
The Florida Gators (4-3, 2-2 SEC) and Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) will meet for the 102nd time on Saturday in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.
Florida trails the overall series against Georgia 44-55-2, and the Bulldogs have been dominant against the Gators lately, winning six of the last seven matchups, including three in a row heading into this year.
“I think we — our guys are well aware of this game,” Florida’s third-year head coach Billy Napier said on Wednesday about the Florida-Georgia rivalry. “You come to play in these games. It’s why you come here. As coaches and players. We’re excited about it.”
The Gators are coming off their best performance of the season on Oct. 19 at home against Kentucky. Florida beat the Wildcats 48-20 thanks to a record-tying five touchdown runs by true freshman Jadan Baugh. Five-star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway also performed well as he went 7-for-14 in the air with 259 yards, including four completions of at least 40 yards.
The freshman pairing may be asked to have a repeat performance against Georgia as senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. has been listed as questionable on Florida’s preliminary injury report for Saturday’s game. Johnson suffered a lower leg injury against Tennessee on Oct. 12 and missed the game against Kentucky. If he is unavailable again, Baugh will get the bulk of the carries against a Bulldogs front seven that has allowed just 3.3 yards per carry this season.
“Ultimately, that’s the challenge,” Napier said about Georgia’s defense. “I think they got good players at all three levels – the best in the country coming out. So this is always one of the bigger tests. These guys do a good job with defense.”
Also listed on the injury report for the Gators this week were cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. and wide receiver Eugene Wilson III, who will both be out against Georgia.
On Wednesday, it was reported that Marshall will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury he sustained against Kentucky. Marshall is Florida’s best cover corner so he will be a big miss for the Gators’ defense. Cormani McClain, the sophomore transfer from Colorado, will most likely be called into action as he replaced Marshall last game and got a pick-6 in his first appearance in the orange and blue.
Wilson will miss his fourth game of the season on Saturday. He did not play against Texas A&M, Mississippi State or UCF with a knee injury, but his absence this week has been linked to a lingering hip problem. Even with the previous missed games, Wilson is still third on the team in receptions and receiving yards. With Wilson being out, transfers Chimere Dike and Elijhah Badger have become the top two targets for Lagway and the Florida offense.
“It’s been tested,” Napier said about his team’s depth. “There’s been a lot of weeks where it’s been next man up, whether it’s been the long snapper or a receiver, running back, quarterback, corner, safety. There’s been a number of scenarios where here we go, that guy we’ve been working with for a short amount of time has stepped up.”
Lagway will be making the third start of his career and the second straight against an SEC opponent.
While the running game did most of the work against Kentucky, Lagway showed off his arm on numerous occasions with multiple deep passes downfield. This was something that was lacking in the Gators’ offensive attack with Graham Mertz under center. Mertz suffered a season-ending ACL tear against Tennessee three weeks ago. If Florida is unable to get the ground game going against Georgia, Lagway may need to drop back and throw 30-plus times against a very good defense, something he has yet to do in his young career.
On the other side, Georgia is coming off its most important win of the season as the Bulldogs took down No. 1 Texas on the road 30-15 on Oct. 19.
Georgia’s offense is led by fifth-year senior quarterback Carson Beck. Beck was phenomenal last season, leading the SEC in passing yards with 3,941 and a touchdown to interception ratio of 24-to-6. It has not been as easy for him so far this year. Beck has completed 66% of his passes, down from 72% a year ago, and has thrown 15 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Three of those picks came against Texas as he threw for just 175 yards and no scores.
Even with Beck’s struggles this season, Napier and the Gators know what he is capable of.
“This guy is elite,” Napier said about Beck. “He’s an elite quarterback. Been fantastic throughout his career. Really seen a lot of football. Their practice environment, number of variables he’s seen from a front pressure coverage standpoint, and he’s a big, tall, athletic guy that can throw it all over the park.”
Beck has been bailed out this season by his team’s rushing attack, which is led by former Gator Trevor Etienne. Etienne played his first two years in Gainesville, racking up close to 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns while splitting reps with Johnson. Over the summer, Etienne transferred to Florida’s rivals up north and has been putting on a show. He has run for 422 yards and seven scores while averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Napier downplayed the narrative that playing against Etienne will add some extra motivation, but there is no doubt that Florida’s defense will be coming after its former teammate in the backfield all game long.
“It’s already happened a handful of times this year that we played against players on the other side that were on our team in the past,” Napier said. “Look, feels like there is a story each week about scenarios like that. It wasn’t the first and won’t be the last, unfortunately.”
The Florida-Georgia rivalry means a little bit more each and every time the two teams clash, and this year is no different. Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Georgia is currently a 14.5-point favorite over the Gators, according to ESPN Bet.

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