190-536: The Florida–Georgia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs , both members of the Southeastern Conference . The programs first met in 1904 or 1915 (the status of the 1904 game is disputed) and have played every season since 1926 except for a war-time interruption in 1943. It
380-505: A 0–0 tie. The Army–Navy game of 1893 saw the first documented use of a football helmet by a player in a game. Joseph M. Reeves had a crude leather helmet made by a shoemaker in Annapolis and wore it in the game after being warned by his doctor that he risked death if he continued to play football after suffering an earlier kick to the head. In 1879, the University of Michigan became the first school west of Pennsylvania to establish
570-669: A 17–0 lead by early in the second half. But the Bulldogs seemed to come alive in the third quarter, mounting a long drive; however, Georgia's drive died in the shadow of the Gators' goal line when they were stuffed on fourth down, checking the Bulldogs momentarily but pinning the Gators deep in their own territory. On the third play following the change of possession, Gators quarterback Kerwin Bell dropped back into his own end zone and lofted
760-651: A 41–0 victory in Chapel Hill that clinched a share of the 1989 ACC title. At Spurrier's suggestion, that win was followed by a joyful team picture taken in front of the Kenan Memorial Stadium scoreboard, a photo that still rankles some Tar Heel supporters. For his success, Spurrier was named the ACC Coach of the Year in both 1988 and 1989. In December 1989, Spurrier accepted an offer to return to
950-426: A 41–27 win. After the game, Dickey admitted that "We were not outplayed; we were outcoached. I made some dumb calls." Sports writers seized on Dickey's mea culpa , and in subsequent months and years popularized the phrase "fourth and dumb" to refer to both Dickey's failed fourth down attempt and the game itself. Trailing the underdog 1980 Florida Gators with their perfect season and their No. 2 ranking in jeopardy,
1140-463: A 56-game undefeated streak that included a 1902 trip to play in the first college football bowl game , which later became the Rose Bowl Game . During this streak, Michigan scored 2,831 points while allowing only 40. Organized intercollegiate football was first played in the state of Minnesota on September 30, 1882, when Hamline was convinced to play Minnesota . Minnesota won 2 to 0. It
1330-465: A 7-2 record against the Gators. Since the 1960s, the Florida–Georgia rivalry often held conference or national championship implications for one or both teams, and both schools have had title hopes dashed in the game, sometimes in a surprising upset. In 1966 , the Bulldogs intercepted 3 passes by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier , derailing the Gators' title hopes in a 27–10 upset. On
1520-489: A booklet called "The Gator Mentality", in which is collected coaching tips and theories that he used himself along with inspirational quotes he shared with his players. Spurrier inherited a team under NCAA investigation for the second time in five years. He successfully steered the program away from the previous scandals and led the Gators to the best record in the SEC in his first year, though they were declared ineligible for
1710-853: A college assistant for the Florida Gators, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets , and the Duke Blue Devils where he began to develop his innovative offensive system while serving as the Blue Devils offensive coordinator in the early 1980s. He was hired to his first head coaching job by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983 and led the team to two playoff appearances in three seasons before
1900-514: A college football team. On May 30, 1879, Michigan beat Racine College 1–0 in a game played in Chicago. The Chicago Daily Tribune called it "the first rugby-football game to be played west of the Alleghenies ." Other Midwestern schools soon followed suit, including the University of Chicago , Northwestern University , and the University of Minnesota . The first western team to travel east
2090-421: A drive in the closing minutes but a bad snap foiled the Gators' game-tying field goal attempt, and Georgia held on for a 10–7 victory. The 1976 Florida Gators were 6–1 and ranked No. 10 coming into the game, and again seeking to secure their first SEC football championship. The Gators held a 27–13 halftime advantage and seemed to have the game in hand until the Bulldogs scored early in the third quarter to cut
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#17327911729202280-445: A fifty-six yard screen pass on his first collegiate attempt and another pass for a touchdown on his second pass. Spurrier would add another touchdown pass during the second half of his varsity debut. The following week on the road at Mississippi State , Spurrier entered a tied game late in the fourth quarter and led the Gators down the field for a game-winning field goal. Spurrier continued to alternate with starter Tommy Shannon as
2470-496: A football player by the coaching staff at the University of Tennessee in nearby Knoxville because at the time, Tennessee ran a wing-T offense that featured a running quarterback while Spurrier was an excellent passer. While Tennessee never officially offered him a football scholarship, Volunteers basketball coach Ray Mears offered Spurrier a scholarship, which he declined since he preferred to play football. University of Florida coach Ray Graves heard about Spurrier late in
2660-408: A football team in 1906 , and the University of Florida Athletic Association does not include any games played by the programs of its predeccesor instiitutions in its official records, including the 1904 contest against Georgia. Georgia, on the other hand, counts the 1904 game as a victory against its future rival. UGA sports historian Dan Magill sums up the school's attitude: "That's where Florida
2850-447: A great deal to Harvard's rugby. They decided to play with 15 players on each team. On November 13, 1875, Yale and Harvard played each other for the first time ever, where Harvard won 4–0. At the first The Game (as the annual contest between Harvard and Yale came to be named) the future "father of American football" Walter Camp was among the 2000 spectators in attendance. Walter, a native of New Britain, Connecticut , would enroll at Yale
3040-548: A liking to the rugby game, and its use of the try which, until that time, was not used in American football. The try would later evolve into the score known as the touchdown . On June 4, 1875, Harvard faced Tufts University in the first game between two American colleges played under rules similar to the McGill/Harvard contest, which was won by Tufts 1–0. The rules included each side fielding 11 men at any given time,
3230-486: A long pass to streaking receiver Ricky Nattiel , who went 96 yards for a touchdown. The Bulldog momentum was snuffed out and the Gators went on to a convincing 27–0 victory, inspiring jubilant Florida fans to storm the field and tear down the goalposts after the final whistle. The 1985 Florida Gators entered the contest on a roll: coming off an emotional win over the Auburn Tigers , undefeated, and ranked No. 1 in
3420-2384: A luncheon in Jacksonville the Friday before the football game. Florida–Georgia Hall of Fame inductees through 2023 include: Florida: Carlos Alvarez , Reidel Anthony , Kerwin Bell , Howell Boney, Scot Brantley , Joe Brodsky, Alex Brown , Trey Burton , Andre Caldwell , Norm Carlson , Kevin Carter , Rick Casares , Jeff Chandler , Wes Chandler , Brad Culpepper , Doug Dickey , Chris Doering , Jimmy Dunn, Larry Dupree , Ciatrick Fason , Jeremy Foley , Don Gaffney , Jabar Gaffney , Ray Graves , Earnest Graham , Rex Grossman , Joe Haden , Galen Hall , Percy Harvin , Ike Hilliard , Chuck Hunsinger , Lindy Infante , Willie Jackson, Jr. , Doug Johnson , Jevon Kearse , Charlie LaPradd , Chris Leak , Buford Long , Wilber Marshall , Shane Matthews , Lee McGriff , Nat Moore , Ricky Nattiel , Keiwan Ratliff , John Reaves , Errict Rhett , Lito Sheppard , Brandon Spikes , Steve Spurrier , Fred Taylor , Tim Tebow , Richard Trapp , Ben Troupe , John L. Williams , Lawrence Wright , Danny Wuerffel , Jack Youngblood . Georgia: Peter Anderson, Richard Appleby, Buck Belue , Boss Bailey , Champ Bailey , John Brantley , Zeke Bratkowski , Charley Britt, Kevin Butler , Wally Butts , Mike Cavan , Knox Culpepper , Rennie Curran , Thomas Davis Sr. , Vince Dooley , Robert Edwards , Terrence Edwards , Bob Etter , Randall Godfrey , Ray Goff , Cy Grant, David Greene , Rodney Hampton , Garrison Hearst , Terry Hoage , Jarvis Jones , John Little, Dan Magill , Kevin McLee, Willie McClendon , Knowshon Moreno , Larry Munson , Aaron Murray , George Patton, David Pollack , John Rauch , Mark Richt , Rex Robinson , Matt Robinson , Erk Russell , Bill Saye, Jake Scott , Lindsay Scott , Richard Seymour , Frank Sinkwich , Bill Stanfill , Jon Stinchcomb , Matt Stinchcomb , Marcus Stroud , Tommy Thurson, Charley Trippi , Herschel Walker , Gene Washington, Charles Wittemore, Scott Woerner , Tim Worley , Eric Zeier . In 2017, two members were inducted who were not linked with one particular school: Greg McGarity , who
3610-479: A missed field goal and a 17–14 Alabama win. Spurrier remained the Gators' starter for the remainder of the season and was sometimes brilliant but inconsistent. He led the Gators to a 14–0 home win over rival Auburn and a 20–6 upset of #7 LSU in Baton Rouge , but he did not play well in losses to rivals Georgia and Florida State . Nevertheless, he was named the SEC's Sophomore of the Year for 1964. Spurrier
3800-593: A more aggressive offense than they'd run all year, and the Yellow Jackets won, 24–14. With Spurrier continuing to call plays, Georgia Tech won the next two games as well, scoring over 20 points in both contests and setting a Georgia Tech record for passing yardage in a season. But the campaign ended with a 16–3 loss to archrival Georgia, dropping Georgia Tech to 4–6–1 overall and leading to Rodgers' dismissal. Spurrier asked incoming head coach Bill Curry if he would be retained as Georgia Tech's quarterback coach and
3990-411: A neutral site cost both programs a valuable home recruiting weekend every other year. However, the schools have repeatedly extended their agreement to play in Jacksonville, both for tradition's sake and because the neutral-site contest has become quite lucrative for the universities. Florida and Georgia have long split ticket revenue for the game, and in 2019, the city of Jacksonville agreed to compensate
