Georgia @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2016 ) Florida 24, Georgia 10

The Georgia Bulldogs have been here before, building a special season with aspirations of a SEC title and maybe more on the horizon until traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., where the Florida Gators lay waste to those plans by winning another installment of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Here comes Georgia again on Saturday, ranked third in the nation, but the Gators remain confident despite a two-game losing streak.

“They can’t beat Florida,” Gators receiver Josh Hammond told reporters on Monday, referencing Florida’s three-game winning streak in a series where the Gators have won 21 of the past 27 meetings. “That’s our mentality going forward.” Florida spent last week’s bye working to improve an offense that scored just 33 points in narrow losses to LSU and Texas A&M, and ranks 95th in the country in scoring offense at 23.7 points per game. The Bulldogs also were off last week and feature the nation’s 10th-best rushing offense (282.9 yards per game) and fourth-best defense (12.6 points per game), but twice in the past 15 years have faced Florida unbeaten and ranked in the top five only to lose (2002, 2005). “It’s going to boil down to how we play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart told reporters Tuesday. “That’s all we can worry about.”

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Georgia -13.5

ABOUT GEORGIA (7-0, 4-0 SEC): The Bulldogs’ dynamic duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel have combined for 1,180 yards rushing and 14 rushing touchdowns, fueling an offense that has averaged 42.5 points in four conference games. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm has established himself as the No. 1 quarterback, passing for 326 yards and two touchdowns in a 53-28 rout of Missouri two weeks ago. The Georgia defense is giving up just 82.1 rushing yards per game and may have defensive tackle Trenton Thompson back from a knee injury this week.

ABOUT FLORIDA (3-3, 3-2): The Gators have averaged 200.4 yards rushing in their past five games, but quarterback Feleipe Franks has passed for just 243 yards in the past two contests, throwing two interceptions in the Texas A&M loss. Florida’s offense is averaging just 351.2 yards per game – 10th in the conference and 102nd nationally. The Gators held Texas A&M to only 263 yards of total offense, but defensive end Jordan Sherit is lost for the season with a hip injury and safety Nick Washington remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Gators P Johnny Townsend ranks second in the country in yards per punt (48.5).

2. Florida has allowed opponents to convert on third down 29.9 percent of the time (16th in the nation), while Georgia has converted 51 percent on third down, tops in the SEC.

3. A win Saturday would give Georgia its eighth 8-0 start in school history.

PREDICTION: Georgia 35, Florida 24