It’s Florida-Georgia week. Or, since UGA seems to be in control of the series now, I guess maybe it’s the Georgia-Florida week. For me, this is the biggest game every year. I live up here in Georgia. Bulldog fans are extremely tough to live with when they win. Actually, they are no picnic when they lose either. I never call any of my Bulldog friends to rub it in when they lose, but let Florida lose and my phone rings non-stop. This doesn’t feel like Florida-Georgia week. Somehow, this year’s game is getting lost in the depression over being 3-3 midway through the season and the Missouri debacle. This is still a big game and despite the odds being heavily stacked against the Gators this season, it is still a winnable game.
This is where we find out about the players on this team. Most Gator fans have already made up their minds about the coaching staff but what about these players? Will they come out onto the field in Jacksonville ready to play for pride in what is arguably the most important rivalry they have? To have a chance in this game the Gators will have to come ready to play four quarters of smash mouth football. It is no big secret what Georgia plans to do on Saturday. The Bulldogs will run at Florida for sixty minutes and see if the Gators are physical enough to stop Nick Chubb and maybe Todd Gurley for an entire game. Bulldog senior quarterback Hutson Mason will only be asked to throw downfield enough to keep the Gators from stacking the line to stop the run. Conversely, Georgia will stack the line to shut down Florida’s running game and dare freshman Treon Harris to beat them through the air. It will take a breakout game by Harris for Florida to win this game.
I certainly would not put money on a Florida win Saturday, but I do not think it is unimaginable either. This is a series that is known for taking strange turns and it has seen the underdog derail the favorite’s championship hopes more than once. Georgia is starting to look at the big picture now. They believe they have a very real shot at being in the first playoff. I agree with them. If Georgia wins out and then wins the SECCG, they will be in the playoffs. There is reason to believe that UGA can do just that. The Bulldogs have gotten better as the season has progressed.
Unfortunately Florida has not. After playing an improving LSU team to the wire and being in position to win that game, the Gators were inexplicably horrible against Missouri. If that is the Florida team that shows up in Jacksonville, the Cocktail Party will be brutal to watch. If the team that played LSU shows up we might have a game. What concerns me most is that the team will come out full of adrenaline and emotion and trade blows with the Bulldogs early only to have the emotion wear off leaving them a step slow and at Georgia’s mercy the remainder of the game. Hopefully, the team will prepare properly this week and keep their intensity for four quarters.
The importance of this game CANNOT be overstated. The coaching staff desperately needs a win here to have any chance of being back next season. I believe the staff has reached a “survive and advance” status in their employment needing to win virtually every week to hold off the wolf at the door. Even that may not be enough. This game is important to whoever IS coaching the Gators next season. Florida recruiting is starting to flounder badly and the Gators need to show prospective recruits that there is still life in the program.
Most importantly, this is the Florida-Georgia game. The two decade dominance by Florida is clearly over. The Gators are no longer in the Bulldogs heads. In fact, if anything that situation has completely reversed. A loss Saturday makes this a four game winning streak for UGA and gives the Bulldogs complete control in the series. That alone will make it difficult for the coaching staff to survive a loss in this game. Most Gator fans will check out on this season entirely if Florida is blown out in this game. The stands will be a third or more empty for the remaining home games. These are the things that seal a coaching staff’s fate. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley can ignore fan outrage for a period of time. He cannot ignore fan apathy.
I personally have thrown a viewing party for this game at the lake for years. I am not hosting the party this year. I will still have a few friends around, but I have no interest in having to play host to a bunch of Georgia fans while watching what I saw against Missouri play out in Jacksonville. I hope to be surprised on Saturday. I hope the Gators come out and show some pride in themselves, their teammates and the program. I believe there is enough talent to win this game if everyone does what they are supposed to do and if the coaches put them in a position to succeed. I wish I could say that I had any faith in that taking place. I do not. I hope I’m wrong.