134-520: The Florida–Georgia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs , both members of the Southeastern Conference . The programs first met in 1904 or 1915 (the status of the 1904 game is disputed) and have played every season since 1926 except for a war-time interruption in 1943. It
268-500: A 0–0 tie. The Army–Navy game of 1893 saw the first documented use of a football helmet by a player in a game. Joseph M. Reeves had a crude leather helmet made by a shoemaker in Annapolis and wore it in the game after being warned by his doctor that he risked death if he continued to play football after suffering an earlier kick to the head. In 1879, the University of Michigan became the first school west of Pennsylvania to establish
402-651: A 17–0 lead by early in the second half. But the Bulldogs seemed to come alive in the third quarter, mounting a long drive; however, Georgia's drive died in the shadow of the Gators' goal line when they were stuffed on fourth down, checking the Bulldogs momentarily but pinning the Gators deep in their own territory. On the third play following the change of possession, Gators quarterback Kerwin Bell dropped back into his own end zone and lofted
536-426: A 41–27 win. After the game, Dickey admitted that "We were not outplayed; we were outcoached. I made some dumb calls." Sports writers seized on Dickey's mea culpa , and in subsequent months and years popularized the phrase "fourth and dumb" to refer to both Dickey's failed fourth down attempt and the game itself. Trailing the underdog 1980 Florida Gators with their perfect season and their No. 2 ranking in jeopardy,
670-456: A 56-game undefeated streak that included a 1902 trip to play in the first college football bowl game , which later became the Rose Bowl Game . During this streak, Michigan scored 2,831 points while allowing only 40. Organized intercollegiate football was first played in the state of Minnesota on September 30, 1882, when Hamline was convinced to play Minnesota . Minnesota won 2 to 0. It
804-465: A 7-2 record against the Gators. Since the 1960s, the Florida–Georgia rivalry often held conference or national championship implications for one or both teams, and both schools have had title hopes dashed in the game, sometimes in a surprising upset. In 1966 , the Bulldogs intercepted 3 passes by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier , derailing the Gators' title hopes in a 27–10 upset. On
938-503: A college football team. On May 30, 1879, Michigan beat Racine College 1–0 in a game played in Chicago. The Chicago Daily Tribune called it "the first rugby-football game to be played west of the Alleghenies ." Other Midwestern schools soon followed suit, including the University of Chicago , Northwestern University , and the University of Minnesota . The first western team to travel east
1072-421: A drive in the closing minutes but a bad snap foiled the Gators' game-tying field goal attempt, and Georgia held on for a 10–7 victory. The 1976 Florida Gators were 6–1 and ranked No. 10 coming into the game, and again seeking to secure their first SEC football championship. The Gators held a 27–13 halftime advantage and seemed to have the game in hand until the Bulldogs scored early in the third quarter to cut
1206-408: A football team in 1906 , and the University of Florida Athletic Association does not include any games played by the programs of its predeccesor instiitutions in its official records, including the 1904 contest against Georgia. Georgia, on the other hand, counts the 1904 game as a victory against its future rival. UGA sports historian Dan Magill sums up the school's attitude: "That's where Florida
1340-447: A great deal to Harvard's rugby. They decided to play with 15 players on each team. On November 13, 1875, Yale and Harvard played each other for the first time ever, where Harvard won 4–0. At the first The Game (as the annual contest between Harvard and Yale came to be named) the future "father of American football" Walter Camp was among the 2000 spectators in attendance. Walter, a native of New Britain, Connecticut , would enroll at Yale
1474-536: A liking to the rugby game, and its use of the try which, until that time, was not used in American football. The try would later evolve into the score known as the touchdown . On June 4, 1875, Harvard faced Tufts University in the first game between two American colleges played under rules similar to the McGill/Harvard contest, which was won by Tufts 1–0. The rules included each side fielding 11 men at any given time,
SECTION 10
#17328453424261608-479: A long pass to streaking receiver Ricky Nattiel , who went 96 yards for a touchdown. The Bulldog momentum was snuffed out and the Gators went on to a convincing 27–0 victory, inspiring jubilant Florida fans to storm the field and tear down the goalposts after the final whistle. The 1985 Florida Gators entered the contest on a roll: coming off an emotional win over the Auburn Tigers , undefeated, and ranked No. 1 in
1742-2362: A luncheon in Jacksonville the Friday before the football game. Florida–Georgia Hall of Fame inductees through 2023 include: Florida: Carlos Alvarez , Reidel Anthony , Kerwin Bell , Howell Boney, Scot Brantley , Joe Brodsky, Alex Brown , Trey Burton , Andre Caldwell , Norm Carlson , Kevin Carter , Rick Casares , Jeff Chandler , Wes Chandler , Brad Culpepper , Doug Dickey , Chris Doering , Jimmy Dunn, Larry Dupree , Ciatrick Fason , Jeremy Foley , Don Gaffney , Jabar Gaffney , Ray Graves , Earnest Graham , Rex Grossman , Joe Haden , Galen Hall , Percy Harvin , Ike Hilliard , Chuck Hunsinger , Lindy Infante , Willie Jackson, Jr. , Doug Johnson , Jevon Kearse , Charlie LaPradd , Chris Leak , Buford Long , Wilber Marshall , Shane Matthews , Lee McGriff , Nat Moore , Ricky Nattiel , Keiwan Ratliff , John Reaves , Errict Rhett , Lito Sheppard , Brandon Spikes , Steve Spurrier , Fred Taylor , Tim Tebow , Richard Trapp , Ben Troupe , John L. Williams , Lawrence Wright , Danny Wuerffel , Jack Youngblood . Georgia: Peter Anderson, Richard Appleby, Buck Belue , Boss Bailey , Champ Bailey , John Brantley , Zeke Bratkowski , Charley Britt, Kevin Butler , Wally Butts , Mike Cavan , Knox Culpepper , Rennie Curran , Thomas Davis Sr. , Vince Dooley , Robert Edwards , Terrence Edwards , Bob Etter , Randall Godfrey , Ray Goff , Cy Grant, David Greene , Rodney Hampton , Garrison Hearst , Terry Hoage , Jarvis Jones , John Little, Dan Magill , Kevin McLee, Willie McClendon , Knowshon Moreno , Larry Munson , Aaron Murray , George Patton, David Pollack , John Rauch , Mark Richt , Rex Robinson , Matt Robinson , Erk Russell , Bill Saye, Jake Scott , Lindsay Scott , Richard Seymour , Frank Sinkwich , Bill Stanfill , Jon Stinchcomb , Matt Stinchcomb , Marcus Stroud , Tommy Thurson, Charley Trippi , Herschel Walker , Gene Washington, Charles Wittemore, Scott Woerner , Tim Worley , Eric Zeier . In 2017, two members were inducted who were not linked with one particular school: Greg McGarity , who
1876-411: A neutral site cost both programs a valuable home recruiting weekend every other year. However, the schools have repeatedly extended their agreement to play in Jacksonville, both for tradition's sake and because the neutral-site contest has become quite lucrative for the universities. Florida and Georgia have long split ticket revenue for the game, and in 2019, the city of Jacksonville agreed to compensate
