Jon Sumrall's time with Florida will be defined by his results against Georgia

Florida’s bye week is over, which means one thing and one thing only this upcoming Saturday:

The Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic.

Seriously, what corperate marketing guy thought that was a good name?

Anyway, the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is this Saturday in Atlanta due to stadium renovations hapening in Jacksonville. Florida and Georgia are set to square off for the 104th time, and no matter where the game is played and no matter what marketing name the powers that be try to pass off, the bar for any Florida head coach is the results they pile up against the Bulldogs.

Jon Sumrall will be judged by his record over Georgia

This history of Florida and Georgia tends to go in waves. The Bulldogs racked up a ton of wins prior to 1950, before the Gators started to fight back in the 50s and 60s. Georgia took back over the rivalry in the 70s and 80s, but then from 1990 to 2016 the Gators were 21-6 against Georgia.

Then Kirby Smart officially had his empire rolling, and since 2017, the Gators have only knocked off Georgia once. Jim McElwain got the best of Smart in 2016, but was then obliterated 42-7 the next year, and he was fired the next day.

Dan Mullen fell short in 2018 and 2019, ran the wheel route in 2020 to get Florida’s lone win against Georgia since 2017, and was then obliterated in 2021. Mullen would be fired later that season.

Georgia obliterated the Man in the Black Polo in 2022 and 2023, and the team put up a respectable fight with Aidan Warner at QB in 2024, but fired in 2025 before last year’s game.

And so for Jon Sumrall, wins over Ole Miss and Texas are nice and they are meaningful wins, but the bar for Florida in the modern era is Georgia. Sure, FSU may be the bigger rival depending on who one talks to, but FSU is such a dumpster fire right now that beating them feels more like a checklist on the season rather than an accomplishment.

Georgia today, however, is what Florida once was. The Bulldogs represent the standard that the Gators have been chasing for the past decade. And we aren’t saying that Sumrall necessarily has the roster, especially in the trenches, to be expected to win in 2026.

But in time, that excuse won’t hold weight. Those who have stuck around in Gainesville for more than four years have figured out how to get the best of the Bulldogs their fair share of times.

This Saturday will be what Sumrall hopes is his first of many cracks at Georgia.

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