Is FSU football rivalry vs. Florida in trouble as sport handles realignment, playoff expansion?
The series started in 1958 and the game site has alternated on an annual home-and-away basis between Gainesville and Tallahassee since 1964. The Sunshine Showdown has usually been held in late November, giving passionate fans plenty of time during the season to prepare and rally behind the state's two oldest public universities.
Advertisement
The current contract between the two football teams ends after the 2026 season, according to FSU officials.
While there is no indication the cherished series won't continue, one has to wonder if the game might be cast aside due to sweeping changes to college football.
Personally, FSU and UF should tango every year for as long as college football is played. I believe FSU and UF leadership believe it, too. From my vantage point, FSU Vice President and Athletic Director Michael Alford is adamant his programs play and compete at an elite level.
But nobody knows what the future holds, right?
More: Who has Florida's best college football helmet?
Is the USC-Notre Dame football game in jeopardy?
Recent reports that the Notre Dame-Southern Cal could be on the brink of ending due to uncertainty about the future College Football Playoff format rattled college football's fan base.
Advertisement
The teams have met 95 times since 1924, but reports have suggested USC is reluctant to enter a long-term deal due to the sport's uncertainty and the demands of greater travel in the Big Ten.
It was only a few years ago when USC and Stanford were forced to cancel their football series and oldest rivalry when the Trojans departed for the Big Ten and Stanford for the ACC.
The College Football Playoff will undergo more changes in 2025, with the top four seeds in the 12-team field being the top four ranked teams. CFP executives are working to finalize the format for the 2026 postseason and beyond. Discussions center on expanding from the current 12-team playoff to 14-16 teams, with various formats on the table.
The SEC and Big Ten pushing College Football Playoff narrative
The Big Ten and SEC, which have combined to field 16 of the last 20 national champions, are the top leagues in revenue and have emerged as super conferences, are pushing the CFP narrative and how the postseason should play out.
Advertisement
But the powers in place also must also make the regular season a priority, too. These decisions affect fans who are buying tickets, bunking at hotels and eating at local restaurants.
So many variables are in play.
The FSU-UF series could be impacted if the SEC at some point determines it wants to move from eight conference games to nine.
Another twist was bantered Wednesday, when LSU coach Brian Kelly told reporters at the SEC spring meetings that he and his fellow coaches are in favor of scheduling nonconference games against the Big Ten annually.
This also could jeopardize in-state rivalry games like FSU-UF, Georgia Tech-Georgia and South Carolina-Clemson. Especially if the SEC-Big Ten games are a play-in-style format at regular-season's end that could potentially decide bids into the CFP.
Advertisement
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has said he needs to make a scheduling decision in 2026.
ACC teams, meanwhile, play eight conference games annually and all 17 teams are scheduled to meet at least twice each seven years. FSU has protected games with Miami and Clemson and will continue to play the pair annually.
The FSU-UF game should be protected, too, don't you think?
