In name, this is Georgia football’s bye week.

But with the Bulldogs sitting on a 4-3 record, mired in a disappointing season and looking ahead to their Halloween date with No. 1 Florida, it’s been anything but an off week so far.

“We challenged everybody this week to put in a lot of work, watching them on film and practicing well all week, and not just making it like a week off,” said quarterback Joe Cox.

“I think if everybody takes that challenge and takes this week to prepare, too, I think we can get a good idea of exactly what we want to do against them and have a good game plan.”

There’s no doubt the Bulldogs, fresh off an encouraging win against Vanderbilt that ended their two-game losing streak, will be using this time to gather themselves physically and mentally.

They practiced Tuesday and will do so again today, with meetings and weight lifting sessions intertwined. Some will go home this weekend, and others said they will use the time to get caught up on school work.

But that hasn’t affected an intensified emphasis on film study of the Gators, who will be taking on Mississippi State in Starkville on ESPN Saturday night.

“We feel like we have to take the best opportunity of this time and just make the best of it, in terms of doing things like getting in the film room and hopping on them early,” said linebacker Rennie Curran.

“I know that’s one of the things that the coaches want to do, is just get an early start so by the time the game week comes, it’s second nature to us. We’re not even really having to go hard physically [next week] but just save it and go over what we already know and what we’re already expecting.”

Timing-wise, a bye week prior to a big-time rival, much less the nation’s top-ranked team, couldn’t be better. Last season, the Bulldogs had two weeks for the beating they sustained at the hands of Alabama to rumble around in their heads.

“It’s always an advantage to have an open date . and of course you always want it prior to an Eastern Division foe if you can,” said head coach Mark Richt. “We can’t always control it, but it’s good to have it before Florida no doubt.”

And, though the odds are the BCS’ No. 1 team will likely be taking its frustrations out on one of the conference’s doormats Saturday, its previous games have shown its vulnerability.

The Gators narrowly escaped with a 23-20 win on a last-minute field goal against Arkansas Saturday, and LSU held them to just 13 points the previous week.

If anything, the Florida offense hasn’t been nearly as dominating as in years past. And Georgia is brimming with confidence.

“It’s basically watching them and kind of being like a reminder of what’s held us back this season, the mistakes and turnovers and things like that. Any team can be affected by it,” Curran said.

“If they make mistakes and allow another team to stay in the game, it can turn it into a game that’s full of a lot of drama and a lot of suspense. Whereas if they had held the turnover ratio down and not given up the big plays it might have been different. Just like any other team.”

The sting of Georgia’s 49-10 trouncing at the hands of the Gators (not to mention the timeouts called by Florida coach Urban Meyer in the waning minutes) still resonates for the Bulldogs.

You can bet they’ve been thinking about it as they bide their time in the film room.

“Every team’s beatable,” said defensive tackle Jeff Owens, whose ACL injury forced him to watch from the stands last season. “They’re the No. 1 team, so it’s like they’ve got an S on their chest. Everybody’s gunning for them.”