College Football Preview – Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party looked like it would be the best game of Halloween weekend in September. The Florida Gators appeared to be a top ten team after a narrow loss to Alabama at home, and the Georgia Bulldogs were clearly the best team in the country. However, only Georgia has lived up to its end of the bargain. Florida has now lost three games and will drop to .500 with a loss this week. Dan Mullen has a knack for keeping games like this close though.

The Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs will meet at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, October 30, 2021, at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

College Football Betting Odds

Georgia -14

Florida +14

Total 51

Georgia was not expected to be a prohibitive favorite in this game at the start of the season. The Bulldogs have repeatedly waxed their opponents with an incredible defense though. They have not allowed more than 13 points in any game, and they rank first or second in virtually every defensive metric.

The Gators have fallen apart after a strong start. They have now lost to Kentucky and LSU in addition to the loss against Alabama, and the loss at LSU really stings. The Tigers ran all over this front seven, putting Todd Grantham’s future in serious doubt.

When Florida Has the Ball

Dan Mullen has yet to announce who the starting quarterback will be for this game. Emory Jones has been the starter all year, but the fans are pining for Anthony Richardson. Jones is more seasoned and familiar with this offense, yet he keeps making mistakes. Richardson has far more natural talent, and at this point, it might be time to ride with the youngster and let him learn on the job.

Jones and Richardson are the two leading rushers on this team. Richardson has been far more explosive, averaging 12.4 YPC, while Jones has been the more frequent option. Three running backs all have at least 200 rushing yards too, and that’s why Florida’s ground game is very efficient with 6.3 YPC on average.

The Bulldogs have the best run defense in the country though. Georgia is allowing just 2.2 YPC and 64.3 YPG. Mullen will be able to dress things up a little bit, but Florida will have a hard time implementing its full gameplan on Saturday.

When Georgia Has the Ball

We don’t know who the Bulldogs will have under center either. Stetson Bennett IV and J.T. Daniels have been splitting time so far, and Bennett has the better stats. However, it’s clear that Daniels is the more talented quarterback, so we might see him on Saturday as Kirby Smart has been essentially keeping the USC transfer in bubble wrap.

Georgia has a solid run game. The Bulldogs haven’t showed much on offense though, keeping everything close to the chest and running constantly with Zamir White, James Cook, and Kendall Milton.

If Florida can’t stop the ground game, it will be a long day for Grantham and the Gators’ defense. They are allowing 3.9 YPC and 140.9 YPG on the ground. They allowed LSU to run for a single-game school record number of yards two weeks ago.

Prediction

With two weeks to prepare, Mullen will come up with enough offense to cover the number. Florida won’t have a lot of success on offense, but Georgia won’t be able to put the game out of reach.

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