Georgia may be heading into Saturday with a better read on Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner than most teams ever get on an opposing play-caller. That doesn’t make him any less of a problem.
Faulkner’s background gives this matchup a sharp edge. He spent three seasons inside Georgia’s program before helping the Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 with former offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Then he moved on to Georgia Tech, where he spent three more seasons running the offense and kept Kirby Smart’s defense on edge far more than the final scores might suggest.
Now he’s with Florida, and he gets another shot at Georgia in Mercedes-Benz Stadium instead of the rivalry’s usual setting. For a coach who has already spent years around Smart’s operation, that matters.
What stands out most is that Faulkner already showed he can make Georgia uncomfortable. The Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech in all three meetings while he was calling the offense from 2023 through 2025, but none of those games came easily. All three were one-possession finishes.
The toughest test came in 2024, when Georgia Tech pushed Georgia to eight overtimes before falling 44-42. The Yellow Jackets piled up 563 yards of offense and 260 rushing yards in that game, with quarterback Haynes King repeatedly stressing the Bulldogs through both the air and on the ground. Georgia finally tightened things up in 2025, winning 16-9 and keeping Georgia Tech out of the end zone, but Faulkner’s offense still did enough to keep the game close.
Kirby Smart isn’t brushing that off. When asked about Faulkner this week, he said, "Just think he's one of the best offensive minds in the country," a hefty compliment from a coach whose defensive programs are usually the ones setting the standard.
Faulkner’s value in this matchup goes beyond what he did at Georgia Tech. He also knows Georgia from the inside.
From 2020 through 2022, he worked as an offensive quality control assistant and quarterbacks coach in Athens, operating alongside Monken and Stetson Bennett. Bennett even called Faulkner an "important intermediary" between himself and Monken during games.
That kind of experience doesn’t hand Florida a blueprint for Saturday, not with personnel changes and weekly adjustments constantly reshaping what Georgia can do. But it does mean Faulkner knows the way Smart’s program thinks, how it prepares, and what it values when it’s getting ready for an opponent.
He’s seen Georgia from the meeting room and from the opposite sideline. Now he gets one more crack at the Bulldogs with Florida’s offense in his hands. And if that group follows the path Faulkner carved at Georgia Tech, Georgia could be in for another tense afternoon.
In Other News...
Georgia Backfield Just Got An Encouraging Chauncey Bowens Update
Chauncey Bowens is back on the practice field for Georgia after missing the past two games with an injury described as being between the toes, a small but tricky issue for a running back who relies on his feet for just about everything. His return to agility work is at least a step in the right direction, and it gives the Bulldogs a little more optimism about the depth of their backfield as they move deeper into the season.
Even so, Bowens still has not been cleared for full contact or game action, which makes his status for the upcoming Florida game pretty straightforward. Georgia is expecting him to sit out again, but the important part is that he is back in motion and trending the right way, with a possible return later this season still in play. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Are Suddenly Eyeing Sanford Stadium For A Huge Reveal
Georgia fans had little to go on Tuesday except a butterfly and a whole lot of curiosity. Georgias official athletic social media accounts posted the image without explanation, and that was enough to set off immediate speculation around what Sanford Stadium might be getting next.
One theory quickly gained traction: an upcoming concert by Grammy-nominated artist Noah Kahan in Athens. The imagery on Kahans tour website appears to line up with the post, and a countdown timer has only added to the buzz. For now, the official answer is still waiting at the end of that countdown, which is exactly the kind of mystery that gets a college town talking. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Faces A Florida Worry Fans Didn't Want This Week
Georgias week-to-week injury watch got a little busier heading into the Florida game, with the Bulldogs official report listing six players across different statuses. Safety KJ Bolden is questionable because of a lower right leg injury, and wide receiver Isiah Canion and running back Chauncey Bowens are also in that same category, leaving Georgia with a few spots on the depth chart worth monitoring as kickoff approaches.
The more concrete part of the report is the group ruled out, which includes safety Tyriq Green, outside linebacker Amaris Williams and wide receiver Thomas Blackshear. Florida has its own uncertainty at quarterback, with Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. both listed as questionable, adding another layer to a matchup that already carried plenty of intrigue on both sidelines. [Read more 🡒]