The Florida Gators face off against the Miami Hurricanes in the opening college football matchup of the year in Orlando, FL on Saturday night, August 24, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. eastern time.

The game is taking place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida (commonly referred to as the Citrus Bowl for Orlando residents and those who have attended bowl games in the past in Orlando). The stadium has undergone renovation in recent years and has been a regular venue for college football kickoff games in recent years. Previous games include Florida State vs. Ole Miss in 2016 and Alabama vs. Louisville in 2018.

The Florida Gators kickoff the 2019 season against the Miami Hurricanes. Florida is currently ranked 8th in the AP Top 25. Miami is unranked, but received the fourth most number of votes of teams ranked outside the top 25. Despite being unranked, the game is extremely important for both programs.

After winning ten games in Dan Mullen’s first season as Florida’s head coach including a win in a New Year’s Six bowl game, the opener against Miami is a huge game. First, the game will be the team’s first game of the 2019 season where they can further validate the success of the previous season. Moreover, this could be the start of a renewed rivalry against Miami which has implications for state pride and recruiting. The south Florida region is crucial for Florida recruiting purposes especially with continued penetration into north Florida by programs such as Georgia, Alabama and Clemson. Knocking off Miami in nationally televised game can do wonders for recruiting.

The Florida vs. Miami game was moved up a week to its current “Week zero” time slot giving it even more attention than it would have received in its opening weekend slot. While Arizona and Hawaii also play during this “week zero” weekend, the nation’s attention is firmly focused on the Florida-Miami matchup.

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes football TV channel

The Florida-Miami game will be broadcast on ESPN. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Also worth noting is that ESPN’s iconic College Gameday broadcast will be on location at Orlando’s Walt Disney World to hype up the start of the 2019 college football season as well as the Florida-Miami game.

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes football players to watch

Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks has been one of the biggest offseason topics in the SEC. The quarterback finished the 2018 season playing excellent football, but opinions of him as an elite quarterback remain quite mixed. Florida’s got a number of weapons at Franks’ disposal, but his offensive line is considered to be suspect. How Franks performs in this opening matchup will be a major topic moving forward.

Shaq Quarterman is essentially the general of Miami’s defense. If Miami is able to slow down Florida’s offense, Quarterman will be instrumental. He’s considered to be a 1st or 2nd round draft pick in next year’s NFL Draft.

Jarren Williams won the starting quarterback job at Miami over the well known transfer Tate Martell. Williams has exciting potential, but is a bit of an unknown especially in big games. Florida’s defense still has some talent, and whether or not Williams can move the ball on the Gators will be a key matchup that affects the game’s outcome.

Jabari Zuniga is Florida’s All-SEC defensive end that aims to dominate Miami’s inexperienced offensive line. Zuniga is known for getting into opponents’ back fields, and if Miami can’t block him, he could make things quite difficult for Williams and the Miami offense.

Kadarius Toney is an electric player for the Gators that Florida fans are hoping will see many more touches both in the Miami game this weekend and during the entire 2019 season. The Gators have playmakers and perhaps none as exciting as Toney.

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes football odds

Despite sitting at 7.5 for much of the last few weeks, the line has moved down to 7 (Florida is favored by 7) in the last 24 hours. The over/under has slid to 46.5 (opened at 50.5).

We’ll continue to monitor the line movements as the day proceeds.

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes Predictions

It seems like most experts are picking Florida to win the game, however, the predictions vary when it comes to whether or not the Gators will cover the spread.

Here’s how the SDS team predicts the game to go:

UPDATE: The ESPN College GameDay crew has also made their picks for the Florida-Miami game:

– Chris “The Bear” Fallica: Florida over Miami
– Michael Irvin: Miami over Florida
– Desmond Howard: Miami over Florida
– Lee Corso: Florida over Miami
– David Pollack: Florida over Miami

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes football history

Florida and Miami have played eachother over 50 times going back to the 1930’s. For decades it was a regular matchup, but starting in 1988, the two teams stopped playing each other with regularity. Miami leads the all-time series with 29 wins to Florida’s 26 wins.

The last time Florida and Miami played each other was in 2013 when Miami beat Florida by a score of 21-16. Prior to that, under head coach Urban Meyer, Florida beat Miami by a score of 26-3. Then, previously, Miami beat Florida four straight times between the years of 2001-2004.

