College Football Game of the Week: No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 6 Florida

Story posted October 31, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by Caleb Schweiger

This historic rivalry game, often known by the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, adds another chapter this Saturday in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series over the Gators 51-43. As for recent history, Georgia has won the game rather convincingly the last two seasons. Florida will be looking to flip the script this year.

The Georgia Bulldogs have not lived up to expectations this season, as they sit at No. 8 in the country with an 6-1 record after suffering a devastating double-overtime loss to unranked South Carolina. Jake Fromm in his third year as a starter has been solid, throwing for 1,406 yards along with nine touchdowns and only three interceptions.

But the Georgia offense, per usual, is powered by its strong running game. Led by junior D’Andre Swift, who has put up 752 yards and seven touchdowns through seven games, this Bulldogs team averages nearly 237 rushing yards per game. Establishing the ground game will be key in wearing out the strong Florida defense.

On the defensive side of the ball, Georgia has been nothing short of stellar, ranked No. 5 in points allowed per game and No. 7 in total yards allowed per game. Coming off a shutout victory over Kentucky, the Georgia defense will make sure that Florida has its hands full come Saturday.

The Florida Gators offense is an interesting case. The offense looked like it would be in shambles after starting quarterback Feleipe Franks dislocated his ankle against Kentucky, ending his season. But replacement Kyle Trask has ended up being exactly what this offense needed to boost them to a victory, as the Gators have won four of their last five under Trask, with the only loss coming at No. 1 LSU.

Trask has no shortage of weapons around him. Running Backs Lamical Perine and Dameon Pierce have 461 yards and 248 yards on the year, respectively. On top of this, Florida has five receivers with over 200 receiving yards.

As for the defense, Florida is respectable as well. Shawn Davis, Donovan Stiner, Marco Wilson and Kaiir Elam all have multiple interceptions this season. Nothing kills momentum like a costly interception in an important part of the game. If Florida can come up with one, that could change the course of this contest.

This will be a relatively low-scoring game that is going to come down to one thing: which team can come up with big scores late in the game when it counts. Georgia ranks 40th in fourth-quarter scoring and 82nd in turnovers per game, while Florida ranks eighth in turnovers per game and fifth in fourth-quarter scoring. The Gators are going to make the plays that Georgia cannot and this edition of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

Prediction: Florida 27, Georgia 20

 

Caleb Schweiger is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email cxs1943@psu.edu.