This is the biggest and most intensely emotional rivalry week of every season for the Florida Gators. Rivalries are the essence of college football. That makes this the biggest game of any Florida season, regardless of the dynamics of SEC East standings, national rankings or recruiting implications. It may not be the most important game of the year (that would be the SEC Championship Game, those years the Gators make it to Atlanta), it may not be the most program-defining game of the year (that would be the national title game, any year the Gators might get there), and it might not be the most exciting game of the year (that one could be any opponent on the slate)…but one thing says it all: This. Is. Georgia. Week.
Why All the Hate?
To the uninitiated, it might come as a surprise how a rival from another state could be a bigger rival than one of the two Power 5 and historically powerful (and perpetually obnoxious and antagonistic) programs right in their state. But they are not in Florida’s conference, they might think. Then why wouldn’t the Gators’ biggest rival be an SEC program that has been historically elite, one that has won the most of everything and is always the #1 obstacle to any SEC or national title? Why wouldn’t it be Alabama? Or why wouldn’t it be the SEC East rival that has been the most powerful divisional opponent since the Gators’ rise to power in 1990? Why not Tennessee?
Well. Where do I begin?
The Game that Never Happened
How about in 1904? Eleven years before the Florida-Georgia series even began. That’s when the University of Georgia played a football game against Florida Agricultural College from Lake City. The game was played somewhere in Macon, Georgia. FAC was one of four institutions that were consolidated to create a single state-supported university by the Buckman Act of 1905: the University of Florida. The newly formed university worked fast to assemble an athletics program and it fielded an officially recognized football team in 1906. Florida did not however move so fast that they fielded a football team a year before the university even existed. The University of Florida’s first game against the University of Georgia took place on November 6, 1915. Yet the Georgia Bulldogs count that 1904 game against a Lake City club sport team in the series history. And it’s not just the silly fans who like to add an extra win every year to their record by including the spring game. It is written into the official University of Georgia record books.
You might wonder just how obnoxious one school could get. Well as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade said in Scent of a Woman, they were just gettin’ warmed up!
75-and-Oh!
It was 1942. You don’t have to have seen the movie by the same name to know what was going on in across the globe in 1942. Here at home, while upper classman football players should have been focused on where they might be taken in the NFL draft, most of the Florida Gators’ upper classmen had been selected in one of the many rounds of the U.S. military draft. In Athens, however, almost the entire team was left intact due to draft deferments they achieved by signing up the entire football team into the university’s ROTC program. With so many universities depleted by the military service, the Bulldogs were able to steamroll to a 7-0 record and a #1 ranking in the nation coming into the game with severely short-handed Florida. Florida came in 3-4 and without many prospects for wins the remainder of their SEC schedule. It is the kind of situation where you would expect Georgia to name a respectable score and do the patriotic thing and run out the second half clock in honor of the soldiers off fighting for the freedom of the entire world.
But Georgia had different ideas. They had Frank Sinkwich in the thick of a Heisman Trophy race and a ton of poll voters to try to impress in pursuit of a national title (which they did win, according to the votes of impressive authoritative bodies such as Billingsley Report, Berryman, Houlgate System, Litkenhous and Williamson System). And for the rabid dogs of Georgia, conscription was prescription. Despite holding this enormous advantage because of the heroism and service of Gator players fighting the Nazis, Mussolini and the Asian Empire that bombed Pearl Harbor, the ‘Dawgs left Heisman Trophy-winning Sinkwich and their All-American Maxwell Award-winning halfback Charley Trippi in the entire game to run up the score to 75-0. Because dignity and honor meant nothing to the Georgia Bulldogs compared to poll votes from Sagarin, The Poling System and DeVold System.
If the 1942 game was the only basis for hating the Georgia Bulldogs, that would be enough.
But wait. There’s more.
The Greatest Gator Denied
Everyone remembers 1966, even those who weren’t born yet. Because nothing has been repeated more in retelling of Florida Gator lore than the 1966 season that saw Steve Spurrier, the greatest Gator, bring the first Heisman Trophy to the University of Florida. Spurrier, who insisted to coach Ray Graves that he take the long field goal attempt that beat arch rival Auburn. Spurrier, who returned to Gainesville as head coach in 1990 and created an instant football dynasty that would last conceivably into perpetuity. If you’ve been a Gator for fifteen seconds or more, you’ve seen the old black and white footage of the kick that beat Auburn or the ancient grainy still of Spurrier posing with his Heisman. And anyone familiar with the Spurrier legend knows that his coaching tenure is what broke the SEC title curse, that ultimate bauble that Florida would constantly hold in its grasp late in the season only to have it slip through its fingers. And the team that made it slip was usually Georgia. The 1966 season was one of the seminal seasons in this curse.
The Gators entered the 1966 game with a 7-0 record, #7 national ranking and a clinching of their first ever SEC title with a win over the Dawgs. The Dawgs were no slouch themselves, coming in 6-1, but were nonetheless clear underdogs. Not only did they beat Florida by 17 points, they roughed up Spurrier, intercepting him three times and almost derailing his Heisman campaign a week after he locked it up.
Appleby to Washington
It was 1975 and Florida came into the game 6-1, ranked #7 in the nation and with its first SEC title within its grasp if they could beat Georgia (this was the recurring theme throughout the flabby midsection of this rivalry). The Gators held a 7-3 lead nearly the entire game in an era where 7-3 was practically a blowout lead and required at least one full half of football to overcome. But with just over three minutes to play (about 15 seconds when adjusted to 2015 clock time), with the ball on their own 20, Vince Dooley did what he almost never does: called a trick play. Thus was the name of theretofore never heard of tight end Richard Appleby written into the history books and etched onto the minds of Gators from here to eternity for taking a reverse handoff and then launching a pathetic wobbly pass into the hands of receiver Gene Washington, who lumbered in slow motion for 80 yards for the winning score.
“Run, Lindsay, Run!”
By far the most famous and most oft-rolled piece of archive footage during Florida-Georgia week. Georgia came to Jacksonville with an unblemished record, a #2 national ranking and the greatest college running back that will ever play the game. Florida came into town looking to play the spoiler that Georgia had played to them so many times. Down by a point at their own 7-yard line, time running out in the game, 3rd-and-8, quarterback Buck Belue – a household name because of his expertise in handing the ball off to Herschel Walker – was chased into his own end zone where he lofted an ugly duck to a receiver waiting at the 25 yard line. Surrounded by SEVEN Gator defenders and only one blocker (who did not block anyone), he had little chance of reaching the 30. But the Gator defender directly in his path to escape inexplicably knelt down and grabbed his leg, not only allowing Scott to run past him but also causing the deep defenders around him to alter their angles of pursuit, allowing Scott just enough room to reach the perimeter and out-race the entire defense to the winning touchdown. Walker went on to win the Heisman, Georgia went on to win their only legitimate major wire service national championship, and I still don’t know what force of nature caused that Gator defender to take a Bill Lambier flop that facilitated the touchdown run.
First National Title Hopes Dashed
1985. Florida entered the game undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. The Gators were also on probation. Florida had its head coach fired the year before and nearly won the national title despite of it. They won the SEC title but were forced to vacate it due to sanctions the SEC arbitrarily decided to pile on top of the NCAA’s sanctions. The charge to strip the title from Florida was led by the University of Tennessee and the University of Georgia, specifically through the very vocal urging of then-UGA coach Vince Dooley. They also preemptively deemed the Gators unfit to win the SEC title in 1985 (which they won on the field); however nobody could stop the AP or UPI voters from selecting Florida as national champions. If only they could beat Georgia. They couldn’t. Georgia had no business winning the game but that blew the Gators out 24-3. Grrr!
