Thanks to these games, the infamous “I Hate Tennessee” video was created, LSU was given their corn-dog moniker thanks to an Auburn fan’s message board tirade and, for Alabama, countless jabs are taken at “that school down south.” When Georgia faces off against Florida every year, the Bulldogs adopt the phrase “Gators wear jorts” to taunt their division foe.
All bets are off in a rivalry game when both teams bring their top performance, and nothing illustrates that better than the University of Georgia’s embarrassing 38-20 loss to Florida on Saturday.
The Georgia-Florida rivalry is one of its own, creating the appropriately named “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” but it’s also been lopsided throughout recent history. The Gators had lost the last three straight, and Florida coach Will Muschamp had never been on the winning side of the rivalry, losing all four games during his tenure as a Georgia player and the first three as a Florida coach.
After growing up as an Alabama fan in Georgia during the Crimson Tide’s Mike Shula days, enduring constant teasing from my Bulldog-loving friends, I hate Georgia and enjoy watching them lose on any occasion possible, especially in such a lopsided fashion. Georgia allowed the Gators to put up 418 yards, their highest total since 1989, all against a supposedly improving Georgia defense.
The loss seemed to wreck Georgia’s season goals, ending their chance at a berth to the College Football Playoff and possibly even their chance at clinching the SEC East, though with the wreckage going on across the conference’s weaker division, nothing is certain.
Muschamp should have lost his eighth game in the series on Saturday because on paper, there was absolutely no way Florida could have pulled the upset – even with Georgia lacking their star running back. Paper, however, is meaningless in a rivalry game.
While I loved watching the Bulldogs fall, the game served as a harsh reminder as to just how difficult these rivalry games can be and how the favorite is always in danger. With Alabama coming up on two rivalry games of their own, LSU the soonest and Auburn the most storied, the Crimson Tide again controls its own destiny, but it’s a destiny both sets of Tigers are certainly looking to wreck.
Overall, the moral of Saturday’s story is simple: Never underestimate the power of jorts, and never underestimate the ability of a rivalry game to defy the odds.
