Follow along here for live updates from the Gators rivalry matchup with the Bulldogs
The Gators (5-2, 3-1 SEC) still control their destiny in the SEC East but will face their biggest test all season against the reigning back-to-back national champion Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC). Florida is riding a two-game winning streak into the matchup.
I sat down with Owen Warden, the assistant sports editor at the Red & Black, the independent student newspaper at the University of Georgia, to break down the matchup and learn more about the Bulldogs this season.
The Florida Gators caught a breather in their schedule last weekend, but there was no rest in sight. With a well-timed bye week, UF head football coach Billy Napier took the time to gear up for UF’s annual rivalry match against the No.1 Georgia Bulldogs.
Six teams were on bye in week seven of the NFL season. However, despite less football, several Gators stepped up in big ways for their teams.
The year is 1993. The Florida Gators opened the season with a dominant 5-0 start and were the No. 4 team in the country before a heartbreaking 38-35 loss on the road against Auburn. With Florida’s perfect season ruined, the Gators turned their direction to Jacksonville, to play against hated rivals, the Georgia Bulldogs on Oct. 30, 1993.
Despite the season-opening defeat, Florida is now 5-2 and 3-1 in the SEC. Napier secured his first win against an AP Top 25 SEC opponent when UF defeated the then-No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers 29-16 Sept. 16.
On any given Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in 1990s Chatsworth, Georgia, Kurt Napier and his family would gather around the TV to watch Southeastern Conference teams duke it out on CBS. To them, football was tradition. The SEC in some parts of their northern Georgia town was religious. No one would’ve imagined that on that same television, 30 years from those moments, someone in the family would have an impact on what they saw on Saturdays.
Florida-Georgia is a rivalry of era-defining coaches. Vince Dooley dominated the Gators in the 1980s, and Steve Spurrier flipped the series with an 11-1 record against the Dogs. Urban Meyer kept the dominance alive in the late 2000s with five wins against Georgia in six years.
The Florida Gators still managed a victory during their bye week with a big win on the recruiting trail after landing five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray Saturday.
The Gators (5-2, 3-1 SEC) came back down 10 and defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4, 1-3 SEC) 41-39 Oct. 14 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. UF won its first road game of the season.
The Florida Gators (5-2, 3-1 SEC) defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4, 1-3 SEC) 41--39 Saturday afternoon in Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The Gators totaled 494 total yards in the game.
The Florida Gators (4-2, 2-1 SEC) look to get their first road win of the season against the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-3, 1-2 SEC). UF is looking for its fifth win in its last six meetings against the Gamecocks. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., follow along for live updates.
The Gators (4-2, 2-1 SEC) will face the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-3, 1-2 SEC) Saturday at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. Florida will hope to break a five-game losing streak away from home.
UF's victory against Vanderbilt extends the Gators’ unbeaten run in the Swamp but does little to break their losing streak on the road. Head coach Billy Napier remains focused on implementing changes to snap the trend.
Week five of the NFL is over, and several former Gators made headlines for their performances on and off the field.
Fresh faces flew all around the field during the Gators’ Homecoming victory against the Vanderbilt Commodores and have been integral to UF’s success in head coach Billy Napier’s second season.
The Florida Gators (4-2, 2-1 SEC) defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-5, 0-3 SEC) 38-14 Saturday afternoon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in UF's Homecoming game. Florida has won its last five Homecoming games, with its last loss coming against Missouri in 2018.
Follow along here for live updates from the Gators' Homecoming matchup against the Commodores.
I sat down with Frankie Sheehy, the deputy sports editor at the Vanderbilt Hustler, the student newspaper at Vanderbilt University, to break down the matchup.
Solutions by The State News
