Game Day: Florida vs Georgia, 3:30 pm (CBS)

Saturday, October 27

Jacksonville, FL

3:30 PM

Florida Gators

Georgia

Game Day: Florida vs Georgia, 3:30 pm (CBS)

Saturday, October 27, 2018 | Football, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dan Mullen had an interesting take on the future of the Florida-Georgia game during his weekly radio show Thursday night.

Play in Gainesville one year, Athens the next, then two in Jacksonville, rinse, repeat. And everyone's happy, right? If not something to think about, certainly something to talk about as the two programs inch toward the end of the current five-year agreement that has the Gators and Bulldogs playing at TIAA Bank Field through the 2021 season.

In the interim, the 2018 rendition is set for Saturday in the same ol' place on the St. John's River and offers plenty of intrigue — as in Southeastern Conference implications, as well as possible national ones — of its own.

The winner, be it the No. 9 Gators (6-1, 4-1) or No. 7 Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1), moves into first place in the SEC East Division, pending how Kentucky, which starts the day in a three-way tie atop the standings, fares on the road at Missouri. The UF-UGA survivor joins the select few being bandied about as legitimate players in the College Football Playoff conversation.

[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff preview here]

Last year, Georgia demolished Florida 42-7 in a game that was over halfway through the first quarter, as the Bulldogs raced to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. The Dogs, of course, went on to win the SEC title game and secure one of the four CFP spots, defeating Oklahoma and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield in overtime of the the national semifinal, only to lose to Alabama in overtime in the championship game.

Georgia entered the season ranked third in the country, moved up to second after three weeks and opened the season with six straight wins — averaging 43 points per game along the way, with an average victory margin of nearly 29 points — before getting squashed 36-16 at LSU on Oct. 13. That outcome came a week after Florida defeated the same Tigers team 27-18 in the "Swamp."

A week off for the two teams, and here we are.

At a crossroads to the season for both.

The Gators should be careful about reading too much into the events that have made this the biggest game in the country this week (so big that both "ESPN Game Day" and "SEC Nation" crews will set up shops on the St. John's River, the first time the two shows have chosen the same venue).

The talent discrepancy between the two rosters did not shift over night. The Bulldogs were rolling and likely went to LSU overconfident, only to find a wounded Tigers team and a Death Valley sellout crowd of 102,000 laying in wait for a 36-16 rout. UGA turned the ball over four times, fell behind 16-0 and had its vaunted rushing attack — the tag-team duo of Elijah Holyfield (488 yards, 4 TDs) and D'Andre Swift (362 yards, 4 TDs) — neutered from the game plan early. The Dogs had to throw the ball in order to get back in the game, and putting sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm (67 percent, 1,409 yards, 13 TDs, 4 INTs) in the pocket to pick a defense apart is not what Georgia does best.

If the UF defense can contain the UGA rushing attack -- no small task -- the Gators can turn loose defensive end Jachai Polite, who is having an All-America type season with seven sacks and four forced fumbles like this one at Tennessee.

If the Gators can somehow put themselves in a position where Fromm has to beat them, they'll be in a far more advantageous situation, given the way defensive end Jachai Polite (7 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 8.5 tackles for loss) and the UF pass rush have gotten after the quarterback. According to advanced metrics, Fromm has completed just 33.6 percent of his passes under pressure, with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

And don't rule out the possibility that marquee true freshman quarterback Justin Fields, a marvelous runner and passer, will have an expanded role in the Georgia game plan this week, especially coming off a bye week to implement some new wrinkles.

In contrast to Fromm, Florida third-year sophomore Feleipe Franks has been much better under duress, hitting 69.7 percent with four touchdowns and one interception when pressured. That doesn't mean the Gators want to put Franks (55.5 percent, 1,406 yards, 15 TDs, 5 INTs) in that situation. Franks has made some key plays during UF's five-game winning streak, but for the Gators to have success against an excellent Georgia defense (No. 4 in the league, allowing just 310.6 yard per) they'll have to get production from their own two-headed backfield of junior Lamical Perine (376 yards, 3 TDs), who is coming off the finest game of his career (213 yards of total offense at Vanderbilt), and fourth-year junior Jordan Scarlett 381 yards, 3 TDs).

UF also needs to play much cleaner with the ball, as they did through the season's first six games when jumped to an SEC-best plus-16 in turnover margin. The Gators fumbled twice and threw an interception at the 2-yard line at Vandy, helping dig an 18-point deficit before rallying to a 37-27 win that tied the largest road comeback in school history.

Such carelessness by the Gators won't cut it against an angry bunch of Dogs out to atone for a performance unlike any of their last two seasons.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on the CBS, with Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Gary Danielson providing analysis and Jamie Erdahl working the sideline. Replays will air Monday at 12:30 p.m. and Thursday at 1:30 a.m. on the SEC Network, plus be available on the ESPN app and WatchESPN.com.

Click here for for a station list of the Gator IMG Sports Network broadcast, with pre-game coverage starting at 1 p.m.

Also, check out the "First & 10 Pre-Game Show," hosted by GatorVision's Shelby Granath, coming from the field via Facebook Live on the Florida Gators page at 6:30 p.m. This week's lineup includes a chat with Mullen, former Gators standout defensive end and UF Hall-of-Famer Alex Brown, and a visit with special teams "specialists" Evan McPherson (kicker), Tommy Townsend (punter) and Ryan Farr (long-snapper).

Finally, follow senior staff writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry on Twitter (@GatorsScott and @GatorsChris) for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game Saturday night and fresh content Sunday, as well.