Florida Gators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Gators and Bulldogs. The RVs and tailgates. The crowd split 50/50. The St. Johns River flowing nearby. The history.

All those elements combined can mean only one thing: It's time for the Florida-Georgia game.
 
"Shoot, I get goosebumps just thinking about it,'' Gators coach Jim McElwain said this week.

McElwain grew up in Montana and had heard stories about the rivalry's colorful nature. He experienced it for the first time a year ago and left EverBank Field for the bus trip home in a good mood after Florida's 27-3 victory.

Meanwhile, first-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows the rivalry well.

Too well for Florida fans with a memory that stretches a few years.



Smart played for the Bulldogs and in 1997 played a key role in snapping the Gators' seven-game win streak in the series under Steve Spurrier.

A defensive back, Smart intercepted a pair of passes that day, one in the first half off Gators quarterback Doug Johnson and another in the second half on a tipped pass from Noah Brindise, which helped seal Georgia's 37-17 upset of the sixth-ranked Gators.

The loss spoiled the Gators' bid at a fifth consecutive Southeastern Conference championship.

This rivalry has a way of doing that.

The No. 14-ranked Gators (5-1, 3-1) enter Saturday's game as the favorite and with more to lose than the Bulldogs (4-3, 2-3). Florida leads the SEC East and if they can win out in the conference, they will be heading back to Atlanta.

First, though, they must beat the Bulldogs for a third consecutive season.

For more on the Florida-Georgia game, here is The Opening Kickoff:
 
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THREE QUESTIONS WITH … DEFENSIVE LINE COACH CHRIS RUMPH
 
Q: What is the key to defending Georgia's rushing attack led by Nick Chubb and Sony Michel?


A: We're just going to have to do a great job at, first of all, everybody being gap sound, playing unselfish ball, just playing for the team. Don't try to go out there and get stats or stuff like that. Just play within the scheme of the defense. If I've got the A-gap, then be in the A-gap. If I've got the B-gap, be in the B-gap. Gap control and just controlling and dominating the line of scrimmage. He [Chubb] is a good back. He's going get some yards. We've just got to understand that we've just got to go on to the next play, whether it's a good play, bad play. Just go to the next play. Don't give up the big stuff. Make him earn everything and just hit him. Be real physical with him.

Q: How would you rate freshman defensive Antonneous Clayton at midseason?

A: When he first got here, I thought, 'wow, you sure missed on that one.' He was bad. I mean he was bad, bad, bad, bad. But then all of a sudden you saw him. He wants it so bad. He's just so eager and he's just great to be around. He's right there on your hip. I mean, you're talking to somebody else and he's right there trying to absorb everything. I think he's starting to settle down. He's learning. He's getting better every day.

Q: Who are some of the young players that stepped up with the defensive line injuries?

A: You know, Jabari [Zuniga], he's in the position right now if [Bryan] Cox can't go, then he's going to start. You're seeing Khairi Clark. He's been in there and he's been starting ballgames. Taven Bryan, he's been getting a lot of playing time. We started seeing some flashes of things we thought he could do. So those are the ones right now, off the top of my head — and Keivonnis Davis. He's also playing well.
 
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THREE STORYLINES
 

• The Gators control their own destiny in the SEC East. If Florida can win its final four conference games, the Gators will return to Atlanta for the second consecutive season as division champions. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Vanderbilt on homecoming that dropped them to 2-3 in league play. With their chances of a division crown on life support, the Bulldogs would love to pull the upset and spoil Florida's title bid.
• Georgia freshman quarterback Jacob Eason has the size (6-4, 235), arm strength, athleticism and confidence that drew the attention of nearly every major program in high school. Eason visited Florida late on the recruiting trail but opted to sign with Georgia. Eason is expected to test Florida's SEC-leading pass defense, which always motivates Florida's defensive backs. If they need any extra motivation, Eason's decision to pick the Bulldogs over the Gators adds fuel to the fire.
• Gators head coach Jim McElwain and Georgia's first-year coach Kirby Smart know each other well. They served together at Alabama under Nick Saban together from 2008-11, winning a pair of national championships as colleagues. McElwain ran the Crimson Tide's offense and Smart the defense. They know what each likes to do so you can expect some serious strategizing being discussed over the headphones on Saturday afternoon.

 
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THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

• Gators quarterback Luke Del Rio grew up in Jacksonville and was a regular at EverBank Field watching his father's team when Jack Del Rio was head coach of the Jaguars. Del Rio's return to Jacksonville for his first Florida-Georgia game is a big storyline in this one. More importantly toward the outcome is how Del Rio plays. He had a lackluster outing against Missouri in his return from a knee injury that sidelined him for two games. He says the knee is fully healed and spent the bye weeks working on his mechanics to play sharper and cut down on mistakes.
• Gators junior cornerback Teez Tabor is tied for the SEC lead in interceptions with Texas A&M's Justin Evans with four. Tabor and fellow corner Quincy Wilson each returned picks for scores against Missouri. You can bet Tabor has done plenty of film study on Eason.
• Florida defensive end Jordan Sherit has missed the past two games after arthroscopic knee surgery. A redshirt junior from Tampa, Sherit leads all UF defensive linemen with 20 tackles, including three sacks. He was playing the best of his career before getting hurt. If Sherit is full speed, that's a big boost for Florida's pass rush against Eason.

