Fansided

25 games that will shape the 2019 College Football Playoff

By Jeremy Morris

AUBURN, AL - NOVEMBER 25: Jarrett Stidham #8 of the Auburn Tigers rushes during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
AUBURN, AL - NOVEMBER 25: Jarrett Stidham #8 of the Auburn Tigers rushes during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The Florida-Georgia logo (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Florida-Georgia logo (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Week 9: ‘The Cocktail Party’: Georgia vs. Florida (Jacksonville, FL)

The official nickname of “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” was removed from the Florida-Georgia game in 2006. Georgia leads the all-time series 51-43-2. Florida has won 13 of the last 20 meetings and probably needs to keep reminding themselves of that to cope with what happened in 2017. Georgia embarrassed the Gators with a 42-7 blowout last year leading to Jim McElwain’s dismissal as Florida’s head coach a day later.

The Dawgs are favored both to win the SEC East and to return to the College Football Playoff. They should be favored in every game this year and will probably be favored by two touchdowns against Florida this season. The Gators will be reinvigorated under first-year head coach Dan Mullen in 2018 though and they still have a ridiculously talented roster.

Florida’s defensive line led by CeCe Jefferson will be one of the best in the SEC as will their secondary. The offense has a stable of running backs, several fast receivers on the outside and they added a pair of blue-chip transfers at receiver in Van Johnson from Ole Miss and Trevon Grimes from Ohio State. Quarterback is the biggest question mark facing Dan Mullen’s team but he is a hands-on quarterbacks coach, will help sophomore Feleipe Franks develop and will put him in much more manageable positions than McElwain did last year.

Georgia should win this game but it only takes a couple bounces of the ball or breaks in the game to swing things and anything can happen in a rivalry game like this one.