ATLANTA — The only river flowing through downtown here is called an interstate. If you're looking for a bridge, the Jackson Street Bridge offers scenic skyline views. As for any breeze off the Atlantic Ocean, the nearest one is a few hours away by car.
The Florida-Georgia game has a different vibe in 2026, with EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville undergoing renovations, but for those on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday afternoon (ABC, 3:30 p.m.), it means the same thing.
The No. 17-ranked Gators (5-2, 3-2) don't like the No. 3 Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1), and vice versa. Both teams are ranked and in the College Football Playoff conversation heading into their annual game, adding fresh intrigue to one of the Southeastern Conference's most bitter rivalries.
"It counts for a lot. It's a rivalry. It counts in the regular record and the SEC record, so this is a huge game,'' Florida linebacker Myles Graham said. "We know that it's an opportunity of a lifetime and we want to be in this position."
While Georgia has been a regular in the CFB Playoff under head coach Kirby Smart, the Gators have never qualified. That is part of the reason first-year head coach Jon Sumrall was hired.
Sumrall is new to the Florida-Georgia rivalry, but he knows you have to beat the best to be the best.
"I have a lot of respect for what Georgia football has accomplished historically, and then even when you just look most recently over Kirby's time there since 2016, what they've been from a consistency standpoint is so impressive,'' Sumrall said. "We're in the infancy stages of trying to build a program that can last."
A win over the Bulldogs could speed up that process, as they've won five in a row in the series.
Smart played at Georgia when Florida dominated the rivalry. Now he is Georgia's coach, and the Bulldogs are in control.
The game is in a different place this season, but that hasn't changed its importance. The Gators and Bulldogs could play in New England and pack the stadium.
Why is this game so important?
"I think the most obvious would be the border,'' Smart said. "I would argue that over the last 20, 30 years, that they have the most players that aren't from Florida are from Georgia, and our most players that aren't from Georgia are from Florida. So we have crossed the state line to recruit players a lot, which creates more rivalry."
Here is our latest edition of The Opening Kickoff for a closer look at the Florida-Georgia game:
THREE STORYLINES
The Gators and Bulldogs renew their rivalry with both teams ranked for the first time since 2020, the last time Florida beat Georgia. More importantly, both teams remain in the College Football Playoff conversation. The Gators jumped back into the mix with a win at No. 7 Texas before the bye week. Georgia, also off last week, is coming off a home loss to Auburn and seeks to avoid its first two-game regular-season losing streak since 2016, head coach Kirby Smart's first season.
Florida's quarterback situation remains uncertain as Aaron Philo is coming back from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the Texas win. Backup Tramell Jones Jr., making his first career start, completed 22 of 35 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Lacota Dippre in the upset win over the Longhorns. UF head coach Jon Sumrall repeated this week that "health and availability" will be the No. 1 criteria in determining the starter.
The unique setting is a homecoming for UF running back Jadan Baugh, who grew up in the Atlanta metro area and played at nearby Decatur Columbia High School. Baugh found room to run at Texas (25 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD) after being bottled up for just 72 yards in back-to-back losses to Missouri and South Carolina. Getting Baugh going against the Bulldogs is a top priority for the Gators, who are 9-0 when he rushes for 100 yards or more.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton ranks second in NCAA passing efficiency (185.9 rating) and third in completion percentage. Stockton has passed for 1,570 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Stockton is 18-4 as Georgia's starter and is trying to join Mac Jones (Alabama) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) as the only quarterbacks in SEC history to finish with a 70-percent career completion percentage. He is at 70.7% currently. Stockton's late fumble led to Auburn's game-winning field goal two weeks ago. While the Gators will be pressed to make Stockton uncomfortable in the pocket, they also must respect his running ability. Stockton has rushed for 160 yards on 35 carries.
Speaking of pressuring Stockton, the Gators could use a repeat performance from third-year sophomore defensive lineman LJ McCray, who finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the win at Texas. McCray's performance helped spark Florida's defense in the comeback win against quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns.
The Gators are expected to have sophomore receiver Vernell Brown III back to face the Bulldogs. Brown has missed the past three games due to a knee injury. Florida is 4-0 when the talented playmaker is on the field. He has 17 receptions, 271 yards and two scores as a receiver, and he averages 34.6 yards and has two touchdowns on five punt returns.
