Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In Dan Mullen's first Florida-Georgia game 13 years ago, the 33-year-old Gators offensive coordinator arrived at what was then known as Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville full of anticipation as Florida, ranked 16th, tried to knock off the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs by tweaking his play-calling.

In Urban Meyer's first season at Florida, Meyer called Mullen over to his home the Sunday afternoon before facing the Gators' detested Southeastern Conference rival so they could revamp the playbook they had brought to UF from Utah.

The playbook, while helping the Gators win five of their first seven games under Meyer, featured more plays suited for a run-pass option quarterback such as future Gators star Tim Tebow. However, Tebow was a year away from pulling on his No. 15 jersey and junior Chris Leak, a traditional drop-back passer who could run when needed, was going to be taking the snaps against the 7-0 Bulldogs.

On the opening drive, the Gators marched 80 yards on 13 plays, capped by Leak's 3-yard touchdown run. Running back DeShawn Wynn was the star of the drive, carrying five times for 33 yards. Wynn reeled off a 12-yard run and caught an 8-yard pass on third-down plays to keep the drive alive.

Meanwhile, Florida's defense forced a three-and-out on Georgia's opening possession, and after Vernell Brown returned a punt 29 yards to the Bulldogs' 41, Leak connected with Dallas Baker for a 20-yard gain. Wynn struck again for a 19-yard run on the next play, and two plays later, Leak's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tate Casey gave the Gators a 14-0 lead less than nine minutes into the game.

Florida's defense did the rest as the Gators won, 14-10.

The game stands out more than a decade later for other reasons, most notably as the last game in the series in which the team that rushed for the most yards – Georgia had 177 yards on the ground that day, Florida 153 – did not return home with a win.

Like Mullen, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart remembers the 2005 matchup too. Smart, in a one-year hitch at his alma mater before an extended run as a Nick Saban assistant, first in the NFL and then at Alabama, was Georgia's running backs coach that season.

When Mullen and Smart square off again on Saturday, their first as opposing head coaches in the Florida-Georgia game, both know whichever team can establish the run first the way the Gators did 13 years ago is most likely to depart as this year's Duval County champion.

"It's critical,'' Smart said this week. "You look at the history of the Georgia-Florida game, which we've done and shown our players, that the team that leads it in rushing tends to win. I know you can probably say that about every game, but it's not really that way in college football. But this game has been that way.

"I think the conditions and the things that are at stake, running the ball takes a little stress off whoever's quarterback is able to have a better running game. It takes a little pressure off them, so it's certainly critical that we are able to run it but that we are also able to stop the run."

There are no Herschel Walkers or Emmitt Smiths for either team. They both rely on a running-back-by-committee approach.

No. 7-ranked Georgia (6-1, 4-1) enters ranked third in the SEC in rushing (226.3 yards per game) and eighth in rushing defense (136.3). No. 9 Florida (6-1, 4-1) is ranked seventh in the conference in rushing (197.3) and 11th in rushing defense.

Perhaps the greatest example of how important the running game has been in this rivalry over the past dozen years came in 2014 in unranked Florida's 38-20 win over No. 9 Georgia. Florida's Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones each rushed for two touchdowns and more than 190 yards.

The Gators finished with 418 yards rushing, and despite a 156-yard game for star Nick Chubb and 460 yards of total offense, the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak over the Gators ended. UF quarterback Treon Harris attempted only six passes.

Mullen would take a similar performance if it means a victory.

"I think both teams really like to establish the run and are offenses that really base themselves off being a running football team,'' he said. "The ability to control the line of scrimmage, especially anytime you are in a big game, is usually a huge factor. If one team is really dominating the line of scrimmage it's probably going to be the team that wins the game. What we've got to do is a great job on both sides of the ball."
 
Georgia's running game is headed by Elijah Holyfield (488 yards, 7.5 per carry) and D'Andre Swift (362 yards, 5.1 per carry). Junior Brian Herrien (178 yards) and freshman James Cook (165 yards) have also contributed in helping ease the pressure on Georgia sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm, who only threw the ball seven times a year ago as Georgia racked up 292 yards rushing in its 42-7 win over the Gators.

For the Gators, juniors Jordan Scarlett (381 yards) and Lamical Perine (376) have asserted themselves in the past two games. Freshman Dameon Pierce, who starred at Bainbridge (Ga.) High where Smart played, has chipped in 295 yards and two touchdowns.

Gators linebacker Rayshad Jackson sees a formidable challenge in trying to slow down Holyfield (5-11, 215) and Swift (5-9, 215).

"They're very physical. They like to get to the outside all the time,'' Jackson said. "Swift, he likes shaky stuff, and Holyfield, he likes to truck people. And our game plan, our emphasis this whole week, is be physical, run to the ball, all 11 guys get to the ball."

In Florida's 37-27 comeback win at Vanderbilt two weeks ago, Perine (121 yards rushing, 93 yards receiving) became the first Gator since Jones four years ago against Georgia to accumulate more than 200 yards of total offense from the line of scrimmage. Scarlett added a season-high 113 yards and his 48-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter gave the Gators their first lead.

If Perine and Scarlett can muster similar performances on Saturday, the Gators have a chance to pull another surprise in a season full of them.

"They really are kind of coming along," Mullen said. "I think they are starting to get comfortable in our offense and how to run the plays within our offense and how plays fit within our offense. I've seen a huge step from those guys from game one to now."

So has Smart.

He's a long way from his one season as Georgia's running backs coach, but Smart views the 5-11, 210-pound Scarlett and 5-11, 227-pound Perine as two of the best running backs the SEC has to offer.

"They're built very similarly. They have thick lower bodies. They are hard to tackle,'' said Smart, who could have easily been talking about his tandem instead of Florida's. "I tell people all the time that there's a mold of an SEC back and it's like all these teams we play have these thick, 215-, 220-pound backs that run through tackles and play really physical. Both of those guys have done that and they have done it well behind an offensive line that has gotten better each and every game."