Prior to 2001, Florida and Miami didn’t play each other going all the way back to 1987.

The largest margin of victory in the series was when Florida beat Miami by a score of 46-6 in 1940.

The longest win streak in the series is 7 straight wins by Florida between the years of 1971-1977.

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes football future games

Florida and Miami recently announced a new home-and-home series in 2024 and 2025. Whether or not this indicates a renewed energy in the actual Florida-Miami rivalry is to be debated. It might simply be more indicative of Florida and/or Miami attempting to beef up their respective strengths of schedule in the College Football Playoff era.

Florida Gators vs. Miami Hurricanes further reading

Looking to dig further into this Florida and Miami matchup? Here are some resources for additional reading:

Florida Gators 2018 Season Review

The Florida Gators secured a ten win season in 2018 under first year head coach Dan Mullen. The Gators lost to Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri, and registered big victories over Tennessee, LSU, Florida State and Michigan. Florida played Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 29 and won by a lopsided score of 41-15.

Florida finished the season ranked as the 5th best scoring offense in the SEC averaging 35 points per game. The Gators were the 6th best scoring defense in the SEC averaging 20 points per game given up.

Quarterback Feleipe Franks finished the season as the 10th best quarterback in the conference when looking at average passing yards per game (189), but these numbers perhaps underrate Franks as his last month of the season was rather excellent. In November, Franks threw for 7 TD and 0 INT while averaging 193 passing yards per game.

Dan Mullen Opening Game History

Dan Mullen has been a head coach since 2009 when he took over Mississippi State. He took over at Florida starting with the 2018 season. Here is Mullen’s history with opening games:

  • 2009: Miss. State win over Jackson State
  • 2010: Miss. State win over Memphis
  • 2011: Miss. State win over Memphis
  • 2012: Miss. State win over Jackson State
  • 2013: Miss. State loss vs. Oklahoma State
  • 2014: Miss. State win over Southern Miss
  • 2015: Miss. State win over Southern Miss
  • 2016: Miss. State loss vs. South Alabama
  • 2017: Miss. State win over Charleston Southern
  • 2018: Florida win over Charleston Southern

Miami Hurricanes 2018 Season Review

The Miami Hurricanes finished the 2018 season with a 7-6 record. The Canes lost marquee matchups against LSU in the season kickoff and Wisconsin in the bowl game. Head coach Mark Richt retired after the season, and Miami hired Manny Diaz to lead the Hurricanes in 2019 and beyond.

Prior to accepting the Miami job, Diaz had accepted Temple’s head coach position, but abruptly changed his mind when the Miami job opened up.

Miami was in the news for much of the offseason as the destination for high-profile quarterback transfer Tate Martell from Ohio State, but interestingly Martell did not win the starting job for the week zero Florida matchup. Martell’s future will continue to be highly debated and discussed.

Updates:

Dan Mullen was on College GameDay this morning. Here’s what he had to say about Feleipe Franks:

“He knows the system. That’s such a huge benefit in year two. He’s going through training camp, knows what we’re asking him to do. But he’s also realized what his talents are. He’s 6-foot-6, 245. He uses all of his talents now. It’s not just ‘I want to show I can stand in the pocket and throw the ball’ or ‘I can throw i 70 yards.’”

He also made comments about the rivalry with other Florida schools such as Miami:

“There is the rivalry, but you also have to respect the game of football. We are kicking off the 150th year of college football on the biggest stage that you could have. We’re the only game on. Everybody is watching. Everybody is excited. It’s a heated rivalry game. What’s going to make a difference in the game is not the jawing and the yapping. What’s going to make a difference is how hard we play between the whistles. If we do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a position to win the game.”

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the game?

7:00 p.m. eastern time on Saturday, August 24, 2019.

What channel is the game on?

ESPN

How many times has Florida and Miami played each other?

55 times. Miami leads the series 29-26.

Who is favored in the game?

Vegas lines currently have Florida as a 7-point favorite. The line is down from 7.5 just in the last 24 hours.

Where is the game being played?

The 2019 opener is being played in Orlando at Camping World Stadium.