Bishop Media Sports Network
Jason Bishop Show October 24 2024
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick October 23 2024
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Travis Roland October 22 2024
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren October 22 2024
Buying Time
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Billy Napier is in his third season as head coach in Gainesville but he has not proven himself as the right man for the job.
He was hired as Florida’s head coach on December 5, 2021 from Louisiana. He was 40-12 in his four seasons coaching the Ragin’ Cajuns. In his last three years he was 11-3, 10-1 and 12-1.
He replaced Dan Mullen who coached the Gators from 2018-21. Under Mullen UF went 10-3, 11-2, 8-4 and 6-7. Having a losing record got him immediately fired despite having earlier success.
In the case of Napier, he has not had success yet. They were 6-7 in his first year and 5-7 last season. That 2022 team did advance to the Las Vegas Bowl where they were beaten 30-3 by Oregon State.
This season Florida had a brutal schedule. They started the season with a loss at home to #19 Miami, 41-17. The other losses were to Texas A&M, who is currently ranked #14 and #8 Tennessee. They did play a close game with the Vols and lost in overtime, 23-17.
The Gators are currently 4-3 and had their best win of the season. They beat Kentucky 48-20, snapping their three-game losing streak to the Wildcats. Five-star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway completed seven of his fourteen passes but five of them went for 40-plus yards. He passed for 259 yards and rushed for 46 yards.
Freshman running back Jadan Baugh rushed for 106 yards and 5 touchdowns. The 5 touchdowns in a game tie the school record held by Tim Tebow and Trey Burton.
“That’s pretty good company there,” Napier said.
“For Billy Napier, Florida’s beleaguered head coach, the win kept the lions at bay for another week,” Saturday Down South’s Neil Blackmon wrote. “Napier’s buyout was assembled by Florida’s boosters in September, per multiple media reports. After Saturday night’s blowout win, there’s enough hope swirling around the Florida program to provide a path forward under Napier, albeit a narrow one.”
I want to point out that Georgia struggled against Kentucky, winning 13-12.
UF is going into their bye week before they face #2 UGA in Jacksonville. Georgia has won six of the last seven meetings. They’re currently on a three-game winning streak.
Beating the Bulldogs does not seem likely. The remaining schedule after that game is at #5 Texas, #8 LSU, #18 Ole Miss and at Florida State.
As you know, the Seminoles are historically bad this season. FSU is 1-6 and this will be an easy win for Florida. That will only put them at five wins though. In the other games, where will they find a win?
The most likely scenario is UF loses to those ranked teams and finishes 5-7. If they can upset one of them they will finish 6-6. Beating any of those teams will be impressive but is 6-6 good enough at Florida?
Another aspect to consider is Lane Kiffin has been rumored to be the top candidate to replace Napier if he is fired. Once these teams play November 23rd it is going to be talked about more, especially if Ole Miss wins.
I think Napier’s tenure at Florida is done after this season. The only thing that could save his job are two wins against ranked teams and I think one of those wins would have to be against Georgia.
Jason Bishop Show October 17 2024
Hall Of Fame
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The city of Jacksonville announced on Tuesday that Bill Goldberg, the former University of Georgia defensive tackle who helped the Bulldogs win three of four games against the Gators, will be among the 2024 inductees into the game’s Hall of Fame.
Goldberg will be inducted with Florida cornerback Fred Weary, a Mandarin High graduate, former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Mike Peterson, and UGA cornerback Mike Fischer of Jacksonville, a Bolles graduate.
Goldberg was a two-time All-SEC player and lettered four years for the Dawgs from 1986-1989. He’s still ninth in Georgia history with 348 tackles.
But when injuries curtailed his NFL career after stops with the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons, Goldberg dropped his first name and became one of the dominant professional wrestlers with a career of more than two decades that culminated with his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
Using moves such as “The Spear” and “The Jackhammer,” Goldberg was a five-time world champion in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and at one point was reputed to have gone on a 173-0 streak.
He wrestled competitively off and on from 1997-2018 and also has dabbled in mixed martial arts and acting. He appeared in Adam Sandler’s remake of “The Longest Yard” and was a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice.”
Fisher, who began his college career at Furman, transferred to Georgia as a walk-on and earned a scholarship in 1978. He played on three Georgia teams that went 3-0 against the Gators from 1978-1980 and had an interception against the Gators in the 1979 and two in 1980.
Fred Weary played for the Gators from 1994-1997 and was on three winning teams against Georgia, including the two games that were played on the campuses in 1994-1995 when UF won by combined scores of 104-31.
Weary had 15 career interceptions to lead Florida, six in his senior season. He was first-team All-SEC.
Weary played six years in the NFL, for New Orleans, Atlanta and the St. Louis Rams. He had seven interceptions as a pro.
Mike Peterson, a Gainesville native who played high school football at Alachua Santa Fe, stayed home to play for the Gators and was on three teams that beat the Bulldogs in four years from 1995-1998. Peterson had 249 tackles in four seasons and also was first-team All-SEC.
Weary and Peterson both started for the Gators’ first national championship team under Steve Spurrier in 1996.
Peterson played in the NFL for 14 years, with Indianapolis, the Jaguars and Atlanta. He had 883 tackles and 19 interceptions. He is currently on the Florida coaching staff.
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick October 16 2024
The History
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Georgia-Florida rivalry is one of the oldest and most exciting matchups in all of college football.
Every year, when the University of Georgia Bulldogs are scheduled to face off against the University of Florida Gators, it’s a game both fanbases circle on their calendars.
The two teams have been meeting for over a century, and while Georgia claims the rivalry started in 1904, Florida doesn’t count that game.
