The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs take on the No. 17 Florida Gators on Saturday in Atlanta in a game that has plenty of College Football Playoff implications on the line.

While this is the first season for Gators head coach Jon Sumrall and his staff, offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has plenty of experience both with Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and against him as the offensive coordinator of Georgia Tech.

Faulkner spent three seasons in Athens as an offensive quality control and quarterbacks coach before taking the offensive coordinator position with rival Georgia Tech.

His three years with the Jackets included the annual "Good Ole Fashioned Hate" game at the end of the season against the Bulldogs and produced a memorable 44-42, eight-overtime game where the Bulldogs prevailed.

Faulkner's Success against Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia Tech outgained the Bulldogs 563 to 405 in that game, but came up short. Faulkner's offense has had success against Smart and his defense. When it was pointed out that the Jackets only had three three-and-outs in his time in Atlanta, Faulkner quickly knocked on wood.

"I didn't know that," Faulkner said with a grin. "They’re a good defense; we were able to have some success in the past with the quarterback and the way he could run the football. Obviously we’re built a little bit different here."

Haynes King rushed for 2,277 yards in his three seasons with Faulkner, including 953 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. Faulkner may be tipping his hand for this week against Georgia, as Tramell Jones Jr. is more of a rushing threat than Aaron Philo and led the team to an upset victory over Texas in Florida's last game.

"You know when you play them, the one thing you’ve got to do is be efficient in all facets of the game, because they’re going to be efficient. It’s staying on schedule, staying ahead of the chains, and you’ve got to score touchdowns in the red zone to have a chance to beat them. They do a good job as anybody in the country, at trying to strip it out, knock it out, and we've got to go in this environment and protect it," Faulkner said.

What Makes Georgia so Tough?

The Bulldogs have the No. 1 scoring defense in the conference at just 15.9 points per game, and Faulkner knows his offense will have its work cut out for it.

“Well there’s always challenges with this defense," Faulkner said. "Give them their credit, probably one of the best coaching jobs over the last several years that you see across the country. They’ve got good players. They do a great job of developing their players."

Sumrall made a similar comment about how Smart has been able to layer talent through several years of recruiting, retention, and development, without having to dip too heavily into the transfer portal.

"If you look on their roster, I think in the two-deep it was four transfers. The rest of them high school guys; if I’m not mistaken, it’s only one guy that’s starting, Khalil Barnes, that’s a transfer who’s actually a local kid that they recruited for a long time, knew a lot about," Faulkner said.

"So their kids have been in their system for several years. They’ve seen it all. They put them through all that stuff, and so those are the things that are challenging. Obviously, they play really, really hard.

"Yeah, I mean, they’re a good football team.”

Gators Control their Destiny

The former No. 1 team in the nation offers a big challenge to the Gators, but they also offer another big opportunity. A win over Georgia would give Florida arguably the best three wins in the nation, including Ole Miss and Texas.

A win over another good team, and the Gators control their College Football Playoff destiny.

And like Faulkner said, Georgia's a good team.