The Florida–Miami football rivalry is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry between the

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and

Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Foot ...

team of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. The game was played annually from 1944 until 1987, and is now played intermittently. The winning team was formerly awarded the Seminole War Canoe Trophy. Today, the round robin winner of the three schools in the state of Florida (either the Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles or Miami Hurricanes) receives the Florida Cup for beating the other two schools in the same season. The two teams will next play in the 2025 season. Miami leads the series 30–27. The two teams are next scheduled to meet September 20, 2025, at

Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Southeastern United States, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the Univers ...

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

Series history

The

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

and

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

played an annual "home-and-away" series for almost half a century beginning in 1938 except for 1944 when Florida did not field a team during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The rivalry was once the most important in the state, largely because Miami and Florida are both major college programs and began playing each other a decade before the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

first took the field. The 1963 game was only one of five games across the country that went ahead and played while all others were canceled due to the

assassination of President John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

the day before. The yearly series ended in 1988, when the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) increased the number of conference games from six to seven. Florida required six home football games to maintain funding levels for its athletic department, so the school decided to fill out its three game non-conference schedule with two teams that did not require a home-and-home arrangement plus Florida State, ending the series with Miami. Upon being hired as Florida's head ball coach in 1990,

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

mentioned at his introductory press conference that he wanted to resume the annual series with Miami, and the schools actually signed a contract to play again beginning in 1992. However, the SEC increased the number of conference games to eight and added an

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the Eastern Division regular season champion again ...

that year, prompting Florida to cancel the agreement. Given the explanation at the time of cancellation, many Canes fans remain skeptical, accusing the Gators of being afraid of losing, even though at the time, the two teams split the last six games and Miami's only loss in their 1983 national title season was to Florida. During his long tenure at Florida, former athletic director Jeremy Foley reiterated financial concerns as well as SEC expansion as reasons for not renewing the series on an annual basis, though he remained open to playing Miami in occasional neutral-site games. The Gators and Hurricanes have met on the gridiron eight times since the annual series ended, with Miami holding a 6–2 edge in those contests. Four of those games were part of a regular season home-and-home agreement spread over 11 years and two were in bowl games. The teams' last meeting was a 2024 season-opening game in Gainesville which Miami won, 41–17. The Seminole War Canoe Trophy was hand carved by

Seminole Indians The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

from a 200-year-old

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

tree that was struck by lightning. Donated on the behalf of

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

in 1950, it has been an award given to the winner of football games between the schools. The canoe was intended to be a representation of the fighting spirit of the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s. The trophy stopped being passed from school to school in the early 1970s; both schools had trouble displaying the large wooden trophy. After the final game in the "home and home" series in 1987, the Seminole War Canoe Trophy was put on permanent display at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. In 2011, the University of Florida Student Government approved a resolution, which was sent to UM student body president Christina Farmer, ESPN and the head football coaches at each school, requesting the War Canoe's return to UF since they had won the 2008 contest. In response, Brandon Mitchell, president of the University of Miami's Category 5 spirit club, replied: "The War Canoe was intended for the yearly rivalry and . . . Miami won the final game of that yearly rivalry." Miami kept the trophy and it remains at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. The teams share a 19–19 record during the 38-game stretch of the War Canoe Trophy from 1950 to 1987. Florida won the yearly rivalry series from 1938 to 1987 with 25 wins to Miami's 24. Miami leads the series 29–27. Florida holds the longest win streak with seven consecutive wins. Miami holds a 12–9 advantage at Florida Field and Florida holds a 14–13 advantage at the former Orange Bowl. Florida also holds a 4–3 record on neutral fields at Jacksonville (2), Tampa (1), New Orleans (1), Atlanta (1) and Orlando (2). Miami won the last game between the two schools, 41-17 on August 32, 2024, at

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (in full Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium),Gainesville. Of the 57 total meetings, 27 have been decided by a touchdown or less. Florida holds the largest margin of victory with a 46–6 victory on November 16, 1940. Florida and Miami have played each other three times during a combined eight national championship seasons. Florida gave Miami its only loss on the way to Miami's first national championship title on September 3, 1983. Miami beat Florida 31–4 on September 5, 1987, on the way to Miami's second national championship. Florida defeated Miami 26–3 on September 6, 2008, on Florida's way to its third national championship.

Game results

Results by location

''As of August 31, 2024''

Notable games

1971: The Gator Flop

The end of the 1971 game rankled Hurricanes fans for years to come in the series. Florida quarterback

John Reaves Thomas Johnson "John" Reaves (March 2, 1950 – August 1, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and three seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) ...

entered the game looking to break

Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the R ...

's NCAA record for all-time passing yardage in his last regular season game. The Gators led the game throughout, and were up 45–8 when Reaves threw an interception to Miami's defense with little time left in the game and 14 yards separating Reaves from the record. After calling timeouts to prevent the Hurricanes from running out the clock, nearly the entire defense dropped down in unison and allowed Hurricanes back John Hornibrook to score. Dubbed the "Gator Flop", the play allowed the Gators to get the ball back so Reaves could break the record. On the next drive Reaves would find Carlos Alvarez for a 15-yard gain to break the record, and after the game the entire Gators team jumped into the fountain at

Miami Orange Bowl The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami. The venue was considered a landmark and ser ...

that was formerly used for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

' live mascot. Hurricanes coach

Fran Curci Fran Curci (born June 11, 1938) is a former American football player and coach. He was an All-American quarterback at the University of Miami in 1959. He served as head coach at the University of Tampa from 1968 to 1970, the University of Miami ...

refused to shake the hand of Gators coach

Doug Dickey Douglas Adair Dickey (born June 24, 1932) is an American former college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where ...

after the game for pulling "a bush league stunt", though Dickey denied knowledge the flop was coming.