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#17327911729204180-501: A new code of rules based on the rugby game first introduced to Harvard by McGill University in 1874. Three of the schools—Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton—formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, as a result of the meeting. Yale initially refused to join this association because of a disagreement over the number of players to be allowed per team (relenting in 1879) and Rutgers were not invited to
4370-469: A passing offense to take advantage of Spurrier's talents and, unusual for a high school team, occasionally allowed the young quarterback to call plays on the field. Boosted by a post-season game at the end of his senior year in which he brought his team back from a 21–0 second-half deficit to win 28–21, Spurrier was a high school All-American and drew the attention of many college programs. Spurrier's achievements in multiple sports earned him induction into
4560-503: A player to pick up the ball and run with it whenever he wished. Another rule, unique to McGill, was to count tries (the act of grounding the football past the opposing team's goal line; there was no end zone during this time), as well as goals, in the scoring. In the Rugby rules of the time, a try only provided the attempt to kick a free goal from the field. If the kick was missed, the try did not score any points itself. Harvard quickly took
4750-597: A playoff spot. Head coach Dick Nolan chose to start Brodie in the first round of the playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys , whom the 49ers had beaten 31–10 on Thanksgiving Day in Texas with Spurrier starting. Spurrier did not make an appearance in the playoff rematch, and the Cowboys intercepted Brodie twice on their way to a 30–28 victory that ended the 49ers' season. Spurrier next had an opportunity to start in
4940-481: A position "if the opportunity was really right." In 1979, he accepted an offer to become the quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech under head coach Pepper Rodgers , who had been an offensive assistant at Florida when Spurrier was the quarterback. Like Dickey at Florida, Rodgers sought to shift Georgia Tech's offense from a wishbone attack to a more passing-oriented offense. And also like Dickey, Rodgers's efforts did not produce immediate results. The Yellow Jackets began
5130-408: A potential game-winning field goal. Instead, in a wild broken play, the Bulldogs' center and placeholder mishandled the snap, but Etter picked up the bobbled ball and ran it for a touchdown to score the winning points in the 14–7 contest. Dooley's teams would split their first seven games 3–3–1 against Graves' Gators. Thereafter, Dooley's 'Dogs would go on to dominate the rivalry, winning fourteen of
5320-465: A professional roster spot as an undrafted free agent . Despite these opportunities, only around 1.6% of NCAA college football players end up playing professionally in the NFL. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League (NFL), college football has remained extremely popular throughout the U.S. Although the college game has a much larger margin for talent than its pro counterpart,
5510-451: A record 352 yards in leading a furious fourth-quarter rally that fell just short. As a senior, Spurrier was awarded many national recognitions, including the 1966 Heisman Trophy and Walter Camp Memorial Trophy , and was a unanimous first-team All-American. He was also the 1966 recipient of Florida's Fergie Ferguson Award , which recognizes the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage." Though
5700-510: A rougher version of football called "the Boston Game" in which the kicking of a round ball was the most prominent feature though a player could run with the ball, pass it, or dribble it (known as "babying"). The man with the ball could be tackled, although hitting, tripping, "hacking" and other unnecessary roughness was prohibited. There was no limit to the number of players, but there were typically ten to fifteen per side. A player could carry
5890-533: A round ball instead of a rugby-style oblong ball. This series of games represents an important milestone in the development of the modern game of American football. In October 1874, the Harvard team once again traveled to Montreal to play McGill in rugby, where they won by three tries. In as much as Rugby football had been transplanted to Canada from England, the McGill team played under a set of rules which allowed
Florida–Georgia football rivalry - Misplaced Pages Continue
6080-539: A run-heavy attack similar to the offense he had used to win championships with the USC Trojans , while Spurrier felt that the team did not have the right personnel to run the ball effectively and should employ a more pass-oriented offense. Another point of contention was Coach McKay's insistence that his son, John McKay, Jr. , be the Bucs' primary wide receiver while Spurrier and other observers felt that he did not have
6270-495: A scoreless tie in 1930, Georgia resumed its dominance, winning fifteen out of the next seventeen games in the series as coach Wally Butts led the Bulldogs to several SEC championships while the Gators suffered through a period of mediocrity in the 1930s and 1940s. Florida finally enjoyed longer-term success in the rivalry in the 1950s under coach Bob Woodruff , a trend that continued into the 1960s under coach Ray Graves . The hiring of new Georgia coach Vince Dooley in 1964 evened
6460-537: A team be required to advance the ball a minimum of five yards within three downs. These down-and-distance rules, combined with the establishment of the line of scrimmage, transformed the game from a variation of rugby football into the distinct sport of American football. Camp was central to several more significant rule changes that came to define American football. In 1881, the field was reduced in size to its modern dimensions of 120 by 53 1 ⁄ 3 yards (109.7 by 48.8 meters). Several times in 1883, Camp tinkered with
6650-503: A trick halfback option play with his cereal on the morning before a game, and the play going for a 60-yard touchdown pass that afternoon. During another game, Spurrier devised a new pass play on the sideline which Duke ran for a touchdown on its next offensive possession. Coach Wilson had not seen the play before, and when he asked Spurrier what play he'd called, the young assistant replied "Touchdown, coach." In 1983, Spurrier returned to Tampa to accept his first head coaching position with
6840-463: A way for young players to gain experience. In 1963, Spurrier led the "Baby Gators" to a 45–12 victory over Georgia's freshman team at Florida Field, a game which he half-jokingly claims as a home win against the Gators' fiercest rivals. Spurrier was in competition for the starting quarterback position leading up to his sophomore year of 1964 until a serious knee injury suffered during spring drills allowed returning senior starter Tommy Shannon to keep
7030-512: A youth, he excelled in sports like track , baseball, and association football, and after enrolling at Yale in 1876, he earned varsity honors in every sport the school offered. Following the introduction of rugby-style rules to American football, Camp became a fixture at the Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed. Dissatisfied with what seemed to him to be a disorganized mob, he proposed his first rule change at
7220-495: Is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States . Like gridiron football generally, college football is most popular in the United States and Canada. While no single governing body exists for college football in the United States, most schools, especially those at
7410-543: Is extremely lucrative for local businesses, drawing thousands of fans to a community that is more known for its naval base and heavy industry than for tourism. Local hotels fill to near capacity, downtown and the Jacksonville Landing along the St. Johns River hosts festivities on Friday and Saturday, and the area around the stadium is alive with tailgating and other happenings on game day. Besides Jacksonville,
7600-529: Is generally considered to be the second tier of American and Canadian football; ahead of high school competition , but below professional competition . In some parts of the United States, especially the South and Midwest , college football is more popular than professional football. For much of the 20th century, college football was generally considered to be more prestigious than professional football. The overwhelming majority of professional football players in
7790-415: Is no longer officially used. Though highly contested on both sides, the rivalry has gone through several periods in which one team dominated for more than a decade. Georgia dominated the early series while Florida held the advantage in the 1950s and early 1960s. Georgia again dominated from the late 1960s through the 80s under coach Vince Dooley , while Florida again took the upper hand in the rivalry during
Florida–Georgia football rivalry - Misplaced Pages Continue
7980-477: Is one of the most prominent rivalry games in college football, and it has been held in Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries in college football. The game attracts huge crowds to Jacksonville, and the associated tailgating and other events earned it the nickname of the " World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party ", although that name
8170-658: Is presented at the game, however. When Charlie Bachman became the 1928 Gators ' new head coach, he inherited a team loaded with talent recruited by his predecessor, Harold Sebring . However, he also inherited a program which had never come close to beating the Georgia Bulldogs, their Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival. Georgia was 6–0 against Florida with five shutouts and an overall scoring advantage of 190–9. The teams met again in Savannah, Georgia on November 10, and Bachman's Gators finally beat
8360-627: Is the second son of a Presbyterian minister, J. Graham Spurrier, and his wife Marjorie. Graham Spurrier changed congregations repeatedly during Steve's early childhood, resulting in several moves for the family. The Spurriers left Miami Beach before Steve's first birthday, moving to Charlotte, North Carolina to live near his paternal grandparents. His father accepted pastorships in Athens, Tennessee and then Newport, Tennessee before settling in Johnson City, Tennessee in 1957, when Steve Spurrier
8550-684: Is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, the first recorded non-university football club in Canada. Early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional " mob football " played in Great Britain. The games remained largely unorganized until
8740-577: The Atlanta Constitution to famously write "Blindfolded, with his back to the wall, with his hands tied behind him, Steve Spurrier would be a two-point favorite at his own execution." As a junior, Spurrier was named a Football Writers Association of America first-team All-American and is still the only player from the losing team to be named the MVP of the Sugar Bowl after passing for
