Everything to know about the Georgia-Florida game and its major implications
ATHENS — Rivalry games are one thing, but winning championships is another, and that’s what Georgia and Florida are aiming to do.
This year’s edition of the Georgia-Florida game isn’t a play-in for what figures to be the final SEC championship game in history — pending final approval of the 24-team playoff — but it’s close to that.
“I would say yeah, that (SEC championship game) is always a goal, every year,” UGA defensive captain Raylen Wilson said. “Just winning the SEC, it’s big around here; nobody takes it lightly to get there.”
The Gators enter their annual rivalry game with the Bulldogs in control of their SEC championship game destiny for the first time since 2020, which was also the last time they appeared in it.
No doubt, the result of this year’s Georgia-Florida game could certainly factor into who meets at 4 p.m. on Dec. 5 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium when one considers the glut of two-loss teams in the SEC scrapping to stay at or near the top of the heap for College Football Playoff Selection Committee consideration.
The first CFP rankings will come out Tuesday night, and the biggest mystery hanging in the air is how the committee will value the SEC’s schedule strength and nonconference record vs. raw win-loss records.
Here’s a look at each conference’s record against Power Four teams in nonconference games:
• SEC (10-2)
• Big 12 (6-7)
• ACC (6-11)
• Big Ten (4-10)
• Mountain West (1-8)
• American (1-11)
• MAC (1-17)
• Conference USA (0-9)
• Pac-12 (0-12)
• Sun Belt (0-15)
Things to Know about Florida vs. Georgia
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Rankings and records: Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC), No. 3 in AP Top 25 Poll. Georgia, No. 5 in Sagarin computer rankings; Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC), No. 14 (of 266) in Sagarin computer rankings.
TV/radio: ABC; Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network radio; Sirius XM 172.
Weather: Indoors, climate-controlled 72 degrees.
Series: Georgia leads 58-44-2
Last meeting: Georgia won last season’s game in Jacksonville, 24-20, but it could have been a wider margin had Gunner Stockton not intentionally kneeled at the Florida 1-yard line with 1:48 left so that the Bulldogs could run out the clock and prevent another Gators possession.
The game featured five lead changes, with Florida — led by interim coach Billy Gonzales in the wake of Billy Napier’s firing — holding its final lead at 20-17 with 14:52 left on Trey Smack’s 54-yard field goal.
The Bulldogs regained the lead at 24-20 on Chauncey Bowens’ 36-yard touchdown run with 4:36 remaining.
Last outings: Georgia lost to Auburn, 27-24, in Sanford Stadium in the program’s first loss to an unranked team since falling to South Carolina 20-17 in overtime in 2019. Florida rallied from a 17-3 first-half deficit in Austin to beat Texas, 27-24.
Noting Georgia
1. Kirby Smart is the SEC’s winningest coach by percentage even after the recent setback to Auburn at .848, a small fraction ahead of Nick Saban (.847) and a decent margin ahead of Tennessee’s Robert Neyland (.829).
2. Georgia’s Brandon Boykin (DB in 2008-11) and Andre Hastings (WR in 1990-92) are UGA’s inductees into the Georgia Hall of Fame this year. Florida’s inductees are Maurkice Pouncey (OT 2007-09) and Emmitt Smith (RB 1987-89).
3. This marks the first time the Georgia-Florida game has been played in Atlanta. The teams first met in Macon in 1904. They have previously met in Jacksonville all years since 1933, with the exception of the 1994 and ’95 games, which were played on campus sites in Athens and Gainesville while the Gator Bowl was being renovated to house the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The current stadium is undergoing a $1.4 billion renovation. Next year’s game will be played in Tampa, Florida, before moving back to Jacksonville in 2028.
4. Gunner Stockton is three completions from passing his offensive coordinator Mike Bobo (445 completions, 1994-97) for ninth on Georgia’s career completions list. Quincy Carter is eighth with 483 completions during his career from 1998-2000.
5. Peyton Woodring is four points from passing Blair Walsh (412 points, 2008-11) for second on UGA’s all-time points scored list. Rodrigo Blankenship sits atop the list with 440 points scored from 2016-19).