Gators Online Gameday Predictions: Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators (5-2, 3-1 SEC) will face the toughest test of the season when they meet the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville this Saturday. Florida comes in with a two-game winning streak, while the Bulldogs bring a 24-game winning streak of their own to Duval County.

Gators Online staff writers Zach Abolverdi, Nick de la Torre, Corey Bender, and Keith Niebuhr, will pick every game this season and we will keep track of our staff picks and predictions as the year goes.

Zach Abolverdi

So, you’re saying there’s a chance? Yes, I am. The Bulldogs are a juggernaut but they’re not unbeatable. There’s been close calls against Auburn and South Carolina, and Florida will be the best team they’ve played all season.

The Gators have a lot going for them right now. They’re the healthiest they’ve been, the defense had the bye week to work on some tackling issues, they’ve found their groove offensively and have also found their kicker in Trey Smack.

This team has made progress, and it will be reflected in the final score. I think Florida is going to have some success against UGA and make it a competitive, one-possession game. However, Georgia needs to make a lot of mistakes and the Gators must have an almost perfect game to pull off the upset. They’ll come up short but play admirably.

Prediction: Georgia, 24-20

Corey Bender

When looking at the programs on paper, one might believe this game will be one-sided in favor of the Dawgs, and understandably so.

In my opinion, however, I believe this game will be much closer than many believe.

Compared to No. 1-ranked Georgia, Florida doesn’t have much to lose during year two of the rebuild. That will allow the squad to play loose and take some chances. And even though last week was a bye, the Gators have to be fairly confident following the road victory against South Carolina. That was a confidence booster that injected plenty of belief into the locker room.

However, although Graham Mertz is surpassing everyone’s expectations, UF’s identity is the ground attack. The problem for Saturday? The Dawgs have been more than successful when defending the run, allowing 91.4 yards per contest. The defense as a whole is allowing just 14 points per game, so the Gators will need to produce a near mistake-free outing.

If that trend continues on Saturday, UF will be forced to play out of its element and that could be too much to handle against the nation’s top program. I think this game will be competitive though.

Prediction: Georgia, 34-24

Keith Niebuhr

I definitely think Florida found something in Columbia during its comeback win over South Carolina. Graham Mertz has been really good. The receivers are coming along. The running backs are solid. The offensive line is making strides. The defense wasn’t great, but made big plays in the clutch.

So the Gators should have some confidence entering this game.

That said, I really believe it’ll take a three-turnover type of day from Georgia for Florida to win. The Dawgs appear to be just a lot better up front and that could be difficult to overcome. 

If Florida can’t win Saturday, you at least want to see them be competitive. That in itself would be significant.

Prediction: Georgia 30-20

Nick de la Torre

Not having to face Brock Bowers this week is a win for the Gators. Bowers torched Florida last year for 151 and a touchdown but he’s also a great pass blocker. I think that affects Georgia’s offense greatly and maybe even more than we know. Still, Georgia has recruited at an elite level for seven consecutive years. Florida had a coaching staff uninterested in competing with Georgia on the recruiting trail.

Graham Mertz is the best quarterback this Georgia defense will face. Florida is the best team that Georgia will have faced to this point. Georgia is not as good as they were in 2021 or 2022. They’re still really good and the roster is deep. Florida will get to that level when they continue to beat Georgia for recruits like LJ McCray but that’s not this year.

Prediction: Georgia, 31-17

Tracking the picks

Game	Abolverdi	Bender	Niebuhr	de la Torre
Season Record:	6-1	4-3	6-1	6-1
Utah	Utah ✅	Utah ✅	Utah ✅	Florida ❌
McNeese	Florida ✅	Florida ✅	Florida ✅	Florida ✅
Tennessee	Florida ✅	Tennessee ❌	Florida ✅	Florida ✅
Charlotte	Florida ✅	Florida ✅	Florida ✅	Florida ✅
Kentucky	Florida ❌	Florida ❌	Florida ❌	Kentucky ✅
Vanderbilt	Florida ✅	Florida ✅	Florida ✅	Florida ✅
South Carolina	Florida ✅	South Carolina ❌	Florida ✅	Florida ✅
Georgia	Georgia	Georgia	Georgia	Georgia
Arkansas				
LSU				
Missouri				
Florida State