8930-419: The 1953 Gator Bowl . Georgia finished 7–4 and went on to suffer through several sub-par seasons in the 1950s, helping Florida earn a winning decade over their border rivals for first time in the series. While Georgia still held an overall advantage in the series, Florida enjoyed a 10–2 streak from 1952 to 1963 under head coaches Bob Woodruff and Ray Graves . That changed with the arrival of Vince Dooley as
9120-509: The Bulldogs defense dominated the game, and Spurrier threw three interceptions in the 27–10 Georgia victory. All-American defensive tackle Bill Stanfill would later reference Spurrier in recounting his experiences growing up on a farm in southwest Georgia before the advent of weightlifting: "Holding pigs for my dad to castrate was quite a challenge. I can't say that helped prepare me for football, but it sure did remind me an awful lot of sacking Steve Spurrier." Spurrier returned to Gainesville as
9310-459: The Bulldogs executed one of the most famous plays in college football history. Georgia trailed 21–20 with less than a minute to play and faced third and long from their own 7-yard-line. Bulldog quarterback Buck Belue dropped back to pass and was forced to scramble around in his own endzone to avoid the Gator pass rush before finding wide receiver Lindsay Scott open in the middle of the field near
9500-636: The Florida Gators , where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy . The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft , and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL) mainly as a backup quarterback and punter . Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986. After retiring as a player, Spurrier went into coaching and spent five years as
9690-566: The NFL and other leagues previously played college football. The NFL draft each spring sees 224 players selected and offered a contract to play in the league, with the vast majority coming from the NCAA . Other professional leagues, such as the CFL and UFL , additionally hold their own drafts each year which also see primarily college players selected. Players who are not selected can still attempt to obtain
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#17327911729209880-470: The National Federation of State High School Associations 's National High School Hall of Fame . After winning multiple all-state honors in high school, Spurrier was recruited in one or more sports by many colleges, including Alabama , Georgia , Mississippi , North Carolina , Kentucky , Duke, South Carolina, and both Air Force and Army . However, he was not aggressively pursued as
10070-693: The Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania . They compiled a 12–8–1 record in these seasons, playing as an independent from 1887 to 1890. In 1891, the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Football Association (PIFA) was formed. It consisted of Bucknell University , Dickinson College , Franklin & Marshall College , Haverford College , Penn State, and Swarthmore College . Lafayette College , and Lehigh University were excluded because it
10260-528: The Rose Bowl , and were named national champions by multiple polls and ratings services. Meanwhile, the depleted Gators would not win another game on the season, and when even more students and staff joined the war effort, the school did not field a football team at all in 1943. The post–World War II 1940s were a tough slog for the Florida Gators. Coached by Raymond Wolf , the Gators' collection of recent high school graduates and returning war veterans suffered
10450-551: The Southeastern Conference asked CBS Sports (which had the SEC football TV broadcast contract in 2006) to stop using the nickname due to concerns about alcohol abuse by students and other attendees. Since then, the rivalry has simply been called the "Florida–Georgia game" or "Georgia–Florida game", with some entities (including the Florida Times-Union , which initiated the Cocktail Party nickname) rotating
10640-462: The Sugar Bowl , avenging the Gators' sole regular-season loss in which Florida State upset Florida 24–21 in Tallahassee . Spurrier's finest moment as a coach may have been the Gators' 1997 game against the previously undefeated and national title game-bound Florida State Seminoles . Spurrier used a two-quarterback offense, rotating quarterbacks Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise in and out of
10830-471: The Tampa Bay Bandits of the new United States Football League (USFL). At 37 years old, Spurrier was the youngest head coach in professional football at the time. "BanditBall" was marketed as a fun alternative to the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were in the midst of a record-setting streak of losing seasons. Spurrier's wide-open offense was prominently featured, as was starting quarterback John Reaves , who had broken many of Spurrier's passing records at
11020-651: The University of Florida 's athletic department, though he briefly returned to the sidelines to coach the Orlando Apollos of the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2017, making him one of four members to be inducted as both a player and a coach. Spurrier's teams were known for winning with aggressive and high-scoring offenses, and he became known for teasing and "needling" rivals both before and after beating them on
11210-461: The "Fun 'n' Gun") in contrast to the ball-control, rush-oriented offenses that were traditionally played in the SEC. His innovative offensive schemes forced many coaches in the SEC to change their offensive and defensive play-calling. While his offensive style used a more wide-open passing game than the SEC was accustomed to, Spurrier was also able to utilize a constant group of talented running backs. Many of them would later go on to have success at
11400-555: The 1975 season with a 2–5 record, prompting Spurrier to ask Nolan for a chance to start against the Los Angeles Rams , who had dominated the rivalry during his tenure in San Francisco. Nolan agreed, and Spurrier led his team to a 24–23 comeback win, throwing for 240 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in what he later called his "best, or at least favorite" game of his pro career. The performance earned him
11590-443: The 1980s following a series of alcohol-fueled outbursts. In 1984, Florida fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts after a 27–0 victory; the following year, a 24–3 Georgia win led Bulldogs fans to do the same, resulting in dozens of arrests and several injuries on both occasions. Thereafter, the city cracked down on excessive drinking and dropped the name, though the media continued to use it until 2006, when both schools and
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#173279117292011780-402: The 1990s and early 2000s under coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer . The series was uncharacteristically even over twelve seasons beginning in 2008, with the rivals enjoying and then suffering through alternating sets of three-game win streaks. After winning in 2024, Georgia has won seven out of the last eight meetings. The two universities do not agree on the date of their first meeting on
11970-401: The 19th century, when intramural games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football. Princeton University students played a game called "ballown" as early as 1820. In 1827, a Harvard tradition known as "Bloody Monday" began, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes. In 1860, both the town police and
12160-429: The 20-yard-lines, but ceded little ground in the red zone. The Bulldogs set up at their own 20-yard-line with 3:10 remaining, and head coach Vince Dooley did something he rarely did: he called a trick play. Tight end Richard Appleby accepted the handoff on a reverse to the right, but instead of running downfield, he threw the ball to wide receiver Gene Washington for an improbable 80-yard touchdown play. Florida mounted
12350-405: The 49ers' rebuilding plans. Overall, he was 13–12–1 as a starter with San Francisco. In April 1976, Spurrier was sent to the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for two players and a second-round draft pick as part of the new franchise's first trade. The Buccaneers' new acquisition generated local excitement, as Spurrier had been a college star at the nearby University of Florida . He won
12540-423: The 9–2 1966 season was one of the best in program football history up to that point (along with the 1928 Florida Gators football team ), the Gators fell short of their elusive first conference title due to a 27–10 upset loss to arch-rival Georgia, a loss that Spurrier would remember when he returned as Florida's coach and made beating Georgia a priority. In 2006, Spurrier was recognized by The Gainesville Sun as
12730-484: The ACC championship in their last regular season game, Spurrier met with University of Florida president Robert Bryan and athletic director Bill Arnsparger , and he agreed in principle to return to Florida on December 12. Spurrier asked to delay an official announcement until both Florida and Duke had played in their respective bowl games. As rumors swirled, however, Spurrier broke the news to his Duke team on December 27,
12920-398: The Blue Devils' new head coach and offensive coordinator in 1987 . Spurrier proceeded to raise the Blue Devils to levels of success that the program had not realized in over twenty-five years. His offenses broke numerous school and conference records for scoring, passing yards, and total yards, many of which had been set during his tenure as Duke's offensive coordinator. His 1989 Duke squad
13110-401: The Bulldogs through the efforts of Florida's "Phantom Four" backfield of Dale Van Sickle , Carl Brumbaugh , Rainey Cawthon , Clyde Crabtree and Royce Goodbread . With Florida holding a commanding lead in fourth quarter, jubilant Gator fans prematurely rushed the field to tear down the goal posts, resulting in fist fights breaking out between supporters of the two schools. Order was restored,
13300-525: The College of New Jersey, in the first collegiate football game . The game more closely resembled soccer than football as it is played in the 21st century. It was played with a round ball , and used a set of rules suggested by Rutgers captain William J. Leggett , based on The Football Association 's first set of rules , which were an early attempt by the former pupils of England's public schools, to unify
