Inside the Gators staffers Landon Watnick and Mark Wheeler take a closer look at this weekend's match-up between Florida and Georgia, including predicting a winner.
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1) What match-up do you think will define this weekend's game?
Watnick: I’m interested in seeing how Florida’s defense fares when it comes to defending Georgia’s three-headed rushing attack in Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Brian Herrien. In recent weeks, the Gators’ run defense hasn’t been as good as we’ve come to expect from the group, but that’s in large part due to the absence of starters Joey Ivie (thumb), Jordan Sherit (knee) and Bryan Cox Jr. (thumb) in recent games. All three look probable to play this weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see how improved Florida is on that end. Georgia has one of the best stables of running backs in the SEC, but its run-blocking from the offensive line this year has been inconsistent.
Wheeler: This is a hard question to answer because what Georgia tries to do offensively will greatly depend on who Florida has available defensively. If once again the Gators are without three of their four starters (Cox, Ivie and Sherit) along the defensive line, I look for the Bulldogs to try to establish the run in order to then be able to pick and choose when they take their shots at the Gators' pass defense. If the three starters in question are able to play, the Gators are then again one of the top rush defenses in the nation. That will cause more of the onus to fall on Jacob Eason and Company – who I believe Florida can shut down - thus turning Georgia into a one-dimensional team.
