Gator Boots & Gucci Suits: Georgia-Florida
by Chito Chibuye
Dawgs OTL Writer/ UGA Alumnus
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party Returns to Jacksonville
As we approach this Halloween weekend, The Georgia Bulldogs (and its’ fans) head down south for its annual rivalry with the Florida Gators in Jacksonville. St. Simons, and Frat beach will be crawling with students and fans alike eager to see the Dawgs beat the team in Orange & Blue we all love to hate. Billy Napier has been relieved of his coaching duties, but PLEASE don’t make the mistake of thinking that Florida will just roll over on Saturday. This team is a wildcard like in UNO or Phase 10! Let’s kickoff this preview as we look forward to a Freaky Friday and what could be a weird weekend.
History of the Georgia-Florida Rivalry: Over a Century of Bad Blood
This is still the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party as far as I’m concerned, but you must, call it Georgia-Florida. This old CFB rivalry dates back to 1904 (GA beat UF 52-0), and has ebbed and flowed between the 2 universities for over 120 years. Georgia leads the All-time series 57-44-2 and has won the last 4 with the 34-20 win last November being the latest result.
Recent Dominance: Georgia’s Four-Game Win Streak Over Florida
Both teams will be coming off bye weeks after they won the week prior. The Gators beat a much improved Miss State at home, meanwhile the Dawgs beat MSU’s #7 ranked in-state rival Ole Miss in Athens that same night. Records never matter coming into this game, but it was the reason the Gators moved on from Napier. In one of the tougher schedules you will see Florida has losses against USF, @LSU, @MIA, and @TXA&M with wins over TX, a cupcake and the aforementioned MSU for a 3-4 record. While this team is super talented and has a solid roster at its’ foundation, they are undisciplined, erratic, and inconsistent making them very dangerous if your team is the favorite on a neutral field.
DJ Lagway: Florida’s Talented but Inconsistent Quarterback
Key Florida Players to Watch vs Georgia
This Florida team's success and failure hinges on their QB DJ Lagway. Unfortunately for them his 9TDs, 9INTs and 56.1 QBR (81st in the nation) is a major reason why they have been inconsistent. He is talented enough to throw for 3 tuddys per game and go Top 5 in an NFL draft when eligible, but more times than not he’s throwing multiple picks a game and hurting his NFL stock. What Kirby meant to say in addition to being a large human, he is hard to tackle and it will be incumbent on the UGA defense to disguise their coverages and bring him to the ground when given a chance.
Florida has already ruled out Freshman WR Vernell Brown III for Saturday’s game so Freshman WR Dallas Wilson will be a player to watch for as he has been known to be a deep threat on 50/50 balls and has 3 TDs in 2025.
Georgia’s Rising Star: Chauncey Bowens’ Revenge Game
Key Georgia Players to Watch vs Florida
One of the more surprising stories for this UGA team has been the emergence of Chauncey Bowens. Not because we didn’t think he was talented, but because of the amount of talent in the RB room most did not assume he would dominate RB1 touches like this. Couple that with the fact that Chauncey was committed to UF once upon a time and actually flipped his commitment while on a visit, you’ve got a storyline that writes itself. Just like in fantasy, you always play players in a revenge scenario, (i.e. Stefon Diggs @ Buffalo) so I expect Bowens to play a big role.
Noah Thomas: Next Man Up in the Georgia Receiver Room
I hate that it took Colbie having a szn ending injury to get to this point, but here we are. I think DawgNation will happy to see the caliber of WR Noah Thomas is. Most 6’5 WR cannot move the way this senior does and he is going to be a problem. As long as he can limit his mistakes (OPI) and is a willing blocker this offense shouldn’t feel any drop off.
Cornerback Play Will Be Key for Georgia
A lot can change with a bye week and practice at UGA, but from what I have seen up to this point Daylen Everette and Demello Jones have impressed me the most with their tackling and consistency in coverage. I’m looking at these two to take the challenge of slowing down this Gator WR room, especially Dallas Wilson who’s young but can make plays. You don’t have to be perfect but Florida has nothing to lose and will take shots. We have to win more reps than they do Saturday to come away with the win.
Three Keys to a Georgia Victory
Georgia has been the better team all season, but in order for us to be that on Saturday we need to focus on 3 keys.
1. Limit Explosives in the Secondary
Even with Brown III out, Florida has weapons and Lagway has exceptional arm talent. I don’t care if it’s Everette, Demello, Ellis or Harris we have to find the ball in coverage, and make a play on it without panicking. Giving up big plays will give this Florida team life and confidence.
2. Maintain Momentum and Confidence
Giving this talented roster life and confidence is not an option. If you’ve been around long enough, you know that anything can happen in this rivalry, and that will only increase in the NIL era. This Florida team will beat themselves if you give them time. They make mistakes, commit penalties, and turn the ball over. Don’t forget their willingness to blow assignments, run bad routes, and get out of sync offensively. All Georgia needs to do is execute and wait for them to implode like Auburn did in the 2nd half.
3. Prepare for Florida’s Wildcard Offensive Changes
Last but not least are the changes that inevitably come when a coach is fired mid-season. Some of this will be out of Georgia’s control, but we have to understand that interim Billy Gonzales sounds like a man on a mission and is ready to lead this team. Now, Florida can’t change their scheme and roster with the wave of a wand, but they will be breaking tendencies left and right especially with the OC since Napier called his own plays. I would assume Russ Callaway will take over this role, but Gonzales has a background as WR coach and co-OC so expect him to be heavily involved. Georgia will need to expect the unexpected and be willing to throw some curveballs at Florida and not let them dictate terms on Saturday.
Final Thoughts: Georgia’s Consistency Should Win Out
Napier’s firing muddy’s the waters here a little bit, but the consistency of this Georgia team, the efficiency of the offense, and the persistence of a young defense and coaching staff that hopefully improved over the bye gives me confidence. I ordered some “Gator boots with a pimped out Gucci suit” on Amazon Prime that’ll be here Saturday, so imma need Georgia to put on a show so I don’t look ridiculous.
Go Dawgs!
Prediction: Georgia Wins 31–16
