Georgia football's greatest Gator Killers of all time

When Georgia and Florida meet in Jacksonville on Saturday, it’ll be for the 100th time. Well, that’s what the Gators say. The Bulldogs claim that it will be for the 101st time. These two programs can’t even agree on how many times they’ve played.

Georgia claims a record of 54-44-2 while Florida says that its border rival to the north has one less win than that. It goes back to 1904 when Gators claim that Georgia beat a team that wasn’t really the University of Florida. Either way, there is plenty of history here.

Over the years there have been a number of Bulldogs who raised their level of play when the Gators were on the other sideline. Below, DawgsHQ gives you our list of Georgia’s greatest gator killers of all time.

Jarvis Jones: The argument can be made for Jones as the most dominant defensive player in this history of this rival for either side. He flat out took over the two matchups in 2011 and 2012. He had five solo tackles, four sacks, four tackles for loss, and forced a fumble against Florida in 2011. Somehow the Georgia edge rusher managed to improve upon that in 2012 with 13 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. Georgia won both games.

Vince Dooley: The legendary Georgia head coach has his name on the Sanford Stadium playing surface due in large part to his success against Florida. He went 18-6-1 against the Gators in his 25 seasons as the Bulldog head coach. That includes a dominant stretch in the 1970s and 1980s. Dooley also won his first game in this rivalry in 1964, snapping a four-game Georgia losing skid.

Todd Gurley: Dooley had a multiple win streaks against Florida but between his time and Kirby Smart, those weren’t easy to come by. Gurley was a big part of a three-game UGA streak from 2011 to 2013. The Georgia tailback gashed the Gators in 2012 and 2013, gaining over 100 yards on the ground each time. He touched the ball 20 times for 187 yards and two scores in the 2013 matchups. The 2012 games saw Gurley rush for 127 and a score against one of the nation’s top defenses as Georgia upset the No. 2 Gators.

Herschel Walker: Georgia beat Florida three straight times while Walker was in a Bulldog uniform and he was the star every time. Walker AVERAGED 216 rushing yards per game against the Gators. He had at least 192 in each of those games and his high was 238 yards in 1980. He also averaged nearly 40 carries per game as Georgia won a pair of tight games in 1980 and 1982 but throttled the Gators 44-0 in 1981.

Bill Stanfill: Florida had Heisman Trophy winner and future Georgia nemesis Steve Spurrier in 1966 but the Bulldogs had All-American defensive tackle Bill Stanfill. He led a defensive front that kept Spurrier under duress throughout the day in a UGA upset. Florida beat Georgia the following year but Stanfill and Co. got revenge in 1968 with a blowout victory. Stanfill even got to line up at quarterback late in that game.

Robert Edwards: Speaking of Spurrier, he had a chance to get his 100th career win over Georgia in 1997. Edwards was having none of it. Georgia was a 20-point underdog but it flipped the script and beat the Gators by 20. Edwards rushed for 124 yards and crossed the goal line four times.

Jake Fromm: We don’t know how many Georgia quarterbacks won three or more games against Florida but it can’t be many. Fromm has that on his resume. He didn’t play a huge role as a true freshman in 2017. The Bulldogs blew out the Gators with Fromm attempting just seven passes. But he turned it on big-time in the next two seasons. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 240 yards and three scores against the Gators in 2018. Fromm hit on 20 of 30 passes for 279 yards and two scores the next season in a one-score win.

Tim Worley/Keith Henderson: We’re talking about one game here but it was a big one. Florida was ranked No. 1 barreling toward a National Championship. Georgia was the better team that day in a 24-3 win and it was largely due to the contributions of Worley and Henderson. Both went for over 100 yards on the ground with Henderson picking up 104 and Worley 145. Georgia had almost 350 rushing yards in all.

Lindsay Scott: We go from one game to one play. Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott will always be near the top of Georgia’s all-time greatest plays. The Bulldogs were trailing 21-20 late in the fourth quarter and had the ball at their own seven-yard line. It was third and long but Belue found Scott open over the middle and the wideout found another gear. He outran the Florida defense to the end zone, prompting an iconic call from Larry Munson.

Frank Sinkwich: This guy carried the football 31 times for 142 yards against the Gators in 1941 with a broken jaw. He had a special chin strap for that injury and maybe one bar across his face. That was it. Sinkwich also made a field goal in that game and it broke a string of 17 straight years that the Bulldogs had not hit a field goal. In 1942, Sinkwich’s Heisman Trophy season, he teamed up with the late Charley Trippi to take down the Gators 75-0.