Florida and Miami meet at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday night. (Photo: Scott Carter/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Charting the Gators, UF-UM Notes
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida and Miami, fierce rivals who once played on a regular basis, meet for the first time in six years on Saturday night in Orlando.
Since the schools last met in 2013, author Marty Strasen wrote "Canes vs. Gators," a book published in 2016 detailing the rivalry's colorful and heated history. Former UF and UM quarterback Brock Berlin wrote the foreword.
Veteran Hurricanes radio voice Joe Zagacki makes an attempt in the book's introduction to put into context what the rivalry means to those who remember when it was played annually.
"I'm born and raised in Miami, so I was raised to hate the Gators,'' Zagacki is quoted. "Then my daughter decided to attend the University of Florida. And people were like, 'What the hell?' They have a great university, a respected university, a very tough university to get into. So that's my disclosure on that. I thought I would hate them a little bit less, but I don't. I hate them just as much."
Needless to say, plenty of Gators have a similar view of "The U."
As the storied rivals prepare for their 56th all-time meeting Saturday, they will do so for the first time in 32 years in a season opener. The schools have played six times since the rivalry was put on hiatus after the 1987 season – two bowl games, four regular-season games.
Right when the schools made a tradition of opening the season against one another in the 1980s, the rivalry went kaput!
Here is a closer look at the Gators-Canes season openers:
CHARTING THE GATORS
They had played more than 40 games against each other, usually in the final regular-season contest, before meeting in a season opener. The Gators and Hurricanes play in a lid lifter for only the seventh time in history on Saturday in Orlando. Here is a look at those previous openers, all coming in the 1980s:
SEASON
LOCATION
FINAL
NOTABLE
1981
Miami
Canes won 21-20
Danny Miller's 55-yard FG wins it in final minute as QB Mark Richt directs drive
1982
Gainesville
Gators won 17-14
Wayne Peace to James Jones for game-winning TD pass with 1:48 remaining
1983
Gainesville
Gators won 28-3
Bumper stickers later in year around Gainesville: Florida 28, National Champs 3
1984
Tampa
Canes won 32-20
Bernie Kosar completed 25 passes for 300 yards to star in first ESPN primetime game
1985
Miami
Gators won 35-23
Kerwin Bell tossed four TD passes at Orange Bowl as UF won 10th in row under Galen Hall
1987
Miami
Canes won 31-4
UM rolls as Bell sacked five times, tosses three picks in final matchup until 2000
NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
UF running back Lamical Perine enters his senior season 191 yards shy of 2,000 career yards. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
UF quarterback Feleipe Franks is set to make his third consecutive start in a season opener; Hurricanes quarterback JarrenWilliams, a redshirt freshman, is making his first career start. Franks needs 954 yards passing this season to pass former UF Heisman winner Steve Spurrier for 10th (4,848 yards) on the school's career yardage list.
Miami is 7-9 since starting the 2017 season 10-0 under former head coach Mark Richt, who retired unexpectedly after last season.
First-year Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz was UM's defensive coordinator a season ago and guided the fourth-ranked defense in the country (278.9 yards per game). A two-time assistant under UF head coach Dan Mullen at Mississippi State, Diaz started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Florida State in 1998.
Gators running back Lamical Perine has five career 100-yard rushing games, or one more than UF has all-time against the Hurricanes. Gators with 100-yard rushing games against Miami: Tommy Durrance (21-117, 1969), Nat Moore (18-103, 1972), James Fisher (15-103, 1976), DeShawn Wynn (8-100, 2003).
Hurricanes quarterback Tate Martell, who transferred from Ohio State and was beaten out by Williams for the starter's job, has been working at receiver at practice this week.
Miami junior defensive end Jonathan Garvin finished with 17 tackles for loss a season ago for the only defense in the country to average more than 10 tackles for loss per game (10.5).
Florida is opening the season for the second time in three seasons in a neutral-site venue, losing to Michigan in the Advocare Classic in 2017 at Arlington, Texas. This is the second consecutive year the Hurricanes are opening at a neutral-site venue, losing to LSU last year in the Advocare Classic.
Gators junior receiver/running back Kadarius Toney averaged 11.1 yards per touch (47 touches, 520 yards) from scrimmage in 2018. Tony rushed for 240 yards on 21 carries, caught 25 passes for 260 yards, and threw one pass for 20 yards.
UF senior linebacker David Reese enters the season with 228 career tackles. He needs 107 tackles to tie Alonzo Johnson (335 from 1981-85) for 10th on Florida's career list. Reese had a career-high 102 tackles as a sophomore in 2017.
