Despite not always being the favorite, Florida won five straight games versus Tennessee from 1993 to 1997, claiming four SEC crowns and a consensus national championship in 1996.
The Gators beat Tennessee in three of their four meetings that season, with the only loss coming by one point in Gainesville. Florida outscored the Volunteers 49-7 in those games.
Florida's fifth game was postponed due to rain delays and was played in late December 1996. The title was officially awarded to Florida at that time.
Tennessee would go on to lose its next two games before closing out the season with a win over Georgia. The Volunteers finished the year 11-1-1.
The last time Florida lost a regular season game was October 28, 2015 when then No. 1 Alabama beat them 34-31 in Tuscaloosa. Since then, the Gators are 88-3 and currently sit atop the college football rankings.
Tennessee lost its final three games of the season, finishing 9-3-1. It was the first time since 1939 that neither Florida nor Tennessee won a national championship.
The Gators and Vols have been close throughout their history, with Florida holding a slight advantage (56-54-9).
Tennessee dominated the early years of the rivalry, winning the first 10 games and owning a 13-2 series advantage after defeating the Gators in 1971. When then, Florida has had the upper hand, especially since the schools became SEC East rivals in 1992. Florida now leads the all-time series 30-20 after winning in 2020.
Tennessee dominated the rivalry in its early years, winning the first 10 games and creating a 13-2 series advantage following the 1971 game. After winning in 2019, Florida now leads the series 29-20 all-time. 4.10 2000: The "Catch?" Game In Gainesville, Florida, Dan McGarigle of Fort Myers catches Tim Tebow's pass for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining to give Florida a 27-26 win over Tennessee. The play is reviewed by officials and confirmed as a catch by replacement refs Jason Jones and Terry Brown. The victory gave Tebow and the Gators an undefeated season and a spot in the Sugar Bowl.
Florida leads the all-time series 29-20. The teams have played every year since 1992 except for 1995 when Florida was banned from bowl games due to grade fraud issues. The Gators went 3-0 against Tennessee during that time span.
In 2001, Florida traveled to Knoxville and beat Tennessee 33-28. The loss ended the Vols' season and they fell to 9-3. Following the 2004 game, which ended in a 31-30 Florida victory, then-UT head coach Phillip Fulmer was fired. A month later, Tennessee hired LSU's Les Miles as their new head coach. Under Miles, the Vols went 8-5 and lost in the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl to Missouri 20-13.
In 1991, Florida won the rematch in Gainesville on their way to their first official conference title. One outcome of the SEC's 1992 expansion and divisionalization was the establishment of an annual meeting between Florida and Tennessee at a time when both schools were rising to national prominence. The Gators had gone 11-1-1 against the Volunteers prior to their trip up I-4, with their only loss coming by one point to Miami (Fla.) in 1987. This year's game will be the third overall and first since 1992.
Florida is 3-0 all time vs. Tennessee. The teams have played every year since 1991 with the exception of 2002 when Florida was banned from bowl games because of grade-fixing allegations made against some of its coaches. The Gators beat Tennessee, 31-7, in their first matchup that season.
The Vols lead the all-time series 2-1. They last defeated the Gators in 1979 in Knoxville before the start of the SEC era. Florida has won the most recent two matchups.
Florida is 4-0 all time when playing in Jacksonville. The Gators are 5-0 when playing at home against Tennessee.
Tennessee is 1-3-1 all time when playing in Gainesville.
Tennessee had an 11-2 all-time record versus Florida towards the end of the 1960s. Tennessee won the first two meetings with Dickey's Gators, and Florida won the following two, including a 1976 triumph at Gainesville, their first home victory against the Vols in four tries. From 1969 to 1972, there were no official games between the schools.
In 1973, Florida traveled to Knoxville and beat the Vols 7-0. This was the only loss during Gary Dickey's first season as Florida's coach. The following year, UT went 8-1-1 against Florida before the teams met for the final time that decade.
From 1975 to 1977, there were no official games between the schools. In 1978, Florida played a three-game series against Tennessee that ended after the third game due to concerns about safety on the field because of the weather. The Gators won the first two games in Jacksonville and Nashville but lost 1-0 at home when Pat Sullivan was hit by a pitch with runners on second and third with one out in the ninth. Florida finished the season ranked # 2 behind Texas A&M.
In 1979, Florida returned to action after a one-year absence and faced Tennessee again in Jacksonville. The Gators defeated the Vols 3-0. This was the last meeting between these two schools until 2000 when Florida traveled to Knoxville for a non-conference match-up.
Tennessee dominated the early years of the rivalry, winning the first 10 games and owning a 13-2 series advantage after defeating the Gators in 1971. Tennessee-Florida football rivalry
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Meetings total | 50 |
| All-time series | Florida leads, 30–20 |
| Largest victory | Tennessee, 45–3 (1990) |
| Longest win streak | Florida, 11 (2005–2015) |
The rivalry was once the most prominent in the state, since Miami and Florida were big collegiate schools that began competing against each other a decade before the Florida State Seminoles entered the field. When the Southeastern Conference (SEC) upped the number of conference games from six to seven in 1988, the annual series came to an end. The Hurricanes and Seminoles have never met on the football field since.
They did meet once during the regular season in 1987, with Miami winning 21-7 at Florida St. The Hurricanes went on to win the National Championship that year while the Seminoles finished 7-4.
Here are the complete results for Miami vs. Florida State:
Year Winner Score Date Site 2017 Miami 27-3/14th Anniversary Day 2018 Florida State 31-27 SU Home 2019 Miami 38-0 Home
The Hurricanes and Seminoles will finally meet again in 2021 when they play for the ACC Atlantic Division title. Both teams will be looking to start their seasons with a win after both suffered disappointing losses last year. Miami lost to Notre Dame 26-23 in South Bend while Florida State was upset by Virginia Tech 23-16 in Tallahassee.
This game has been scheduled for 14th Annual Year Anniversary Day. This will be the first time the two teams have played on this day since 1988 when the SEC added a seventh game to its schedule.
2013 Between 1993 and 2001, the Seminoles competed in five national championship games and won three times, in 1993, 1999, and 2013. During the 1990s, the Florida State football team was the most successful in collegiate football, with an 89 percent winning record. From 1992 to 2001, the Seminoles played in four consecutive Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Bowls and won three of them. In 1992, Florida State defeated Michigan 14-13 in one of the greatest comebacks in college football history after trailing by 13 points late in the fourth quarter. In 1999, Florida State defeated Arkansas 42-14 for its third BCS title. And finally in 2013, the Seminoles beat Michigan State 26-7 to win their second BCS title.
Their overall record during this period was 93-15-1.
In February 2002, Florida State lost its first two games by an aggregate score of 97-7 to Nebraska and Miami (OH). The Seminoles recovered to go 9-3 down the stretch, including victories over Virginia Tech in the 2003 Chick-fil-A Bowl and Clemson in the 2004 Orange Bowl. They finished the season ranked No. 2 behind Oklahoma but were not invited to any bowl games because of NCAA sanctions imposed after Bobby Bowden retired as Florida State's coach.
Under Bowden's successor, Jim Fassel, the Seminoles continued to dominate college football.
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