All week, UF players have talked about how they want to face Todd Gurley when Florida (3-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) takes on Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) in its annual meeting in Jacksonville on Saturday.
The Gators are third in the SEC in yards allowed per rush (3.08) and believe that in order to be the best, you have to play the best.
"He’s a great player and great players bring great competition out of you," UF Buck linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. said. "I feel like he’ll be a good competition for our defense coming up and just for the team."
But unfortunately for the Gators, they will not be facing the Bulldogs’ lead tailback come Saturday.
The NCAA ruled Wednesday that Gurley — who was suspended indefinitely on Oct. 9 for accepting money from memorabilia dealers and has not played in UGA’s last two games — will sit out for two more games. Georgia appealed the suspension, but if it’s not overturned, Gurley will not be eligible to compete again until Georgia faces Auburn on Nov. 15.
"It’s a shame. Todd’s an outstanding player, he’s a great competitor," Florida coach Will Muschamp said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. "I think his biggest talent is his competitive edge and the guy runs and blocks and does everything at a very high level so he’s an outstanding player."
But Gurley’s suspension has not impacted Florida’s game plan for Saturday’s matchup.
"Their scheme really hasn’t changed with him being out," defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin said. "Obviously, we’ve had the benefit of seeing some games with him out. They’ve got some really good running backs besides him. Obviously, he’s a great player, but they have some other really talented running backs they can do a lot of the same things he does."
With Gurley ineligible, Georgia will continue to ride true freshman Nick Chubb as its starting tailback.
In UGA’s last two games — a 34-0 shutout against Missouri and a 45-32 win against Arkansas — Chubb has picked up where Gurley dropped off, amassing 68 carries, 345 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
"The running back they have right now, Nick Chubb, he’s just almost the same (as Gurley)," linebacker Jarrad Davis said. "He’s just maybe a little bit shorter. That’s it. He’s a great back, too. He puts up a lot of yards and he runs physical just like Todd Gurley."
Stopping the run will be key for Florida on Saturday, as Georgia’s ground game accounts for 60.8 percent of its offense.
"It’s going to be a physical game," Fowler said. "They like to run with two backs, so we’ve seen how that is with LSU and ‘Bama and teams like that. That’s when we love to get our noses dirty and just go out there and play physical."
While Florida has confidence that they can contain Georgia’s run game, Muschamp said Wednesday that execution on the field will be the main determinant for how the game pans out.
"Don’t confuse effort with production," Muschamp said. "That’s one of the things I told our team on Sunday after Missouri. You can go practice extremely well and practice hard and prepare yourself well and play hard in the game. But if you are not productive that’s not what we’re looking for. You’ve got to be productive. You can have great effort and maybe not have the production, the results that you want. We just need to be more productive.’’
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Dante Fowler Jr. (6) tackles Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk during Florida's 42-13 loss to Missouri.