But wait. There’s more. As it was, the Bulldogs were also cheating at the same time. The findings of the investigation of Florida’s program were mild at best compared to most of the infractions discovered by major programs in the most recent two decades, and no less condemning than those for which Georgia were being investigated. But somehow, the Georgia investigation mysteriously stalled out and was pushed to the back burner where it fizzled out into nothing. Georgia was only ripped for two scholarships, and there was no TV ban or ban from bowl games. Meanwhile, Florida’s program got hammered like Bob Vila’s thumb. Would it surprise you to know that Georgia coach Vince Dooley was the chairman of the NCAA’s television committee and it was well circulated that he applied all of his considerable influence and clout to bully the NCAA into treating UGA with kid gloves and taking their frustrations out instead on Florida? It shouldn’t surprise you, because that’s exactly how it went down. Dooley has presided over three different NCAA findings of major infractions as a football coach, and three different NCAA findings of major infractions as UGA’s athletic director (once in football, twice in basketball).
Incidentally, that 1984 SEC championship trophy still resides in Gainesville, as does the trophy awarded for the 1984 national championship by the New York Times, one of several sanctioning bodies to name Florida the champs that year (including The Sporting News).
Dooley Hypocrisy at it Again
Think you were upset that Dooley led the charge to strip Florida of its first-ever SEC title in 1984, while he and the Dawgs were at the time cheating just as badly as was Florida? Well he did the exact same thing again in 1990. Despite being caught breaking what amounts to a few minor NCAA sanctions that would garner maybe a written reprimand today, Florida lost its bowl eligibility, more scholarships and lost its head coach in the aftermath of the NCAA findings.
But wait. There’s more. Dooley again led a charge with the SEC brass to preemptively make Florida ineligible for the 1990 Sec title. The Florida administration refused new coach Steve Spurrier’s urgings to appeal the preposterously over-reaching penalty, issuing the statement that they want all the infractions incidents behind them and behind the scenes telling Spurrier that UF hasn’t won an SEC title in its entire history and they weren’t about to risk evoking the NCAA’s ire for an SEC title run that had no chance of ever happening in a new coach’s first season of a rebuilding project. Of course, Spurrier’s Gators won the SEC title in 1990, but were not allowed to claim it.
The Gator Stomp
After losing 8 of the last 9 games against Florida, and Mark Richt personally losing 5 of the last 6, the Georgia head coach decided to pull one of his usual “tricks” which range somewhere between fatally ill-conceived trick play to outright illegal game time stunts. This one was one of the illegal ones. Richt instructed his team all week that if the incredibly unlikely happens and Georgia should score first, the whole team has to rush the field and celebrate together in the end zone. Well they scored first and they stormed the field and acted like they just won the Little League World Series. It became known as The Gator Stomp, owing to the fact that none of the players knew how to dance. Richt spent the next week waffling between his stories, claiming at different times to have not planned it (it was completely spontaneous) to having orchestrated the whole thing, to having mentioned that it “would be neat” if the offense celebrated a first touchdown of the game, but having no idea the whole team would rush the field. Take your pick, I guess.
The illegal ploy got the Dawgs busted for 30 yards of personal foul penalties, forcing them to kickoff from their own 8-yard line. This of course led to a short field for the Gators, who scored an answering touchdown in less than a minute and a half. By mid second quarter, Florida had forged a 3-point lead. So the stunt that Florida players roundly described as classless and disrespectful to their team and to the game, had absolutely no impact whatsoever. Georgia eventually won the game because the Gators could not stop turning the ball over in the second half and because their defensive 2-deep was dominated by true freshmen and sophomores who would quickly become a nationally elite defense but who had troubles stopping offenses all year long, leading to four losses in Tim Tebow’s Heisman Trophy season. Still, Georgia fans still insist that classless illegal tactic not only is nothing for which to apologize, but also that it was the event that made the difference in the game. Obnoxious, thy name is a Dawg.
Florida fans know that the celebration DID have a hand in a game’s outcome, but it was the following year’s game. Every day for an entire year following The Gator Stomp, the Florida staff made a point of at least once shouting “188!” at Florida players at random times, at which time they would drop what they were doing, hit the deck and do 20 pushups. 188 was the number of yards Knowshon Moreno gained on the rushing in the 2007 game. Along came the 2008 game, the Gators lay a monumental beat down on the Dawgs to the tune of 49-10. As time was running out and Florida held the ball, Georgia players and coaches were ready to watch the last seconds tick off the clock and get the heck out of Dodge and begin their mental and emotional rehab back in Athens. Well, the Gators would not let them, calling two timeouts for no apparent reason, to extend the game and make Georgia stay on the field, play a few more downs, and spend a few more minutes with their coaches and fans staring at the scoreboard flashing “49-10”. Well, there was a reason that was very apparent to Gator fans: “Georgia, you don’t get to leave until we dismiss you!” That was the way The Gator Stomp worked.
