2023 Oct. 28. 3:30 PM. ET. CBS. Official “The Florida Georgia Game!”

THE STORYLINE​

• Florida and Georgia are facing off for the 101st time in the 91st meeting between the two teams in Jacksonville.

• Georgia leads the series, 54-44-2, and owns a 48-41-1 advantage in Jacksonville.

• The Gators are 22-11 vs. the Bulldogs dating back to 1990, with the last win coming in the form of a 63-35 victory in 2020.

• Week 9 marks Florida’s 19th game against the AP No. 1 team including the fourth across the last three seasons.

• Florida is 1-1 against AP Top-25 teams this season (L at No. 14 Utah, W vs. No. 11 Tennessee).

• The Gators have never beaten the AP No. 1 team while unranked. Most-recent wins vs. No. 1: No. 2 Florida 31, No. 1 Alabama 20 (2008 SECCG) | No. 2 Florida 41, No. 1 Ohio State 14 (2006 BCSCG) | No. 3 Florida 52, No. 1 FSU 20 (1996 NCG).

• Georgia has eclipsed 500 yards of offense vs. Florida two times in the 100-game history of the rivalry (1976, 2022).

• Meanwhile, Florida has four 500-yard games against Georgia since 1995 (1995, 1996, 2001, 2020).

• Florida ended its five-game losing streak in games outside of The Swamp in Week 7, coming from behind to defeat South Carolina to post the team’s first true road win since Nov. 5, 2022 at Texas A&M.

• Florida erased a 10-point, fourth quarter deficit (37-27) at South Carolina for its biggest fourth quarter road comeback since 2019 at Kentucky.

• The Gators have won 13 of their last 15 games in The Swamp (including eight of nine) and following the victory in Columbia are 2-13 in their last 15 contests outside The Swamp and 2-10 in their last 12 true road games.

• Dating back to the 2018 season, HC Billy Napier is tied for eighth in the FBS with 51 total victories alongside Ryan Day and Josh Heupel, trailing only Nick Saban (67), Kirby Smart (66), Dabo Swinney (63), Lincoln Riley (59), Brian Kelly (59), Luke Fickell (57) and Jim Harbaugh (52). He has more wins than Kirk Ferentz, James Franklin, Kyle Whittingham, Sonny Dykes, Mike Gundy, Mark Stoops, Mario Cristobal and Mike Norvell in that time, among others.

• QB Graham Mertz has completed 76.2% of his passes (170-for-223), which leads the SEC and ranks third nationally behind Oregon’s Bo Nix (79.2%) and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy (78.2%).

• Mertz is fresh off his first-career 400-yard passing game, throwing for 423 yards and three touchdowns at SC.

• Graded against On3’s top-25 transfer portal quarterbacks from last offseason, Mertz ranks first in completion percentage, first in fewest interceptions (two), second in passer rating, second in completions, third in attempts, fourth in QBR, fifth in passing touchdowns and tied for fifth in total touchdowns.

• In year one under DC Austin Armstrong, Florida ranks fifth in the SEC, 15th in the P5 and 20th in the FBS in total defense with 312.3 yards allowed per game. Through seven games last year, UF had allowed 429.3 yards per game.

• Florida boasts the third-best passing defense in the SEC (187.0), ranking 23rd in the FBS and 11th in the P5.

• The Gators have limited teams to 20.0 points per game (31st in FBS), an 8.9-point improvement from 2022 (28.9).

• Conversely, Georgia ranks fifth nationally in total offense (509.3) and passing offense (337.0) while sitting ninth nationally in scoring offense (40.1).

• Florida has scored in 443-consecutive games dating back to 1988 - an NCAA record and 54 games longer than any other college football team in the history of the sport

 

THE GRAHAM MERTZ FILES​

• QB Graham Mertz leads the SEC with a 76.2% completion percentage entering Week 6, ranking third in the FBS.

• Mertz has more passing yards (1,897) than Dillon Gabriel, Sam Hartman, Bo Nix, Spencer Rattler, Quinn Ewers and Jordan Travis and more passing touchdowns (12) than Rattler, Ewers, Jalen Milroe and Kyle McCord.

• Across the last two weeks, Florida has gone 2-0 vs. SEC opponents and Mertz has combined for 677 passing yards, 60 completions, six touchdowns and zero interceptions.

• Mertz has started all 39 games he has played in since 2020, tied for sixth among FBS quarterbacks.

• Mertz ranks 21st in the FBS and 16th in the Power Five with a 163.0 passer rating. He has been above 150.0 in six-straight games and has four performances above 165.0 in seven games this season.

• Mertz’s 163.0 rating is in line to be the highest by a UF quarterback since Kyle Trask in 2020, while ranking eighth all-time in single-season program history (second-highest since Tebow in 2009).

• Mertz has thrown a touchdown pass in 22 of his last 25 games.

• In Week 6 vs. Vanderbilt, Mertz (30-for-36, 83% comp.) joined Tim Tebow (2010 vs. Cincinnati*) as the only Florida quarterbacks to complete 80.0% of his passes or better on 35 attempts or more since 1996.

• Mertz is the only UF quarterback to complete 70% of his passes or better in six-straight starts, a feat he achieved in his first six games as a Gator before finishing at 62.5% in Week 7 (70.5%, 82.4%, 79.2%, 87.0%, 83.3%, 83.3%).

• Mertz’s 87.0% comp. pct. in Week 4 was the ninth-best of any FBS quarterback in any game this year.

