The Athletic's Week 9 picks favor No. 3 Georgia over No. 20 Florida with the Bulldogs projected to win by 11.5-points.

Seven of nine experts back Kirby Smart's team to cover, while two believe that the Gators can keep it close. Predicting the SEC has been especially difficult this season as six ranked teams suffered upset losses to unranked or lower-ranked opponents in the last two weeks alone.

Georgia has won five consecutive meetings with rival Florida and eight of the past nine; seven of those victories were by two or more touchdowns. The Bulldogs are coming off a home loss to Auburn, while Florida upset Texas on the road and both teams enter Saturday off a bye week.

Buster Faulkner and the Gators' offense must establish the run early and find plenty of opportunities to get Doak Walker Award hopeful Jadan Baugh involved. On the defensive side of the ball, Brad White and company must dial up the same blitz packages that helped Florida sack Manning five times and force two fumbles in the upset win.

"Georgia is a double-digit favorite, but there was plenty of doubt cast on the Bulldogs last time out in a shocking home loss to Auburn. Florida, meanwhile, has epitomized the SEC with an up-and-down season. Blow out Ole Miss, get destroyed by Missouri and South Carolina, then win at Texas," wrote sports betting editor Dan Santoromita.

The Florida-Georgia game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as EverBank Stadium is currently undergoing renovations.

The Athletic's Florida-Georgia predictions