Game Day: Florida vs No. 1 Georgia (CBS, 3:30)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's been two weeks since the Florida Gators' last outing and it's been a year since their last crack at the Georgia Bulldogs. If you're a UF fan, you know where this is going. 

Basically, there will be very two very distinct measuring sticks in play when Florida (4-3, 1-3) and No. 1 Georgia (7-0, 4-0) square off for the 100th time in their storied Southeastern Conference rivalry Saturday at TIAA Bank Field. 

They are: 

1) What, if any, adjustments have been or can be made to address the defensive issues that allowed LSU to roll for 528 yards and convert 10 of 14 third- or fourth-down situations in the 45-35 home loss to the Tigers on Oct. 15?

2) How much has UF quarterback Anthony Richardson grown since making his first career start against the top-ranked (and eventual national champion) Bulldogs on Oct. 30, 2021, when his three turnovers over just 88 seconds inside three minutes to go in the first half turned an anyone's game into a 24-0 halftime deficit in the blink of a red-and-black eye? 

[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff" setup here]

To be fair, the Gators could show significant progress on both fronts Saturday and still end up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. That's how good the Bulldogs are. That's why UGA, with wins in four of the previous five in the series, will go into the game as a whopping 22.5-point favorite, putting UF in its biggest underdog role in more than 40 years. 

Both teams are coming off bye weeks, which is often the time struggling teams make changes. The Gators, who are looking to avoid their worst five-game Southeastern Conference start since the 0-10-1 debut 1979 season under Charley Pell, qualify as a "struggling" bunch, but this is college football and there is only so much that can be done relative to personnel. Scheme is another matter, and it's safe to assume Coach Billy Napier and his staff will do something different on the defensive side, given UF is surrendering 429.3 yards per game (that's 12th in the 14-team league and 108th out of 131 FBS-classified teams) and has allowed opponents to convert on third down at 52.6-percent efficiency. That's 130th nationally (only Colorado, at 52.8 percent, is worse), which should make Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (2,033 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT), tailback Dajuan Edwards (334 yards, 5 TD) and tight end Brock Bowers (26 catches, 393 yards, 2 TD) pretty confident. 

For context: Georgia's defense is allowing just 247.1 yards per game (first in the SEC, fourth in the nation) and is getting off the field on third down at a 29.5-percent clip (13th in FBS). Oh, and the Bulldogs also allow just 9.1 points per game (first SEC, second FBS) and just 83.4 yards rushing (first SEC, fourth FBS), which is best thing the Gators do. They're doing this after having five players taken in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft off a defense that was considered generational. They replaced great players with more great ones.

Now, about Richardson. 

To review, Richardson got his first career start against Georgia last season and things were going OK (not great, but certainly not poorly) with 2:24 to play in the first half and the Gators trailing just 3-0 after intercepting Bennett in the red zone. The next three UF series looked like this: fumble, interception, interception, with each converted to Bulldogs touchdowns. 

Richardson finished 12 of 20 for 82 yards and three turnovers (plus 12 carries for 26 yards) before giving way to Emory Jones. Georgia won 34-7.

Was it fair to trot a redshirt freshman (even an athlete as gifted as "AR") out there against the nation's best defense? Of course not. Whatever. 

A year later, Richardson has seven more starts under his belt and is further on in the development process. He's completed 56.5 percent of his passes, thrown for 1,367 and six touchdowns to go with 395 rushing yards (second on the team) and six more TD. He still has turnover issues (7 INT, 2 fumbles), but the Bulldogs also will be weary of the kind of play-making ability that allowed Richardson to tally 515 yards of total offense and four touchdowns (plus two turnovers) in the 38-33 shootout loss last month at Tennessee. 

That UT defense does not compare to this UGA defense. That Volunteers team, however, remains unbeaten, is ranked third in the country and comes to Georgia next weekend for a showdown that likely will determine the SEC East. No doubt, that game is looming in the back of the Bulldogs' collective heads.

First, though, there's a rival to deal with. And weird things tend to happen in rivalry games.

The Gators are hoping that's the case in Florida/Georgia No. 100.  

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS, with Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Gary Danielson providing analysis and Jerry Dell working the sidelines. For radio and television broadcast info, click here. The game will be replayed Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., Thursday at 2 a.m. and Friday at 5 a.m., all on the SEC Network. The Learfield Gator IMG Sports Network coverage, with Sean Kelly and Shane Matthews in the booth, and Tate Casey on the sidelines, will begin at 12:30 p.m. You may also happen upon a national broadcast with the team of Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stoufer and Ian Fitzsimmons. 

Finally, follow FloridaGators.com senior writer Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) on Twitter for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game late Saturday night and fresh follow-up content Sunday, also.