ATHENS — Growing up, there was only one rivalry that mattered in Kirby Smart’s household.
“It was by Bainbridge-Cairo,” Georgia’s coach deadpanned. “I didn’t know anything about college games. I didn’t know they existed. I didn’t, not until I was about a 10th grader did I worry about college. I was worried about making sure we had food on the table and we won the games we were supposed to win at the high school level.”
Smart’s father was the head coach at Bainbridge High School. Smart then went on to Georgia, where he played a key role in the Bulldogs’ win over Florida in 1997.
That was Smart’s lone win in the series as a player. He’s made sure his players have had much more success against Florida, as Georgia is 6-2 against the rival Gators since Smart took over as Georgia’s coach.
With a win Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC) at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, Georgia will have won four consecutive against Florida for the first time since the Bulldogs won seven consecutive from 1978-83. That streak means little to Smart or his players.
“I think it has no bearing on Saturday,” Smart said. “I mean, each season is independent of the previous. We don’t get caught up in things like that. We’re trying to earn it each day.”
Still, history plays some role in how players view this rivalry.
Junior safety Malaki Starks was sick for each of his first two games against Florida. He’s hoping to beat the flu and the Gators this weekend.
“I think it means a little different for different people,” Starks said. “I think when I look back at my freshman year, I woke up with the flu. And last year, I was pretty sick when we played them. So I’ve been sick every year I’ve played Florida. So I’m really trying not to get sick this week.”
For sophomore tight end Lawson Luckie, he’ll get to follow in his father’s and uncles’ footsteps.
Being the son and nephew of former Georgia Bulldogs players, he knows what this game means to the Georgia fan base.
“Florida at Georgia is the biggest game, one of the biggest games we play,” Luckie said. “Like it’s one of our biggest rivals, so that’s one of the games you always look forward to as a kid. Now it’s full circle, it’s one of the biggest games you look forward to all year.”
Luckie and Starks are Georgia natives. For wide receiver Arian Smith, he has a different spin on the rivalry. He’s from Florida and played for Lakeland High School, a traditional pipeline for the Gators.
Many of his former teammates have played for Florida over the years. And with it being an annual game in his home state, Smith understands the stakes of the game.
“It’s personal. Just that borderline rivalry,” Smith said. “You already know it’s going to be a physical game, so obviously it feels like a good win when we come out of there and our fans are right there cheering for us and you see the other side clearing out. So I’d probably say just, I don’t know, it’s just one of those games where you just always want to come out with a dominant win.”
The Georgia-Florida rivalry will change in the coming years, with the series moving to Atlanta in 2026 and Tampa in 2027 while the Jacksonville stadium undergoes renovations. The series is scheduled to return to Jacksonville in 2028.
But on Saturday, the rivalry still means everything to those involved.
“It would mean everything to never lose a game. Just able to, like, leaving and being able to look back and talk about it,” Smith said. “Coach tells us it’s an honor to do that. So just being able to do that is probably going to mean a lot in the future. Not so much right now because we just want to win.”
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