Coming off a bye week, No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) is set to face Florida this Saturday in Jacksonville.
The Gators (5-2, 3-1) struggled earlier this season, but are on a two-game winning streak, with their most recent victory a come-from-behind 41-39 win over South Carolina two weeks ago.
Georgia leads the all-time series 55-44-2, with a 48-41-1 advantage when the game is played in Jacksonville. Since 2021, the Bulldogs also have been on a two-game winning streak over the Gators.
“I know our guys will be excited to play in Jacksonville, an incredible stadium and atmosphere. I know our players love playing in the neutral-site game,” UGA head coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s just kind of different in terms of start, the fans, the split crowd. It seems to be a momentum-flow-type game because the team that has momentum is really at home for that moment. Then it goes back and forth. It’s been a game of momentum swings.”
The Gators started the season 0-1 after a bad loss to Utah. However, they’ve won five of the last six, with the only loss being a 33-14 defeat to Kentucky, which Georgia beat 51-13 a week later.
Florida coach Billy Napier now has his team back in the hunt for an SEC East title. Smart is familiar with Georgia native Napier, as the two worked together at Alabama under Nick Saban.
“Have lot of respect for Billy [Napier]. Always have liked Billy a lot. He does a really good job as a football coach, as a man, as a person,” Smart said on Monday. “Admire him and the way he coaches and goes about things. Very detail oriented. No stone left unturned, and they play that way. Got a lot of respect for the way they play and know a lot of guys on their staff. It’ll be a physical game. It always is.”
Florida relies heavily on its offense, which averages 29.14 points per game but is ranked ninth in the SEC. Meanwhile, the Gators are facing the nation’s No. 7 overall scoring defense (14.0 points per game). The Bulldogs are hoping to shut them down after giving up 20 points to Vanderbilt on Oct. 14.
Florida quarterback Graham Mertz has been effective, completing 76 percent of his passes for 1,897 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. The Wisconsin transfer averages 271 yards per game.
The Gators’ running game is the focal point of its offense, though. So far, junior Montrell Johnson Jr. and sophomore Trevor Etienne have combined for 845 yards and seven scores this year.
At wide receiver, senior Ricky Pearsall ranks fifth in the conference in receiving yards (619). The Gators also have Arlis Boardingham and Eugene Wilson III, who’s missed a few games.
Smart called Wilson “an elite player” and pointed out the Gators are “creative” in getting him the football.
“I think Mertz knows that. He does a great job within Billy’s system of knowing when to take the shot, the check down, when to put him in the right play,” Smart continued. “If you’re just in the right play more often, you tend to have more success. He’s done a really good job of that for them.”
Smart also complimented Florida’s offensive scheme, a balance of Mertz’s impressive ability to throw the ball downfield while also relying on Johnson and Etienne to pick up yards on the ground.
“It’s never all about pressure. It’s about controlling the line of scrimmage, not giving up explosives … that’s what you’re looking for and that’s what football has become,” Smart said. “Teams are trying to find them. They [Florida] throw the ball vertically down the field. Billy [Napier] always has. A team that runs the ball well, that’s what they should do. They have a stable of backs that are as good as we’ve faced.”
Florida’s defense isn’t as stout as last year’s unit, but the Gators still have playmakers on that side of the ball, led by Princely Umanmielen, Scooby Williams and James Shemar.
Overall, Smart doesn’t want his players to overlook a much-improved Florida team from Week 1.
“They’ve played their best football probably the last two weeks or so,” he said. “You look at the statistics on their quarterback, he’s probably … the number-one quarterback in the country for two games in terms of the way he has played. You can tell he’s got a lot of confidence in their offense and their system … they’re playing at a really high level right now and doing a great job with it.”