2010-487: A new code of rules based on the rugby game first introduced to Harvard by McGill University in 1874. Three of the schools—Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton—formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, as a result of the meeting. Yale initially refused to join this association because of a disagreement over the number of players to be allowed per team (relenting in 1879) and Rutgers were not invited to
2144-499: A player to pick up the ball and run with it whenever he wished. Another rule, unique to McGill, was to count tries (the act of grounding the football past the opposing team's goal line; there was no end zone during this time), as well as goals, in the scoring. In the Rugby rules of the time, a try only provided the attempt to kick a free goal from the field. If the kick was missed, the try did not score any points itself. Harvard quickly took
2278-408: A potential game-winning field goal. Instead, in a wild broken play, the Bulldogs' center and placeholder mishandled the snap, but Etter picked up the bobbled ball and ran it for a touchdown to score the winning points in the 14–7 contest. Dooley's teams would split their first seven games 3–3–1 against Graves' Gators. Thereafter, Dooley's 'Dogs would go on to dominate the rivalry, winning fourteen of
2412-462: A professional roster spot as an undrafted free agent . Despite these opportunities, only around 1.6% of NCAA college football players end up playing professionally in the NFL. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League (NFL), college football has remained extremely popular throughout the U.S. Although the college game has a much larger margin for talent than its pro counterpart,
2546-504: A rougher version of football called "the Boston Game" in which the kicking of a round ball was the most prominent feature though a player could run with the ball, pass it, or dribble it (known as "babying"). The man with the ball could be tackled, although hitting, tripping, "hacking" and other unnecessary roughness was prohibited. There was no limit to the number of players, but there were typically ten to fifteen per side. A player could carry
2680-524: A round ball instead of a rugby-style oblong ball. This series of games represents an important milestone in the development of the modern game of American football. In October 1874, the Harvard team once again traveled to Montreal to play McGill in rugby, where they won by three tries. In as much as Rugby football had been transplanted to Canada from England, the McGill team played under a set of rules which allowed
2814-495: A scoreless tie in 1930, Georgia resumed its dominance, winning fifteen out of the next seventeen games in the series as coach Wally Butts led the Bulldogs to several SEC championships while the Gators suffered through a period of mediocrity in the 1930s and 1940s. Florida finally enjoyed longer-term success in the rivalry in the 1950s under coach Bob Woodruff , a trend that continued into the 1960s under coach Ray Graves . The hiring of new Georgia coach Vince Dooley in 1964 evened
SECTION 20
#17328453424262948-537: A team be required to advance the ball a minimum of five yards within three downs. These down-and-distance rules, combined with the establishment of the line of scrimmage, transformed the game from a variation of rugby football into the distinct sport of American football. Camp was central to several more significant rule changes that came to define American football. In 1881, the field was reduced in size to its modern dimensions of 120 by 53 1 ⁄ 3 yards (109.7 by 48.8 meters). Several times in 1883, Camp tinkered with
3082-505: A youth, he excelled in sports like track , baseball, and association football, and after enrolling at Yale in 1876, he earned varsity honors in every sport the school offered. Following the introduction of rugby-style rules to American football, Camp became a fixture at the Massasoit House conventions where rules were debated and changed. Dissatisfied with what seemed to him to be a disorganized mob, he proposed his first rule change at
3216-488: Is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States . Like gridiron football generally, college football is most popular in the United States and Canada. While no single governing body exists for college football in the United States, most schools, especially those at
3350-531: Is extremely lucrative for local businesses, drawing thousands of fans to a community that is more known for its naval base and heavy industry than for tourism. Local hotels fill to near capacity, downtown and the Jacksonville Landing along the St. Johns River hosts festivities on Friday and Saturday, and the area around the stadium is alive with tailgating and other happenings on game day. Besides Jacksonville,
3484-525: Is generally considered to be the second tier of American and Canadian football; ahead of high school competition , but below professional competition . In some parts of the United States, especially the South and Midwest , college football is more popular than professional football. For much of the 20th century, college football was generally considered to be more prestigious than professional football. The overwhelming majority of professional football players in
3618-415: Is no longer officially used. Though highly contested on both sides, the rivalry has gone through several periods in which one team dominated for more than a decade. Georgia dominated the early series while Florida held the advantage in the 1950s and early 1960s. Georgia again dominated from the late 1960s through the 80s under coach Vince Dooley , while Florida again took the upper hand in the rivalry during
3752-471: Is one of the most prominent rivalry games in college football, and it has been held in Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries in college football. The game attracts huge crowds to Jacksonville, and the associated tailgating and other events earned it the nickname of the " World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party ", although that name
3886-645: Is presented at the game, however. When Charlie Bachman became the 1928 Gators ' new head coach, he inherited a team loaded with talent recruited by his predecessor, Harold Sebring . However, he also inherited a program which had never come close to beating the Georgia Bulldogs, their Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival. Georgia was 6–0 against Florida with five shutouts and an overall scoring advantage of 190–9. The teams met again in Savannah, Georgia on November 10, and Bachman's Gators finally beat
4020-658: Is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, the first recorded non-university football club in Canada. Early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional " mob football " played in Great Britain. The games remained largely unorganized until
4154-419: The 1953 Gator Bowl . Georgia finished 7–4 and went on to suffer through several sub-par seasons in the 1950s, helping Florida earn a winning decade over their border rivals for first time in the series. While Georgia still held an overall advantage in the series, Florida enjoyed a 10–2 streak from 1952 to 1963 under head coaches Bob Woodruff and Ray Graves . That changed with the arrival of Vince Dooley as
Florida–Georgia football rivalry - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-509: The Bulldogs defense dominated the game, and Spurrier threw three interceptions in the 27–10 Georgia victory. All-American defensive tackle Bill Stanfill would later reference Spurrier in recounting his experiences growing up on a farm in southwest Georgia before the advent of weightlifting: "Holding pigs for my dad to castrate was quite a challenge. I can't say that helped prepare me for football, but it sure did remind me an awful lot of sacking Steve Spurrier." Spurrier returned to Gainesville as
