Florida Football: Why does Georgia claim an extra win over the Gators?

If you ask a Florida football fan what is the all-time record for the Florida-Georgia game, they would say Georgia leads the series 54-44-2. The Bulldogs picked up 21 of those wins before 1950, and the series is 39-31-1 in favor of Florida since 1953, when the color television was first invented.

But if you ask a Bulldogs fan, they like to sneak in one extra win into the series record and claim they have 55 all-time wins over the Gators. Why is that the case?

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In 1904, in the small town of Macon, Georgia, the University of Georgia took to the gridiron to face a team that called itself “The University of Florida.” Georgia won this game 52-0.

No one is disputing that this game took place. The dispute is whether or not “The University of Florida” that day falls under the same umbrella as what we think of the Gators today.

The team that took the field that day was based out of Lake City, and the modern campus for Florida in Gainesville was established in 1905. Florida considers 1906 to be their first official season of college football.

From the Florida football media guide heading into the Georgia game:

"“Georgia’s records count a 1904 meeting as thefirst-ever game in the series, but the UAA does not include it due to the fact the university formally became what is known today as the University of Florida in 1905, and it officially established its football team in 1906."

By Florida’s records, the two teams didn’t play until 1915, and the Gators collected their first win over Georgia in 1928.

It does make sense that Georgia would cling to that victory in 1904, considering it was the only win that squad had on the season. In their five other games, the Bulldogs only mustered up 16 points total and finished the season 1-5.