Kirby Smart returns to the Georgia vs. Florida game for the first time since playing as a safety for Georgia in the 1990’s.
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Kirby Smart is looking to do something that a Georgia head coach has not done in a while, which is beat the Gators in his first trip to Jacksonville.
The annual trip to Jacksonville for the “River City Showdown” (like anyone is actually going to call it that) has been the achilles’ heel for the last three administrations. The three head coaches posted a combined 7-20 record against the Gators since 1989.
Mark Richt (2001-2015): 5-10
While the Richt-era in Athens was maybe the most successful and consistent of any Georgia head coach, his under-performing in Jacksonville, as well as other big games, is what ultimately led to his downfall. In his first trip to Jacksonville the Dawgs fell 24-10 to the Spurrier-led bunch. The Richt-led Bulldogs ended up 8-4 that season and followed it up with several great seasons in a row, but it wasn’t until Richt’s fourth season in 2004 that he finally got the Florida monkey off his back.
Jim Donnan (1996-2000): 1-4
While Donnan did orchestrate the lone Bulldog-win during Steve Spurrier’s tenure at Florida in 1997, his first trip to the Cocktail Party was not one to remember. The Dawgs were run out of the stadium, losing 47-7 to the eventual national champion Gators on their way to a 5-6 season.
Ray Goff (1989-1995): 1-6
You have to go all the way back to 1989 to find the last first-year head coach to win in his first trip to Jacksonville when the Dawgs won 17-10 over a Gator team that ended up 7-5 that season. Unfortunately, Goff was not able to turn that into future success, tallying just two seasons with more than six wins in his seven years in Athens.
Kirby Smart (2016-): 0-0
Goff and Donnan had the daunting task of competing against the Spurrier led-Gators of the 1990s, one of the elite programs in college football at the time. Spurrier posted a 122-27-1 record in his 12 seasons in Gainesville, while winning the SEC East seven times, winning the SEC Championship five times, and winning one national title.
But Smart isn’t facing those Gators. Florida has been an extremely flawed the past three seasons and still managed two consecutive blowouts over the Dawgs.
And this 2016 team is far from world-beaters. Coming in with a 5-1 record, Florida’s best performance was the first two quarters of a 38-28 loss to Tennessee. Their other five wins have come against UMass, Kentucky, North Texas, Vanderbilt, and Missouri.
If Kirby can pull off an upset-win in his first trip to Jacksonville, it would be the glimpse of hope that the Bulldogs’ program and fan base have been waiting for.