Georgia idle this Saturday, returns vs. No. 20 Florida in Atlanta on Halloween

Georgia does not play this Saturday. The Bulldogs keep their usual open date before the Florida game, so they have two weeks to think about the 27-24 home loss to Auburn before they play again. They return Saturday, Oct. 31, against No. 20 Florida at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, The Sporting News reports, and the time matches Georgia's athletics game center. This year's game is billed as the Atlanta Gridiron Classic, moving the rivalry from its usual Jacksonville home.

The open week comes at an awkward time. Georgia went into the Auburn game ranked No. 1 and favored by 20.5 points, according to DawgNation. The Bulldogs scored on their first two drives and then gave up 24 straight points. They tied the game late on a Gunner Stockton touchdown pass, but Stockton fumbled in Auburn territory with about a minute left. Alex McPherson then won it with a 34-yard field goal as time ran out. Georgia outgained Auburn 440-336, but Auburn ran for 192 yards to Georgia's 113 and Georgia turned it over three times. The loss ended a 52-game winning streak against unranked opponents that dated to 2019. Kirby Smart told DawgNation that "the Dawgs don't beat the Dawgs," while giving Auburn credit for winning the line of scrimmage.

The Bulldogs dropped to No. 5. The Sporting News notes they still share the SEC lead with Kentucky, and every team in the league now has at least one loss.

What it means for Florida

At 6-1, Georgia has outscored its opponents 301-111, about 43 points scored and 16 allowed per game. Most of that margin came early. The Bulldogs scored 133 points against Tennessee State and Western Kentucky, then 86 in road wins over Arkansas and Oklahoma. The last three games have been tighter. They beat Vanderbilt 38-14, won 20-17 at then-No. 6 Alabama and lost 27-24 to Auburn. The last two were decided by three points each. Georgia scored 44 points across those two games after averaging more than 50 in its first five.

The Auburn game also exposed a run defense problem. Georgia's first five SEC games have produced 168 points scored and 88 allowed, a solid margin but much smaller than the early-season numbers. The Florida game will show whether two weeks of practice fixed what went wrong up front.

Florida is hard to read. The Sporting News points out that the Gators have beaten top-10 teams Ole Miss and Texas but also lost lopsided games to Missouri and South Carolina. A team that can do both is a real threat to a Georgia team that just lost a game it was expected to win easily.

The schedule stays hard after Halloween. Georgia goes to Ole Miss on Nov. 7, hosts Missouri on Nov. 14, travels to South Carolina on Nov. 21 and finishes with Georgia Tech on Nov. 28. With so little margin left in the conference race, the Florida game in Atlanta matters a great deal for Georgia's playoff hopes.