Florida and Georgia are always motivated when they face off, but this year the Bulldogs might have something extra to prove.

Georgia is coming off a devastating loss at LSU and needs to correct course to remain in the national championship hunt. But when asked if that situation would motivate the Bulldogs even more, Florida coach Dan Mullen wasn’t quite convinced.

“I’m not sure I’d say that,” Mullen said during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “You have to make sure the last week doesn’t affect you moving forward. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.”

The No. 11 Gators (6-1, 4-1 SEC) will clash with No. 8 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 27 in Jacksonville, a game that will likely determine the SEC East winner. So even without the added motivation of a recent loss for the Bulldogs, Mullen is sure his squad will get Georgia’s best game.

Here’s everything else Mullen said during the teleconference.

What are you most pleased with this year?

  • I like how we’ve come together as a team. … We haven’t won with just offense, with just defense. … We’ve done it as a team.

On last year’s Georgia-Florida game:

  • Nothing. They are a different team this year.

Are you surprised by your start?

  • I’m not sure I’m surprised, but I’m not sure I expected this either. We are always trying to improve. Many firsts for us this season. … I’m not disappointed with where we are, (but) we have many things we need to improve on.

How do you get the team to stay in the moment?

  • When you are playing in big games late in the season, that’s because you made it a big game. That’s the fun part. If you want to keep playing in them, you have to make it happen on the field.

On going for it on fourth downs:

  • I think it comes down to doing what is necessary to win the game. … There are games where you want to win offensively or you need to have success on fourth down and you start going for it. In other games, it’s more ball control. … I don’t have a set plan. You have a plan … but then again, you see how the flow of the game is going once you get into it. … It really depends on how the game is going.

On analytics affecting your decisions:

  • Not really. I do look at those things, but sometimes they say a decision is wrong but I look at it and think these decisions are winning games or having winning seasons. … Those things also don’t take into account the left tackle’s performance on certain plays; some of those things are hard to compute.

On RT Jawaan Taylor:

  • I think he has a long way to go, but he has really good potential. Has graded out in just two of seven games.

On this weekend’s Mississippi State-LSU matchup:

  • It’s a pretty good matchup right there. … They both play excellent defense and how they attack you on offense is very different. Mississippi State wants you to defend 11 guys by running the QB, while LSU powers you on the line of scrimmage and tries to create explosive plays on the outside.