The Throat Grab
It was 2010, Urban Decay had set in deep and the Florida program was in full downward spiral. The Gators entered the Cocktail Party with a 3-game SEC losing streak, a physically broken quarterback and a season and program on the brink of complete disaster. It was one of those years when a feel good story was badly needed. Though not having a great season overall, Georgia was riding a 3-game SEC winning streak into the game and was expected to roll the Gators. Due to a bad injury to Caleb Sturgis, Florida was forced to make their punter Chaz Henry kick their field goals in 2010, and it did not meet with good results, losing to LSU and Mississippi State by the margins of Henry-missed field goals. So the football gods would have it that this game went to overtime and Chaz Henry was lining up to kick an overtime field goal that would win the game. In the timeout preceding the kick, Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was theatrically grabbing his throat on the sidelines, giving Henry the international “choke” sign, and shouting at the top of his lungs to Henry that he was going to choke. Henry made the kick, the Gators won the game and the horrible gesture was captured on video and traveled the internet. A permanent viral reminder of how classless and hate-worthy the Dawgs program is, from the coaching staff down.
Another National Title Shot Thwarted
In 2012, the Gators were just two seasons removed from the airing of The Walking Urban Meyer Dead, the season of disinterested malaise that “broke the program”, to put it in Meyer’s words. But thanks to the domination of Dan Quinn’s defense and the heroism of some players who were determined to overcome the terrible coaching to scratch out just enough offense to keep winning, the Gators came into this game undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation, looking for all intents and purposes to be on a collision course with #1 Alabama in Atlanta to decide the SEC title and eventual national title. But then the Gators turned the ball over about 800 times and the Dawgs passively inherited a 17-9 win. It did not help matters that Jordan Reed was on his way to crossing the plane into the end zone with the tying score (assuming the 2-point conversion), when he inexplicably pulled a Peter Pan leap through the air and got the ball poked out at the last second, recovered in the end zone by Georgia. Florida never lost again that regular season and would have had that #1-#2 “Game of the Century” against Alabama at the end of the year when Florida was surging, having just crushed highly-ranked FSU in their own house.
Looking Ahead
What can we expect out of Mark Richt and the forever hate-able Dawgs? Who knows? Another Black-out? Another onsides kick in the first or second quarter? Another illegal celebration? Time will tell. What I think is the most important however is what can we expect out of Florida?
Because when Steve Spurrier arrived, not only did the “curse” of losing to lesser Georgia teams for no apparent reason end, the Gators started to exact revenge and punishment for all the evils enacted by the Dawgs all these many years. The 2008 time-outs; ruining the seasons of top-5 ranked UGA teams in 1992 and 2002; hanging half-a-hundred on the scoreboard in Athens – the only time it had ever happened between the hedges – because, as Spurrier said, because nobody had ever done it before and it would be cool to be the first; ripping the hearts out of Dawg Nation with Anthone Lott’s sly last-second time-out in 1993 that erased the play that brought them to a PAT away from tying the score in the waning seconds; and winning 18 out of the first 21 games after Spurrier took over. After the former Dawg player Will Muschamp did the impossible in losing three-straight to Georgia for the first time in a quarter century, Georgia fans nervously proclaim that Georgia owns the series once again – something they haven’t done since the ‘80s. Even though Muschamp’s swan song was a thorough pummeling of the Dawgs without even having to throw forward passes, they think Florida’s domination is over. Despite new coach Jim McElwain’s first year staff forging a meteoric rise in the football program’s fortunes, Georgia fans think that Florida no longer owns them. That the annual misery in The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is over.
But wait. There’s more!
Thanks for the Dooley reminders. Helps bring out my hate.