It is time for the World’s Largest Cocktail Party to commence. Old rivals Georgia and Florida will kick it off today at 3:30 p.m. in a game that holds national title implications- for the No. 1 Gators. The 4-3 Bulldogs do not have much to play for this time around, other than bragging rights and a possible second-tier bowl bid.
UF has looked a bit off recently in “ugly” wins over LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State. The Gators scored less than 30 points in three-straight games for the first time since an eight-game stretch in 2006.
Georgia, meanwhile, is coming off an open-date prior to the Florida game for just the second time since 1991. UGA is 11-3 after an open date under Mark Richt and are 3-2 versus the Gators after a week off. In an odd scheduling twist that really does not seem fair, Florida had an off date before UGA 13 times in the past 16 years- all Gators wins.
The last time UGA had a bye for UF was 2007, a 42-30 Bulldog win. Last year, Georgia had a tough rough date at LSU while UF was feasting on Kentucky in the Swamp.
MOTIVATION NOT A PROBLEM
As if playing in a neutral site, having a long and storied rivalry, and competing for the division title on an annual basis were not enough to motivate both of these teams, the past two meetings have provided quite a bit of material for both coaching staffs.
In 2007, Georgia executed the much-ballyhooed “Celebration” after their first touchdown of the game, a score that put them up 7-0. The offense remained on the field and was joined by the rest of the team who rushed in from the sideline during a spontaneous moment of joy. Flags flew and UGA was penalized 30 yards on the ensuing kickoff.
The referees continued to target Georgia for the rest of the day, but it would not matter very much as the Dawgs scored at will on a youthful Gator defense during a 42-30 victory.
Thoughts of the “Celebration” stewed in the Gators’ heads for a year, as the team saw signs and pictures plastered all over their weight room from the loss to UGA.
The bitterness showed in a 49-10 whitewashing of Georgia in 2008 when the Gators let out a year’s worth of frustration in their win. Linebacker Brandon Spikes drilled Knowshon Moreno on the first offensive play of the game and Georgia’s offense never seemed to recover.
However, the game remained close until the middle of the third quarter when UF went up 21-3. The Gators would then pile on 28 more points the rest of the way to take a 49-3 lead. As if that were not enough, Florida used their remaining two timeouts in the final seconds to rub the blowout in the Bulldogs’ face.
Georgia quarterback Joe Cox said that pictures of Meyer calling timeout as well as signs with the 49-10 final score have adorned Georgia’s weight room for the past year.
HISTORY, STATS AND OTHER NONSENSE
-Florida is riding a 17-game winning streak which is the longest in school history and is currently the longest in America. It is also the longest SEC winning streak since Auburn won 20 in a row from 1993-1994. That streak was ended when Georgia tied the Tigers on the Plains.
-UF is 35-1 under Urban Meyer when holding opponents under 100 yards but are just 2-4 when being out-rushed.
- Georgia leads the series 47-38-2 but has lost 16 of the past 19. After losing 13 of 14 through 2003, the Dawgs have won two of the past five.
-Georgia also leads the series in Jacksonville 40-35-1.
-Florida is 7-0 for the first time since 1996.
-Georgia has lost three game prior to the Cocktail Party for the first time since 1996.
INJURIES
For Florida:
-DL Lawrence Marsh (ankle) and Jaye Howard (knee) are probable.
-RB Jeffrey Demps (neck), DE Justin Trattou (leg), and CB Moses Jenkins (concussion) are questionable.
-DT Brandon Antwine, CB Wondy Pierre-Louis, and LB Brandon Beal are doubtful.
For Georgia:
-LBs Marcus Dowtin (finger) and Akeem Dent (hamstring) are probable.
-FB Shaun Chapas (neck) and OT Kiante Tripp (shoulder) are questionable.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com .
Loading ...
