In the age of the transfer portal and making the jump to the NFL after junior seasons, recruiting classes are often whittled down by the time a player is a senior.

Georgia football players who have stuck around have a chance Saturday to do something that doesn’t come around too often: Beat Florida four straight years.

Defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse, linebacker Chaz Chambliss, offensive lineman Xavier Truss and receiver Arian Smith can check that box if the No. 2 Bulldogs beat Florida in Jacksonville on Saturday.

All have played in wins the last three years. So has Smael Mondon, who is expected to be out with a foot injury. Safety Dan Jackson also missed games due to injury.

Georgia’s 1983 senior class was the last to win four in a row against Florida.

“It’s just an accomplishment in itself to go 4-0 against any SEC team,” Chambliss.

Beating Florida is different for many Bulldogs and their fans.

“It would mean everything to never lose a game,” Smith said. “Just able to leave here and be able to talk about it.”

Why Georgia will beat Florida

Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway’s two starts this year came in The Swamp. This one is in EverBank Stadium with a 50-50 crowd split.

The freshman is 16-of-24 for 174 yards with a touchdown and an interception on the road with a yards per attempt of 7.3, according to cfbstats.com

“We’ve got to make him uncomfortable, we’ve got to get after him in the pocket and do a good job of putting disguises out there that he hadn’t seen,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Fox5 Atlanta.

Georgia rang up a season-high seven sacks for 59 yards in its win at a No. 1 Texas two weeks ago.

Lining up Jalon Walker along a defensive front that includes a more healthy Mykel Williams put the heat on Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. Walker had three sacks and Williams had two. Texas A&M, Tennessee and Kentucky each sacked Lagway twice.

Georgia ran the ball better with Trevor Etienne with Jared Wilson back at center and could return right guard Tate Ratledge from a high ankle sprain Saturday. The Bulldogs could attack a secondary that will be missing experienced cornerback Jason Marshall with a shoulder injury.

Why Florida will beat Georgia

Will Georgia have a hangover after the big win over Texas?

Florida certainly is plenty motivated to win its first game against Georgia since 2020.

The Gators have won three of their last four games this season, but haven’t measured up against the best teams on its schedule although it certainly had a chance to win at Tennessee before falling in overtime.

“I feel like Florida’s playing as good as any team right now in the SEC the last few weeks,” Smart said. “They’re tackling better. They’ve played complementary football is the right word at a high clip.”

Georgia’s defense bounced back from giving up explosive plays against Mississippi State in the Texas game, but it will have to withstand the loss of starters Jackson and Joenel Aguero for the first half for targeting suspensions.

Lagway has transfer weapons in wide receiver Elijah Badger (Arizona State) and Chimere Dike (Wisconsin).

He's completed 62.8 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and five interceptions and threw a clutch 27-yard touchdown at Tennessee to force overtime before the Gators lost.

"He does a good job stepping up through it,” Smart said. “And he's made several plays where he trusted the pocket and steps up and makes really good throws. Threw the deep ball really well, obviously, last game against Kentucky. “

Carson Beck has been hurt by dropped passes, but the Bulldogs have worked on that.

Smart said on his radio show last week that “we’ve tried to really attack,” the dropped passes since the Texas game.

“We want traffic-contested catches where the threat of getting hit is there,” he said. “As much as we can do that, I think it instills confidence in our players. Not just catching off a machine.”

Prediction

Georgia 34, Florida 20

Georgia could lean more on its running game and Etienne to set up the pass for Beck and cut down on turnovers. Lagway should hit some big plays, but expect Georgia’s defense to take chances to pressure him in the pocket. Gators cover the spread but Georgia wins fourth in a row over Gators.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football vs. Florida: Scouting report, prediction