Georgia QB Faton Bauta to start vs. Florida

Georgia junior Faton Bauta will replace Greyson Lambert as the Bulldogs' starting quarterback Saturday against Florida, a source told ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

Bauta has been the third-string QB behind Lambert, who started the Bulldogs' first seven games, and Brice Ramsey. This will be Bauta's first career start.

Lambert has been inconsistent all season. The Virginia transfer set an NCAA record by completing 24 of 25 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns against South Carolina. But he failed to throw a touchdown pass against Vanderbilt, Alabama and Missouri.

With first place in the SEC East at stake, coach Mark Richt said Lambert, Ramsey and Bauta each got repetitions with the first-team offense in practice this week.

Bauta has seen limited action at Georgia. He is the Bulldogs' holder on extra points this season, but it is unclear if he will perform that task against Florida.

Both Georgia and Florida control their destiny in the East, and the winner will move considerably closer to locking up a spot in the league championship game.

If Florida (6-1, 4-1 SEC) wins its second straight in the rivalry, the Gators would just need to beat Vanderbilt or South Carolina to get to Atlanta for the first time since 2009. If Georgia (5-2, 3-2) pulls the upset, the Bulldogs could clinch the East by knocking off Kentucky and Auburn the following two weeks.

The neutral-site game has been played annually in Jacksonville since 1933.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.