The Florida-Florida State rivalry has had plenty of wild swings, but the games that mattered most since 1990 usually came with something bigger hanging in the balance. National titles.
Championship hopes. Season-defining leverage.
When you sort through the biggest Florida wins over FSU in that stretch, the list starts with the one Gators fans will never forget: the 1997 Sugar Bowl.
Florida had rolled through most of the season before stumbling 24-21 to the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium to close the regular season. That loss could have ended the story.
Instead, after Florida beat Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and Texas knocked off Nebraska in the Big XII title game, the Gators got another shot at FSU in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State’s win over Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl left everything in play, and Florida made sure the opportunity didn’t slip away.
Danny Wuerffel threw three touchdown passes, all to Ike Hilliard, and Terry Jackson ran for 118 yards and two scores as Florida blasted its rival and claimed the program’s first national championship.
A year later, Florida was back at No. 1 to start the season, but losses to LSU and Georgia knocked the Gators out of the title chase. Even so, beating the previously unbeaten Seminoles and knocking them out of the national championship game was a massive consolation prize. Steve Spurrier mixed Doug Johnson and Noah Brindise at quarterback to keep FSU’s top-ranked defense guessing, and Fred Taylor delivered one of the great performances in The Swamp, rushing for 162 yards and four touchdowns.
That game also carried another layer of significance: it was Spurrier’s first win in the series. Florida didn’t just win with offense that day.
The Gators got physical, and the defense, led by Kevin Carter, beat up Casey Weldon and held FSU to 37 rushing yards. It was also the first time both teams entered the matchup ranked in the top five.
Florida’s 24-19 win over FSU in 2012 belongs on the list for a different reason. Will Muschamp’s teams didn’t have much success against the Seminoles, but this one came in Tallahassee and gave Jimbo Fisher his only loss in the series. The Gators had to fight through a bad third period and some costly mistakes from Jeff Driskel, then exploded for 24 points in the fourth quarter to pull it out.
The fifth spot went to the 2006 meeting, and the reason is simple: Florida had to win to stay alive in the BCS Championship race. Chris Leak hit Dallas Baker on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 4:38 left to deliver the game-winner. The Gators then went on to beat Arkansas in the SEC title game and crush Ohio State for the program’s second national championship.
One game just missed the cut: Florida’s 20-13 win over No. 10 FSU on November 20, 2004.
Ron Zook had already been fired, but he stayed to watch the Seminoles dedicate their field to Bobby Bowden and then lose on “Bobby Bowden Field” for the first time. Florida’s defense did the heavy lifting, holding FSU to 34 rushing yards, and the win gave the Gators momentum heading into the Urban Meyer era.
It also started a six-game winning streak against the Seminoles.
In Other News...
Jon Sumrall Just Sent A Clear Message About Florida's Identity
Jon Sumrall made plenty of noise at SEC Football Media Days, and not just because of the usual summer talking points. The Florida coach came across as energetic and firm, even drawing attention for the way he handled a phone disruption during his session. More broadly, he used the platform to project the kind of edge and accountability he wants attached to the program, the sort of tone that can matter as much as any depth-chart battle in July.
He also stood apart from some of the grumbling around the league about the SECs new nine-game conference schedule. While other coaches focused on the strain and the postseason implications, Sumrall signaled a different posture, one built around accepting the challenge rather than looking for an escape hatch. It fit the image he was trying to sell in Atlanta, and it left the clearest question hanging: whether that no-excuses identity will become Floridas actual calling card once the games start. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Sumrall Just Confronted Florida's Biggest Roadblock To Elite Status
Jon Sumrall has barely settled into Gainesville, but the new Florida coach is already leaning into one of the programs biggest realities: restoring the Gators to elite status will take more than a fresh voice on the sideline. He has sought guidance from Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer as he tries to map out the next phase of the rebuild, while also making it clear to fans that their backing matters as much as anything happening inside the football offices.
The challenge is bigger than wins and losses. Florida is trying to rebuild its recruiting strength and overall competitive footing after years of falling short of its old standard, and Sumrall has been direct about the need for stronger support around the program. The Gators still have a fan base with deep history and expectations, but turning that into the kind of sustained edge Florida once had is the roadblock he has stepped into first. [Read more 🡒]
Baugh Brown III And Woods Put Floridas Young Core On Notice
Floridas young core is already drawing SEC attention before the season even starts, with Jadan Baugh, Vernell Brown III and Jayden Woods all landing on preseason All-SEC teams as voted on by media members at SEC Media Days. Baugh was recognized on the second team at running back and also made the third team as an all-purpose player, while Brown earned third-team honors as a return specialist and Woods was tabbed for the third team on the defensive line.
For a program trying to build around rising talent, the trios inclusion says plenty about how quickly Floridas next wave has moved from promising to proven. Baughs breakout as a runner has given the Gators a centerpiece in the backfield, Brown has already shown he can matter in the passing game and on special teams, and Woods made an immediate impact as a freshman off the edge. The bigger question now is how much more each of them can take on when the spotlight gets brighter and the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]