Florida Gators face must win game in Jacksonville

There’s an inexpressible emotion this week in Gainesville and in Athens. The Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs will play this Saturday in one of the most unique rivalries in all of college football.

It starts when you reach the peak of the Isaiah D. Hart Bridge. As you begin your descent on the bridge you see the RVs parked and the sea of orange, blue, red and black. It’s a unique experience that becomes even more surreal at kickoff when EverBank Field is split right down the middle: red and black on one side, orange and blue on the other.

(Video by Kassidy Hill)

Florida head coach Jim McElwain knows a little something about rivalries. He coached at Alabama and played in the Tennessee and Auburn rivalries and that’s not it.

“I know you guys won’t believe it but the ‘Cat-Grizz game [Montana-Montana State] is as vicious a rivalry as you’ll ever be a part of,” McElwain said on Monday. “Do the research on it. It’s hard to explain, but that one was pretty special.”

The “Cat-Grizz” game, also know as the Brawl of the Wild has been played since 1897. At Alabama McElwain was also privy to the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry as well as the Iron Bowl and all the craziness that derives from those two Saturdays in the fall.

Still, there’s just something about Florida-Georgia. The two schools can’t even agree on when the rivalry started. Georgia protests that the series started in 1904 (a 52-0 win in Macon, Georgia). That team wasn’t the University of Florida as you know it, rather the Florida Agriculture College based in Lake City, one of four precursor institutions that became the University of Florida.

The game has also been played almost exclusively at a neutral site, another intricacy of the rivalry that brings a unique flavor.

“Florida-Georgia is one of those games with great tradition,” McElwain said. “The city of Jacksonville, the way they embrace, the things they do, the history of the event, it doesn’t matter where you are from or where you grew up, this is one of those games you know about. That’s what makes it awful fun. It’s a great rivalry.”

The city of Jacksonville has truly embraced the rivalry. The city has hosted the game since 1933, minus two years (1994-95) when what is now EverBank Stadium was being reconstructed. It’s a game that holds a special place in the hearts of eight Jacksonville natives on the Gators’ roster.

“When you go into a Florida-Georgia game and you see the atmosphere there is and you played all four years of high school in Jacksonville and at least once a year for the next four years you get to come back and play. It’s a really good feeling,” Jacksonville native Nick Washington said. “That plays a part in coming here.”

The game, played in October, has also been a precursor for the SEC Championship in recent years. It is again this season for Florida. The Gators are driving the SEC East bus en route to Atlanta but they don’t have any wiggle room. The Tennessee Volunteers are unlikely to be unseated by the rest of their conference schedule (South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt). The Gators, however, must navigate Georgia as well as road trips to Arkansas and LSU. One loss and the Gators will watch Butch Jones in Atlanta on December 5.

That thought is unpalatable for Florida fans but the thought of trashing Florida’s season would make Georgia fans forget about a home misstep to Vanderbilt in Kirby Smart’s first season at the helm.

That’s what makes rivalries intense. Georgia is 4-3, 2-3 in the SEC. As it stands Kentucky has a more direct path to Atlanta. Yeah, Kentucky football. Beating Florida won’t get Georgia to Atlanta but it would keep the Gators from going and that might not feel as good, but it’s pretty close.

“You only get this opportunity once a year,” McElwain said. “Let’s go take advantage of it and let’s really enjoy it.”

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC