Ranking Florida's 15 future SEC rivals by importance of having on the schedule (2024)

The addition of Oklahoma and Texas means more money, more clout, and, in one respect, more discord as SEC schools quibble over how to modify their football scheduling. That topic highlighted the recent league meetings in Destin, Fla., where presidents and chancellors never progressed to taking a vote on whether to remain at an eight-game format or ramp up to nine games.

Let’s hope common sense prevails. The soon-to-be-16-team league unequivocally should shift to nine games with three permanent rivals. Which invites the follow-up question: Should those permanent games lean entirely on tradition, or is this the moment to introduce compelling new series that are played on an annual basis? Here’s my 1-15 ranking on how the Florida Gators should prioritize future SEC opponents.

1. Georgia

Alongside the Iron Bowl, the World’s Largest Outdoor co*cktail Party is a must-save rivalry — guaranteed to remain a yearly event even if the SEC wrong-headedly chooses the eight-game model with only one permanent opponent. These schools go head-to-head for recruits and division titles, and the fan bases go at one another even harder. It’s a series so combative, the schools can’t even agree on how many times they played. (Florida lists 99 meetings, whereas Georgia tallies 100, counting the 52-0 win in 1904 over a team from Florida Agriculture College.)

Whatever the number, this border war is thick with moments. From “Run, Lindsay, Run” salvaging Georgia’s national championship in 1980, to Guss Scott’s pick six derailing the Bulldogs’ title hopes in 2002. From Steve Spurrier the quarterback tossing three interceptions in 1966 to Spurrier the coach hanging “half a hundred” on Georgia in ’95. From Jack Youngblood’s goal-line strip in 1970 to the trickery of Appleby-to-Washington five years later.

The unique neutral-site atmosphere is a festival, though there are occasional rumblings about leaving Jacksonville so that teams can host recruits on a home-and-home rotation. My guess is that when major-college football separates from the NCAA in a few years, neutral-site games like this one and Texas-Oklahoma no longer will face that obstacle. And we can keep enjoying these hellacious meetups on the St. John’s River each fall.

2. LSU

We’ve seen games pivot on a thrown cleat, wrong-way Guice, and fake field goals that would make the Harlem Globetrotters proud. For added flavor, there were ADs sparring over a hurricane, plus Galen Hall and Ed Orgeron being fired the day after wins.

That’s a sampling of why this became the SEC’s fiercest crossover series and deserves to continue once divisions are scrapped. Each program won three national championships in the last quarter-century while dripping swagger. Bouncing between the swamp and the bayou, it’s the ultimate clash of hubris and humidity.

Playing every year since 1971, at least one team was ranked in 47 of those 51 games. Now that LSU has won 13 of the last 20, the Gators’ edge has shrunk to 33-32-3. Let’s run this one back until we settle which school is truly “DBU” and then run it back some more.

3. Tennessee

If my ’90s self popped out of a time capsule today, he’d be humming “Fake Plastic Trees,” going hysterical over “The Larry Sanders Show” and marveling at the Florida-Tennessee rivalry. While two of those three things forever will be awesome, the Gators reeling off a 16-1 streak against the Vols has dramatically imbalanced that series.

Not that Florida fans are complaining. (As long as there’s a Citrus Bowl, they’ll delight in Spurrier rubbing Tennessee’s face in it.)

Still, when you have Antonio Callaway and Tyrie Cleveland crushing Tennessee’s soul with game-winning 63-yarders during consecutive trips to Gainesville, there’s enough drama to make this series become competitive again.

The Gators may very well be underdogs in September’s visit to Neyland Stadium, which is one of the SEC’s rowdiest environments when the Vols are good. If Tennessee truly is embarking on a turnaround — and signing an $8 million high school quarterback is one heck of a start — this series is about to receive a massive jolt.

4. Auburn

In our recent Gators fan survey, readers gave Auburn the fourth-most votes when asked who they’d prefer as a permanent rival, and I’m inclined to listen to the people. Especially the more seasoned fans, who recall the Tigers being a mainstay on Florida’s schedule. They played annually from 1945-2002 and have met 85 times overall, the Gators’ second-most common opponent.

Who can forget Kerwin Bell’s fourth-quarter miracle in 1986? Or the folks who “watched on the radio” as Auburn shocked the Gators in 1993 and ’94 amid an NCAA probation TV blackout.

Drivability is another factor, with Auburn located less than five hours from Gainesville. This game will excite both fan bases under the enhanced SEC schedule, whether it’s played annually or on a two-year rotation.

