Three storylines
Personnel gains and losses. Georgia loses nose guard Kwame Geathers and strong safety Shawn Williams to half-game suspensions for flagrant personal fouls committed against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs also likely will play without freshman wideout Malcolm Mitchell, their leading receiver and most legitimate deep threat. However, that is countered by the return of starting inside linebacker Alec Ogletree from a six-game absence with a broken foot and starting outside linebacker Cornelius Washington from a two-game suspension for a DUI arrest.
Quarterback for Florida. By all indications, Gators starting quarterback John Brantley will return for this game. He has been sidelined since the Oct. 1 Alabama game with a severe ankle sprain. If Brantley can't go or proves ineffective, he'll be replaced by Jacoby Brissett or Jeff Driskel, each a freshman.
Muschamp reunion. Florida's Will Muschamp gets his first crack at his alma mater as a head coach. Muschamp played safety for the Bulldogs from 1991-94 and was named defensive co-captain his senior season. Muschamp went against Georgia as a defensive coordinator at LSU (2002-04) and Auburn (2006-07) and is 2-3 in those games.
A Georgia win would ...
-- Be the fourth over Florida since 1989
-- Keep it atop the SEC East standings
A Florida win would ...
-- Snap a three-game losing streak. The Gators haven’t lost four consecutive since 1988, when the Bulldogs beat them in Jacksonville.
-- Keep them alive in the SEC East race
Keep an eye on ...
For Georgia: Ogletree. This will be the first game back for the 6-foot-3, 240-pound sophomore, who missed the past six games with a broken right foot. Ogletree was expected to be the centerpiece addition to Georgia's defense when he moved to inside linebacker from strong safety, where he started as a freshman. But he broke his foot in the second defensive series of the opening game against Boise State.
For Florida: Dominique Easley. The sophomore defensive tackle (6-2, 282) plays with the speed of a defensive back. He has 24 overall tackles and leads the Gators with 6.5 tackles for loss and paces a defensive line that will be the best Georgia has seen since Boise State.
The numbers game
6 -- National ranking for Georgia in total defense
26.2 -- Average points allowed by Muschamp's defenses against UGA
The history book
Series record: Georgia claims a 47-40-2 advantage in the series while Florida insists it is 46-40-2. The discrepancy is over the 1904 game, won by the Bulldogs 52-0 in Macon. The Gators say they didn't play varsity football until 1906.
The last time: Quarterback Aaron Murray threw three interceptions — including one on Georgia's first play and another on the last — as the Bulldogs' comeback effort fell short 34-31 on Oct. 30, 2010. Kicker Chas Henry (East Paulding High) won the game for the Gators with a 37-yard field goal in overtme.
The bottom line
Georgia desperately wants a win in a series that has seen Florida win 18 of the past 21 games. But the more important aspect of the game is the SEC East implications. The Bulldogs (5-2, 4-1) currently are tied with South Carolina (6-1, 4-1) for first place in the division, with the Gamecocks holding the tiebreaker thanks to their victory against Georgia. A Georgia victory and a South Carolina loss to Tennessee on Saturday will put the Bulldogs in sole possession of first place, with Auburn and Kentucky left on the SEC schedule.
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