3 Keys to Victory: No. 8 Florida Gators vs. No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs
Florida vs Georgia is finally here, as the two SEC Rivals will kick off today at 3:30 P.M. In what seems like a perfect opportunity for the Gators to finally beat their arch-rival for the first time in three years, the Gators must key on three things to take control of the SEC with a win in Jacksonville.
In a turn of events from the past two seasons, it is now Georgia who is hurting coming into the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. In 2018, the Gators were without key players in the secondary, as the Bulldogs picked on C.J. McWilliams and other reserve defensive backs for the Gators.
Last season Florida stumbled into Jacksonville with an unhealthy defensive duo in a banged-up Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga, who both struggled mightily as they were not 100% against one of the best offensive lines in the nation.
Now heading into the matchup this season, the tables have turned as Georgia is without star safety Richard LeCounte III who suffered non-life-threatening injuries in an auto accident earlier this week. LeCounte is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the WLOCP. Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis is day-to-day with an elbow ailment, and another Georgia defensive lineman Julian Rochester will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear.
The injury pileup for Georgia is unfortunate of course, but should benefit the Gators so long as they capitalize. With that being said, Florida's three keys to winning are...
Stop the run, make Georgia pass
It's obvious, but if Florida cannot stop the run, the Gators simply won't win the game. Luckily for the Gators, their run defense has been respectable thus far and contained one of the better backs in the SEC last week in Larry Rountree III.
Getting defensive tackle Kyree Campbell back last week led to an uptick in Florida's rushing defense, as the Gators only gave up 40 rushing yards on 23 carries against Missouri.
Moving a safety down into the box might be a smart play for the Gators as they looked very good when playing a single high safety against the Tigers.
Once Florida can prove it can contain the powerful, downhill running scheme of the Bulldogs, it must take advantage of a young, inexperienced QB in Stetson Bennett.
Getting pressure and confusing inexperienced Georgia QB is vital to Florida's success, as defensive coordinator Todd Grantham should toy with a variety of coverages to confuse and get in Bennett's head and make him overthink. The Alabama game would be an excellent place to start the film study, as Bennett threw three interceptions on the road in Tuscaloosa. Bennett has especially struggled against zone defense, which Florida tends to roll out more than man.
In addition to confusing Bennett with a variety of different coverages, Grantham could get very creative in blitz packages to gameplan to make Bennett's day miserable. Creating pressure will be difficult as Georgia's offensive line is one of the best in the nation, but Florida has a variety of pass rushers at its disposal to get the job done.
Being a shorter quarterback at 5-foot-11, Bennett has also struggled with balls getting batted down at the line, one which was intercepted against the Crimson Tide.
With Brenton Cox Jr. chomping at the bit to make an impact against his former team, I expect him to have a big day rushing the passer as he has finally been playing his natural position at BUCK.
Don't give up on the run early
As mentioned earlier, the most successful teams in this series have been dedicated to running the football. Florida has a respectable rushing offense, but it has not been put on full display so far this season. With Mullen pulling out all the stops to secure a victory, he must stay dedicated and not give up on the run, especially while in the red zone.
Georgia has one of the best run defenses in all of college football. You must continue to attack and find certain ways to run the ball, as Trask, who is limited while scrambling, can sometimes struggle when teams drop eight in coverage. Florida should be looking to attack the inside where the depth is limited, but also could use this to stretch Georgia on the outside with sweeps to playmakers like Kadarius Toney.
Today, Georgia could very well be down two of their interior defensive lineman in Davis and Rochester, so why not gash them on the ground? If I'm Dan Mullen, I'm going to directly attack their depth pieces and use them to your advantage, starting with power running back Dameon Pierce, whose usage should be high against his home-state team.
Florida will need to allow Pierce to run the football, and let the Gators offensive line lean on the inexperienced Georgia defensive line if things play out the way they are projected to.
Remember how you got here, don't get cute
Florida has one of the most prolific offenses in the entire nation, thanks in part due to the trio of Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney.
Against Georgia, Florida must find ways to get all three involved throughout the game, which was a concern last year. Pitts had himself a great first half against the Dawgs last year, but that all changed after halftime when he was blanketed and forgotten. This simply cannot happen again this season if the Gators want to leave Jacksonville victorious, especially against a Georgia secondary that is not at full strength.
The Gators must allow these three players to take them where they want to go and rely on them to make plays in the biggest of moments.
Florida can't get caught up in any "cute" playcalling that could get you behind the sticks and kill drives. Florida has all the offensive weapons necessary to beat a strong Georgia defense and outscore a subpar Georgia offense, so just play your game and ride the coattails of some of the best players at their positions in America.
