Steve Spurrier weighs in on where Florida-Georgia should be played
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Steve Spurrier knows a thing or two about the Florida-Georgia rivalry. This week the game’s future has been called into question. The teams are contracted to play in Jacksonville through 2023 with options for 2024 and 2025.
With the SEC getting ready to expand, bringing in Texas and Oklahoma, the league will switch to a new scheduling format. One potential scenario may not even have the two teams playing yearly.
Spurrier was a guest on the Paul Finebaum Show Thursday. He revealed that when he took over the Gators in the midst of a bad streak vs. UGA, there was another great debate about whether to move the game back to the home campuses.
“I’ll tell you the truth, Paul, way back in 1990, if you remember, before 90, Georgia had won 15 of the last 20 and the Gators were wanting to move the game out of Jacksonville,” Spurrier said. “Some of them told me, ‘Coach, we can’t beat ’em over there, we’re cursed or there’s a jinx or something.’ I said, ‘No, they’re just kicking our butts over there, that’s the reason they’re winning and we’re going to try to do something about it.’
“The team that wins is usually the best team, the best prepared, all that kind of stuff. As a Gator, I’d like to see it stay there, but who knows what’s going to happen three-four years down the road.”
He went on to beat Georgia 11 times, losing only once in 1997.
The future of Florida-Georgia
The two programs released a joint statement on the future of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party on Monday.
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“The annual game between our two universities is an important tradition,” the statement reads. “At this time, both programs are focused on our current seasons. Typically both schools begin conversations regarding future games in the series as the last contracted game nears. We anticipate following that timeline.
“When those discussions take place, we will consider a multitude of factors, including tradition, finances, future SEC scheduling models with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, and what is best for both schools’ football programs overall.”
The current contract for the Florida-Georgia game keeps the game in Jacksonville through 2023, however, there is an option to extend it through 2025.
The game on Saturday has a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff time and the game broadcast will be on CBS. Florida comes into the contest against undefeated Georgia as a 22.5-point underdog.
