WHERE: EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

WHEN: Saturday, 3:30 p.m

RECORDS: Georgia 6-1, 4-1; Florida 4-3, 2-2

TV/RADIO: ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, DJ Shockey); National Radio (Chris Carlin, Max Starks, Mike Peasley); Sirius/XM (137/190).

Don't kid yourself. This is still the world's largest outdoor cocktail party. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

If you don't believe that, just look at the parking lot at EverBank Stadium.

As always, there is a lot at stake.

Bragging rights aside, after their big win at Texas, the Bulldogs have once again put themselves in position to not only return to Atlanta for the SEC Championship, but also secure a spot in the 12-team playoffs to compete for the national championship to fight.

Of course, Saturday's game in Jacksonville is just another step.

After Florida, Georgia travels to Ole Miss before hosting Tennessee; the Bulldogs also have to win two games.

But first the Bulldogs have to get past the Gators.

Florida's season got off to a rough start, but the Gators rebounded to win three of their final four games. Their last loss was a 24-17 decision at Tennessee.

Thanks to quarterback Graham Mertz's ACL injury, Florida used freshman DJ Lagway as a signal-caller, and the Gators' offense responded.

Lagway has great arm talent, but he can also hurt teams with his legs, an area the Bulldogs have struggled to control in the past.

Conversely, quarterback Carson Beck needs to reduce his interceptions and receivers need to stop dropping so many passes.

However, the running game with former Gator Trevor Etienne appears to be making progress while the defense has taken a big step forward, as evidenced by their work against the Longhorns.

The question is: can they continue like this?

Of note, the Bulldogs will play the first half of Saturday's game without the services of safety Dan Jackson and star Joenel Aguero after committing targeting penalties in the second half of the win over Texas.

With Jackson out, freshman KJ Bolden will start, with JaCorey Thomas taking over the lead role. In the season opener against Clemson, Thomas actually started as a star.

Georgia: QB Carson Beck, RB Trevor Etienne, TE Oscar Delp, WR Dillon Bell, WR Dominic Lovett, WR Arian Smith, OL Tate Ratledge, DL Nazir Stackhouse, LB CJ Allen, LB Jalon Walker, DE Mykel Williams, S Malaki Starks.

Florida: QB DJ Lagway, RB Montrell Johnson, RB Jaden Baugh, WR Elijhah Badger, WR Chimere Dike, DE Tyreak Sapp, DT Caleb Banks, S Jordan Castell.

Get Carson Beck on the right track: Kudos to Beck for the job he did in leading Georgia on its game-winning play at Texas after the Longhorns made it a one-point game. Still, eight interceptions in his last four games is a number Beck needs to clean up. An efficient performance against the Gators would ease a lot of uneasy feelings going forward.

Set the run: They know Trevor Etienne will be eager to face his former team. But more importantly, the Bulldogs need a strong running game to make their play-action passing game work more efficiently, which makes Beck's job easier.

Make Florida One Dimensional: One way to do this is to take the lead early. Florida has some injuries in the backfield, so there could be an opportunity to make Florida's running game a non-factor and pressure new quarterback DJ Lagway to make plays.

Georgia

Run back Roderick Robinson – Out of

Linebackers Smael Mondon – Out of

Run back Branson Robinson – Out of

Defensive player Joseph Jonah Ajonye – Out of

Wide receiver Anthony Evans III – Out of

Defensive back Joenel Aguero – Out (1st half)

Defensive back Dan Jackson – Out (1st half)

Defensive player Jordan Hall – Probably

Offensive lineman Tate Ratledge – Probably

Aguero and Jackson are expected to miss the first half after being sent off for targeting against Texas.

Florida

Defensive back Ja'Keem Jackson – Out of

Defensive back Jason Marshall – Out of

Recipient Eugene Wilson – Out of

quarterback Graham Mertz – Out of

Defensive back Asa Turner – Out of

Recipient Kahleil Jackson – Out of

Offensive lineman Devon Manuel – Out of

Offensive lineman Roderick Kearney – Out of

Defensive player Jamari Lyons – Out of

Run back Montreal Johnson – Questionable

Inside linebacker RJ Moten – Questionable

Offensive lineman Damion George – Questionable

… The Bulldogs are looking for their fourth straight win against Florida by at least 20 points.

… Georgia is expected to have both right guard Tate Ratledge (surgery) back for the first time in four games and defenseman Jordan Hall (stress fracture) available for the first time this year.

… With Dan Jackson and Joenel Aguero missing the first half because of their targeting penalties at Texas, KJ Bolden is expected to start at safety and JaCorey Thomas is expected to start.

… Wide receivers Dominic Lovett (31 catches for 337 yards and two touchdowns), Arian Smith (29-44-3) and Dillon Bell (26-310-4) remain the top targets for Carson Beck, who lost to Florida last year Ball completed 19 of 28 passes for 315 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Gators.

… Linebacker Jalon Walker is coming off a game in which he became the first player in 20 years to record three sacks and seven tackles against then-No. 1Texas.

… Kicker Peyton Woodring leads the Bulldogs with 61 points scored, including converting 12 of his 13 field goal attempts.

… In its Week 8 win over UK, Florida started a true freshman at both quarterback (DJ Lagway) and running back (Jadan Baugh) for the first team in program history and is one of two FBS programs to do so this season have done it (Stanford). . In his first career start, Baugh scored the first five rushing touchdowns of his career and finished the game with 22 carries for 106 yards, giving him his first 100-yard game of his career. Baugh's five rushing touchdowns represent the most in a game in program history (Trey Burton against UK in 2010, Tim Tebow against South Carolina in 2007) and are the most ever by a Gator in their first career start.

… Florida is the only team in the country with two qualified receivers averaging 20.0 yards per catch: WR Elijhah Badger (first – 23.8) and WR Chimere Dike (16th – 20.0).

… Florida's defense just came off its first three-interception game since Nov. 28, 2020 against Kentucky. The Gators recorded multiple takeaways for the second straight game, scoring a takeaway in six of seven contests.

… The Gators have allowed just 10 sacks this season, which ranks third in the SEC and 34th nationally.

… More on Lagway: In the Week 8 win over Kentucky, Lagway made his second career start by throwing for 259 yards and an interception on 7-for-14 passing and finishing with a 191.1 rating. … In seven games (two starts), Lagway has completed 54 of 86 passes (62.8 percent) for 1,024 yards (146.3 YPG), five touchdowns and five interceptions. … Lagway's rating of 170.4 ranks third in the SEC and 10th in the FBS among quarterbacks with at least 80 passes. … Lagway had five completions for 40 yards in each of his first two career starts (vs. Samford, v. Kentucky). … No other Florida quarterback has completed five passes of over 40 yards in a game in the last 20 years. … Not surprisingly, entering the bye week, Lagway led all FBS quarterbacks with a 63 percent completion rate on throws over 20 yards down the field.

Every year there is concern about whether Georgia is ready for the Gators. As long as Kirby Smart is the head coach, that should be the least of your worries.

Florida has made some progress since its slow start, but Georgia is also playing well. Although the Bulldogs have yet to play a full game, Georgia appears to be on an upward trend following its impressive win at Texas.

The Bulldogs also appear to be getting healthier with the apparent returns of Tate Ratledge and Jordan Hall. Meanwhile, Florida has some injury concerns. Talented sophomore receiver Eugene Wilson II has already been listed as out, while running back Montrell Johnson remains questionable. Prediction: Georgia 38, Florida 14.