Florida, Georgia Vying to Stay in SEC East Hunt

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – The winner remains in contention in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division. The loser heads home with a three-game losing streak.

So the stakes are high even though border-state rivals Florida and Georgia are unranked heading into Saturday’s annual game in Jacksonville. It’s the first time since 1926 that both programs enter the neutral-site game riding multi-game losing streaks.

Georgia (4-3, 3-2 SEC) dropped consecutive games against Missouri and Vanderbilt, plummeting from No. 7 in the country. Florida’s fall was equally surprising. The Gators (4-3, 3-2) lost at LSU and at Missouri by double-digit margins, continuing to fade after starting the season at No. 10.

Now, they’re trying to avoid weeks of talk about playing for pride and becoming bowl eligible.