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Florida football faces long odds in it matchup with rival No. 2 Georgia on Saturday at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville (3:30 p.m., ABC).
In this week’s Swampcast, the Sun’s Kevin Brockway and David Whitley discuss the rivalry game and whether the Florida Gators (4-3. 2-2 SEC) can close the gap after losing by an average margin of 22.5 points to the Bulldogs in their first two seasons under coach Billy Napier.
Brockway said he’s curious to see how Florida true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway handles his third career start facing Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, a defensive mastermind. Lagway improved to 2-0 as a starter, passing for 259 yards on 37 yards per completion during UF’s 48-20 win over Kentucky on Oct. 19.
“We saw (Kentucky coach) Mark Stoops did not respect the deep ball much and DJ Lagway made him pay in that regard,” Brockway said. “So, I’m fascinated to see how Kirby Smart handles it, how deep he drops guys into coverage, what that opens up underneath, what that opens up for the run game as well.”
Whitley said that Georgia presents another opportunity for Napier, who is 2-12 against ranked teams in his Florida tenure, to pick up a signature win.
“What’s Florida’s best quality win, Kentucky? Kentucky, they came close to beating Georgia, but they also have been struggling, that’s why Stoops is on the hot seat,” Whitley said. “So, you beat Georgia, though, that talking point is out the window because nobody is going to say that that’s not a quality win.”
Later, Brockway and Whitley were joined by Georgia beat writer Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald, who discussed how the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) have dealt with injuries on defense and the offensive line to remain among the top teams in the country.
“The biggest difference right now is when you look at Georgia’s receiving corps, you have Dominic Lovett, you…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-football-pull-off-upset-212807917.html
Author : The Gainesville Sun
Publish date : 2024-10-30 21:28:07
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