1980: Why the field goal?

Toward the end of the 1980 game, which had turned into a rout, Miami players began celebrating on the sideline. Florida fans responded by pelting them with oranges. Their behavior so incensed Miami coach

Howard Schnellenberger Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021) was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore Co ...

, then in his second year, that he called a time out to tack on a 25-yard field goal on the game's final play in a 31–7 victory. "I did that because I wanted the press to come and ask me why I kicked the field goal," Schnellenberger said following the game. "How are you supposed to like somebody when they're sitting in the stands and you're on the field and they're chucking oranges at you. The crowd was beyond anything that I had ever seen," Miami player Don Bailey said.

1983: Gators defeat eventual national champions

Miami entered the 1983 game as a three-and-a-half-point underdog to Florida. The Gators routed Miami 28–3 in Gainesville, to give the Canes their only loss during their 1983 national championship season.

1984: Game One of ESPN's 1st CFB Telecasts

The 1984 game at

Tampa Stadium Tampa Stadium (nicknamed The Big Sombrero and briefly known as Houlihan's Stadium) was a large open-air stadium (maximum capacity about 74,000) located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The fac ...

was televised live by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

on its first day broadcasting live college football games. (The first game televised by the network was a Pitt-BYU matchup earlier that day). Trailing 20–19 after a Florida score with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter,

Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, leading the team to a natio ...

led the Hurricanes downfield to a touchdown with six seconds left in the game. With the score 26–20, Miami kicked off to the Gators; having only a second on the clock, Florida's last pass was intercepted by

Tolbert Bain Tolbert is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Berlinda Tolbert (born 1949), American film and television actress, ''The Jeffersons'' *Caroline Tolbert, American political scientist * Emanuel Tolbert (born 1958), American football ...

and returned for another touchdown as time expired, giving Miami a 32–20 victory, and miraculously covering the spread of Canes −6.5 points.

1985: Gators defeat Canes in Orange Bowl

Florida entered the game as a rare road favorite in the Orange Bowl, over a young Canes team. The Gators were giving 5.5 points in Las Vegas. The Gators played inspired football in a 35–23 win over Miami on September 7. The Canes did not lose at home again until September 24, 1994 (38–20 to Washington), an NCAA record winning streak of 58 games.

2003: Ex-Gator leads Canes to win

Much of the main story line revolved around Hurricanes quarterback

Brock Berlin Brock Sterling Berlin (born July 4, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes. Berlin was signe ...

. Berlin, who committed to play for

as part of Florida's recruiting class in 2000, transferred to Miami in the spring of 2002 after

Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach who is a special teams quality control coach at the University of Maryland. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and the Universit ...

took over as head coach. Berlin stumbled early on and threw two costly interceptions, and Florida capitalized to take a 33–10 lead by midway through the third quarter. Berlin was even booed by the Miami faithful after his poor play. The Gators looked poised to win their first game against the Hurricanes since 1985. However, Berlin rebounded to complete 18 of his next 20 passes with two touchdown passes, setting up four Miami touchdowns in the final quarter and a half. Following the game, Berlin then performed a mocking version of the Gator Chomp to the fans, who vowed revenge. The Hurricanes won 38–33.

2008: Again, why the field goal?

In the 2008 renewal of the rivalry, Florida entered the game as a 22-point favorite. But Florida wide receiver Louis Murphy created controversy by suggesting that the University of Florida was "the new U", sparking a firestorm from both teams and their fans. This handed the Canes some bulletin board material heading into the game. With 25 seconds left on the game clock, and leading 23–3, Florida kicked a fourth-down field goal to make it 26–3 rather than taking a knee and turning the ball over on downs. Many Miami fans still accuse Meyer of kicking the field goal to allow the Gators to beat the 22-point spread. In the post-game handshake, Miami's

Randy Shannon Randy Leonard Shannon (born February 24, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Florida State University, positions he has held since 2022. Shannon was the head coach a ...

barely touched his hand to Florida coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

without looking at him. Shannon did not directly talk about Meyer by name. He also hinted the Gators' trying to score would help Miami recruiting. Florida threw a deep touchdown pass late in the game to try to score, only to be nullified by a Gators' holding penalty. Jonathan Phillips kicked a 29-yard field goal with 25 seconds to play. "I'll just say this one statement," Shannon said on Sunday. "Sometimes when you do things, and people see what type of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off. Now, whatever you want to get out of that, I won't say it again. But it helped us. It helped us more than you'll ever know." Meyer did not take any shots back at the Hurricanes' coach. "It was a great football game," Meyer said. "Why don't we talk about the players that played a great, hard-nosed football game and quit measuring up to worrying about Florida. I learned a long time ago just coach your team and take care of yourself. Special teams, offense and defense occupies all our time. So I'm good, we've got to move on."David Jones. "Florida's Tebow defends Meyer, tees off on Miami's Shannon" USA Today September 8, 2008

Future games

On August 17, 2019, it was announced that Florida and Miami had agreed to a home and home series in 2024 and 2025. Florida hosted the game in 2024, with Miami hosting in 2025.

References

Bibliography

*
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 116–125 (2011). *Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . *Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . *Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . *McCarthy, Kevin M.
''Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football''
Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . *McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . *Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . *Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, ''Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida'', South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida-Miami football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Florida Gators football Miami Hurricanes football 1938 establishments in Florida Sports rivalries in Florida