<\/p>\n When I was a senior in high school, I went to the Georgia\u2013Florida 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.<\/p>\n Georgia won. I didn\u2019t know enough to appreciate how precious a win over Florida could become.<\/p>\n I would learn.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t beat the Gators again until 1997. Seven consecutive losses. It felt considerably longer. Georgia\u2019s series history<\/a><\/p>\n We call those the dark years.<\/p>\n Not that we stopped going. Jacksonville, St. Simons, Jekyll Island\u2014we kept showing up. We even rode a boat and listened to the Swingin\u2019 Medallions, going there and coming back, while the football results remained stubbornly miserable.<\/p>\n We won the party. Florida won the game.<\/p>\n There ought to have been a trophy for our contribution to the coastal economy.<\/p>\n Vince Dooley made beating Florida seem like something Georgia was supposed to do. His record against the Gators was 17\u20137\u20131<\/strong>. Then came a very different stretch:<\/p>\n \u2022 Ray Goff, 1989\u20131995:<\/strong> 1\u20136. \u2022 Jim Donnan, 1996\u20132000:<\/strong> 1\u20134. \u2022 Mark Richt, 2001\u20132015:<\/strong> 5\u201310. \u2022 Kirby Smart, 2016\u20132025:<\/strong> 8\u20132, including five straight victories entering this Saturday.<\/p>\n Those records, tallied from Georgia\u2019s official results<\/a>, explain why some of us still refuse to get comfortable during Florida week.<\/p>\n Spurrier went 11\u20131 against Georgia as Florida\u2019s coach<\/strong>. His overall Florida record was 122\u201327\u20131<\/strong>, and, yes, he won a national championship: the 1996 title. I would prefer to remember less of his r\u00e9sum\u00e9, but an editorial ought to get the facts right even when the facts are wearing a visor. Coaching record<\/a> \u00b7 Florida\u2019s championship history<\/a><\/p>\n Kirby lived through it himself. During his four playing seasons, 1995\u20131998, Georgia went 1\u20133 against Florida<\/strong>. The exception was that glorious 1997 win. He doesn\u2019t need somebody to explain what this game can do to a Georgia fan\u2019s blood pressure. Playing career<\/a> \u00b7 Game results<\/a><\/p>\n Now he has two national championships as Georgia\u2019s 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<\/a><\/p>\n None of which spots us a single point Saturday.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n And this year, the next Georgia\u2013Florida game comes with a strange address: Atlanta. The rivalry moves to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026, then Tampa in 2027, while Jacksonville\u2019s stadium undergoes renovations. The return to Jacksonville is planned for 2028. Georgia\u2019s game notes<\/a> \u00b7 Venue timeline<\/a><\/p>\n The World\u2019s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is going indoors, at least for this installment. That sentence alone ought to require a moment of silence.<\/p>\n Kirby said Monday, \u201cI don\u2019t think that matters much to the teams playing in it.\u201d He distinguished the players\u2019 experience from the fans\u2019 experience. He is probably right. They still have to block, tackle and protect the football. Monday\u2019s press conference<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n You can move the game. Moving the memories takes longer.<\/p>\n For Jon Sumrall, this is his first Georgia game as Florida\u2019s 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<\/a><\/p>\n Beat Georgia and you have something to sell\u2014in 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.<\/p>\n Georgia cannot afford to confuse a new coach with an unprepared opponent. Kirby praised Florida\u2019s 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\u2019s comments<\/a><\/p>\n Georgia enters at 6\u20131 overall and 4\u20131 in the SEC<\/strong>. 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\u2014not merely better explanations. Official game preview<\/a><\/p>\n My expectation is that Georgia wins. My concern is what happens if Georgia decides that expectation is enough.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n That is why I will enjoy five straight without assuming a sixth.<\/p>\n We have already proved we can win the party.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s win the damn game.<\/p>\n Go Dawgs!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2014 The Godfather<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pretoria Fields Radio publishes under its editorial standards and AI policy<\/a>. Spot an error? Write info@pretoriafieldsradio.com and we will correct it in the open.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n![\"Illustrated](\"https:\/\/pretoriafieldsradio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/florida-hate-week-art.png\")
The numbers behind the scars<\/h2>\n
Same hate. Different address.<\/h2>\n
Welcome to the rivalry, Coach Sumrall<\/h2>\n
What Saturday means<\/h2>\n
Sources<\/h3>\n
\n