Florida football has five rivalry games included in The Athletic's top-100 rankings
Many of these matchups have been played for over 100 years — longer than the current forms of the NBA, NFL, and NHL have existed, and sometimes contemporaneous with early Major League Baseball. That has allowed generations of sports fans to continue a long and storied tradition with their favorite colleges and universities.
The Florida Gators officially started competing on the collegiate gridiron in 1911 as an independent team, before joining the Southern Conference in 1922 along with a large proportion of their future Southeastern Conference peers — a league that began play in 1932. Those early years provided the Orange and Blue with three of the five foes that The Athletic's Scott Dochterman included in his rankings of the top 100 college football rivalries.
Dochterman chose to feature Florida's matchups with the Florida State Seminoles (No. 9), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 12), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 36), Miami Hurricanes (No. 58) and LSU Tigers (No. 64) among the best rivalries in the sport. Many Gators fans may disagree with the rankings of the top two — UGA should be among the top-10 and arguably ahead of FSU, but it is what it is.
Below is a look at how Florida's five top rivalries break down in Dochterman's eyes.
Florida–Florida State: No. 9
What to know: "What was a nice in-state nonconference series turned into one of national consequence during the 1990s," Dochterman offers. "With coaching legends Steve Spurrier and Bobby Bowden on opposite sides, Florida-Florida State set the table for many postseasons. Its annual importance may have diminished, but it's still the most prominent SEC-ACC Thanksgiving weekend feud."
Biggest game: "In the 1996 regular-season finale, No. 2 Florida State edged No. 1 Florida 24-21 and the quarterback hits rankled Spurrier," he recalls. "After Florida won the SEC title game, the Bowl Alliance lined up the No. 1 Seminoles and No. 3 Gators for the fifth time over a three-year span, again in the Sugar Bowl. Florida led by four points in the third quarter, then scored four second-half touchdowns in a 52-20 win. The Gators won the national title while Florida State fell to No. 3."
Georgia–Florida: No. 12
What to know: "Each team has important in-state rivalries, but this ranks No. 1 for both programs and their fans," Dochterman offers. "They've yet to have a top-five matchup, but the outcomes often lead directly to an SEC championship participant."
Biggest game: "No. 2 Georgia's hopes of an unbeaten season appeared dashed approaching the final minute of its 1980 clash with the No. 20 Gators," he begins. "Down 21-20 and facing third-and-11 at the 7-yard line, Bulldogs QB Buck Belue rolled right and threw across his body to Lindsay Scott at the 25-yard line. With Georgia announcer Larry Munson shouting, 'Run Lindsay!' the receiver outraced the defense for a 93-yard TD and a 26-21 victory. The Bulldogs later won the national title."
Tennessee–Florida: No. 36
What to know: "Tennessee and Florida barely resonated for either fan base until they were forced to play one another every year in the SEC East," Dochterman says. "Once they did, the series sizzled and became the SEC's most competitive rivalry in the 1990s. It doesn't measure up when compared alongside these teams' historical feuds, but it's on the map."
Biggest game: "After five straight top-15 losses to the Gators, No. 6 Tennessee hosted No. 2 Florida in 1998," he writes. "The Vols picked up a 20-17 OT win when Florida's game-tying attempt said wide left. The win propelled Tennessee to the first BCS championship."
Miami–Florida: No. 58
What to know: "There's plenty of feistiness between these two programs when they take the field," Dochterman notes. "But their meetings have become so sporadic that the rivalry doesn't measure up to their in-state feuds with Florida State."
Biggest game: "Following the 2000 season, the teams met in the Sugar Bowl with the SEC champion Gators facing the Big East champion Canes," he offers. "No. 7 Florida led early in the third quarter, but a combination of penalties, turnovers and special teams errors propelled No. 2 Miami to 24 second-half points in a 37-20 win."
LSU-Florida: No. 64
What to know: "It doesn't have the lore or regional appeal of other SEC rivalries, but each of these programs has won two national championships over the past 20 years," Diotcherman notes. "This is the annual rivalry that neither side really wants, but it's too good for the SEC to let it expire."
Biggest game: "Their 2007 battle in Baton Rouge stands out as first among equals," he continues. "Top-ranked LSU trailed No. 9 Florida 24-14 with 10:15 left in the game before rallying for two TDs to take a 28-24 lead. Florida moved into LSU territory but Heisman winner Tim Tebow's final pass attempt fell incomplete, and the eventual BCS champion Tigers — who went 5-for-5 on fourth downs — held on for the win."
The Athletic's top 25 best college football rivalries
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