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS WR ERIC SINGLETON JR.
The former Auburn and Georgia Tech standout joined the Gators with high expectations for his final season. However, a high-ankle sprain in the season opener has limited Singleton's effectiveness. He has missed two games and, in the five he has played, has caught just nine passes for 82 yards. The good news: six of those receptions came in Florida's win at Texas, and after a bye week, Singleton is nearing full speed as he looks for his first win over the Bulldogs. He lost all three meetings against Georgia at his previous schools.
Eric Singleton Jr. looks for room to run after a reception in Florida's win at Texas on Oct. 17. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Q: First, how are you feeling physically?
A: I'm feeling great. Just trying to get back in tune with all my teammates and all the guys. Ready to go out there and ball out. There's most definitely some times where I'm hurting out there, but I still just push through it to try and help my team win.
Q: What has the mental process been like dealing with the injury?
A: Yeah, this is my first time ever being injured, so it was tough on me mentally at the beginning, but seeing my guys still go out there and ball out, that brought my spirits up. And me getting back out there vs. Ole Miss, it really showed me that I'm still able to help my team out.
Q: What was your reaction on the play against FAU when you got injured?
A: When it happened, I just remember looking up and seeing [Vernell Brown III] scoring. I accelerated and tried to run off, and I just couldn't run off. That's how I realized I was hurt.
Q: What's it mean for you to go back to Atlanta for the Florida-Georgia game?
A: It means a lot. Getting to play in front of a lot of family and friends. Maybe like 10-15. I still have yet to beat them, yet to beat Kirby Smart. I have to end this year off beating Kirby Smart.
Q: Georgia is a big rival of all three schools you have attended, how do you view the Bulldogs?
A: I still move with the same motto from Georgia Tech: to hell with Georgia.
THREE DIGITS
20 — Points for Florida in each of its last four losses to the Bulldogs. Georgia scored 42, 43, 34, 24 over that span. 277 — Points for the Gators through seven games, already surpassing their total (259) from a season ago. 2 — Times in program history the Gators have won back-to-back games against top-10 opponents. They did it in both 2006 and 2008, their last two national championship seasons. Florida is coming off a win over No. 7 Texas heading into the matchup against the No. 3 Bulldogs. AVAILABILITY REPORT*
FLORIDA — DOUBTFUL: LB Jaden Robinson (undisclosed), WR Bailey Stockton (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: RB Duke Clark (lower body), QB Aaron Philo (shoulder), QB Tramell Jones Jr. (undisclosed); PROBABLE — WR Vernell Brown III (knee). GEORGIA — OUT: WR Thomas Blackshear (upper body), LB Amaris Williams (knee), S Tyriq Green (ankle); QUESTIONABLE — DB KJ Bolden (undisclosed), RB Chauncey Bowens (foot), WR Isiah Canion (leg).
*Updated Thursday morning NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
This is the 104th meeting between the schools according to Florida, and 105th according to Georgia. If you're a Florida-Georgia newbie, the discrepancy stems from a 1904 contest in Macon that the Bulldogs won 52-0. The Gators don't count that since it was before the state legislature established UF in Gainesville. Georgia leads the all-time series 57-44-2 or 58-44-2 depending on which side of the stadium you sit.
The Gators are 22-14 against the Bulldogs since 1990, when former head coach Steve Spurrier turned the rivalry in Florida's favor by going 11-1 against Georgia. Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has done the same since 2016, going 8-2 against the Gators.
This year's game is billed as the Investco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic — "Cocktail Party Edition" — in its Atlanta debut.
Florida's win at Texas was its highest-ranked win in a true road game while being unranked since a 19-7 victory at LSU in 2003. Meanwhile, before beating the Longhorns, Florida last defeated a top-10 team on the road while unranked in 2004, with a 20-13 win at FSU in Ron Zook's final game as UF coach.
Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner is no stranger to the Bulldogs. He spent three seasons as an offensive analyst on Smart's staff from 2020-22, winning a pair of national championships.
