Ronald Reagan was midway into his second term as America’s president and up-and-comer Charlie Sheen was among the hottest young actors of the day with multiple box office hits that year in both “Platoon” and “Wall Street.”
Computers were just becoming available in most of the nation’s homes and the internet had yet to be invented.
The year 1986 is a distant memory, so much so that none of the current members of the Florida or Kentucky football teams weren’t even as much yet as a glimmer in their Daddy’s eyes the last time the Gators lost to the Wildcats, 10-3 on Nov. 15, 1986.
Florida has since gone on to make this the lopsided series in all of college football, winning 29 consecutive games, including last year’s hard-fought 14-9 decision in Lexington.
The ‘Cats figure to again be the heavy underdog when the teams meet up again at The Swamp on Sept. 10.
Here’s a look at some of the other longest winning streaks by SEC East teams against conference foes.
Florida — 29
The Gators will be looking for their 30th consecutive win over Kentucky this year.
Georgia — 10
The Dawgs have won 10 consecutive games against Ole Miss, although the two teams haven’t played since 2012. That streak could end this fall when the Rebels host UGA on Sept. 24.
South Carolina — 7
The Gamecocks have beaten Vanderbilt seven consecutive times, the latest being last year’s 19-6 Homecoming win in Columbia.
Missouri — 5
The Tigers have won five consecutive games against Ole Miss. They’ve met just once as SEC teams; Missouri won their 2013 matchup in Oxford. They’ll face each other in 2019 in Columbia.
Tennessee — 4
The Vols have won their past four against Kentucky, including last year’s 52-21-blowout in Lexington.
Kentucky — 2
UK won its past two meetings against South Carolina, including a 26-22 decision over Steve Spurrier at Williams-Brice Stadium last season.
Vanderbilt — 2
The Commodores don’t play Auburn often, but they’ve won two straight against the Tigers and lead the all-time series 21-20-1. Vanderbilt travels to Auburn on Nov. 5.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
