It’s one of the most heated rivalries in all of college football. From the Bobby Bowden versus Steve Spurrier 90’s showdowns to the present day hard-hitting defensive slugfests, this game has a little bit of it all. Gator Country has put together a list of the top five games ever played between the in-state rivals. Though there are more than just five great games played between the two, these are the ones that were the most significant to the University of Florida and the Gator Nation.
- 2004 Ron Zook’s Last Game.
On a night that the No. 8 Seminoles dedicated the field to then head coach Bobby Bowden, the Gators were looking for their first win in Tallahassee since 1986. Ron Zook had been fired a week before the game started and this would be the last game he would ever coach for the Gators. In the Gators stunning 20-13 victory over their arch rivals, Ciatrick Fason carried the ball 24 times for 103 yards and a touchdown. The Seminoles led a last chance drive to try and tie the game. Making it all the way into the redzone, Chris Rix threw an interception on 4th and 10 to give the Gators their first win in nearly 20 years in Tallahassee. The Gator sideline erupted and Ron Zook was carried off the field after the Gators completed what seemed to be impossible.
- 1991 Steve Spurrier’s First win against the Seminoles.
In just the second year of the Head Ball Coach’s career, the Gators played a defensive battle in The Swamp and ended the Seminoles national championship hopes. UF was ranked No. 5 in the country and the Seminoles entered at No. 3 in search of their first national championship in school history. Quarterback Shane Matthews and tailback Eric Rhett led the Gators to a stunning 14-9 victory against Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles. The 14-9 victory in front of the packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium ended a four-year FSU winning streak against the Gators and was the first of many great Gator victories over the Seminoles for Steve Spurrier.
- 2009 Tebow’s Senior Day.
It was an emotional day in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the Gator faithful said goodbye to one of the most decorated senior classes in school history. Among those was Heisman Trophy winner and Gator Legend Tim Tebow. The crowd erupted as Tebow ran out of the tunnel for the last time in the Swamp in a Gator uniform. It was all Gators that Saturday in The Swamp as the offense went up and down the field at will dominating FSU in every aspect of the game. It was Bobby Bowden’s last regular season game as head coach of the Seminoles and the Gators sent him out in the fashion of a 37-10 loss in Gainesville.
- 1997. “The Greatest Game Ever Played in The Swamp”
On a cold November evening, the Gators, dressed in all blue for the first time, took the field hoping to ruin FSU’s season and chances at a national title, and they did just that. In one of the greatest sequences ever to be played in the history of The Swamp, quarterback Doug Johnson connected with Jacquez Green on a deep ball down the Florida sidelines. The stadium was shaking as Green willed his way down inside the 20 where Fred Taylor would eventually punch it in to give the Gators the victory. It was the loudest The Swamp had ever been and still to this day is considered The Greatest Game Ever Played in The Swamp.
- 1997 Sugar Bowl.
Not only were the Gators looking for their first national championship in school history, but they were looking to do it against their biggest rival, Florida State. The two teams squared off weeks before in Tallahassee, a game the Gators lost. But the revenge was oh so sweet in the Sugar Bowl as the Gators trounced the Noles 52-20. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel commanded the Gators to an offensive surge in The Big Easy for one of the most lopsided National Championship victories in Sugar Bowl history. It’s one thing to win your first national championship in school history, and it’s another to do it against your biggest rival. The win over the Seminoles in New Orleans is one that Gator fans will never forget.
With Saturday’s matchup fast approaching, the Gators are looking to defeat the Seminoles for the first time in four years. Florida leads the series 34-24-2; however, the last Gator win in Tallahassee was in a season where the Gators still had national inquiries as is the situation this Saturday. There is a lot more to play for than just “state bragging rights” this rivalry weekend!