Here's hoping the FSU-UF football series remains a priority and never goes away regardless how the college football landscape changes under SEC-Big Ten influence.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU-Florida football rivalry: Could college football changes impact matchup?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A Jury Found Tesla Partially Liable for Fatal 2019 Crash Involving the Brand's Autopilot Feature
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." A Florida jury ruled that Tesla was partly to blame for a fatal 2019 crash that killed a 22-year-old woman, according to . Lawyers for the woman's family argued that Tesla's Autopilot system should have avoided the crash. The case was the first fatal accident involving Autopilot to go to a jury; Tesla has settled several cases outside of court. A Florida jury ruled that Tesla was partially responsible for a crash in 2019 that killed a 22-year-old woman and left her boyfriend seriously injured, according to The New York Times. Specifically, the jury awarded $59 million in compensatory damages to the family of the woman and $70 million to her boyfriend. The jury also awarded $200 million in punitive damages. The jury found Tesla 33 percent to blame for the crash, and the company will be forced to pay one-third of the compensatory damages. It will also be forced to pay the entirety of the punitive damages. According to the NYT report, the jury placed the rest of the blame on the driver, George Brian McGee, who previously settled with the families outside of court for an undisclosed amount of money. The 19-year-old Naibel Benavides, who was a college student at the time, died on April 25, 2019, after being struck by a Tesla Model S sedan driven by George Brian McGee. McGee had dropped his phone while approaching a T-intersection with Tesla's Autopilot software activated. The NYT report states that he drove through the intersection at more than 50 mph, crashing into the legally parked SUV of Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, on the other side. It was also reported that McGee's foot was on the accelerator pedal as he approached the intersection, thereby overriding a function of Autopilot that is capable of stopping for objects in the road. The lawyer representing Benavides' family said that data and video from the crash showed that the Autopilot system recognized the parked SUV and at least one pedestrian before the collision. While this particular case was the first fatal accident involving Autopilot to go to a jury, Tesla has settled several cases outside of court. A 2023 study by the Washington Post found that between 2019 and 2023, Tesla's Autopilot system was involved in 736 crashes, 17 of which were fatal. At the time, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated during an interview that he found the name misleading. "I don't think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times," he said. According to the NYT report, Tesla plans to appeal the verdict. "Today's verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology," the company said in a statement. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
CNN
17 minutes ago
- CNN
White House monitors coverage of Epstein controversy and can't make it disappear
President Donald Trump has begged his base to stop thinking about Jeffrey Epstein. But 25 days after his Justice Department declared it had nothing more to say on the convicted sex offender, the drumbeat for action continues. Some officials acknowledge, at least privately, that the administration will have to release more information on Epstein in an attempt to quiet accusations of a coverup. Administration officials told CNN that they believe the best antidote to the intense public interest in Epstein is time. But they also acknowledge that without the release of more tangible details, the attention may never fully subside. 'Either we release more documents and it's a confirmation of suspicions, or there is some gap between what people think and what we actually have,' a White House official said. 'And you have to address it directly.' The White House has been intensely monitoring cable news and media coverage of the controversy, sources said. Since Attorney General Pam Bondi sparked public uproar by declaring that Epstein's so-called 'client list' doesn't exist, the administration has scrambled to quell the outrage by moving to interview Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and release sealed grand jury transcripts related to both her and Epstein's criminal cases. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and is likely one of the only living people who could shed more light on the extent of Epstein's crimes, was moved from her Florida prison to a lower-security facility in Texas on Friday. The Justice Department has not said why Maxwell was transferred. Nor has Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said anything about his two days of closed-door meetings with Maxwell, aside from promising in a statement that the DOJ would share more information about what they learned 'at the appropriate time.' Trump has not been accused of legal wrongdoing related to Epstein. The White House acknowledged but did not provide a response to a request for comment on this story. The story's staying power has partly been an issue of the president's own making. Trump is clearly frustrated by reporters who have him asked Epstein-related questions, but the small snippets of responses he does give — such as saying this week that he fell out with Epstein after the financier 'stole' a young woman, Virginia Giuffre, from working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort — only serve to reignite the public interest and sow further questions about what Trump knew about Epstein and when. That statement shocked the family of Giuffre, who died by suicide in April. 'She wasn't stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump's property,' Giuffre's brother Sky Roberts told CNN. A Trump administration official acknowledged the president's statements have been unhelpful in tamping down the Epstein-related furor but added they are just manifestations of his intense anger about the situation. The posture within the administration, officials said, has been to reassure the public that it is still committed to sharing more information that has been collected and reviewed by the Justice Department. But that could present another dilemma for the administration: any document dump would likely require extensive redactions to protect the identities of children who were victims of Epstein's crimes. And pages full of black ink may serve only to raise the specter of a coverup, administration officials said. The administration is also being careful not to repeat history by overpromising, which would further upset the many high-profile figures in the president's base who have expressed their frustration over the issue. 'The frenzy and criticism we saw has abated somewhat since the first two weeks. That's in large part thanks to the administration making clear this isn't cased closed like they initially said,' a person close to Trump told CNN. 'But the idea that this can be buried, or will go away thanks to some bigger news story, is a fantasy,' this person said. 'Even if a news story sucks up the oxygen for a time, it will pop up again. It won't die until people get some real answers.' Friday was a prime example of the issue popping back up with Maxwell's surprise transfer. And there will be more court filings next week. In theory, August could bring some relief to an aspect of the Epstein news cycle with Congress on recess for the month, limiting actions from Democrats to force Republicans to take a public stand on the matter. And an attempt by House Republicans to interview Maxwell has failed for now. Maxwell made a list of demands, including requesting immunity and to be provided with a list of questions in advance. The House Oversight Committee on Friday rejected those demands. It did agree, however, to delay any deposition until after the Supreme Court weighs her pending appeal, which won't happen until the end of September. Meanwhile, while officials believe Trump's directive to Bondi to move to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the investigations of Epstein and Maxwell, as well as the Justice Department's interview of Maxwell in prison, are steps in the right direction, multiple people inside and outside of the administration maintain there's still recognition that the fury around Epstein will not abide until more substantial material is released. The limits of that information are well-established. For instance, the grand jury transcripts the Justice Department is asking to unseal from its investigation include testimony from only two witnesses, both law enforcement officials, according to a DOJ memo submitted this week. In an order Thursday evening, federal Judge Richard Berman asked for more information from the government regarding their motion to unseal grand jury transcripts from Epstein's case. Berman made several requests, including verifying the dates of all grand jury presentations in the case, providing exhibits shown to grand jurors and stating whether the government wants exhibits unsealed in addition to transcripts. Those answers are due Monday. Tuesday, meanwhile, is the deadline for Epstein's victims and Maxwell to respond to the DOJ's request to release grand jury files. The judge then has pledged to rule quickly. In the White House's version of a perfect world, the American people would be celebrating Trump's trade war successes, the record-low number of migrants crossing the southern border or the renewal of a society that is being shaped to the president's expansive vision. That may happen, but the Epstein story will remain no matter what. 'There is an acknowledgement that this isn't just going to go away,' one White House official told CNN. CNN's Annie Grayer and Casey Gannon contributed to this report.
The Verge
18 minutes ago
- The Verge
Tesla to pay more than $200 million in damages after being found partly liable for fatal Autopilot crash
A federal jury in Florida found Tesla partly liable for a deadly 2019 crash involving Tesla's Autopilot driver assist software, according to reports from The New York Times and CNBC. Tesla has been ordered to pay $200 million in punitive damages and about $43 million in compensatory damages, CBS News reports. It's a rare loss in court for Tesla over Autopilot, which has been linked to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company won two jury trials in 2023 resulting from lawsuits alleging that Autopilot was to blame for crashes, and last year, a lawsuit challenging Tesla's claims about Autopilot was dismissed by a federal judge. The loss also comes as Tesla is starting to test its robotaxi service in Austin and Bay Area — though in the latter location, it arguably isn't a robotaxi service just yet. Tesla's Autopilot feature is designed to control a vehicle's steering and brakes; however, some argue that the EV-maker has misled drivers about its cars' capabilities. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, has accused Tesla of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full-Self Driving capabilities as autonomous driving features. During the trial, which started in July, plaintiffs argued that Tesla's driver-assist software was at fault for causing a crash that killed 22-year-old Naibel Benavides. While driving in Key Largo, Florida, Tesla owner George McGee crashed into Benavides' vehicle after bending over to grab a phone that he had dropped. McGee told the jury he thought Autopilot 'would protect him and prevent a serious crash if he made a mistake,' according to the NYT. 'Today's verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology,' the company said in a statement to the NYT. The company plans to appeal. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jay Peters Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Electric Cars Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tesla Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Transportation
