With the Georgia – Florida game just a few days away, college football is gearing up for one of the biggest matchups to date this season.
As far as the College Football Playoff goes, it’s win or go home. The loser of this game will be eliminated from Playoff contention.
I think Georgia will win this game, and Jackson Fryburger wrote about why that will happen in this piece here.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. I think the loss to South Carolina humbled a lot of people that needed to be humbled – that includes players, coaches and fans – and we understand we should not get too cocky before the first whistle even blows.
With that in mind, I outlined five reasons why Florida has what it takes to beat Georgia.
Here’s to hoping the Georgia players and coaches read this post and use it as extra motivation against the Gators.
5 reasons why Florida could beat Georgia….
1. Georgia vs…..the backup the quarterback
If you want to scare a Georgia fan this Halloween, dress up as a backup quarterback.
The horror began when Georgia faced Alabama in the national title game two years ago. We don’t need to recap that.
And then it was Alabama again. This time in the SEC title. It was the same two players, but the roles were reversed. Tua Tagovailoa left the game and in came Jalen Hurts. Let’s not relive that one anymore either.
And then for the freshest of the wounds, South Carolina. The unranked Gamecocks, not on their first string, not their second string but on their THIRD string quarterback, picked apart the Georgia defense and pulled off the upset of the year in college football.
Two weekends ago, however, against Kentucky, the Dawgs were able to take down a team playing with a backup quarterback. Of course the rain helped out as Georgia held the Wildcats to 17 yards passing.
And now here we are.
Kyle Trask, Florida’s starting quarterback, was sprung into action when Feleipe Franks went down with a season-ending injury. Since Trask has taken over the Gators offense, he has done a stellar job. Trask has been averaging 278 yards per game and 2.6 touchdowns per game and against highly ranked LSU and Auburn, he tossed for a combined 544 yards and five touchdowns. Georgia’s defense is elite, but the secondary has been a bit suspicious at times. The Dawgs will need to be dialed into the passing game all day long. One mistake could cost them the game.
Not only was Trask originally Florida’s backup quarterback, but he was his high school’s backup as well his whole varsity career.
I know…that should make a Georgia fan feel better about this game. But really, it just makes me that much more afraid.
2. Even after losing to LSU, Florida is still red hot
October 12th saw both Georgia and Florida lose to SEC rivals South Carolina and LSU. Other than a strike in the loss column, there were absolutely zero similarities between the two losses.
When Georgia lost, the fanbase was outraged, the nation laughed, folks called UGA overrated and Kirby Smart was criticized for some poor coaching decisions.
When Florida lost to #5 ranked LSU in Death Valley, America could not help but to be impressed by the grit the Gators showed. Florida fought hard, made big time plays and showed that Dan Mullen’s squad might actually be the real deal.
The week before, the Gators took down a very talented Auburn team as well that was ranked highly.
The Gators followed up its LSU loss with a win over South Carolina, the same team Georgia lost to the week before. There’s a buzz in Gainesville and among Florida fans right now and they are going to come out with a sense of confidence and swagger. Kirby better have a good game plan and hope his team stays humbled and discipline.
3. Georgia needs to clean up the penalties
Georgia ranks 92nd in the nation in terms of yardage allowed off of penalties. Georgia averages 6.7 penalties per game that result in 62.7 yards allowed. To date, the Dawgs have been relying on talent alone to overcome their undisciplined play. This week, and as we saw against the Gamecocks, that’s not going to work.
Florida is going to do everything it can to try and get under Georgia’s skin. Cheap hits and trash talk are incoming, and how Georgia responds will go a long way. A stupid roughing the passer on third down could be all it takes to send the Bulldogs back home to Georgia as losers.
4. Florida has forced 18 turnovers this season. Georgia has forced 9
Georgia’s defense has been very good this season. Its fifth in the country in scoring defense, surrendering just 10 points per game. Its rush defense is also No. 5, allowing an incredible 85 yards per game on the ground.
But one thing the Georgia defense does not do terribly well is create turnovers. Through seven games, Georgia has forced nine turnovers and given up eight. Not bad, but certainly nothing special.
Florida, on the other hand, has a nose for the football and has 18 taken aways this season.
Fromm has done a good job of protecting the ball this season, sans the one game vs South Carolina where he threw three interceptions. But Florida’s defense is better than the Gamecocks’ and they will make life difficult on Fromm all day.
We know Todd Grantham likes to dial up the pressure, so let’s hope the offensive line can give Fromm enough time to throw it and make the right decision.
5. What’s wrong with Georgia’s offense?
You can’t help but wonder what offensive coordinator James Coley is doing at times. Is he actually watching the game? That’s what I was wondering while watching Georgia vs South Carolina.
How many times can you run the ball up the gut for no gain before you realize it’s not working?
Georgia has tons of playmakers and tons of speed that can get to the edge and turn the corner. So let’s use them.
I get that it was pouring down rain last weekend, but I saw Coley call three runs up the middle in a row.
Here’s proof.
