Florida-Florida State Rivalry Renewed on Black Friday Stage Once Again
Mark your calendars-Florida and Florida State are set to clash once again in Tallahassee, and for the second time in three trips, the Gators will be making the journey on a Friday night. The game, originally slated for November 28, has been bumped up a day to accommodate ACC television scheduling, landing on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Kickoff time and broadcast details are still to come, but the date change alone already adds a layer of intrigue-and a bit of controversy.
If this setup feels familiar, it should. The last time the Gators visited Doak Campbell Stadium in 2022, it was also a Friday night showdown.
That game turned into a high-scoring thriller, with Florida falling 45-38. But beyond the scoreboard, the timing sparked frustration across the state due to its overlap with Florida high school football playoff games-a tradition-rich night that many fans and families hold dear.
Fast forward to the most recent trip to Tallahassee, and the Gators flipped the script. Florida rolled to a commanding 31-11 win, catching the Seminoles in the middle of a stunning fall from grace. Florida State had gone 13-1 the year before, but stumbled to a 2-10 finish that season-one of the more dramatic one-year turnarounds in recent college football memory.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Gators followed it up with a 40-21 drubbing in Gainesville last November, powered by a monster performance from Jadan Baugh, who racked up 266 rushing yards. That was one of just four wins for Florida in a tough 2025 campaign, but it was enough to keep their rivals out of the postseason. Florida State ended the year 5-7, missing out on a bowl bid and closing their season on a sour note.
The turbulence on both sidelines didn’t end with the final whistle. Florida’s struggles prompted the school to make a change at the top, parting ways with head coach Billy Napier on October 19.
The Gators moved quickly, bringing in Tulane’s Jon Sumrall on November 30 to lead the next chapter. Over in Tallahassee, despite growing pressure from outside the program, Florida State opted to stay the course with Mike Norvell, who will now enter his seventh season at the helm.
As it stands, the rivalry is as balanced as it’s been in recent years. The two programs have split their last four meetings, a back-and-forth stretch following a run where Florida had taken three straight. Of course, the 2020 matchup was wiped out due to COVID-19, when the SEC opted for a conference-only schedule that fall.
So here we are again-two proud programs, each with something to prove, meeting under the Friday night lights. The stakes may shift from year to year, but the intensity never does. Whether it’s bowl eligibility, bragging rights, or just the next chapter in a rivalry that’s been burning since 1958, expect fireworks in Tallahassee.