Florida is coming off a bye week where they dismissed their former head coach in Billy Napier shortly after their win against Mississippi State back on Oct. 18. The Gators have now had a full two weeks to prepare for this matchup against Georgia with their new interim Head Coach Billy Gonzales.
As for Kirby Smart and Georgia, they also just came off a big win against Ole Miss two weeks ago. Just like Florida, Georgia also had their bye week and will be fully prepared to go against this Gators team on Saturday.
Injuries will impact Georgia's matchup with Florida
This matchup has a pair of injuries, one on each side, that could really impact this game. For Georgia, most Bulldog fans know that the team will be without wide receiver Colbie Young for an extended period of time. Zachariah Branch will have to continue to produce and lead on offense in the wide receiver room for Georgia's offense to continue to have success in this game. Look for London Humphreys and Dillon Bell to step up as well and get more snaps against this stingy Gators defense.
Florida will be without their key cog at wide receiver as well in true freshman Vernell Brown. Brown leads the Gators in both receptions and yards, with the next closest receiver being more than 200 yards shy of Brown. Florida however does have receiver Dallas Wilson back who played a big role in their game against Texas on Oct. 4. Look for Wilson to have an impact this week against the Georgia defense, as long as quarterback DJ Lagway can get him the ball.
Keys to Georgia's matchup vs Florida
Quarterback Gunner Stockton made just about every correct decision two weeks ago and had his best performance of the year against Ole Miss. Georgia will continue to live and die by Stockton, especially in this game. All UGA fans know that Georgia's defense has been a shell of itself from what they typically look like in years past. This however is a great week to win the turnover margin in the game as Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has nine touchdowns and nine interceptions on the season.
Florida is going to lean on their star running back Jadan Baugh, who's coming off his best performance of the year against Mississippi State, rushing for 150 yards and a touchdown. Georgia's rushing defense has been rather impressive this year, so maybe Lagway will have to do more than he would like in this game to keep them in it.
Georgia vs Florida prediction
Georgia is favored by 7.5 points over Florida, but this game feels like it is slightly leaning toward the Gators covering that spread. However Georgia will still win the game, but it might be a lot closer than people think.