Florida-Georgia Preview

This year's edition of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party seems to be creeping up a bit quieter than recent years. No this isn't a clash of two of the nation's top 10 teams this season, and no Florida isn't seeking revenge for a showboating ass-whooping from a previous edition of the cocktail party.

All that being said, the Florida-Georgia game is always special, and this installment should be no different. The Gator players and coaches are still hollering about Georgia storming the field in Jacksonville 2 years ago. Personally, I think that's already been avenged with last year's thrashing. I truly believe the Gators are just doing this to rile themselves up. I don't know if that says the Georgia program is so down this year that Florida needs extra motivation to get up for it, or if it says that Florida needs to do something to wake their offense up out of the doldrums.

No matter what the records are of these two teams, or how bad a certain unit is playing, you'll still hear plenty of name calling and jort/red trouser bashing amongst the fans.


5 Keys to the game.


1. Establish a deep threat - Georgia's defense is incredibly horrendous thus far. They have made Ryan Mallett and Jonathan Crompton look like future NFL Hall of Famers. It seems that no matter who Georgia is playing, the opposing team's quarterback is in store for a huge day. That will only be the case this Saturday if the Gators finally decide to throw the ball deep. Something they haven't done since the last play of the first quarter against Kentucky.



2. Protect the ball - Georgia will be feeding off some huge emotion this weekend. Their season will certainly be salvaged in a big way if they were to knock off the Gators somehow. The best way for the Dawgs to accomplish this is to force some turnovers. Giving the ball up is also the best way to give a struggling defense some serious confidence. The ball needs to stay off the turf for the Gators to control this game.


3. Control emotions - Controlling emotions goes a long way in determining if the Gators ca hold on to the ball or not. This is something that I am always worried about heading into a rivalry game. The Gators have been outstanding in these instances during the Urban Meyer regime. If you remember, their only loss to one of Florida's "Big 3" rivals was to UGA.


4.Protect Tebow - This is definitely something that the offensive line has not been doing lately. What would it take for Steve Addazio to shift a tight end over to help protect Tebow's blind side? Hopefully not a loss. That could be on the way if the line continues to struggle.


5. Save your timeouts - If the Gators truly are still pissed at Mark Richt and Co. for that celebration, Meyer should make sure that he has some extra timeouts at the end of the game to "Give Moody more quality carries."


5 Players That Need to Step Up

1. Tim Tebow - Tebow has struggled mightily against Geogria (2007) and looked brilliant against Georgia (2008). I can't remember the last Gator QB to leave Gainesville with a losing record vs. Georgia as a starter. Tebow will be 1-2 if the Gators lose on Saturday.


2. Deonte Thompson - Thompson went M.I.A. again last week. I think he should change his nickname to Nessie. No one can really prove that he exists, but every once in a while he'll pop his head up and cause all kinds of commotion.


3. Emmanuel Moody - Moody is continuing to establish himself as the Gators best runner out of the backfield. Demps will be sore with a sprained neck and Rainey will have to be relieved at some point. I would like to see Moody get some carries out of the I-Formation against the Dawgs' D. It worked the whole 1 time we ran it last week.


4. Brandon Spikes - Spikes set the tone during last season's Georgia game by clobbering Knowshon Moreno as he tried to break through the line. Brandon should be well rested after sitting out last week's game with a sore groin. I feel bad for Richard Samuel.


5. Dustin Doe - Even though Spikes grabbed the highlights last season, perhaps Florida's best linebacker in that Game was Dustin Doe. Doe was all over the place last season in Jacksonville. If he doesn't get arrested by Saturday, he should continue to build on last week's stellar performance. Showboating aside...


Here's some highlights of last year's 49-10 victory.



Here's what they're saying about the game over at Dawgs Sports.

I like the second comment. The only way Georgia can beat us is if the Florida bus driver drives us to the wrong stadium. Good Stuff!

My Prediction

Florida - 27


Georgia - 17