JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Fourth-ranked Georgia looks
to move a step closer to a second straight trip to the
Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday when it takes
on No. 21 Florida in their annual grudge match.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1 SEC East) also will be out to avenge last
year's only loss. Florida spoiled Georgia's bid for an
undefeated season with a 20-13 victory.
A year later, the roles appear to be reversed for the latest
installment of the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail" party at
ALLTEL Stadium. Georgia came into last season's game having come
off easy wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky while Florida had
lost two of its previous three contests.
This season, it's the Bulldogs who are struggling, having posted
a pair of unimpressive wins over Vanderbilt and
Alabama-Birmingham. After getting blanked in the first half of a
27-8 at Vanderbilt, Georgia survived a major scare last week,
holding on for a 16-13 win over UAB, a four-touchdown underdog.
Georgia squandered a 10-point lead, falling behind, 13-10,
midway through the third quarter. But Billy Bennett kicked a
29-yard field goal with 3:31 left in the third quarter, then
connected from 31 yards with 12:57 left in the fourth to snap
the tie. Bennett's winning field goal gave him a school-record
355 career points.
Georgia coach Mark Richt hopes last week's scare will keep his
team focused in practice this week.
"We're a tired team, a banged-up team," Richt told the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. "I don't know if we've got enough juice
left. We barely had enough juice the last two weeks. We're as
vulnerable as we've ever been."
Florida (5-3, 3-2) has endured a strange season under
second-year coach Ron Zook as the Gators seem to play better on
the road than at home. They have been in and out of the top 25.
While the Gators have suffered home losses to Tennessee and
Mississippi, they are back on an upswing. Florida posted
impressive back-to-back road wins at Louisiana State and Arkanas
when it appeared the Gators could in jeopardy of not even
making a bowl. They also are well-rested after not playing last
week.
"My biggest concern is they've (Florida) gained a lot of
momentum and have had a lot of time to rest," Richt said. "We've
been barely hanging on for dear life in our ballgames, not very
impressive."
Georgia leads Florida and Tennessee by one game in the SEC East.
A win Saturday will eliminate the Gators and help the SEC avoid
a potential headache. Should the three teams tie for the
division title, a conference vote would determine the
representative in the championship game.
Florida has dominated the series in recent years, winning five
straight and 12 of the last 13 meetings to cut the Bulldogs'
lead to 45-34-2.
In last year's win, Florida's Rex Grossman completed 36-of-46
passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns while Musa Smith rushed
for 100 yards on 22 carries for the Gators.