4422-455: The Bulldogs executed one of the most famous plays in college football history. Georgia trailed 21–20 with less than a minute to play and faced third and long from their own 7-yard-line. Bulldog quarterback Buck Belue dropped back to pass and was forced to scramble around in his own endzone to avoid the Gator pass rush before finding wide receiver Lindsay Scott open in the middle of the field near
4556-556: The NFL and other leagues previously played college football. The NFL draft each spring sees 224 players selected and offered a contract to play in the league, with the vast majority coming from the NCAA . Other professional leagues, such as the CFL and UFL , additionally hold their own drafts each year which also see primarily college players selected. Players who are not selected can still attempt to obtain
4690-662: The Old Main lawn on campus in State College, Pennsylvania . They compiled a 12–8–1 record in these seasons, playing as an independent from 1887 to 1890. In 1891, the Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Football Association (PIFA) was formed. It consisted of Bucknell University , Dickinson College , Franklin & Marshall College , Haverford College , Penn State, and Swarthmore College . Lafayette College , and Lehigh University were excluded because it
4824-580: The Rose Bowl , and were named national champions by multiple polls and ratings services. Meanwhile, the depleted Gators would not win another game on the season, and when even more students and staff joined the war effort, the school did not field a football team at all in 1943. The post–World War II 1940s were a tough slog for the Florida Gators. Coached by Raymond Wolf , the Gators' collection of recent high school graduates and returning war veterans suffered
4958-581: The Southeastern Conference asked CBS Sports (which had the SEC football TV broadcast contract in 2006) to stop using the nickname due to concerns about alcohol abuse by students and other attendees. Since then, the rivalry has simply been called the "Florida–Georgia game" or "Georgia–Florida game", with some entities (including the Florida Times-Union , which initiated the Cocktail Party nickname) rotating
5092-443: The 1980s following a series of alcohol-fueled outbursts. In 1984, Florida fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts after a 27–0 victory; the following year, a 24–3 Georgia win led Bulldogs fans to do the same, resulting in dozens of arrests and several injuries on both occasions. Thereafter, the city cracked down on excessive drinking and dropped the name, though the media continued to use it until 2006, when both schools and
5226-402: The 1990s and early 2000s under coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer . The series was uncharacteristically even over twelve seasons beginning in 2008, with the rivals enjoying and then suffering through alternating sets of three-game win streaks. After winning in 2024, Georgia has won seven out of the last eight meetings. The two universities do not agree on the date of their first meeting on
5360-401: The 19th century, when intramural games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football. Princeton University students played a game called "ballown" as early as 1820. In 1827, a Harvard tradition known as "Bloody Monday" began, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes. In 1860, both the town police and
5494-429: The 20-yard-lines, but ceded little ground in the red zone. The Bulldogs set up at their own 20-yard-line with 3:10 remaining, and head coach Vince Dooley did something he rarely did: he called a trick play. Tight end Richard Appleby accepted the handoff on a reverse to the right, but instead of running downfield, he threw the ball to wide receiver Gene Washington for an improbable 80-yard touchdown play. Florida mounted
Florida–Georgia football rivalry - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-401: The Bulldogs through the efforts of Florida's "Phantom Four" backfield of Dale Van Sickle , Carl Brumbaugh , Rainey Cawthon , Clyde Crabtree and Royce Goodbread . With Florida holding a commanding lead in fourth quarter, jubilant Gator fans prematurely rushed the field to tear down the goal posts, resulting in fist fights breaking out between supporters of the two schools. Order was restored,
5762-515: The College of New Jersey, in the first collegiate football game . The game more closely resembled soccer than football as it is played in the 21st century. It was played with a round ball , and used a set of rules suggested by Rutgers captain William J. Leggett , based on The Football Association 's first set of rules , which were an early attempt by the former pupils of England's public schools, to unify
5896-746: The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City to codify the first set of intercollegiate football rules. Before this meeting, each school had its own set of rules and games were usually played using the home team's own particular code. At this meeting, a list of rules, based more on the Football Association's rules than the rules of the recently founded Rugby Football Union , was drawn up for intercollegiate football games. Old "Football Fightum" had been resurrected at Harvard in 1872, when Harvard resumed playing football. Harvard, however, preferred to play
6030-569: The Gators blew out the LSU Tigers 34–8. The Gators suffered a disappointing 3–45 road loss to the fifth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tennessee. In yet another link between the programs, Spurrier had been a star quarterback at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee during the early 1960s. Although Knoxville is nearby, he did not seriously consider attending UT because he
6164-439: The Gators dominated the Bulldogs 30–0 in Jacksonville, which would remain the Gators' largest victory over the Bulldogs for almost forty years and was the first shutout over the Bulldogs since 1937. Casares ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns and kicked three extra points and a field goal, while halfback Buford Long ran for 116 yards on 10 carries. Florida finished the season 8–3 and were invited to their first major bowl game,
6298-495: The Gators opened the season with a no-huddle, 80-yard touchdown drive in six plays to defeat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 50–7. at Bryant–Denny Stadium , Tuscaloosa, Alabama Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter In their second game, the Gators came from behind to beat Alabama , a confidence-building, 17–13 signature road win, which set the tone for the remainder of the season,. Spurrier treasured
6432-489: The Gators' head coach in 1990 and, with the sting of the 1966 loss in mind, emphasized the annual Florida–Georgia contest as the "biggest of the year." Under his tenure, the Gators were 11–1 against their bitter rivals. The 1970 Florida Gators featured All-American defensive end Jack Youngblood , and he pulled off one of the most remarkable plays in Florida football history. With Bulldogs leading 17–10 and in possession of
6566-536: The Gators. When speaking about the loss after the game, Florida coach Tom Lieb simply said "Too much Sinkwich." Having lost most upper-class players and several members of the coaching staff to service in World War II , the 1942 Florida Gators brought an inexperienced 3–4 squad into Jacksonville for the 1942 contest with Georgia. The Bulldogs , on the other hand, still had the services of many key contributors thanks to draft deferments issued to players enrolled in
