One of college football’s most storied rivalries renews Saturday in Jacksonville, as the Georgia Bulldogs battle the Florida Gators at EverBank Stadium, the old Gator Bowl.

Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs head into the game ranked in the top ten with a record of 6-1, and 4-1 in Southeastern Conference play. This marks the ninth straight season under Smart’s watch that Georgia has gone to Jacksonville either once-beaten or undefeated.

Florida is 3-4 on the year, and 2-2 in the SEC. The Gators will have a new head coach on Saturday. Florida parted ways with Billy Napier following its 23-21 win over Mississippi State on October 18. The Gators will be led by interim coach Billy Gonzales for the remainder of the season. A longtime top assistant, this is his second stint in Gainesville, and he has also coached at LSU and Mississippi State in the SEC. He was a part of the Florida staff that won national championships under Urban Meyer’s watch in 2006 and 2008.

Both teams, as per the norm over the last decade-plus, are heading to Jacksonville off open dates. Both of these proud programs also come in battle-tested, having faced challenging schedules.

Florida opened the season with a 55-0 win over Long Island University, then embarked on a stretch of five straight games against ranked opponents, including four consecutive contests against top ten foes. The Gators were upset by South Florida 18-16 in Gainesville, and even though the Bulls are in the midst of an outstanding season, the Florida faithful were restless. Combined with the season opening win, and victories in the final four games of the 2024 campaign, hopes were high for the Blue and Orange. The Gators defense played great in Baton Rouge, but Florida lost to then No. 3 LSU 20-10. Then came a 26-7 loss at then No. 4 Miami. The high point of the season thus far followed, as Florida topped then ninth-ranked Texas 29-21. A trip to College Station followed, and the Gators fell to then fifth-ranked Texas A&M. The aforementioned win over Mississippi State marked Napier’s final game as the Gators head coach, midway through his fourth season.

Georgia has been involved in a slew of thrillers thus far this season, including comeback victories over Tennessee, Auburn and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs’ lone loss came to Alabama on September 27. Georgia has won three straight since, including a heart-stopping 43-35 victory over Ole Miss last time out on October 18.

Smart has led Georgia to wins over Florida in seven of the last eight seasons. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 57-44-2.