Players and coaches often won’t outright admit that some games mean more than others either out of political correctness or respect for their opponents. But the reality of college football — and sports for that matter — is that all games are not created equally, and that’s perfectly fine.
For weeks, members of the Florida football team have been saying something along the lines of “this is the biggest game of the season because it’s the next game.”
Well, this Saturday’s game against Georgia is truly the biggest game of the season.
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party gets this honor by virtue of it being a rivalry game, having College Football Playoff implications and its winner deciding which team represents the SEC East in the conference championship game over the past four years.
The No. 6 Gators expect to be healthy for their third top-10 matchup of the season against No. 8 Georgia.
Linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle), defensive end Jabari Zuniga (ankle) and wide receiver Kadarius Toney (shoulder) are all expected to return.
“It will be good with everybody back there, even on the offensive side with KT (Toney),” Greenard said. “Just seeing guys like that running the ball again, Zu (Zuniga) back out there and everybody back out there how it was Week 1 or Week 0.”
His comment shows just how long it’s been since the Gators (7-1, 4-1 SEC) have not had key contributors sidelined. UF will welcome the reinforcements on both sides of the ball.
In its past two meetings with Georgia (6-1, 3-1 SEC), Florida has been outscored 78-24.
The Bulldogs offense runs through its ground game and it has been stellar in that regard during its current win streak over Florida. UGA has run for 481 yards in the teams’ past two meetings, including 104 yards by running back D’Andre Swift last year.
Having Greenard and Zuniga back will bolster the Gators run defense, which suffered in their absence. Their return will also help the pass rush against Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, one of the most accurate passers in the FBS. He’s ranked eighth in the nation in completion percentage, connecting on more than 70 percent of his passes.
“He's a patient, smart quarterback who doesn't do anything to lose the game,” Greenard said.
Fromm, though, is coming off the lowest passing yardage total of his career (35) in an underwhelming 21-0 win over Kentucky. This came after a 20-17 overtime loss at home to unranked South Carolina, a team UF beat on the road 38-27 two weeks ago.
Still, Fromm is 2-0 in his career against the Gators and has thrown four touchdowns to one interception in those games.
On the other side of the ball, Florida has struggled against UGA as well. The Gators have less than 200 passing yards in their past two games against the Bulldogs.
But this season, UF’s offense is more defined by its aerial attack than its running game with the emergence of quarterback Kyle Trask and the comfort of having one of the deepest receiving rooms in college football. And Toney’s return only bolsters Florida’s best unit.
“I think it’s going to help our offense a lot this week, just having him back as a weapon, going against a great defense like Georgia has,” Trask said.
The road to Atlanta will be paved in Jacksonville this weekend. Florida is better prepared to knock off Georgia than it has been in three years and the Bulldogs appear more vulnerable than they have been in that same time frame.
“We’ve got a chance to make the SEC Championship,” cornerback C.J. Henderson said. “It starts with this game.”
Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood. Contact him at kwood@alligator.org
Linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) is one of the Gators returning from injury this week.
