ATHENS -- The numbers suggest a mismatch: Florida No. 1 in the nation in total defense, Georgia No. 90 in total offense.
Georgia's Joe Cox, the senior quarterback who will start his first and last Georgia-Florida game Saturday, recognizes and, yes, embraces the super-sized challenge.
Q: Is it safe to say this is the best defensive team you've prepared to play against in your life?
A: Oh, yeah. You look at them statistically, and they definitely are. They have great athletes. They are ranked pretty much No. 1 or 2 in the country in everything, and I'm glad we had two weeks to prepare for them. ... We know what we are up against.
Q: So when you look at Florida on film, do you see a way to move the ball against those guys?
A: That's true on any level against any defense. Against good defenses, if you have the right game plan and you execute it well, you can still be successful. I'm not saying we're watching film and going, ‘Oh, man, they're not as good as we thought they were.' They're as good as everyone thinks they are, but there are still things that we know we can do with the game plan we have in, and if we do them correctly, we can move the ball and put points on the board.
Q: Provided that you eliminate the turnovers [of which Georgia has 17 in seven games]?
A: Right. Absolutely. You got to protect the ball, and it starts now. We definitely need to protect the ball this week. ... We know there is small room for error in this game. We need to have no mental errors or turnovers.
Q: Is establishing the run [Georgia is last in the SEC in rushing offense] the key to having a chance against Florida?
A: We definitely have to get something going there to keep them off balance. ... We know there will be times they stuff us, but we have to stick to the run game. ... We got to get it going, no matter how good they are.
Q: Unranked Georgia vs. No. 1-ranked Florida -- have you allowed yourself to think of this game, if you could pull off the upset, as a potential "signature" victory that would define your brief career as Georgia's starting quarterback?
A: You kind of think about it in the back of your mind. ... But the bottom line is we want to win the game. I can't worry about what it'll mean after the season or anything like that. I'm just worried about doing what I can to help win this weekend because we need the win as a team. We know this game could change our season. This is our first step toward the rest of our season.
About the Author