6700-545: The Georgia Golden Isles also depend on the game to sustain businesses through the winter season. Georgia students and alumni spend the game weekend on the Georgia Coast, particularly on Saint Simons Island , where thousands of Georgia students gather each year at the aptly named "Frat Beach" on Friday before commuting to Jacksonville the next day. As a result of the festive atmosphere, the game and associated revelry
6834-487: The Georgia 25-yard-line. Scott caught the pass facing his own endzone, turned and darted diagonally through Florida's secondary, and outran everyone down the sideline to score the game-winning touchdown with only seconds left on the game clock. Long-time Georgia radio announcer Larry Munson 's legendary call of the play gave the game its nickname: Florida in a stand-up five, they may or may not blitz. Buck back, third down on
SECTION 50
#17328453424266968-557: The NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries. Colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. With new bylaws made by the NCAA, college athletes can now receive "name, image, and likeness" (NIL) deals, a way to get sponsorships and money before their pro debut. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as "football", played at public schools in Great Britain in
7102-730: The North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina . On November 13, 1887, the Virginia Cavaliers and Pantops Academy fought to a scoreless tie in the first organized football game in the state of Virginia . Students at UVA were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim that some industrious ones organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871, just two years after Rutgers and Princeton's historic first game in 1869. But no record has been found of
7236-454: The SEC title or receive a bowl bid because of lingering NCAA probation, nevertheless posted a best-in-the-SEC record of 6–1 and an overall record of 9–2, and laid the foundation for the Gators' run of six SEC championships and a national title during the next decade. They finished thirteenth in the season's final AP Poll . Just before Spurrier's Gator coaching debut, the Gainesville campus
7370-613: The University of Florida in 2009, and has opposing sides carved with symbols and logos from each school. The Oar was carved from the remains of a 1,000-year-old cypress tree that once grew in the Okefenokee Swamp , which straddles the Florida–Georgia border and was the source of an interstate boundary dispute. Beginning with the 2009 contest, the Okefenokee Oar is presented to the winning university's student body president. No trophy
7504-542: The University of Georgia's ROTC program, and brought a 7–0 record and No. 1 ranking to Jacksonville. Georgia halfback Charley Trippi and Heisman Trophy-winning back Frank Sinkwich combined to score seven touchdowns as Georgia defeated Florida 75–0, the largest margin in series history. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 10–1, won the Southeastern Conference championship, defeated the UCLA Bruins 9–0 in
7638-440: The ball at the Gators' two-yard line, Youngblood stood up Georgia back Ricky Lake short of the goal, forced a fumble and fell on the football. "They ran a lead play to my side, and I cut it off", Youngblood said. "I'm standing there holding the ballcarrier and I take the ball away from him, and gave it back to our offense." Gators quarterback John Reaves and wide receiver Carlos Alvarez then connected for two touchdown passes in
7772-428: The ball only when being pursued. As a result of this, Harvard refused to attend the rules conference organized by Rutgers, Princeton and Columbia at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City on October 20, 1873, to agree on a set of rules and regulations that would allow them to play a form of football that was essentially Association football; and continued to play under its own code. While Harvard's voluntary absence from
7906-425: The ball was advanced by kicking or carrying it, and tackles of the ball carrier stopped play – actions of which have carried over to the modern version of football played today Harvard later challenged its closest rival, Yale, to which the Bulldogs accepted. The two teams agreed to play under a set of rules called the "Concessionary Rules", which involved Harvard conceding something to Yale's soccer and Yale conceding
8040-473: The bench seating). This allows them to seat more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium, which tends to have more features and comforts for fans. Only three stadiums owned by U.S. colleges or universities, L&N Stadium at the University of Louisville , Center Parc Stadium at Georgia State University , and FAU Stadium at Florida Atlantic University , consist entirely of chair back seating. College athletes, unlike players in
8174-474: The center. Later changes made it possible to snap the ball with the hands, either through the air or by a direct hand-to-hand pass. Rugby league followed Camp's example, and in 1906 introduced the play-the-ball rule, which greatly resembled Camp's early scrimmage and center-snap rules. In 1966, rugby league introduced a four-tackle rule (changed in 1972 to a six-tackle rule) based on Camp's early down-and-distance rules. Camp's new scrimmage rules revolutionized
SECTION 60
#17328453424268308-546: The city of New Haven , banned the play of all forms of football in 1860. American football historian Parke H. Davis described the period between 1869 and 1875 as the 'Pioneer Period'; the years 1876–93 he called the 'Period of the American Intercollegiate Football Association'; and the years 1894–1933 he dubbed the "Period of Rules Committees and Conferences". On November 6, 1869, Rutgers University faced Princeton University , then known as
8442-482: The college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a mock figure called "Football Fightum", for whom they conducted funeral rites. The authorities held firm, and it was another dozen years before football was once again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called " Old division football ", the rules of which were first published in 1871, though
8576-508: The defending three-time SEC champions, had built an undefeated 6−0−1 record, and were ranked fourth in the nation in the AP Poll . Notwithstanding the fact that first-year coach Steve Spurrier 's fifteenth-ranked Gators were three-point favorites, Dye had been publicly dismissive of Spurrier's pass-oriented offense before the game. The Gators and Tigers were tied 7–7 after the first quarter, but Spurrier's Gators exploded for twenty-seven points in
8710-538: The divisional era, Florida won fifteen Eastern Division titles while Georgia won twelve. The Florida-Georgia game has been played in Jacksonville almost every season since 1933. This neutral site trend began very early in the series; in over 100 meetings, the rivalry has been played at on-campus facilities on just seven occasions. Florida's original football facility of Fleming Field was quite small and primitive, so early Gator squads regularly scheduled "home" games against major college opposition in various cities across
8844-403: The eight. In trouble, he got a block behind him. Gotta throw on the run. Complete to the 25. To the 30, Lindsay Scott 35, 40, Lindsay Scott 45, 50, 45, 40 . . . Run Lindsay, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! The improbable 93-yard pass play sealed the Bulldogs' 26–21 victory, and kept Georgia's national championship hopes alive. The Bulldogs moved to No. 1 in