5. Alabama

The Tide and Gators facing off 10 times in the SEC championship gives this series a feel of regularity, but they’ve had only eight scheduled regular-season meetings over the past 30 years. Under the new format, they’ll meet each other twice every four seasons, and thank goodness for it.

With Billy Napier emulating parts of the Nick Saban “process,” the same way Kirby Smart emulated it at Georgia, we’ll watch to see if Florida can close the gap on the SEC’s front-runners.

It’s still on my bucket list to watch an Alabama-Florida game from the Flora-Bama in Perdido Key. Perhaps in 20 years when I retire.

6. Oklahoma

Over 109 football seasons, the Gators have played nearly 1,200 games, and only two of them were against the Sooners. The 2008 BCS Championship went Florida’s way. The 2020 Cotton Bowl did not.

My multiple trips to Norman left an impression that OU is an ideal cultural fit for the SEC. Mounds and mounds of Heismans and championships. An awesome fan base that deeply understands football and is plugged into every roster move. And the “Palace on the Prairie” provides a better game-day atmosphere than its more massive rival at Texas. The Sooner Schooner, one of college football’s neatest traditions, has been equipped with a wider wheelbase after the ponies flipped it in 2019.

Whatever offensive firepower Oklahoma loses with the departure of Lincoln Riley, the presence of Brent Venables will mitigate with better defense. His hiring (and Riley’s shadowy exit) has unified that program to the point it might soon start winning some CFP games.

7. Texas A&M

The Aggies rank a spot above Texas because Jimbo Fisher shall always be a villain to Gator Nation, whether it’s for the string of wins FSU posted or the loose discipline he exercised in running that program. As I recounted recently, a UF booster took the microphone during a recent Q&A to ask Billy Napier how he’d handle his star quarterback swiping crab legs from a Publix. (The intersection of Jameis Winston, those tasty crustaceans and a potential second-degree misdemeanor happened eight years ago, but Florida fans haven’t memory-holed it yet.)

Let’s face it, A&M also outranks Texas because it’s currently the superior program. The Longhorns has suffered four losing seasons since 2012, whereas the Aggies have none. The gap might be expanding after Fisher assembled an all-timer of a recruiting class, with an aggressive approach to NIL that left opposing coaches muttering privately and Nick Saban saying it out loud.

Amid COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, Florida fans didn’t get the full Kyle Field experience in all its expanded enormity. But that day’s 41-38 walk-off loss was a blow to the No. 4 Gators that ultimately kept them out of the Playoff. When Florida returns to College Station in November, the 12th Man will be in full roar. This series will be fun when it’s staged more frequently.

8. Texas

The Gators and Longhorns haven’t played since 1940. A couple of years ago, however, ADs Scott Stricklin and Chris Del Conte scheduled a home-and-home for 2030 and 2031, games that now can be absorbed into the conference slate. (For conspiracy theorists, Georgia and Texas had agreed to play in 2028 and 2029, which might signal that UT was planning an SEC jump far in advance of it being leaked.)

This is one of those clashes of mega-brands that actually makes realignment enticing. Having covered Big 12 football for eight years, the Longhorns are magnetic — even when they’re faltering. The temptation to flash “Horns Down” is simply too tempting.

Florida fans traveling to Austin can expect eclectic music and food, along with brutal traffic and the Fighting’ Gator Marching Band being stashed into nosebleed seats at DKR Stadium. Gamesmanship, right?

9. Ole Miss

A series with only 25 meetings seems paltry for schools that were founding members of the SEC in 1932. But these programs happened to intersect on Sept. 27, 2008 — a game that gave Ole Miss a monumental 31-30 upset at The Swamp and provided Tim Tebow with a platform to make his prophetic “Promise” speech. His words are commemorated on a plaque at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the “four-score” of college football monologues.

Looking forward, the potential for Lane Kiffin to attract bona fide quarterbacks and construct a perennial top 25 program makes the Rebels an appealing opponent.

10. Kentucky

The Gators had a stranglehold on this series for 31 consecutive years, spanning a string of coaches from Galen Hall to Jim McElwain. Rarely were the games close, save for Wuerffel-to-Doering in 1993. Now that Mark Stoops beat Florida twice in the past four seasons, Kentucky has swung momentum. When Dan Mullen was fired, many suggested Florida should pursue Stoops, who recently landed the nation’s 14th-ranked recruiting class.

