George Pickens out for Georgia in huge SEC battle vs. Florida

George Pickens will not play for Georgia football on Saturday down in Jacksonville.

Georgia football’s offense will be even more underwhelming without George Pickens on Saturday.

This will be the second consecutive week Georgia will be without its No. 1 wide receiver. Pickens did not make the trip to the Lexington, Kentucky last week due to an upper body injury. He apparently did not make the trek to Jacksonville, Florida ahead of Georgia’s most important game of the year vs. the Florida Gators. How will the Dawgs adjust to yet another game without him?

Georgia’s margin for error to win this game vs. Florida got even thinner

Even though Pickens only has 13 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns this season, he is easily the most explosive playmaker in the Georgia passing. It lost another great player in Dominick Blaylock before the season due to a second torn ACL. While quarterback Stetson Bennett IV seems to have a great rapport with Kearis Jackson, he is not the talent of Pickens.

For Georgia to win its fourth game in a row over arch rival Florida, Bennett will have to play one of his better games. The defense will need to neutralize quarterback Kyle Trask and the Florida passing game. To complement, or better yet supplement Bennett, the Georgia ground game of Zamir White, James Cook and Kendall Milton will need to have its best game of the season.

The good news for Georgia is head coach Kirby Smart probably knew Pickens was not going to make the trek to Jacksonville anyway. Waiting until the night before may have led to Dan Mullen and his staff preparing for how to stop Georgia’s best receiving target. There is a great chance Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken prepared a game plan without Pickens in this one.

Ultimately, this will be the most highly contested game down in Jacksonville in years. This might be the year Florida gets back into the win column. Regardless, the winner of this mid-afternoon affair along the Banks of the St. Johns River will emerge as the de facto SEC East champion for the sixth year in a row. Getting to Atlanta will give either team a shot at the College Football Playoff.

Pickens may have only been a decoy in the Georgia offense had he been able to make the trip.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.