Across the Ball: Three key matchups for Georgia-Florida

Here are three matchups to watch for Georgia as it enters Saturday’s game against Florida.

Georgia’s defense vs. Florida quarterback DJ Lagway

Lagway will be a tremendous challenge for Georgia’s defense. Historically, head coach Kirby Smart’s defenses have had trouble defending mobile quarterbacks. Additionally, the Bulldogs have been unable to rush the passer and the secondary has not held up well when opposing quarterback have been given time. This season, the Georgia defense ranks 12th in the SEC and 71st nationally by allowing 222.3 yards in the air per game. 

Perhaps with the bye week, the Bulldogs have been able to work on getting the pass rush on track for the remainder of the season. If not, the secondary will have a tough challenge against one of the SEC’s top quarterbacks. 

Georgia’s run game vs. Florida’s front seven 

Much of Georgia’s offensive success has come due to its ability to establish the run. As the Bulldogs have improved offensively, play-action opportunities have opened up and opposing defenses have been off balance. However, the one game where Georgia truly struggled to run the ball came against Auburn, one of the SEC’s better rushing defenses. 

Florida ranks seventh in the conference in rush defense by allowing 117.7 yards on the ground per game. While the Gators haven’t been as good as Auburn, it’s still a solid group that will look to slow down Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier. However, if the Bulldogs can find the kind of success on the ground that Miami and Texas A&M did against Florida, they should be in good shape. Georgia ranks fifth in the SEC at 190.6 rushing yards per game. 

Georgia vs. Florida’s emotion

The unknown intangible in this game is how Florida will respond following former head coach Billy Napier’s firing. Coming off a win over Mississippi State, albeit one with some boneheaded decisions, Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin opted to spark the program by making a change with his head coach. Sometimes these moves work. Just ask Georgia Tech, which went from laughingstock under Geoff Collins to top-10 playoff contender under Brent Key.

The Gators had high hopes entering this season and fell predictably flat under a head coach who, quite frankly, shouldn’t have been given any games in 2025. But with the move, the Bulldogs must match Florida’s energy and emotion with just how important this rivalry is and with how crippling a loss would be for its playoff hopes. Florida will love nothing more than to spoil Georgia’s season. 

ICYMI

Five-star commit Jared Curtis dishes on his Vanderbilt visit.

Smart is confident that the program’s receivers will step up with Colbie Young out.

The Bulldogs’ defense continues to look for fixes following the bye week.

The state of Georgia’s recruiting class for 2026.

Hoops: Pro guard TJ Clark is receiving some high-major college interest, which includes Georgia.