Tim Tebow: Rankings, records do not matter at Cocktail Party

Georgia comes into Saturday’s game against Florida ranked as the top team in the nation with a 7-0 record. The Gators are just 4-3. The Bulldogs are favorited by two touchdowns. While many don’t give Florida much of a chance against Georgia on Saturday, Tim Tebow doesn’t think that matters.

Georgia and Florida have a long rivalry, and their annual matchup is known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” With a different environment and the rivalry atmosphere, Tebow thinks that Florida has a chance on Saturday against Georgia.

“I think in this game, it is a little different,” Tebow said. “Yes, Georgia is number one and Florida is unranked. But it is like I said two weeks ago when Florida went to Death Valley and everybody said , ‘It won’t be a game, Florida’s going to kill them.’ That’s a rivalry game. You’re going into a unique environment. LSU played up to the level of their competition, I think Florida is going to do the same thing. If you look at history in this game, it doesn’t always matter who is the ranked team. It doesn’t always matter what the record is.”

Tebow: Florida needs to ‘put Georgia on their heels’ on Saturday

Florida’s offense has the ability to be explosive behind quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson. If Florida wants a chance against Georgia’s historically dominant defense, that will need to be the case on Saturday.

“I think Dan [Mullen] has coached really well in this game, even when he’s had a more of an underdog team,” said Tebow. “I think you will see some really good things. He’ll use his running backs and the biggest question mark is can you find explosive plays. No one this year has gotten explosive plays against Georgia. And because of that, they are kind of playing behind the eight ball. Can Florida actually put Georgia on their heels, which no one has done. If they can, you can kind of get Georgia out of its comfort zone and make this thing a fourth-quarter game.”

Stetson Bennett will again start for Georgia at quarterback. JT Daniels is available, but it will be Bennett leading Georgia’s offense out of the gate. Florida coach Dan Mullen hasn’t let that get in the way of Florida’s preparation for Georgia on Saturday.

“I don’t know if it’s a problem because they are going to run their offense with either guy in the game,” Mullen said. “I think it’s understanding which guy is in the game, it’s really understanding what this guy brings to the table. And what are his strengths, what are his weaknesses.”

Kickoff for the Cocktail Party is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.