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College Football Predictions 2018: Picks for the biggest games of Week 9

By John Mitchell

JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 28: Elijah Holyfield #13 of the Georgia Bulldogs dives into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game against the Florida Gators at EverBank Field on October 28, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Georgia defeated Florida 42-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 28: Elijah Holyfield #13 of the Georgia Bulldogs dives into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game against the Florida Gators at EverBank Field on October 28, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. Georgia defeated Florida 42-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 9 Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

Spread: Georgia -7

The biggest game of the week is the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville in an SEC East showdown.

Dan Mullen has worked his magic in the Swamp in his debut campaign, taking a team that many thought would struggle to even garner bowl eligibility and lifting them into the AP Top 10. Florida has reeled off five straight victories following their week two loss to Kentucky, highlighted by handing No. 4 LSU its only loss of the season two weeks ago in Gainesville.

The big step the Gators have taken is offensively, where Mullen has taken a unit that ranked 108th in offensive S&P+ last season all the way up to 32nd this season. A big reason for that has been the progression of sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks. Franks’ improvement has helped open up running lanes for backs LaMical Perine and Jordan Scarlett. Add that with an aggressive and opportunistic defense, and the Gators have become a real threat in the SEC.

After their loss to LSU, Georgia has no margin-for-error left in their effort to get back to the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row, and a loss here would also be extremely detrimental to their chances of getting back to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

Unfortunately for Georgia, Florida has the ability to cause many of the same problems for Kirby Smart’s crew as LSU did. Florida’s defense is just as stout, and should be able to take away the Georgia ground game, forcing sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm to beat them. Fromm is coming off one of his worst games since becoming the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, and he’ll need a much improved effort this week to lead Georgia to a win. If he struggles, this could be the week that Smart turns to freshman phenom Justin Fields for some extended work.

Georgia’s defense has been unusually lenient against the run, allowing LSU to rack up 275 rushing yards two weeks ago in Baton Rouge. Florida averages more yards-per-carry and more yards-per-game than LSU, so they’ll try to dominate up front on both sides of the ball just like the Tigers did.

Based on the Georgia team I’ve seen on the field this year, this Florida group seems like a bad matchup for the Dawgs…

Pick: Florida 23, Georgia 20

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