Beating Florida used to mean something. Before Kirby Smart became head coach it wasn't often that Georgia would win even just a couple games in a row against Florida, but that has completely flipped on its head.
Now beating Florida has become such a norm for Georgia that even Kirby Smart admitted that it isn't anything special to beat them anymore.
Smart asked about not celebrating the win over Florida “like he used to.”
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) October 31, 2026
Smart said, “It’s not like ‘oh it’s more sweet because it’s Florida.’ It’s sweet because it’s another SEC win and it gets us closer to a goal.”
Kirby Smart didn't give the reaction fans might expect after beating Florida
Florida will always be one of the biggest games of Georgia's season every year. Even if Georgia beat them 100 times in a row that 101st game would still be one of the most important games of the entire season. Beating them though isn't as exciting as it once was.
Smart put it perfectly after their 27-8 victory on Saturday. He said that beating Florida is just like beating any other team in the SEC. It is another step in the right direction of accomplishing their goals, so to him there's no reason to celebrate this win any differently than when they beat teams like Arkansas and South Carolina.
Georgia fans (and even Smart) deep down know how big this game is, but after a decade of dominance beating Florida is just expected at this point.
A decade into Kirby Smart's career and beating Florida is just the status quo
Beating Florida used to be the sign of a good regular season for Georgia. If Georgia beat the Gators that season would almost always go down as a success, but that isn't the case anymore.
Just look at the last two seasons where Georgia not only beat Florida in the regular season but went on to win the SEC. Some fans still say those seasons were a failure because they were unable to win a game in the College Football Playoff. That is how lofty the goals have become at Georgia and that is why beating Florida isn't as big as it used to be.
Florida at this point is close to just being another game on Georgia's schedule. It really doesn't hold much more value than every other game in the SEC because each game is important for Georgia if they want to win the SEC and make it to the playoff.
No one can deny that beating Florida isn't a little more important than the average game on Georgia's schedule, but Smart has been so good against them for so long that they are expected to win, and when they do win it really isn't a big deal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google