re: Predict your team's record for the 2016 season.

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This game used to mean so much more on a national level.

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This comment made me think for a minute.

I can't speak to the 70s or 80s really because I wasn't watching back then.

the game was never nationally relevant in the 90s due to us sucking most of the decade. Our 2 best teams, 92 and 97, produced some good games but nothing to make waves on a national scene.

From 2000+, 2008 and 2012 are the only ones I can think of that would be a player nationally due to both teams being good. 02 ended up mattering btu just because we lost....I certainly wouldn't say 06 was relevant nationally since yall were so much better but if we'd won I guess it would become relevant.

And actually now that I think of it, it's actually been fairly rare that both teams come in at a high level with very good teams. Kinda strange.

If Butch doesn't have UT in Atlanta this year then that is like having a Ferrari in the garage on bricks.

It will be a failure of a season, especially with the shape the east is looking preseason.

I'd say from 1996-2012 this game was important nationally most years, even when we had Zook. Muschamp ruined that pretty quickly. But he was a Bulldog, so it isn't that surprising that he could have ruined us on purpose.

As another note, it is just more fun of a game when both teams are good. It's that more satisfying when we beat you all when you have a good team, I am sure you feel the same. It was lame a few years ago when we sucked and you all just felt bad for us instead of rubbing it in our face before and after the game -- that's not a rivalry. The Stafford and Murray years were fun though.

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1996-2012 this game was important nationally most years, even when we had Zook

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I just don't think I agree. When I hear "relevant nationally" I think both teams being good and there is SOME kind of something on the line for both squads.

96-01 only one team was nationally relevant. The year we won in 97, we won 10 games which was awesome but played in the outback bowl and didn't even represent the east.

02 we were relevant but UF wasn't, so even though the game ENDED UP being relevant since it was our only loss, I dont' think going into november it registered much on the national radar.

03-05 we were good but UF really wasn't.

06 UF was a title contender but we sucked.

08 both teams were national players so I included this one earlier.

09 UF was a title team but we sucked.

10/11 both teams were bad.

12 both teams were good and relevant, I included this one.

13-15 both teams weren't really relevant nationally at the time.

16-0, extra win awarded for awesomeness

I think you and I went down this rabbit hole a while back on the UGA board but don't feel like hunting down the thread. I agree that the "national relevance" is likely overstating just a bit. It usually came down to one or the other acted as a speed bump that took out the chances of a Natty for the other. More frequently (from 2000 forward), the UF/UGA game *has* had a ton to do with who came out to represent the East in Atlanta.

As far as the rivalry, I am excited for a fresh look at a lot of our matchups. Smart gets the chance to dictate the style of play, the edge that the team chooses to play with, and how we prepare for opponents. It had honestly gotten to the point that even in years where you could say UGA was significantly more talented, UF was still a big uncertainty often due to failure to adequately prepare. I'm just ready to see a product on the field that looks like we've sufficiently game planned for big games. No more "moment too big" scenarios.

Muschamp is an outlier, though, because he was trying to come in and win for a team that he had always lost against. Didn't help, either, if what he said was true and had always wanted to play for UF more than UGA.

Kirby played for UGA, experienced first hand how much losing to UF could frick up your season, and now he can carry that into his coaching at UGA.

10-2

11-1, think the dawgs can and may beat both UT & OLE MISS, chose OM as a loss because its on the road. It might be reversed or dawgs loose or win both. no worse than 10-2.

W 09/03/16 vs. North Carolina Atlanta, Ga.
W 09/10/16 vs. Nicholls State Athens, Ga.
W 09/17/16 at Missouri Columbia, Mo.
L 09/24/16 at Ole Miss Oxford, Miss.
W 10/01/16 vs. Tennessee Athens, Ga.
W 10/08/16 at South Carolina Columbia, S.C.
W 10/15/16 vs. Vanderbilt * Athens, Ga.
W 10/29/16 vs. Florida Jacksonville, Fla.
W 11/05/16 at Kentucky Lexington, Ky.
W 11/12/16 vs. Auburn Athens, Ga.
W 11/19/16 vs. UL Lafayette Athens, Ga.
W 11/26/16 vs. Georgia Tech Athens, Ga.