Greg McElroy picks Georgia to win, Florida to cover in rivalry game

No. 5 Georgia and Florida will clash this weekend in the 103rd edition of the ‘World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party’. The game will, however, mark the first game coached by Florida interim head coach Billy Gonzales, as former head coach Billy Napier was let go following the Gators’ win over Mississippi State two weeks ago.

The game has been dominated by Kirby Smart‘s Georgia team in recent history, as the Bulldogs have won seven of the last eight meetings. Since Smart took over the Georgia program in 2016, he has now coached against four different Florida head coaches (Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen, Billy Napier and Billy Gonzales) over the span of 10 rivalry games.

Ahead of that matchup, ESPN‘s Greg McElroy made his prediction for the game on the latest edition of the ‘Always College Football‘ podcast. Although he is rolling with Georgia to continue its march to the College Football Playoff, McElroy predicted that Florida will cover the +7.5 point spread.

Greg McElroy picks Georgia to win, Florida to cover +7.5

“I’ll take Georgia in this game, but I’m gonna take the points,” McElroy said. “I actually think Florida‘s offense will make some plays. They’ll take the governor off and even though I think Georgia‘s really good against the run, I do think there are a couple of vulnerabilities in the back end that I think DJ Lagway and this wide receiver core can have some success against.

“I also don’t know if the pass rush is going to have a huge impact on DJ Lagway‘s decision-making. I think Georgia wins, I think Florida covers in a game that could become a high-scoring affair.”

McElroy is expecting a strong performance by Lagway against the Georgia defense. Last season, Florida‘s 34-20 loss to the Bulldogs marked the final game of the season that Lagway did not start in. Although he was expected to be a Heisman contender following a strong end to his freshman campaign, the Willis, Tex., native has passed for just 1,513 yards and nine touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.

Florida will have to win three of its final five games to clinch a bowl game (No. 5 Georgia, Kentucky, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 14 Tennessee and Florida State). If it fails to do so, the Gators will miss a bowl game for the second time in three seasons for the first time since 1985-87. A win, meanwhile, would be massive for Georgia‘s College Football Playoff resume, as it would improve to 7-1 on the season

Kickoff for this weekend’s rivalry matchup between the Gators and Bulldogs in Jacksonville is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ABC.

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