even with standout tailback Nick Chubb sidelined with ligament damage in his left knee, the duo of Sony Michel and Keith Marshall has filled in nicely. Since Chubb injured his knee on the first play of scrimmage against Tennessee, Michel has tallied 232 yards on 48 carries (4.8 yards/rush).
Quarterback Greyson Lambert can hold his own as well. The former Virginia signal caller has completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,276 yards and nine touchdowns to just two interceptions. Malcolm Mitchell has been his go-to receiver. The senior is averaging five catches and 72.1 yards per game, marks that respectively rank eighth and sixth in the conference.
Defense: Georgia’s strongest assets on defense are its pass defense and its production on third down. The Bulldogs have held opponents to a mere 187 passing yards per game, which puts them second in the SEC and 26th nationally. Georgia has held four of its seven opponents to under 200 yards passing and only Vanderbilt completed multiple touchdown passes (three) in a game against UGA’s secondary.
Georgia also ranks second in the conference and is tied for 11th nationally with a 28.7 percent opponent third-down conversion rate. Four of UGA’s five SEC opponents this year converted one-third or less of their third-downs.
Special Teams: The Bulldogs have proven to be dangerous in the punt return game. Georgia is one of six teams in the country to return two punts for touchdowns this season and is one of just four teams with two different players taking punts to the house. Otherwise, though, UGA’s special teams are relatively lackluster, ranking in the bottom half of the conference in kickoff returns (13th, 15.5 yards/return), field-goal percentage (10th, 64.3 percent) and punting (13th, 39.5 yards/punt and 33.6 net yards/punt).
Player to Watch: Leonard Floyd
All season, Floyd has been around the ball at the right time. The junior is tied for second on UGA’s defense with 21 solo tackles and has six tackles for loss, including a team-high-tying three sacks. He returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against Tennessee, giving the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead.
A look back at last year’s matchup
Florida wasn’t supposed to beat Georgia in 2014. But behind running backs Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones, the unranked Gators prevailed, upsetting the No. 11 Bulldogs 38-20 in Jacksonville. Florida gashed Georgia’s defense for 418 rushing yards and five touchdowns on a season-high 60 carries while then-freshman Treon Harris — starting his first collegiate game — attempted a mere six passes.
Series history: Georgia leads the all-time series 49-41-2. The Gators have won six of the last 10, with four of the games being decided by four points or less.
Fun fact: Saturday’s game will mark the first time since 2009 that an unranked Georgia team will face a ranked Florida team.
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Georgia quarterback Greyson Lambert throws during UGA's 9-6 win over Missouri on Oct. 17, 2015, at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.
