DawgNation Staff
GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Florida doesn’t need to dig deep to find the script for upsetting Georgia.
Kirby Smart is 57-1 at UGA when allowing 20 or fewer points and 45-1 when holding the opposition under 100 yards rushing.
Of course, having a plan and executing are two completely different things. As the saying goes, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
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There’s a reason why the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs are a 22-point favorite over the Gators in the 3:30 p.m. game on Saturday at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
Florida offensive tackle Austin Barber and his linemates have spent the past two weeks cramming for the Gators’ biggest test of the season.
If there’s a Florida position group that’s justified in its confidence, it’s the Gators’ offensive line.
Florida leads the nation in yards-per-carry on its rush attempts as well as the fewest tackles-for-loss allowed.
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The Gators figure to get a boost this week with 6-foot-4, 347-pound guard O’Cyrus Torrence returning to the lineup after missing the LSU game.
“This has probably been one of our best weeks of practice, which we need to go against the No. 1 team in the nation,” said Barber, who grew up going to football games in Jacksonville.
“It’s a rivalry game. Anything can happen.”
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Georgia ranks fourth in the nation against the run, but other than Oregon — which out-rushed the Bulldogs 140-132 — UGA hasn’t played a Power 5 team currently ranked in the Top 50 in rushing.
The Bulldogs lost three first-round picks off a defensive line that allowed 161 yards rushing against the Gators in a 34-7 last season. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter, the preseason All-American that returned to the team, has been out with a sprained knee and is questionable to play.
“We don’t have three first-rounders across our defensive line,” Smart said before the season started, “so we can’t ask them or expect them to do what last year’s group did.”
Florida coach Billy Napier, meanwhile, has changed the blueprint for how the Gators’ offensive line is coached.
Napier’s plan to utilize two offensive line coaches -- most all other programs use one -- appears to be working.
“You’re coaching five players; I don’t think there’s anybody in the country that’s coaching five DBs with one guy,” Napier said, explaining his utilization of coaching resources.
“Things happen really fast in there, and it’s a very technical developmental position.”
The Florida backfield has also shown progress, boasting three of the top four rushers in the SEC in conference leader Montrell Johnson (7.2 yards per carry), quarterback Anthony Richardson (7.1) and fourth-place Travis Etienne (6.3).
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“We’ve played some good defenses, (and) this is a stellar defense,” Barber said. “But I just feel like if we get our technique right, our fundamentals right, we can run with anybody.
“I feel like it’s going to be us — not them— to see if we can run the ball or not.”
How Florida answers that challenge will mean everything to its chances of pulling off a major upset.
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Potent Florida run game main ingredient in Gators' formula to upset No. 1 Georgia - DawgNation
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