Get to know UGA's opponent: Florida

The Gator's head coach Billy Napier's first year has had plenty of ups and downs but their biggest challenge by far is this week against the Dawgs.

Scott Green | Oct 24, 2022

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Georgia Bulldogs

It's the biggest rivalry in the SEC Eastern division. The famous World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is normally the deciding game for which east division contender is in the SEC Championship. That is already out of the window for the 4-3 Gators. Georgia is a clear front-runner while Florida is playing for pride and a chance to trip up the 7-0 Bulldogs.

After the first week win against Utah, a lot of media personalities had Florida as a contender for the SEC East and had the Gator's starting quarterback Anthony Richardson as a true Heisman candidate. As the season progressed, the reality seemed to set in. Florida is currently 1-3 on the year in their first 4 SEC games. The games have been close but extremely chaotic. This is a rebuilding program under a first-year head football coach in Billy Napier.

Richardson so far has thrown for 1,376 yards, passed for 6 touchdowns, and rushed for 6 more. He has plenty of physical traits that make him a potential member of the 2023 NFL draft. Despite that, Richardson has made a lot of mistakes and has struggled to progress through each week. His best performance was against the 130th-ranked Tennessee Volunteer's passing defense where he passed for 453 yards and had four touchdowns (2 rushing/2 passing). Against the Kentucky Wildcats, the 14th-ranked passing defense, Richardson would only complete 40% of his passes and throw 2 interceptions.

Florida would end up losing both of those games and would show signs of a team trying to rebuild under their new head coach. The Gators' defense ranks 112th nationally in yards per play allowed and is last in the SEC in several defensive categories. Defensive coordinator Patrick Toney tries to create confusion with different pressures and has focused on getting to the quarterback to help a back end that is 90th in passing yards allowed. Some personnel changes are being rumored in the hope that it'll help clean up the unsound assignments.

The Gator's offense is the strength of this team. They average 31.4 points per game with their rushing offense leading the way. Richardson and their combination of running backs have them converting on 41.89% of their third downs and rushing for 6.36 yards per attempt. Their passing offense ranks in the bottom third in the nation in several categories with Richardson having more interceptions than passing touchdowns. They've had flashes of success but it's has been anything but consistent.

Overall, Vegas looks justified in favoring Georgia by 22.5 points. There is not a lot on paper when comparing the two teams to try and explain how Florida keeps this one close. But this is the biggest rivalry game of the year for both the Dawgs and Gators. Any Saturday the better team can overlook a team, make mistakes, give up a few turnovers, and find themselves in a close game.

This upcoming Saturday, Georgia will have all its attention on Jacksonville.

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