Rivalry Recap
Along the way to building a 53-44-2 lead in the storied Florida-Georgia series, the Bulldogs pinned some infamous and infuriating defeats on the rival Gators (75-0 in 1942, “Fourth-and-Dumb” in ’76, “Run, Lindsay, Run!” in ’80, to name a few), but the guys in Orange & Blue had their Dog days, as well. Here are 10 worth remembering.
- 1928 (UF 26, UGA 6) — The Gators’ first win in the series. The game is one of only two played in Savannah, Georgia.
- 1937 (UF 6, UGA 0) — The series moved permanently to Jacksonville in 1933, with the Gators winning just two of the first 15 played in their home state. This was the first.
- 1952 (UF 30, UGA 0) — The Gators’ sixth victory in the series not only was their most lopsided, but locked up the program’s first major bowl berth, sending UF back to Jacksonville to face Tulsa in the Gator Bowl. Better yet, the win propelled Florida to a run of six wins over the next seven against Georgia, making the ’50s its glory decade in the series (until later).
- 1965 (UF 14, Georgia 10) — Steve Spurrier may have won the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1966, but of his three cracks at the Bulldogs this was his lone victory. The 27-10 loss a year later ruined UF’s unbeaten season and shot at the SEC title, a sting the future Head Ball Coach would never forget (or let his players forget, either).
- 1984 (UF 27, Georgia 0) — Kerwin Bell to Ricky Nattiel for 96 yards, as No. 10 Florida smashed eighth-ranked Georgia en route to clinching the first SEC title in school history … or so the Gators thought. The title was stripped seven months later due to NCAA probation.
- 1990 (UF 38, Georgia 7) — Spurrier’s first game in the series as coach was a preview of what was in store over his 12 seasons (as in the first of 11 wins).
- 1994 (UF 52, Georgia 14) — “The Swamp” was lit for the series’ first game in Gainesville in 63 years. So was the Florida defense, which scored three TDs in the blowout.
- 1995 (UF 52, Georgia 17) — The return home-and-home game to Athens (first visit since ’32) proved equally as dominant for the Gators (and embarrassing for the Dogs). UF backups Eric Kresser and Travis McGriff connected for a TD pass with just over a minute left, making Florida the first visiting opponent to score 50 “Between the Hedges” (a stated goal of Spurrier’s heading into the game, by the way).
- 2007 (UF 49, Georgia 10) — A year after UGA coach Mark Richt ordered his players to intentionally draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to set the tone of what became a big Bulldogs win, UF coach Urban Meyer, with a 39-point lead, called three timeouts in the final minute to let Richt reflect on what he did.
- 2014 (UF 38, Georgia 20) — Florida’s 418 rushing yards (198 by Kelvin Taylor, 192 by Matt Jones) were the most by a SEC team in 28 years, and a walk-on named Mike McNeely (who bagged groceries at Publix during the week) ran 21 yards with a fake field goal in the unranked Gators’ first series win since 2010 and upset of No. 11 UGA.
Published
September 21, 2022
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