13490-770: The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City to codify the first set of intercollegiate football rules. Before this meeting, each school had its own set of rules and games were usually played using the home team's own particular code. At this meeting, a list of rules, based more on the Football Association's rules than the rules of the recently founded Rugby Football Union , was drawn up for intercollegiate football games. Old "Football Fightum" had been resurrected at Harvard in 1872, when Harvard resumed playing football. Harvard, however, preferred to play
13680-439: The Gators dominated the Bulldogs 30–0 in Jacksonville, which would remain the Gators' largest victory over the Bulldogs for almost forty years and was the first shutout over the Bulldogs since 1937. Casares ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns and kicked three extra points and a field goal, while halfback Buford Long ran for 116 yards on 10 carries. Florida finished the season 8–3 and were invited to their first major bowl game,
13870-471: The Gators to fourth-quarter comeback wins. The most memorable example was a November 1966 game against Auburn , when, after leading the team down the field on a two minute drill , he waved off Florida's regular placekicker and booted a forty-yard field goal , giving the Gators a 30–27 win and likely securing himself the Heisman Trophy . This penchant for dramatic comebacks prompted John Logue of
14060-494: The Gators' head coach in 1990 and, with the sting of the 1966 loss in mind, emphasized the annual Florida–Georgia contest as the "biggest of the year." Under his tenure, the Gators were 11–1 against their bitter rivals. The 1970 Florida Gators featured All-American defensive end Jack Youngblood , and he pulled off one of the most remarkable plays in Florida football history. With Bulldogs leading 17–10 and in possession of
14250-542: The Gators. When speaking about the loss after the game, Florida coach Tom Lieb simply said "Too much Sinkwich." Having lost most upper-class players and several members of the coaching staff to service in World War II , the 1942 Florida Gators brought an inexperienced 3–4 squad into Jacksonville for the 1942 contest with Georgia. The Bulldogs , on the other hand, still had the services of many key contributors thanks to draft deferments issued to players enrolled in
14440-561: The Georgia Golden Isles also depend on the game to sustain businesses through the winter season. Georgia students and alumni spend the game weekend on the Georgia Coast, particularly on Saint Simons Island , where thousands of Georgia students gather each year at the aptly named "Frat Beach" on Friday before commuting to Jacksonville the next day. As a result of the festive atmosphere, the game and associated revelry
14630-492: The Georgia 25-yard-line. Scott caught the pass facing his own endzone, turned and darted diagonally through Florida's secondary, and outran everyone down the sideline to score the game-winning touchdown with only seconds left on the game clock. Long-time Georgia radio announcer Larry Munson 's legendary call of the play gave the game its nickname: Florida in a stand-up five, they may or may not blitz. Buck back, third down on
14820-688: The Heisman Trophy during the Gators 1996 national championship season , Spurrier became the only Heisman Trophy winner to coach another Heisman Trophy winner. In recognition to his contributions to the university and its football program, the University of Florida officially renamed the Gators home field " Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium " in 2016. Spurrier was born on April 20, 1945, in Miami Beach, Florida . He
15010-561: The NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries. Colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. With new bylaws made by the NCAA, college athletes can now receive "name, image, and likeness" (NIL) deals, a way to get sponsorships and money before their pro debut. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as "football", played at public schools in Great Britain in
15200-460: The No. 2 player of the first century of the Gators football program. Spurrier was among the test subjects who was given a prototype for what would become Gatorade during the 1965 season. Spurrier was unsure of whether or not the beverage had a substantial impact on the team's success. The San Francisco 49ers selected Spurrier with the third overall pick of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft , trading up to land
15390-756: The North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina . On November 13, 1887, the Virginia Cavaliers and Pantops Academy fought to a scoreless tie in the first organized football game in the state of Virginia . Students at UVA were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim that some industrious ones organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871, just two years after Rutgers and Princeton's historic first game in 1869. But no record has been found of
15580-633: The Science Hill Hilltoppers and was an all-state selection in all three sports. Spurrier had an undefeated record in three years as a high school starting pitcher and led his team to two consecutive state baseball championships. On the basketball court, Spurrier played point guard and was known for his ability to run his team's offense with flashy passes and dribbling and his knack for scoring in many different ways, attributes which helped his team win two conference championships. He averaged 22 points per game during his senior season and
15770-538: The USFL's planned move to a fall schedule never took place. When it became clear that the Bandits would not retake the field, Spurrier began to seek new coaching opportunities. He interviewed to be the head coach at Mississippi State , but was passed over in favor of Rockey Felker . He also sought to be the head coach at LSU , but was passed over in favor of Mike Archer . Finally, Spurrier returned to Duke University as
15960-497: The University of Florida and had grown up in Tampa. The Bandits' attendance was the highest in the USFL over its three-year run, and Spurrier's offenses were consistently among the league's best. The team narrowly missed the playoffs in their first season and made the postseason the next two years. Overall, Spurrier led the Bandits to 35–21 record before the USFL dissolved after the 1985 season . Spurrier spent 1986 out of football as
16150-411: The University of Florida as the Gators' "head ball coach." He had privately expressed interest in the job in early October, when Florida coach Galen Hall was fired mid-season for his alleged involvement in an NCAA rules violation and prominent Gator boosters reached out to Spurrier. However, he delayed any further discussion at that time to concentrate on coaching Duke. After the Blue Devils clinched
16340-693: The University of Florida at the time, he was often on campus, running at the university's track and attending football games as a fan. He watched the Gators play to a 6–4–1 record in 1977 , a season that prompted head coach Doug Dickey to scrap the wishbone -based run-heavy attack that his teams had used for several years with declining success in favor of a more open pro-style offense . To effect this change, Dickey revamped his offensive staff, and he hired Spurrier to his first coaching job as Florida's quarterbacks and receivers coach. The changes did not bring many positive results. While Florida's passing attack improved and former option quarterback Cris Collinsworth
16530-449: The University of Florida because of "the passing, the SEC , the weather, and coach Ray Graves ." NCAA rules in the 1960s forbade college freshmen from participating in varsity sports competition. Spurrier therefore spent his first year at Florida practicing with the varsity team and playing on the freshman team, which scheduled four scrimmages against other schools' freshman squads as
16720-575: The University of Florida in 2009, and has opposing sides carved with symbols and logos from each school. The Oar was carved from the remains of a 1,000-year-old cypress tree that once grew in the Okefenokee Swamp , which straddles the Florida–Georgia border and was the source of an interstate boundary dispute. Beginning with the 2009 contest, the Okefenokee Oar is presented to the winning university's student body president. No trophy
16910-558: The University of Georgia's ROTC program, and brought a 7–0 record and No. 1 ranking to Jacksonville. Georgia halfback Charley Trippi and Heisman Trophy-winning back Frank Sinkwich combined to score seven touchdowns as Georgia defeated Florida 75–0, the largest margin in series history. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 10–1, won the Southeastern Conference championship, defeated the UCLA Bruins 9–0 in
17100-440: The ball at the Gators' two-yard line, Youngblood stood up Georgia back Ricky Lake short of the goal, forced a fumble and fell on the football. "They ran a lead play to my side, and I cut it off", Youngblood said. "I'm standing there holding the ballcarrier and I take the ball away from him, and gave it back to our offense." Gators quarterback John Reaves and wide receiver Carlos Alvarez then connected for two touchdown passes in
17290-428: The ball only when being pursued. As a result of this, Harvard refused to attend the rules conference organized by Rutgers, Princeton and Columbia at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City on October 20, 1873, to agree on a set of rules and regulations that would allow them to play a form of football that was essentially Association football; and continued to play under its own code. While Harvard's voluntary absence from
17480-425: The ball was advanced by kicking or carrying it, and tackles of the ball carrier stopped play – actions of which have carried over to the modern version of football played today Harvard later challenged its closest rival, Yale, to which the Bulldogs accepted. The two teams agreed to play under a set of rules called the "Concessionary Rules", which involved Harvard conceding something to Yale's soccer and Yale conceding
17670-473: The bench seating). This allows them to seat more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium, which tends to have more features and comforts for fans. Only three stadiums owned by U.S. colleges or universities, L&N Stadium at the University of Louisville , Center Parc Stadium at Georgia State University , and FAU Stadium at Florida Atlantic University , consist entirely of chair back seating. College athletes, unlike players in
17860-474: The center. Later changes made it possible to snap the ball with the hands, either through the air or by a direct hand-to-hand pass. Rugby league followed Camp's example, and in 1906 introduced the play-the-ball rule, which greatly resembled Camp's early scrimmage and center-snap rules. In 1966, rugby league introduced a four-tackle rule (changed in 1972 to a six-tackle rule) based on Camp's early down-and-distance rules. Camp's new scrimmage rules revolutionized