8978-511: The final 5:13 to rally the Florida Gators to a 24–17 victory. The 1975 Florida Gators came into the game with a 6–1 record and No. 7 ranking, while the Georgia Bulldogs were 5–2 and ranked No. 19. The Gators' offense was led by running back Tony Green , who ran an early one-yard touchdown to put the Gators ahead 7–0. The Gators led 7–3 as time was winding down in the fourth quarter. Georgia's "Junkyard Dawgs" defense allowed yards between
9112-634: The first game in Virginia. On April 9, 1880, at Stoll Field , Transylvania University (then called Kentucky University) beat Centre College by the score of 13 + 3 ⁄ 4 –0 in what is often considered the first recorded game played in the South . The first game of "scientific football" in the South was the first instance of the Victory Bell rivalry between North Carolina and Duke (then known as Trinity College) held on Thanksgiving Day , 1888, at
9246-404: The first meeting he attended in 1878: a reduction from fifteen players to eleven. The motion was rejected at that time but passed in 1880. The effect was to open up the game and emphasize speed over strength. Camp's most famous change, the establishment of the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback , was also passed in 1880. Originally, the snap was executed with the foot of
9380-500: The first several decades of their series against Florida. Coming into the 1952 contest, the Bulldogs were 23–5–1 all-time against the Gators and had won nine of the previous ten meetings, including two straight victories over Florida coach Bob Woodruff . The Gators arrived in Jacksonville with a 3–2 record and an offense that had struggled against good defenses. In an attempt to jump-start their run-oriented attack, Woodruff and Florida offensive coordinator Frank Broyles decided to swap
9514-512: The first time in series history that both rivals were ranked in the AP top-10 when they faced off. (It was not Spurrier's first visit to Knoxville as an opposing coach; his 1988 Duke Blue Devils had upset the Vols 31–26. ) The 1990 game began as a defensive struggle, with UT holding a slim 7–3 lead at the half. However, the Vols' Dale Carter returned the second half kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, igniting
9648-404: The first time. The Yale team was coached and captained by David Schley Schaff, who had learned to play football while attending Rugby School . Schaff himself was injured and unable to play the game, but Yale won the game 3–0 nonetheless. Later in 1872, Stevens Tech became the fifth school to field a team. Stevens lost to Columbia, but beat both New York University and City College of New York during
9782-454: The following year. By 1873, the college students playing football had made significant efforts to standardize their fledgling game. Teams had been scaled down from 25 players to 20. The only way to score was still to bat or kick the ball through the opposing team's goal, and the game was played in two 45-minute halves on fields 140 yards long and 70 yards wide. On October 20, 1873, representatives from Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and Rutgers met at
9916-431: The game dates to at least the 1830s. All of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities. They remained largely "mob" style games, with huge numbers of players attempting to advance the ball into a goal area, often by any means necessary. Rules were simple, and violence and injury were common. The violence of these mob-style games led to widespread protests and a decision to abandon them. Yale , under pressure from
10050-453: The game has been played there every subsequent season except for 1994 and 1995, when the old Gator Bowl stadium was demolished and the current EverBank Stadium built on the same site for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. There have been some calls to move the game from Jacksonville over the years, usually when one or the other school was dominating the rivalry. More recently, Georgia coach Kirby Smart has argued that playing at
10184-505: The game in Jacksonville until 2031, with the exceptions of the 2026 and 2027 editions of the game, which will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida , respectively, due to renovations taking place at EverBank Stadium. The city of Jacksonville is willing to provide financial guarantees to keep the rivalry in town because the game weekend
10318-430: The game was completed, and Florida earned its first victory in the series by the score of 26–6. Georgia's All-American back Frank Sinkwich had broken his jaw in a game earlier in the season, but that didn't keep him off the field. Wearing a custom-made chinstrap attached to his helmet, Sinkwich ran 31 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns and kicked Georgia's first field goal since 1924 in the Bulldogs' 19–3 victory over
10452-404: The game, though not always as intended. Princeton, in particular, used scrimmage play to slow the game, making incremental progress towards the end zone during each down . Rather than increase scoring, which had been Camp's original intent, the rule was exploited to maintain control of the ball for the entire game, resulting in slow, unexciting contests. At the 1882 rules meeting, Camp proposed that
10586-412: The game. However, Gators cornerback Anthone Lott had called a timeout just before the ball was snapped, forcing the Bulldogs to play the down again. Lott was called for pass interference on the ensuing play, giving Georgia one last untimed chance to score. Zeier's final pass fell incomplete, and the Gators won a hard-fought, but controversial 33–26 victory. In the mid-1990s, the old Gator Bowl Stadium
10720-513: The gridiron. In 1904, the Georgia Bulldogs defeated a team known as the University of Florida Blue and White by the lopsided score of 52–0. However, this was not the modern University of Florida in Gainesville , but one of its four predecessor institutions: a school based in Lake City which had been known as University of Florida when the game was played. The new school in Gainesville first fielded
10854-629: The highest levels of play, are members of the NCAA . In Canada, collegiate football competition is governed by U Sports for universities. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (for colleges) governs soccer and other sports but not gridiron football. Other countries, such as Mexico , Japan and South Korea , also host college football leagues with modest levels of support. Unlike most other major sports in North America , no official minor league farm organizations exist for American football or Canadian football . Therefore, college football
10988-445: The home crowd at Neyland Stadium. On their ensuing possession, the Gators fumbled for what would be the first of six UF turnovers in the second half. The opportunistic Vols took full advantage, turning Spurrier's homecoming (and, coincidentally, UT's homecoming game ) into a dominating 45–3 rout, the largest margin of victory for either team in the series. Florida blanked Akron 59–0. Coach Pat Dye's 1990 Auburn Tigers were
11122-497: The indignity of four consecutive losing seasons—the lowest point in the history of the Gators football program, ironically remembered by the close-knit players as the "Golden Era." But there were still stars and bright moments; Wolf's 1949 Florida Gators were led by senior lineman Jimmy Kynes and running back Chuck Hunsinger . Given little chance by anyone to beat coach Wally Butts ' Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville, Kynes inspired his two-way linemen to their outstanding effort of
