ATHENS – The 7th ranked Georgia Bulldogs will look to bounce back from a tough loss to LSU, as they prepare to travel to Jacksonville for this weekend’s game against the 9th ranked Florida Gators.
Both schools will be looking to take control of an SEC East Division with a loss each. Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said it was time to get back to work on preparing for a tough Florida team.
“We start back to work on Florida again. We finished up last week getting to work on them primarily on Thursday and start back with it today. We are excited to get the players back out there and get going. It was good for them to get some time away and a little rest and relaxation Friday and Saturday and Sunday they came back. Our guys needed that break and I know they’re eager to get back to work.”
Smart and the Bulldogs will face Coach Dan Mullen for the first time leading the Gators. Mullen took the Florida job over the offseason, moving from Mississippi State. He believes the Gators are back and will be a severe challenge for Georgia in Jacksonville.
“I think Coach Mullen has done a tremendous job with his team. Obviously they have talent all over the field. They have a lot of fast, athletic players, probably the best overall receiving core we’ve gone against top to bottom. They have a very active defensive front, Ty is doing a good job of causing some negative plays and sacks. They are very athletic up front. They are playing really good football right now. They have gotten better and you can see how much better they have gotten with each game. They play with more confidence and they’re playing really good right now. We are prepared for a big battle down in Jacksonville.”
Georgia was beat up against a physical LSU squad, but Coach Smart believes running back D’Andre Swift will be back to full strength.
“D’Andre Swift is fine, he should be practicing today. He got a lot of rehab over the weekend and should be good to go. Ben (Cleveland) will still be out. I don’t know when we’ll get him back. He’s doing more running, he’s been more active. We’ll find out more during the week, but we don’t think he’s going to play this game. David (Marshall) is still out.”
After the loss to LSU, many were asking if freshman quarterback Justin Fields would see more playing time, or even start ahead of sophomore Jake Fromm. Coach Smart believes it will be determined by what provides the best opportunity to win.
“I think it’s the same message we’ve had all along. We want to play the guy that gives us the best opportunity to be successful, and that comes from a lot of reps in practice, a lot of work in practice. They both (Justin Fields and Jake Fromm) had a tremendous amount of work last week, and we’ll continue to make that decision based on what gives us the best opportunity to be successful.”
Georgia will face Florida in Jacksonville Saturday at 3:30 pm. The game will be televised nationally on CBS.