For the 2nd consecutive season, Florida and Georgia will meet as top 10 teams on the banks of the St. John’s River. Georgia won the 4th quarter 13-0 on its way to a 36-17 victory a season ago, wearing Florida out with balance: The Bulldogs passed for 240 yards and ran for 190 more, with most the damage on the ground coming in the second half as Florida’s defense tired.

Of course, that Georgia team had elite perimeter playmakers like Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardmon, as well as a very talented tight end in Isaac Nauta, the kind of weapons you use to exploit a defense that keys too much on trying to stop Georgia’s All-American backfield of Jake Fromm and D’Andre Swift.

In the end, those weapons — plus a slew of Florida mistakes, highlighted by 3 Feleipe Franks turnovers — proved the difference.

Florida spent a year thinking about it and should arrive at TIAA Bank Stadium confident. The winner controls not just the SEC East, but its Playoff fate. The loser leaves town wondering what happened and staring down the barrel of the Citrus Bowl.

Both teams know the stakes.

“It’s an amazing rivalry. The environment, the atmosphere, half and half, red and black and orange and blue. It’s amazing. This week, this is like a Playoff game for us. Basically everything we want for our season comes down to this game right now,” Swift told the media in Athens on Monday.

On the Florida side, wide receiver Joshua Hammond agreed. “Obviously, we know what is at stake. They’re competing for the same things we’re competing for. The SEC East, our destiny. You don’t need much more than that to be motivated.”

Here are 3 matchups that will define this season’s Cocktail Party.

D’Andre Swift and the Georgia line vs. Florida on the edge

Much has been written about Georgia’s offensive struggles against South Carolina and Kentucky, 2 relatively pedestrian defenses that stalled the Bulldogs offensively.

But the truth is despite the October issues, this is still a very efficient offense (11th S & P offense, 11th yards per play)  thanks in large part to a stable of outstanding running backs and a brutal, talented offensive line that rank 5th nationally in yards per rushing attempt (6.1) and 11th in rushing offense. 

This Bulldogs team does things differently from last year’s group, but things still begin and end with Swift, who is 2nd in the SEC in rushing yards (752) and 1st in yards per attempt among players with 75 or more rushes (6.8).

Georgia’s offensive line, already the 2nd-biggest group in the country (Wisconsin), gets another boost this week with the return of Isaiah Wilson, who can rotate in at right guard and joins a stout group led by All-American candidates Andrew Thomas and Solomon Kindley.

They’ll face a Gators defense that has hemorrhaged rushing yards since the injuries to their bookend All-American candidate defensive ends, Jabari Zuniga and Jonathan Greenard. The loss of Greenard in particular has really hurt Florida’s ability to contain the edge, and without Zuniga to account for on the other side, Florida’s linebackers have been less effective and Florida’s defensive tackles have not been able to get the push they were getting earlier in the season. Against LSU and South Carolina, the Gators gave up a woeful 6.49 yards per rush, allowing 435 yards in 2 games.

Greenard and Zuniga are expected to play, but how much they can be relied on is a huge question.

South Carolina gave the Gators fits with counters and slip draws, concepts tailor-made for Swift. Here is Swift on a slip draw against Auburn last season, exploiting a defensive scheme that likes to bring extra pressure and relies on speed on the edge — similar to Todd Grantham.

Here is Swift breaking contain even when one edge is held — which he can do with his electric speed and which will require great discipline from Florida’s linebackers to fit- and stay — in run gaps.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1175601820682477569?s=20

Swift is also a proven weapon on screens — which Georgia can use to offset Florida’s aggressiveness and pursuit — and in the more traditional passing game, which could be a problem for Florida’s linebacker and safety units, which has some excellent run stoppers but has struggled at times in coverage. Here, a Tennessee linebacker disengages and corner Bryce Thompson, brought up for run support, lose discipline and release Swift, who scorches them on a wheel route.

That 44-yard completion was, believe it or not, was Georgia’s 2nd-longest completion of the season. Georgia’s longest? How about a 48-yard strike to Swift in Georgia’s win over Arkansas State?

If Georgia is going to beat Florida for the 3rd consecutive season, Swift will likely be the star. Florida knows this — but this might just be a case of Georgia strength on Florida weakness winning the day — especially if Zuniga and Greenard are limited.

