NCAA Football Preview: No. 2 Florida Gators Face No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs in Win or Die SEC East Battle

Date/Time: Sat, Oct 27 / 03:35:00 PM ET, EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

It’s show time.  The third-ranked Florida Gators (7-0, 6-0 SEC) are inches away from securing a spot in the SEC Championship Game when they meet the 12th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1). The game, which represents the last big test for the Gators, will take place this Saturday afternoon at a neutral field (EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville).

The unbeaten Gators will be facing their fourth ranked opponent of the season. So far, Florida has scored victories over #23 Tennessee (37-20) and #4 LSU (16-14) and #9 South Carolina (44-11). The chain of victories over ranked opponents put the Gators and Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the only teams in the NCAA football totaling three wins over ranked opponents, and the only college program with two top-10 wins this season. Florida, second in the most recent installment of the BCS rankings, also achieved its sixth 7-0 start in the program history, and the fourth since 1995.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, will try to contain Florida’s offense and take over first place in SEC East with a win.  UGA needs to score a victory over the Gators and win the remaining games against Mississippi and Auburn to content for the SEC Championship Game for second straight year. At this point of the season, and considering the coming schedule, the Bulldogs stand as the only team in the SEC East with a chance to steal the Gators’ spot in the SEC title game, but first they will need to defeat an unbeaten rival to make that happen.

Despite not facing the same challenging schedule as other SEC teams, Georgia is 6-1 on the season. UGA's biggest wins of the season have been over Missouri (41-20), Vanderbilt (48-3) and Tennessee (51-44). The team, which is coming from a complicated 29-24 victory at Kentucky, suffered a 35-7 reverse at South Carolina on October 6^th.

Now that we’ve checked each team record, let’s review the possible outcomes for this game.

If Georgia wins, then both teams will have the same record (7-1). However, the Bulldogs would get some advantage over the Gators due their schedule. UGA still has conference games against the Ole Miss Rebels and Auburn Tigers, and closes its regular season with home games against the Georgia Southern Eagles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, which puts them in a good position to clinch the SEC East.

If Florida wins, then they’d have an 8-0 record. That will give the Gators a huge advantage over its SEC East Rivals. Their last conference game comes on November 3, 2012 when they receive the Missouri Tigers. Statistically, every other SEC East team would have at least two conference losses, and Florida would officially play the SEC West champion. Potential champions include Alabama, LSU, and Mississippi State.

NCAAF Odds:
Florida Gators: -6.5-110, ML -280
Georgia Bulldogs: +6.5-110, ML +240
Game Total: 47.5, o/u: -110

Bulldogs-Gators is one of the great rivalry games in college football, and since 1933 most games between these two teams have been held in Jacksonville, Florida, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries.

The Bulldogs lead the series between the two teams with a record of 47 wins, 40 losses and 2 Ties since 1915. The last meeting held on October 29^th, end up with a close 20-24 victory for UGA. Prior to last year's game, Florida had won three straight and 18 of the previous 22 meetings. Georgia hasn’t won two straight over the Florida since taking three-in-a-row from 1987-89.

Sports betting college football odds for all your favorite teams updated in real-time available exclusively at Sports Betting Online. Get immediate access to bet the games when you open a FREE Account - New members can also get an unbelievable 10% cash-back bonus on all the bets you make deposited to your account every week.