AUBURN, Ala. — Gainesville and Auburn are separated by roughly five hours, but the distance between the two schools has not stopped a historic rivalry from developing. Florida and Auburn will meet Saturday for their first matchup since 2019, renewing a series that dates back to 1904.
The teams met annually from 1945 to 2002, making it one of the conference’s oldest rivalries. With a 44-39-2 record in the 85 meetings since 1904, Auburn narrowly leads the all-time series and has upset Florida seven times when the Gators were ranked in the top 10. However, in the 24 years since the annual rivalry ended, the teams have met only four times, most recently in 2019, when Florida earned a 24-13 win in Gainesville.
The Week 3 showdown will mark the first SEC game for both coaches at their respective schools and Jon Sumrall’s first game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
While Alex Golesh and Sumrall shared a more recent history in the American Conference, Golesh discussed the significance of the reignited rivalry.
“He said we were friends? Not this week,” Golesh said. “Got a ton of respect for how he works. Ton of respect for who he is. I think he does it the right way. Competes like crazy. I got a lot of respect for him this week.”
Florida linebacker Myles Graham said the SEC opener against Auburn presents an important opportunity for the Gators and could help set the tone for the rest of their season.
“I'm really excited. I think Auburn's got a great staff there, great players. I think that game will be really fun, just being the first SEC road game—kind of just set the tone for the rest of the season, too,” Graham said.
This will not be Graham’s first time facing a Golesh-led offense. Graham was part of the Florida team that lost to USF last season when Golesh was the Bulls’ coach. He discussed the challenge of guarding Auburn’s dual-threat quarterback, Byrum Brown, especially on the run.
“I think it's hard to prepare for a running and throw-in quarterback, just 'cause you got two ways that they can beat you. So I think that he's definitely a great quarterback, and we're going to be excited to play him,” Graham added.
Florida freshman wide receiver Vernell Brown III was asked about the challenge of playing on the road at Auburn early in the season.
“I think that's what you join the conference for, right?” Brown said. “SEC, any given Saturday is known as arguably the best conference in the country. I feel like it's the best conference in the country. But you know what you signed up for when you commit to play for an SEC school. So, I mean, I love it personally. I'm looking forward to it.”
Florida junior running back Jadan Baugh also expressed confidence ahead of the Week 3 matchup at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I feel like that's going to be a great game, and I know me and my guys are very ready,” Baugh said.
The early-season matchup will provide the first SEC test for both teams under their new coaches. Auburn will host Florida at 6 p.m. CDT Saturday, Sept. 19, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
