Tennessee While the Florida-Tennessee rivalry has waned in recent years, Tennessee remains one of the Gators' most despised foes. Florida has dominated the series since going 0-10, with winning streaks of four games, five games, and the current seven-game winning run. In fact, only Georgia has beaten Florida more often than Tennessee.
The hate for Tennessee is evident from the fan reactions during game days; every time the Vols take the field, they get booed loudly by all Florida fans present at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Florida's record against other SEC teams is fairly balanced; the Gators are 9-8 against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, and Kentucky and have lost three straight games to South Carolina and two straight contests to Texas A&M and Missouri.
Tennessee is 1-1 against Florida's biggest rivals: Georgia and Miami (Fla.). The Gators beat Tennessee, 31-30, in 1978 when Fran Fulmer led Florida to its first National Championship. In 1983, Mike Kornegay's 42-yard field goal as time expired gave Florida a 23-22 victory over the Vols in the final game of the regular season.
In addition to their matchup with the Gators, Tennessee plays Ohio State and Virginia each year. The Volunteers are 3-0 against OSU with wins coming in 1913, 1915, and 2016.
Let's take a look at Georgia's top four football opponents.
Rivalries The Seminoles of Florida State University and the Gators of the University of Florida are Miami's longtime athletic rivals. The Hurricanes and Dolphins have never played each other, although both schools are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Seminoles and Gators first met on the football field in 1918. Florida won that first game 7-0. The teams have been annual opponents since then with the exception of 1943 when World War II prevented Florida from playing college football programs. The Gators beat the Seminoles 24-0 in Coral Gables. Since then, the two schools have evened the score at 9-9.
In basketball, the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic battle for supremacy in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The two teams have never met on court but they do play for the title every year of the conference tournament. The winner stays home while the loser has to go to Delaware for the championship round.
Since the Marlins moved to Miami after the 1997 season, the Hurricanes and Marlins have competed for the city's sports enthusiasm. The Marlins usually win this contest because more people live in Miami than in Coral Gables or Gainesville; therefore, more baseball games are played here.
Florida leads the overall series 36-26-2, while FSU leads the series 24-21-1 since 1976. Since 2000, the rivalry has been evenly balanced, with 10 wins each... Florida vs. Florida State football rivalry
| Florida Gators Florida State Seminoles | |
| First meeting | November 22, 1958 Florida, 21–7 |
| Latest meeting | November 30, 2019 Florida, 40–17 |
| Statistics |
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The annual football matchup between the Gators and Seminoles, on the other hand, has historically been the most fierce and noteworthy rivalry of the in-state rivals. The Florida-Florida State football series began in 1958, and the game has been played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year since the 1970s. The rivalry is so intense that it often leads to fights breaking out on campus and in downtown Gainesville and Tallahassee.
They met for the first time in 1959, with the Seminoles winning that inaugural game 21-7 at Florida Field. The score was even later in the fourth quarter when Gator quarterback John Reaves threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Lewis. In fact, both teams were still celebrating their victories into the next morning. The only blemish on Florida State's record came in 1968 when Gator running back Ron Zook scored three touchdowns in the second half for an embarrassing 63-6 victory.
Through the years, the rivalry has been very competitive with each team having several streaks of success. The Seminoles won the first four games between the two schools but lost the last five meetings before beating Florida 34-31 in 1980. From 1981 to 1994, Florida State never lost more than two games in a row against the Gators. However, during that span, Florida beat the Seminoles six times including three straight from 1990 to 1992. In 1995, Florida State ended the losing streak by defeating Georgia Tech 31-24 in Atlanta.
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