JACKSONVILLE --- Dan McCarney wasn't on Florida's staff last season, but all he needed was just a few minutes in the film room to know just how tough the fifth-ranked Gators' task will be today against No. 8 Georgia.

What McCarney saw was Bulldogs running back Knowshon Moreno ripping through UF for 188 yards and three touchdowns in Georgia's 42-30 victory in 2007, and the defensive line coach couldn't stop raving about the 5-foot-11, 207-pound redshirt sophomore.

"Phenomenal football player," McCarney said. "He's just got it all.

When you're in it as long as I am, you see great running backs, super running backs, but his durability, his speed, his physicalness, great hands . . . Just a sensational player, one of the best in all of college football.

"That's not any overstatement, believe me." It's also not an overstatement to say that stopping Moreno is the key to whether the Gators (6-1, 4-1) will win the annual Southeastern Conference matchup at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for the 16th time in the last 19 meetings. Georgia junior quarterback Matthew Stafford might be playing his best football, and the Bulldogs could have finally found a game-breaking wide receiver in freshman A.J.

Green, but Moreno is the UF defense's top focus.

It's not as clear-cut for Georgia (7-1, 4-1). UF's offense is no longer just about junior quarterback Tim Tebow and wide receiver Percy Harvin. The Gators have other game-breaking options in running backs Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps, both of whom are among the nation's fastest players.

If the Bulldogs focus on just Harvin (26 catches, 429 yards, six touchdowns) and Tebow (277 yards, five TDs rushing; 1,415 yards, 12 TDs passing), it could mean big days for Demps and Rainey, who have rushed for a combined 679 yards and six touchdowns and average a combined 8.6 yards per carry.

"It's very obvious those guys are becoming a big part of what they're doing," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "You can look at the stat sheets and see that the wealth is getting spread to a lot more than just Tebow and Harvin. It's creating problems for everybody.

That's why they're leading our league in scoring right now by a great margin." Moreno leads the SEC with 925 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing and is coming off two of his best games of the season c 172 yards against Vanderbilt and 163 yards against LSU (his season-high 168 yards came against Central Michigan). He needs just 75 yards to become only the second player in school history to rush for 1,000 in consecutive seasons (Herschel Walker, 1980-83).

Moreno has carried the ball at least 21 times in the past three games and is averaging 18.7 carries per game this season, but the Gators aren't nearly as concerned with the number of touches he has as they are with limiting the damage he inflicts when he does carry the ball.

"It's not yards nearly as much as it big runs, yards after contact," McCarney said. "... You've got three guys in position to make a play, and he makes them miss or breaks tackles, and then all of a sudden, he gets down in the red zone." Moreno had just two runs of more than 15 yards against UF last season, but all three of his touchdown runs came inside the red zone (1, 10, 3 yards), and he carried the ball a career-high 33 times.

The Gators expect a similar workload today, but with different results.

"Absolutely," UF middle linebacker Brandon Spikes said. "I think if we play great up front, I think we'll win this ballgame." Demps' emergence for the Gators' offense has been a pleasant surprise. The freshman, who set a national high school record in the 100-meter dash (10.01 seconds) during the Olympic Trials this past June, leads UF with 357 rushing yards.

Demps ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run in the season opener against Hawaii, but he was a forgotten part of the offense until the Oct. 4 Arkansas game. Demps ran for 103 yards and two scores c 36 and 48 yards c against the Razorbacks, and he followed that with 129 yards on 10 carries against LSU. His touchdown in that game was a 42- yarder, giving him four TD runs of 30 or more yards this season.

The Gators had two last season.

Rainey also had a good debut against Hawaii (six carries for 58 yards and one touchdown) and a big game against Arkansas. The redshirt freshman had 10 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown c a 75-yard run in which he used a nifty spin move to break into the open field.

Rainey is the Gators' second leading rusher (322 yards), and his 49 carries rank second only to Tebow's 82 on the team.

"They've just got more weapons," Georgia junior cornerback Asher Allen said. "That offense there has always been a potent offense.

With Tebow and Harvin there, you always have the chance for a big play and now having two more players that can do that. ... We have to be aware of where everybody's at."