Red-zone strength vs. red-zone strength

While Georgia has struggled to sustain drives in its previous 2 SEC games, the Dawgs have been lethal when they’ve gotten inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Georgia ranks 5th nationally in red-zone offense, converting 97% of opportunities. Florida ranks 3rd nationally in red zone defense, limiting opponents to scores on just 57% of chances. It’s the old case of strength on strength and best on best, see who wins.

One area of this matchup that might favor Florida is Georgia’s lack of high-level performers at the wide receiver position.

Lawrence Cager will play, but like Greenard and Zuniga, might be limited. At 6-5, the Miami Hurricanes transfer is Georgia’s best matchup problem in the red zone, but he’s also facing the most physical corners he’ll see all season in Marco Wilson and CJ Henderson. He’ll have a height edge — and Fromm is a master at putting the ball where only his guy can get it — but it’s hardly “Advantage, Georgia” in this category.

The wildcard Saturday in the red zone — and in Georgia’s pass game generally — is George Pickens. The 5-star freshman is an NFL prototype at 6-3 with long arms, physicality and excellent speed, but he has struggled at times with route running, especially in confined areas. Can he pry his way open if Cager is blanketed? If not, will Fromm force throws into tight spaces, where ball hawks like Henderson and safety Shawn Davis eat? Or will the junior quarterback be the efficient, safe field general that has won an SEC Championship and a Rose Bowl?

Whether Georgia can convert red zone chances into touchdowns could tell the story Saturday.

The pass rush … of Georgia?

While most analysts focus on whether Florida, who enters the Cocktail Party ranked 3rd in the country in sacks, 9th in sack rate and 14th in defensive havoc rate, can generate pressure on Fromm and the Georgia pass game, I’m more interested in whether Georgia can put pressure on the “other quarterback” in the Cocktail Party, Florida’s Kyle Trask.

Trask has been excellent this season filling in for starter Franks, especially in 2 vital areas: intermediate passes and passes under pressure.

First, he’s been marvelous on intermediate throws, whether to the boundary or over the middle. Trask ranks 2nd in the SEC on these throws (11-19 in air), behind only Joe Burrow.

Much of this is about patience. With an elite group of wide receivers and tight ends, Trask reads progressions and is more than happy to hit a secondary read, as he did here in the Auburn game:

Trask has been this accurate despite playing behind an offensive line that ranks 67th nationally in sacks allowed and 61st in sack rate. In fact, Trask has been very good under pressure, ranking 1st in the SEC in passing success rate under pressure (55%).

Still, Trask’s success rate on passes when not pressured is nearly 15% higher, and Georgia will want to shorten the amount of time Trask has to throw given the talent and depth of Florida’s wide receivers and tight ends, a group Kirby Smart called “one of the best groups in the country” this week.

Can Georgia do that? There’s not much evidence it can.

The Bulldogs rank 98th in sack rate and 95th in defensive havoc rate — and these numbers are despite playing a schedule that to date has featured only 1 Power 5 offense ranked in the top 50 nationally in yards per play or offensive efficiency and only 3 offensive lines (Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Notre Dame) in the top half (65) at protecting their own quarterback.

Some of this is schematic: Smart prefers to stay in a base nickel until 3rd downs, when he blitzes more frequently, from a variety of angles. Georgia is content to try to pressure with 3 and drop 7 to coverage on 1st and 2nd down.

But that’s easier said than done against a group of receivers and tight ends as good as Florida’s. The Gators will be the first top 50 pass efficiency offense Georgia has played. As such, Georgia needs to get pressure to prevent the Gators from eventually wearing their secondary down. If that happens, the pressure will shift to Fromm and the Georgia offense to continually answer the bell — and this year’s Bulldog team is less suited to score quickly than previous Georgia teams under Smart.

That said, if Georgia can pressure with 4 or with a few well-timed blitzes, it could become a long afternoon for the Gators. Trask has had issues with ball security when hit (5 strip sack fumbles) and 3 of his 4 interceptions on the season came under pressure.

Turnovers decide big games, and the Gators can’t afford to give Georgia short fields, especially given the Dawgs’ red zone proficiency.

* * * * *

GOOD READ: More than a game: Cocktail Party is fabric of life