The No. 17 Florida Gators head to Atlanta to take on the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The last time these two teams were in action, the games looked eerily similar, but the results were polar opposites. Florida fell behind No. 7 Texas early, only to take control of the game and pull out a win.
The No. 1 Bulldogs played the role of Texas, jumping on Auburn early, only to watch the Tigers come back and hand them their first loss of the season.
Both teams have had a week off to reflect on their teams and scout their opponents, and Gators head coach Jon Sumrall is impressed with what he sees.
"We have a new challenge this week in Georgia. They're really good," Sumrall said emphatically. "They're a team when you turn the tape on, you don't see weakness. Usually as a coach, you're trying to figure out what are teams' strengths and weaknesses.
"I see a lot of strengths. I don't see weakness."
The numbers back up what Sumrall has seen. The Bulldogs have the No. 1 scoring offense in the SEC at 43.0 points per game, and they also have the No. 1 scoring defense at 15.9 points per game. The Gators come in at No. 3 and No. 15, respectively.
Sumrall is in the first year of building his project in Gainesville, while Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart has been in Athens for more than a decade. Sumrall said it's evident he's had time to put his stamp on the program.
"I think it's year 11 for Kirby there," Sumrall said. "You can tell they have layered development, like they've recruited great players. They've done that year in, year out for the entire time he's been there, but then I think they're developed, and they're calloused, and they're strong, and they're physical, and you can tell that that has been layered, like it's been built over time," Sumrall said.
Sumrall has already improved the Gators from what fans saw on the field last season, and he's on his way to layering his own top recruiting classes. Florida has the No. 5 class in the country for 2027, according to Rivals.
Georgia isn't infallible; Auburn proved that. But they've had a week to lick their wounds and refocus for a game 90 minutes from campus on Saturday. Sumrall knows he's going to get the Bulldogs' best shot.
"A really impressive outfit that we're playing, that I have a lot of respect for, and it's a big-time game, as we all know. So we, we have to play the, you know, our best to have a shot in this one," Sumrall said.
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