18050-563: The city of New Haven , banned the play of all forms of football in 1860. American football historian Parke H. Davis described the period between 1869 and 1875 as the 'Pioneer Period'; the years 1876–93 he called the 'Period of the American Intercollegiate Football Association'; and the years 1894–1933 he dubbed the "Period of Rules Committees and Conferences". On November 6, 1869, Rutgers University faced Princeton University , then known as
18240-414: The coach stayed by his side in the school infirmary after Spurrier's cold worsened into the flu during his recruiting visit. Graves did not promise Spurrier that he would be his starting quarterback, but he told the star recruit that he fit into his coaching staff's plan to open up the Gator offense and would be given a fair opportunity to earn the job. Soon after returning home, Spurrier decided to attend
18430-489: The college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a mock figure called "Football Fightum", for whom they conducted funeral rites. The authorities held firm, and it was another dozen years before football was once again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called " Old division football ", the rules of which were first published in 1871, though
18620-538: The divisional era, Florida won fifteen Eastern Division titles while Georgia won twelve. The Florida-Georgia game has been played in Jacksonville almost every season since 1933. This neutral site trend began very early in the series; in over 100 meetings, the rivalry has been played at on-campus facilities on just seven occasions. Florida's original football facility of Fleming Field was quite small and primitive, so early Gator squads regularly scheduled "home" games against major college opposition in various cities across
18810-512: The early 1970s), and putting Miami back on the schedule (the schools' annual series had ended after the 1987 game). He stressed the need to beat traditional rivals Auburn, Georgia, and Florida State, against whom Florida had gone 0–9 over the previous three seasons. Finally, he worked to convince Gator players and fans alike that it was possible to win championships at Florida, which had still never won an officially recognized conference title in 83 years of football. To that effect, he put together
19000-403: The eight. In trouble, he got a block behind him. Gotta throw on the run. Complete to the 25. To the 30, Lindsay Scott 35, 40, Lindsay Scott 45, 50, 45, 40 . . . Run Lindsay, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! The improbable 93-yard pass play sealed the Bulldogs' 26–21 victory, and kept Georgia's national championship hopes alive. The Bulldogs moved to No. 1 in
19190-530: The field. Spurrier's 1989 Duke squad won the program's only Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship since 1962. He is the winningest coach in both Florida and South Carolina program history, making him the only coach to hold the record for most wins at two different Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools. Florida's streak of four consecutive SEC championships in the mid-1990s is the second-longest in conference history behind Bear Bryant 's 1970s Alabama teams. And when Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel won
19380-402: The field. He attempted less than five passes over the entire season in three out of his first five years in the NFL, and he did not throw a touchdown pass until his third pro season. Instead, he settled into the role of backup quarterback and starting punter . Spurrier's first extended opportunity came in 1972 , when an injured ankle left Brodie unable to play for over a month. San Francisco
19570-534: The fifth game of the 1973 season , when he replaced a slumping Brodie against the Minnesota Vikings . Teammates later claimed that Spurrier drew new plays in the huddle in the snow at old Metropolitan Stadium on his way to a team-record 31 completions and 320 passing yards, but he also tossed two interceptions, and the 49ers lost 17–14. Spurrier's lingering knee injury flared up after the game, so 49ers Coach Nolan decided to start third-stringer Joe Reed
19760-519: The final 5:13 to rally the Florida Gators to a 24–17 victory. The 1975 Florida Gators came into the game with a 6–1 record and No. 7 ranking, while the Georgia Bulldogs were 5–2 and ranked No. 19. The Gators' offense was led by running back Tony Green , who ran an early one-yard touchdown to put the Gators ahead 7–0. The Gators led 7–3 as time was winding down in the fourth quarter. Georgia's "Junkyard Dawgs" defense allowed yards between
19950-649: The first game in Virginia. On April 9, 1880, at Stoll Field , Transylvania University (then called Kentucky University) beat Centre College by the score of 13 + 3 ⁄ 4 –0 in what is often considered the first recorded game played in the South . The first game of "scientific football" in the South was the first instance of the Victory Bell rivalry between North Carolina and Duke (then known as Trinity College) held on Thanksgiving Day , 1888, at
20140-404: The first meeting he attended in 1878: a reduction from fifteen players to eleven. The motion was rejected at that time but passed in 1880. The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed over strength. Camp's most famous change, the establishment of the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback , was also passed in 1880. Originally, the snap was executed with the foot of
20330-500: The first several decades of their series against Florida. Coming into the 1952 contest, the Bulldogs were 23–5–1 all-time against the Gators and had won nine of the previous ten meetings, including two straight victories over Florida coach Bob Woodruff . The Gators arrived in Jacksonville with a 3–2 record and an offense that had struggled against good defenses. In an attempt to jump-start their run-oriented attack, Woodruff and Florida offensive coordinator Frank Broyles decided to swap
20520-404: The first time. The Yale team was coached and captained by David Schley Schaff, who had learned to play football while attending Rugby School . Schaff himself was injured and unable to play the game, but Yale won the game 3–0 nonetheless. Later in 1872, Stevens Tech became the fifth school to field a team. Stevens lost to Columbia, but beat both New York University and City College of New York during
20710-418: The following week, and Spurrier played sparingly the remainder of the season. Spurrier had successful knee surgery in the offseason and, with his NFL contract expired, listened to offers from teams in the new World Football League . However, Brodie had retired, and as the heir apparent to the 49ers' starting quarterback position in 1974 , Spurrier decided to re-sign with San Francisco. Spurrier played well in
20900-454: The following year. By 1873, the college students playing football had made significant efforts to standardize their fledgling game. Teams had been scaled down from 25 players to 20. The only way to score was still to bat or kick the ball through the opposing team's goal, and the game was played in two 45-minute halves on fields 140 yards long and 70 yards wide. On October 20, 1873, representatives from Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and Rutgers met at
21090-431: The game dates to at least the 1830s. All of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities. They remained largely "mob" style games, with huge numbers of players attempting to advance the ball into a goal area, often by any means necessary. Rules were simple, and violence and injury were common. The violence of these mob-style games led to widespread protests and a decision to abandon them. Yale , under pressure from
21280-453: The game has been played there every subsequent season except for 1994 and 1995, when the old Gator Bowl stadium was demolished and the current EverBank Stadium built on the same site for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. There have been some calls to move the game from Jacksonville over the years, usually when one or the other school was dominating the rivalry. More recently, Georgia coach Kirby Smart has argued that playing at
21470-514: The game in Jacksonville until 2031, with the exceptions of the 2026 and 2027 editions of the game, which will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida , respectively, due to renovations taking place at EverBank Stadium. The city of Jacksonville is willing to provide financial guarantees to keep the rivalry in town because the game weekend
21660-430: The game was completed, and Florida earned its first victory in the series by the score of 26–6. Georgia's All-American back Frank Sinkwich had broken his jaw in a game earlier in the season, but that didn't keep him off the field. Wearing a custom-made chinstrap attached to his helmet, Sinkwich ran 31 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns and kicked Georgia's first field goal since 1924 in the Bulldogs' 19–3 victory over
21850-475: The game, confusing the Florida State defense and its veteran coordinator, Mickey Andrews , and giving Spurrier more time to counsel his quarterbacks on the sidelines without having to use time-outs. Florida upset the heavily favored Seminoles 32–29. Significantly, Spurrier is credited with changing the way the SEC played football. Spurrier employed a pass-oriented offense (known in the sports media as
22040-404: The game, though not always as intended. Princeton, in particular, used scrimmage play to slow the game, making incremental progress towards the end zone during each down . Rather than increase scoring, which had been Camp's original intent, the rule was exploited to maintain control of the ball for the entire game, resulting in slow, unexciting contests. At the 1882 rules meeting, Camp proposed that
22230-412: The game. However, Gators cornerback Anthone Lott had called a timeout just before the ball was snapped, forcing the Bulldogs to play the down again. Lott was called for pass interference on the ensuing play, giving Georgia one last untimed chance to score. Zeier's final pass fell incomplete, and the Gators won a hard-fought, but controversial 33–26 victory. In the mid-1990s, the old Gator Bowl Stadium
22420-584: The gridiron. In 1904, the Georgia Bulldogs defeated a team known as the University of Florida Blue and White by the lopsided score of 52–0. However, this was not the modern University of Florida in Gainesville , but one of its four predecessor institutions: a school based in Lake City which had been known as University of Florida when the game was played. The new school in Gainesville first fielded
