Georgia football: Top 10 programs that the Bulldogs have defeated
9. Florida State Seminoles
When Florida State began playing football in 1947, there were less rules around scheduling and strict scheduling rules didn’t begin to really be implemented by conferences like the SEC for a few decades.
I mention that because there was once a time when it seemed like Georgia and Florida State might become out-of-conference rivals.
Georgia and Florida State first met in 1954 and they played nine times between 1954 and 1964. The only years they didn’t play each other was 1957 and 1960. Georgia won the first five meetings, four of them in convincing fashion.
Then the Seminoles won the following four games including an 18-0 win in 1962. After that Georgia and Florida State stopped playing each other, presumably because Georgia renewed their rivalry with Clemson which would go unhindered from 1964-to-1991.
In the time Georgia and Florida State spent apart, both programs grew quickly. The Bulldogs hired Vince Dooley and won a pair of SEC titles in the 1960’s and were national title contenders throughout the 60’s 70’s and 80’s.
The Seminoles eventually hired Bobby Bowden and were soon becoming the major program it’s known as today. So when Georgia and Florida State met again in 1984, both programs were radically different. And instead of a winner and loser, the two teams battled to a 17-17 tie in the Citrus Bowl.
Georgia and Florida State wouldn’t meet again until the 2003 Nokia Sugar Bowl. By this time, Florida State had won a pair of National Championships, cementing themselves as one of college football’s elite programs.
Georgia was down while all of that was happening. But the Bulldogs did have new head coach Mark Richt, the offensive coordinator for Florida State’s National Championships. Richt had just led Georgia to a SEC Title while Florida State struggled offensively without him. Georgia won that game in New Orléans 26-13.
Georgia leads the series over Florida State 6-4-1. A meeting between the two teams is always on the table. The SEC and ACC have a great relationship so a home-and-home series in the future is always a possibility. Then there’s also the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff and other neutral sight kickoff games. You can’t forget about bowl games either.
The Bulldogs and Seminoles will probably meet again sooner rather than later.