The B12 (XII) Forum, home of the 'Front Porch, y'all' at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

When people around this nation think of the states of Ohio, Nebraska, Indiana,  Iowa, they think of hillbillies and dirt farmers with red necks.  And Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, also aren't thought of as being bastions of style and sophistication, outside of maybe one or two big cities.

Pot, kettle, etc.

Legends, Leaders, Laggards, and Losers.

Yeah, I can understand that,

And no offense intended to the WLOCP, but from a recruiting perspective, I don't think you can compare the Georgia-Florida game played in an NFL stadium TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, to the TX-OU game played at the historic Cotton Bowl in Dallas, on the State Fairgrounds, in the midst of the State Fair.  One is a game at an NFL stadium, and one annually is the most incredible atmosphere ever, for a college football game. There aren't just 100,00 people inside the stadium, but there are an additional 150K-200K outside the stadium and on the Fairgrounds, on TX-OU gameday.  It's an unbelievable gameday environment.

If for some reason TX-OU were ever moved to the Cowboys' stadium, then the experiences would be more comparable.  But until then. I can definitely see how a home game in Athens or Gainesville, would be a better college football experience for a recruit than Jacksonville game, while hosting recruits in the Cotton Bowl, is just as good as, and in many ways better, than hosting recruits in Austin or Norman.

Regardless, I definitely think that if Georgia/Florida value the neutral site game and want to continue it, then they should be allowed to host recruits there.  Allowing the designated home team for TX-OU to do so, has worked out just fine, for many many decades.  I'm not sure why such a rule would exist in the SEC anyway.

The Oklahoman
Tramel's ScissorTales: Kirby Smart wants Georgia-Florida moved; OU-Texas has a better idea
Berry Tramel, Oklahoman
Sat, July 30, 2022 at 9:07 AM

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart wants the Florida-Georgia game moved from its permanent site in Jacksonville to campus sites. His reasoning is clear: recruiting.

Of course, OU-Texas has a permanent neutral site, and one reason the game is anchored in Dallas (and has been since 1929) is clear: recruiting.

I know, I know. It makes no sense. Welcome to the mind of college football coaches.

Here’s what Smart had to say during SEC Media Days last week in Atlanta.

“I'm competing against guys all across the SEC who host kids at their biggest game,” Smart told the SEC Network. "When Auburn plays Alabama, guess where the recruits are? They're at Auburn. When LSU and Alabama play, guess where the biggest recruits want to go?

“It's an opportunity for us to bring these kids who fly in from all over the country. What game do they want to see? They'd like to see Georgia play Florida, but they can't do that.”


Fans from Georgia and Florida fill TIAA Bank Field during their 2018 game in Jacksonville. BOB SELF/Florida Times-Union

In the OU-Texas game, the designated home team gets to host recruits at the Cotton Bowl. But in Georgia-Florida, neither team is allowed to bring in recruits, via Southeastern Conference rules.

Seems like rather than move the game, the answer is just change the rule to the Big 12 version. If not for Florida-Georgia, then for OU-Texas. That's one of the hundreds of details that the Sooners and Longhorns must account for when they make the move to the Southeastern Conference, no later than 2025.

The Sooners and 'Horns won't be happy, won't be happy at all, if recruits are barred from the Cotton Bowl every season.

In truth, OU-Texas is a win-win for both schools, no matter the designated host, since the Sooners and Longhorns recruit many of the same players.

Of course, I’m not here to argue recruiting with Smart. He knows more about it than all the rest of us put together.

But Smart’s desire is interesting. Georgia already is killing it in recruiting. And maybe recruits want to see Georgia-Florida because it’s played in Jacksonville. I mean, the Bulldogs have more than their share of marquee games. Georgia-Auburn is must-see football. Georgia-Georgia Tech is a traditional rivalry, albeit one-sided. Plus assorted SEC games against Alabama and Louisiana State.

I know of little regret from the football side of either the Sooners or Longhorns about playing in Dallas. In fact, both programs embrace the Cotton Bowl tradition as a recruiting bonanza.

OU and Texas recruit to that game. Sign with us, they say, and you get to experience this. Playing in that atmosphere, on that stage, is something that can’t be bought by name, image and likeness money.

I would assume it’s the same for Georgia-Florida, but heck, who knows?

Jacksonville’s Florida Times-Union reported that Smart long has advocated moving the game.

Greg McGarity, chief executive of Jacksonville’s Gator Bowl game, formerly was Georgia’s athletic director and the man who hired Smart as head coach.

“The historical nature (of Florida-Georgia) isn’t important to Kirby,” McGarity told the Times-Union. “But to those who played in it, they always remember that game. With the 50-50 split of fans at the stadium, it’s a great experience.

“Remember, if you change it, you’re changing it for good. I don’t think that’s a wise thing to do when the vast majority enjoy the experience. Plus, it’s something unique and unusual.”

OU-Texas, Georgia-Florida and Army-Navy are the sport’s three great neutral-site series. Army-Navy is in a class of its own, for reasons you either know all about or can figure out.

In Jacksonville, in both the old Gator Bowl and the Jaguars’ TIAA Bank Field, the tickets are distributed equally, same as OU-Texas.

In Dallas, the split is down the 50-yard lines. But in Jacksonville, the split is in the end zones, giving each team its own fans down the entire sidelines. In the 1980s, Jacksonville separated the Gators and Bulldogs fans every other section, making for quite the panoramic scene.

There are other differences.

While Dallas is virtually equidistance between Norman (190 miles) and Austin (195), not so for Georgia-Florida. Jacksonville is 71 miles from Gainesville, Florida, but 338 miles from Athens, Georgia.

Florida-Georgia actually went home-and-home in 1994 and 1995, when the Gator Bowl stadium was being renovated into a National Football League coliseum for the Jaguars. OU-Texas has been played at the State Fair of Texas for 91 straight years.

Some say the arrival of the Jags saved Florida-Georgia for Jacksonville, since the antiquated Gator Bowl was not going to last much longer.

The Fair itself creates the most unique setting for a football game in America. Florida-Georgia is known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (there are indoor cocktail parties bigger?), with its massive tailgating scene surrounding the stadium parking lots hard by the St. John’s River.

But OU-Texas has the revelry of the nation’s largest state fair, with the Midway and exhibit halls and livestock shows surrounding the ancient stadium.

Georgia-Florida was played three times in Jacksonville before 1933, when it became the permanent home of the series. The series was interrupted in 1943, due to World War II.

OU-Texas was played six times in Dallas before 1929, when Fair Park became the permanent home, and it has not been interrupted since.

Georgia-Florida creates about $2 million in net revenue for each university. The OU-Texas windfall is closer to $4 million, in part because the Cotton Bowl capacity is up to 96,000 for that game, about 20,000 more than the reconfigured TIAA Bank Field.

At SEC Media Days, first-year Florida coach Billy Napier was non-committal on the issue, saying it was “above my pay grade.

“I think the big thing is I want to experience the game first. I'd like to see that game in Jacksonville, experience that game, before I have an opinion on that. There's a lot of credibility to both.

“A home-and-home obviously would be fantastic. But there's also some tradition there, a rivalry there. Time will tell.”

In fairness, there have been times throughout history when either OU or Texas seemed less than sold on keeping their game in Dallas. That has changed over the last 15 years, though. Both seem gung-ho on maintaining the State Fair tradition.

Georgia and Florida seem to feel the same, Kirby Smart a notable exception.