Florida Hate Week!

By Tripp Morgan, “The Godfather” · Opinion column. Dictated by Tripp, transcribed and copy-edited with AI assistance; the opinions are his.

When I was a senior in high school, I went to the Georgia–Florida game with my mother. We drove from Camilla, down toward Jacksonville, tailgated out of the back of the car for about 45 minutes and walked to the ballgame.

Georgia won. I didn’t know enough to appreciate how precious a win over Florida could become.

I would learn.

The Ray Goff years were not kind to the Dawgs in this rivalry. Then Steve Spurrier arrived in Gainesville and turned an unpleasant Saturday into an annual obligation. Georgia beat Florida in 1989, then didn’t beat the Gators again until 1997. Seven consecutive losses. It felt considerably longer. Georgia’s series history

We call those the dark years.

Not that we stopped going. Jacksonville, St. Simons, Jekyll Island—we kept showing up. We even rode a boat and listened to the Swingin’ Medallions, going there and coming back, while the football results remained stubbornly miserable.

We won the party. Florida won the game.

There ought to have been a trophy for our contribution to the coastal economy.

The numbers behind the scars

Vince Dooley made beating Florida seem like something Georgia was supposed to do. His record against the Gators was 17–7–1. Then came a very different stretch:

• Ray Goff, 1989–1995: 1–6. • Jim Donnan, 1996–2000: 1–4. • Mark Richt, 2001–2015: 5–10. • Kirby Smart, 2016–2025: 8–2, including five straight victories entering this Saturday.

Those records, tallied from Georgia’s official results, explain why some of us still refuse to get comfortable during Florida week.

Spurrier went 11–1 against Georgia as Florida’s coach. His overall Florida record was 122–27–1, and, yes, he won a national championship: the 1996 title. I would prefer to remember less of his résumé, but an editorial ought to get the facts right even when the facts are wearing a visor. Coaching record · Florida’s championship history

Kirby lived through it himself. During his four playing seasons, 1995–1998, Georgia went 1–3 against Florida. The exception was that glorious 1997 win. He doesn’t need somebody to explain what this game can do to a Georgia fan’s blood pressure. Playing career · Game results

Now he has two national championships as Georgia’s head coach. On that measure, he has already passed Spurrier. In my book, he is building a case to stand among the best ever to do it. Georgia coaching notes

None of which spots us a single point Saturday.

Same hate. Different address.

Auburn has already reminded us what a winning streak is worth once the ball is kicked. History can explain a rivalry. It cannot play the next game for you.

And this year, the next Georgia–Florida game comes with a strange address: Atlanta. The rivalry moves to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026, then Tampa in 2027, while Jacksonville’s stadium undergoes renovations. The return to Jacksonville is planned for 2028. Georgia’s game notes · Venue timeline

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is going indoors, at least for this installment. That sentence alone ought to require a moment of silence.

Kirby said Monday, “I don’t think that matters much to the teams playing in it.” He distinguished the players’ experience from the fans’ experience. He is probably right. They still have to block, tackle and protect the football. Monday’s press conference

But for those of us whose memories include the drive, the islands, the boats, the music and the people who went with us, the location matters. Jacksonville is not simply where we parked. It is part of the family album.

You can move the game. Moving the memories takes longer.

Welcome to the rivalry, Coach Sumrall

For Jon Sumrall, this is his first Georgia game as Florida’s head coach. Whatever else a new coach accomplishes, this is one of the Saturdays his fans will use to decide what they think of him. Rivalry preview

Beat Georgia and you have something to sell—in recruiting, in the locker room and wherever Florida fans gather to explain why next year will be different. Lose, and you discover how quickly a honeymoon can become a film session.

Georgia cannot afford to confuse a new coach with an unprepared opponent. Kirby praised Florida’s physicality Monday and said his players have been watching clips of running back Jadan Baugh since the start of the year. That is more specific than saying they have spent four months preparing exclusively for Florida. It is also a useful reminder: the people who actually have to tackle these Gators are not treating them as a punch line. Smart’s comments

What Saturday means

Georgia enters at 6–1 overall and 4–1 in the SEC. After Auburn, this is about more than extending a streak. It is about protecting championship possibilities and showing that the response to a loss is better football—not merely better explanations. Official game preview

My expectation is that Georgia wins. My concern is what happens if Georgia decides that expectation is enough.

Take care of the ball. Tackle. Keep the emotion without collecting the penalties. Make Florida earn everything. Those instructions are not particularly poetic, but neither was sitting through the 1990s.

Over the next two years, we will learn whether Sumrall can make this rivalry more competitive and whether Georgia can maintain its advantage while the game changes cities. I expect the addresses to change more easily than the feelings.

I still think about that trip with my mother: a car, a short tailgate and a Georgia victory that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. Then came all those years that taught us otherwise.

That is why I will enjoy five straight without assuming a sixth.

We have already proved we can win the party.

Let’s win the damn game.

Go Dawgs!

— The Godfather

Sources

• Georgia’s series history
• Georgia’s official results
• Coaching record
• Florida’s championship history
• Playing career
• Game results
• Georgia coaching notes
• Georgia’s game notes
• Venue timeline
• Monday’s press conference
• Rivalry preview
• Smart’s comments
• Official game preview

Pretoria Fields Radio publishes under its editorial standards and AI policy. Spot an error? Write info@pretoriafieldsradio.com and we will correct it in the open.