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Fennelly: Pageantry, history and unpredictability make Florida-Georgia special

 
Florida Gators wide receiver Antonio Callaway (81) comes down with a 66-yard reception and runs it into the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter of a game between the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. (Loren Elliott, Times)
Florida Gators wide receiver Antonio Callaway (81) comes down with a 66-yard reception and runs it into the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter of a game between the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. (Loren Elliott, Times)
Published Oct. 29, 2016

It sounded corny. That's what Florida coach Jim McElwain thought last year when people talked about the grand excitement of the team buses … going over the bridge.

"I was told what it might be like, and yet, having never done it, I was like, 'Yeah, right, driving across a bridge,' " McElwain said. "And yet, going across that thing and seeing everything down at the stadium is something really special."

It is Florida-Georgia.

The Hart Bridge, the bridge people are usually talking about, loops over the St. Johns River. It opened in 1967 and is named for Isaiah David Hart, who founded Jacksonville. Hart reportedly had a very large outdoor cocktail party to celebrate.

You come over the bridge and there is the show, painted orange and blue and red and black. There is Florida-Georgia.

At the bottom of the bridge, there is history. One way or another, there will be more of it this afternoon when No. 14 Florida (5-1) meets Georgia (4-3).

It's Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio's first Florida-Georgia game. Del Rio grew up around the stadium in Jacksonville; his father, Jack, coached the Jacksonville Jaguars. But young Luke never made it to a Florida-Georgia game, not even last year, when he sat out under transfer rules. He had tickets but didn't use them. He tailgated in Jacksonville but went to a friend's house to watch the game.

"To be honest, I'd rather be on the field or watch it on TV," Del Rio said.

He'll be on the field today.

He said his dad will be in the stands. Jack, now the Oakland Raiders coach, is between road games against the Jaguars and Bucs. The Bucs are next on Sunday. Oakland practiced in Florida all week.

"He will be able to go to the game," Luke Del Rio said.

That matters, too.

First-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart played defensive back for the Bulldogs. He went 1-3 as a player against Florida, in the middle of Gator dominance over the Bulldogs as drawn up by Steve Spurrier. Smart was on the 1995 Georgia side that was walloped 52-17 in Athens by Florida while Jacksonville's stadium was being renovated. I believe Spurrier marched to the sea after that.

But Smart also was on the Georgia team that stunned Florida in the 1997 game in Jacksonville. Smart had two interceptions. And now he makes his Florida-Georgia coaching debut.

"I told our players it's one of those things you'll talk about once you get in that game," Smart said. "You only hear about it. You don't know about it until you see it and live it."

Just don't try to predict it.

You just never know.

Florida knows that all too well.

Before this season, Spurrier was listing his favorite games at the Swamp. He mentioned one from 50 years ago. Auburn, 1966. Spurrier kicked the winning 40-yard field goal. It all but locked up the Heisman Trophy for him. The No. 7-ranked Gators were 7-0 and on the verge of clinching at least a tie for their first SEC title.

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"Then we went and lost to Georgia," Spurrier said.

There's a lot of that in Gator history.

There was 1985, when Florida, under coach Galen Hall, rose to No. 1 in the nation for the first time in school history. That was on a Tuesday. On Saturday, Vince Dooley and Georgia beat Florida 24-3. Bulldogs fans chanted, "Four days! Four days!" late in the game.

Don't forget 2012. Will Muschamp (remember him?) had the Gators ranked second in the nation when they went roaring into Jacksonville, where they made several thousand turnovers and lost to Georgia.

But Spurrier went 11-1 against Georgia as Florida head coach. Urban Meyer went 5-1. They took care of business. Florida has won 20 of the past 26 in this series, including the past two, including 27-3 last season in McElwain's series debut.

Today's game is big for Florida. The Gators lead the SEC East but can't miss a beat down the stretch. Today's game is big for Georgia. And for Smart. The Bulldogs just lost to Vanderbilt — at home. Get the picture?

But the picture can get fuzzy in Florida-Georgia. No matter who is up or who is down. No matter what the records.

The bridge awaits.