Athens, Ga. ? This is something new. Georgia heads into the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” with the makings of a winning streak against Florida.

Don’t get too excited, Bulldog fans. The streak, if you can call it that, currently is at one – hardly enough to erase 15 years of nearly annual heartache.

“It doesn’t make any difference,” Georgia safety Greg Blue said Tuesday. “People are always going to have that question: Can you beat Florida?”

And what would it take to appease the doubters?

“We probably need to beat ’em 10 times in a row,” Blue responded.

Back-to-back wins would be a good start. Georgia hasn’t done that since the 1980s.

“We know they still have the upper hand,” Blue said. “One game didn’t prove we can beat Florida. Consecutive years would really show we can beat them.”

The Gators have beaten Georgia 13 of the last 15 seasons, a dominating run that coincided with Steve Spurrier’s arrival as Florida coach in 1990. He knocked off Ray Goff’s teams six years in a row – often by ridiculous margins – and had a 4-1 edge on Jim Donnan before winning his lone meeting against current coach Mark Richt in 2001.

Even after Spurrier left for an ill-fated NFL job, the Gators kept winning. Ron Zook beat Georgia his first two years, including a 2002 upset that was the Bulldogs’ only loss and perhaps denied them a chance to play for the national championship.

Richt finally picked up his first victory over Florida last year, a 31-24 triumph that came just days after the Gators announced that Zook would be let go at the end of the season.

Considering the state of the Florida program at the time, Georgia nose guard Ray Gant said the 2004 victory probably should come with an asterisk.

“I don’t think anything has really changed,” he said. “Last year, they had just fired their coach. They probably felt like they had nothing to play for. They were in a slump. I’m sure they’ll come out and play a much better game with a lot more energy.”

In fact, the No. 16 Gators (5-2) opened as a solid 51â2-point favorite for Saturday’s game at Jacksonville, Fla., even though Georgia has a higher ranking, a better record and a lot more on the line.

The No. 4 Bulldogs (7-0) can clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game with a victory, and they must win to further their hopes of playing for a national title.

But the oddsmakers know Georgia will be without quarterback D.J. Shockley.