The state of Florida football’s non-conference scheduling
By Nick Knudsen
Florida football and Power Five non-conference opponents
Now, let’s turn to the Gators and take a closer look at their recent non-conference history.
Remember this quote?
"“We do home-and-homes with like FSUs and Power Five leagues,” Florida AD Stricklin said at a recent press conference. “We haven’t done any home-and-homes with non-Power Five teams. I don’t think we would start that.” (Edgar Thompson, December 7, 2018, Orlando Sentinel)"
No cheating – name the Power Five conference teams that Florida football has scheduled a home-and-home series with since the first year of the BCS in 1998? I’ll give you until the next page to think about it.
The Florida Athletic Department’s hesitation around building a grueling non-conference schedule has always been understandable. Between the rigors of the SEC and an annual home-and-home with an in-state Power Five rival, Florida State, Florida football typically faces one of the toughest overall schedules in the nation.
However, if you step back and a take closer look at the last 15 years, that logic does not always hold up.
The SEC East has never been a beacon of strength (running through phases that have mainly consisted of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee before their dramatic fall) and outside of their most recent spurt from 2013-16, the Seminoles have not been the consistent power they were throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s.
It’s time for the Gators to reevaluate their non-conference scheduling practices.
