Florida Football: 4 reasons why the Gators will beat Georgia

Florida football covered the spread in last year’s game against the University of Georgia in their annual showdown in Jacksonville. This year, they’ll do more than that; they’ll win.

4 reasons why Florida football will beat Georgia

With Bulldogs All-American tight end Brock Bowers most likely out for this one, this will put more pressure on the rest of the Bulldog receivers to step up, as well as quarterback Carson Beck. And let’s be honest, even if one or multiple receivers step up, none will be to the level of Bowers. So this favors Florida.

1. UGA has never had Back-To-Back Undefeated Seasons

It’s also extremely difficult to go undefeated  in college football – let alone the SEC. Although the Bulldogs went undefeated last year, they’ve never had back-to-back undefeated seasons in their programs history. In fact, the last time the Bulldogs had an undefeated season before last year was in 1980 when they went 11-0.

2. Billy Napier and Florida Outperforming Year Two Expectations

For Florida football, head coach Billy Napier already has the Gators at 5-2 this season in a year many thought the Gators would win only five or six games total. Napier’s track record as a head coach showed promise in year two as well at his previous stop at Louisiana where he went 11-3 in his second season. His first at Florida was 6-7. His first at Louisiana was 7-7, so some strong comparisons can be drawn here. And again, with the Gators starting 5-2, it looks like they’re a lot better than people projected, and could be more of a fight for the Bulldogs than they anticipated pre-season. 11-3 like his second year at Louisiana? Maybe not. But the Gators should definitely be at least a 7-8 win team by the end of the season, and able to give the Bulldogs a run for their money.

3. Quarterback play of Graham Mertz

Florida starting quarterback Graham Mertz is also playing exceptionally well so far this season completing 76% of his passes, which is better than the average 58% he completed in the two seasons prior as the starting quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers before transferring to Gainesville. Mertz has thrown for 1,897 yards through seven games with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. Georgia first year starting quarterback and senior Carson Beck has thrown for 2,147 yards which is more than Mertz. However, it’s worth pointing out that while the Bulldogs individually and as a team are performing as expected, the Gators are outperforming their expectations both as a team and individually.

4. Center and Offensive Line Anchor Kingsley Eguakun

The Gators should also have starting center Kingsley Eguakun who has been an unquestionable difference maker when he’s been in the lineup. Eguakun brings senior leadership, and is a true anchor for the Gators in his third season as the team’s starting center. While Eguakun has missed some games this year with injury, he was on the field for the Gators victory against the Vols in Gainesville 29-16. And it showed in pass protection and the run game as the Gators ran for 183 yards. Eguakun is expected to be fully healthy for the affair against the Bulldogs and this should help them tremendously.

This rivalry has had its share of upsets as well on both sides. And with the Gators being 14 point underdogs, it would definitely be one. Most recently, in 2014, the then unranked Gators defeated the ninth ranked Bulldogs 38-20. And where the two teams are right now feels eerily similar to that. The difference being in 2014 the Gators were a program on the decline under head coach Will Muschamp. This time, they appear to be on a steady incline.