22610-636: The highest levels of play, are members of the NCAA . In Canada, collegiate football competition is governed by U Sports for universities. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (for colleges) governs soccer and other sports but not gridiron football. Other countries, such as Mexico , Japan and South Korea , also host college football leagues with modest levels of support. Unlike most other major sports in North America , no official minor league farm organizations exist for American football or Canadian football . Therefore, college football
22800-497: The indignity of four consecutive losing seasons—the lowest point in the history of the Gators football program, ironically remembered by the close-knit players as the "Golden Era." But there were still stars and bright moments; Wolf's 1949 Florida Gators were led by senior lineman Jimmy Kynes and running back Chuck Hunsinger . Given little chance by anyone to beat coach Wally Butts ' Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville, Kynes inspired his two-way linemen to their outstanding effort of
22990-455: The job as team's first starting quarterback, a title that he later regretted, as the undermanned Bucs went on to suffer the first winless season (0–14) in modern NFL history. Though he had looked forward to playing professional football in Florida, Spurrier was frustrated by the losses, the constant hits absorbed while playing behind a porous offensive line, and his philosophical differences with Bucs coach John McKay . McKay insisted on employing
23180-463: The job. Coach Ray Graves still felt the need to get the future star on the field, so he decided to alternate Shannon and Spurrier as the flow of the game dictated. Spurrier entered the season-opening game against SMU in the second quarter. After two unsuccessful running plays called from the sidelines put the Gators in a third down and long situation, Coach Graves told Spurrier to call the next play himself. The young quarterback responded by completing
23370-520: The last round of cuts before the beginning of the 1977 regular season, at which point he decided to end his playing career. Over 10 NFL seasons, Spurrier played in 106 games (starting 38), completing 597 passes in 1,151 attempts, for a total of 6,878 yards, 40 touchdowns , and 60 interceptions . He also punted 230 times for a 38.3-yard average. Spurrier spent fall 1977 out of football, living in Gainesville with his young family and considering possible career choices. While not officially connected with
23560-472: The last two decades of the 19th century. Several major rivalries date from this time period. November 1890 was an active time in the sport. In Baldwin City, Kansas , on November 22, 1890, college football was first played in the state of Kansas . Baker beat Kansas 22–9. On the 27th, Vanderbilt played Nashville (Peabody) at Athletic Park and won 40–0. It was the first time organized football played in
23750-440: The lead to 27–20. Then, faced with a fourth-and-one situation at the Gators' own 29-yard-line, coach Doug Dickey decided to go for the first down rather than punt. Gators running back Earl Carr was stopped short by Bulldogs safety Johnny Henderson. Led by quarterback Ray Goff 's game management and running back Kevin McLee's 198-yard rushing performance, the Bulldogs seized the momentum and scored three touchdowns on their way to
23940-517: The league folded. Spurrier returned to the college ranks in 1987, serving as the head football coach at Duke (three seasons), Florida (12 seasons), and South Carolina (10.5 seasons), amassing 228 total wins and a 72% career winning percentage. Between his stints at Florida and South Carolina, he led the Washington Redskins for two seasons with less success. Spurrier retired from coaching in 2015 and became an ambassador and consultant for
24130-485: The league title due to NCAA probation handed down during the season. Building on the success of Spurrier's first year, Florida finally captured their first officially recognized SEC title in 1991. Under Spurrier, the Gators represented the SEC East in the first five SEC Championship Games , winning four of them. The 1996 team captured the Gators' first-ever National Championship with a 52–20 win over Florida State in
24320-415: The line into the endzone, finally succeeding on third down. Florida still had two minutes to score but turned over the ball on downs near midfield, and Georgia won 26–21 for the second year in a row. After suffering several defeats to the Bulldogs with a conference championship at stake, coach Galen Hall 's 1984 Florida Gators entered the contest undefeated in the SEC. The Gators dominated early, building
24510-498: The meeting made it hard for them to schedule games against other American universities, it agreed to a challenge to play the rugby team of McGill University , from Montreal , in a two-game series. It was agreed that two games would be played on Harvard's Jarvis baseball field in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 14 and 15, 1874: one to be played under Harvard rules, another under the stricter rugby regulations of McGill. Jarvis Field
24700-415: The meeting. The rules that they agreed upon were essentially those of rugby union at the time with the exception that points be awarded for scoring a try , not just the conversion afterwards ( extra point ). Incidentally, rugby was to make a similar change to its scoring system 10 years later. Walter Camp is widely considered to be the most important figure in the development of American football. As
24890-452: The mid-19th century. By the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as rugby football . The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges. The first documented gridiron football game was played at University College , a college of the University of Toronto , on November 9, 1861. One of
25080-425: The mid-2000s, but the rivalry was unusually even between 2008-2019. Florida began a three game series win streak in 2008, which was followed by a three game Georgia streak, then another three game streak for Florida, which was answered by three Georgia wins, marking the longest evenly-divided dozen years in series history. Georgia has won seven out of the last eight meetings, with current head coach Kirby Smart holding
25270-584: The names each year to list the designated home team first. Since 2009, the respective student government associations of the institutions have referred to the game as the War for the Oar , as the winning team takes home the Okefenokee Oar. The designated "home" team alternates from year to year, with ticket distribution split evenly between the fans of the two teams. Beginning in the late 1980s, fans from Florida and Georgia were assigned seats grouped in alternating sections of
25460-416: The nation for the first time in school history. This would not be a repeat of the 1984 game, however. As they had done so many times in the past, the Bulldogs spoiled Florida's season, defeating the Gators 24–3 with freshmen running backs Keith Henderson and Tim Worley both rushing for over 100 yards. After the game, jubilant Georgia fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. In constant rain,
25650-730: The nearest college to play football. It took place at Hamilton Park in New Haven and was the first game in New England. The game was essentially soccer with 20-man sides, played on a field 400 by 250 feet. Yale wins 3–0, Tommy Sherman scoring the first goal and Lew Irwin the other two. After the first game against Harvard, Tufts took its squad to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine for the first football game played in Maine . This occurred on November 6, 1875. Penn 's Athletic Association
25840-406: The new head coach of the underdog 1964 Georgia Bulldogs . In a game where the Bulldogs' quarterback failed to complete a single pass and was intercepted twice, Dooleys' 'Dogs relied on their running game, a staunch second-half defense, and a little bit of luck to beat Graves' tenth-ranked Florida Gators . With the game tied at 7–7 in the fourth quarter, Bulldogs placekicker Bob Etter lined up for
26030-495: The next round of polls and would go on to win the 1980 consensus national championship . Much like the previous year, the favored Georgia Bulldogs trailed the Florida Gators in the fourth quarter 21–20. Backed up on their own five yard line with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs methodically marched 95 yards on 17 plays, mostly on the ground. The drive culminated in three straight hand-offs to running back Herschel Walker in which he attempted to jump over
26220-620: The next year. He was torn between an admiration for Harvard's style of play and the misery of the Yale defeat, and became determined to avenge Yale's defeat. Spectators from Princeton also carried the game back home, where it quickly became the most popular version of football. On November 23, 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia met at the Massasoit House hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts to standardize
26410-710: The night before they played in the 1989 All-American Bowl . They played poorly and lost, and Spurrier later decided that he should have waited to tell his team until after the game, and that when it came to coaching jobs, "it's best to make your decision and move on quickly". Spurrier was officially announced as Florida's new football coach on December 31, 1989. During his introductory press conference on New Year's Eve 1989, Spurrier said that he wanted to immediately change several things, including bringing back blue jerseys (Florida had switched from traditional blue to orange in 1979 under Charley Pell), bringing back natural grass to Florida Field (artificial turf had been installed in
26600-470: The nineteen games from 1971 to 1989. The seventh-ranked 1966 Florida Gators entered the game with a 7–0 record and the opportunity to clinch a share of their first-ever SEC title. The Gators' senior quarterback, Steve Spurrier , had just locked up the Heisman trophy the previous week with a stellar performance versus the Auburn Tigers . The Florida–Georgia game turned out very differently, however, as
26790-481: The other hand, Florida's upset win over Georgia in 2002 was the Bulldogs' only loss of the season and likely cost them a chance to play for a national championship. The rivalry took on even more importance when the SEC split into divisions from 1992 to 2023. Both teams participated in the SEC East, meaning that the contest often decided who represented the SEC East in the SEC Championship Game . During
26980-419: The participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock , later chancellor of the school. A football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play then are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College , also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland and Frederick A. Bethune devised rules based on rugby football. Modern Canadian football