11256-468: The last two decades of the 19th century. Several major rivalries date from this time period. November 1890 was an active time in the sport. In Baldwin City, Kansas , on November 22, 1890, college football was first played in the state of Kansas . Baker beat Kansas 22–9. On the 27th, Vanderbilt played Nashville (Peabody) at Athletic Park and won 40–0. It was the first time organized football played in
11390-440: The lead to 27–20. Then, faced with a fourth-and-one situation at the Gators' own 29-yard-line, coach Doug Dickey decided to go for the first down rather than punt. Gators running back Earl Carr was stopped short by Bulldogs safety Johnny Henderson. Led by quarterback Ray Goff 's game management and running back Kevin McLee's 198-yard rushing performance, the Bulldogs seized the momentum and scored three touchdowns on their way to
11524-415: The line into the endzone, finally succeeding on third down. Florida still had two minutes to score but turned over the ball on downs near midfield, and Georgia won 26–21 for the second year in a row. After suffering several defeats to the Bulldogs with a conference championship at stake, coach Galen Hall 's 1984 Florida Gators entered the contest undefeated in the SEC. The Gators dominated early, building
11658-493: The meeting made it hard for them to schedule games against other American universities, it agreed to a challenge to play the rugby team of McGill University , from Montreal , in a two-game series. It was agreed that two games would be played on Harvard's Jarvis baseball field in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 14 and 15, 1874: one to be played under Harvard rules, another under the stricter rugby regulations of McGill. Jarvis Field
11792-415: The meeting. The rules that they agreed upon were essentially those of rugby union at the time with the exception that points be awarded for scoring a try , not just the conversion afterwards ( extra point ). Incidentally, rugby was to make a similar change to its scoring system 10 years later. Walter Camp is widely considered to be the most important figure in the development of American football. As
11926-452: The mid-19th century. By the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as rugby football . The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges. The first documented gridiron football game was played at University College , a college of the University of Toronto , on November 9, 1861. One of
12060-425: The mid-2000s, but the rivalry was unusually even between 2008-2019. Florida began a three game series win streak in 2008, which was followed by a three game Georgia streak, then another three game streak for Florida, which was answered by three Georgia wins, marking the longest evenly-divided dozen years in series history. Georgia has won seven out of the last eight meetings, with current head coach Kirby Smart holding
12194-578: The names each year to list the designated home team first. Since 2009, the respective student government associations of the institutions have referred to the game as the War for the Oar , as the winning team takes home the Okefenokee Oar. The designated "home" team alternates from year to year, with ticket distribution split evenly between the fans of the two teams. Beginning in the late 1980s, fans from Florida and Georgia were assigned seats grouped in alternating sections of
12328-416: The nation for the first time in school history. This would not be a repeat of the 1984 game, however. As they had done so many times in the past, the Bulldogs spoiled Florida's season, defeating the Gators 24–3 with freshmen running backs Keith Henderson and Tim Worley both rushing for over 100 yards. After the game, jubilant Georgia fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. In constant rain,
12462-710: The nearest college to play football. It took place at Hamilton Park in New Haven and was the first game in New England. The game was essentially soccer with 20-man sides, played on a field 400 by 250 feet. Yale wins 3–0, Tommy Sherman scoring the first goal and Lew Irwin the other two. After the first game against Harvard, Tufts took its squad to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine for the first football game played in Maine . This occurred on November 6, 1875. Penn 's Athletic Association
12596-406: The new head coach of the underdog 1964 Georgia Bulldogs . In a game where the Bulldogs' quarterback failed to complete a single pass and was intercepted twice, Dooleys' 'Dogs relied on their running game, a staunch second-half defense, and a little bit of luck to beat Graves' tenth-ranked Florida Gators . With the game tied at 7–7 in the fourth quarter, Bulldogs placekicker Bob Etter lined up for
12730-495: The next round of polls and would go on to win the 1980 consensus national championship . Much like the previous year, the favored Georgia Bulldogs trailed the Florida Gators in the fourth quarter 21–20. Backed up on their own five yard line with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs methodically marched 95 yards on 17 plays, mostly on the ground. The drive culminated in three straight hand-offs to running back Herschel Walker in which he attempted to jump over
12864-603: The next year. He was torn between an admiration for Harvard's style of play and the misery of the Yale defeat, and became determined to avenge Yale's defeat. Spectators from Princeton also carried the game back home, where it quickly became the most popular version of football. On November 23, 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia met at the Massasoit House hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts to standardize
12998-465: The nineteen games from 1971 to 1989. The seventh-ranked 1966 Florida Gators entered the game with a 7–0 record and the opportunity to clinch a share of their first-ever SEC title. The Gators' senior quarterback, Steve Spurrier , had just locked up the Heisman trophy the previous week with a stellar performance versus the Auburn Tigers . The Florida–Georgia game turned out very differently, however, as
13132-523: The other hand, Florida's upset win over Georgia in 2002 was the Bulldogs' only loss of the season and likely cost them a chance to play for a national championship. The rivalry took on even more importance when the SEC split into divisions from 1992 to 2023. Both teams participated in the SEC East, meaning that the contest often decided who represented the SEC East in the SEC Championship Game . During
13266-419: The participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock , later chancellor of the school. A football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play then are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College , also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland and Frederick A. Bethune devised rules based on rugby football. Modern Canadian football
13400-404: The positions of quarterback Rick Casares and running back Doug Dickey . Casares had been heavily recruited by Georgia but thought that Bulldog Coach Wally Butts was "too rough" with his players during a recruiting visit, so he opted to attend Florida instead. Led by All-American lineman Charlie LaPradd on defense and Casares on offense and special teams (he was also the team's place-kicker ),