That’s because the 1904 Florida team wasn’t from the university as we know it today—it was from a predecessor school, Florida Agricultural College. The official start, according to both schools, was in 1915 when Georgia shut out Florida 37-0.
The game has almost always been played in Jacksonville, Florida, since the 1930s, and it’s become a huge part of the River City’s culture.
Jacksonville was originally picked as a neutral site because it’s between the two schools, and before Interstate 95, it was easier to get to with the modes of transportation available at the time.
Now, it’s an annual event that draws thousands of fans to the city, with plenty of tailgating and partying that turns the weekend into a big celebration. The game itself brings in millions of dollars to Jacksonville’s economy, making it a win for the city as well.
What makes this rivalry unique is that there isn’t a traditional trophy like in other famous matchups. Instead, the winning team takes home a staff made from a tree in the Okefenokee Swamp, which is on the Georgia-Florida border. Right now, that staff is in Georgia’s possession.
Over the years, the game has seen some wild moments. It’s even earned the nickname “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” because of how rowdy the tailgates and celebrations can get.
Fans have been known to party hard, and in the past, things got a little too crazy. In the 1980s, after some alcohol-fueled incidents, including fans tearing down goalposts, Jacksonville had to crack down on the party atmosphere to keep things under control.
They even stopped using the “Cocktail Party” nickname officially, but the fun hasn’t really gone away.
On the field, Georgia dominated the early years, winning most of the games up until the 1950s. Florida didn’t start to gain ground until the ’50s, and the rivalry really heated up when Steve Spurrier became Florida’s head coach in 1990.
Under Spurrier and his successors, Florida went on a tear, winning most of the games in the ’90s and early 2000s. In the last 15 years, though Georgia has won the last three years in a row, the two teams have been more evenly matched.
This game often plays a big role in determining who comes out on top in the SEC East.
Both Georgia and Florida have historically been strong contenders in their division of the conference, so the winner has commonly had a better shot at making it to the SEC Championship.
The rivalry isn’t just a big deal for the teams and their fans; it’s huge for Jacksonville.
The city goes all out to make the weekend special, and it’s a major boost to the local economy.
The game has been played at EverBank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, since the old Gator Bowl stadium was torn down in the ’90s.
EverBank offers a modern, NFL-style experience for the thousands of fans who pack it every year.
Despite occasional talk about moving the game to the teams’ home stadiums, it has remained in Jacksonville.
Both schools seem happy to keep it that way, but planned renovations to EverBank Stadium starting in 2026 will force a relocation for at least a couple of years, before a hopeful return to Jacksonville in 2028.
The city offers a big payout to the teams, and the fans love the neutral site tradition.
In the end, Georgia-Florida isn’t just a football game—it’s a massive event that people from all over look forward to every year.
Whether you’re a diehard fan or just there for the tailgate, it’s a rivalry that holds a special place in college football.
Memorable Cocktail Games
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Georgia-Florida game is one of the best rivalries in college football. Let’s look back over the years at some of the best performances from this rivalry game.
1997 #14 Georgia 37 #6 Florida 17: The defending national champion Gators were on a seven-game win streak against UGA.
The Bulldogs were 20-point underdogs because of this. The Gators had won 52-14, 52-17 and 47-7 the previous three years against the Bulldogs.
Robert Edwards rushed for 124 yards and four touchdowns. He seems to be a forgotten about player but he led Georgia to a major win.
1995 #3 Florida 52 Georgia 17: This was Florida’s only trip to Athens since the game was permanently moved to Jacksonville in 1933. This was the first season for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars and the city had to make renovations to the Gator Bowl. The series was moved to a home-and-home series in 1994 and 1995.
Quarterback Danny Wuerffel threw for 242 yards and 5 touchdowns in just under three quarters. Backup QB Eric Kresser tossed two more touchdowns in the 4th quarter, with the last one with 1:10 left in the game.
“You could always tell there was a little extra pep in [Spurrier’s] step when it was Georgia week,” wide receiver Chris Doering said. “It was cool being one of the few teams that ever got the chance to play Georgia in Jacksonville, Gainesville and then going up there in ‘95.”
1980 #2 Georgia 26 #20 Florida 21: Freshman tailback Herschel Walker rushed for 238 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries. He’s actually an afterthought when people look back at this game though because of how it ended.
UGA trailed 21-20 when they took over the ball at their 8-yard line with 1:35 left in the game. They lost one yard on first down and threw an incomplete pass on second down.
On third-and-eleven QB Buck Belue completed a pass to flanker Lindsay Scott near the UGA 25-yard line. Scott seemed to be surrounded by Gators but he cut towards the Georgia bench and ran down the sideline for a 93-yard touchdown.
2002 Florida 20 #5 Georgia 13: It’s tough to view a Gator win as an upset during this time period because they had won 11 of the last 12 meetings before this.
UF had first year head coach Ron Zook and they were struggling, coming into this game 5-3. Georgia, on the other hand was 8-0 under Mark Richt in his second season.
The Florida defense did not allow a single third down conversion on the day, the Bulldogs were 0-for-13.
Florida QB Rex Grossman completed 36 of his 46 pass attempts for 339 yards, two scores and two interceptions.
2007 #20 Georgia 42 #9 Florida 30: Florida won the national championship the year before. Head coach Urban Meyer was doing a great job bringing talent to Gainesville, which included quarterback Tim Tebow. He would become the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy in 2007 but he was not the star of this game.
Bulldog running back Knowshon Moreno rushed for 188 yards and 3 TD’s. QB Matt Stafford passed for 217 yards, 3 scores and 1 interception.
The coolest thing about this game was after Moreno scored a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The entire Georgia team ran into the end zone to celebrate.
It would later be known as the ‘Gator Stomp’ and it is one of the best images in college football history.
