GEORGIA (4-3) AT #1 FLORIDA (7-0)

SITE: Jacksonville, FL

TIME: 3:30 ET.

DATE: October 31, 2009

LINE: FLORIDA -14 ½

OVER / UNDER: 48

TV: CBS

One of the best rivalries of college football will take place this weekend, when the Georgia Bulldogs (4-3) take on the #1 ranked Florida Gators (7-0).

Although it’s been a one-sided rivalry the nineteen years, with the Gators winning 16 of the last 19 matchups, the last two seasons have been filled with controversy and memorable unnecessary actions.   Neither Florida nor Georgia has forgotten the controversies from their last two meetings that have further flamed the rivalry.

In 2007, urged on by coach Mark Richt, the entire Georgia team stormed the field to celebrate its opening touchdown en route to a rare Bulldogs victory.  Last year, in what many viewed as retaliation, Florida coach Urban Meyer called two timeouts in the final 44 seconds of the Gators’ 49-10 pounding of the Bulldogs.

Meyer denied calling the timeouts was about revenge, but Georgia players have a different take. A photo of Meyer with his hands raised in a T hangs all over the team’s training facility, providing a bitter reminder of what happened.

“Of course, that’s going to be a very big motivating factor for us,” Georgia safety Bryan Evans said. “Every time we see his hands in the timeout position, it reminds us of what happened last year.”

This season the top-ranked Gators have more important things to focus on as they prepare to take on the Bulldogs.  Sure they want to stick it to Mark Richt but most importantly they want to gain a win in hopes of earning a spot in the BCS Championship game. 

While Georgia players are using last season’s tense finish as extra motivation for the latest installment of the rivalry, Florida needs little incentive as it chases a second straight national championship.

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The Gators, who have the top spot in the BCS poll, are coming off a 29-19 win at Mississippi State last Saturday. Mississippi State tied the game in the third quarter, but Florida ran off 16 straight points, capped by an interception returned for a touchdown. Replays show it may have been fumbled before crossing the goal line, but an official’s review upheld the score.

The Gators offense has been criticized in recent weeks with Tim Tebow taking the majority of the blame.  Tebow was 12 for 22 for 127 yards Saturday and failed to throw a touchdown pass for the second time this season. He threw a season-high two interceptions, giving him four for the season.

After throwing six touchdowns and one interception in the first four games, Tebow has passed for two scores and three picks in the last three contests.

“I don’t think it’s getting to me,” Tebow said. “Do I put pressure on me? Yeah. I put a lot more pressure than y’all could possibly put on me, so I don’t think that’s getting to me. I think just wanting to excel, wanting everything to be right.”

Although Tim Tebow won’t point fingers, many experts say Tebow’s problems are related to his struggling offensive line, who has allowed the former Heisman Trophy winner to get sacked 15 times, equaling his total from 14 games last season.

“Tim’s not trying to be a hero,” Meyer said. “But we might be asking him to do too much.”

Tebow has six rushing touchdowns this season and 49 for his career, one shy of breaking former Georgia standout Herschel Walker’s SEC record.

While Tebow breaking Walker’s record may be inevitable, Georgia (4-3, 3-2) will try its best to prevent him from doing it this weekend.

A year ago the Bulldogs had their eye on a National Championship, this season they’re looking at a win against the Gators as a stepping stone to bringing Georgia back to prominence.  The Bulldogs are hoping that an upset of the Gators could push them back into the SEC East race. They rebounded from back-to-back losses against LSU and Tennessee with a 34-10 victory at Vanderbilt on Oct. 17 and are coming off a bye.

Georgia quarterback Joe Cox threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns while the team rushed for a season-high 173 yards in his last game vs. the Commodores. The Bulldogs running game has been a disappointment this season, ranked last in the SEC in rushing yards at 108 per game.

“(The running game) didn’t do a lot at first but if you keep driving the ball, it opens up play-action and then you’ll start getting big runs and that’s how you put teams away,” said Cox, who is third in the conference with 1,581 passing yards this season. “It wasn’t our best day running the ball, but it was effective when we needed it to be.”

The Bulldogs’ defense looks to apply pressure on Tim Tebow Saturday and create the biggest upset of the college football season.  This is the fourth time the Bulldogs are playing the nation’s No. 1 team. Two of the previous three were against Florida - in 1985 and 1996.

BETTING TRENDS:

GATORS:

Under is 5-0 in Gators last five games on grass.

Under is 5-0 in Gators last five vs. a team with a winning record.

Under is 4-0 in Gators last four games as a favorite of 10.5 or greater.

Over is 5-2 in Gators last seven neutral site games.

BULLDOGS:

Over is 6-1 in Bulldogs last seven games as an underdog.

Bulldogs are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog.

Over is 7-3 in Bulldogs last 10 neutral site games.