13534-406: The rivalry for the remainder of the decade, and in the 1970s and 1980s, his Bulldog squads usually won the game in Jacksonville while winning a national championship in 1980 along the way. Coach Steve Spurrier 's arrival in Gainesville turned the rivalry back around beginning in 1990 , and his Gator squads went 11–1 against the Bulldogs. Coach Urban Meyer continued Florida's winning trend through
13668-482: The rules of their various public schools. The game was played at a Rutgers Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey . Two teams of 25 players attempted to score by kicking the ball into the opposing team's goal. Throwing or carrying the ball was not allowed, but there was plenty of physical contact between players. The first team to reach six goals was declared the winner. Rutgers won by a score of six to four. A rematch
13802-615: The rules were changed to allow tackling below the waist, and in 1889, the officials were given whistles and stopwatches. After leaving Yale in 1882, Camp was employed by the New Haven Clock Company until his death in 1925. Though no longer a player, he remained a fixture at annual rules meetings for most of his life, and he personally selected an annual All-American team every year from 1889 through 1924. The Walter Camp Football Foundation continues to select All-American teams in his honor. College football expanded greatly during
13936-456: The rules were formulated before the game. 1990 Florida Gators football team The 1990 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season . The season marked the return of the Gators' Heisman Trophy -winning quarterback Steve Spurrier to his alma mater as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Spurrier's 1990 Florida Gators, while ineligible to win
14070-403: The schools for the loss of a home game by paying all travel expenses plus a $ 1 million per year bonus, a figure which increases to $ 1.5 million in 2024. As of the latest renewal agreement, each university makes almost $ 4 million from the game every year, far more than the approximately $ 3 million every other year they would earn from a home-and-home series. The most recent contract extension keeps
14204-570: The score of this contest. Washington and Lee also claims a 4 to 2 win over VMI in 1873. On October 18, 1888, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 6 to 4 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of North Carolina . On December 14, 1889, Wofford defeated Furman 5 to 1 in the first intercollegiate game in the state of South Carolina . The game featured no uniforms, no positions, and
14338-431: The scoring rules, finally arriving at four points for a touchdown, two points for kicks after touchdowns , two points for safeties, and five for field goals . Camp's innovations in the area of point scoring influenced rugby union's move to point scoring in 1890. In 1887, game time was set at two-halves of 45 minutes each. Also in 1887, two paid officials—a referee and an umpire —were mandated for each game. A year later,
14472-429: The season, stopping the Bulldogs' running game on defense, and blocking for Hunsinger on offense. Hunsinger rushed eighteen times for 174 yards and three touchdowns, and the Gators won 28–7, breaking a seven-game Georgia winning streak. Wolf would be dismissed as Florida's head coach at the end of the season, but on that day in Jacksonville, he was jubilantly carried off the field by his players. Georgia clearly dominated
14606-583: The second quarter, resulting in a 34–7 halftime lead and a 48–7 victory for the Gators, which was the Gators' biggest margin of victory in the series, and the worst loss of Dye's career. at Gator Bowl , Jacksonville, Florida Florida's first win against Georgia since 1986, the Gators beat the Bulldogs 38–7 . Florida beat the Kentucky Wildcats 47–15. at Doak Campbell Stadium , Tallahassee, Florida First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter The game
14740-427: The sheer number of fans following major colleges provides a financial equalizer for the game, with Division I programs – the highest level – playing in huge stadiums, six of which have seating capacity exceeding 100,000 people. In many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests (although many stadiums do have a small number of chair back seats in addition to
14874-442: The stadium to minimize incidents, and the contrasting colors worn by the fans (red and black for Georgia, orange and blue for Florida) created a "beach ball" visual effect in the stands. More recently, the seating arrangement has split the stadium lengthwise and fans sit on the side corresponding to the sideline their team occupies. The teams take turns serving as the "home" team, with the "hosts" usually wearing their home uniforms and
15008-487: The state of Tennessee . The 29th also saw the first instance of the Army–Navy Game . Navy won 24–0. Rutgers was first to extend the reach of the game. An intercollegiate game was first played in the state of New York when Rutgers played Columbia on November 2, 1872. It was also the first scoreless tie in the history of the fledgling sport. Yale football starts the same year and has its first match against Columbia,
15142-545: The state. Early Florida-Georgia contests were held in Jacksonville (three times), Savannah (twice), and Tampa (once), along with several Georgia home games in Athens. (The disputed 1904 game was played in Macon, Georgia , another neutral site.) Florida Field opened in 1930, the Bulldogs made their first trip to Gainesville in 1931, and the Gators made a return visit to Athens in 1932. The schools agreed to meet in Jacksonville in 1933, and
15276-466: The two schools organized a game for October 23, 1869, but it was rained out. Students of the University of Virginia were playing pickup games of the kicking-style of football as early as 1870, and some accounts even claim it organized a game against Washington and Lee College in 1871; but no record has been found of the score of this contest. Due to scantiness of records of the prior matches some will claim Virginia v. Pantops Academy November 13, 1887, as
15410-462: The usually prolific passing game of coach Steve Spurrier's 1993 Florida Gators was stymied. Instead, the Gators relied on tailback Errict Rhett to amass 183 yards and two touchdowns to build a 33–26 fourth-quarter lead. Led by quarterback Eric Zeier , the Georgia Bulldogs mounted a drive into Florida territory in the final minute and a half. Zeier completed what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown to Jerry Jerman with five seconds remaining in
15544-589: The visitors wearing white road jerseys. However, on several occasions, the Bulldogs and Gators have faced off with both squads wearing their home uniforms. The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission created the Florida–Georgia Hall of Fame in 1995 to recognize the players, coaches, and other representatives from each school who have made their mark on the rivalry. Each year, four new members (two from each school) are announced in June, and are formally inducted at
15678-409: The winning teams the goalposts from the game in 1986, in order to persuade fans not to storm the field and destroy them as they had the previous two years. However, no goalposts were ever given out because neither university wanted them. In 2009, the student governments of the two universities announced the creation of a new trophy, the "Okefenokee Oar". The 10-foot-long Oar was donated anonymously to
15812-607: The wins against the Crimson Tide: "Those victories early – '90, '91 – really got us started there at Florida ..." Alabama quarterback Gary Hollingsworth threw three interceptions to Florida safety Will White, and the Gators scored the winning touchdown on a blocked punt. Florida then beat Furman 27–3. Building on the Alabama win, the Gators had a 34–21 conference victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs . Next,
