Pound for Pound: Seeing blue

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, October 29, 2024

A whole lotta blue.

That’s what I see when I look at the rivalry results between Georgia and Florida football during my lifetime. One day after my first birthday in 1989, the unranked Bulldogs defeated the No. 20 Gators 17-10.

Then a trash-talkin’, visor-wearin’ offensive genius named Steve Spurrier came home to coach his alma mater. UF won seven straight from 1990 to 1996, topping 40 points four times and 50 twice in the years the border war was played inside campus stadiums.

Georgia snuck in an upset win in 1997, but dropped the next six. Thus much of my childhood was spent wondering, ‘Is it really even a rivalry when it’s this lopsided?’

The good guys in red and black took one in 2004 and another in my college freshman year in 2007. That was when Mark Richt uncharacteristically told his players they better get a celebration penalty after the opening touchdown.

Florida got revenge those next three years with Urban Meyer going so far on one occasion as to call timeouts so he could further stomp a mud hole in the Bulldogs’ backsides.

Georgia was back on top from 2011-13 before the Gators responded with three more of their own. Since then though, it’s been almost all Dawgs with six wins in the last seven.

UGA is 13-22 against Florida since my Nov. 10, 1988, birthday. I’ve said it before, and will say it again: I’m fully prepared to leave this earth with a losing record versus Florida in my lifetime. I don’t like it, but nine games is a lot to make up.

As Halloween approaches, what really makes me shudder is thinking about what my lifetime record would be were it not for King Kirby Smart owning the Gators like a pair of fine alligator leather boots during this most recent stretch.

The series – and hopefully the dominance – continues this Saturday on the banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville where No. 2 Georgia squares off against unranked 4-3 Florida. It’ll be the traditional 3:30 p.m. kick, though ABC has broadcast rights this year instead of CBS.

Following an injury to starter Graham Mertz, Billy Napier and the Gators have gone to highly-touted freshman DJ Lagway at quarterback. UF has won three of its last five with one loss coming in OT at UT (that’s the Rocky Top-singing UT, not the trash-throwing one). Lagway is a step up at the key position on the field, but I don’t think it’s time to be too scared of him yet. That’s especially given the way our defense played the last time out along with the fact that we took Florida’s best player in running back Trevor Etienne.

I’m going against a ton of life experience with this prediction. Six of seven sounds great, but seven of eight is even better. Georgia wins 31-20.