It’s that time of year again. The storied Georgia/Florida rivalry will be rekindled this Saturday in Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Cocktail Party. The Bulldogs, who have dropped the last three to the Gators, are favored against a struggling Florida team that is looking to avoid its longest losing streak in 23 years.
The Gators hope that returning QB John Brantley, who has been out for the past four weeks, can right the ship and jumpstart a sputtering offense that hasn’t scored more than 11 points since a 48-10 victory over Kentucky on Sept. 24. Coincidently, the Gators entered last season’s game against the Bulldogs on a three-game losing streak, so history may indeed be on their side going into Saturday’s matchup.
Georgia, on the other hand, has been on a roll lately in winning its last five games. The Bulldogs enter this game tied atop the SEC East and currently sit at No. 22 in the AP poll. Head coach Mark Richt looks to improve on his 2-8 record against the Gators and silence his doubters, who have criticized him throughout the season. Richt, however, doesn’t see the Bulldogs as having a clear advantage.
“I think there is a perception that Georgia is on a roll and Florida is struggling,” Richt said, “but if you flip those schedules I’m not sure it would be a whole lot different story for us and for them as far as winning.”
The Gators’ three-game losing streak has come against the top two teams in the country in LSU and Alabama and defending national champion Auburn.
Richt knows that the Bulldog defense will have its hands full against what he considers to be a talented and quick Florida team. “That’s the one thing that sticks out more than anything is just the team speed, offense, defense, and special teams,” Richt said talking about the Gators’ speed. “We have issues to deal with in that regard.”
Georgia QB Aaron Murray is coming off a career-best 326 passing yards and three touchdown performance in the Bulldogs’ 33-28 win at Vanderbilt last Saturday. Murray’s only other 300-yard game came against Florida last season, when he also threw three interceptions. Freshman phenom RB Isaiah Crowell hopes to have another strong day on the ground as he faces a Gators defense, which has struggled all season stopping the run and has allowed over 200 yards rushing during the three-game losing streak.
Several storylines are incorporated in this season’s matchup, so there is no shortage of drama surrounding this edition of the rivalry. With the Gators looking to rebound from losses to the SEC’s elite and the Bulldogs looking to continue their winning streak, both teams have something to prove in Jacksonville on Saturday.
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