Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As bye weeks go, Florida's wasn't exactly routine.

The Gators were left to marinate on a second straight Southeastern Conference setback at Spurrier/Florida Field, once a sort of safe house where Coach Jim McElwain had won all six of his previous league games. The losses dropped the team's overall record to .500 through six games and put UF on the brink of elimination as far as its hopes of defending two straight SEC East Division titles.

With the week off, the Florida players and coaches had some time to review the ills of an offense that ranks 102nd in the nation, including 100th in passing and 95th in scoring. Given that the back-to-back defeats came by a combined three points — 17-16 vs. LSU and 19-17 vs. Texas A&M — the Gators were left to lament that maybe an explosive play here or a couple more first downs may have been the difference.

Oh, and finally, there were those death threats.

Once again, please?

Yes, death threats. According to McElwain, his family and his team got some nasty messages from some folks who had way too much time on their hands last week. For his part, though, McElwain said he did not inform the authorities.

"Nah," he said. "It is what it is."

No, McElwain would rather preoccupy himself with things he has some control over. This week, for the Gators (3-3, 3-2), that means a date with third-ranked and powerhouse Georgia (7-0, 4-0), when the two teams collide Saturday for the 95th time in their annual rivalry at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The last time the Bulldogs were ranked this high for the UF game Herschel Walker was running toss sweeps on his way to the 1982 Heisman Trophy. UGA came to the St. John's River ranked No. 2 that year and won 44-0.

The Bulldogs figure to come in with their fangs (and attitudes) razor sharp, having lost the previous three in the series, and smelling blood, given the discrepancy in the way the two teams are playing.

Georgia boasts the nation's 10th-best rushing attack, what with dueling stars Nick Chubb (688 yards,  8 TDs) and Sony Michel (492 yards, 6 TDs) powering a ground game that averages nearly 282.9 yards per game — 322.5 in league play — and takes pressure off true freshman quarterback Jake Fromm (62 percent, 1,162 yards, 12 TDs, 3 INTs). The Dogs have averaged 42.5 points in four SEC games.
 
"Filling gaps is going to be a big deal this week. It is every week," sophomore linebacker Kylan Johnson said of a UF defense that is allowing opponents to rush for 143.8 yards per game, which ranks eighth in the league. "We don't want to let the running backs get any free, open space when they play, so we have to fill our gaps."

The Bulldogs lead the SEC in time of possession, holding the ball an average of nearly 34 minutes. Defensively, they've have been spectacular. They rank seventh nationally and first in the SEC (yes, ahead of Alabama) in allowing just 252.6 yards per game, including a mere 82.1 on the ground (fourth in the NCAA).

Those latter digits suggest the Gators could find the rushing yards hard to come, although that has been the strength of the offense in the five games since tallying just 11 yards on 27 carries in the season-opening loss to Michigan. UF has averaged 200.4 rushing yards over that span — and 5.1 yards per carry — but the last two weeks redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks and his unit managed just 108 and 135 passing yards, respectively, in the losses.

McElwain knows that won't cut it against this Georgia defense that will stack up and dare the Gators to throw it.

"They load the box. We're going to have to make some plays downfield," he said. "We've got to do a really good job changing up not only tempos, but making sure when they do get the box loaded we hit some of those shots downfield."

Franks and a UF offense that has thrown just four touchdown passes this season could get some help on that downfield front; emphasis on "could."

Sophomore wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland, out the last two games with a high-ankle sprain, ran around some on Sunday and looked good enough to perhaps be good enough to go. Despite missing those games, Cleveland still ranks second on the team in receptions with 15 and has twice as many receiving yards (326) as Brandon Powell, UF's next-top pass-catcher with 16. Cleveland is averaging 21.7 yards per catch and has half of the team's four TD receptions.

Until the Gators show they can move the ball through the air, the passing game — and the young triggerman running it — is going to be under scrutiny.

"Feleipe's got a lot of people in his ear, telling him a bunch of crap. The thing about him, he just loves the game and he's always trying to get better, so he's going to come out and he's going take every day and try to learn and get better. He's going into the game ready to play,"  sophomore receiver Josh Hammond said. "Feleipe is a confident guy. He feels like he's the best quarterback in the country, if you ask him. So even though the numbers might not say it, or anything like that, he feels like that. That's just his confidence."

Meanwhile, true freshman all-purpose guy Kadarius Toney (shoulder), who missed the A&M game, will give his sore shoulder a try during practice this week. Same for defensive end Jabari Zuniga and his sore ankle. Zuniga tops the unit in tackles for loss (5.5) and sacks (2.5), but has been out the previous two games. The pressure Zuniga can bring off the edge would be big against a rookie quarterback, especially if that UF run defense could assert itself and force Fromm to make some plays.

For the Gators, yes, they believe they're that close to turning things around.

"We haven't been blown out. We've been playing tough games, we just couldn't make plays when things we're going wrong so, I mean, a lot of people look at us as an underdog, but if you think about it we've been playing tough all year," said sophomore defensive back Chauncey Gardner, Jr.  "We're not really trippin' about anything."

That's good.

Plus, there's another factor that often seems to come into play when Florida plays Georgia.

Expect the unexpected.

"We haven't lost to Georgia in the last three years. Our seniors have never lost to Georgia, so I think that mentality that they bring -- being that they've never lost to Georgia -- that brings a lot of confidence to us," Hammond said. "That's the message in the locker room right now: They might be the No. [3] team in the country, but they can't beat Florida. That's our mentality going forward and we'll come out and be ready to play."