Project Rivalry: Florida vs Florida State

The Florida/Florida State rivalry goes back to the early 1900's, when due to different legislatures and Acts, the Florida State College got turned into many different forms of colleges, from an all-women school, thus ending football, back to an all-male school.

It wasn't until 1947 that the Florida Legislature reorganized the state's university system again, and we finally wound up having the Florida Gators, and the Florida State Seminoles. The Gators and Seminoles played their first game in 1958 where the Gators defeated their in-state rival 21-7.

Florida dominated the rivalry up until 1977, which was a year after the Seminoles hired a man who would become a legendary coach at Florida State, Bobby Bowden. The Gators also changed leadership, hiring Charley Pell as their head coach. Under Pell's leadership, Florida took their turn dominating the rivalry from 1981 to 1986. Unfortunately under Pell's run as head coach, the NCAA uncovered multiple violations and Pell ended up being fired by the Gators.

In 1986 the Gators extended their win streak over the Seminoles with a 17-13 win in Tallahassee. However, Florida State won four straight against their rivals, and became a fixture of the NCAA's Top Ten rankings. Florida floundered under heavy NCAA sanctions.

In the 1990 season, Steve Spurrier, who was a former Heisman Trophy winner for the Florida Gators, returned to his alma mater, but this time he became their head coach. Between the years of 1990-2001 the Gators and Seminoles went back and forth, not only defeating one another, but also winning National Championships, or ruining the other's chance at a National Championship birth.

Spurrier left the Gators after the 2001 season and Ron Zook took his place. In 2005 Zook left, and Urban Meyer took over as head coach. Although the rivalry didn't hit the magnitude it did with the Bowden/Spurrier era, the teams shared much hatred toward the other. 2009 marked the last season that Bobby Bowden would coach the Florida State Seminoles, and his protege Jimbo Fisher took his place. 2010 marked the last year Urban Meyer would coach the Gators as well. Unfortunately for Meyer, the 2010 UF/FSU game marked his only loss in 11 games against the Seminoles.

This rivalry has seen many heated games, many close games, and many controversial games. It has given us the "Choke at Doak", which saw the Seminoles score 28 points in the last 15 minutes of the game to end the game in a tie. It has also given us the rematch that very same season when the Seminoles defeated the Gators 23-17 in the Sugar Bowl.

This rivalry has also given us many great coaches, players and plays. And the rivalry is far from over. Bobby Bowden and Urban Meyer may have moved on, Bobby to retirement and Urban to the Ohio State Buckeyes, but this rivalry is just as heated as it was when these two teams were playing to spoil each other's National Championship hopes. Florida may lead the feud with an overall record of 34-21-2, but the Seminoles are hell bent on taking the feud over. Whether they play in The Swamp, or at Doak Campbell Stadium, these teams come to play each time they lock horns, and they will continue to do exactly that!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle