Georgia HC Kirby Smart highlighted key scary strengths of Florida Gators in historic SEC rivalry game
The "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" is back for its 103rd meeting in this storied SEC rivalry's history. Georgia will face Florida in Jacksonville at 3:30pm ET on Saturday. Most college football fans assume the outcome of this game has already been decided, but not Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart.Every chance he got this […]
The "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" is back for its 103rd meeting in this storied SEC rivalry's history. Georgia will face Florida in Jacksonville at 3:30pm ET on Saturday. Most college football fans assume the outcome of this game has already been decided, but not Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart.
Every chance he got this week Smart talked up the key scary strengths of Florida that his team needs to be prepared for because he knows that there isn't a single game in the SEC that's anywhere near an automatic victory, especially this year.
For those unfamiliar with Florida this season, they're going to be rolling out five star true freshman DJ Lagway at quarterback again this week. Smart was effusive in his praise of Lagway this week on multiple occasions, which makes plenty of sense given his wild upside. According to Pro Football Focus, Lagway is logging what they call a "Big Time Throw" on nearly 10% of his pass attempts. That shows up every single game as Lagway keeps making insane throws like the one you can see in Neil Blackmon's post below.
Outside of the obvious upside that comes with a five star talent at quarterback who could change the game, Kirby Smart also addressed other key strengths to watch out for on Florida:
"They have tremendous size, and they have length. They control the run game at a really high clip, meaning, when it's hard to run the ball on people. It's it's really hard to be successful on third down, forces you into passing situations, which sometimes get tough. But they're tackling better there they played. I guess complimentary football is the right word. At a high clip, they've got more tackles for a loss in more turnovers in the last three to four weeks."
Kirby's comments on Florida's "control" of the run game is definitely true as they're allowing just 3.3 yards per carry on the ground over the last three weeks. On top of that, the Gators haven't given up more than 169 passing yards in any game in that same span.
But how will Florida actually score on Georgia if the Bulldogs' pass rush shows to be as dominant as they have been lately? Kirby Smart was asked about the emergence of Florida's running back Jadan Baugh, who could certainly threaten this week:
"Yeah, [he's] extremely physical, twitchy, really good athlete. Returns kicks for them. He does it all. Catches the ball the backfield well, and yards after contact is really high. They allow their run game to wear you down because they're committed to it. They do a great job of of staying committed to it. So, you know, the bigger the backs, the more the wear and tear is in this league. That's what you need. You need physicality at the offensive line and in the backfield, and they have both."
At 6'1, 227 pounds Jadan Baugh brings a size and strength combination that can definitely wear down a defense. Baugh tallied 22 carries for over 100 yards and five (yes, 5!) touchdowns against Kentucky just two short weeks ago. Florida will almost assuredly look to him again to carry them against Georgia with running back Montrell Johnson still listed as questionable.
Georgia still has key advantages in several spots heading into this SEC rivalry game against Florida, but fans and Bulldogs players better understand the key strengths that might just keep this game close on Saturday. The Gators have the size, strength, run defense, five star quarterback, and rising star at running back to make this a tough matchup for Georgia. Hopefully Coach Smart and his staff have his Bulldogs ready like they always seem to do.
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