27170-404: The positions of quarterback Rick Casares and running back Doug Dickey . Casares had been heavily recruited by Georgia but thought that Bulldog Coach Wally Butts was "too rough" with his players during a recruiting visit, so he opted to attend Florida instead. Led by All-American lineman Charlie LaPradd on defense and Casares on offense and special teams (he was also the team's place-kicker ),
27360-431: The preseason and had seemingly secured the starting job, but these plans were derailed when he suffered a badly dislocated shoulder in the final preseason game. The injury required surgery, and he missed virtually the entire season. A serious offseason traffic accident reaggravated the injury, and Spurrier was again the 49ers backup quarterback to start the 1975 season , this time to veteran Norm Snead . The 49ers began
27550-406: The previous season when Georgia Tech had upset Wilson's Duke squad. Wilson gave the young coach free rein to design the offense, coach the quarterbacks, and call the plays, and Spurrier met the challenge by developing a record-breaking offense that Duke fans nicknamed "Air Ball". Under Spurrier, Blue Devils quarterback Ben Bennett set an NCAA record for career passing yardage, receiver Chris Castor
27740-607: The recruiting process from his brother Edwin, who was the postmaster in Knoxville, and visited Johnson City in February 1963. Spurrier and his family got along well with Graves, and Steve visited the Florida campus in Gainesville the following week. He received a favorable first impression of Gainesville when he arrived to find warm sunshine after leaving freezing temperatures in Tennessee, and thought more highly of Graves when
27930-406: The rivalry for the remainder of the decade, and in the 1970s and 1980s, his Bulldog squads usually won the game in Jacksonville while winning a national championship in 1980 along the way. Coach Steve Spurrier 's arrival in Gainesville turned the rivalry back around beginning in 1990 , and his Gator squads went 11–1 against the Bulldogs. Coach Urban Meyer continued Florida's winning trend through
28120-489: The rules of their various public schools. The game was played at a Rutgers Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey . Two teams of 25 players attempted to score by kicking the ball into the opposing team's goal. Throwing or carrying the ball was not allowed, but there was plenty of physical contact between players. The first team to reach six goals was declared the winner. Rutgers won by a score of six to four. A rematch
28310-625: The rules were changed to allow tackling below the waist, and in 1889, the officials were given whistles and stopwatches. After leaving Yale in 1882, Camp was employed by the New Haven Clock Company until his death in 1925. Though no longer a player, he remained a fixture at annual rules meetings for most of his life, and he personally selected an annual All-American team every year from 1889 through 1924. The Walter Camp Football Foundation continues to select All-American teams in his honor. College football expanded greatly during
28500-464: The rules were formulated before the game. Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, " the Head Ball Coach ". He played college football as a quarterback for
28690-403: The schools for the loss of a home game by paying all travel expenses plus a $ 1 million per year bonus, a figure which increases to $ 1.5 million in 2024. As of the latest renewal agreement, each university makes almost $ 4 million from the game every year, far more than the approximately $ 3 million every other year they would earn from a home-and-home series. The most recent contract extension keeps
28880-591: The score of this contest. Washington and Lee also claims a 4 to 2 win over VMI in 1873. On October 18, 1888, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 6 to 4 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of North Carolina . On December 14, 1889, Wofford defeated Furman 5 to 1 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of South Carolina . The game featured no uniforms, no positions, and
29070-431: The scoring rules, finally arriving at four points for a touchdown, two points for kicks after touchdowns , two points for safeties, and five for field goals . Camp's innovations in the area of point scoring influenced rugby union's move to point scoring in 1890. In 1887, game time was set at two-halves of 45 minutes each. Also in 1887, two paid officials—a referee and an umpire —were mandated for each game. A year later,
29260-423: The season 1–5–1 and did not score more than 14 points against a Division I-A opponent over its first seven games. Spurrier, who had not been tasked with constructing a game plan and had seldom been allowed to call plays up to that point, asked Coach Rodgers for a larger role on the staff and was allowed to take control of the offense for the eighth game of the season, against Duke . Georgia Tech surprised Duke with
29450-659: The season progressed, gaining more playing time every week. After being named SEC Back of the Week for a two touchdown performance in a 30–14 upset over Ole Miss in October, Spurrier was given the starting nod for the undefeated Gators' next game against undefeated and #3 ranked and eventual national champion Alabama in Tuscaloosa . Though Spurrier threw a touchdown pass and was the Gators' offensive star, his team fell short when another late fourth quarter comeback attempt ended in
29640-429: The season, stopping the Bulldogs' running game on defense, and blocking for Hunsinger on offense. Hunsinger rushed eighteen times for 174 yards and three touchdowns, and the Gators won 28–7, breaking a seven-game Georgia winning streak. Wolf would be dismissed as Florida's head coach at the end of the season, but on that day in Jacksonville, he was jubilantly carried off the field by his players. Georgia clearly dominated
29830-427: The sheer number of fans following major colleges provides a financial equalizer for the game, with Division I programs – the highest level – playing in huge stadiums, six of which have seating capacity exceeding 100,000 people. In many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests (although many stadiums do have a small number of chair back seats in addition to
30020-542: The squad. The younger Spurrier has often repeated an anecdote about playing baseball on a team coached by his father. "How many of you believe that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game, that counts?" the elder Spurrier once asked his players. When some raised their hands, he told them, "Well, I don't believe in that saying. If they're keeping score, we're going to play to win." Spurrier attended Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee , where he played football, basketball and baseball for
30210-442: The stadium to minimize incidents, and the contrasting colors worn by the fans (red and black for Georgia, orange and blue for Florida) created a "beach ball" visual effect in the stands. More recently, the seating arrangement has split the stadium lengthwise and fans sit on the side corresponding to the sideline their team occupies. The teams take turns serving as the "home" team, with the "hosts" usually wearing their home uniforms and
30400-448: The star quarterback. Spurrier was told by team officials that he was being prepped to replace veteran 49ers quarterback and frequent All-Pro John Brodie in "four or five years", a situation which negatively affected his motivation. "I was not a very ambitious player", Spurrier admitted in his 2016 autobiography. Spurrier had few opportunities to play and fewer to start early in his pro career, and he did not play very well when he got on
30590-399: The starting job, and the 49ers won the next two games behind Spurrier to get back to 5–5. However, they lost their next four games, Spurrier was sent back to the bench, and Coach Nolan was fired at the conclusion of the season. Incoming coach Monte Clark traded multiple high draft picks for New England Patriots ' quarterback Jim Plunkett , making it clear that Spurrier would not be a part of
30780-471: The state as an opponent. In later years, Spurrier has stated that his seasons working to get maximum production out of outmanned Duke squads were critical to his development as a coach and an offensive strategist. Success at a school not known for its football program also built Spurrier's reputation as an innovative young offensive coach who could improvise and succeed without seeming to work very hard. Duke quarterback Ben Bennett recalls Spurrier diagraming
30970-487: The state of Tennessee . The 29th also saw the first instance of the Army–Navy Game . Navy won 24–0. Rutgers was first to extend the reach of the game. An intercollegiate game was first played in the state of New York when Rutgers played Columbia on November 2, 1872. It was also the first scoreless tie in the history of the fledgling sport. Yale football starts the same year and has its first match against Columbia,
31160-553: The state. Early Florida-Georgia contests were held in Jacksonville (three times), Savannah (twice), and Tampa (once), along with several Georgia home games in Athens. (The disputed 1904 game was played in Macon, Georgia , another neutral site.) Florida Field opened in 1930, the Bulldogs made their first trip to Gainesville in 1931, and the Gators made a return visit to Athens in 1932. The schools agreed to meet in Jacksonville in 1933, and
31350-634: The talent to fill that role. The Bucs cut Spurrier in April 1977 , a move that left him "puzzled and disappointed" since he had been working out with the team up to that point and had not been told that his release was imminent. He signed with the Denver Broncos in July and was released after playing in several preseason games, then briefly signed with the Miami Dolphins but was released in
31540-466: The two schools organized a game for October 23, 1869, but it was rained out. Students of the University of Virginia were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim it organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871; but no record has been found of the score of this contest. Due to scantiness of records of the prior matches some will claim Virginia v. Pantops Academy November 13, 1887, as
31730-462: The usually prolific passing game of coach Steve Spurrier's 1993 Florida Gators was stymied. Instead, the Gators relied on tailback Errict Rhett to amass 183 yards and two touchdowns to build a 33–26 fourth-quarter lead. Led by quarterback Eric Zeier , the Georgia Bulldogs mounted a drive into Florida territory in the final minute and a half. Zeier completed what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown to Jerry Jerman with five seconds remaining in
