2025 Georgia-Florida game marks the end of an era in rivalry

ATHENS — Jordan Hall is accustomed to things moving around when Georgia and Florida are involved.

The defensive tackle, and Jacksonville, Florida, native, used to have to play high school games on Thursday because of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

“I grew up a Bama fan, so the rivalry really didn’t mean much to me until I got to high school because we had to play all our games on Thursday because they needed, like, more security at the stadium around Friday and on the game on Saturday because tailgating is crazy,” Hall said. “So that’s really one of the biggest things.”

Saturday’s game between Georgia and Florida will be played in Jacksonville, taking place for the final time in EverBank Stadium. The city has already started a massive renovation on the stadium and surrounding area, projected to cost over $1.4 billion and finish in August 2028.

The project will move the series for the next two seasons. The 2026 game will be played in Atlanta, while the 2027 game moves to Tampa. The series will return to Jacksonville in 2028.

From a Georgia perspective, Saturday’s game is the end of an era. But much like the construction around the stadium, Florida is already looking to tear down what had been built and move on to something better.

Florida fired Billy Napier following the team’s most recent game. Interim coach Billy Gonzales, who has worked at Florida for three different head coaches, takes over for now.

Gonzales will be the fourth Florida coach Smart has faced off against since he took over the Georgia job in 2016. Since his arrival, Smart has flipped the rivalry, going 7-2 in his time in charge. He’s outlasted both Napier and Dan Mullen and ensured that no player experiences the agony of losing to Florida as often as Smart did as a player.

“Coach Smart has done a great job of implementing how much this rivalry means,” Hall said. “Coach Schumann put up an edit inside a team meeting room when Coach Smart first got here. He asked all the guys in the room, ‘Who all in here has beaten Florida?’ I think one person stood up. So since then I guess it’s been a big deal when it comes to Coach Smart implementing how much this rivalry means to him because he lost to Florida a lot when he was here.”

Even with an eye to the future, for both programs, it’s clear this rivalry and Saturday’s game mean a great deal to both sides.

For Florida, this game is its Super Bowl. No game will matter more to this team than the Georgia contest.

As for Smart’s team, it’s the chance to go out as a winner in this version of the stadium and continue on the team’s march back to the College Football Playoff.

“Georgia-Florida week doesn’t need a lot more explanation,” Smart said. “It’s what it is. We got a lot of kids that were recruited by both schools. They know the history of the matchups and the ability to go to Atlanta historically when the divisions were there, ran through this game.”

The divisional format is gone, falling by the wayside when Texas and Oklahoma joined the league in 2024. From 2015 through 2023, the winner of Georgia-Florida went on to win the SEC East and play for the SEC championship.

Florida feels a long way from the prospect of competing for an SEC championship, something the Gators have not won since 2008. Georgia, meanwhile, won the league last year.

That’s part of the reason Florida is circling the likes of Lane Kiffin, Eli Drinkwitz and others as the next full-time coach of the Florida program.

The hope is that Napier’s replacement can usher in a new era at Florida, one where the Gators are closer in competition to Georgia. Napier was 0-3 against Georgia, losing every game by double digits.

The change at Florida comes at a time when the entire sport is dealing with the growing pains that have come with NIL and revenue sharing. The influx of cash has only fueled player movement and talent acquisition.

As seen in the firings of Brian Kelly and James Franklin, it’s sped up the firing process. Napier’s $21 million buyout is not even half what those two coaches received.

Money also has become a central part of this rivalry. It’s why the series will return to Jacksonville in 2028, with both schools receiving a total of $3 million from the city of Jacksonville to play the 2026 and 2027 games at neutral-site venues, as opposed to a home-and-home.

The last time this rivalry wasn’t played in Jacksonville came in 1995, when Florida defeated Georgia in Athens by the score of 52-17. Smart was a player that day, and Florida was at the peak of its powers under Steve Spurrier.

The rivalry went home-and-home at the time because of the Jacksonville stadium undergoing renovations.

Smart appreciated the pageantry that came with the game being played in Athens — and in Gainesville, Florida, the year before. His players won’t get to experience that, nor will either school get the benefit of hosting recruits for a home game against a hated rival.

Instead, both schools will get the cash that comes with playing the games at neutral venues.

“Financially, it can be rewarding,” Smart said. “Yes, and we’re in a financial climate where money matters in terms of your athletic budget and being able to support it. And that is most certainly a factor in this decision, but it’s not the only decision.”

When Saturday’s game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on the banks of the St. Johns River, the stadium will be split between red and blue. The winner will get to jump into the stands and soak up the victory with the fans who made the trip.