Joel Klatt Believes Georgia is in For a Fight Against Florida

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt believes Florida will cover the spread against Georgia on Saturday in Jacksonville.

With Georgia and Florida set to renew their long-standing rivalry this weekend, all eyes in the college football world will be on Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday at 3:30 PM. The Bulldogs have won each of the last two and five of the last six in the series, but on the “Joel Klatt Show” podcast, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports expressed his belief that the Bulldogs need to hunker down for a fight against what he perceives as an improved and confident Florida football team. 

At 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, Klatt believes “Florida is turning a little bit of a corner,” and explained that Florida’s improvement over the course of the season combined with the questions surrounding the loss of All-American tight end Brock Bowers will keep this game closer than the sportsbooks project it to be.

“Florida has won five of six since that season-opening loss to Utah and the questions around Georgia are there,” Klatt said. “So now, Georgia is favored by 14.5 against a team that’s way more confident, knows who they are, has a quarterback that’s playing their best football, and Georgia is going to go out there without Brock Bowers. I don’t like the 14.5. I just don’t.”

With Bowers out, Klatt questioned where Georgia would turn in the event that Florida plays well and pushes the Bulldogs like Auburn did earlier in the season.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart celebrates to the fans as they beat the Florida Gators at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN

“At least at this point, it’s fair to question, like where’s Georgia going to go in crunch time? Where’s their outpitch? What happens if Florida has the lead, if it’s a close game in the fourth quarter? We saw what happened against Auburn. What did they do? Bowers, Bowers, Bowers and then they won the game. So what happens if Florida plays well, which I think that they might. That’s a confident team.”

Still, despite his skepticism that Georgia will cover the 14.5-point spread against Florida, Klatt expressed that he still fully expects the Bulldogs to leave Jacksonville with their third-straight victory over their bitter rival.

“Basically here’s what I’m telling you. I like Georgia to win because they’ve got championship mettle. I don’t like them to cover the 14.5. So if I was, you know,  inclined to make a wager, I’d take Florida in that one.”

College football fans will find out how accurate Klatt’s prediction is when Georgia and Florida square off in the latest edition of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party on Saturday. 

How to Watch Georgia vs. Florida

• Gameday: Saturday, Oct. 28. 2023
• Game time: 3:30 pm ET
• TV: CBS
• Location: TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Florida)
• Live stream on fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial!
• Stream on ESPN - HERE
• Broadcast Call: Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (Color) will be on the call

Other Georgia News:

• Georgia's Remaining Schedule - Who Could Be The Troublesome Game?
• Player Profile: How Can Oscar Delp Contribute to Georgia's Success?
• Reminder of What Georgia Has With Delp, Luckie, and Spurlin

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