 
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THE QUOTE FILE
 

• "I think Kirby Smart is the right guy, and with that I think he'll do well. But not right away like everybody, including myself, would like to have thought. Going to require some patience." – Former Georgia coach Vince Dooley on Smart's first season Thursday during an appearance on "The Paul Finebaum Show"
• "This will be a great chess match." – McElwain on his first head-to-head meeting with former Alabama colleague Smart
• "They've got long arms, they've got great physicality and they're unbelievably confident. Those guys don't think anybody can beat them. Whether they can or not has yet to be determined and they've got a short memory." – Smart on the Florida duo of Tabor and Wilson
• "If you've just arrived from Mars and you want to know about college football — what makes it so passionate, colorful and fun? — you should head to Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.'' -- Veteran college football writer Joey Johnston on the Florida-Georgia game for TodaysU.com
• "This is our favorite week, just because we are back home. Not many people get to go back home and play." – Gators defensive back Nick Washington, a Jacksonville native

 
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INJURY REPORT
 
PROBABLE: DT Joey Ivie (thumb), DE Jordan Sherit (knee), DE Bryan Cox Jr. (hand). QUESTIONABLE: LB Jarrad Davis (ankle), TE DeAndre Goolsby (finger).
 
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CHARTING THE GATORS

For the second consecutive season the Florida-Georgia game features a first-year head coach. Jim McElwain won his debut against the Bulldogs a season ago. This year, former Bulldogs player Kirby Smart will try to get a win in his first shot in the series as a head coach.

Here is a look at how first-year coaches have fared in the rivalry since 1950:
 

FLORIDA COACHES (7-4)	YEAR	RESULT
Bob Woodruff	1950	Georgia 6, Florida 0
Ray Graves	1960	Florida 22, Georgia 14
Doug Dickey	1970	Florida 24, Georgia 17
Charley Pell	1979	Georgia 33, Florida 10
Galen Hall	1984	Florida 27, Georgia 0
Gary Darnell	1989	Georgia 17, Florida 10
Steve Spurrier	1990	Florida 38, Georgia 7
Ron Zook	2002	Florida 20, Georgia 13
Urban Meyer	2005	Florida 14, Georgia 10
Will Muschamp	2011	Georgia 24, Florida 20
Jim McElwain	2015	Florida 27, Georgia 3
GEORGIA COACHES (2-2)	-------	-----------------------------
Vince Dooley	1964	Georgia 14, Florida 7
Ray Goff	1989	Georgia 17, Florida 10
Jim Donnan	1996	Florida 47, Georgia 7
Mark Richt	2001	Florida 24, Georgia 10
Kirby Smart	2016	???

 
 
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10 QUICK HITTERS
 

• The Gators have rushed for 200 or more yards in each of their last four wins in this series (2009, '10, '14, '15).
• Sophomore running back Jordan Scarlett joined former teammate Kelvin Taylor (2015) as the only UF runners since 2005 to rush for a touchdown in five consecutive games with his score in the Missouri win.
• Gators running back Mark Thompson did not make the trip to Jacksonville due to his citation for marijuana possession on Thursday morning.
• Linebacker Jarrad Davis leads the Gators with 48 tackles and is questionable for Saturday's game because of an ankle injury. A Georgia native, expect Davis to try to play if at all possible in his final Florida-Georgia game.
• This is the 27th time in the series Florida enters as the higher ranked team. Florida is ranked No. 14 and Georgia is unranked. The Gators are 16-10 in those matchups.
• Both teams are coming off a bye week for only the fifth time in the 94-year history of the series. Florida is 17-6 against Georgia coming off bye weeks, while the Bulldogs are 2-2.
• Georgia running back Nick Chubb rushed for 156 yards against the Gators two years ago. He did not play last season after suffering a season-ending knee injury. Chubb needs 120 yards to reach 3,000 for his career.
• Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Eason is just the sixth true freshman quarterback to start for Georgia and first since Matthew Stafford in 2006.
• Florida has converted 50.5 percent on third down (49 of 97), which ranks first in the SEC and eighth nationally. On the flip side, Florida's defense leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally by limiting opponents to a 28 percent conversion rate on third down.
• The Gators are 14-0 against unranked opponents under second-year head coach Jim McElwain.

 
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THE OTHER SIDE
 
The Gators lost to Tennessee earlier this season, so the feeling is familiar to those in orange and blue. Still, hopefully none took the defeat as tough as a Georgia fan known as CrazyUncleLou on the internet.

In a span of 19 seconds of game time on Oct. 1, CrazyUncleLou went from ecstasy to agony while changing into a No. 10 Jacob Eason jersey – difficult to not notice the price tag was still attached – and a pair of shades.

Wonder if he got his TV repaired? You'll have to watch to understand the question:
 



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WHAT THEY'RE WRITING
 

• Florida and Georgia just need to run, run, run writes Ed Aschoff of ESPN.com.
• Hard-running Gators running back Jordan Scarlett leads Gators ground game writes Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald.
• The evolution of the UF offense will be a process writes Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley.
• Jacksonville ties make the Florida-Georgia game special for many writes Thomas Goldkamp of GatorBait.net.
• Florida-Georgia rivalry rebranding should look familiar to Texas, Oklahoma fans writes Ben Baby of the Dallas Morning News.
• Florida-Georgia rivalry is most unpredictable in college football writes Michael Bird of SBNation.com.
• Jabari Zuniga quietly exceeds expectations and racks up sacks writes Ian Cohen of The Orlando Sentinel.

 
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BOTTOM LINE
 
The Gators need to win this game. Georgia wants to win this game. Florida seeks to maintain its place atop the SEC East and the Bulldogs, stung by a homecoming loss to Vanderbilt, simply want to win a game to help forget about their last game. This rivalry has been topsy-turvy the past five years since Urban Meyer departed Florida and took his 5-1 record against the Bulldogs with him. The Gators lost three in a row under former head coach Will Muschamp until providing Muschamp with perhaps his most improbable win two years ago. And then in McElwain's first season, the Gators cruised to a 27-3 win that put them in the driver's seat toward their first SEC East title in six years. The Gators are rested and motivated and expect them to play like it on Saturday as the team with much more at stake.