Florida linebacker Myles Graham has only missed one tackle in 414 snaps this season, which came in the win at Auburn in Week 3. Graham is graded the top tackler in college football by Pro Football Focus (90.5 rating).
Highest Graded Tackler in College Football This Season: 🐊 Myles Graham, Florida: 90.5 @GatorsFB https://t.co/vpfQmCjy45
Former Georgia head coach Mark Richt's son, Jon Richt, was Gators quarterback Aaron Philo's position coach at Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Ga. The younger Richt has since become Prince Avenue's head coach.
Georgia is 17-3 under Smart after a loss, and hasn't lost back-to-back regular-season games since the 2016 season when it lost to Vanderbilt and Florida.
Georgia is ranked 10th nationally against the run, allowing only 91.4 yards rushing per game. The Bulldogs have 22 sacks for 148 yards. The defensive front of Jordan Hall, Gabe Harris Jr. and Elijah Griffin will challenge Florida's offensive line.
CHARTING THE GATORS
The Florida-Georgia game is in Atlanta this year due to renovations at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. The game will be in Tampa in 2027, then return to Jacksonville in 2028. Jacksonville has hosted the game annually since 1933, except for a two-year stretch in the mid-1990s when the Gator Bowl was demolished for the new home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Saturday marks the 11th game in the 104-game history of the rivalry not in Jacksonville, with Florida 3-6-1 in the previous 10:
SEASON
LOCATION
RESULT
NOTABLE
2026
Atlanta
TBD
Both teams ranked in first meeting in Georgia's capital city
1995
Athens
W, 52-17
Gators first opponent to score 50 at Sanford Stadium
1994
Gainesville
W, 52-14
Florida romps in first non-Jacksonville meeting in 62 years
1932
Athens
L, 33-12
Gators led after first quarter, but all Bulldogs after that
1931
Gainesville
L, 33-6
Bulldogs win in their first visit to Florida Field
1930
Savannah
T, 0-0
Underdog Gators rose to occasion in scoreless tie
1928
Savannah
W, 26-6
Florida wins for first time in series after losing first six
1926
Athens
L, 32-9
Gators lose but finally found end zone in Georgia rivalry
1920
Athens
L, 56-0
Florida never got inside Georgia's 40 in lopsided loss
1919
Tampa
L, 16-0
Backup QB Buck Cheeves led Bulldogs to a win
1916
Athens
L, 21-0
Bulldogs pulled away in second half after 0-0 at halftime
THEY SAID IT
"He kind of went off in the playoff run [in high school] and just blew up. I mean, he's a really good player and one of the ones that got away, for sure." — Georgia coach Kirby Smart on recruiting Jadan Baugh as a linebacker instead of a running back
"We go by what we see on film, how we do in practice, what goes on in practice, where we're at, who's available and not available. So, a lot of different things. The good thing is I feel very, very confident in both guys' abilities. We're very lucky. We've got two young quarterbacks that I think are really good football players, and their best football is ahead of both of them." — Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner on quarterback decision between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr.
"That that was a crazy game. We were up ... a couple of things didn't go our way. Eight OTs was crazy. I played a little bit that game, but that one made playing against Georgia mean a little bit more. Just seeing that environment, seeing how close we were to getting that win. Then last year it came down to the last play again. So hoping this year we can just go out execute and do our job and good things are going to happen." — Gators center Harrison Moore, a transfer from Georgia Tech, on his freshman memories of a 44-42 loss to Georgia in 2024
They play with the same toughness and resiliency they showed in the win over Texas. The Gators faced adversity but didn't throw in the towel, pulling off one of the most memorable wins in recent years. The Gators must run the ball and, whether it's Aaron Philo or Tramell Jones Jr. at quarterback, avoid costly turnovers that give Georgia easy opportunities. The quarterbacks don't have to be perfect, but they can't make the defense's job any harder.
WHY BULLDOGS WILL WIN
They play inspired after their first loss of the season and take out their frustrations on the Gators. When quarterback Gunner Stockton manages the offense efficiently, avoids costly mistakes and uses his dual-threat ability, Georgia's defense is usually good enough to hand opponents a loss. That formula has helped the Bulldogs maintain their edge in the rivalry in recent seasons.
