‘I think you can mix them up’ — Jon Sumrall already has a pecking order for Florida’s biggest rivalries with one omission
There aren’t many teams in the nation with as many intense rivalries as the Florida Gators, and Jon Sumrall gets it.
The heart of college football is rooted in rivalries. They are the games we look forward to the most every year, and some of the best moments in the sport’s history have come from them.
Rivalries are a huge part of the Florida Gators’ history as well. When you look at how many rivalries they have, it’s heavy across the board. When you coach in Gainesville, you need to win against the biggest rivals. How those rank will vary from fan to fan, and head coach Jon Sumrall understands that on his own.
Jon Sumrall ranks the Florida Gators’ biggest rivals
When he was asked directly about who the Gators’ biggest rivals are, he kept it simple: it’s the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Bulldogs.
“I think you probably have to start Florida State. We play them year in, year out they’re within the same state as us, and so that one has to be to me, that’s got to be the top. Then I think Georgia has got to be number two,
Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall
and that’s kind of 1a, 1b. I don’t know that there really is a number two, I think it’s just one and one, and then the other two.
“I think you can mix them up, you know. Miami is in our state, we don’t play them every year, so maybe less of a direct rivalry. And then LSU no longer on our permanent crossover deal, so but still a pretty, pretty high intense big game, but the first two really easy. The last two you mix them up a little bit for me.”
Now, here’s what’s interesting about the list of rivalries Sumrall was given: it doesn’t include arguably the biggest of them all: the Tennessee Volunteers.
Ranking both the Bulldogs and Seminoles that high makes complete sense. The Gators have a very heated rivalry with both teams, and their histories with both are fascinating to look at.
The Volunteers not being included in that list, when the LSU Tigers are, feels disrespectful to the history of those two teams. It’s a travesty they won’t get to play every year. However, when you look at the fact that Tennessee has only won four games since Urban Meyer was hired in 2005, maybe they aren’t a big rival.
Sumrall understands what it means to beat your rivals, and he knows which ones are the most important.