HOOVER, Ala. - The future home of the UF-Georgia rivalry is still in doubt, and Georgia coach Mark Richt is finished giving his opinion on the subject.
Richt made waves earlier this year when he said playing the game in Jacksonville - where the Gators have won 16 of the last 19 - is not a neutral atmosphere, citing distance and weather as reasons.
At Southeastern Conference Media Days on Thursday, he took a different track in hopes of avoiding controversy.
"This is what I want to do: I want to focus on winning that game," Richt said. "That's all I want to focus on when it comes to that game."
When asked if that meant he didn't care where the game is played, Richt smiled and repeated himself.
"I really just want to focus on trying to win that game. That's my goal from here on in. That will be my pat answer from here on in."
The current deal between the two schools will expire following the 2010 game, and they have yet to sign a new contract dictating where their annual rivalry game will be played.
Richt favors a rotation between neutral sites in Jacksonville and Atlanta, something the Atlanta Sports Council has tried to accomplish in the past.
UF coach Urban Meyer wants to keep the game in Jacksonville, but he said he didn't know where the two schools stood in terms of reaching a deal.
"I just love that game," he said. "I love the atmosphere. It's one of the unique ones in college football."
The Bulldogs in attendance Thursday were just as split on the issue as the crowd in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
Defensive tackle Jeff Owens, who tailgated and watched the game as a fan last year because of injury, says he'd like to see a rotating schedule.
Quarterback Joe Cox wants to keep the status quo.
"I really don't care because either way, the stadium is going to be half red and half blue-and-orange," Cox said. "If it's in Atlanta, I guess people just want to see more Georgia fans outside the stadium. It really doesn't matter once you get inside because it's 50-50.
"I like playing in Florida because it's pretty good weather, and it's a fun game to go to."
As Cox said, crowd demographics wouldn't change much between the current site and the Georgia Dome, but attendance would fall. The dome held 75,892 for the SEC Championship Game last year, while 84,649 attended the UF-Georgia matchup in Jacksonville.
From the conference's perspective, the site of one of its biggest rivalry games is secondary.
"It's a great conference rivalry, so the game itself is what matters," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. "Where it gets played is really completely in the hands of the institutions."