Kroger Field, whose name shall forever remain Commonwealth Stadium to locals, is a really nice venue. And it has plenty of field access, as last year’s crowd appreciated after stopping the Gators’ final drive.

At 72 meetings, this is Florida’s third-most played series, and one that means more to Kentucky fans than it does to the Gators. It’s likely to be pre-empted when the new football scheduling format is finalized, but at least we’ll probably keep the yearly home-and-home in basketball.

11. South Carolina

Florida owns a 24-6 head-to-head advantage since Carolina joined the SEC, none of those wins more dramatic than the Jarvis Moss “co*ck Block” to preserve the 2006 national title run.

While no one identifies this as a rivalry, Spurrier’s impressive second act with the Gameco*cks made this a juicy series. He oversaw one four-year stretch that produced 42 wins and three top-10 finishes, unprecedented in program history. It’s hard to project Shane Beamer lifting Carolina to those heights, but he did a marvelous job eking out a 7-6 record in his first season, which included a 40-17 thumping of Florida.

12. Arkansas

Sam Pittman’s staff restored pride, cured the Razorbacks’ four-season bowl drought, and now is restoring recruiting. Arkansas ranked in the upper half of the SEC in offensive and defensive yards per play during both of Pittman’s seasons, showing his ability to squeeze as much as possible from the lackluster roster he inherited. Seriously, the Hogs have staying power.

Not sure how much this resonates with Gators fans because the series has been so sporadic. Florida leads 10-2, including SEC championship wins in 1995 and 2006 that are most notable for propelling the Gators into national championship games.

The most compelling matchup? It was 2003, when Florida nearly squandered a 33-6 lead in the final eight minutes. Arkansas safety Tony Bua’s personal foul on Chris Leak erased an interception at midfield that would’ve made the last 90 seconds nerve-racking for the Gators. Leak joked afterward that quarterbacks don’t like taking shots to the head “but sometimes it works in your favor.”

13. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs are a top-seven all-time Gators opponent in terms of games played (55), thanks to the schools meeting every season from 1962 through 1993. That ended with expansion to 12 teams and the onset of divisional play, when Florida’s permanent crossovers became Auburn and LSU.

The Gators lead the series 34-19-3, though there was a stretch of visits to Starkville that didn’t go well. In 1992, Shane Matthews called his five interceptions “a total embarrassment” after a 30-6 loss. In 2000, when two errant shotgun snaps had Florida facing third-and-57 from its 1-yard line, the Head Ball Coach was so flummoxed he ordered Rex Grossman to simply take a safety. And in 2004, MSU was 1-5 when Florida came in as a 24-point favorite. Jerious Norwood ran wild, Sylvester Croom enjoyed his first SEC win 38-31 and Ron Zook was cooked.

Mullen springboarding from Florida’s offensive coordinator to head coach of the Bulldogs is a historically relevant storyline for several reasons. First, Mullen led MSU into The Swamp in 2010, hurling his visor into the crowd after a 10-7 upset that facilitated Urban Meyer’s downfall. And Mullen’s nine-year run at Mississippi State ultimately earned him the Gators head-coaching job. That started well and ended badly for Mullen, but hey, at least he outlasted Joe Moorhead, right?

With Mike Leach running things at MSU now — or from a play-calling perspective, not running — we see a unique brand of offense. If the 61-year-old Pirate does well enough to retire there, some interesting games could transpire. And Starkville’s a fun place to watch a game, as long as you can deal with the tinnitus on the drive home.

14. Missouri

It’s still hard to conceive of Missouri winning back-to-back SEC East titles in 2013 and ’14 — a belated tip of the cap to Gary Pinkel — especially because the Tigers are 22-36 in the SEC since.

After their halftime dust-up in 2020, Mullen engaged in cosplay and Eli Drinkwitz spent a year plotting his lightsaber revenge. Otherwise, there’s barely a pulse to this series, which Mizzou leads 6-5.

15. Vanderbilt

Road games at Vanderbilt are less about watching spirited SEC football and more about running up a tab at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge or Exit/In. The Commodores are currently riding a 21-game SEC losing streak, which barely registers as a slump considering their last eight decades of torture. At least Vanderbilt Stadium is primed for $300 million worth of long-overdue renovations. Wonder if they’ll make some of the new premium seats available to visiting fans?

Florida has won 30 of the past 31 games in the series. During their 55 meetings overall, the Commodores were ranked only once — that was 1950.

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(Top photo: David Rosenblum / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)