By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Gators are off to a slow start this season, their .500 after six games.

They were ranked in the top 20 in the preseason in both the AP and Coaches Poll. Now they have a bye week before the showdown with No. 3 Georgia (7-0) in Jacksonville.

I honestly always give the edge to Florida because they’ve owned UGA since 1990, winning 21 of the 27 games. Florida having nine players suspended is why I think Georgia has a great opportunity to win.

There have been Gator teams in the past that faced long odds going in to a big game and found a way to win. I’m going to look at some of the best upsets in Florida history.

Sticking with this series, we can look back at 2002. Georgia was 8-0 and ranked fourth in the nation heading into the game. Florida was unranked with a 5-3 record. Ron Zook (remember him?) was in his first year as UF head coach.

On paper, this looked like a lopsided game. It turned out to be a tough game with both defenses playing well. Rex Grossman threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter to take a 20-13 lead. Georgia was not able to respond and that was the final score.

The Dawgs finished the season 13-1 and a win in the Sugar Bowl but that loss cost them a chance to play for a national championship. Florida finished the year 8-5.

The 2014 game also featured a Florida team that did not live up to expectations. Will Muschamp was never a good fit in Gainesville and he was in the last season of his lackluster tenure.

Florida was 3-3 and coming off an embarrassing 42-13 homecoming loss to Mizzou. Georgia was ranked ninth with a 6-1 record.

The Gators started true freshman quarterback Treon Harris who only attempted nine passes in the game. They ran wild over Georgia, rushing for 428 yards and won the game 38-20. That team also finished the season 8-5, which led to Jim McElwain being hired on December 4 of that year.

We can all agree the real turn around for Florida started when Steve Spurrier got hired as the head ball coach in 1990. During that season, they played No. 4 Auburn at home. The Tigers won the SEC the previous three years and were 6-0-1 with the tie against No.5 Tennessee.

The fifteenth ranked Gators pulled of the upset with a blowout win, 48-7. Auburn coach Pat Dye was dismissive about Spurrier’s offense before the game. That wound up being his worst loss of Dye’s career.

That following year in 1991 Florida State was 10-1 with the only loss against No. 2 Miami 17-16 the previous week. Florida was also 10-1 and ranked fifth. This was the first top five matchup in the series. The Gators won at home 14-9.

In Zook’s final game in 2004 he led his unranked team to a 20-13 win over No. 10 FSU in Tallahassee.

Even with the odds stacked against them Florida can still compete. They recruit well so they have talented players. Think twice before counting them out.