• In Week 4 vs. McNeese, Mertz’s 87.0% completion percentage (20-for-23) was the highest from a Gators QB since Kyle Trask’s mark of 90.0% (18-20) against Towson on Sept. 28, 2019 (minimum 20 attempts).

• Mertz finished with 193 yards passing and one touchdown vs. McNeese for a 197.1 passing efficiency - the best by a Florida quarterback in the Billy Napier era and the third-highest by a UF QB across the past three seasons.

• In his Gators debut at No. 14 Utah, Mertz became the fourth Florida quarterback in program history with 300 yards passing, 30 completions and a 70% completion percentage in a game, joining Rex Grossman (2002 vs.Georgia), Tim Tebow (2010 vs. Cincinnati) and Kyle Trask (three times).

• Mertz entered 2023 with more career games, starts, completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns than six other SEC quarterback rooms: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Missouri and Vanderbilt.

RUN GAME = MONTREVOR TAKEOVER​

• In Week 6, RB Montrell Johnson Jr. rushed 18 times for 135 yards and 7.5 YPC with one score in Week 6.

• Johnson Jr.’s 26 career rushing touchdowns are the most of any current SEC running back and rank 12th among active FBS players. He owns 28 multi-purpose touchdowns (16 at UF: 14 rushing, two receiving).

• Johnson Jr. ranks fifth in the SEC (fourth among running backs) with 14 rushing touchdowns since 2022.

• Johnson Jr. finished with 160 scrimmage yards on 21 touches and forced nine missed tackles in Week 6.

• RB Trevor Etienne sits seventh in the SEC with 5.9 yards per carry and is one of 25 P5 running backs with over 400 yards rushing and over 5.8 yards per carry.

• Etienne rushed for a career-high 172 yards on a career-high 23 attempts while posting the third 100-yard rushing game of his career in Week 3 vs. Tennessee, earning numerous national weekly honors.

• Etienne’s 172 rushing yards were the most by a Gator in a single game across the past nine seasons (20152023). His performance ranks eighth in UF history across the last 25 seasons (1999-2023).

• Etienne’s 172 rushing yards is the third-highest total of any SEC player this season, ranking 12th in the P5.

• Johnson Jr. and Etienne have combined for at least one touchdown in 15 of 20 games the last two years, scoring 25 total touchdowns. The duo has combined for 23 total rushing touchdowns in 20 games.

• Florida posted its 10th 200-yard rushing game since 2022 (second of 2023) in Week 6 vs. Vanderbilt.

• Florida has rushed for 100-plus yards in 14 of their last 20 games dating back to last season (four in 2023)

 

FLORIDA-GEORGIA RIVALRY HISTORY
​

• Nov. 9, 1940 - Florida won 18-13, though many Florida fans arrived late due to road closures. The Gators held Georgia to 19 rushing yards and forced six turnovers. The Gainesville Daily Sun (now just
The Gainesville Sun) dubbed it “the most exciting game ever seen in the series.”

• Nov. 7, 1970 - The Gators trailed 17-10 in the fourth quarter, and with the Bulldogs headed in for another touchdown, Jack Youngblood
stripped Georgia’s Ricky Lake at the goal line and recovered the fumble. Quarterback John Reaves followed the takeaway with a pair of touchdown passes to Carlos Alvarez in the final five minutes,
leading the Gators to a 24-17 victory. “I just snatched it away,” Youngblood said after the game, noting he didn’t know who he stripped.“Heck, they do it all the time in the pros.”

• Nov. 8, 1980 - Run, Lindsay, Run. Lindsay Scott’s 93-yard catch and run for a touch down--on third-and-11, with roughly a minute left in regulation to boot--saved Georgia’s unbeaten and national championship season. The touchdown gave the Bulldogs a 26-21 win. Oh, and future Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker rushed for 238 yards as a freshman.

• Nov. 10, 1984 - The No. 10 Gators shut out No. 8Georgia, and then-freshman walk-on quarterback Kerwin Bell capped the 27-0 win with a 96-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Nattiel. Florida fans tore down the goal posts after the game.

• Oct. 30, 1993 - Freshman cornerback Anthone Lott signaled for timeout just as Georgia attempted to snap the ball--and the play continued, with Eric Zeier throwing what was believed to be the game-tying touchdown pass. However, Florida was granted the timeout. Zeier and the Bulldogs had two more shots into the end zone, but connected on neither, and Florida held on for a 33-26 win.

• Oct. 28, 1995 - Steve Spurrier was told no one had
ever scored 50 points in Georgia’s Sanford Stadum. Danny Wuerffel threw five touchdown passes, and backup quarterback Eric Kresser continued to throw late in the game, even with UF well ahead. “We wanted to try and make it a memorable game for the Gators, and it was,” Spurrier said. In the two years the rivals played a home-
and-home due to stadium renovations, Florida outscored Georgia 104-31.

• Nov. 2, 2002 - Georgia entered 8-0 and ranked fourth, while the Gators were 5-3 and unranked. Guss Scott had a pick-six, and Rex Grossman threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to
give the Gators a 20-13 upset.

• Nov. 1, 2008 - In its 42-30 win the year before, the entire Georgia team ran onto the field and celebrated its first touchdown of the game. The fifth-ranked Gators responded in 2008 by calling two timeouts in the final minute of a 49-10 rout of the eighth-ranked Bulldogs. “Rules say you get three timeouts a half, and they only used two,” UGA head coach UGA head coach Mark Richt said