31920-593: The visitors wearing white road jerseys. However, on several occasions, the Bulldogs and Gators have faced off with both squads wearing their home uniforms. The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission created the Florida–Georgia Hall of Fame in 1995 to recognize the players, coaches, and other representatives from each school who have made their mark on the rivalry. Each year, four new members (two from each school) are announced in June, and are formally inducted at
32110-409: The winning teams the goalposts from the game in 1986, in order to persuade fans not to storm the field and destroy them as they had the previous two years. However, no goalposts were ever given out because neither university wanted them. In 2009, the student governments of the two universities announced the creation of a new trophy, the "Okefenokee Oar". The 10-foot-long Oar was donated anonymously to
32300-614: Was 12 years old. The youngest Spurrier began to earn his reputation as a good athlete and a fierce competitor in Johnson City, impressing his peers and his older brother's friends with his tenacity in sandlot sports. Spurrier's skills as a young baseball player caused a local businessman to talk the Reverend Spurrier into coaching the Little League team sponsored by his business so that Spurrier's son would be on
32490-400: Was 2–3 when Spurrier became the starter, and he led the team to a 6–1–1 record, throwing sixteen touchdowns over eight games and putting them in a position to make the playoffs. Spurrier continued to start even after Brodie had recovered. However, when he threw three interceptions in the first half of the regular-season finale, Brodie entered the game and led a second-half comeback that clinched
32680-424: Was a long-serving athletic administrator at Florida before becoming Georgia's athletic director , and Verne Lundquist , a retired broadcaster who was the television play-by-play announcer for many Florida-Georgia games as part of SEC on CBS coverage. Unlike many college sports rivalries, the Florida–Georgia game historically has not been played for a trophy . The city of Jacksonville announced that it would award
32870-473: Was also the first time one team scored over 100 points and the opposing team was shut out. The next week, Princeton outscored Lafayette 140 to 0. The first intercollegiate game in the state of Vermont happened on November 6, 1886, between Dartmouth and Vermont at Burlington, Vermont . Dartmouth won 91 to 0. Penn State played its first season in 1887, but had no head coach for their first five years, from 1887 to 1891. The teams played its home games on
33060-459: Was at the time a patch of land at the northern point of the Harvard campus, bordered by Everett and Jarvis Streets to the north and south, and Oxford Street and Massachusetts Avenue to the east and west. Harvard beat McGill in the "Boston Game" on the Thursday and held McGill to a 0–0 tie on the Friday. The Harvard students took to the rugby rules and adopted them as their own, The games featured
33250-611: Was back then. We can't help it if they got run out of Lake City." The first game in the rivalry acknowledged by both schools took place in Jacksonville in 1915. The series has been played annually since 1926 except in 1943, when Florida did not field a team due to World War II. Georgia dominated the early rivalry. Florida did not score a single point against the Bulldogs until their fifth (or sixth) meeting. The Gators won their first two games against Georgia in 1928 and 1929 , when coach Charlie Bachman 's squads briefly brought Florida's football program to national prominence. However, after
33440-538: Was felt they would dominate the Association. Penn State won the championship with a 4–1–0 record. Bucknell's record was 3–1–1 (losing to Franklin & Marshall and tying Dickinson). The Association was dissolved prior to the 1892 season. The first nighttime football game was played in Mansfield, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1892, between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary and ended at halftime in
33630-426: Was hired soon after the conclusion of the season. Pell chose not to retain any of Dickey's coaching staff, leaving Spurrier without a job. In later years, Spurrier has repeatedly thanked Doug Dickey for giving him a chance to get into coaching with no prior experience. Spurrier was unsure if he wanted to continue pursuing a coaching career after his unpleasant experience at Florida, stating that he would only accept
33820-562: Was looking to pick "a twenty" to play a game of football against Columbia. This "twenty" never played Columbia, but did play twice against Princeton. Princeton won both games 6 to 0. The first of these happened on November 11, 1876, in Philadelphia and was the first intercollegiate game in the state of Pennsylvania . Brown entered the intercollegiate game in 1878. The first game where one team scored over 100 points happened on October 25, 1884, when Yale routed Dartmouth 113–0. It
34010-584: Was named ACC player of the year, and Duke's 1982 team became the first in Atlantic Coast Conference history to average more than 300 passing yards per game. Duke earned two straight winning seasons in 1981 and 1982, a feat that the program had not achieved since 1970 and 1971 and would not achieve again until Spurrier returned as the school's head football coach later in the decade. They also upset Tennessee in Knoxville 25–24 in 1982 on an 88-yard touchdown pass during Spurrier's first return to
34200-462: Was named the conference player of the year. Many observers in Johnson City thought that Spurrier's best sport in high school was basketball, while his father thought that he was best at baseball. Spurrier agreed that basketball and baseball came more naturally, but he preferred football, and he became the Hilltopper's starting quarterback during his junior year. Coach Kermit Tipton installed
34390-479: Was named to the All-SEC team as a wide receiver under Spurrier's tutelage, the 1978 Gators' overall scoring output was almost identical to that of 1977 at about 22 points per game. The team's record also slumped to 4–7, leading to Dickey's dismissal. Spurrier expressed an interest in becoming Florida's next head coach but was not a serious candidate due to his lack of experience, and Clemson coach Charley Pell
34580-463: Was once known as " the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party ", a nickname coined in 1958 by then Florida Times-Union sports editor Bill Kastelz after he witnessed an inebriated fan cheerfully offer an alcoholic beverage to an on-duty police officer before the game. The "Cocktail Party" moniker proved so popular that the City of Jacksonville used it officially for many years, but the practice ended in
34770-542: Was played at Princeton a week later under Princeton's own set of rules (one notable difference was the awarding of a "free kick" to any player that caught the ball on the fly, which was a feature adopted from The Football Association's rules; the fair catch kick rule has survived through to modern American game). Princeton won that game by a score of 8 – 0. Columbia joined the series in 1870 and by 1872 several schools were fielding intercollegiate teams, including Yale and Stevens Institute of Technology . Columbia University
34960-611: Was rebuilt as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, temporarily moving the Florida-Georgia game to on-campus sites for the first time in over six decades Florida had soundly defeated Georgia at " The Swamp " in 1994, and an undefeated 1995 Florida Gators hoped to repeat the feat at Sanford Stadium against a struggling Georgia Bulldogs team led by soon-to-be-fired coach Ray Goff . College football NAIA : NJCAA : College football ( French : football universitaire )
35150-617: Was the 1881 Michigan team , which played at Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The nation's first college football league, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives (also known as the Western Conference), a precursor to the Big Ten Conference , was founded in 1895. Led by coach Fielding H. Yost , Michigan became the first "western" national power. From 1901 to 1905, Michigan had
35340-505: Was the Gators' starting quarterback and team leader in 1965 and 1966 . He finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting for the 1965 season. He finished his three-year, thirty-one-game college career having completed 392 of 692 attempts for 4,848 passing yards and 37 touchdowns , breaking every UF and many conference records for passing and total offense. In addition to being a stellar passer, Spurrier gained notoriety by playing his best under pressure; eight times during his college career, he led
35530-656: Was the first game west of the Mississippi River . November 30, 1905, saw Chicago defeat Michigan 2 to 0. Dubbed "The First Greatest Game of the Century", it broke Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and marked the end of the "Point-a-Minute" years. Organized collegiate football was first played in the state of Virginia and the south on November 2, 1873, in Lexington between Washington and Lee and VMI . Washington and Lee won 4–2. Some industrious students of
35720-498: Was the most successful, winning Duke's first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1962 (and most recent to date), and appearing in their first bowl game since 1960. In what would become a recurring trend at most of his coaching stops, Spurrier's teams regularly beat their biggest rivals while he brashly "needled" them with jokes and "zingers" that were amusing to his fans but infuriating to opponents. Spurrier's Duke squads went 3–0 against archrival North Carolina , including
35910-488: Was the third school to field a team. The Lions traveled from New York City to New Brunswick on November 12, 1870, and were defeated by Rutgers 6 to 3. The game suffered from disorganization and the players kicked and battled each other as much as the ball. Later in 1870, Princeton and Rutgers played again with Princeton defeating Rutgers 6–0. This game's violence caused such an outcry that no games at all were played in 1871. Football came back in 1872, when Columbia played Yale for
36100-498: Was told that he was one of "two or three" candidates for the job, prompting him to seek employment elsewhere. Spurrier would not forget being dismissed by Curry in 1980. In later years, Spurrier repeatedly mentioned his perfect record (6–0) against Curry's teams when they met as head coaches, often by very lopsided margins. In 1980, Spurrier was hired to be the offensive coordinator at Duke University by head coach Red Wilson , who had been impressed by Spurrier's coaching abilities
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