You're not supposed to call it the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" anymore -- the schools prefer to call it the "Football Classic." But I don't care -- it will always be the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" to me.
You're also not supposed to call it the "Gator Bowl" anymore. The old Gator Bowl stadium was torn down in 1995, and replaced with something called Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. But then that stadium was renamed Alltell Stadium, and now it's called EverBank Field. I'm just going to call it the Gator Bowl.
This is, of course, one of the greatest rivalries in college football. Played in Jacksonville every year, the game features huge blocks of fans who group on opposite sides of the Gator Bowl and scream at each other. There used to be more games played on neutral fields like this, but with so many large on-campus stadiums these days, they have largely died out. But this one continues.
For a long time, Georgia held the upper hand in this series. And to this day, the Bulldogs lead the series 47-39-2 (or 46-39-2, because Georgia counts a victory in 1904 that Florida refuses to recognize). But since Steve Spurrier came to Florida, the tables have been turned. Since 1990, Florida has gone 17-3 against the Bulldogs. The Gators currently enjoy a two-game winning streak in the series, with wins of 49-10 and 41-17 in the last two years. But those Gator teams featured Tim Tebow -- and they did not come into this game on a three-game losing streak, like this year's team does. On the other hand, Florida has not lost four consecutive games since 1988. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs got off to a terrible 1-4 start, but have since rallied, beating Tennessee 41-14, Vanderbilt 43-0, and Kentucky 44-31. Put it all together and Georgia is a one-point favorite to keep the UCFC today.
This is the first time since the 1970s that both teams have come into this game unranked, so it is ironic that this edition of the rivalry would be a UCFC game. This will be the fourth time Florida and Georgia have played in a UCFC game. In the other three matchups, the holder kept the crown -- and none of the games were close. In 1942, one of the all-time great Georgia teams (led by Charlie Trippi) blasted Florida 75-0 and went on to finish undefeated and take a trip to the Rose Bowl. In 1971, another strong Georgia team blasted Florida 49-7 -- but lost the UCFC in their next game to Auburn. And last year, Florida hammered Georgia 41-17 on their way to the SEC title game (where they lost the UCFC to Alabama).
The greatest Florida-Georgia game of all time, of course, was the 1980 version, where Georgia hit a 92-yard pass (Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott) late in the game to pull out a miraculous 26-21 victory and send Georgia on the way to the national title. But that was not a UCFC game, as the title was held by USC at the time.
This game will tell us a lot about who will hold the UCFC at the end of the season. If Florida wins, they will hold the title next week against Vandy and then take it to Columbia for a showdown with South Carolina. On the other hand, if Georgia wins the game, they would hold it against Idaho State and then set up a showdown with Auburn.
Personally, I think Florida has one of the best coaches in America in Urban Meyer, and I think the Gators will find a way to pull this out.
