Florida Gators Game Preview: Battle for the SEC East vs. Georgia
Some things never change.
Despite the ups and downs, twists and turns, trials, and tribulations, the 2020 clash between state-bordering rivals is set to occur this Saturday.
In a wild year that has brought many firsts to the forefront of our lives, some things tend to stay the same. It’s like they say: Death, taxes, and Florida taking on Georgia in Jacksonville for the SEC East crown.
With the road to Atlanta rolling through this heavyweight bout in both 2018 and 2019, 2020 brings SEC Championship Game implications for the third year in a row.
A storied rivalry with years of one-sided dominance, a discrepancy over the first meeting between the two schools, and pure excitement each time these two teams step onto the field together, the game-day setting dubbed as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is set to produce another close encounter this season.
Georgia has reigned victorious in the last three matchups, with each squad being ranked in the top ten for the third year in a row. As a result, this game has been widely regarded as the measuring stick for Dan Mullen’s tenure at Florida and the future of the program.
This year brings a belief that this is the Gators window to take down Kirby Smart and an undermanned Dawgs squad. That buzz is derived from the fact that Georgia has been plagued with uncertainty and inexperience from top to bottom, at least offensively.
Undergoing a complete overhaul from last season, the Georgia offense has seen its fair share of growing pains to this point.
Those that departed from the program—either by way of the draft or transfer portal—includes offensive coordinator James Coley, starting quarterback Jake Fromm, leading running backs D'Andre Swift and Brian Herrien, starting receiver Lawrence Cager, and possibly biggest of all four starting offensive lineman in Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson, Solomon Kindley, and Cade Mays.
Now, only a few starters remain, notably, center Tray Hill and wideout George Pickens.
Now at the helm of the new-look, Georgia offensive attack is Todd Monken. Previously with the Cleveland Browns before stepping down into the college ranks, Monken brings a pro-style scheme to the forefront of the Bulldogs offense.
His offense's implementation has taken a little longer than many would have liked for a team as talented as Georgia.
Despite the losses on the offensive line, the four new trench monsters up front have seemingly picked up the last unit left off. The struggles, however, could be credited to the fact that Georgia is seemingly on their fourth option at the quarterback in as many months.
When former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman transferred to Athens, many believed he would fill Fromm’s shoes as the new signal-caller.
However, just before the season commenced but he opted out.
As a result, USC transfer J.T. Daniels was the next man up. However, due to a knee injury he suffered while at USC, Daniels was not cleared to play in week one against Arkansas.
Then, Monken and Co. looked to redshirt freshman D’wan Mathis. However, he struggled mightily against the Razorbacks. Finally, Georgia turned to the most unlikely source of quarterback play, Stetson Bennett.
Sticking with Bennett to this point in the season, his demeanor and passion for the game bring exactly what you want at the quarterback position, even if the numbers aren’t exactly astounding. Leading a not so productive Georgia offense so far this season, Bennett has totaled 1,089 yards on 58% completion, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Instead of heavily relying on Bennett to win Georgia ball games, the Bulldogs have been driving home what works in their offense. An aspect that has worked for many years, the running game.
Putting together their best performance to date against the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend, where they rushed for just over a combined 200 yards, Georgia will look to set the tone with a dominant ground attack early in Jacksonville.
Led by the duo of James Cook and Zamir White, along with a mean group up front, stopping the Georgia rushing attack will be no small task for the Gators, despite the lack of explosive plays in the run game this season compared to years past.
Luckily for the Dawgs, if history is any indication, rushing the football wins this ball game. Since 2005, the leader in rushing yards has won 14 matchups in a row.
With this matchup highlighted by the prolific Florida offense—who is averaging 42 points per game so far this season—facing off against the stout Georgia defense—who is only allowing 16.2 points per game but did show they’re not invincible by allowing 41 to Alabama, Kyle Trask and the Gators offense will be in for their toughest test to date.
However, Georgia will have to contain the best Florida offense on paper since 2001 without several key players, including defensive lineman Jordan Davis and Julian Rochester. The biggest loss of them all, safety Richard LeCounte III, due to an unfortunate auto accident. LeCounte is reportedly expected to make a full recovery.
Making a notable impact in nearly every game he’s played during his Georgia career, LeCounte was likely to be faced with the tall task of playing one of the most dangerous pass-catching options in the nation in Kyle Pitts. Now, the Bulldogs will look to fill the huge hole that he leaves behind.
To win this ball game, Florida is going to have to hope that the same defensive unit they fielded last week against Missouri shows up as they look to halt the Bulldogs' in the run game and create pressure off the edge to throw off the timing for the inexperienced Bennett.
On top of that, Florida will have to establish a run game of their own with Dameon Pierce and company as well as focus on getting their playmakers of Pitts and Kadarius Toney involved early and often.
It’s quite literally going to be a dog fight for the SEC East crown on November 7th. Nothing is going to come easy for either side.
As a result, whichever team comes out on top will have been battle-tested for when they go to Atlanta, an important characteristic of a champion.