15946-424: Was a long-serving athletic administrator at Florida before becoming Georgia's athletic director , and Verne Lundquist , a retired broadcaster who was the television play-by-play announcer for many Florida-Georgia games as part of SEC on CBS coverage. Unlike many college sports rivalries, the Florida–Georgia game historically has not been played for a trophy . The city of Jacksonville announced that it would award
16080-473: Was also the first time one team scored over 100 points and the opposing team was shut out. The next week, Princeton outscored Lafayette 140 to 0. The first intercollegiate game in the state of Vermont happened on November 6, 1886, between Dartmouth and Vermont at Burlington, Vermont . Dartmouth won 91 to 0. Penn State played its first season in 1887, but had no head coach for their first five years, from 1887 to 1891. The teams played its home games on
16214-466: Was an excellent passer and the Vols ran a single-wing offense at the time which featured a running quarterback. Instead, he choose to return to the state of his birth (Spurrier was born in Miami Beach ), eventually becoming the Gators' first Heisman Trophy winner in 1966. Spurrier's first Gator squad was 5–0 and ranked No. 9 coming into the matchup with Johnny Majors ' 3–0–2 and No. 5 Vols, marking
16348-454: Was at the time a patch of land at the northern point of the Harvard campus, bordered by Everett and Jarvis Streets to the north and south, and Oxford Street and Massachusetts Avenue to the east and west. Harvard beat McGill in the "Boston Game" on the Thursday and held McGill to a 0–0 tie on the Friday. The Harvard students took to the rugby rules and adopted them as their own, The games featured
16482-611: Was back then. We can't help it if they got run out of Lake City." The first game in the rivalry acknowledged by both schools took place in Jacksonville in 1915. The series has been played annually since 1926 except in 1943, when Florida did not field a team due to World War II. Georgia dominated the early rivalry. Florida did not score a single point against the Bulldogs until their fifth (or sixth) meeting. The Gators won their first two games against Georgia in 1928 and 1929 , when coach Charlie Bachman 's squads briefly brought Florida's football program to national prominence. However, after
16616-405: Was breaking team scoring and yardage records, defensive coordinator Jim Bates coached one of the best defensive squads in team history, including two first-team All-Americans , defensive end Huey Richardson and safety Will White. at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium , Gainesville, Florida First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Combating the gloom,
16750-478: Was dubbed by some as the "Seminole Bowl" due to Florida's postseason ban. Matthews finished the season with 2,952 passing yards and twenty-three touchdowns—then the most passing yards in Gators history. He was SEC Player of the Year. Before Spurrier returned to Gainesville, the Gators had never won an officially sanctioned Southeastern Conference (SEC) or national football championship (Florida's first SEC championship
16884-527: Was felt they would dominate the Association. Penn State won the championship with a 4–1–0 record. Bucknell's record was 3–1–1 (losing to Franklin & Marshall and tying Dickinson). The Association was dissolved prior to the 1892 season. The first nighttime football game was played in Mansfield, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1892, between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary and ended at halftime in
17018-556: Was looking to pick "a twenty" to play a game of football against Columbia. This "twenty" never played Columbia, but did play twice against Princeton. Princeton won both games 6 to 0. The first of these happened on November 11, 1876, in Philadelphia and was the first intercollegiate game in the state of Pennsylvania . Brown entered the intercollegiate game in 1878. The first game where one team scored over 100 points happened on October 25, 1884, when Yale routed Dartmouth 113–0. It
17152-459: Was once known as " the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party ", a nickname coined in 1958 by then Florida Times-Union sports editor Bill Kastelz after he witnessed an inebriated fan cheerfully offer an alcoholic beverage to an on-duty police officer before the game. The "Cocktail Party" moniker proved so popular that the City of Jacksonville used it officially for many years, but the practice ended in
17286-542: Was played at Princeton a week later under Princeton's own set of rules (one notable difference was the awarding of a "free kick" to any player that caught the ball on the fly, which was a feature adopted from The Football Association's rules; the fair catch kick rule has survived through to modern American game). Princeton won that game by a score of 8 – 0. Columbia joined the series in 1870 and by 1872 several schools were fielding intercollegiate teams, including Yale and Stevens Institute of Technology . Columbia University
17420-604: Was rebuilt as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, temporarily moving the Florida-Georgia game to on-campus sites for the first time in over six decades Florida had soundly defeated Georgia at " The Swamp " in 1994, and an undefeated 1995 Florida Gators hoped to repeat the feat at Sanford Stadium against a struggling Georgia Bulldogs team led by soon-to-be-fired coach Ray Goff . College football NAIA : NJCAA : College football ( French : football universitaire )
17554-430: Was rocked by the murders committed by Danny Rolling . During Spurrier's first season, he was able to build on the strong talent recruited by departing Gators coach Galen Hall , but the Gators also reaped the benefits of Spurrier's "there are no excuses for losing" mantra. Even as Spurrier's new "fun 'n' gun" offensive scheme led by quarterback Shane Matthews , wide receiver Ernie Mills and tight end Kirk Kirkpatrick
17688-590: Was the 1881 Michigan team , which played at Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The nation's first college football league, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives (also known as the Western Conference), a precursor to the Big Ten Conference , was founded in 1895. Led by coach Fielding H. Yost , Michigan became the first "western" national power. From 1901 to 1905, Michigan had
17822-638: Was the first game west of the Mississippi River . November 30, 1905, saw Chicago defeat Michigan 2 to 0. Dubbed "The First Greatest Game of the Century", it broke Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and marked the end of the "Point-a-Minute" years. Organized collegiate football was first played in the state of Virginia and the south on November 2, 1873, in Lexington between Washington and Lee and VMI . Washington and Lee won 4–2. Some industrious students of
17956-488: Was the third school to field a team. The Lions traveled from New York City to New Brunswick on November 12, 1870, and were defeated by Rutgers 6 to 3. The game suffered from disorganization and the players kicked and battled each other as much as the ball. Later in 1870, Princeton and Rutgers played again with Princeton defeating Rutgers 6–0. This game's violence caused such an outcry that no games at all were played in 1871. Football came back in 1872, when Columbia played Yale for
#425574