EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville will be the site of an annual heated rivalry this afternoon as the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs will face the Florida Gators. The 101st edition of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (or 102nd if you ask UGA) will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on CBS.
Georgia (7-0, 4-0 SEC) is coming off its bye week and is looking to explode into the home stretch of the season with a win over its nemesis from Gainesville. The two-time defending national champions were last seen dispatching of Vanderbilt 37-20 two weeks ago, a game where running back Daijun Edwards broke off 146 rushing yards and a touchdown. The story from that game was tight end Brock Bowers suffering a high ankle sprain that required surgery. He will miss today’s game and is expected to miss the next month.
Florida (5-2, 3-1 SEC) is also coming off a bye and could take first place in the SEC East standings with an upset victory in Jacksonville today. The Gators posted back-to-back victories prior to the bye and were last seen slipping past South Carolina 41-39 two weeks ago. Quarterback Graham Mertz was able to hit wide receiver Ricky Pearsall on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds left to pull ahead.
SP+ Rankings
Georgia: 2 overall, 7 offense, 7 defense
Florida: 30 overall, 28 offense, 42 defense
Injury update
Georgia
TE Brock Bowers – Out (Ankle)
DL Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins – Out (Foot)
LB EJ Lightsey – Out (Back)
RB Kendall Milton – Questionable (Undisclosed)
Florida
WR Andy Jean – Probable (Lower Body)
TE Dante Zanders – Probable (Lower Body)
TE Jonathan Odom – Out (Concussion)
WR Caleb Douglas – Out (Leg)
S Kamari Wilson – Questionable (Undisclosed)
OL Kingsley Eguakun – Questionable (Lower Body)
ATS/Total
Against The Spread in 2023
Georgia: 1-5-1 ATS
Florida: 3-4 ATS
Total in 2023
Georgia: Over 4-3
Florida: Over 3-3-1
Team Pace
Georgia: 2.16 plays per minute of offense
Florida: 2.0 plays per minute of offense
Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Georgia -14
Total: 49
Moneyline: Georgia -575, Florida +425
Opening line: Georgia -14
Opening total: 46.5
Weather
82 degrees, sunny, 9 MPH winds ENE
Our Best Bet for Georgia vs. Florida
Georgia -14
Georgia has mostly dominated this rivalry in the Kirby era with UF’s only win in the last six years coming during the 2020 COVID season. Florida has one of the slowest paced offenses in the country with just 2.0 plays per minute. If you’re moving that slow, you better be consistently moving the chains. That’s going to be extremely tough going up against a Georgia team that has the best third-down defense in the country, with opponents only converting on 23.6% of attempts.
I think the Dawgs stonewall the Gators all throughout the afternoon and I’ll take them to cover. I’m also a fan of the under cashing here.